The month of August was up and down for Fort Wayne but they ended on a high note and were able to capture a playoff spot with the last game of the regular season versus West Michigan. Those two teams played a best of three series to determine the winner of the last playoff spot.

During the month the Tincaps had several players rise to the occasion and play above their previous level. They also got continuing standout contributions from their two dominant outfielders, Rymer Liriano and Luis Domoromo.

Second baseman Cory Spangenberg, who started off slow for the Tincaps, hit his stride. He raised his average from .164 at the beginning of the month to finish the season .286/.345/.365 with seven doubles, a triple and two homeruns with twenty four runs batted in.  He also finished with fifteen out of nineteen stolen bases.

Another player to step forward in the second half of the season was first baseman Connor Powers. He began playing on a regular basis when regular 1B Tommy Medica reinjured his shoulder in early June. In that time Powers has assumed the team lead in average (.338/.422/.538), is third in RBI (45) and second in doubles (29). He is also third in HR with eight.

The outfield tandem of Luis Domoromo and Rymer Liriano have impressed for the Tincaps. Liriano finished with a .319/.383/.499 average with 30 2B, 8 3B, 12 HR (1^st on the team) and 62 RBI with 65 of 85 stolen bases (tops for Fort Wayne or any other Padres minor league team).  Rymer turned 20 yrs old in June.

Domoromo has a .283/.335/.405 line with 20 2B, 3 3B, 9 HR and 68 RBI. Not the speedster that Liriano is, Luis is 7 for 7 in stolen bases. He won’t be 20 yrs old until February of next year.

Fort Wayne finished their year with a 39-31 record and clinched the wild card spot with their victory on Labor Day. It is fitting that the winning pitcher for the final game of the regular season would be Keyvius Sampson. This breakout year for the right-hander showed what the scouts saw when he was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 draft. His previous injury shortened season at Eugene (43 IP) only showed a glimpse of what he could do. With 118 IP for the Tincaps, Keyvius finished with a 12-3 record and 2.90 ERA. He was dominant in many of his starts and only occasionally showed himself to need to work on his pitches. It would be safe to assume he was not advanced to Lake Elsinore during the season due to his brief experience at the previous levels. It will be fun to see what he is able to accomplish next year.

Other pitching standouts of the year were easy to overlook because of Sampson’s dominance.  23 yr old Mark Hardy, a left handed starter who got little run support for many of his starts, quietly put up the best numbers of the team in terms of ERA. He pitched 129.1 innings and finished with an 11-10 record and 2.78 ERA. He had 96 strikeouts to Sampson’s 143 but had less walks (32 to 49). Their WHIP’s were almost identical (1.10 for Sampson, 1.15 for Hardy). Sampson’s biggest advantage is that he doesn’t turn 21 until next January. Of course, Hardy is left handed with really good stuff and those guys are coveted by all organizations.

The bullpen for the Tincaps featured a converted outfielder in Yefri Carvajal. He started the season rough but improved as the year wore on and was used many times toward the end of the season in high pressure situations. It is difficult to significantly reduce your ERA quickly when you get off to a slow start but Carvajal made great progress in August by lowering his ERA from 5.92 at the start to 5.04 by the end. He had a 2-3 record in 69.2 IP.

Another converted position player pitched for the Tincaps this year. Catcher Robert Lara ended the season with a 2-1 record and 4.15 ERA over 34.2 IP. He was mostly used as a middleman but also made some appearances in the late innings at times.

Adam Dominick (5-6, 3.59 ERA) and Chris Franklin (2-2, 2.97 ERA) were regular members of the late inning bullpen members to show well, especially the second half of the season.

Latecomer Kevin Quackenbush, an eighth round pick in the 2011 draft, pitched in 21.1 innings after being brought up to Fort Wayne but saved 7 games with a 1-1 record and 0.84 ERA. He was drafted as a closer and is one of several in the system who are being groomed as closers. That is an unusual tack to take with major league organizations as they normally let closers step up as they progress through the system. As with Sampson, expect Lake Elsinore to be his destination for next season.

Another pitcher on the Tincaps that I enjoyed following this year was right-hander Matt Jackson. He was injured for much of the season but showed great stuff during his time of health. He finished the year with only 64.2 IP but was pretty dominant with a 5-1 record and 1.95 ERA. He might have to start next season with Fort Wayne but seems to have the ability to handle the Cal League. We will see how it pans out, as spring training seems to be where they decide where to start the guys.

Other members of the Fort Wayne team had good seasons and some of their information will be included in the last update of the year, after the playoffs. There is some talent in this team and it will be fun to see how they progress next year.