Staten Island Yankees vs. West Virginia Black Bears Championship Preview

Tonight, the Staten Island Yankees will begin their best-of-three New York-Penn League championship series in Morgantown, West Virginia against the West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh Pirates). This series is a rematch of the one that took place in Morgantown from July 24-26, when West Virginia swept Staten Island, but both teams look different since then.

The Baby Bombers had the last three days off after sweeping the Tri-City Valleycats (Houston Astros) in the semifinal round. Pat Osborn’s team, which has won six straight games, will be looking to win the organization’s seventh championship and the franchise’s first since 2011.

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As for the Black Bears, they won their deciding Game 3 against the Williamsport Crosscutters (Philadelphia Phillies) last night by a final score of 5-0. The Crosscutters came into the series with the best record in the league, but West Virginia’s pitching was the difference as they gave up a combined four runs in the three games.

This season, in their first year in the league, Wyatt Toregos’ team won the Wild Card spot with a 41-34 record. The Black Bears’ offense scored 252 runs during the regular season, which was third in the league (Staten Island scored 244). Their big bat in the lineup is outfielder Logan Hill. The 22-year-old hit .297 this season with seven home runs, 45 RBI’s, and had a .402 on-base percentage.

On the mound, the Black Bears’ pitching staff was tied for the second most innings pitched in the league. West Virginia’s pitchers have the fourth most strikeouts in the league (Staten Island was third). The key factor in this series could come down to the bullpen. Both the Yankees and the Black Bears had 25 saves, which was tied for the league lead in that category.

As for who Staten Island will throw in this round, Robert Pimpsner of Pinstriped Prospects was the first to report that Kolton Mahoney will start tonight for the Baby Bombers with James Kaprielian pitching Game 2 and Domingo Acevedo in Game 3 (if necessary).

To get more information on West Virginia before tonight’s series opener, I spoke with Justin Frazee, who covers the team for the Pirates’ Fansided site, Rum Bunter. Justin will be tweeting from the site’s twitter account (@RumBunter) as he will be at Game 1 tonight. As for us at Yanks Go Yard, we will be at Game 2 and Game 3 (if necessary) when the series shifts to Staten Island. The Yankees have home field in this series because they were the McNamara division champions. Here is my Q+A with Justin:

Ricky: With this being the first season of New York-Penn League baseball in Morgantown, what has been the fan reaction to the team this season?

Justin: For those of you who aren’t aware, Morgantown West Virginia is mostly known for being the home of West Virginia University. The West Virginia Power, the Pittsburgh Pirates low A affiliate, are the only other professional team in the state and they are based in Charleston. Morgantown, and the area around it, is growing. This, and the short distance to Pittsburgh, made it a very smart choice for the Pittsburgh Pirates to place an affiliate. Monongalia County Ballpark is the home to the West Virginia Black Bears and the West Virginia University Baseball team. This beautiful ballpark was named BaseballParks.com Ballpark of the Year for 2015.

http://rumbunter.com/2015/08/12/monongalia-county-ballpark-named-ballpark-of-the-year/

Based on what I have seen during the inaugural season, the fans are embracing the team. They have also shown that they understand the game. They know when to cheer, and even when to get louder, for the players on the field and not just for the between inning entertainment. Personally, I have attended a few games with my three-year-old daughter just to get the fan perspective. I would describe it as a very family friendly, welcoming atmosphere and a fun night out for all. Just from chatting with other fans, you can tell they are enjoying having a team to put their support behind.

R: Back in late July, the Black Bears swept Staten Island in a three game series at West Virginia. What’s different about the Black Bears now and what did you take away from that series?

J: I looked back at our series recap to refresh my memory on the series. The Yankees came to Morgantown while the Black Bears were on the longest winning streak of the season. Coincidentally, the nine game winning streak came to end the very next series when the Black Bears traveled to Tri-City. Game Two of the series stuck out to me. JT Brubaker combined with John Holdzkom (here on a rehab start) and Cesilio Pimentel to complete a one hit shutout.

The biggest thing that is different now compared to then would have to be a few of the players. The Pittsburgh Pirates first round pick Kevin Newman and Third Round pick Kevin Kramer were major pieces of the team that have since been called up to Low A ball with the West Virginia Power. The departure of these two have caused several changes. The first would be Mitchell Tolman moving from third base to second base and from last in the lineup to first in the order. The next would be the addition of Pirates first round pick Ke’Bryan Hayes. Finally, there is the promotion of Carlos Munoz, who was named the Appalachian League Player of the Year.

R: Outfielder Ke’Bryan Hayes was taken by the Pirates in the first round of this year’s draft. What has stood out to you about Hayes since he joined the team in August?

J: To answer this question, I am going to refer you to a feature that Rum Bunter Editor Jason Rollison did just last week on Ke’Bryan Hayes. You will also find a Rum Bunter Radio Prospect Profile link at the bottom of the article that features audio from Ke’Bryan and also Coach Wyatt Toregas speaking about his impressions of the young star.

R: Both of these teams had 25 saves this year, which tied for the league lead. Who are some of the late inning relievers that the Yanks should expect to see in this series?

J: Having just come off of the series with the Williamsport Crosscutters, I will start with Julio Eusebio. Eusebio led the team with five saves this season. Cesilio Pimentel was next with four saves and had the most innings for a non-starter with fifty-two. Pimentel also led the team with sixty-three strikeouts. Tate Scioneaux has appeared in ten games starting at the end of July and has had several strong outings, including a 4.1 inning/5 strikeout appearance against Williamsport in what was an eleven inning win for the Black Bears. Edgar Santana, Andy Otamendi and Sean Keselica each had three saves this season. Nick Hibbing has a 1.70 ERA out of the bullpen to lead the team for pitchers with more than ten appearances, he has seventeen. Tanner Anderson and Stephan Meyer have been seeing a few innings of work since being called up from Rookie Ball.

R: How do you expect manager Wyatt Toregas to lineup his pitching rotation for this series?

J: My original thought process was that JT Brubaker would get the start in Game One since he didn’t pitch in the previous series. However, I noticed that Dario Agrazal is showing as the probable starter on the Black Bears website. Agrazal has been soild at home. With Agrazal getting the ball in game one, I would think that the game two starter would be JT Brubaker and Bret Helton would be the starter in the final game, if necessary. Brandon Waddell pitched on Sunday in the final game against Williamsport so I don’t think he would be available for game three. With all of that being said, Coach Wyatt Toregas has done a great job all season and I am sure he will send the best guys for the job out to the mound.

Editor’s Note: The lineup was announced Monday afternoon. JT Brubaker is in fact the starter for today. I would assume we will throw Agrazal in Game Two then.

R: Who are some of the key players on this Black Bears offense that you think will make an impact in this series?

J: Mitchell Tolman has been swinging a hot bat. He is hitting .304 for the season. Tolman has had five multi-hit games in the last six games. Logan Hill led the team with seven home runs this season. Daniel Arribas has three home runs including one off the scoreboard in left center field during the Game One win over Williamsport. Carlos Munoz has adjusted well to his call up and is batting .400 in the playoffs. Christian Kelley had three hits in the series against Williamsport. Ty Moore, Casey Hughston, Erik Forgione and Ke’Bryan Hayes have struggled somewhat so far in the playoffs but could break out. I know I have named everyone in the lineup we had against Williamsport. The reason for this is because it has been a team effort all season and down the stretch has been no different. Many of the guys on this team have stepped up at different times so I don’t think we could name just a couple key players.

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