P2Daily: Bear Bellomy And The Development List

Baseball is played over a long season, and sometimes the day-to-day grind can get overwhelming. Over the course of 100-plus games, struggles are bound to happen, and sometimes the best thing to do is step aside, take a break, and reset your mind.

When you come back, with a fresh mind, it’s easier to find the little adjustments needed to find that success you were previously having.

Bear Bellomy got off to a rough start this season, posting a 13.03 ERA in his first five appearances, spanning 9 2/3 innings. In those nine plus innings, he allowed eight home runs and his opponents slugged .979 against him.

He was placed on the Development List on May 3rd and remained there for about a week and a half.

The break ended up being huge for Bellomy, who has been lights out since coming back. He allowed three runs in his second appearance back, and has since pitched five scoreless outings, spanning 11 innings.

Bellomy pitched 2 2/3 innings on Wednesday, striking out four, allowing just one hit and walking two. He’s been able to cut his ERA almost in half since coming back, as now it sets at 6.46. Still some ways to go, but he’s taken a huge leap in a short amount of time.

With the early success of Bellomy coming off the Development List, it can potentially pave a road for a couple of other pitchers currently on it.

Adrian Florencio was the Pirates Minor League Pitcher of the Year after his strong season with the Bradenton Marauders. This season has sung a different tune, as Florencio had a 1-8 record with a 8.84 ERA in 12 games before going on the Development List on June 14. His BB/9 has nearly doubled from a year ago, and the struggles can’t even be pinned on playing in Greensboro, his ERA is nearly twice as high on the road than at home.

While he’s put up some video game strikeouts, the Pirates also put Luis Peralta on the Development List back on May 26, as the lefty had walked 20 batters in 21 2/3 innings. He does have 41 strikeouts in that time, but the walks were piling up and hurting his effectiveness.

Sometimes players just to reset their minds, it’s a long season and continually struggling can get very discouraging. We are seeing early signs of the break working with Bellomy, with two more trying to turn their seasons around with the same break.