Starscreams | Playoff Series Preview (51.14)

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Starscreams: A Valencia Stars Baseball Blog

Playoff Series Preview

10/2/2051
Brianna Robles, Starscreams contributor

As the Stars prepare for their second postseason appearance in three years, let's take a look at their upcoming opponent.

Yellow Springs Nine

Runs Scored: 826 (5th)
OPS: .779 (5th)
wOBA: .331 (6th)

Runs Allowed: 675 (3rd)
FIP: 4.15 (2nd)
Def. Eff.: .707 (5th)

Yellow Springs is a club that does a lot of things well. The team features a handful of left-handed bats (including the switch-hitting Tomás Borges) that get after right-handed pitchers, which could be a problem for the exclusively right-handed Valencia rotation. It looks like the Nine will be without the services of lefty first baseman Burhan Tahir, however. The twenty-four year-old Egyptian is doing a lot walking right now, having suffered a sprained knee on September 23. He was hitting .302/.338/.469 on the year.

The team's very good catcher, Jesús Rodríguez, is listed as day-to-day, though it would be quite a surprise if a sore back keeps him out of any games. The backup, Ben Scott, is handy with the bat but is a big step down defensively.

For those who deny the power of nominative determinism, I present Banger Dan (.336/.384/.542). This guy can flat out hit, but hasn't seen much playing time with Jeremy Pickens holding down third base most of the season. This may change as the Nine shift players around to fill the gap left by Tahir.

The Stars were 3-5 against the Nine this past season. Interestingly, the home team was 1-7 in the regular season series between these two clubs, with the Nine snagging the lone home win. In terms of aggregate runs, the Nine outscored the Stars 61-44 in 2051.

How might the Stars find success versus this team? In the games Valencia won, the rotation was uncommonly good, holding the Nine to just three earned runs in 21.2 innings pitched. A repeat performance could see the Stars through to the Doubleday. Valencia, who led the Frick in on-base percentage this season (.343), need to clump their hits in bunches to maximize scoring opportunities.

[Dington]

Your opponent is Yellow Springs in October? Take that W.