Trio For the Ages

You have to go back almost a decade to the year 2017 to find a lineup that featured Mike Bryant, Matt Doyle and Dave Dodd.  That Jersey Shore team would win a CL record of 119 games that still stands today. In a huge upset, the Austin River Sharks would bounce them in 7 games in the 1st round of the playoffs and immediately after the season ended GM Josh Swain shipped out slugger Matt Doyle to Toronto to try and stabilize the rotation.  Doyle was coming off of a 32 HR, 124 RBI season.  He hit clean up behind league MVP and Triple Crown winner Mike Bryant and ahead of 23 year old up and coming sophmore sensation Dave Dad.  That year the three of them combined for 99 2B, 109 HR, and 375 RBI.  Doyle would go on to play the next 7 season in Toronto and 1 season in LA, winning two titles along the way.

After letting 1B Tadahisa Kisuki walk to free agency, Jersey Shore was in need of a 1B, and they went looking Doyle's way.  At 36 years of age, he is not the same player he once was, but still managed to hit 17 homers last year with the Bruins.  At about the same time, Jersey Shore decided to bring back Mike Bryant seemingly for 1 more year after after having by far the worst season of his career at age 37.  With Dave Dodd in the 2nd year of his 7-year, $175M dollar contract, the trio would be re-united for one last season.

Wearing a D-Bag uniform, the three have combined for 995 home runs and sit 1st, 2nd and 4th in D-Bags history.  Doyle would need 20 home runs to pass Kisuki and take over 3rd on the list.  What's even more interesting is the trio sits 3rd, 4th and 5th on the all time HR list, which historically speaking is something we have never seen before.  1282 career HR out of just the 3 of them.  

We are into May and they haven't been in the same lineup yet.  An early season fractured finger from Doyle kept him out of the lineup for the first couple weeks.  When he was able to come back, Bryant was stuck on the shelf with a hamstring strain.  They were finally all healthy for 1 game when Dodd missed a week with neck spasms.  Now they are all healthy again, Manager Carlos Uribe has said he would like to see them all starting for at least a game.

While Dodd is still in his prime but starting to age at 32, this is almost the end of an era for Jersey Shore.  Bryant has been a staple in the lineup for 12+ years.  Doyle a top prospect and a star with a late homecoming.  The future pieces are already in Jersey, but for fans this year represents one last chance for the old crew to make a run.  They are still chasing that elusive 1st title.  While Bryant and Doyle probably won't have nearly the impact they once had, it should be a fun summer for fans and a last chance to see these stars play together.

GO D-BAGS

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

BSA Hits Mid-Summer Classic; Bags Send 6 Players

We reached the unofficial halfway point of the 2017 season where the league's stars headed off to Niagara Falls for the 2017 All-Star game.  It comes as no surprise in a season where Jersey has produced the best record in the BSA that they would send more players to the game than they ever had before.  Jersey had set the bar last year sending 5 players but they one upped the 2016 team by sending 6 players this season, including 3 first timers.  

SP Jose Ramos: 8-4, 3.35 ERA.  The young ace of the staff in his first full season in the BSA gets the nod for the first time as an All-Star.  After bursting on the scene last year, Ramos future appears to be very bright.  On the season he also has 3 complete games and his first career shutout coming against Greenville in May.

SP Greg Schaefer: 13-0, 3.07 ERA. It seems it just took Schaefer a little longer to develop than your average BSA player.  Playing in his 6th season in the BSA, Schaefer has gotten better every year reaching his 1st BSA All-Star game at age 27.  At the time of the break he had yet to lose a game, which would eventually be halted after 23 starts, which is the 5th longest streak in BSA history.   

CL Jaime Saenz:  4-1, 29 saves, 1.84 ERA.  In his 2nd year as the Jersey closer, Saenz has been named to his 2nd straight All-Star game.  The flame throwing lefty leads the CL in saves while his 11.83 K/9 is the 2nd best in his career.  He is on pace to shatter his own team saves record of 40 which he set last season.

C Warren Goyer: 26 HR, 73 RBI.  Jersey's starting catcher in his first full season in Jersey after coming over Cleveland in a trade last season is putting up bigger numbers than anyone could have imagined.  His 26 HR put him in a tie atop the CL HR leader-board and puts him in a position to challenge Matt Doyle's team record of 44 which happened in 2015.  Goyer has 4 multi-HR games this season, including a 3-HR game June 26th against Toronto.

