The Week in Bradenton: New Faces Help Marauders to a Better Week

Bradenton gets some new blood.

Jhonny Severino Photo Credit: WTM

Bradenton broke out of a bad stretch with a 5-1 week against the St. Lucie Mets. It no doubt helped that the Mets are the Florida State League’s worst team, but the Marauders also had help from players they’ve added over the last couple of weeks.

The changes have left the Marauders with a crunch for playing time. They only lost five players: two position players (Omar Alfonzo promoted and Garret Forrester traded), one starter (Carlson Reed promoted), and two relievers (Garrett McMillan and Landon Tomkins promoted). There are still a lot of players left and they’ve been sharing roles with the newcomers, so playing time is accumulating slowly.

Here’s a rundown of the new guys so far:

Jhonny Severino, IF: Severino’s had a very encouraging encouraging start. Through nine games, he’s hitting 297/366/514, with a double, two triples, and a home run in 37 ABs. His K and walk rates are 24.4% and 9.8%, which isn’t great but not terrible. Swing-and-miss figures to be the big concern for him, so this is a good start.

Yordany De Los Santos, IF: There’s probably more at stake here for De Los Santos than for Severino because De Los Santos got 125 plate appearances at Bradenton last year and struggled badly. Through 33 PAs this year, he’s hitting just 182/341/182. One good sign is eight walks and just five Ks. Last year he fanned in almost exactly half his ABs with the Marauders.

Duce Gourson, IF: The Pirates’ ninth-round pick this year, Gourson hasn’t had much opportunity yet. So far, he’s 1-for-9, the one hit being a double, with four walks and three Ks.

Derek Berg, C: This year’s tenth-rounder, Berg also has had limited plate appearances. He’s gone 2-for-11, with an inside-the-park grand slam, one walk and two Ks. He’s caught twice and played first once, as even with Alfonzo and Forrester gone, the Pirates are rotating three catchers through the position.

Miguel Sosa, OF: Sosa’s been with the Marauders longer than the others listed here, playing in 17 games. He’s showing a lot of patience, with a 28.6% walk rate, but he also has a 33.8% K rate. He’s batting 200/343/327.

Zander Mueth, RHP: In his first two starts, Mueth has struggled to throw strikes, walking nine in just 4.2 IP. He had control issues, although not such bad ones, early in the FCL season and overcame them.

Carlos Castillo, RHP: The FCL staff this year was very thin on potential. Besides Mueth and David Matoma, Castillo was probably the closest thing to a prospect. He’s gotten hit around quite a bit in two outings covering four innings. Opponents have batted .476 against him.

Clevari Tejada, RHP: Tejada played a swing role in the FCL, averaging 3-4 innings per outing. He had good games and bad; at the end of the season, he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but he also finished with a 4.98 ERA. He’s done fine in his first three outings for the Marauders, two in relief and one start, totaling 10.2 IP. He has a 3.38 ERA and 1.13 WHIP.

Greiber Mendez, RHP: In the FCL, Mendez pitched decently as a reliever. In four outings with Bradenton, he has a 4.70 ERA and 1.57 WHIP.

Noah Takacs, RHP: A non-drafted free agent signed out of college, Takacs wasn’t effective in the FCL, posting a 6.20 ERA and weak numbers otherwise. With the Marauders, he’s allowed five hits and six walks in 5.1 IP.

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