Thursday Pebble Report: Vince Fernandez hits two home runs in Lancaster win

In a rare pitcher’s duel in Lancaster, Rockies prospect Vince Fernandez hit two solo home runs to give the JetHawks a 4-2 win over Visalia and bring their record back to .500 at 20-20.

Vernandez, the number 28 ranked PuRP in the last Purple Row Prospect rankings, hit his sixth and seventh home runs in the win. The hitter friendly California League will often artificially boost stat lines but Fernandez’ .325/.442/.592 is still impressive. The 22-year-old had a strong year in Asheville in 2017 and is emerging as an intriguing hitting prospect in the Rockies system.

The Hawks were helped by a lights out bullpen on Wednesday night as well, after six innings from starter Rico Garcia the bullpen pitched three shutout innings to secure the win. No small task in The Hangar, one of the more famous band boxes of the Cal League.

Lancaster’s 20-20 record is good for first place in the Cal League South division, the JetHawks are looking for back to back playoff appearances.

Other news and notes from the affiliates are below:

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Double-A: New Hampshire Fisher Cats 7, Hartford Yard Goats 1

Garrett Hampson (No.9 PuRP): 1-for-4, 2B

Brendan Rodgers (No.1 PuRP): 0-for-3

Class-A Advanced: Lancaster JetHawks 4, Visalia Rawhide 2

Vince Fernandez (No.28 PuRP): 2-for-4, 2 HR

Max George: 2-for-3, HR

Forrest Wall (No. 16 PuRP): 1-for-4, 2B

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Thursday Probables:

Triple-A Albuquerque: Jeff Hoffman (1-3, 5.47 ERA) vs. Reno

Double-A Hartford: Peter Lambert (1-1, 1.69 ERA) vs. Akron

Single-A Advanced Lancaster: Ty Culbreth (0-0, 13.50 ERA) vs. Visalia

Single-A Asheville: Antonio Santos (0-4, 4.99) vs. Rome