The Baysox host the slumping Erie Seawolves for a three-game series from Tuesday, May 13 to Thursday, May 15.
Tuesday, May 13 – 7:05 p.m. RHP David Hernandez (PERA 4.03) vs. RHP Andrew Kown (7.22)
Wednesday, May 14 – 7:05 p.m. RHP Jason Berken (3.30) vs. LHP Danny Christensen (4.74)
Thursday, May 15 – 11:05 a.m. RHP Chris Tillman (2.66) vs. RHP Josh Rainwater (5.62)
The Seawolves have lost seven straight and 12 of their last 13, after being second place in the Eastern League Southern Division as late as May 2.
The Seawolves season is epitomized by toolsy/raw left fielder Wilkin Ramirez (.306 EqA). Ramirez is second in the EL with eight home runs and a .599 slugging percentage, but first in strikeouts with 44 (against only eight unintentional walks).
Wilkin Ramirez (milb.com)
In April, Ramirez had a 1.012 OPS in 100 ABs. Through 33 ABs in May his OPS is .702. That’s only surprising until you notice his April BABIP was an unsustainable .429. (It’s .360 in May, so he could have further to fall.)
What Ramirez and his teammates have done well is steal bases. The Seawolves lead the league with 55 steals and have only be caught on 27.3% of their attempts.
Erie skipper Tom Brookens and pitching coach Ray Burris switched to a six-man rotation in early May. No staff in the EL has given up more hits (349) and posted fewer Ks (161). Still, at least the Seawolves are looking for answers.
Seawolves fans would like to see the 2007 draft’s to high school pitcher Rick Porcello, who is currently at high A Lakeland. This seems interesting at first, but doesn’t bear scrutiny.
Sure, Porcello has a 1.74 ERA and 0.99 WHIP in 41.3 innings. But his defense-independent ERA is 3.00, he’s rarely pitched past the fifth (only 2.3 total innings in the sixth through eight starts), and his 5.01 K/9 is really low for someone with three plus pitches.
None of this is very good news for Seawolves fans, but the Baysox faithful should enjoy some high-scoring games with plenty of Ks this week.
