Starting pitching has been superb, and batters are finally starting to connect at the plate for the Lynchburg Hillcats, leading to two straight series victories for one of the Carolina League’s hottest teams of late.
Over the weekend, the Hillcats claimed three of four against Potomac, launching them into first place in the league’s Northern Division, a half game ahead of Salem.
It’s a far cry from the season’s first couple of weeks. At the start of the 2018 campaign, the Hillcats failed to string together two consecutive wins, accomplishing the deed for the first time April 16 to 17.
That’s when things began to turn offensively for the Hillcats.
Hitters began really supporting their pitching staff in the series against Frederick, tallying double figures in hits for the first time.
And since then, a slew of Lynchburg players have delivered the consistency first-year Hillcats manager Rougie Odor preaches.
Three players — Mitch Longo, Conner Capel and Emmanuel Tapia — have current hitting streaks of at least eight games. Longo’s streak is at nine games, while Capel and Tapia’s streaks sit at eight.
Capel, the Indians’ No. 12 prospect, is ninth in the league with a .323 batting average. The .300-plus average is bolstered largely by his .429 average (15 for 35) during the course of the streak, when he’s hit four doubles and a homer and has seven RBIs.
Tapia is 11 for 31 during his streak, with two homers, two doubles and seven RBIs. His .355 average during that streak currently has him at .240 on the season.
Room to improve
While many Hillcats players have been increasing their numbers offensively in the past couple of series, there’s still room to improve when it comes to the team’s performance.
Lynchburg still is tied with Salem at the bottom of the league in team batting average (.225), and it’s also 10th of 10 teams in runs scored with 60.
The Hillcats have tallied 121 hits, compared to 176 by league-leader Winston-Salem, which comes to town tonight to begin a three-game series.
Pitchers keeping Hillcats on track
The starting rotation has continued to shine for Lynchburg, and four pitchers head into tonight’s slate of league games with ERAs of 2.29 or better.
Sam Hentges (2.29), Jake Paulson (2.20) and Tanner Tully (2.00) all are among the league’s top 14 starting pitchers in terms of ERA.
And Justin Garza, the reigning Carolina League Pitcher of the Week, is one of two pitchers in the league yet to allow an earned run. Abdiel Saldana, of the Buies Creek Astros, who have the league’s best record (12-6), is the other.
Garza, the 5-foot-10 righty in first season in Class A-Advanced ball, has given up just four hits in 15 2/3 innings and has struck out 19.
Roster moves
The Hillcats lost a strong arm from their bullpen last week, when Ben Krauth was promoted to Class AA Akron.
Krauth, the lefty who made 10 appearances with the Hillcats last year, pitched 7 2/3 innings in five games this season. In the five 2018 appearances, Krauth didn’t give up a single earned run and struck out 14, picking up a save along the way.