With the same caveats as my write-up on Quad Cities, here is my summary of the Creekstros May.
Buies Creek slumped to 13-15 in May after a 16-8 start in April. Losing key contributors like Corbin Martin and Josh Rojas to promotions was only part of the difference, however. Details ...
Catcher: Carlos Canelon caught more than half the games in May as Chuckie Robinson spent time on the DL. Together they hit .195 with only 4 extra base hits and 32 K against 9 BB. And that was a huge improvement over their combined April. Robinson has thrown out 61% of potential base-stealers this year, though, even as his offensive performance has tanked.
Utility: This team has featured two future 'Marwins' ... Osvaldo Duarte (.282/.310/.409 in May) split time equally between LF and SS in May after a nearly equal split between LF and 2B in April. Kristian Trompiz (.200/.288/.215) saw time at all four infield positions in May. Both improved at the plate for the month, but with the just-announced promotions of Jake Adams and Jonathan Arauz, I expect reduced playing time in June (at least for Trompiz).
Middle Infield: Anibal Sierra posted a torrid .179/.304/.385 slash line from the SS position before his mid-month promotion to CC. He is obviously not being pushed up the line by his bat. Switch-hitting Alfredo Angarita (only 21) was the regular at 2B after joining the team at the end of April and hit a respectable .267/.320/.311.
Corner Infield: Abe Toro-Hernandez (only 21) is the regular at 3B and slashed .267/.358/.448 in May. leading the team with 20 runs, 7 doubles, 4 home runs (tied) and 15 walks. He also tied for the lead in errors. Troy Sieber got most of the starts at 1B and slumped to .221/.307/.299 for the month while more than doubling his K-rate. With Jake Adams joining the team, I expect Troy to feel some pressure.
Outfield: JJ Matijevic took over in LF after his promotion and has raked ... .312/.329/.597 with a team-high 3 triples and tied with Toro with 4 home runs in just 82 plate appearances. He has struck out 26 times, though, so there is that. Ronnie Dawson has been the regular in CF, but has not really gotten untracked offensively. He slashed just .231/.292/.385 with a team-leading 32 K in 104 AB, though he also had 4 home runs and led the team in RBI (19), SB (9) and CS (5). Chas McCormick has been the regular in RF all year putting up a .218/.310/.409 slash line in May (after .291/.367/.405 in April). At 23, Chas just got the call to AA, and it will be interesting to see if he can meet the challenge there. 4th outfielder Luis Payano hit .341/.431/.455 in limited playing time, and I expect him to get more opportunities in June.
Rotation: The Creekstros were dominant in April with an overall 2.09 ERA, 1.035 WHIP and over 11 K/9 as a staff. Their May performance (4.43, 1.333, 9.5) goes a long way towards explaining the teams swoon. Brett Adcock (2-2, 2.54, 0.988 and a team-high 30K) and the recently promoted Jorge Alcala (1-1, 2.57, 0.810) did their part, but the rest of the rotation struggled. Brandon Bielak (1-1, 3.72, 1.138), Abdiel Saldana (2-0, 3.93, 1.364) and Hector Perez (1-1, 5.87, 1.391) all doubled their April ERA. Brandon Bailey (1-3, 3.91, 1.500) lost all control with 19 BB and 9 WP in only 25.1 IP. But the "winner" was Carson LaRue, who followed up a 1-0, 0.46, 0.763 April with a 2-2, 7.20, 1.640 May allowing 8 home runs in the process. Gabriel Valdez (1-2, 5.50, 1.778 in 2 starts and 4 relief appearances) returned from the DL to add fuel to the fire. He appears to be joining the rotation as a regular in June, to be joined by the recently promoted Tyler Ivey.
Bullpen: 24-year-old southpaw, Kit Scheetz, was the bullpen standout, posting a 0.93 ERA to go with a WHIP of 0.879 and a 25:1 K:BB ratio in 19.1 IP. He also earned the save in all three games he finished and has recently been promoted to AA. Ronel Blanco (1.35 ERA with a 0.675 WHIP) also pitched well. Jesus Balaguer (7.59, 1.500) and Colin McKee (12.79, 2.842 after being promoted from Quad Cities) got banged around pretty badly and other newcomers Tanner Duncan and Robert Corniel had limited opportunities. Similarly, Carlos Sierra and Justin Ferrell were promoted to CC early in the month before accumulating much in the way of meaningful stats.
