July 28, 2020

Tempe, Arizona

Overview:

The 2020 PEBA baseball season couldn’t have started out any worse for the Knights. The started out the season with a 4-19 record for April. Then followed it up with month records of 13-16 in May, 10-17 in June and 4-7 in the first half of July. The Knights hitting is a little off from last year and the Bullpen is stronger. But Tempe’s starting pitching remains to be a serious issue. One that could be a major problem for years to come unless someone steps up for the Knights. Unfortunately nobody has at this point.

The Starting Pitching:

#1 Starting Pitcher Kenny Ashley started the season as the anchor for the staff, but struggled early and often. After posting a 1-7 record with a 8.79 ERA the 24 year old left hander was sent down to AAA Chandler to work on his mechanics. He spent 4 starts down on the Waxers farm. He was 2-0 with a 1.95 ERA. Then after being called up, for the most part is showing why the Knights had him in the number one spot in the rotation. He rebounded with a 3-1 record and a 2.61 ERA since coming back to the big show.

#2 Starting Pitcher George Lee is 5-12 with a 4.83 ERA. The 24 year old right hander from the University of Memphis has steadily showing progress and if he continues he should be a solid pitcher in the Knights rotation in the next couple of years. His first year up to the majors in 2018 at the tender age of 21, Lee had a 5-8 record with a 4.91 ERA. In 2019 he went 4-10 and a 6.16 ERA. But so far this year he has bounced back and is working hard to get that ERA down into the 3’s or low 4’s. The kid has a lot of potential and hopefully will turn the corner in the next year or two.

#3 Starting Pitcher was 25 year old right hander Gerardo Soto, who was one of the players acquired in the Clayton Lewis trade with the Nutmeggers. The Tempe ownership has been regretting the trade since Lewis has been tearing it up since. But the trade wasn’t all about Soto. It also involved a promising young pitcher down in Chandler. But we will get to him later. Soto so far this year has been a disappointment. After a 3-12 record and a 6.51 ERA he was sent down to AAA for some work. The Knights are hoping to get the same results from Soto’s work down there as Ashley has done so far. But so far Soto is struggling in Chandler as well.

The rest of the starters for Tempe have been a miserable display of pitchers. Not that those already mentioned have anything to smile about either. 29 year old left hander Jamie Salinas is 4-12 and a 7.45 ERA. He doesn’t belong in the bigs at the moment but the Knights organization has no where to put him. Word out of the Tempe camp is that him and others could be released by the winter meetings. Tomas Medina is an interesting Jekle and Hyde story. The 27 year old Mexican right hander was stinking it up in the pen. So as Soto was being sent down the Knights brass decided to try him out as a starter rather than call up a young arm who wasn’t ready to make the jump yet. Medina started out winning his first 3 starts while only giving up 6 runs total. Including a 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 k performance at Palm Springs. He’s been up and down since then but has pitched better than expected.

The Bullpen:

Closer 26 year old Raul Cruz leads a much better bullpen than last year. The right hander from Southern Miss has pitched lights out thus far. He’s adapted well in the closer role and the Knights hope he anchors their bullpen for years to come.  Cruz is 3-2, 15 S, 1 BS, 34.1 IP, 22 H, 14 BB, 50 K, 1.31 ERA, 1.05 WHIP. 26 year old Jose Paz is the right handed set up man. He came over from Crystal Falls in the Matt Carter trade. Although Tempe has missed Carters power at the plate and glove in the OF, Paz strengthens the late role section of the bullpen. Paz is 2-0, 39.2 IP, 34 H, 13 BB, 42 K, 3.18 ERA, 1.18 WHIP. 24 year old rookie Luis Puente is in the left handed set up role. He’s pitched very well as a rookie and considering the role he jumped into. He has had a couple of heecups this season which has askewed his numbers some. But the Knight office is very happy with him thus far. He is 2-2, 27.1 IP, 36 H, 15 BB, 24 K, 4.61 ERA, 1.87 WHIP. That takes care of the “Drama Pitchers”. Now on to the work horses. The guys that get no credit but plenty of blame when they don’t pitch good. Heading up the middle relievers is last years closer 34 year old right hander Dominic Belanger. Tempe was hoping to get more out of the vetern but maybe the change hasn’t done him good yet. He is 2-0, 56.0 IP, 53 H, 24 BB, 53 K, 4.66 ERA, 1.38 WHIP. Which brings us to 21 year old(k maybe a slight exaggeration) GM Rory Collins’ favorite player, 29 year old left hander from China Li-Ben Zhao. He goes about his business, does everything that is asked of him, does it well and is quietly over looked by the media. He is following up a good 2019 season where he was thrown into the relievers roll due to injuries and earned himself a job. He’s pitched very well thus far this season and is 0-0, 52.2 IP, 54 H, 34 BB, 35 K, 3.59 ERA, 1.67 WHIP. If he could cut those walks down he’d have the Chinese media flocking all over him. Next is 28 year old left hander Esteban Cuevas. The Tempe brass isn’t sure if he will ever come around. He has loads of potential but hasn’t come up with results as of yet. He is 2-2, 27.0 IP, 53 H, 22 BB, 30 K, 5.17 ERA, 1.60 WHIP. Tempe Manager Jose Mendoza has been talking about giving Cuevas a couple of starts and see how he does. We’ll see how that goes. 25 year old Mark McFarland has been pitching pretty good since removing him from a starters role and placing him in middle relief. Both 26 year old right hander Aurelio Lopez and 24 year old right hander Sergio Tinker are chomping at the bits to get called back up and prove themselves and earn a spot in the pen before the AAA youngsters start swarming the Knights bullpen for spots themselves.

