Memphis Redbirds 2014 – Memphis Flyer

Allison Rhoades/Memphis Redbirds

The Memphis Redbirds are back in the Pacific Coast League playoffs. For the first time since 2010, the Redbirds will compete for one of two league championships at the Triple-A level (the other being the International League’s). As you were grilling burgers on the Fourth of July, you didn’t exactly see postseason baseball coming to AutoZone Park two months later. But thanks to some stellar starting pitching and the thunderous bat of a sometimes-overlooked slugger, the Redbirds will indeed host the Omaha Storm Chasers this Friday in Game 3 of the PCL’s American Conference championship. If momentum can be carried over from the regular season, Memphis has a more than decent chance of earning the franchise’s third PCL title.

How significant has the Redbirds’ two-month surge been? Consider the team was lagging in fourth (last) place in their division on July 2nd, with a record of 38-46 after being shut out by the Nashville Sounds. Starting the next day in New Orleans, Memphis won five straight and eight of ten games. Having won seven games through the end of June, starting pitcher Tim Cooney won seven more games to break the franchise record for victories in a season. Another lefty, Tyler Lyons, won six consecutive starts. Marco Gonzales and Zach Petrick added to the fun, providing the Redbirds with one of the most consistent starting rotations in Triple-A baseball. Supported by an offense that found its groove right after super-prospect Oscar Taveras was promoted to St. Louis (July 1st), Redbird pitching posted a 41-18 record to finish the season with 79 wins, third most in franchise history.

The face of that hitting groove has been first-baseman Xavier Scruggs. The 26-year-old slugger was hitting .248 on July 2nd, almost precisely his career average (.249) over the first six seasons of his pro career. But with an August for the ages (.345, 8 homers, 28 RBIs), Scruggs managed to steal some headlines from more talked-about Cardinal prospects like Randal Grichuk and Stephen Piscotty.

“The season’s been a learning process,” says Scruggs. “I had to make a lot of adjustments, to figure out what pitchers were trying to do to me, and have a plan. I had to take a step back. Physically, I had to make my swing shorter, started taking what a pitcher gives me, even if it’s just a base hit to the right side.” Like every aspiring big-leaguer, Scruggs aims to be a more consistent hitter as he ponders the offseason and his future in the game. (Scruggs is not on the Cardinals’ 40-man roster so will not be going to St. Louis this month to help in the parent club’s pennant race.)

Scruggs is reluctant to accept accolades without mentioning the impact of his teammates. In particular, he describes how important outfielder Tommy Pham has been to the playoff push. With his playing time boosted upon the promotion of Taveras, Pham finished the season hitting .324 with 20 stolen bases. “Tommy has worked hard all season,” says Scruggs, “even when he wasn’t playing. As soon as he jumped in, he was able to be a spark plug. He’s been huge for us. It’s one of the reasons we took off.”

And how do you explain three months of sub-.500 baseball, followed by a two-month storming of the PCL gates? “The team just started gelling,” says Scruggs. “All the personalities came together, and everyone started feeling their role. Pitching came together and hitting came together at the same time. Earlier in the season, there’d be good pitching one day, but no hitting. For some reason, it took our team that long [to gel]. I can’t put a finger on exactly why, but I’m just glad we ended up doing it.”

Scruggs is one of eight current Redbirds who played for the 2012 Springfield Cardinals, a team that won the Texas League (Double-A) championship. He sees similarities in the 2014 Redbirds, and beyond the familiar faces of teammates like Eric Fornataro, Audry Perez, and Jermaine Curtis. “Guys want to finish strong,” says Scruggs. “Guys are trying to finish strong individually and collectively. When we started to play better, you got the sense guys wanted to get here earlier, stay later. We were having more fun in the clubhouse. Everybody in that clubhouse is a huge team guy. There are no big egos on this team. It’s fun to be around.”

