MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

The announcement prior to the season seemed almost innocuous: Triple-A planned to use the same baseballs used in the major leagues. The element of uniformity, the thinking went, would eliminate the need for pitchers to adjust to new baseballs on the fly once they got to the majors.

That small change has led to the biggest minor league storyline of 2019.

Baseballs are flying out of Triple-A parks at unprecedented rates and have given hitters of all shapes and sizes the ability to hit balls harder and farther than ever before.

Padres second baseman Luis Urias, for example, entered the season as an excellent prospect but had hit just 16 home runs in 467 minor league games. He hit his 17th