The Lineup:

27 year old 3B Javier Padilla leads the Knights bright spots and one of the reason any fans show up at Knights Stadium. He’s hitting .318, 56 R, 125 H, 28 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 61 RBI so far this season. He.s been playing 1B for the last couple weeks til 27 year old 1B Ken Knight returns from abdominal Strain. Knight was hitting .287 , 4 HR, 43 RBI’s at the half way mark and time of his injury. 27 year old OF Tony Figueroa has battled back from a slow start to the season. he’s now hitting .288, 101 H, 19 2B, 3 3B, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 18 SB. 29 year old Steve Scherer has played solid at 2B and doing a good job in the lead off spot. He’s hitting .280, .333 OBP, 14 SB, 47 Runs scored. 29 year old outfielder Norm Bruce is having another solid year, hitting .287, 106 H, 21 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 36 RBI. The Knights centerfielder 26 year old Gonzalo Juarez who is coming off of a sensational rookie year, is backing it up with a .294, 47 H, 7 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 22 RBI in his 44 games this season. He missed action earlier in the year with a hip strain and a hamstring injury. 29 year old SS Gabriel Lopez has come in to fill the void in the middle infield when starting SS Robert Barraclough went down with a season ending head injury on the last pre-season game of the season. He still has 5-6 months of recovery time to go on a 10 month injury. He still can’t count to 3. 24 year old rookie catcher Bob Turley has played decent behind the plate but not so much when standing next to it. He’s only hitting .227 on the year but does have 7 HR and 36 RBI’s hitting in the 9 hole. Last but not least 26 year old rookie DH/3B Dwight Carver. He has struggled at the plate. He has had flashes of major league material and has hit with some power. But just hasn’t been consistent yet. He is hitting .227, 9 HR 44 RBI in 80 games started.

The Injuries:

7 players on the Knights starting lineup have missed at least 1 week or more this season. The most serious being SS Robert Barraclough. These are the players that have missed action so far this season, OF Tony Figueroa, SS Robert Barraclough, 1B Ken Knight, OF Francisco Ruiz, 2B Alfonso Reyna, OF Gonzalo Juarez, and  RP Myron Mitchell. The minor league affiliates have suffered the same fate. But I won’t bore you listing all those names.

The Farm:

That brings us to the farm. Every crappy major league team have prospects in the minors with hopes of someday lifting the franchise out of the grip of the Kracken who is hold them down in the depths of obscurity. There are several featured pitchers in the Knights organization that could fit that bill. Starting with 24 year old right handed starting pitcher Bartolo Esquivel. Esquivel is the other part of the Clayton Lewis trade with the Connecticut Nutmeggers the could possibly be the gem the Knights were hoping for when they made the trade. Esquivel presently is 8-9, 143.0 IP, 98 H, 63 BB, 168 K, 3.46 ERA, 1.13 WHIP for AAA Chandler. The front office has already informed Esquivel that will be called up for the next spring training to battle for a starting spot in 2021. They want him to finish the year out in Chandler and polish up a few things in preparation for next years competition. The bullpen also has a few exciting prospects for next year. 22 year old right handed reliever Geoff Lawson is ahead of schedule in his climb up the farm ladder. He is 2-2, 19 S, 39.2 IP, 34 H, 22 BB, 38 K, 2.50 ERA, 1.51 WHIP. Although the chances are Tempe might hold him back a year to work on his control, they like what they see in Lawson. 26 year old right handed reliever Bobby Bryant has a good shot to be called up next spring. Although that decision will be made this winter he has a good line that has got the front offices attention. He is 4-1, 38.2 IP, 38 H, 11 BB, 54 K, 2.79 ERA, 1.27 WHIP. Although 22 year old left handed reliever Pablo Mendez may need another year in AAA, he has pitched very well on his climb up the ladder and has also developed well. He is 3-3, 38.2 IP,  33 H, 18 BB, 26 K, 2.56 ERA, 1.32 WHIP. 21 year old right handed reliever Juan Bravo has been scary good. Not just this season in AAA Chandler but all the way up the ladder. Drafted by Tempe in 2015 at the tender age of 16 Bravo has been on top of his game since day one of his pro career. He may also get a shot in 2021. He has developed extremely well and may also get a shot next spring. But the Knights know they have to think long and hard about that decision as they want to make sure he’s ready and not ruin the kids confidence by maybe bring him up too quick. But numbers don’t lie so maybe at least a spring training chance could be his next stop. He is 1-1, 37.2 IP, 26 H, 14 BB, 44 K, 2.63 ERA, 1.06 WHIP.