UNIVERSITY PARK — If there was any doubt as to what type of team the State College Spikes are, they were swiftly erased in the Aug. 20 win over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
The club pounded out a record 23 hits in a 13-8 win, eclipsing the previous high water mark of 20 set in 2008.
In that same contest, three separate Spikes pitchers combined to allow 16 hits to the Scrappers.
And so it goes for Johnny Rodriguez’s club. After limping into the All-Star Break, the Spikes posted a 4-1 record, reaffirming their perch atop the New York Penn League. State College is the first NYPL team in 2016 to reach 40 wins, and their 29 wins within the Pinckney Division are far and away the most of any team in any of the leagues’ three divisions.
Rodriguez’s charges have shown a great ability to string together hits at the plate. From the leadoff spot through the sixth position, the major cogs in the team’s run creation attack are each steady. Rodriguez has done an excellent job in masking some inefficiencies, such as Ryan McCarvel’s strikeout rate, by constructing the lineup to maximize protections. The second-year Spikes manager has been fond of putting in a rotation of sorts for position players, but the top six — Tommy Edman, Danny Martin, Vince Jackson, McCarvel, Jeremy Martinez and Elier Rodriguez — have remained static throughout. The results speak for themselves
Simply put, the offense has flourished.
But, as the playoff looms, major questions around the team’s pitching raise serious questions.
Steven Farinaro, Carson Cross and Bryan Dobzanski represent the mainstays of the Spikes’ piecemeal rotation. Their performance has been varied, with Cross maintaining the trio’s lone ERA under 3.5 (3.25). Rodriguez has been able to compensate for his starter’s struggles by piggybacking bullpen arms and getting creative.
None of this is presented as evidence that the team’s regular season approach will not translate to the playoffs. In the NYPL, all playoff series are three games apiece. Thus, Rodriguez won’t have to save any arms. With the team having some intriguing bullpen pieces, such as Max Almonte, they can get past any subpar outings from their starters.
■■■
Former State College Spikes starting pitcher Ronnie Williams moved on to the full season Single-A Peoria Chiefs earlier this year. The St. Louis Cardinals’ 22nd ranked prospect has struggled at that level, posting a 4.84 ERA in four starts. The strikeout ability is still there — Williams has 27 punchouts in 22.1 innings — but his propensity to allow free passes has returned. Williams has allowed 14 walks with Peoria, double what he allowed with the Spikes in seven starts.
Another former Spikes hurler now with the Chiefs — lefthander John Kilichowski — has fared somewhat better. Though he carries a crooked ERA of 4.30 in his four starts, he has walked just two batters against 18 strikeouts.
Moving up to the next level in organized ball can tell us a lot, and a ton about pitchers especially. Pitchers with high projected strikeout ability such as Williams may be able to get by on their talent. Those without that natural ability such as Kilichowski compensate by maximizing control and becoming a true pitcher’s pitcher.
Both approaches can help a young player advance, but those who commit to learning the craft of pitching seem to transition more easily, as is the case with Kilichowski.
■■■
Take this for what it’s worth, but an interesting factoid emerged from some post-game conversations that I’ve had recently. As an organization, the Cardinals de-emphasize baseball’s “unwritten rules” of hitting batters intentionally among its minor league clubs. Under no circumstances is a pitcher to hit a batter intentionally. Though it may be hard to judge intent after the act, the fact that the Cardinals are taking an enlightened approach may be music to the ears of those that disagree with baseball’s sometimes draconian mindset.
