Talkin bout the Hagerstown Suns

Since the first half is about to end for the Hagerstown Suns,it is time to look back at the Suns both on and off the field.
This usually is one of our most controversial efforts,but we call it like we see it.
This post will be for the actual players,while a later post sometime over the next few days will deal with the Suns off the diamond and will deal with what one would call the "gameday experience" with the Hagerstown Suns.

The Suns are a less than .500 squad (29-32 6th place),but the one thing that one must give the Suns is this-Matt LeCroy made the statement on day one that the team would be a hustling one and that is exactly the case.
The Suns are not a loafing ball club,they have their issues but lack of effort is certainly not one of them.

Prospect wise,one player has stood out far beyond the rest.
Catcher Derek Norris looks to have big league potential as a power hitting catcher and I have little reason to doubt Norris and his bat.
Derek leads the team in every offensive category hitting over 300,13 homers,46 RBI and most impressively an OPS of .968.
Norris throws well too,but does need to work on his receiving skills,especially keeping the ball in front of him,which has been his defensive Achilles heel thus far.
It would not surprise me in the least to see Norris in Potomac sometime soon.

I wish I felt as strongly about any other Hagerstown prospects.
Tyler Moore joined the team in May,raked the ball all over the place and made me start thinking of Moore's similarity to Bill Rhinehart last season,but has been in a huge funk this month hitting under .200 for the month.
Moore is still hitting .289 so that should show you how outstanding his May was....
Steve Lombardozzi looks pretty similar to his father (former Twin),slap hitter with little power (1 wind aided HR all season) and solid enough defensively.
Lombardozzi does lack the type of speed that one would hope for from a second baseman.
Steven Souza stumbled off to a slow start in April,recovered for a pretty good May and then a bad June.Souza has also made 14 errors at third base and seems to be a lesser version of former Sun Stephen King.
All is not lost for Souza as he has one believer in his prospect status.
I love the way scrappy centerfielder Chris Curran plays the game,but his bat just isn't going to play at higher levels.

On the mound,the most highly touted prospect has been a disappointment as Jack McGeary has an ERA over six.
I haven't seen Jack pitch in a few weeks,but on the three occasions that I did,he was having real problems bouncing his breaking ball in the dirt.
McGeary has struck out only four more batters than he has walked in 53 innings and that is a concern.
Perhaps this is just a matter of rust as McGeary had an unusual program since being drafted in being allowed to attend Stanford and yet not play for the Cardinal.
This is Jack's first complete season of pro baseball,so I am willing to give him a pass when you consider that factor.
The surprise has been SAL All-Star Marcos Frias.
Frias has a 4-1 record with an ERA well below three and has an excellent K/BB ratio (50 to 13).
Frias doesn't throw overwhelmingly hard,but isn't a soft tosser either and has been very consistent all season.
Look for Frias to at least have a August cameo in Potomac.
I don't see any other real prospects on the mound staff other than recent 10th overall pick
Drew Storen,who is on the roster,but has yet to see game action.

Coming soon will be our look at the Suns off the field.

Photo Credit
Norris:Topps