2B Mike Bryant:  .311, 19 HR, 68 RBI.  While Bryant isn't re-producing the numbers he put up last season in his triple-crown season, he was still almost a unanimous choice for the starting position at 2B for the CL.  Bryant is in his 4th full season and is making his 4th All-Star appearance.  He is one of 27 players all time to be selected to the Mid-Summer classic 4 or more times.  Bryant passed the 150 HR mark this season and will surpass 1000 hits sometime early next season.  He leads the franchise in both categories.

DH Matt Doyle: .309, 24 HR, 84 RBI.  For the 3rd straight year Doyle will be headed to the All-Star game and first time as a DH.  With Alberto Perez manning 1B for much of the season Doyle has been solely used for his bat, which he doesn't seem to mind.  At the time of the break Doyle was leading the CL in RBI with 84 and on pace for his 4th straight 100 RBI season.  Doyle should hit the 150 HR mark at 500 RBI mark later this season.

GO D-BAGS

June In Review; D-Bags Coast to Best Month in Team History

After two 20- win months to start the season people were ready for the "new season" shine to wear off.  Waiting for Jersey Shore to fall back with the pack.  The team apparently wasn't ready for that.  For the 3rd straight month the team won 20 games and in the end it turned into the best month in team history.  The Bags compiled a 24-4 record, which included a team record 18-game win streak and on July 1st puts Jersey up 9 games even on 2nd place Greenville not only for the division but also the best record in the BSA.  The team continues to click on all cylinders, Top 2 in batting average, runs scored, ERA, runs allowed and defesive efficiency.

Players of the Month

1B/DH Matt Doyle: .384/.465/.705  10 HR 35 RBI  43 H  26 R.  Why not start out with the BSA CL Player of the Month as one of our players of the month?  After struggling through April, Doyle showed us why he is.....Matt Doyle.  He had 14 multi-hit games, including back to back multi-HR games against Toronto, the 2nd being his 2nd 5 hit game of his career.  He also hit 2 HR and knocked in 6 runs in that contest.  Surprisingly this was the first time Doyle has been awarded the CL award for Batter of the Month in his short, but great, 4 year career.

C Warren Goyer: .280/.333/.731  13 HR  33 RBI 20 R.  If a player not named Doyle was going to win Batter of the Month, it probably would have been Goyer.  He played in 24 games and hit 13 HR, which as far as I can tell is a Jersey record, breaking the previous record of 12 set on several different occasions.  Goyer was named Player of the Week in the CL for the first week of June, which was the first honor of it's kind for Goyer in his career.  His best game of the month came against Toronto where he had his first career 3 HR game, had 4 hits, scored 4 runs and knocked in 7.

MR Jose Ruiz: 4-0, 1.20 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 15IP, 20K.  The 24 year old Ruiz keeps getting better.  Not only this season but in his career as well.  He posted his best month of 2017 while his stats across the board are the best in his career.  Those numbers include ERA, WHIP, K/9, BB/9, K/BB, H/9 and HR/9.  He seems to be on track to be another great reliever in the Jersey system.

MR Lucio Tapia: 3-0, 0.60 ERA, 0.93 ERA, 15IP, 13K.  If anyone in the middle innings was better in June than Ruiz, it was Tapia.  Allowing only 8 hits and 1 ER in 15 innings helped bridged the gap in a month where starting pitching wasn't THAT good. Tapia in his 7th year in the Jersey bullpen is currently posting the 2nd lowest ERA in his career and lowest WHIP.  This is the 5th season where he has won at least 6 games. For his Jersey Shore career he posts a 36-11  record.

CL Jaime Saenz: 3-0, 9 saves, 0.48 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 30 K.  Why not save the best for last?  Saenz won the CL Pitcher of the Month for June and well deserved.  He as virtually unhittable.  After a blip against Madison early in the month he went on a streak of 15 shutout innings giving up 9 hits and walking 3 in those innings.  His 25 saves as of July 1st lead the CL.  After having the lowest K/9 rate in his career last year, he has come back this year with a bang averaging a career high 12.49 K/9.

