Week 19 of the regular season was a strong one for Lake Elsinore and the Storm lineup. They finished a three game series against High Desert by winning the last two games to go 2-1 for the series. Then they faced Inland Empire for four games and took 3 of 4 in the rival park. Their 5-2 record for the week gave them a season total of 75-48 and a second half record of 29-24. They remain in a neck and neck battle with both High Desert and Rancho Cucamonga for lead in the second half of the season. Ironically, all three teams have losing records at home and winning records on the road the second half of the year.

With 17 games left to play in the regular season, this is a good time to review some of the exceptional numbers put up by many of the Storm players.

Last month’s player profile featured 2B Cole Figueroa and rightly so. With his 22 doubles, 3 triples, 4 home runs and 57 RBI, Cole has been the consistent No 2 hitter for the Storm thru the season and is disciplined at the plate. His 72 BB/ 42 SO is by far the best on the team for the season and gives him a .412 OBP to go with his .305 BA. His 22 SB on the season ranks second only to Dan Robertson and his 25.

OF Daniel Robertson has had another outstanding season, though not as consistent as the one he had last year. His overall numbers of .305/.383/.425 with 22 doubles, 8 triples, 6 homeruns and 55 RBI are solid numbers for the CF/RF of the Storm. He has hit in just about every position in the lineup and shows his versatility and flexibility by doing so.

Starting the season on the DL was not the way Jaff Decker envisioned his season beginning but he made up for lost time quickly and convincingly. His overall .262/.374/.500 gives him the best slugging percentage on the team and he ranks second only to Cody Decker in HR (22/17) despite missing the first several weeks of the season and 160 less AB.

1B/DH Cody Decker has had a terrific season, leading the Storm in HR with 22 and RBI with 79. His slugging percentage of .482 is second only to non-brother Jaff. He is hitting .261 with a .334 OBP and only needs to improve his BB/SO rate (45/124) to improve those numbers.

The BB king for the Storm is 3B Vince Belnome with 94 BB for the season. His overall numbers of .260/.391/.416 makes him second only to Figueroa on OBP. He has also added 73 RBI to the cause, second only to Cody Decker. He has had a tough season defensively with 29 errors, far above anyone else on the team.

Meriting a mention is 1B/DH Allan Dykstra who has done nothing but struggle since signing with the Padres organization out of the 2008 draft. His travails are much documented and discussed throughout the organization and on the web. Allan has had a solid second half and continues to slowly improve his season numbers. His .238/.380/.425 will not earn him an All Star berth but they are showing a steady improvement in his approach and ability to make solid contact. With 21 doubles, 2 triples, 13 homeruns and 61 RBI he has made a better contribution on the field. His 76 BB/ 110 SO is also an improvement. Both Cody Decker and Vince Belnome have more SO.

The pitching staff has been severely limited in innings the second half of the season. The organizational approach to limiting innings on young arms has really ramped up at the single A level in the second half.

Anthony Bass leads the starters with 112 IP and a 7-6 record with 3.28 ERA. He also has 22 BB/ 92 SO for the season, a stat any pitcher would envy. Also producing great numbers, earning him a promotion to AA, was Erik Davis. His 99 IP and 9-3 record, 3.82 ERA lead the staff in W/L records and he also had a stellar 34BB/ 91 SO ratio.

Reliever Rob Musgrave was pressed into the starting role the second half of the season and has shown well. Overall his ERA is 2.31 with 81.2 IP and an amazing 25BB/95 SO ratio.

Starter Juan Oramas started the season lights out and has continued to pitch well with severely limited innings. He is 6-2 with a 3.03 ERA in 68.1 IP. He also has a 21BB/74SO ratio for the season.

Relievers Nick Vincent (4-0, 2.00 ERA in 76.2 IP, 22BB/73SO) and Brad Brach (5-1, 2.34 ERA, 40 saves in 57.2 IP, 9BB/63SO) also show why this team has been so successful this season.

No matter how they end up the second half they will advance to the playoffs on the strength of their first half record. The remaining 17 games of the season will be hotly contested to see who wins the second half championship. Despite losing two of their highly regarded teammates at midseason, this team continues to battle for the overall championship of Cal League South and looks forward to post season competition no matter the second half outcome.

To finish off, it would be remiss not to congratulate Jaff Decker for the remarkable week he had during week 18. Here are his achievements for the week:

7/14 with 8 runs scored, 3 HR, 11 RBI with 5 BB. Those numbers don’t tell you he hit 3 grand slams in the course of 6 games accounting for those RBI. This lead to him being named Player of the Week in the league. Congratulations, Jaff!

OF Daniel Robertson also had a good week, increasing his BA from .297 to .305 with a 13/32 and 10 runs scored. He had 5 2B and 6 RBI.

Pitchers Jeremy McBryde, Rob Musgrave and Adam Schrader pitched well with McBryde getting 2 wins for the week. Closer Brad Brach racked up saves 39 and 40 to add to his record-breaking season.

Roster changes for the week:

2B Ryan Skube (son of hitting coach Bob Skube) made a 4 game appearance with the Storm (filling in for Figueroa) and went 7/16 with 4 runs, 2 doubles, a HR and 6 RBI. He also had 6 BB to his 3 SO and ended with a .412 avg. Great job, Ryan. He was sent back to the AZL Padres.

Cole Figueroa came off the DL

Catcher Jhonaldo Pozo was promoted to the Storm from the AZL Padres

Utility man Oscar Salazar began his rehab stint wit the Storm

And, last but not least, the Storm staff let it be known that OF Yefri Carvajal has begun early work to convert himself to a pitcher. Once considered a possible 5-tool player by the Padres organization, Yefri has struggled at the plate and is currently on the DL. He has a powerful throwing arm and, if able to harness his control, could prove to be a valuable pitcher in the future.