Oscar Taveras

The 2014 Memphis Redbirds have been a perplexing team. Stacked with just enough veterans and an outfield a few major-league teams would be happy to field, the club has been scratching and clawing to reach break-even for three months now. After opening the season with three wins, the team has never been four games above .500, and never more than five below .500 (as they were through Sunday). The good news? Memphis is tucked in the Pacific Coast League’s version of the World Cup’s “Group of Death,” four teams within five games of one another with two months left in the regular season. A return to the postseason after four years is within reach. But will this team ever find traction?

Last Thursday at AutoZone Park, the Redbirds opened a critical 18-game stretch against their three division rivals: Round Rock, Nashville, and first-place New Orleans. Game-time temperature was in the mid-80s, there was a reasonable crowd to open a homestand, and veteran John Gast was on the hill for the ’Birds. The Redbirds’ second through sixth hitters in the batting order — Randal Grichuk, Oscar Taveras, Stephen Piscotty, Scott Moore, and Xavier Scruggs — each entered the game with at least 38 RBIs. (Memphis and New Orleans are the only two PCL clubs with four 40-RBI men.) The table seemed to be set for something fun.

Gast didn’t last four innings. Unable to hit the upper 80s on the radar gun, the 25-year-old lefty took a step back in his climb back from surgery last July, allowing 10 hits, four walks, and nine earned runs while retiring only 10 batters. (This is a pitcher who opened the 2013 season with a franchise-record streak of 32 scoreless innings.) Angel Castro relieved Gast and didn’t allow a hit in 3 2/3 innings, but the damage had been done. As for the potent Memphis offense, they outhit the Express, 13-10. Alas, every Redbird hit was a single, four of them by uber-prospect Taveras. Memphis left 13 men on base and fell four games under .500 for the first time this season.

Joe Kelly was no better Friday night. Making his first rehab start after a lengthy stay on the St. Louis Cardinals’ disabled list, Kelly lasted only two innings, allowing a pair of runs and three walks. The Redbirds’ offense awakened for seven runs, one shy of those scored by the Express.

Despite the presence of Taveras, Grichuk, and Piscotty (that all-prospect outfield), the Redbirds’ offense (ranked 10th in the 16-team PCL in batting) has been schizophrenic. Memphis has scored seven or more runs 29 times (winning 24 of those games), but has scored fewer than three runs 21 times (losing all but three). In the run-happy PCL, the Redbirds are seventh in scoring and 11th in home runs. Only four PCL teams have allowed fewer runs than the Redbirds, yet Memphis has yet to build so much as a four-game winning streak.

Starting pitching, of course, is the lifeblood of any winning streak. Redbird manager Pop Warner has called upon nine different pitchers to make multiple starts this season. Thirteen were needed last season, and that’s with current Cardinals Michael Wacha and Carlos Martinez combining for 28. That team finished 69-75 (though the Redbirds weren’t eliminated from the playoffs until the season’s final game). Who is the ace for the 2014 Redbirds? Tim Cooney (15 starts) and Angel Castro (14) have had lockdown outings — and each has been lit up. The Cardinals’ minor-league Pitcher of the Year last season, Zach Petrick is 4-3 with a 4.48 ERA in his first Triple-A season. In 23 starts, Scott McGregor and Boone Whiting have combined for a 1-11 record. When the Cardinals needed a starter to fill the newly disabled Wacha’s spot in the rotation last week in Colorado, they called upon Marco Gonzales, who has starred this year for the Double-A Springfield Cardinals.

Without steadier starting pitching, it’s hard to envision these Redbirds playing post-season baseball. The continued growth of Taveras (.318 batting average), Grichuk (.283), and Piscotty (.315) will draw the attention of fans at AutoZone Park (and scouts, as the July 31st trade deadline nears). If Wacha (or Jaime Garcia) regains his health in St. Louis, Gonzales may be assigned to the Memphis rotation. It would be the most productive demotion in recent Redbird history, perhaps just enough to win the PCL’s Division of Death.

Next week: A midseason look at the St. Louis Cardinals and how recent (and current) Redbirds may impact their playoff chances.