Florida Marlins Baseball

Down on The Farm

Every week, Floridamarlinsbaseball will highlight what's going on inside and outside the Marlins system. Stuff fans want to know about yet the media cannot cover. So tune in and we will fill you in what's happening in the Florida State League, Zebulon, North Carolina or Albuquerque.

Player Spotlight: Travis Bowyer AAA-Isotopes
Bowyer, the hard throwing righty, is the closer of the future for the Marlins. He was acquired from the Minnesota Twins for Luis Castillo. Last season his AAA numbers (4-2, 2.78 23 saves) led to his major league call-up. But in eight games, Bowyer had an ERA of 5.59. The Marlins knew he was not major league ready and signed veteran Joe Borowski to close out Marlin victories. After a weak spring, the Marlins optioned him off to AAA. A shoulder injury has caused Bowyer not to pitch yet this season and it looks like any hope of pitching in the majors this season is dim.

Albuquerque Isotopes
Overview: 45-39 6.5 GB 2nd Place
Top Hitters: Scott Seabol .314-17-46, Mike Kinkade .327-4-31, Jason Wood.297-9-48
Top Pitchers: Nick Ungs 7-6-3.80, Renyel Pinto 6-2-2.63, Brad Clontz 4-3-4.13-13 Saves

Game of the week: 6/27 Isotopes 6 Omaha Royals 5
The Isotopes took a 4-1 lead into the Fifth inning. In the bottom of the fourth Matt Cepicky singled in Seabol. Mark Little double later turned into 2 RBI for Chris Ashby's single. The Isotopes relied on the effective arm of starter Yusmeiro Petit. Petit gave up just three runs off as many hits after 6 IP. German got a hold but a two run homer run in the top of the eighth off reliever J.B. Miadich made the score 5-4. The Topes showed they had heart and scored off two singles by Little and Ashby. Brad Clontz pitched a perfect ninth and earned his 12 save of the season.

News: Word from South Florida that another starting pitcher (Brian Moehler) might be headed to the DL meant another call-up. And for Renyel Pinto, that means a possible start Saturday on his 24th birthday. Pinto pitched in four games during the end of May, but never more than three outs. That means we will be playing the division leading New York Mets in their home turf of the Big Apple with two pitchers who combine to throw 14 innings in their brief major league career. Sanchez, who threw 86 pitches on Saturday to relieve Moehler, was scheduled to start Wednesday, but now will start Friday.


Carolina Mudcats
Overview: 32-38 11.5 GB 1st Half
7-7 2 GB 2nd Half
Top Hitters: Lee Mitchell .232-9-36, Kevin Randel .256-8-27, Ryan Bear .247-4-35
Top Pitchers: Paul Mildren 6-6-3.66, Anibal Sanchez 3-6-3.15, James Russ 4-6-4.06

Game of the Week: 6/29 Mudcats 4 Smokies 1
It took the Mudcats eight innings until they were able to breakthrough Smokies pitching. Mudcat starter Mannyl Olivera went toe-for-toe with Smokies starter Garrett Mock in shutout innings. Mock turned the ball over after striking out 10 Mudcats in seven innings. Mitchell delivered with a hitter’s best friend: a two run, two out single. Two unearned runs scored on a throwing error from Smokies shortstop Alberto Gonzalez. Mudcat closer Kevin Cave picked up his 5th save.

Jupiter Hammerheads A-Florida State League
Overview: 2-8 6.5 GB
Top hitters: Grant Psomas .287-5-37, Brett Carroll .241-8-30, Dante Brinkley .211-7-30
Top Pitchers: Gaby Hernandez 9-4-3.62, Jose Garcia 6-2-1.87, Harvey Garcia 0-5-3.19-13 Saves

Game of the Week: 7/2 Hammerheads 3 Palm Beach Cardinals 0
Hernandez struck out nine and pitched eight shutout innings for Jupiter. The Hammerheads snapped an eight game losing streak thanks to a bases loaded situation in the sixth. With ducks on the pond, Cardinals pitcher Eric Haberer threw a wild pitch. A sac fly by Psomas and a Juan Carlos Muniz RBI groundout gave Hernandez a three run cushion.

