Thursday, July 22, 2004
The Scrappers have been bolstered by 14 college draft picks on the roster.
By KURT SNYDER
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES - The Mahoning Valley Scrappers are in the midst of their best streak of the season, winning of 10 of their last 12 games.
A big reason for the success has been the Scrappers' 14 college draft picks currently on the roster. With most of those players more than 30 games into their first professional season and leading the way, manager Mike Sarbaugh said the Scrappers are pitching and fielding well while coming through with clutch hitting.
Third baseman Chris Gimenez, a 19th-round pick from Nevada, provided the clutch hit Wednesday. He doubled home two runs down the left-field line in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Scrappers a 5-2 lead against Hudson Valley.
Mahoning Valley went on to a 5-3 win.
"That was huge," Sarbaugh said. "Especially in a one-run game, to come up with a big knock like that, it's what we're looking for."
A team leader
Gimenez came into the game with a .278 average, and leads the Scrappers with six home runs and 17 RBIs. He now has exactly 100 at-bats in his professional career, and he said the past 20 at-bats have been a lot easier than the first 20.
"To get in here, getting used to the wood [bats] and how pitchers pitch you and how you're doing, it's definitely a comfort zone," he said.
Gimenez said the transition from using a metal bat in college is simply a mental adjustment.
"It's definitely all mental," he said. "You hit a ball just as far with a wood bat. It's just that factor of getting it out of your head and realizing if you hit it on the barrel, it's going to go somewhere."
Several other draft picks have led the offense as the Scrappers' top three hitters are all in their first professional season. Catcher Wyatt Toregas leads the club with a .329 average, while fifth-round pick Mike Butia has a team-high nine doubles. Butia had an RBI single Wednesday.
Sarbaugh said pitching has also keyed the Scrappers' recent hot streak. Mark Jecmen, a seventh-round pick out of Stanford, threw 22/3 scoreless innings while allowing just one hit to pick up his first professional win in relief in his ninth appearance Wednesday.
Steady improvement
Sarbaugh said Jecmen has improved with each outing.
"His command of his fastball and his slider have been a lot better. And he's got a good change-up, so that's been a good combination for him."
Jecmen said improvement has come from pitching every couple of days. When he occasionally started in college, he pitched competitively just once a week.
"I've been able to get in more of a rhythm. That's why I think I've been throwing more strikes," he said.
Left-handed starter Tony Sipp, a 45th-round pick out of Clemson, pitched 41/3 innings and gave up four hits and two runs. He did strike out four Renegades but gave up a home run to Matthew Spring. Sipp was making just his second appearance.
Sarbaugh said Sipp, who is 180 pounds, shows more velocity than his small frame implies.
"I thought he threw well," Sarbaugh said. "He's a smaller guy, but I really think the ball comes out of his hand and throws a real good fastball. I thought he did an outstanding job."
ksnyder@vindy.com