STATE COLLEGE — During their championship 2016 season, the State College Spikes saw the benefit of an all-around talent manning the catcher position with the now-departed Jeremy Martinez.
Together with talents such as Tommy Edman, Ryan McCarvel and others, Martinez’s offensive abilities propelled the club to the most runs scored in the New York Penn League. His defensive capabilities came a long way over the course of that season from a starting point that some scouts labeled as “horrendous.”
The 2017 iteration of the Spikes may be trying to replicate this formula, and the early returns centered on catcher Joshua Lopez have been encouraging.
The 21-year-old Lopez was signed as an international free agent out of Venezuela at just 16. As is the norm for such young signings, Lopez started his professional baseball career at age 17 with the Cardinals’ Dominican summer league club. He reached American shores in 2015, slashing an inauspicious .235/.289/.331 during his two years in the developmental Gulf Coast League.
Lopez’s slow-developing bat found a groove in 2016 while he spent time with the Cardinals’ rookie-level Johnson City club. Across 42 games, he put up a .305/.388/.468 batting line to go along with five home runs and 33 RBIs.
It was enough to earn Lopez a promotion to State College, and one scout I talked to was enthusiastic with his praise for Lopez’s work ethic.
“You have to remember, he was signed at such a young age,” the scout told me. “To embrace the work ethic and mental aspects of the game in the way that he has so early on in his career is going to pay dividends. It was always a matter of when it would all click for him as far as what he needs to do to set himself on the path of a major league ballplayer.
“The fact is, Lopez may or may not be seen by the right people as a major league player, but I am sure he will knock down doors with his hard work to give it his best shot.”
Lopez is doing just that, with a .380 average in 32 games with the Spikes in 2017. Batting from the fourth spot agrees with Lopez, who is sandwiched between the Spikes’ best overall hitter in Evan Mendoza and always-threating first base bat Yariel Gonzalez. Together, the trio creates a formidable segment of State College’s batting order.
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Speaking of major league talent, the Spikes are now up to 48 players over the years who have made the big leagues after having spent at least some significant time with the Spikes.
The names are many and varied. The first was Brendan Ryan, a member of the 2006 Spikes who made his big league debut in 2007. Ryan spent parts of 10 seasons in the major leagues and currently finds himself in the Detroit Tigers’ Triple-A club.
The most recent is Harrison Bader, a stalwart on the 2015 Spikes club ranked as the eighth-best Cardinals prospect overall. He came up for a cup of coffee as an injury replacement this year before going back down.
In between, there are many interesting stories and tales. Allen Craig, a 2006 Spikes’ bat, went from putting up an all-star season in 2006 to being unable to find work in the major leagues, where he last played in 2015.
More recent MLB debuts, such as Gregory Polanco, Tyler Glasnow, Jameson Taillon and Josh Bell, all are regarded as major cornerstones of the Pittsburgh Pirates and are expected to be for years to come.
For every Polanco, Glasnow, Taillon and Bell, there are seemingly just as many Duke Welkers, Vic Blacks, Tony Sanchezes and Matt Hagues — non-descript major leaguers who run the gamut from pitching fewer than two big league innings in their careers, to continually finding chances with clubs, to out of baseball entirely.
Part of watching these young players develop is projecting what they will become, and what levels they will reach, as their careers progress. The no-doubters are no-doubters, but for the vast majority of minor league players — even those who reach the majors — getting to the majors is just half of the battle.
