COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The boys are doing work. Time to take a closer look at some of our #ProTerps recent success.
Kolarek Back to the Bigs
Adam Kolarek was a story of perseverance last season when at 28 years old, he made his major league debut with the Tampa Bay Rays. Kolarek pitched in 12 games and tossed eight and a third of an inning.
Well Kolarek is back. After dominating International League pitching to the tune of a 1.70 ERA and 50 Ks in 42 and a third innings, the Rays recalled Kolarek last week to the major league roster. The Baltimore native has made three appearances for the Rays so far and tossed four innings.
Lowe Cannot Be Stopped
Brandon Lowe is raking at an insane level since his promotion to Triple A Durham last month. The former Terps All-American went 3-for-4 with a double and a two-run home run. He now has nine home runs in 28 games in Durham and has 17 long balls overall this season. Lowe's overall stats for Durham are absolutely ridiculous.
.330/.414/.670, 9 HR, 11 2B, 25 RBI
https://twitter.com/MLBPipeline/status/1015073540628836352
Yowza. In light of these insane numbers, Baseball America predictably named Lowe a midseason minor league all-star. Paging the brain trust in Tampa, it might be time to give our guy a shot in The Show. Speaking of Baseball America midseason minor league all-stars.
Smith's Quest Continues
Yup, our dude Smitty earned the same honors as Lowe from Baseball America after his breakout start to his second pro season. The former Terps shortstop is casually slashing .325/.378/.576 over 83 games with the Lansing Lugnuts and Dunedin Blue Jays. The 22-year old has 15 long balls, 67 RBIs and 29 doubles. That is good!
Smith is also out here helping the kids. An active presence on social media, Smith founded the brand Elevate Baseball, which exposes tips and drills to young players via social channels. Tell us why, Mr. Smith!
"I see a lot of young kids that just think if they do one drill or two drills, they're going to become the next Mike Trout or Bryce Harper, and it really doesn't work that way. So, we're trying to shed as much light on the failures and all the hours in the gym and all the swings that guys take -- it doesn't just show up at game time, you have to put the work in."
Sounds good to us! You can read more about Smith's brand and his scorching start here.
Anti-Walk Life
In his career in College Park,
Brian Shaffer rarely walked people. He did not believe in the free pass and it helped him develop from being an unheralded recruit from Harford County into an All-American.
Well, that ability to give opponents nothing easy has translated to pro ball. Shaffer has been lights out. Lets take a look at his last four starts, shall we?
2-0, 1.03 ERA, 31 K, 1 BB
THIRTY ONE STRIKEOUTS TO ONE WALK!! Love that. Shaffer for the season is rocking a 2.78 ERA with 95 Ks to 19 walks in 90.2 inning pitched. Opponents are batting just .229 against. Those numbers have made Shaffer a hit for the Kane County Cougars and he was named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week.
Consistency Wins the Day
Since they became pros in 2015 and 2016, respectively, LaMonte Wade and Mike Shawaryn have been consistently productive. Lets take a look at their career stats as pros.
Wade (343 Games): .293/.403/.439, 50 2B, 15 3B, 15 HR, 199 RBIs, 202 R
Shawaryn (47 games, all starts): 12-15, 3.69 ERA, 244.0 IP, 276 K, 78 BB, .231 BAA
Solid and steady. That performance has seen Wade promoted to Triple A and Shawaryn to Double A. Wade struggled a bit in the start of his stint in Rochester, but now has a hit in eight straight games and has an on-base percentage of .404. Shawaryn has tossed over 85 innings this season for the Portland Sea Dogs and is rocking a 3.55 ERA.
If our boys keep that going, we may see them in the big leagues sooner rather than later.
