Mar 4, 2014; Clearwater, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays left fielder Kevin Pillar (11) hits an RBI single in the second inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports
What’s happening in the International League this week? It’s mostly the status quo: Gregory Polanco is mashing and the Durham Bulls and Indianapolis Indians are still in first place. What’s different is that the hottest team in the league is the Buffalo Bisons which has vaulted into first place in the North and gets some extra special mention this week.
Award Winners
Buffalo Bisons’ Kevin Pillar has been driving his club to the top of the North Division standings by regaining his stroke at the plate. Pillar, who finished 2013 off with his big league affiliate, the Toronto Blue Jays, started off the season in a funk, hitting just .114/.152/.205 over the first 10 games of the season. Since then, he has been on a 17-game hitting streak, hitting an incredible .412/.459/.574 since then. This week alone, he’s hit .444/.483/.593 with two doubles, a triple and nine RBI.
The Columbus Clippers’ Josh Tomlin took home the Pitcher of the Week award in the International League this week, throwing a complete-game shutout, allowing only three hits without walking anyone and striking out 10 battes. Tomlin, a 29-year-old righty, is trying to get back to the majors where he has thrown 343 2/3 innings, all with the Cleveland Indians, since 2010. So far this season, Tomlin is dominating the competition, with a 2.06 ERA and 0.89 WHIP with 28 strikeouts and nine walks in 35 innings.
Division Leaders
In the North Division, the Buffalo Bisons have taken over the division lead by a game over the Pawtucket Red Sox. Going by winning percentage, the Bisons also have the best record in the International League with a .643 percengate and going 18-4. This is thanks to seven-game winning streak and a 9-1 record in the club’s past ten games. The big question will be how well Austin Bibens-Dirkx does taking recently-promoted prospect Marcus Stroman‘s spot in the rotation going forward (not bad in his first start). Kevin Pillar’s heating up and Ryan Goins‘ return to Buffalo have also contributed to spark the offense.
The Durham Bulls remain in first place in the South Division, leading the Gwinnett Braves by four games with a 20-12 record. The Tampa Bay Rays’ top club is still getting the job done with a +25 run differential and their high-powered pitching staff allows few baserunners and leads in strikeouts.
In the West division, the club that’s still in control is the Pirates’ affiliate Indianapolis Indians which has a 19-11 record and a 4.5 game lead over the Columbus Clippers. Interestingly, Indianapolis sits in the bottom half of the league in many pitching categories but at the top of the pack in hitting rate stats (OBP, SLG). Despite not having a high-powered offense, the team has several young hitters who are clearly too good for the International League.
Individual Accomplishments
When it comes to pitching, the Buffalo Bisons have three of the top eight pitchers in the league in ERA. Liam Hendriks (third) has a 1.26 ERA over 28 2/3 innings with an astounding 26 to 1 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Sean Nolin has struggled with his control a bit but is either getting very lucky or is practically unhittable as he has a .152 batting average against (he’s getting lucky, as his .197 BABIP will attest). Marcus Stroman was also present on the leader board with a 1.69 ERA in 26 2/3 innings before his promotion to Toronto.
Yohan Pino, the veteran Venezuelan righty, leads the league in ERA at 0.84 in seven appearances and 32 innings. Pino is looking to get to the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins but their expensive rotation may make his path to the show a little more difficult. Incredibly, the 30 year old has never pitched in the majors after six seasons (including this one) in which he’s gotten time at the Triple-A level.
Let’s not forget one of the top pitching prospects in the league, Alex Meyer, the Rochester Red Wings’ righty who is tied with the league lead in strikeouts with 40. The 24 year old is looking to get a bit better handle on his command but has been very good so far with a 3.45 ERA and 1.21 WHIP.
Gregory Polanco still leads the league in hitting with a .397 average and his closest active competitor is now teammate Andrew Lambo who is hitting .344. It’s getting a bit boring to keep talking about Polanco week after week but he’s just a monster, with a .621 SLG and .449 OBP.
26-year-old Chris Parmelee is slugging his way onto the leaderboards. The right fielder who has big league service time from 2011 to 2013 has a .987 OPS to go along with seven doubles and seven home runs and a .327/.398/.589 slash line.