July in Review From the Shore

Another All-Star game has come and gone and we just have 2 months left in the 2017 season.  A 17-8 record for the month might have been Jersey's worst month statistically of the season, but was good enough to finish with a 10.5 game lead on 2nd place Greenville and leave the Bags with a 81-27 record.  One more win to assure themselves their 8th straight winning season and just 50 or so games from their first division title.

Players of the Month

MR Lucio Tapia: 3-0, 1.46 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 21K in 12.1 IP.  With much of the staff having a down month, Tapia under the radar is having his best season since he broke out in 2013.  The 32 year old has an ERA just over 2 and has been excellent in the set-up role which he share with Jose "Dog Pound" Gomes.  If the starters don't step up down the stretch it will be up to bullpen guys like him to carry the load and keep the Bags in the game.

MR Jose Ruiz: 1 save, 2.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 13K.  To go along with Tapia, Ruiz had an excellent month out of the middle innings and earned himself a spot on POTM for the 2nd straight month.  At just 24 years old, his K/9, BB/9, HR/9, H/9 and K/BB have all improved since his great sophomore year last year and a sign that he will be a staple in the Jersey pen for years to come.

3B Adam Morrow: .375/.480/.475. 30H, 17BB, 8 2B, 12R.  After a terrible sophomore season which saw Morrow get shipped back and forth between the big league club and AAA, he has seemed to find his stroke again and July was his best month to date.  His stats this year are very similar to when he was awarded the CL Rookie of the Year in 2015.  Maybe the switch to hitting at the bottom of the order was the trick he needed to be productive at the plate again.

2B Mike Bryant: .306/.352/.510.  4 HR, 17 RBI, 8 2B, 17 R.  Bryant turned things around after a slow June to take some of the pressure off of the other big boppers in the lineup.  While the power we have grown to love really wasn't there, the 8 doubles are encouraging as he is still way off the pace he set last season.  He may not win any awards this year, he is still on pace for 35-120-.315, just another season in the life of Bryant.

Questions, Concerns and Answers:

Should the fact the team just had it's worst month of the season be concerning?  Some say yes, some say no.  The schedule was the toughest of the season and August won't get any better, but holding a big lead on Greenville was the key.  

On the injury front there was no bad news.  No new injuries and with SP Art Ellis on schedule, he should head to rehab sometime this month.  This is encouraging news for the Bags.  If he stays on schedule he should get 3 starts for the Bags before the playoffs which will really test his availability for the playoffs.  Fransisco Ibarra was always taken of the DL and sent back to AAA after missing 5 weeks with an injury.  We still think he is a very viable candidate for a September callup.  

Jersey successfully signed all 10 of the draft picks from the Amatuer draft on July 1st and all have been assigned to the A or AA minor league affiliates.  Also towards the end of the month, Jersey officials announced 2 contract extensions.  The first being MR Hyo-chin Kim, which bought out 1 free year and 3 years of arbitration.  The 2nd extension was given to up-and-coming SS Lawrence Schroeder.  His contract is a 5 year deal, the last being a team option, also bought out his last free year and all 3 years of arbitration.  

Minor League Players of the Month

Pitcher

SP Sergio Martinez (AA): 4-1, 1.96 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 29 K, 1 HR allowed, 36.2 IP.  Martinez in his 3rd year in AA, is having his best year and is slowly climbing up the prospect charts for the Jersey Shore.  While his control is still considered his achilles's heel, if he can get a grasp on that and play to his potentials, some Jersey folk say he slates out to be a 2-3 starter in the rotation.  At only 21 years old there is no rush on Martinez and will be interesting to see where he goes from here.

Hitter

SS Fabrice Brodeur (AAA): .316/.383/.430, 36 hits, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 24R, 4SB.  Leading the entire organization in hits in July and scoring in almost every game in July, Brodeur was a key cog in the Tuscaloosa lineup in July.  It was his 3rd straight 30+ hit month and he looks on track to reach the big leagues sometime next year. The former 1st round pick plays every infield position and would make a great asset as a backup or a fill in starter and could probably start on many teams on the left side of the infield.

GO D-BAGS