With the first half now over for the three teams who play in halves, all of them missed the playoffs in the first half.
Louisville Bats: 42-32 overall, 367 runs scored, 329 runs allowed.
The Bats are second in the West Division, 8.5 games back. They do however lead the wildcard standings by 3 games over two teams. The offense is still going strong with Juan Francisco, Zack Cozart, Yonder Alonso, Todd Frazier and Danny Dorn all over the .825 OPS mark on the season. Jeremy Hermida (.934), Dave Sappelt (.938) and Devin Mesoraco (.950) are the anchors of the offense that ranks second in the league in runs scored. Mesoraco leads the league in OPS, while Hermida ranks 3rd (Sappelt would be 3rd if he qualified). Since coming off of the DL Dontrelle Willis has thrown 18 innings of 2.00 ERA baseball with 17 strikeouts and 5 walks. Daryl Thompson has thrown 22.1 innings since June began for the Bats with a 2.42 ERA with 5 walks and 25 strikeouts. The Bats play a full season to qualify for the playoffs unlike the other teams which play two halves and can qualify in either half.
Carolina Mudcats: 23-47 overall, 288 runs scored, 375 runs allowed.
The first half is over for the Mudcats and I have to imagine that it will be a big relief to start over with a clean slate. Offensivley, only Mike Costanzo (.883) was able to OPS over .780 in the first half for the Mudcats. On the pitching side of things the only remaining pitcher who has been good from the start has been Brad Boxberger, who was the teams lone All Star selection (though I imagine had Nick Christiani been in the league still he would have been a selection). Boxberger has a 1.48 ERA in 30.1 innings with 13 walks and 50 strikeouts. Donnie Joseph may have begun to turn things around after struggling for most of the season. He has not allowed a run in his last 9 games, spanning 8.2 innings and the entire month of June. Some recent promotions from Bakersfield could lead to a stronger second half than the first half.
Bakersfield Blaze: 35-35 overall, 399 runs scored, 415 runs allowed.
The Blaze failed to make the playoffs in the first half, finishing 15.5 games back and in third place of the North Division and 3 games back in the wildcard standings. The offense in the first half was led by a foursome of Eric Campbell (1.121 OPS), Stephen Hunt (.953 OPS), Yasmani Grandal (.920 OPS) and Henry Rodriguez (.891 OPS). Clayton Shunick has been strong out of the bullpen for the Blaze with a 1.60 ERA in 33.2 innings. Mace Thurman has a 3.41 ERA in 34.1 innings out of the bullpen. Mark Serrano has only made 4 starts this season since coming off of the DL, but his 3.80 ERA leads the way for starters.
Dayton Dragons: 35-35 overall, 296 runs scored, 288 runs allowed.
The Dragons failed to make the playoffs in the first half after finishing 6 games back in the Eastern Division and 4.5 games back in the Wild Card. David Vidal led the team in OPS in the first half of the season with an .804 mark. Dominic D’Anna was the teams only offensive All Star after hitting .277/.380/.402. Catcher Tucker Barnhart was a big time snub from the game after being arguably the best defensive catcher in the league while also hitting .276/.358/.401. The young trio of Yorman Rodriguez, Billy Hamilton and Juan Duran all had their struggles, but also were all able to show some flashes of the underlying talent. The pitching was the strong point for the Dragons in the first half. Josh Smith and Daniel Corcino absolutely dominated the league in the first half. Smith posted a 1.59 ERA in 73.2 innings with 14 walks and 91 strikeouts. Corcino posted a 2.53 ERA with 14 walks and 81 strikeouts in 67.2 innings pitched. The bullpen has Drew Hayes posting a 1.20 ERA in 30 innings with 47 strikeouts. Daniel Wolford, Jamie Walczak and Blaine Howell all have ERA’s under 3.00. Ezequiel Infante, Jason Braun, Pat Doyle and Chad Rogers all had ERA’s under 3.50.