Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ pitching staff leaving opposing batters baffled

Myrtle Beach Pelicans manager Buddy Bailey has no doubts about his team’s pitching staff.

“They’re amongst the league lead in multiple categories and the big factor for me is how many walks you issue and they’ve done a great job limiting the free passes,” said Bailey, whose team is 39-38 overall. “For the large part, the reason we’ve played .500 baseball is because of our pitching.”

The Pelicans – the Chicago Cubs’ Class A-Advanced affiliate – boast a Carolina League-best ERA (3.44) and WHIP (1.26) as a team. They are also first in saves (30), tied for first in shutouts (8), and have yielded the fewest walks (207) in the league.

“They’ve been really, really good,” Myrtle Beach pitching coach Anderson Tavarez said. “I’m proud of them. They’re working really hard every single day and when they’re on the mound they do whatever it takes. Sometimes you miss your locations and sometimes you don’t execute your pitches well and you’ll pay for that. But when that happens, these guys can bounce back.”

The Pelicans’ six-man rotation is headed by Trevor Clifton, Zach Hedges and Jake Stinnett – each of whom were all named Carolina League all-stars.

Myrtle Beach was the only team in the California-Carolina League All-Star Game with three starters participating in the activities. Tavarez joined the trio at the game in Lake Elsinore, Calif.

Hedges and Stinnett each tossed one shutout inning, while Clifton earned the save as the trio helped the Carolina League take a 6-4 victory over the California League.

“Those three guys have dominated; threw strikes, attacked hitters. It’s no surprise,” said Tavarez, who has been a pitching coach in the Chicago Cubs’ organization since 2007. “I think they’re three of the best pitchers I’ve worked with, and we’ve got a great staff. So that says a lot.”

Bailey gives a lot of credit to Tavarez – who is in his first year with the team – for helping keep the team’s arms steady all season.

“He’s done a great job, working with them,” Bailey said. “This pitching staff has just been so good, and a lot of that has to do with [Tavarez].”

Just how good has this pitching staff been, though?

Of the Pelicans’ six starters, four (Hedges, Clifton, Stinnett, Erick Leal) are among the top eight in the Carolina League in ERA and starter Jonathan Martinez (4.35 ERA) is in the top 20.

“It definitely hasn’t been just me. We’ve all been doing well,” Hedges said. “We all just go out there and give everything we got and the results have proved that.”

Indeed.

Leal leads the Carolina League in wins (9), and his 3.33 ERA is good for seventh in the league. Hedges leads the Pelicans with a 2.61 ERA (third in Carolina League), Clifton’s ERA is good for fourth in the league and his 70 strikeouts (sixth in Carolina League) lead the Pelicans, while Stinnett owns a 6-3 record with a 3.36 ERA (eighth in Carolina League).

And while Myrtle Beach’s rotation has found success, the bullpen has been equally impressive.

Closer Ryan McNeil is second in the Carolina League in saves (9) and has a 2.73 ERA with 30 strikeouts across 29 2/3 innings. Reliever Jordan Minch has a 3.38 ERA and 24 Ks in 25 games, Tommy Thorpe – who started four games – has thrived out of the bullpen with a 3-4 record, 3.89 ERA and 40 strikeouts across 44 innings.

James Pugliese and Daury Torrez have also been mainstays in the bullpen and while they haven’t found major success, they have logged quality innings for Myrtle Beach. Pugliese has a 4.23 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 27 2/3 innings, and Torrez – who was a starter for the Pelicans last season – owns a 4.36 ERA with 27 strikeouts in 33 innings.

“Those relievers have worked their butts off, helping out their starters and closing out games for them,” Tavarez said. “They deserve a lot of credit.”

David Berg, Jose Rosario and James Farris dominated Carolina League hitters before each were called up to Double-A Tennessee. Berg had two wins, four saves and posted a 1.42 ERA and 0.87 WHIP with 10 strikeouts in 12 2/3 innings over nine appearances, Rosario was 1-0 with five saves and 14 strikeouts in 16 1/3 innings across 12 games, and Farris struck out 36 in 30 innings and held a 2.40 ERA with eight saves in 17 appearances.

“All those guys were great when they were here,” Bailey said.

Meanwhile, none of the team’s starters have moved from the roster this season but Tavarez believes a few of them are ready to pitch at the next level.

“That’s the main thing I talk to them about, I always say, ‘hey, do you think you’re ready to pitch at the next level?’ Because if you can’t pitch here, you can’t pitch at a higher level – that’s for sure,” Tavarez said. “If they can do that well against hitters in this league, then they definitely have a shot [at success]. I can see quite a few of these guys having great careers.”

Myrtle Beach is just seven games into a 70-game second half, and Tavarez doesn’t have any doubts that the pitching staff will follow it’s dominant first-half performance with another.

“They’re comfortable. And they know they have to come out strong in the second half,” he said. “At the end, you have to finish strong and show that you’re confident. And I have confidence in them.”

This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 11:29 PM with the headline "Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ pitching staff leaving opposing batters baffled."