BRADENTON -- Going strictly by the numbers, the Bradenton Marauders’ second season hasn’t been too dreamy.
The high Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Bradenton is 27-40, mired in last place in the Florida State League’s South Division, and looking forward to the second half, where everyone starts from zero and begins Thursday.
Yet this is minor-league baseball, where wins and losses are secondary to development and seasoning. The Pirates would love to see the Marauders win the division in the second half, which Bradenton did last summer. But they would also love to see more guys go the way of Kyle McPherson, a pitcher who didn’t participate in Saturday’s FSL All-Star Game because of his promotion to the club’s Double-A affiliate in Altoona, Pa.
So when asked about the team’s progress, Kyle Stark made no mention of a title.
“I think we made progress in some areas in the first half,” said Stark, the Pirates’ director of player development, “but have also identified some areas for improvement in the second half.”
That includes fielding. The Marauders have committed a league-high 86 errors, allowed a league-high 81 steals and have thrown out a league-low 17 percent of runners trying to steal.
Of course, Bradenton also fields the third-youngest team in the league (an average age of 22.3 years).
“Consistency is probably the biggest focus -- in all areas, especially defense -- which is to be expected at this level, but certainly not accepted,” Stark said. “We should see some growth in that area in the second half.”
Bradenton has hit the ball well, however. The Marauders are first in on-base percentage (.346), tied for first in on-base plus slugging (.754) and are second in slugging (.409).
They’ve gotten a jolt from the right side of the infield. Second baseman Jarek Cunningham, who missed all of 2008 after undergoing knee surgery, has hit 12 home runs and driven in 35 runs in 58 games.
He has also committed 16 errors.
“Jarek has made a number of strides this year. We’re pleased with the physical adjustments he has made offensively,” Stark said. “He still needs to improve his strike zone discipline and defense.”
First baseman Aaron Baker has a team-best 47 RBIs while batting .282 with eight home runs. Baker, Cunningham, pitcher Brett Lorin and catcher Ramon Cabrera represented the Marauders in Saturday’s All-Star Game.
“Aaron has been solid this year,” Stark said. “He seems to be seeing a lot of secondary pitches, but seems to be figuring things out offensively. He’s been pretty consistent.”
Bradenton has also received a spark from Robbie Grossman (66 hits, 57 runs scored, 15 steals) and Elevys Gonzalez (.309, 37 RBIs).
The Marauders have pitched to a 4.01 ERA, eighth in the league, but got a huge highlight earlier this year when McPherson came within two outs of throwing the team’s first no-hitter. It’s no surprise McPherson was soon promoted to Double-A after going 4-1 with a 2.89 and walking just six in 712/3 innings with Bradenton.
Lorin has been good, as well, posting a 2-4 record and a 2.82 ERA, while Phillip Irwin is 5-0 with a 2.02 ERA.
While the Marauders have not won as many games on the field as last year, they seem to have won over more fans. They are averaging 1,384 fans, eighth in the league, and have drawn a total of 42,930.
Last year’s team drew 51,856 for the entire season.
“It’s just a lot of hard work for the staff, just getting out there and being everywhere we could possibly be,” said Trevor Gooby, the Pirates director of Florida operations. “We’d like to be at the 1,500 point (average), so we’re still a little short. But obviously we’re very happy with the numbers that we’ve reached so far, and it’s been a really good turnout.”
