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Columbia Fireflies Review: Inaugural Season Struggles

By John Sheridan

September 13, 2016 5 Comments

Photo by Al Rabon

Photo by Al Rabon

In the inaugural season of the Columbia Fireflies, the Jose Leger led team finished the year 67-73.  They were not a factor in the Sally League playoffs as they were not in the race in either the first half or the second half of the season.  Overall, the Fireflies would be limited by promotions, injuries, and some under-performing players.

There were some good reasons for the disappointing season.  First and foremost were the players that were promoted from Columbia to St. Lucie during the season.

The biggest name promoted was P.J. Conlon.  Conlon dominated the South Atlantic (Sally) League in his first 12 starts.  In those starts, he was 8-1 with a 1.84 ERA and a 0.996 WHIP.  He would be named to the All-Star team, and he would be promoted to St. Lucie where he would post similarly great numbers.

The Fireflies closer, Alex Palsha, would also be promoted.  In 28 appearances, Palsha was 2-3 with 14 saves, a 3.03 ERA, a 1.065 WHIP, and an 11.6 K/9.  Despite Palsha only pitching in the Sally League for roughly half a season, his 14 saves still ranked fifth in the league.

The Fireflies best hitter, David Thompson, would also be promoted.  In 61 games for the Fireflies, Thompson would hit .294/.344/.474 with 22 doubles, two triples, five homers and 58 RBI.  It was part of a big year for the young third baseman who has begun to put himself in the conversation as the Mets third baseman of the future.  Thompson was joined in St. Lucie by Vinny Siena.  With the Fireflies, Siena was an on base machine who was hitting .291/.435/.399 with 16 doubles and four triples in 66 games before he was called up to St. Lucie.

The other major issue for the Fireflies was the decimated Fireflies rotation.  Tyler Badamo has seven quality starts in his 13 starts, and he allowed three earned runs or less in 10 of his 13 starts.  He managed to do that despite a back injury that would hamper him most of the season and would cost him the second half of the season.  Thomas McIlraith was only limited to seven starts, which was disappointing after he had a terrific 2015 in Kingsport.  There was also Christian Montgomery who only made 19 appearances because of a suspension.

One unexpected bright start in the rotation was Andrew Church, in his nine starts for the  Fireflies he was 5-2 with a 2.22 ERA and a 0.85 WHIP.  The highlight of his time with the Fireflies was a complete game shutout in his return to the Fireflies after a stint with the St. Lucie Mets.

The Fireflies poor season wasn’t all about promotions and injuries.  There were some poor performances. Opening Day starter Chase Ingram started out great out of the gate, but he slowly regressed as the season progressed.  Dash Winningham, the man with perhaps the best name in baseball, saw his batting average and power numbers take a dip from where they were last year.   Overall, there were only two Fireflies players that finished in the top 10 in any offensive category, and Winningham was one of them (doubles and RBI).

However, there were some highlights to the Fireflies season.  The first win in franchise history was a combined no-hitter in a game McIlraith started.  Catcher Patrick Mazeika had another high OBP season in the majors showing he can handle the position offensively, and he very well could have a Josh Thole type of career.  Milton Ramos was an outstanding defensive shortstop.

tyler bashlor

Overall, the most impressive player who spend the majority of the year in Columbia was Tyler Bashlor.  Bashlor was dominating out of the bullpen.  In 34 appearances, Bashlor was 4-2 with a 2.50 ERA, 1.252 WHIP, and a 12.2 K/9.  He has a 95 MPH fastball and a sharp slider.  Given his 5’11” frame, his stuff, and his strikeout ability, he may eventually draw comparisons to Billy Wagner, who as many forget, is a natural right-handed pitcher.

Placement among qualifying league leaders in parentheses 

Hitting Leaders

Pitching Leaders

Overall, there were a lot of growing pain in the first ever season for the Columbia Fireflies.  The clear highlights were the no-hitter and the promotions of Conlon, Palsha, Thompson, and Siena.  There were some promising performances, most notably with Tyler Bashlor.  Unfortunately, the year was marred by injuries and down performances.  With that said, it appears as if the Fireflies have the right man in control as Jose Leger’s profile seems to be on the rise with him being named as a coach for Team World in this year’s Future’s Game.

Spirit Communications Park was a big headline for the team being named stadium of the year by Ballpark Digest and being chosen to host the 2017 South Atlantic League All-Star Game. With 29 games left on the schedule they also set a Columbia single season attendance record with 159,986 fans attending home games at the new stadium.

Given what we have seen with the development of some prospects and the promise some of the players had shown before injuries, the Fireflies have the right man in charge, and they will be primed for a much better 2017.

Previous season reviews: Binghamton, DSL , GCL, Las Vegas

Opening Day Columbia Footer

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