Shuckers begin search for 2nd half title

The first half of the season came to a close Sunday with no Southern League South title for the Biloxi Shuckers, but the first 69 games of the season proved to be a nice run.

Pensacola (41-29) edged the Shuckers (39-30) by 1 ½ games for the first half title in the South, putting Biloxi in a position where it will either need to win the second half title or finish second to Pensacola in the second half standings to reach the playoffs.

Biloxi won the first-half title a year ago despite spending the first 54 games of the season on the road, taking the pressure off for the final 70 games of the season. This time, the Shuckers will have to earn a spot in the postseason with their best starting pitcher and closer from the first half of the season.

Left-handed ace Josh Hader and right-handed reliever Jaye Chapman are both at Triple-A Colorado Springs after dominating the Southern League in the first half of the season. The numbers were stunning for the two men at the Double-A level this season when you consider they combined to allow just six earned runs in 68.1 innings.

Chapman didn’t allow a single run in 12 appears for Biloxi this season, going 1-0 with 0.00 ERA. He has been at Colorado Springs since May 4, but his 10 saves are still good enough to rank third in the Southern League. The only pitchers with more saves than Chapman in the Southern League are Pensacola’s Alejandro Chasin and Chattanooga’s Trevor Hildenberger, who both have 11 saves.

Chapman hasn’t had nearly as much luck this season at Triple-A, going 4-1 with a 6.41 ERA in 17 appearances for the Sky Sox.

Hader proved to be the hardest starting pitcher to hit in the Southern League in the first half of the season, allowing just 38 hits in 57 innings. He struck out 73 batters and walked 19. He had a hard time factoring into decisions, but finished 2-1 with a sparkling ERA of 0.95.

The lefty has two starts so far at Triple-A and is 0-2 with a 3.00 ERA, striking out 15 and walking seven.

There’s no clear replacement for Hader as the Shuckers’ starting ace, but the bullpen appears to be just fine without Chapman. Right-hander Daniel Tillman had an impressive close to the first half and is 3-0 with a 0.46 ERA and six saves. Stephen Kohlscheen also proved adequate in the closer role with six saves and a 2.70 ERA in 22 appearances.

The good news for the Shuckers is that some of their hitters’ better days are likely still ahead of them this season.

Catcher Jacob Nottingham went from .159 through the first 18 games to .255 with seven homers and 21 RBIs at the end of the first half.

Nate Orf (.211), Nick Ramirez (.212), Brandon Macias (.198), Chris McFarland (.188), Javier Betancourt (.215) and Tyrone Taylor (.217) are almost sure to improve on their numbers at the plate in the second half of the season.

Hader will be missed, but the Shuckers likely have enough to contend in the second half.

This story was originally published June 21, 2016 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Shuckers begin search for 2nd half title."