In West Virginia’s recent history, being able to put a winning baseball team on the field while consistently preparing prospects for the next level has been a formula that has been hard to come by, that is until recently.
The Power have one of the most talented rosters in the South Atlantic League with players like Stetson Allie, Josh Bell, Tyler Glasnow and Dilson Herrera calling Charleston home this summer. The team has ridden hot starts by a handful of players and consistent performances from others to climb back into the SAL Northern division race.
West Virginia entered play Saturday at 26-22 and riding a five-game winning streak. Wins were hard to come by in April since the emergence of Glasnow as a must-see pitcher the Power have been an especially tough team to beat.
Glasnow has been a strikeout machine in his last five starts but has also been good at keeping the opposition off the scoreboard. During that span he has posted at least seven strikeouts and two or fewer earned runs in every appearance. For the season Glasnow now has 62 strikeouts compared to just 23 walks in 39 innings pitched.
Allie appeared to be cooling off a few weeks back but has since gone back to being one of the most dangerous hitters in all of the minor leagues. He’s got a .345/427/.650 line and leads the SAL with a 1.077 OPS.
Herrera has been doing the majority of his work hitting from the No. 2 spot in the lineup. He has a .319/.374/.494 line and has been a fixture on the bases with Bell and Alllie hitting behind him.
Allie leads the league with 45 RBIs and is tied for the home run lead (13). Bell’s batting average is down compared to some other on the team, but he has been productive with a .278/.356/.461 line.
Add in solid contributions from Eric Wood, Walker Gourley, Ashley Ponce and Francisco Diaz (among others) and you get a lineup that can punish a pitcher that is prone to mistakes.
Injury News:
West Virginia placed catcher Wyatt Mathisen and left-handed pitcher Josh Smith on the disabled list (retroactive to May 24 for both) on Saturday prior to its home game against Lakewood (Philadelphia’s Low-A affiliate).
Mathisen had a .185/.256/.210 line in 119 at-bats and left Thursday’s game after being hit by a pitch. Smith has appeared in 13 games out of the Power bullpen and had posted a 1-1 record with a 6.75 ERA in 13 innings pitched.
Barrett Barnes continues to work to get back to West Virginia after going down with a hamstring injury on May 2. Power manager Mike Ryan said Barnes was doing rehabilitation work in Florida and did not have a timetable for his return.
