After winning the then-named Low-A Southeast division title in 2021, the Bradenton Marauders didn’t get off to the best of starts this year trying to defend.
During the first half of the season, Bradenton put together a 29-36 record, while also posting a run differential of -28 in the process.
As the season has gone on, and especially since the start of the second half, you can see the improvements being made by the Marauders. During the second half, they have posted a far better 17-9 record, and is in the positive side of run differential, with a +28 mark.
While it takes the entire team to make this kind of turnaround, here are a look at some of the players really shinning during the second half.
—Rodolfo Nolasco is currently on the IL, so it may be some time before we see him on the field, but that doesn’t discount what he did to get things going in the second half. In fact, you can make a case the Marauders really got going when his bat did. He’s slashed .345/.466/.759 with six home runs during the second half.
—Jase Bowen has been among the best players on the roster all season, leading Bradenton in hits, doubles, stolen bases and OPS, while trailing only Nolasco in home runs.
—Carlos Jimenez pitched only two innings on Wednesday before coming out of the game after getting hit in the shoulder by a line drive. Up to that injury, the 19-year-old had struck out 20 batters in 16 innings during the second half, owning a 21% swinging strike rate in that span.
—Po-Yu Chen leads in the Marauders in starts in that span with four, posting a 1-0 record with 20 strikeouts in 19 1/3 innings pitched. The early season spin rates he was posting are really starting to translate as the year has gone on.
—Johan Montero was featured here on Tuesday, and the righty has gone 2-0 with a save across eight relief appearances during the second half. He’s struck out 18 batters in 13 innings and has posted a 3.46 ERA.
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THIS WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS
Williams: The Pirates Are Hitting For Power and Nothing Else
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