Originally posted by A.J. Holz, Seattle Storm GM
Seattle jumped back up to first place in the FLP on the strength of an 8-2 run that saw them sweep their current arch-enemy, the Long Beach Surfers. The FLP is shaping up to be a two-team race here in the early going, with the Storm and Surfers swapping the first-place spot several times already. Calgary and Las Vegas aren't too far behind, however, as both teams are just seven games back.
Most of the great stories coming out of Seattle involve the emergence of several key young players who the Storm were counting on to lead them into a new era. The team is first in the Frick in many batting categories, most notably runs scored, SLG, and OPS.
Leading the attack is 24-year-old slugger
Benjamin Rivero, who's hit his breakout year and leads the team in most offensive categories. Currently his .322 average, 15 homers, and 76 RBI is the center of the Seattle offense and a big reason why the team is winning ballgames. He leads the major leagues in RBI as well.
Other hitters enjoying extremely good starts are:
- Shortstop
Rob Van Winkle, who's hitting .360/.418/.524
- Second baseman
Mack Randall, at .322/.375/.547
- Right fielder
Dash Kelly, at .341/.377/.487 with 63 stolen bases in 71 attempts (!)
- Third baseman
War Astudillo, at .304/.374/.460
With all this offense going on, the obvious beneficiaries are going to be Seattle's pitchers. There were some questions about the rotation coming out of Spring Training, but the Seattle staff has exuded confidence and consistency so far. The staff ace so far has been
Andres Balbuena, who's 10-2 with a sparkling 3.02 ERA.
Juan Nieves (8-6 3.66) and
Scott Piippo (6-3 3.03) have been also been pitching well. And surprisingly, 36-year-old
Teddy Higuera is enjoying a resurgent season as the club's #4 starter, posting a 7-3 record and 4.15 ERA to date.
The bullpen has been shaky, clocking in at 9th in the Frick in ERA, but so far despite bending (closer
Alfredo Gutierrez has a 5.68 ERA) hasn't broken (he also leads the majors with 23 saves in 27 attempts).
Can the team keep up this kind of performance and hold off the rest of the Frick for the rest of the season? Time will tell. In the meantime, we congratulate the five Seattle players elected to the Frick All-Star Team:
SP
Andres Balbuena
CL
Alfredo Gutierrez
RF
Dash Kelly
SS
Rob Van Winkle
1B
Benjamin Rivero