Ten Biscuits Games in 11 Days! What to Look For

The Biscuits open up a homestand of the ten-game variety over eleven days (weather permitting) by hosting the Birmingham Barons in five and then taking on the Mobile Baybears for five contests.  More on the Mobile series later, first the Biscuits take on the Barons!

MJ

As longtime Rebels rivals, The Slagtown Barons are one of my favorite teams to watch, both in Montgomery and in Birmingham.

Their long history and legacy of great players adds to the fun of watching a game that extends one of the longest rivalries in the south.

Later in the season the Biscuits will face the Barons in the throwback game at historic Rickwood Field, one of my fave games of the year even before you add Montgomery and a Sweet Lou appearance!

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Omar Vizquel

Look for a former great. The Barons are led by skipper Omar Vizquel. The defensive star appeared in two World Series, six postseasons over twenty-four MLB seasons and is knocking at the door to Cooperstown. However Omar is fairly new to the managers chair, spending last year guiding Winston-Salem successfully before taking the helm for Birmingham this season. 

On the field, its tough to look anywhere without seeing a top Chicago prospect. According to MLB Pipeline, seven of the White Sox top thirty prospect reside at double-A Birmingham.

Look at that outfield. In all three outfield positions there are excellent prospects, Blake Rutherford, Luis Gonzalez all listed among the top ten. Micker Adolfo is listed as an outfielder, but in 18 games he has yet to appear in the field, filling the DH role instead.

Leftfielder Joel Booker leads the league in batting average (.377) and has a share of the lead in stolen bases (7). Perhaps he is upset he is the only unranked prospect in the Bham outfield. He looks to be a serious threat at the top of the Barons lineup and in the field. 

Look for Gonzalez, Rutherford and Joel Booker to show off their throwing arms, already they have collected four outfield assists.

Look for a good infield. Shortstop Laz Rivera and first baseman Gavin Sheets are #17 & #18 respectively on the prospect charts. Utilityman Ramon Torres has major league experience with the KC Royals and handles every position except busdriver.

Two Bham pitchers, Jimmy Lambert and Zach Thompson are among the organizations top thirty as well.

Fans can look for former Atlanta Braves hurler Mauricio Cabrera, now among the Barons relief pitchers. Another former big leaguer, Sean Nolin, has made starts for the Barons.

Look for the Barons pitchers to give up the long ball, no team in the North Division allows more circuit clouts than the Slagtown staff.

Barons manager Omar Vizquel will be looking to lefty Bernardo Flores for a big game, Flores has quietly been one of the best pitchers in the league. 

 Lets look at this Biscuits team, coming home in second place and bearing down hard on the leader.

Montgomery welcomed back pitchers Sam McWilliams and Curtis Taylor on the final game of the last homestand, fans will be happy to look down to the bullpen and see their reliable arms warming up.

Look for Montgomery to keep running, the Biscuits again lead the league in basepath thefts by a solid margin. First baseman Dalton Kelly has five steals, just two behind the league leaders, as does speedy shortstop Lucius Fox.

Well matched in hits and batting average, look for a tight series between these two longtime rival clubs.

You can look for me to be wearing a different former Biscuits players jersey each day of the homestand. Hope to see you there!