The Columbia Fireflies inaugural season has reached its halfway point, and the Jose Leger led team finds themselves 33-31. Finishing the first half 6.5 games behind division leader Charleston RiverDogs. To reach the South Atlantic League playoffs, they will either have to win the division in the second half, or if the RiverDogs repeat; have the next best overall record. (They are currently 1.5 games behind the Greenville Drive for the wildcard.)

With a roster that is heavily dependent on 2015 draft picks featuring All Stars, David Thompson, Vinny Siena, PJ Conlon, along with Patrick Mazeika, and Kevin Kaczmarski. It also features some talented high tool players that have been developing in the system for a while, such as Ivan Wilson, Milton Ramos, and Jeff Diehl.

What has gone right…

The franchise got started off on the right foot, in the third game of the season Thomas McIlraith, Alex Palsha, and Johnny Magliozzi combined to pitch a no-hitter against the aforementioned RiverDogs.

The most promising aspect of the team is the production the team is getting from its most promising prospects. David Thompson has been among the RBI leaders in all of baseball all season long. Not so coincidentally Vinny Siena is among the leaders in runs scored. PJ Conlon has dominated and went 10 innings in one start.

Other positive contributions have come from, Andrew Church who moved up to St. Lucie after two outstanding starts. Jeff Diehl already has surpassed his career high in HR, and Milton Ramos has been a vacuum at SS. Luis Ortega is holding his own after a delayed start and skipping Brooklyn In the bullpen Alex Palsha has thrived in high leverage situations,Tyler Bashlor has been lights out after recovering from injury for two seasons, and Seth Davis is averaging more than a k an inning.

Team Batting Leaders – 

• Hits: Vinny Siena 65
• Runs:  Vinny Siena 53 – second in the SAL
• Doubles: Dash Winningham & David Thompson 20 – tied for third in SAL
• HR:  Jeff Diehl 7
• BA: Vinny Siena .291
• OBP: Vinny Siena .435 – tied for first in SAL
• RBI: David Thompson 49 – tied for first in SAL
• SLG: David Thompson .463

Team Pitching Leaders –

• Wins: PJ Conlon 8 – First in SAL
• Innings: PJ Conlon 78.1 – second in SAL
• Starter ERA: PJ Conlon 1.84 – second in SAL
• Reliever ERA: Tyler Bashlor 1.74, 31 innings
• Starter WHIP: PJ Conlon 1.00 – third in SAL
• Reliever WHIP: Alex Palsha 0.98
• Strikeouts: Joe Shaw 67 – tied for tenth in SAL
• Saves: Alex Palsha 11 – tied for second in SAL
• SO/W: PJ Conlon 6.1

What has not gone right…

In a word, injuries… The team lost Tucker Tharp to orbital fracture early in the season. Patrick Mazeika started his season six weeks late, Kevin Kaczmarski missed some time, and a bit concerning David Thompson was placed on the DL.  The Fireflies have also used eight starting pitchers through the halfway point, with Thomas McIlraith not having pitched in the last month.

There have been some struggles with players expected to produce as well. Vicente Lupo, repeating Low A, was hitting just .181 and slugging a putrid .264 before a demotion to Brooklyn. In what started a promising season, Ivan Wilson has regressed back to striking out 33% of the time, though that is still a career best mark.

Nicco Blank is another player who has been demoted to Brooklyn after struggling with an 11.23 ERA. Johnny Magliozzi could not hold onto the closer role, blowing three of his six save opportunities, before Alex Palsha secured the role. Thomas McIlraith, who along with the combined no-hitter, has the only complete game among the starting staff, somehow also has a 6.23 ERA and a .291 BAA.

What lies ahead…

The summer roster shuffle, it has already started. Tucker Tharp, still on the DL, was promoted to St. Lucie. Vicente Lupo was recalled from Brooklyn to take his place on the roster.  Nicco Blank is the the Cyclone bullpen. Enmanuel Zabala had a brief cameo before the Brooklyn season started and should return at some point this summer.

David Thompson needs to be promoted, he is above the competition at this level, unfortunately Jhoan Urena hasn’t cleared the way to St. Lucie just yet. Complicating the issue is the return from suspension, of power hitting third baseman Eudor Garcia, who is still listed on the Columbia roster. Cutting Michael Katz and bringing Thompson to St. Lucie to play first and DH is an idea that probably isn’t given enough press. While letting Garcia get back into game action in Columbia, would at least allow enough PA for everyone.

Vinny Siena with his 18.6% walk rate is waiting patiently for Amed Rosario to head to Binghamton so he can man second in St. Lucie with Luis Guillorme moving to his natural SS. PJ Conlon also needs to be tested against better competition. As a soft tossing LH, his secondary pitches need to be refined against players who can actually hit breaking balls. 

A lot of all the player movement is going to depend on the Wilpon’s and their infatuation with winning minor league levels at the expense of player development. How much does winning in the SAL mean to them with the new franchise, and how willing are they to move players out of Brooklyn and provide skilled reinforcements to Columbia.