Questions, Answers and Concerns:
We asked this question last month, but what else is there to say?  How many concerns can you have when the team is playing at such a high level?  Towards the middle of the month leadoff man Peter Larson sprained a hamstring playing the outfield and missed the rest of the month.  After rehab we expect him back towards the end of July.  It's not the first time in his career he has been injured, but he has been relatively healthy over the last 2 seasons.  Towards the end of the month of the 27th the outfield took another blow as Jose Ortiz strained his oblique making a sliding catch in the gap against the Titans.  At first he seemed to be fine but was taken out of the game.  He is expected to miss about 5 more weeks which will put him back on the team sometime in August.  Expect to see Al Ryan and/or Taro Kino in the coming weeks.  Ryan has been up since Larson got injured and has played well in his absence.

I would say this is a perfect chance for Top Prospect Fransisco Ibarra to make his debut but he is also shelved on the DL with tendinitis in his right knee.  Updating the injury front, SP Art Ellis still remains 7 or so weeks out until he will start a throwing program and head for rehab.

The Bags made a trade that went on with little publicity trading for the often troubled SP Drew "Onion" Schaefer formally of the Niagara Falls Frenzy.  Scouts still see him as having very talented but at age 26 time is running out for him to perform.  Before coming to Jersey he posted a 2-11 record with a 7.69 ERA in 18 starts and having a WHIP above 2.  In his only Jersey start for the month he was crushed by Toronto, being pulled in the 4th inning giving up 7 ER on 6 hits and 7 BB.  With such a big lead Jersey may be able to be patient with him and see if he can mature and learn something playing with many veterans on the Jersey staff.

Even though Schaefer was struggling doesn't mean he was cheap.  Jersey gave up promising 20 year old OF Guillermo Sanchez who Jersey's scout has rated 4* and learning CF for the past 2 seasons.  Also leaving Jersey was 21 year old MR Ruben Rojas who was having a good year at A ball Manhattan.  Rojas has an explosive arm and can hit 100 MPH on a good day, but with Jersey's MR depth he was far down on the list.    Also leaving was 22 year old Jesus Herrera.  Hererra isn't the most naturally gifted player, but with top speed and above average contact he had been a terror in AAA this season, hitting over .400 with Tuscaloosa and winning May's Minor League Player of the Month for Jersey.  He project's as a 3rd-4th OF.

Minor League Players of the Month
Pitcher
SP Victor Rivera (A): 4-0, 1.60 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 33.2 IP, 47 K.  At 19, Rivera is starting to show up on scout's radars.  He is hitting 99-100 MPH with his fastball, something we have never seen before. His 12.05 K/9 is 4th in the Midwest league for SP and the only pitchers ahead of him are 29, 30 and 30 years old.  He posts a record of 8-4 and is coming off a 15 K game, which was only the 5th of it's kind in Midwest League history.  Don't be shocked to see him get moved up to AA in the coming weeks.


Hitter
OF Fransisco Calderon (AAA):  .407/.490/.889.  10 HR, 32 RBI, 33 H, 24 R.  Calderon, just 22 years old, has always had that power, well....according to scouts.  Before last season the highest amount of HR he
had hit in a season was 7.  Between AA and AAA last year he hit 20.  Through 3 months in 2017 he already has 19.  The plus speed OF from Cuban was originally discovered by Greenville.  He spent a month with the LA organization before being released in Feb 2013 before signing with Jersey.  With his new found power, top speed and above average OF skills we might just see him in Jersey  in the coming  months.

July is a month where Jersey plays 16 of their 25 games at home, but will see teams Vista, Greenville, Austin, Chicago and Orlando.  Not the easiest schedule.  If the Bags can hold their lead on the 84er's through the month the Bags could be on their way to their first division title in the franchise's history.  We hate to be to optomistic but with a lead of almost 20 games over the first WC team, we have good inclination that the Bags will reach the playoffs for the 3rd straight year.

GO D-BAGS

Jersey Shore 2017 Amatuer Draft

July 1st rolled around in this 2017 season and took it's eyes off of the D-Bags league best record and turned to the league's first year player draft, or know as the Rule IV draft. For the first time in a few years Jersey would have no supplemental picks and would have 10 players in 10 rounds of the draft.  Much like last year Jersey drafted a heavy pitching class with 4 of their 5 picks being young arms to add to their farm system.

