Phantoms Phanatics Week(s) in Review: June 1-9
As the weather warmed up in Huntsville, so did the Phantoms. Of course, playing mostly against other second division clubs may have played (more than) a bit of a role in Huntsville’s 7-2 start to June.
The Phantoms polished off the last two games of a three-game sweep against Atlantic City, took two of three from Nashville, and then three of four from Brooklyn.
That streak lifted the Phantoms from seven games under .500 to just two games under, and from 10.5 games behind the division leader to 6.5 games back. Team hitting stats are still pretty weak, but improving (11th in runs scored in the Johnson League, compared to 14th at the end of May) and team pitching ranges from 6th for starters’ ERA to 15th for bullpen ERA.
Somehow, though, they put together some wins … just in time to inform the hometown fans they’d be leaving for Chicago at the end of the season.
Timing is everything.
Batter of the Week(s)
Fernando Reyes, LF: .552/.606/1.138, 4 HRs, 11 RBIs, 1.744 OPS, 1.0 WAR
That performance also helped Reyes capture the JL Player of the Week Award for the week of June 3.
Pitcher of the Week(s)
Juan Nicto, SP: 13.1 IP, 1-0, 1.35 ERA, 10 Ks, 2 BBs, 0.5 WAR
Game of the Week(s)
Extra-inning thrills were the order of the day on June 9, as the Phantoms nipped Brooklyn 6-5 on a walk-off single by Fernando Reyes in the bottom of the 12th. Reyes was something of a one-man wrecking crew against the Robins, going 3-6 with two RBIs, including the game-winner. Huntsville fell behind 5-4 in the top of the 11th, but came back in the bottom of the frame to knot the score when DH Norris Rutledge launched a solo homer to right. Then, in the bottom of the 12th, RF Manny Cleide reached on a muffed grounder by 3B Nico Eijpe. He went to second when CF Tim Torres hit a soft line drive single to short left off RP Corey Jackson, then came home moments later when Reyes rifled a groundball single between first and second. Game, set, match.
News and Notes
Catcher Hotha Popo continues to find his hitting stroke, slashing .423/.483/.538 over his last seven games. For the season, Hotha is now slashing .264/.348/.365 – which is the kind of production Huntsville officials had been hoping for when they signed him as a free agent last off-season … Word has it that SS Santiago Morales (an elite fielder but terrible hitter) told management that he’s not interested in being part of a rebuilding effort and asked to be traded. Word also has it that management told him, and we quote, to “stuff it.” … RP Justin Archer has had a horrendous couple of months, capped by this most recent stint in June where he allowed 5 runs in 3.0 innings pitched for a 15.00 ERA. Manager Bret Richards yanked him from all late-inning responsibilities and, reportedly, is thinking of sending the young prospect back to AAA to see if he can work out his problems. Stay tuned … 3B Victor Bedolla is back from the injured list, and seems to have his hamstring issues behind him. Albert Ayala was sent back to Carolina on June 10 to make room on the roster … Amayas Moelling continued to impress after his disastrous first start against San Fernando on May 25. Most recently, the 20-year-old phenom pitched 7.1 innings of 2-hit, shutout ball against Nashville on June 5 to raise his record to 2-1 and lower his ERA to 3.93.
JL Southeast Division Standings
As of the morning of June 10, 2039
| Team | Wins | Losses | Win% | GB | RD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | 36 | 25 | .590 | - | +64 |
| Louisville | 32 | 29 | .525 | 4.0 | +19 |
| Huntsville | 30 | 32 | .484 | 6.5 | -43 |
| Jacksonville | 29 | 34 | .460 | 8.0 | -10 |
| Nashville | 25 | 38 | .397 | 12.0 | -45 |
AAA Carolina was treading water in the first weeks of June, going 4-4 over that stretch. The Flight lost a three game series 2-1 against Austin, won two of three against Ashland, and then split the first two of a three-game set against Brooklyn. Carolina now sits at 34-25 in the GL East Coast Division, 3 games behind first-place Gotham ... If there were any worries that Aarnoud Budding would be overmatched after he was promoted from A level to AAA, he dispelled them immediately. The young first baseman hit .375 with 2 homers and 8 RBIs in his first six games for Carolina … Beloit has had a .500 June so far, as well. The Blue Sox took the last two of a three-game series against Burlington, then lost 2 of 3 to both Charleston and Anderson to stay at .500 for the season, at 31-31. The team is third in the DNL Mid-Central Division, 12 games behind first-place Duluth … The Blue Sox suffered a crippling blow on June 4 when SP Tommy Cashmore tore his UCL and will be shelved for 14 months. Cashmore had been off to a marvelous start: 3-3 in 68.2 IP, with a 3.28 ERA, 27 Ks and 17 BBs … Picking up on some news from last month: RF Bernardino Torlade won the WCL Player of the Week Award on May 23 after going 9-18 with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs. For the season, he’s slashing .250/.353/.542 with 10 HRs and 25 RBIs … Grand Junction sputtered to a 2-6 record to start off June, splitting the last two of a three-game series against Boulder, then losing all three games in a series against Medford, and finally dropping two of three to Twin Falls … Notable in the Boulder series was a 21-3 victory on June 1 by Grand Junction, in which the Gold Sox scored 10 runs in the first inning. Grand Junction had 26 hits in the game – just one of them a homer (by Aarnoud Budding, who had not yet been promoted). The Gold Sox did, however, rap out seven doubles.