Tom Brennan – A TALE OF TWO FIREFLIES
The Columbia Fireflies have not hit all that well. So pitching well is the key to their winning. Tim Tebow (.242) would agree, I'm sure.
And the pitching divide is stark. Those with ERAs under 3.00, and those 3.00 or
higher.
Those below 3.00 are 11-2 on the season. Pitch well and prosper.
Among them are the twin thoroughbreds in the starting
rotation, Jordan Humphreys and
Merandy Gonzalez.
Gonzalez was 4-0
in April and did not allow an earned run, but allowed 7 (including 3 HRs) in
his first May start. He still sits at 4-1, 1.89 ERA, 0.75 WHIP. I’ll take that every 5 starts, I’m not picky.
Humphreys has been sensational, simply sensational.
After
another brilliant performance in his 6th start on Monday night (7
IP, 2 H, 1 R, 9 K) he sits at a stellar 6-0, 1.69, with a 0.70 WHIP and 49 Ks
in 38.2 IP. I’d promote him before he
turns 21 on June 11 as a birthday present.
Heck, why'd the Mets sign Tommy
Milone when they have Humphreys (I know, calm down, Brennan).
In the pen, there are 3 with ERAs under 3 pitching
exceptionally well, and another who was promoted.
Righty 24 year old fireballer Matt Blackham in 15 IP has 23 Ks and is 1-0, 1.20.
Righty 22 year old Max
Kuhns is 0-0, 1.69 with 21 Ks in 16 IP.
Righty 22 year old Austin
McGeorge was 0-0, 1.42 before his promo to St Lucie recently. He now is sitting on an overall 1.93 ERA with
23 Ks in 18.2 IP.
Lefty 20 year old Jake
Simon just now pitching; 0-1, 0.00 in 3 IP.
Those at 3.00 ERA of above are just 4-14 combined (former Met Jay Hook, now 80 years old, was 4-14 in 1963, coincidentally) – thus the tale
of the second Firefly:
Pitch poorly and losses will follow.
Blake Taylor is
0-4, but the lefty former 2nd rounder, coming off Tommy John, had a
great last start, with 6 shutout innngs, so the pivot point for Taylor may have been reached. His ERA is a decent 4.50 and he has 25 Ks in
26 IP.
A Cyclones pitching star in 2016, Harol Gonzalez, has had a rude comeuppance in Columbia, with a 1-2,
7.27 record after 5 starts. Count me as
puzzled as to his drop off.
Fellow starter Gabe Llanes
is 0-2 but like Blake Taylor, has pitched in hard luck, as his 3.03 ERA
attests.
The two biggest strugglers in the over 3.00 category are Darwin Ramos and Joel Huertas, who
combined are 0-2 and have allowed 14 runs in 11.2 IP.
Joe Zanghi has
thrown in 10 games, mostly good, but has allowed 4 earned runs and 5 unearned
in 12 IP, leading to an 0-2 record. He continues to strike guys out, with 16 in
12 IP and 61 in 41 career innings.
You want to succeed as a Fireflies pitcher? ERA below 3 is the key.
Tom -
ReplyDeleteA couple of things...
I try not to get carried away about baseball players in A ball. I could write volumes about guys that looked great at that level but never made it in this game (I call it "The Cohoon Factor).
Still, Humphreys and Gonzalez do look like the real deal.
There's no reason to rush them. Let them get 10+ starts under their belt and if their success continues, fly them down to Port St. Lucie to finish the year there.
Lastly, Jake Simon is a starter prospect. He was promoted from extended camp due to rotation injuries and the only reason he pitched only 3 innings in his first outing was the fact that he was called upon early to come in stop a bad game from getting worse. I expect him to be in the rotation soon. He's just below my top 25 prospect list
I can go with the 10 starts, Mack, but if they ( and especially Humphreys) dazzles the rest of May as they have so far, I would say "time for a bigger challenge."
ReplyDeleteNeither of these guys are soft tosses like Cohoon, thankfully. I still am a little concerned about Conlob but his last start shows he can dominate AA hitters.
On Jake Simon, great. Another strong starter will help.