Round 1
SP Roland Martin - Temiskaming District Secondary School - With the 32nd overall pick the D-Bags were 
ecstatic when Martin fell to them. GM Josh Swain said afterwards they had him in their overall Top 10 and finding a quality High School arm that late was a great start for the ballclub.  Martin pitched 3 seasons at TDSS compiling just a 9-4 record in 25 starts, striking out 185 batters in 149 IP, leaving school with a 4.09 ERA. The D-Bags seem to be more excited about the under the surface statistics.  The 2.37 FIP he carried for his 3 year career and the 11.12 K/9 to go along with the 4.87 K/BB.  Jersey's plan is to help him establish an "out" pitch and continue to add to the pristine control he has shown in High School.  When and if he is signed, he will report to A ball Manhattan.

Round 2
CL John Charles - University of Minnesota - 102nd overall pick, 2nd round.  The Bags again went pitching but this time went the relief route.  Charles had originally been drafted by the Boston Rebels in 2014 draft but they failed to sign him and continued on to UMN to play 3 years. Over the past 3 years he has been one
of the best closers in the college ranks going 6-2 with 41 saves.  He struck out an astonishing 131 batters in just 70 IP while carrying a 2.19 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. This isn't the first time Jersey has drafted out of the UMN.  In 2015 they slected Fabrice Brodeur with their first round pick.  Brodeur currently is playing for Jersey's AAA affiliate in Tuscaloosa.

Round 3
1B Antonio Enriquez - Masconomet High School - 150th overall, Round 3.  Jersey picked their only bat in the first 5 rounds going with switch hitting 1B Enriquez. not your prototypical 1B as he lacks power, but he
does have above average contact and rarely strikes out.  He is more of a station to station type runner with slow speed and lacks much defense but his ability to get on base doesn't go over looked.  In his 4 year HS career he hit .427, had an OBP of .496 and a career OPS of 1.115.  He only amassed 12 HR and 26 2B in 344 AB, but had a better than 1:1 K/BB ratio as well.  It will be interesting to see how he adapts to pitching at higher levels.



Round 4
SP Matt McGinnity - John Jay High School - 187th Overall, Round 4.  Picking in the 4th round, Jersey selected their 2nd HS starter of the draft in McGinnity from Waterville, New York. McGinnity here is an interesting pick seeing his track record over his career and a big let down his final season.  Most teams had
him slated as a MR, but the reason he slipped into the 4th could be because of the changeup he has tried to evolve over the past year.  He throws an above average cutter and slider while hitting the mid-90's.  Even if he doesn't succeed into becoming a professional starter, he may have a future as a reliever.


Round 5
SP Antonio Pereira - University of Cincinnati - 215th overall, Round 5.  Jersey seemed to get a steal here in Round 5 and we are surprised both of their round 3 and 4 picks were taken over Pereira.  He was the ace
of the Bearcats staff last year going 4-2, having a crazy 0.92 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, giving up 1 HR ans striking out 65 batters in 58.2 IP.  Control isn't his best attribute, but improved on it greatly from junior to senior season.  With 3 decent pitchers and a ground-ball percentage of 74%, he certainly has a chance of reaching the next level if he can improve on his control. 

Even in a very deep draft once you get to the bottom the players tend to fall off.  That's what happened in this draft between rounds 6-10.  

Round 6 - RF Miguel Vallejo - 3rd time he has been drafted.  24 year with little hitting upside. Plays above average defense and has elite speed.
Round 7 - LF Steve Jennings - Speedy OF out of Georgia Tech.  Has tools to be elite defender.  Hit .354 in his senior season, if he improves he could pan out to be a 4th OF type.
Round 8 - RF Josh Boyer - 25 year old. At one point he could have made a decent player, but being drafted 3 other times besides this one and not playing over 3 years has diminished his skills.
Round 9 - Util Todd Ross - 25 year old.  Another 4th time draftee, first time out of the 3rd round.  Plays all IF positions well, elite speed, not much with the bat.  Could stick on for awhile as a defensive specialist.
Round 10 - 1B George Young - 25 year old.  A trend of taking older draftees late in the draft.  Previously drafted by LA, POC and JAK.  Doesn't have much upside in any area besides a slick glove at 1B.

Well there's the class of folks.  A top heavy young class of high school players and a late half of players who should be in AAA right now but never will get a chance. We will see how the first 1-2 round picks go as Jersey has had an excellent track record of drafting BSA quality talent in those rounds.

