TRENTON-As the first two months of the season go into the books for the Thunder, with the Erie SeaWolves in town, how has Trenton performed so far in 2016? With a recent 9-2 record in their last three series, the Thunder come into June hot, at 31-21. Trenton will alternate weeks at home and on the road until the end...
TRENTON-As the first two months of the season go into the books for the Thunder, with the Erie SeaWolves in town, how has Trenton performed so far in 2016?
With a recent 9-2 record in their last three series, the Thunder come into June hot, at 31-21. Trenton will alternate weeks at home and on the road until the end of August, as it tries to chase down the Reading Fightin Phils in the standings.
While everything has not always been fantastic, there are many positives to take from the first eight weeks of the campaign. Let's take a look at some of them.
FIVE THINGS WORKING/NOT WORKING FOR THE THUNDER SO FAR
1. Starting Pitching, [?] - The strength of the squad by far this year. Trenton starters won two awards in two days in early May. Ronald Herrera was the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week April 25-May 1, on the strength of his combined no-hitter April 26 against New Hampshire. Dietrich Enns was the Eastern League Player of the Month for April. The lefty was lights-out for the month, going 3-0, with a 0.00 ERA.
Right now, with the calendar in June, Jordan Montgomery might be the hottest pitcher on the Thunder. He is 5-1, with a 2.83 ERA this season, and has looked very good in his nine starts. Daniel Camarena has been very good as well, going 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA for the Thunder. Eric Ruth has been with Trenton and Scranton, and has a 5-1 combined record, to complete the rotation.
Ruth is the oldest of those pitchers at 25, while Camarena (23), Montgomery (23) and Herrera (21) are still very young. Pitching coach Jose Rosado has to get a lot of credit, as does Kyle Higashioka, who was the starting catcher before he was promoted to Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
2. Hitting, Mixed reviews- The Thunder are hitting .246, which does not look great, but it is much better than two weeks ago, when the team average was around .237.
The bats were cool for much of the first 45 days, which lead to Trenton's record hovering a few games over .500. But during the 9-2 stretch, which has the Thunder 10 games over .500 for the year, the bats have started to heat up thoughout the lineup.
Jose Rosario leads the team with a .316 average, while Mark Payton has hit the ground running in Trenton, at a .295 clip in 16 games. If some of the other players can get their averages up around .285, this team will be a threat to win the league.
3. Relief Pitching, [?] - If the starters have been the best group on the roster, the relievers are 1B.
With Mark Montgomery back from Scranton Wilkes-Barre, Giovanny Gallegos, J.R. Graham, Jonathan Holder, Tyler Jones, David Kubiak, Alex Smith, Caleb Smith, and Mark Wotherspoon have all played their part in the Thunder's solid first two months.
With players going up and down all the time, from Tampa to Trenton, and from Trenton to Scranton Wilkes-Barre, this group has just continued to be a rock for the Thunder. If it remains that way, it could be a fun summer for Thunder fans.
4. Coaching, [?] [?] - Bobby Mitchell has the perfect temperament for this squad. He likes to be aggressive on the bases, and with his background as an outfielder in the major leagues, Mitchell can help the young players get prepared for the next levels.
With the change in philosophy in the Yankees organization to pitching, speed and defense, Mitchell seems perfectly suited to the Thunder.
"I truly believe that part of development is developing the winning type of attitude, where when you step on the field, you believe that you're going to win every game," Mitchell said. "I came up that way with the Dodgers; whenever we stepped onto the field, we were confident in our abilities. We weren't going to win every game, but we knew every day we stepped out there that we had a good chance to win, and I think that's important because I think winning can get contagious, and so can losing."
"When they get to the major league level, which we are trying to develop everybody to get to, they've got to believe they belong there when they get there, and winning is part of that," Mitchell said.
"I try to get to know them not only from a manager standpoint, but from a personal standpoint, so they trust me," said Mitchell. "There's a lot of trust involved. If that trust factor is not there when I'm teaching somebody and they don't buy into what I'm teaching, then it's an uphill battle."
5. Home Field Advantage, [?] - The Thunder are 20-7 at ARM & HAMMER Park. They have been dominant at home, and have not dropped a series on their home diamond. It is the play on the road that has hampered Trenton early in the season. The Thunder are 11-15 in their travels, but just won their first two series, as part of this 9-2 run.
If Trenton can keep up the hot play at home, and get to .500 on the road, it can reel in Reading, who is 36-18, four games ahead in the Eastern Division standings.
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The Thunder will play their first home double-header Saturday with Erie, as a make-up for a game that was rained out in the opening series of the 2016 season. Double-headers in the Eastern League are seven inning affairs, and with the dominant Trenton pitching, the Thunder should have an advantage over the SeaWolves.
Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean