The Peoria Chiefs are only 12 games into their season. So it may be a bit premature to tell if this team is for real, but there are some good clues pointing to a positive conclusion.
For openers the Chiefs are presently 8-4 and have played some of the better teams in Western Division of the Midwest League. They are 1 game behind the Quad City Bandits who have played some of the weaker teams. Peoria is 3-3 at home and 5-1 on the road.
It’s the pitching that has been their strong point and that’s a bit surprising to some. Dave Eminian of the Peoria Journal Star considered the starters to be adequate and not as good as the ’14 Chiefs. So far he likes what he has seen of the ’15 version and is especially impressed with Danny Poncedeleon. Their staff’s 2.15 ERA is 2nd in the 16 team league and they are 5th in Ks with 97. Two of their relievers, Nicky Lomascolo (10 Ks in 5.2 innings) and Kyle Grana (9 Ks in 4.2 inn.) have been lights out in the late innings.
The Chiefs are 2nd in BA and 3rd in OPS in the league. Darren Sefarina (.355) and Collin Radack (.333) have led the offense to date. Magneuris Sierra, Blake Drake and Alex De Leon are off to slow starts but have been waking up the last few games.
This team is made up mostly of the ’14 NY-Penn Champions State College Spikes so they know how to win. There are a few players from Johnson City and a couple from the GCL Cards plus 4 returnees. There are a few high draft picks(Flaherty, Mercado and Gomber) but the others are lower ’13 draft picks and 5th to 20th rounders in the ’14 draft. A lot of the Peoria players seem to be over-achievers and are making the Front Office look like wizards.
Something that impresses me is that the Chiefs pitching staff has 5 starters and 5 relievers 6′-3″ or taller. In comparison, our other 3 full-season affiliates have 13 in total. I may be wrong but my thinking is that taller Ps, in general, have an edge. This may be a new strategy in the way the Cardinals draft players.
There are so many other exciting players that have been assigned to Peoria (Will Anderson, Matt Pearce, Steve Bean, Danny Diekroeger, Justin Ringo, Andrew Sohn and Nick Thompson) and I think some will be knocking on the door at Busch Stadium in a few years and playing key roles in St. Louis. This is a good team and one that will be interesting to follow this season.
Thanks for reading, John Baker
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