GO D-BAGS

Jersey Shore May 2017 In Review

Jersey enjoyed it's 2nd hot month of the season coming into May with a BSA best 20-6 and May with a BSA best 40-15.  The club's 2nd 20 win month is a first for them, never had they won 20+ games more than once in a season.  A mixture of stars and youngsters led to this record which puts Jersey up 7 games in the CL East after just 2 months of play.  

Players of the Month

SP Jose Ramos: 5 GS, 4-1, 1.91 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 20K, 6 BB, 42.1 IP.  The stud, the phenom, the future of the Jersey Shore pitching staff.  Ramos came off his week injury to dominate in the month of May.  Maybe most was his performance against Jersey rival Greenville, where Ramos pitched his first complete game shutout, holding the 84's to just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8.  Plan to see Ramos on POTM many more times before his career is over.

SP Greg Schaefer: 6 GS, 6-0, 3.12 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 35K, 40.1 IP.  If you picked Schaefer to lead the league in wins after 2 months, raise your hand.  At 10-0 he has 1/4 of the D-Bags wins this year and continues to impress.  Schaefer was also named the CL Pitcher of the Month for month of May, his first such accolade. Though his fip of 4.24 isn't THAT impressive, it would be his best season in the BSA.

MR Jose Gomes: 1-0, 1 save, 23.0 IP, 1.17 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 34K.  Gomes demonstrated why he is one of the best set up men in the league and runner up for the CL Reliever of the Year last year.  He absolutely dominated in May, appearing in 17 of the teams 26 games.  2 of the 3 ER he allowed all season were allowed on the last game he pitched in May as well. 

LF Fransisco Torres: .337/.462/.495.  2 HR, 14 RBI, 19 BB, 4 SB.  Torres is going from rookie to staple in the Jersey lineup.  The speedy 22 year old had his second straight great month hitting the ball over all the yard and putting him squarely in ROY consideration.  For his outstanding play, he was named the CL Rookie of the Month for May.

SS Lawrence Schroeder: .307/.363/.430.  The 2nd year player and former 1st round pick is finally getting comfortable in his sophmore season after a breakout rookie season a year ago.  While the power he displayed last year hasn't come into play yet, the rest of his play has.  He led the BSA in doubles with 12, while scoring 17 times and knocking in 11 runs out of the 2 hole in the Jersey lineup.

C Warren Goyer: .301/.377/.602.  7 HR, 22 RBI.  Who led the D-Bags in HR and RBI in May? Bryant? Doyle? Dodd?  Nope, it was Mr. Goyer.  After struggling with the stick in April to the tune of a .195 average, he lit up May.  His feats include HR in 3 straight games during the middle of the month and his first multi-HR game coming on the last day in May where he drove in 5 runs in a 10-4 drubbing of the Browns.

Question, Concerns and Answers

For what it's worth May was a quiet month for roster moves for Jersey.  Ramos was activated on the 11th and rookie Yin-Zhen Zong was sent down, getting just 4.1 IP for the Bags.  Backup backstop Albert Lopez was given a  2 year extension which pretty much says he will remain the team's backup through his 31st birthday.  With no viable catchers in the minor leagues close to getting to Jersey this come as no surprise.

A couple of players continue to dominate down in AAA, but until the ship turns for Jersey or we see injuries (knock on wood) nothing seems imminent at this point.  

Minor Leaguers of the Month 

Pitcher

CL Angel Lara (AAA): 16.1 IP, 1-0, 9 saves.  5 BB, 21 K.  Lara, who many think is the closer of the future for the D-Bags certainly pitched like he wants the future job.  Not only did he only allow 2 ER all month long, he was also named the ITL Pitcher of the Month for May.  It marks the first time Jersey has had players at 2 different levels win Pitcher of the Month in same month.  Lara is surely a guy we might see in Jersey at some point this season.

Hitter

CF Fransisco Ibarra (AAA):  108 AB, 38 hits, 13 HR, 48 RBI, 22 BB, .361/.466/.796.  I think Ibarra felt robbed when we gave his team Martel the POTM for May.  He absolutely CRUSHED the ball in May.  13 HR and 48 RBI in just 27 games.  He is certainly the CF of the future for the D-Bags but how long can GM Josh Swain ignore what he is producing in AAA? In 53 games through May 31st he has 18 HR and 77 RBI, ridiculous. 

