State College Spikes manager Johnny Rodriguez often feels that the first two weeks of any season in the Class A Short Season New York-Penn League is akin to spring training.
If that reasoning did not ring true before the team began play, it certainly holds water now.
The Spikes had an interesting first taste of action. From their opener through the June 26 tilt against the NYPL champion West Virginia Black Bears, State College showed an ability to produce hot bats one night before going ice cold the next. Their starting pitching has fluctuated between study and suspect, while their relief corps can easily be seen as still in-flux.
Here now are some news and notes from the opener through June 26:
■ Tommy Edman continues to impress. The 22-year-old Stanford grad has split time at designated hitter and shortstop, but appears to be perched among Rodriguez’s lineup card in the top spot. And with a .571 on base percentage through the season’s first 10 games, why not?
Edman collected 13 hits in seven games. He has collected seven walks while striking out only three times, showing outstanding patience. Though Rodriguez may be tempted to hit him further down in the lineup, Edman has a natural ability to get this team’s offense in gear.
■ A bit of history was made this week, as Bryan Dobzanski became the first Spikes pitcher to last eight innings or more since Nic Suero did it in 2007. Dobzanski held the champion Black Bears in check June 26, going eight innings, and allowing six hits and a lone run in a 3-1 win.
■ The club showed well against the NYPL champions, winning their first series of the year against the Morgantown squad by winning the first two games of the three-game slate.
Though no team has truly distanced themselves from the pack in the Pinckney Division, the Black Bears seemed to represent the class of the division, enjoying a 6-0 start before losing three straight.
The Spikes will not see West Virginia again until they visit Medlar Field on Sunday, July 31, but the club passed this early test with flying colors.
■ Perhaps no one on the Spikes’ roster personified the up-and-down nature of the early goings more than highly touted starting pitching prospect Ronnie Williams.
Williams was on the wrong end of a one-hitter on June 20, a 5-0 loss to Hudson Valley. He rebounded quite well, scattering five hits and setting the tone in the team’s series opening’ 5-2 win over West Virginia.
Though he is still young at just 20, Williams needs to begin delivering on the promise that led him to become a second-round pick in 2014. Consistency at this level will be the key by which his progress is judged.
Line of the Week: It’s hard not to give this honor to anyone other than Edman. His full line of 13 hits, four doubles, a triple, five RBIs, 19 total bases and a .464/.571/.679 triple-slash earns him our first Line of the Week.
