Photo Credit: MiLB.com
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The Florida State League in Minor League baseball is going into the second half of its season. The 10-team league has six teams in the West Division and four in the East Division. The six in the west are on the west coast of Florida. The other four are on the opposite coast of the state. The organization that won the West Division was the Lakeland Flying Tigers with a record of 38-26, which ended with a five-game winning streak. The East Division was won by the St. Lucie Mets, who finished with a record of 34-31 and on a three-game losing streak. The Clearwater Threshers finished third in the West Division, and at one time during the first half, they were in first place. The team that finished in front of them was the Tampa Bay Tarpons.
The second half of the season has already started, and for the Clearwater Threshers, it has not been a good start. They have gone 2-7, including a six-game losing streak, and have a -22 run differential. Clearwater is currently in last place in the West Division. No matter what, the top three players who lead in batting average are Aroon Escobar, Eduardo Tait, and Avery Owusu-Asiedu. Escobar leads in most offensive categories except at-bats, RBI’s and walks. It was a team effort that got them into third place to end the first half. The best news is that there are a lot of baseball games left, with two full months and six games in September. The only break the league gets coming up is during the MLB All-Star break.
Just the excitement of watching minor league baseball makes it worth going out to the games. The fans of the Clearwater Threshers show up, and they leave their opinion no matter how the team is playing. We know that some of the better players may get promoted to High-A ball, and some of those players get demoted. For most of the first half, Clearwater either won a series or tied. One of the players who got promoted was Avery Owusu-Asiedu, who now plays for the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. The BlueClaws are the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Head coach Marty Malloy will have to come up with a plan for the players who have been promoted and demoted.
The Clearwater Threshers are good enough to get back into the race and make a run in the second half. The league is gearing up for the 4th of July with many different events that all the teams that are hosting series are doing. The Threshers will have a home-and-home series versus the Tampa Bay Tarpons. The first three games of the six will take place in Clearwater, and the second three will be in Tampa. The Tarpons are playing in a different field because the Tampa Bay Rays are playing in their home at Steinbrenner Field. Clearwater needs to get back in the win column, and then the wins can come in bunches just like they did in the first half.
Can the Clearwater Threshers bounce back after a bad start to the second half of the season? Leave a comment below.
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Author Profile
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Bradley Walker serves as the Director of Operations for NGSC Sports, bringing extensive experience across collegiate, professional, and amateur athletics. His coverage spans USF Athletics, including football, baseball, lacrosse, and softball, as well as University of Tampa baseball.
Bradley also provides coverage of minor league baseball with the Clearwater Threshers and Major League Baseball with the Tampa Bay Rays. On the national stage, he covers college football bowl games and conference championship matchups, along with premier golf events across the PGA Tour, LIV Golf, and LPGA Tour.
In addition to his reporting work, Bradley is the play-by-play announcer for Pinellas Park High School Patriots football, lending his voice and insight to Friday night lights.
He is also an active podcast host and contributor, serving as a co-host on the P&W Sports Report and hosting The Walker Report, where he delivers in-depth sports analysis, interviews, and coverage across multiple levels of competition.
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