Dan Macias Hits Milestone; Wins 150th

It was a windy night in Indianapolis and even though he wasn't nearly as sharp as the 8 shutout innings he threw in Seattle 5 days prior for win #149, Dan Macias lasted into the 7th inning and was backed by 12 runs from the Jersey offense to win for the 150th time in his career.  The gutsy 36 year old veteran became only the 5th pitcher in BSA history to reach that mark.  He joins Alfredo Aicon as the 2nd hurler to hit the 150 mark this season.

Macias pitching in his 4th season in Jersey, won his 52nd game in  D-Bags uniform which puts him 2nd all time for the franchise in wins.  Jersey is Macias's 4th team in his 11 year career which dates back to 2007 before the modern BSA times.  He has won double digit games 9 times, topping out at 20 wins in 2014, his first season with Jersey.  Macias has publicly stated he would like to stay in Jersey and finish his career but management has been leery to give him an extension after seeing his production go down for the 4th straight year.  Macias has obviously lost some velocity but still is a decent option at SP.  This season Macias is 5-3 in 11 starts with a 4.66 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.  He will turn 37 at the tail end of this season.

The pitchers to reach 150 wins ahead of Macias are, Scott Hill (195 wins), Jean-Thomas Francoeur (158), Ricky Bolden (157) and Alfredo Aicon (156).  The next 3 pitchers to more than likely reach the milestone are John Garrett (140), Earl Harper (137) and Fransisco Rivera (133). 

Macias's career line is 150-96 in 322 career starts.  He has a 3.58 ERA to go with a 1.20 WHIP and has struck out 1879 batters in his career.  If he can strike out 121 more batters this season he would be the 5th pitcher to also reach the 2000 K club.   

Updating The Enigma; Jerry Burgess

Though it has only been 4 starts since this blog questioned Jerry Burgess we feel the need to update.  Last season and his first 3 starts had trended towards the worse case scenario for the D-Bags who gave him a large extension just the off season before.  We don't know if our article provided him with incentive to get it going, but since then he has been one of the best pitcher's in baseball.

He has started 4 times, twice at home and twice on the road.  Pitching against Chicago, Baffin, Madison and Reno.  In that time span he is 4-0.  Every start he has gone at least 6.2 IP and walked 3 or less batters in each appearance.  The walks, or lack thereof, are a sign of relief where Burgess has really shined is giving up hits.  He allowed just 2 hits in 3 of those starts with the other being 4 hits to Madison.  

At time of article being written: ERA 5.82, K/BB ratio of 1, WHIP 1.94.

Line of his 4 starts during the last 3+ weeks.  4GS, 4-0, 27.2IP, 10H, 11BB, 28K, 1.32  ERA, 0.77WHIP.

What has changed in Burgess we cannot tell you.  He is not getting hit and he is not walking batters.  For the season his H/9 sits out an extremely low 5.24 which is over 3 hits less per 9 than his career average, and at that current pace he would set the BSA record for fewest hits per 9 over a season.  We don't expect that to continue or his subliminally low 1.32 ERA over the past 4 starts, but after what we had seen out of Burgess over the past 9+ months this is a very welcome sign.

Burgess for the season: 7GS, 6-0, 44.2IP, 44K. 1HR, 3.02 ERA, 1.19 WHIP.  Not too shabby of a guy that many considered as the odd man out of the rotation before the season even started.  We will continue our Burgess watch as the season progresses. 

Jerry Burgess and the Lost Art of Control

There are several interesting facts, facets, statistics, metrics and situations within the game of baseball.  One of the basics is throwing.  Hitting a target.  Control.  The ability to throw a baseball accurately from one point to another.  Most players, especially pitchers, don't have a big problem with this.  If they do, they usually don't last long enough to be drafted and paid money to do so.  This is a story of a man, an enigma, something I cannot explain.  A story of virtue and intrigue and frustration.  A story where the ending is still untold.  The story of Jerry Burgess.  The story of control lost.  