Posted by Brian Saal at 2:24 PM | Permalink | Comments

The Florida Marlins recent nine game winning streak saw the cheapest team in the league rise out of the cellar of the NL East and provide confidence for a young team. In the past five seasons, the team with the lowest payroll have averaged a 67-94 season. However teams like the 2001 Minnesota Twins (85-77) and 2002 Tampa Bay Devil Rays (55-106) have proven its a crapshoot.

This 15 million dollar Marlin team has won 20 of their past 27 games due to reliable pitching and timely hitting. The Marlins rank sixth in the NL with a .263 batting average. They have been led not by two time All-Star Miguel Cabrera (.340-10-47), youthful Hanley Ramirez (.269-3-20), or powerful Mike Jacobs (.268-10-39). Dan Uggla has been the man this season. In his rookie campaign so far, he ranks third in batting average (.313), first in homeruns (13) and RBI (43) for NL second basemen. Quite remarkable after starting the season hitting just .205 with one homerun in mid-April. Uggla has been a strong force in the Marlins last 27 games. He's swinging a .326 average with seven homeruns in the month of June. In the nine game winning streak, the rule five pick was a hero in many occasions. Uggla had three hits in a 4-1 victory over Toronto, drove in two runs in a 3-1 victory over the Blue Jays, and homered in three of his past five games. Not bad for a player who was fighting for a position on the Marlins roster in March.

Without quality pitching, Uggla's stats would not matter. The Marlins pitching squad lead the NL with a 2.92 ERA in their past 30 games. In their past 30 games, the Fish have had three starting pitchers with an ERA under 3. Josh Johnson has a sick 1.38 ERA with only a 3-2 record to show with it. Dontrelle Willis (3-1, 2.63) and Scott Olsen (4-0, 2.31) have also achieved success in the past month. Olsen has not lost in his past six starts.

The Marlins bullpen has also seen its share of success, the Marlins had only one complete game during this streak, a 8-1 victory pitched by Dontrelle Willis on June 7 against the San Francisco Giants. Ironically, Willis pitched a complete game in a 3-0 loss on May 21 in Tampa, the 28th game for the Marlins.

In the past month, closer Joe Borowski has picked up eight saves with a mean 1.74 ERA. Nine pitchers from the bullpen had an ERA under 2, and a whopping 19 holds. Not bad for a "AAA" team.

I understand what you're saying. Its June, we're still below .500, and 13.5 games out of first place. But the glass is half full. If for 27 games we played like a 20-7 team it shows our future. No one expects much out of the Marlins this season. Many compare us to the 1998 squad that lost 108 games. But for a team thats has seen 18 rookies go from 9-24 to 31-39 shows promise.

Posted by Brian Saal at 7:27 PM | Permalink | Comments

"The best pitcher you never heard of"

That was the use of words to describe Josh Johnson on XM satellite radio by Joe Castellano. Johnson's numbers back that claim. Although Johnson's 5-4 record doesn't do him justice, his ERA (2.05) and his strikeout to walk ratio (54:26) prove that the 6'7 right-hander will be in the majors for good. The fourth round draft pick in 2002 was named NL Rookie of the month for May after his ERA (1.96) was lowest among fellow freshmen.

His rookie season has taken him along many challenges. He started the season out of the bullpen but a 3.86 ERA from the pen called for a promotion. He got his first start of the season on May 4 in our nation's capital where he went five innings and allowed just two runs. He has out pitched Livan Hernandez and Pedro Martinez throughout his rookie campaign. His two losses as a starter came due to Marlin killer Jason Schmidt allowing just two earned runs in 14.2 innings. Not to mention that whole striking out 16 Marlins on D-day.

Every one of Johnson's starts this season has been low scoring. The most runs he allowed in a game were three. Despite where the 24-37 Marlins go this season, Johnson will continue to be the name people have yet to hear.

Posted by Brian Saal at 7:52 PM | Permalink | Comments