As the seasons prepare to flip from spring to summer and the weather gets warmer, the Trenton Thunder's strong start to their 2023 MLB Draft League season rolled on as they continued their three-game weekend set against the West Virginia Black Bears in front of a sellout crowd of 7,626 at Trenton Thunder Ballpark on Saturday night. With the Trenton Thunder now 10% of the way through their season after a 5-4 victory, let's take a look at the three stars of the series.
First Star - Jordan Sesar
The right-handed pitching product out of Morrisville, Pennsylvania and Bucks County Community College came on in relief in the fifth inning of Friday night's tough 6-5 loss but did not allow a run in three innings of work while keeping the Thunder in the game, contributing four strikeouts. While he is listed as a middle reliever, he shows strong potential and could be a good starter or closer in any rotation.
His early MLB player comparisons are Zac Gallen of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals.
Second Star - Noah Fisher
This infield prospect has flown under the radar, but Noah Fisher showed flashes of brilliance on offense in Friday's game, going 2 for 3 with a triple, two RBIs and a run scored in a designated hitter role. He went 0 for 1 with a run driven in in the game Saturday, yet showcased what he can do in the field as he was slotted in at shortstop. His bat is very Rhys Hoskins-esque with a pinch of Cody Bellinger. In the field, his stats to this point show he has great range and defensive ability in both infield and outfield positions. Look for him to get drafted anywhere from mid-2nd round to early 3rd round come July.
His early MLB player comparisons are Jeff McNeil of the New York Mets and Cody Bellinger of the Chicago Cubs.
Third Star - Trey Paige
This is another infield prospect that has flown under the radar. Trey Paige went 2 for 5 in the Trenton Thunder's loss Friday night with an RBI that was part of their comeback that ultimately fell short. He would proceed to go 0 for 2 with a strikeout in Saturday's game. The product of the University of Kentucky and Reading native has a decent bat and power to all fields. In the field, he shows versatility and a knack for both infield and outfield positions. Outlook right now is that he could get drafted early to mid-third round in the upcoming MLB draft in Seattle next month.
His early MLB player comparisons are Rhys Hoskins of the Phillies and Boston Red Sox great Manny Ramirez.
Who's Hot
The Trenton Thunder
With tonight's game now in the books, the Trenton Thunder appear to be on pace to capture their second Draft League championship in the three seasons that the MLB Draft League has been in existence. With the win tonight, the Thunder stand at 6-2 and are on a 60-20 80-game pace, which would give them the regular season title. However, there's still a long season ahead and Labor Day's still two and a half months off. Many teams fade down the stretch. We'll see if the Thunder can maintain this momentum going forward as we head through the summer.
Who's Not
Ryland Zaborowski
As a team, the Trenton Thunder are hot. However, infielder Ryland Zaborowski has not played hot this series. The Miami (Ohio) product put up an 0-for-4 performance in Friday's loss and while he did rebound well in Saturday's win, his batting average didn't budge, holding steady at .333 - exactly where it was to begin play. He'll need to step it up as we get later into June if he hopes to improve his draft stock once we get past Independence Day leading up to the draft in Seattle.
The Road Ahead
The Thunder will finish up their series against the Black Bears Sunday at Trenton Thunder Ballpark with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 PM before kicking off the latter half of the homestand with 3 games against the State College Spikes on Tuesday night.
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