Biscuits Gots Numbers

Its been a Jekyll and Hyde plot in the first month for the Biscuits. Surviving the 8th inning has proved to be more difficult than any other frame, but the Skitz are also likely to post a crooked number during that inning themselves.

Of course the only number that matters is the win column, Montgomery having gotten off to a fast start in that important category over the first three weeks of play.


DINNERS ON COLBY
Oh hey, we get an MLB rehabber. Rasmus will come down for the weekend and resume his rehab. Colby had a setback earlier this month, but CBS sports reports that the Russell county native will appear for the Biscuits in hopes of a return to Tampa at the end of next week.

Someone should be sure to let him know that its a clubhouse tradition for major league guys to buy the minor league guys dinner while he is rehabbing!

TV TIME!
Saturdays game will be the annual WSFA broadcast, as well as the usual MiLB.tv viewing. Timed well for Rasmus rehab appearance but badly for possible rain showers, local fans always enjoy seeing the team on local tv and would love to see it happen more than just once a year.

FOR THE STATHEADS

Nick Ciuffo

Nick Ciuffo rode a hit streak to twelve games before the skein was snapped, boosting his average over .300 and ranking him among the top hitters in the Rays organization this month.

His seven doubles lead the Biscuits team. Not bad for a self professed "defense first" guy, as noted by one twitter comment!



NEW GUY  NATHAN LUKES RAKES

Nathan Lukes

Perhaps the hottest hitter on the squad, in the Rays system and maybe this entire hemisphere has been Nathan Lukes over the past week.

In five games for the Biscuits he has nine base hits, including a pair of doubles and sports a white-hot .500 batting average.

Just as important as his hits, Lukes has shown excellent plate discipline, taking four bases on balls in his five appearances. His BaBIP of .636 implies what we already know, its a pace he likely can't maintain but few if any players make such a splash on arrival to Montgomery.

Lukes is a lefty hitter, righty thrower from Portland, Oregon. He was taken by the Indians in the 7th round of 2015 out of Sacramento State. As a walk on player, he went on to lead the team in average and RBI's before signing with Cleveland.

Scouts like his defensive skills and say he is really tough to strike out. He was one of two players the Rays acquired for Brandon Guyer.

NO MEMO FOR UNROE

Riley Unroe

Swinging a red hot bat is Riley Unroe, who didn't get the memo that the Southern League is known as "pitcher friendly". Opposing hurlers have yet to slow the speedy second sacker, batting around .350 and able to leg out infield hits or take extra bases as needed.

With a base knock on Thursday Riley pushed his hit streak up to eleven games. Which is at least one hit in each game he has played this year.


YONNYS FOUR TO ONE

Yonny Chirinos

Pitching efficiently is Yonny Chirinos specialty, averaging just over 11 pitches per inning, tops among Montgomery moundsmen so far this year. Getting four grounders for every fly ball, Chirinos lets his defenders handle the heavy lifting.

Obviously this means Chirinos success lives and dies by defensive positioning from his coaching staff, who try to read the opposing hitter and determine where to best set up the infielders.

Yonny is really good at getting lefties to ground out to second base when he needs an out.


WHATS UP WITH FERNANDO BAEZ?

Rhp Baez

Fernando Baez has only pitched in one game this year.

On April 8th, game three of the opening series, Baez came into a tie game in the 8th inning and returned to pitch the ninth. He walked a man, struck out five but threw a ball away on a pickoff and then gave up a double that was the difference in the ball game.

Baez hasn't toed the rubber in a game since. One wouldn't think a reliever would be in the managers doghouse for so long, but if he is hurt why hasn't he hit the DL after a couple weeks?


JOSE MUJICA
Wow, the Biscuits needed this guy.
Pitching at low-A Bowling Green last year the young hurler made only two starts at Charlotte before getting the call to step into the Biscuits rotation. He's just twenty but seems to have handled his first start with ease, pitching into the sixth inning allowing just a pair of runs on 94 offerings.

Ranked 19th among Rays prospects after his stellar 2013 season in rookie ball, Mujica made just two starts in '14 - I'm guessing due to injury. Returning in '15 he posted stats similar to his previous numbers, last year he extended his innings pitched to over 130 for the first time. He won't overpower hitters, but won't walk them either which should provide pitching coach RC Lichtenstein one less headache each week.

And when he makes his Riverwalk debut I will get a photo for us to use!


WILLY COME BACK?
Could we see fan favorite Willy Adames return to Montgomery?

Willy Adames

 The 21 year old prospect shortstop is batting a paltry .163 through 50 at bats in Durham this season. With twice as many strikeouts as hits and leading all Rays minor leaguers in stranding runners on base, the scuffling Adames will have to figure out triple-A pitchers or risk being sent back to the Biscuits for more seasoning.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALEC PEARSALL
Born on April 22nd of 1839, Saturday marks the birthday of Alec Pearsall, the man who brought baseball to Montgomery exactly 150 years ago.

I lobbied the Skitz hard to let me write a story for the magazine based on my research for the Rickwood SABR folks. However it was shot down, in part due to the length it takes to cover the first baseman's story.

From premier ballplayer to Confederate doctor to pioneering the game in southern cities, the former Brooklyn Excelsior Pearsall's life is one of intrigue and wartime espionage. Banned from baseball for supporting the South by saving lives, redeemed through his efforts to spread the game and finally enjoying a serene life as a small town doctor, Pearsall should be recognized for his efforts and I hope more folks learn about how he taught a reconstruction era Montgomery to play ball.

We have been organizing an 1860s era ball club, we will meet alternate wednesdays and occasional saturdays at WeeTop on the Shakespeare Festival Grounds at Blount Park to play the game the way Pearsall first taught it when he arrived in 1867. Feel free to come out and play sometime!