Davis Polo was a fringe prospect at best heading into this season, but with a blistering end to the year he has turned into one of the surprise breakouts of the second half. Polo marched into his Double-A debut and didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning, while striking out 17 hitters on the best lineup in the league. Polo was backed up by another great game for John Gil, who is leading the Columbus lineup with an 11-game hitting streak.
(70-68) Gwinnett Stripers 0, (70-67) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 1
Box Score
Statcast
- Jim Jarvis, SS: 0-2, BB, .301/.400/.438
- David McCabe, 1B: 0-3, .283/.333/.472
- Lizandro Espinoza, CF: 0-3, .250/.338/.375
- Owen Murphy, SP: 6 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 5 K, 3.07 ERA
(71-68) Gwinnett Stripers 3, (70-68) Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 1
Box Score
Statcast
- Jim Jarvis, SS: 0-2, 2 BB, .301/.400/.438
- David McCabe, 1B: 1-4, .283/.333/.472
- Lizandro Espinoza, CF: 0-4, .250/.338/.375
- Tyler Uberstine, SP: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 3.22 ERA
- Rolddy Munoz, RP: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K, 3.59 ERA
That was more like the Owen
Murphy we’ve gotten used to seeing, even if his velocity is staying low to close out the season. Murphy averaged only 91.5mph on his fastball, which dropped to just over 90 mph in his final inning, but it was more important for him that his command was much better than his past couple of games. He was able to get some swing-and-misses, though he still did leave too many pitches in the middle of the plate. He gave up a few solid fly outs that the park managed to hold, but still overall pitched a fine game as evidenced by the scoreboard. Murphy did well with his breaking balls in limited usage, forcing four whiffs on seven swings between the two pitches, and he didn’t make as many over-the-plate mistakes with his changeup. Murphy was unfortunately not backed up by any offensive confidence as the bullpen for the Jumbo Shrimp ran through the Stripers in game one. Rowdy Tellez had two hits by himself, but no one else recorded a hit in the game and there wasn’t much of a case that Gwinnett deserved better. They had only two hard hit balls in the game (one from Tellez) and Tellez was the only player to advance into scoring position where he was stranded twice. He had some moments where he wasn’t at his best with control, but this game felt much more like a comfortable outing.
Game two was a boatload more fun for Stripers fans. It was deadlocked at one run each after five innings, but the Stripers showed much more life and were knocking on the door of taking a late lead. In the sixth inning they got down to two outs with no one on after a caught stealing, but then a fire took hold of their bats. A walk was followed by DaShawn Keirsey Jr. digging out a slider for a double, and they found themselves with two runners in scoring position and an opportunity to take the lead. Chuckie Robinson smacked one up the middle that slid just past a diving attempt by the second baseman and rolled into center field where two runs scored to give Gwinnett a huge advantage. The scoring stopped there and it was in the hands of the bullpen, but the pitching staff came to play in game two as well. Rolddy Munoz managed to keep the ball around the strike zone, and the Jumbo Shrimp helped him out with some chases to keep him cruising through the lineup. His slider dived them up and allowed him to throw two easy innings and send the game to Danny Young in the bottom of the seventh. Young had an easy go of it, with nothing even leaving the infield, and the Stripers managed a split of the opening double-header.
Swing and Misses
Owen Murphy – 11
Rolddy Munoz – 5
Tyler Uberstine – 2
(63-65) Columbus Clingstones 2, (68-65) Montgomery Biscuits 1
Box Score
- John Gil, 2B: 2-5, 2B, .325/.399/.452
- Eric Hartman, LF: 0-4, BB, .195/.317/.288
- Alex Lodise, SS: 1-3, BB, RBI, .308/.353/.487
- Owen Carey, RF: 0-4, .241/.333/.371
- Dixon Williams, CF: 2-4, 3B, .240/.321/.640
- Davis Polo, SP: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 0.00 ERA
Davis Polo walked into the home of the best second-half offense in the Southern League and he absolutely destroyed them. Polo retired 14 straight hitters to open the game before he lost a batter to a walk in the fifth inning to ruin his streak. He had a run of bad luck in the sixth inning with a leadoff error and a seeing-eye single putting two on with nobody out, but he locked down and forced weak contact from the next three hitters to preserve the shutout. So far, Polo’s trek through the minor league ranks has seen him do nothing but get better at each stop of the journey. His slider being a weapon is no big surprise, but it’s how the rest of his arsenal has rounded out that makes him so dangerous right now. He is in complete command of the bottom of the strike zone with three pitches, and his changeup has gone from solid to arguably his most effective pitch in recent weeks. Polo’s changeup was masterful from the first inning and the lefty bats in this lineup couldn’t find an approach to deal with it, which showed up with his churning out whiffs and ground balls. Polo has opened eyes in the second half of the season and put himself in lofty conversations with the other young arms in this system, and the Braves have no reason not to continue pushing the envelope with him. He is facing Rule 5 eligibility this winter, and that he has solidified himself as a stash candidate and someone who should get significant run at the upper levels next season. He’s still got quite a bit of learning to do in regards to his command and could serve to add some muscle to his frame, but the arrows are streaking upward for Polo as of the end of this season. It’s really just as impressive for him to hold his stuff this well into September given he is coming off of injury and never crossed 60 innings in a season before. To continue making upper level hitters look silly after 110 innings is an accomplishment that can’t be ignored, and one we’re seeing other pitchers in the system struggle to achieve.
John Gil continued his outstanding run with two more hits, including a double. That marks 11 games in a row with a hit for Gil, who is finally starting to see the results catch up to his profile. Gil’s approach and talent has always shown out, but this is the first time we’re seeing an extended run of Gil being as good as he has shown he is capable of being. He still needs to show he isn’t going to suffer through the long slumps he’s been prone to the last couple of season, but this has been a terrific second wind for him to close the season. The rest of the lineup hasn’t managed quite as much excitement for the past two weeks as the strikeout regression for Alex Lodise has set in and Eric Hartman’s good stretch has evaporated into a slump, but it’s not all negative by any means. Owen Carey has been a bit more willing to take walks and work deeper counts, and even if results don’t follow for him that alone is progress headed into next year. Dixon Williams has been solid in his first week and a game with the team as well, and added another big game to his register with two hits. Williams is somewhat keeping the strikeouts at bay, though you’ll have to excuse any skepticism I have that he can maintain that pace over a long period. He hasn’t shown that the hit tool is there yet, but he’s hitting the ball hard and that’s the main draw to Williams’s profile when he is playing well.
Swing and Misses
Davis Polo – 17
Tyler LaPorte – 4
