A New Man In Charge

The Asheville Tourists have a new Manager this season in Warren Schaeffer and he has got the Tourists off to a 3-0 start after a 5-3 win over the Rome Braves last night. This is the first season the 30 year old Schaeffer has managed at any level. He has followed a simple formula to this point. Get an early lead, put pressure on the other team by being aggressive on the bases, and let the bullpen close it out. The Tourist have stolen 12 bases in 17 attempts in the three games and forced the Rome Braves pitchers into committing several balks. The Tourists have yet to be behind in any inning this season and the Tourists relievers have saved all three games. This formula will not work in every game but I like aggressive baseball especially in McCormick Field. McCormick Field is a power hitters dream ball park but you cannot depend on it all of the time.

"Hit 'Em Where They Ain't"

"Hit 'em where they ain't" is a quote attributed to old school Hall of Famer Wee Willie Keeler. The Asheville Tourists used their speed to take to the gaps and the base paths to run their way to a 6-3 record over the Rome Braves last night. Six of the Tourists nine hits went for extra bases and they stole eight bases. Centerfielder Wes Rogers tied a South Atlantic League record by stealing five bases in the game (second base three times and third bases twice) and was on base five times- a triple, single, and three walks- as he batted from the leadoff position for the first time this season. He batted from the #9 slot in the first game. Second Baseman Forrest Wall went 2 for 4 with two doubles. Tourists starter, left hander Helmis Rodriquez, pitched six strong innings, giving up an unearned run, and struck out two and walked two. Close Josh Michalec came in to pitch a scoreless ninth to get his second save in as many games.

Opening Day

The Asheville Tourists scratched together 5 hits and 4 runs in their 2015 season opener last night and it was enough to beat the Rome Braves 4-3. Leftfielder Drew Weeks started the scorning off with a solo homerun in the top of the fourth inning and the Tourists added two in the fifth and one in the sixth to finish out their scoring. Starting pitcher Zach Jemiola went 6 innings, giving up two hits and one earned run, struck out 7 and walked 2 to pick up his first win on the season. Closer Josh Michalec made it interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning by when Rome put a runner on second base with two outs. The Rome base runner overran third on an infield single to First Base but First Baseman Henry Garcia threw behind him to Tourists Third Baseman Kevin Padlo who ran him down going towards Home to end the game.

The 2015 Asheville Tourists Opening Day Roster

The Asheville Tourists announced their 2015 Opening Day Roster yesterday and it looks like the Colorado Rockies are stocking Asheville with some highly thought of talent. The Tourists will have 8 of the Colorado Rockies 30 top ranked players (according to the rankings in Baseball America), on their 25 man Roster. The Rockies organization is stacked with talent in the infield. At the top of the list is Second Baseman Forrest Wall, a 2014 Supplemental First Round Draft Pick and former UNC commitment, and ranked as the #7 Rockies Prospect by Baseball America. He batted .318 at Grand Junction in the Rookie League last season. Shortstop Emerson Jimenez (#13) comes back to Asheville for a second season, 18 year old Third Baseman Kevin Padlo (#14)batted .300 at Grand Junction with 8 Homeruns, and Catcher Dom Nunez (#17), .313 with 8 homeruns at Grand Junction. Centerfielder Wes Rogers at #30 rounds out the position players. Starting Pitchers Ryan Castellani #11, Sam Howard #24, and #28 Helmis Rodriguez will head up the Tourists rotation in 2015.

A Second Half Team

The Asheville Tourists have played phenomenal baseball in the second half of the season. As of this post, they have posted a .703 winning percentage (45-19) and have easily outdistanced second place Savannah building a seven game lead with only three games to go. The Tourists have their fair share of offensive stars. Ryan McMahon has been consistently hitting .280 on the season with 17 homeruns and 100 RBI's, Correlle Prime (a great last name for any athlete) has 21 homeruns and 99 RBI's (I wonder if the Tourists have ever had two players that have had 100 RBI's in a season?), and Raimel Tapia has batted .329 with 9 homeruns, 72 RBI's and leads the team with 33 stolen bases. The Tourists pitchers haven't blown batters away with fastballs but have pitched fairly consistently all season long. Johendi Jiminian is 13-5 with a 4.15 ERA and Antonio Senzatela is 14-2 with a 3.20 ERA. The bullpen has pretty much been bullpen by committee with Trent Daniel leading the team in saves with 14 and Dylan Stamey has 11. The Tourists look ready to make another championship r un.

McMahon On An RBI Tear

Third Baseman Ryan McMahon drove in 5 of Asheville's 7 runs last night including a walk off, bases loaded single up the middle to propel the Tourists to a 7-6 win over Lexington last night. The Tourists jumped out to a quick 6-2 lead before Lexington scored 4 runs off of reliever Jeffri Hernandez to tie the game at 6. McMahon has driven in 65 runs in 76 games played and he displayed the same ability to drive in runs at a high rate at Grand Junction in the Pioneer League last season. He has had an impressive season but I may be more impressed with Ryan McMahon the person. I saw him signing autographs for some young fans along with a couple of other players before a game a couple of weeks ago and I was happy to see that type of interaction. The majority of the other players were passing these same fans by without even a nod. The players are the best form of Public Relations a minor league team can have. My friend and I were talking about how only 2 or 3 players on Asheville's roster this year will even make it to AAA much less the majors. These players had better enjoy the attention and adulation of small town America while they can because the majority of these guys will be completely out of baseball in 2 or 3 years and they will not even be a footnote in a statistical guide.

On The Road Again

The Asheville Tourists spotted Greenville a 2-0 lead last night before scoring all five of their runs in the top of the sixth inning to win 5-2. Asheville loaded the bases in the top of the sixth on a Zach Osborne single, a David Dahl walk, and two errors by Drive Shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin. Raimel Tapia followed with a bases clearing double and Ryan McMahon drove him home with his 12th homerun. The Tourists only had 5 hits in the game but made them count. Starting Pitcher Alex Blalog went 5 1/3 innings, gave up 10 hits but only two runs. He improved his record to 6-3. Reliever Trent Daniel came on next and he pitched 2 2/3 scoreless inning and Matt Carasiti pitched a scoreless 9th inning for his 2nd Save on the season.