MiLB Player of the Day: Trevor Haskins
The Cardinal Chronicle
Minor League Player of the Day: Trevor Haskins
St. Louis, MO
By Ray Mileur
Trevor Haskins is starting to stack big nights.
For the second straight day, Haskins is The Cardinal Chronicle’s Minor League Player of the Day after helping lead Palm Beach to a 12-10 comeback win over the Bradenton Marauders on Friday night at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium.
One night after hitting two home runs in Palm Beach’s 8-5 win over Bradenton, Haskins came right back with another impact game.
This time, it came in the middle of a comeback.
Palm Beach led 1-0 after the first inning, but Bradenton scored six runs in the second and added another run in the third to put the Cardinals in a 7-2 hole.
That could have been the night.
It was not.
Haskins helped change it.
With Palm Beach still trailing 7-2 in the sixth inning, Haskins launched a two-run home run to left field, his third homer in two nights. The swing cut the deficit to 7-4 and brought the Cardinals back within striking distance.
It did not finish the comeback.
It made the comeback feel possible.
Then Haskins delivered again in the seventh.
After Yairo Padilla and Ryan Mitchell opened the inning with back-to-back doubles, Ian Petrutz added an RBI single, and Alex Birge tied the game with a double down the right-field line. That brought Haskins back to the plate with the game tied.
He came through with a broken-bat, two-run single to center field, giving Palm Beach a 9-7 lead.
That was the biggest hit of the night.
Palm Beach later added three more runs in the eighth and held on for the 12-10 win, clinching the series and improving to 10-0 against Bradenton this season.
Haskins finished with four RBIs, a two-run homer and the go-ahead two-run single.
That is why he gets the honor again.
Back-to-back Player of the Day awards are not given because of momentum or name recognition. They are earned by production, timing and impact.
Haskins had all three.
On Thursday, he hit two home runs, including a late insurance homer after Bradenton had cut the Palm Beach lead to two runs.
On Friday, he hit a two-run homer to pull the Cardinals back into the game, then delivered the go-ahead two-run single in the seventh.
That is a player showing up in leverage spots.
Ryan Weingartner deserves strong mention after driving in the first run of the game and later adding a two-run home run in the eighth. Heriberto Caraballo homered. Alex Birge delivered the game-tying double. Palm Beach’s entire lineup had at least one hit and one run scored, with seven hitters collecting at least two hits.
Springfield had several strong offensive performances in its doubleheader sweep of Northwest Arkansas, including Deniel Ortiz’s three-run homer, Rainiel Rodriguez’s RBI double and production from Brody Moore, Ryan Campos and Jesús Báez.
But Haskins had the biggest swings in the biggest comeback.
A two-run homer.
A go-ahead two-run single.
Four RBIs.
A second straight Player of the Day honor.
That earns the nod.
Old School Take
A hot bat is one thing.
A hot bat that keeps showing up when the game is still hanging in the balance is something else.
Trevor Haskins did it Thursday.
Then he did it again Friday.
Palm Beach was down five runs, and Haskins helped drag the Cardinals back into the game. Then, with the score tied, he drove in two more to put them ahead.
That is impact.
That is why Trevor Haskins is The Cardinal Chronicle Minor League Player of the Day for the second straight day.
The Cardinal Chronicle, in association with Gateway Sports & MiLB Today
Preserving the Past, Promoting the Present, and Projecting the Future.
Check out The Cardinal Chronicle for more St. Louis Cardinals coverage, daily farm reports, prospect updates and old-school baseball commentary:
www.cardinalchronicle.com
Photo Credit: Trevor Haskins, Palm Beach Cardinals | MLB