A new half-season has breathed some fresh life into Southern League teams and for a while, at least, the standings have turned upside down.
The second half opened back up Thursday after a day off from the Southern League All-Star game with some important series for teams with postseason aspirations. The key games were in the North Division where the first half champion Jackson Generals (Seattle Mariners) opened up against the Chattanooga Lookouts (Minnesota Twins), the second place finisher in the North.
The Lookouts have already grabbed the advantage and taken the series after a 6-2 win Sunday. Chattanooga leads the series 3-1 and can take a significant early lead in the North with a win Monday night.
For the Tennessee Smokies, it was a tough draw coming out of the gate in the second half as they face off against South first-half champion, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Cincinnati Reds). With a 3-0 win on Sunday, the series is tied 2-2 and Tennessee seems on the cusp of doing something special. They’ve added some pitching in the second half and 2015 first round pick Ian Happ joined the team from High-A Myrtle Beach on June 23. He’s currently riding an eight-game hitting streak.
“Anytime you come off the break, you’ve got fresh life,” Smokies manager Mark Johnson told me Thursday. “Everybody’s energy levels are way up and everybody’s fresh. Our bullpen is fresh. We’ve got some new faces. This is a new start. You try to learn as much as you can from the first half. You try to apply it in your pregame and when the game starts, you just go out and play.”
#Cubs No. 3 prospect Ian Happ records second straight three-hit game for @smokiesbaseball. https://t.co/NKJFA9OoPM pic.twitter.com/Teq6kXUPdB
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 27, 2016
The second half has been good for Smokies outfielder Jacob Hannemann. Hannemann was already a star on defense, but he left his bat behind when he was called up to Double-A last season. Since Thursday he’s 6-for-15 with just one strikeout. He’s also added a couple of stolen bases.
According to Johnson, it’s time for Hannemann to make his presence known.
“He (Hannemann) has got all the tools in the world,” Johnson said. “The more at-bats and more playing time, it’s time for him to show up. He needs to steal 40 bases in the second half, work some walks, lay down a few more bunts. He’s an 80-plus outfielder, he’s phenomenal in center field and his throwing has gotten a lot better. But offensively it’s time for him to take off. He’s got huge potential and it’s just sitting there waiting to happen.”
Tennessee needs Cubs No. 4 overall prospect Duane Underwood Jr. to recover from a missed spring training and injury and get back to his 2015 form. Underwood Jr. started 10 games in the first half, but didn’t record a single win. He comes into the second half 0-4 with a 5.12 E.R.A.
“I expect him (Underwood Jr.) to turn it on,” Johnson said. “I expect him to come out and compete and be that animal he can be. He can dominate this league and that’s what he has to do. We haven’t seen a whole lot of it. To get hitters out he has to bring his ‘A’ game.”
For an All-Star game, Tuesday’s contest actually turned into a solid event. The South won 5-1, but all the pitchers showed up. The game got away from the North All-Stars in the bottom of the fifth. The North replaced their entire infield. The South got four straight singles, including an RBI from the Blue Wahoos’ Brandon Dixon. A grand slam from Pensacola’s Phillip Ervin would be more than enough to give the South the victory.
“That was incredible,” Ervin told MiLB.com. “I just didn’t want to put the ball on the ground for a double play. It was an exciting feeling, though, to see the home run, especially in front of my mom, dad and girlfriend. Anytime you can do something like that in an All-Star game it’s definitely a great feeling.”
Congrats to former @samfordbaseball OF Phillip Ervin – @SLeagueBaseball All-Star Game Top Star this past week! ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/7Ywp2Z8UTC
— Samford Sports (@Samford_Sports) June 24, 2016
The North picked up its lone run in the top of the ninth in a rally that fell just short. Smokies catcher Victor Caratini sent a double into right field with two outs on the board. A Kean Wong, of the Montgomery Biscuits (Tampa Bay Rays), single brought him in. Lookouts left fielder Travis Harrison took a bag on a single. Thanks to a wild pitch the North had runners on second and third when Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox) second baseman Jake Peter lined out to end the game.
