When the season started, it seemed as if the Washington Wild Things were turning around their misfortune. The Wild Things started out hot, led by their ferocious pitching staff. The Wild Things found themselves at the top of the Frontier League’s East division for most of the first half of the season, but as the weather got hotter, the Things got colder. At the midway point of the Frontier League’s season, the Wild Things currently sit at 6th place in the eastern division with a record of 24-27, just below .500. Moving forward, the Wild Things hope to get back to their winning ways and finish the season strong as they make a push back up in the standings.
Offensively the team was led by second baseman CJ Beatty. Beatty, who was selected to the 2013 All Star team and home run derby, led the team in home runs and RBI’s for the first half of the season. Beatty belted 10 balls over the fence and drove in 33 runs for the Things. He posted a .293 batting average for the first half, good enough for third on the team. The leader in that department, third baseman Jovan Rosa, posted a .315 average. Rosa was also selected as a Frontier League East All Star this season. Rosa has hit 3 home runs, 13 doubles, and driven in 21 so far this season.
Other all star selections came in the form of utility man Stewart Ijames and catcher Jim Vahalik. Ijames, a newcomer this year to the Frontier League, is second on the team in average, with .296. He has 7 homers, 15 doubles, and 21 RBI’s. Vahalik is hitting .260 with 12 runs driven in.
Getting away from hitting, Darian Standford led the entire Frontier League in stolen bases for the first half, swiping 36. He leads the next closest player by 15 stolen bases. Standford gets on base often as he has a .289 average and has drawn 20 walks. He mostly bats leadoff for the Things and will be a great part of their offensive production moving forward.
Pitching wise, the leader has been Shawn Sanford. Sanford has a first half record of 5-4. After starting the season with a no decision, Sanford rattled off four straight wins. During that stretch he had an ERA of 1.03. Since, Sanford has struggled, going just 1-4 in his last six starts. He now has an ERA of 3.94. Newcomer Zach LeBarron, on the other hand, has been lights out since coming to the Wild Things. He’s currently 3-0 with an ERA of 1.04. He’s third on the team in wins already, behind Gary Lee, who doubles as pitching coach for the team and has a record of 4-5 with an ERA of 3.77. Lee’s ERA is the best among starters on the team who’ve pitched ore than 50.0 innings. Sanford and Shawn Smith both lead the team in strikeouts with 59.
In the bullpen, Anthony Collazo has been the go-to-guy. Collazo has appeared in 12 games with 4 starts this season. He has an ERA of 3.26 and has struck out 37 batters so far. Matt Phillips has been key out of the pen, also. Besides LeBarron, Justin Hall, and Jhonny Montoya who have thrown less than 18.0 innings, Phillips has the best ERA on the team with 2.12. Montoya leads the team in saves with 5. Going into the second half, the Wild Things pitching will be key. With LeBarron being hot, Smith, Sanford, Lee, and Shawn Blackwell will hopefully follow suite with the bullpen staying sharp.
With second half play resuming on Friday, the Wild Things don’t have an easy schedule ahead of them. The first series is against the Schaumburg Bombers, who are currently 2nd in the Frontier League’s West division. The Wild Things will play 27 of their remaining games against teams with a winning record. With that, they will also play 18 games against teams currently with a losing record. Of those games, they will face the league leader in batting average six times, the league leader in home runs six times, and the league leader in RBI’s three times.
The Wild Things certainly have their work cut out for them, but they’ve proven to fans early on in the season that this team is capable of winning. Now, with the second half about to start, they’ll set out on a journey towards the top of the East division.
Photo Credit: ACT Global Sports
