The Loons clinched a playoff berth with a win on Thursday
night behind the right arms of Chris Anderson (4 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K) and
Brandon Martinez (3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K). It’s the third playoff berth
in the club’s history.
The team got off to a rough start, losing four of their
first six games and went 11-13 in April. Things got even worse in May, as they
went 7-23 and any hopes of the postseason looked bleak.
Loons’ record by
month
April: 11-13
May: 7-23 (18-36)
June: 18-9 (36-45)
July: 14-14 (50-59)
August: 16-10 (66-69)
Luckily, playoff participants are broken down into first
half and second half records. The Loons went 26-43 in the first half. They’ve
gone 40-26 thus far in the second half, with three more games.
When the season started, the Loons had Corey Seager and a
bunch of young guys or guys repeating the level. Tyle Ogle, Jharel Cotton and
Carlos Frias were Midwest League All-Stars. Cotton and Frias were promoted before
the game, so Ogle was the team’s only representative.
The team got a huge boost from the arrival of then-16-year-old
Julio Urias. I did a double-take when I heard he was making his professional
debut with the Loons. But Urias, despite (rightly) being on a strict innings
limit (75), has pitched like a player well beyond his years.
Urias’ 2013 statistics
18 starts
2-0 W-L
2.48 ERA
1.10 WHIP
7.3 H/9
2.7 BB/9
11.1 K/9
4.19 K/BB
2.87 FIP
These numbers would be impressive for a 20-year-old, but
this is a 16-year-old (turned 17 a few weeks ago) doing this against hitters
about six years older than him on average. Amazing.
The Loons also got a boost from the 2013 MLB Draft class.
The Dodgers’ top three picks began their pro careers with the club -- Anderson,
Tom Windle and Brandon Dixon.
Anderson has a 1.96 ERA in 46 innings while Windle has a
2.77 ERA in 48 2/3 innings. Dixon, unfortunately, hasn’t found his stroke,
hitting just .169/.215/.246 in his first 55 professional games.
Other 2013 draftees to play for the Loons include CraytonBare, Rob Rogers, Thomas Taylor and Brandon Trinkwon.
The pitching has been the story for the Loons, as the
Midwest League isn’t particularly hitter-friendly.
Outside of that trio, the Loons can also throw guys like Zachary
Bird (reigning MWL Pitcher of the Week), Ralston Cash, Brandon Martinez and
Jonathan Martinez for a few innings. The bullpen has been solid this season,
too. Scott Griggs won a Pitcher of the Week honor while Craig Stem was the team’s
closer before being promoted to Rancho Cucamonga.
Pitching wins, but runs also have to be scored. There’s
enough raw talent for the Loons to score, but it remains to be seen if they can
put it all together. James Baldwin has improved as the season progressed. He
may not reach his ultimate ceiling, but he’s a better player now than he was
last year. Aaron Miller has been surprisingly productive making the conversion
from the mound to the batter’s box. Jeremy Rathjen is a lot like Baldwin. He
started out slow but has picked it up as the season moved along.
Outside of Seager’s .309/.389/.529 triple slash, there aren’t
many pretty slash lines on the Loons’ team. And the team will be without the
supremely talented 19-year-old. But guys like those mentioned above and Ogle
need to step up if the Loons want to go far in the MWL playoffs.
The Loons went from a floundering team with not a lot of
talent to the most exciting team with loads of talent in the Dodgers’ farm system.
They nearly did a 180-degree turn, not unlike the parent club. We'll see how they do in the playoffs starting next week.
Photo credits
Urias: Courtesy of the Great Lakes Loons
Anderson: Ali Messick, courtesy of Great Lakes Loons
