Waldschmidt's Week, Roberts and Cerda set records, and more from a Series Win

The Soddies stayed hot at Hodgetown this week with a 51 run barrage of a series against the Corpus Chirsti Hooks. Amarillo moved to 28-17 in the second half, still having not lost a series since the start of July, and pushing their lead in the Texas League South to 7 games. Let's catch up with some of the standouts of the series before the Sod Poodles hit the road for the Alamo City.

The Week of Waldschmidt

If you watched Ryan Waldschmidt at all in the month of July you just knew it was a matter of time before he exploaded. Despite hitting .241/.371/.367/.738 for the month Sod Poodles outfielder posted 100+ MPH exit velocities what felt like on a nightly basis and the ball was just finding leather.

"I think you just kind of change your definition of success. When you go in the box, you want to get a hit and you want to see results, but just putting the barrel on the ball and hitting the ball hard is all you can do, you can't really control where it goes." Waldschmidt said at batting practice after his first two home run game of the series. "When you hit it hard, you know that's a win. So just seeing it that way, and then letting the outcome be what it is, it's a lot easier to just continue to keep pushing through that."

Waldschmidt's patience paid off as he torched the Hooks in the series with an astronomical .524/.643/1.286/1.929 slash and 11 RBI. After coming into the series having not homered since his first in a Sod Poodles uniform on June 27th, the Sod Poodles outfielder launched 5 in the set including TWO mutli-homer nights.

Even on the nights that Waldschmidt has struggled since he arrived the Kentucky Wildcat flexes a different part of his game. He's the active leader for the Sod Poodles in stolen bases (13) and has also used his tremendous eye to draw 31 walks, while playing plus defense in center field even with the the challenge of the Amarillo wind. Waldschmidt has put together a highlight reel of defensive plays in the field in his short time at Hodgetown this season. Even before this week it has been easy to see why Ryan Waldschmidt is not only a top prospect in the Diamondbacks system but a Top 100 player in all of baseball, but a week like this just shows you the unbelievable talent he possess.

"The vibes are outstanding right now around the facilities. Everyone's in a good mood, and that comes with winning, but I think that's just kind of like the friendships in the group of guys we have in general." Ryan Waldschmidt said this week. "I just think we're excited to show up to the field just to hang out, and then we get to play baseball together as well."

Caleb Roberts & Christian Cerda Set Franchise Records

The longest tenured Sod Poodle Caleb Roberts gave Amarillo their first grand slam of th season on Thursday night and he wasn't done there. He missed a second slam just innings later by a matter of feet. Instead Roberts had to settle for a franchise record 7 RBI night in which he went 3/4 with two doubles on top of the slam, giving Roberts his third 3 hit game of his last 6 starts.

"I think that was a first. I mean, credit to our guys just getting on base, and then when they're on base, you just want to produce and have them come in to score. It was a great night all around." Roberts said after his record breaking performance.

Amarillo Catcher Christian Cerda set a record of his own this week with an insane 13 total bases on Sundays series finale. The right hander put on Amarillo's first 3 home run performance of the year and the first since Seth Beer accomplished that feat in 2023. It was also only the second time in franchise history that a player scored 5 runs in a game, joining Diamondbacks shortstop Geraldo Perdomo.

"Oh, my God, to be honest, I was just in there, trying to have good ABs, and eventually, I was hitting the ball on the barrell today, and the ball was flying." Cerda said postgame on Sunday.

McLaughlin and Anderson bring it to start their Amarillo Tenure

You don't always see instant impact at the Double-A level, even a Top 100 prospect like Ryan Waldschmidt can struggle early, but that hasn't been a problem for first baseman Ben McLaughlin. The Arkansas Razorback has burst onto the scene putting up a .353/.421/.706/1.127 in his first 9 games at the level, and depositing 3 balls in to the seats including 2 in the series this week.

"I've been feeling good. I'm just trying to take it a day at a time. It's been a lot of fun to play with you guys." McLaughlin said on Tuesday before homering two more times. "It's a great team that can hit, top to bottom, and it makes my job easier and makes the game a lot of fun."

After being a starter for most of the season Sod Poodles manager Javier Colina has turned Casey Anderson into a weapon out of the pen. Since his Double-A Debut Anderson has appeared in 5 games, going at least 2 innings in all of them.

"They want to use me in a long relief role here, come in whether the starter doesn't get out of it or something happens, I can come in and hopefully fill two or three innings. My job at that point is just to get as many outs as I can." Anderson said this week.

Anderson has been nothing short of stellar at keeping hitters off balance striking out 17 batters to only 2 walks in 13.2 IP so far for Amarillo.

Sims Continues to Slam the Door Shut

"I feel like I've found myself within that role over the last month or two just reverting back to some of the things that worked for me in college and trying to apply them in that role now and trusting everybody behind me." Landon Sims said.

You could argue that a Sod Poodles pitcher hasn't had a better month than Sims just did since Dylan Ray won Pitcher of the Month in May. Sims has been automatic in the last month and a half, recording 14 straight scoreless outings.

“He’s throwing strikes. I love his attitude and I love his energy. He loves to compete and he loves the challenge." Sod Poodles Manager Javier Colina said this week. "He’s been working so hard and been pitching well and if he's going to be here he's going to be my guy. He’s going to be my best pitcher in the game. He's going to close the door.”

As the Sod Poodles creep towards a possible Texas League Playoffs birth Sims and the pen will continue to be one of the more important cogs in this machine that has been on a serious tear lately.

The Soddies head to San Antonio to take on the Missions with a 7 game lead over Frisco in the Texas League South.

"The vibes are outstanding right now around the facilities. Everyone's in a good mood, and that comes with winning, but I think that's just kind of like the friendships in the group of guys we have in general." Ryan Waldschmidt said this week. "I just think we're excited to show up to the field just to hang out, and then we get to play baseball together as well."

Mitch Bratt will take on a Missions team in game one that he has dominated his entire career to the tune of a 1.01 ERA in 26.2 IP.