New York Penn League Notes 7/22/18

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New York Penn League Notes 7/22/18

Another week of great baseball in the books, and things are really starting to get going in the NYPL. Here some of what’s going on.

The hottest team in the league is the Lowell Spinners. This past week they set a franchise record with their eleventh win in a row. In a two and a half week span, the Spinners went from last place in the Stedler division to being tied for first.

There are a couple of reasons for this turnaround. First, the pitching staff has picked it up both in the starting rotation and in the bullpen. When the season began the pen was a bit of a sore spot. The team ERA sits at 3.26 which is fourth in the league. The staff is being led by starter Eduard Bazardo. His record sits at 4-2, with a 2.08 earned run average. His four wins are tied for the league lead, as is his seven starts. He is also tied for the league lead with one complete game, leads the NYPL in strikeouts with 46, and in innings pitched with 39. His WHIP is also the best in the league at 0.74. He is second in a couple of other categories. You get the idea? Bazardo is the leader of this staff.

The same should be said of Jarren Duran, who has become a stats sheet stiffer during this win streak. The best of the numbers that Duran is putting up is in triples, of which he has nine in 33 games. The nine three-baggers tied him for the franchise record with plenty of time to break it.

If there is a win streak, then there must be a losing one as well. The West Virginia Black Bears entered their game on Thursday night with a seven-game losing streak. They would snap that streak with a win over State College at home. The Black Bears sit at 12-21, in last place nine games being the leader in the Pinckney division, Mahoning Valley.

West Virginia entered Thursday night’s contest with the worst team era of 4.96. They have given up the most earned runs in the league at 150. On offense, the team’s batting average of .237 is in the middle of the pack. Cutting down on runs allowed would be a step in the right direction.

Another pitcher who has had the struggles this season is Vermont’s, Rafael Kelly. He finds himself at the top of three lists that most pitchers would like to stay away from at all cost. He leads in run allowed with 28, earned runs allowed at 23, and in home runs allowed with seven. That’s never a good recipe for success.

Mahoning Valleys, Richard Palacios is the leading hitter in the league. He has a batting average of .397, to go along with being tops in on-base percentage at .469, and slugging at .574. His numbers are one of the factors in the Scrappers being third in the league in team batting at .254.

That’s just some of what’s going on, so check back with us next week for more in the New York Penn League.