Let me start this story by saying that Jerry Burgess was never and will never be an elite master in the art of control.  He is no Scott Hill, Man-Rod, Aicon, Bolden, Paradis or JTF.  Burgess was merely your average pitcher when it came to control.  He had average control for a starting pitcher, but with his electric stuff coming from 4 above average pitches and decent movement made him an upper echelon starting pitcher.  

This was apparent when he played his college ball at the University of Texas, was drafted in the 1st round and found his way to Madison via the BSA inaugural draft and made their club during the 2011 season.  In college he averaged 2.19 BB/9 innings which is very good.  Moving to A ball during the 2009 season he was striking out 10+ batters while keeping those walks down.  A similar BB/9 rate to college of 2.30 helped him move to AA that same season.  Moving to AAA he started walking more batters, but scouts say that was due to facing better hitters and keeping the rate below 3 was probably unattainable for a pitcher like him.  He spent 2010 in AAA before making his Major League debut in 2011 for Madison.

From 2012 to the middle of the 2015 season he would play for 4 different teams.  Madison would trade him to Hendersonville before the 2013 season where he would win a championship.  During the 2014 season the Hitmen would send him to El Paso in the famous Yokoyama trade.  He would spend nearly 1 year in El Paso before being traded to Jersey Shore.  During his first half year with El Paso he posted great numbers, he was the team's ace.  He won 10 games in 15 starts, but things started to change that 2nd year in Texas.  He struggled badly in 17 starts for the Diablos in 2015.  He went 2-6, posted an ERA of 5.56 and his control started flailing.  He walked 53 batters in 102.3 innings and an up til then career worst of only 1.68 K/BB.  Being an upcoming FA and Jersey making a play at the playoffs, El Paso dealt him for prospects and this seemed to calm him down......for not.

He turned around his 2015 season, winning 7 games in 15 starts, nearly doubling that K/BB ratio, all the up to 3.48.  He also had 2 key victories for the D-Bags in the playoffs and almost pitched them to a World Series title in Game 7 of the BSA World Series.  Jersey gave him a fat contract extension in 45 million dollars over 5 years.  We have heard rumors of alcohol, affairs, even a run in or two with the law since that off-season.  Nothing is documented, but when 2016 came around, the 29 year old Burgess who should be in his prime was.....different.  He started out walking more batters.  He was striking out similar hitters, giving up similar amount of hits, but the walks were killing him.

It was his 2nd start of the season when he would tie a CL record for walking 9 batters in a game on April 17th.  Jersey kept with him until nearly the All-Star break before finally sending him to the bullpen.  He finished the season getting 22 starts, walking a career high 91 batters in just 128.1 innings pitched.  Good for 6.38 BB/9, which was over 2 more than his career average.  What do you do with a pitcher who has seemed to have lost control and is owed 37 million over the next 4 years?  Jersey put on flyers with no takers so he returned to the team for the 2017 season.  With Art Ellis going out for the season during spring training it thrust Burgess back into the rotation.

Thus far in 2017 Burgess has received 3 starts.  The good news is that he has compiled a 2-0 record.  The bad news is in his 2nd start he tied his record for 9 BB in a game and currently has 16 walks and 16 strikeouts in 17 innings pitched and a WHIP of nearly 2.  This is on the verge of being ridiculous.  How does one simply lose control in the prime of his career?  Can you regain control?  Can he be trusted?  Jersey will have to make a decision weather Burgess can make steps to being a competent pitcher again.  For now Jersey plans to run him out in the 5th SP slot, simply because they don't have better options, but the time might come where anyone will be a better option.  

Fellow owner JJ Hoban had this to say about Burgess, "Burgess is the epitome of a good system. Many people will look back and wonder what could have been. He had once been looked at as a Ace, though many years of bad decisions not only led to Burgess losing control of his love, and social life, but also control of his pitches. Much of this can be attributed to the spiral of depression Jerry went through when he learned he was being traded to El Paso. Burgess was ready to set up a life in Tennessee when he heard the news, and shortly after a long legal battle with his wife ensued for his money and their daughter. Jerry was arrested later that year after being caught with an escort while in San Antonio on vacation. Jersey offered him what looks to be his last chance at a title and career. Jerry is no longer feared on the mound, and is just barely hanging onto his spot in the rotation, but through all this he remains upbeat that he will achieve his dream of a championship."

The art of control.  Getting the ball from point-a to point-b.  Such a simple thing to do....or is it?

GO D-BAGS