David Villar and Sean Roby are 3b Gone Wild!

SF Giants MInor Lines, April 16-17, 2022

Richmond Flying Squirrels @GoSquirrels

.@juniorroby8 is on a different planet right now

It’s true! Sean Roby is hitting out of his gourd to start the year. But whatever celestial body he’s occupying, he apparently had a co-pilot to help navigate him there:

Sacramento River Cats @RiverCats

Put your Villar goggles on That’s 4 HRs and 13 RBIs in 9 games #ClawsUp

This slugging pair of corner infielders, who have been connected (in my mind at least) since being selected in the 11th and 12th rounds of the 2018 draft, is making very LOUD early season statements as to the state of their development.

CO-HITTERS of the Weekend: David Villar (Sac), 4 for 9, 2 HR, 5 RBI, BB, 3 K
Sean Roby (Rich), 3 for 6, 3 HR, 4 RBI, BB, HBP, 2 K
PITCHER of the Weekend: Tristan Beck (Rich), 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 1 HR

Before jumping into the games, let’s step back and view a broader picture involving the weekend’s major storyline, outlined in Friday morning’s post — the minor league-wide enforcement of the pitch clock. According to Baseball America’s study of all games across all levels, “turning on the clock” had a radical effect on Friday night, effectively rolling the game back a couple of generations. In just one night of pitch clock enforcement, the average of games across minor league levels was cut by almost exactly 30 minutes — a stunning one-night turnaround. If you’re a BA subscriber, you can link on the story below, but the chart from J.J. Cooper really tells the tale in gripping fashion! There will be some bumps and complaints — these athletes have all developed processes between pitches, and that’s pushed the envelope of waiting for the next delivery further and further over the years — but, as is always the case, athletes will adapt to the situation and find ways to make their processes shorter. Whether this will affect the ability of pitchers to make max-effort deliveries on every single pitch will be a story that bears watching over the next few years.

JJ Cooper @jjcoop36

I've been studying MiLB pace of play and time of game for more than a decade. I've never seen anything like what we saw last night. The beginning of enforcement of new rules cut nearly half an hour of game times.

baseballamerica.comNew Rules Dramatically Sped Up Last Night’s MiLB GamesLast night, a new stricter enforcement of pitch clocks and rules that require hitters to remain in the batter’s box began to be enforced around the minors. And while it’s only day one of a season-long experiment, the results were dramatic.

JJ Cooper @jjcoop36

This graphic is looking at years compared to one day (last night), so massive caveats, but here's a look at IL, PCL and MLB 9-inning game times over the years compared to Friday.

JJ Cooper @jjcoop36

I've been studying MiLB pace of play and time of game for more than a decade. I've never seen anything like what we saw last night. The beginning of enforcement of new rules cut nearly half an hour of game times. https://t.co/brKgHscfxr

Now, to the lines…