Buffalo Bisons (31-25, 3 1/2 GB)
-Buffalo is still holding onto second place in the North Division of the International League, tied with Lehigh Valley who are both three and a half games behind Pawtucket for the division lead. The Bison are 0-for-2 in the month of June and 5-5 over their last 10 as they will continue their Ohio road trip in Toledo for the next two before heading t Columbus for four more games.
-Officially the team’s batting leader is Zach Lutz who is hitting .307, tied with Vinny Rottino who is still up with the big club even though he probably won’t be much longer with many of the injured players getting healthy. Val Pascucci is continuing to crush with 11 homers and 37 RBI, both of which lead the team. Also having a solid season is Matt Tuiasosopo who has five home runs and 26 RBI at the age of 26.
-On the mound as we’ve been hearing Matt Harvey has been pitching much better of late having adjusted to the Triple-A level after a bit of a slow start, Harvey is now sporting a 3.94 ERA with a .240 BAA including lefties who are hitting only .207 against him. On the other hand Jeurys Familia has been inconsistent with the Bisons but pitched well by going six innings against Toledo on Friday.
Binghamton Mets (26-27, 5 1/2 GB)
-Binghamton is teetering on the edge as of right now in terms of the Eastern Division in the Eastern League, the team is 5 1/2 games back and in fourth place in the six-team division but the front three teams are pulling away from the rest of the division spearheaded by New Britain with both Trenton and Reading within a game. The B-Mets have two more with Akron at NYSEG Stadium before hitting the road for Harrisburg and Trenton for three-game sets.
-Connecticut-native Eric Campbell is currently leading the team in hitting after batting .314 over his last 10 games to bring his average up to .306. Meanwhile prospect Matt den Dekker is hitting like he is supposed to with a .301 average with eight home runs and 25 RBI, both of which lead the team. Outfielder Juan Lagares hasn’t really hit for average or much power but has driven in 21 runs, while third outfield prospect Pedro Zapata only has 15 RBI through the first two months.
-On the hill, yes Zack Wheeler we’re all getting pumped and excited and we should be especially with his 1.88 ERA and .169 BAA he has only allowed two runs over his last two starts which saw him pitch a combined 15 innings. I think a promotion is in store to AAA-Buffalo, but not until after the MLB Draft this week, and maybe even later such as right around the all-star break. Lost in the hype of Wheeler are the other four starters on the team, Collin McHugh has an ERA of 2.17 while leading the team in 62+ innings, Mark Cohoon is a solid #3, while both Darin Gorski and Gregory Peavey are above four in terms of their ERA, but the pitching has kept this team in the race.
St. Lucie Mets (43-12, 17 GA)
-That is not a typo, this team is 17 games ahead of both Jupiter and Palm Beach which is crazy if you think about it, the people of Port St. Lucie may have been treated to a poor showing with one of the worst teams in spring training but they’re being compensated with this team. The team went 6-1 this week including a doubleheader sweep yesterday over the Tampa Yankees, the team has two more with Tampa before welcoming in Clearwater for four.
-Offensively the team has 11 players with double-figures in terms of RBI and when I say double figures, nine of them have 15+ RBI led by Wilmer Flores and his .318 average with 10 home runs and 34 RBI, Flores may have to flip flop with Reese Havens up at Binghamton who is struggling with a .154 average in terms of Mets’ shortstop prospects. Cory Vaughn despite hitting .236 is second on the team with 26 RBI.
-The pitching has done just as well as no pitcher who has appeared in at least 10 games has an ERA over 4.24 (sorry to call you our Yohan Almonte). Erik Goeddel leads the team with a 2.00 ERA in 36 innings on the mound while Angel Cuan has a 2.41 ERA in 48 2/3 innings while collecting four wins, leading the team in victories at this point is Almonte and Chase Hutchingson as the starter/reliever duo have five wins apiece.
Savannah Sand Gnats (33-22, 5 1/2 GB)
-Savannah is holding onto their playoff hopes with the possibility to still win the first half by being only 5 1/2 games behind Asheville for the lead in the Southern Division in the South Atlantic League. Which makes today’s contest against Greensboro and the next three against division leading Asheville very important and will pretty much decide which direction the team will go as we head towards the midway point of the season.
-Shortstop T.J. Rivera leads the team in hitting at a .330 clip while also hitting seven home runs and 25 RBI, his RBI total places him third on the team behind Aderlin Rodriguez who has 39 and Travis Taijeron with 35. Dustin Lawley is in a race for third, only one RBI behind Rivera. As for the pop? Taijeron and Rodriguez flip flop as Rodriguez trails Taijeron’s 10 home runs by one.
-Just like Binghamton the entire starting rotation at Savannah has an impressive ERA with all five guys below 4.11 with the largest of the five belonging to Domingo Tapia. Michael Fulmer and Alex Panteliodis are both in the mid threes while Tyler Pill and Rafael Montero are both around 2.50 ERAs. Out of the bullpen T.J. Chism has nine saves in 20 games with an ERA of 2.35 and holding opponents to a .198 BAA out of the pen this season.
