Grading the Vermont Mountaineers: Offense/Pitching

Mike Vigliarolo has been excellent coming off of a temporary
contract in Cape Cod. Photo by Stefan Hard, TA. 

With the All-Star game looming on the horizon (Sunday to be exact), I think now is as good time as ever to look back at the first 29 games the Vermont Mountaineers have played before we turn towards the frantic last week of playoff chases and lead changes. It's time to grade the Mountaineers on just two quick categories- offense and pitching. This is a shorter piece, just to give a glimpse of the team so far.

Vermont sits at 19-10 and lead the Northern Division by a game and a half over Sanford.

Offense: A+
Team offensive ranks:

	Runs	Hits	2B	3B	HR	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Stat	144	238	29	7	8	.255	.335	.326	.661
Northern	1st	2nd	5th	1st	T-3rd	2nd	2nd	4th	3rd
NECBL	2nd	6th	10th	1st	T-8th	5th	5th	8th	7th

This is a very deep roster- manager Joe Brown can put pretty much put two different lineups out there every night. They're aggressive on the basepaths and lead the league in stolen bases. Vermont's offense get's an A+ because they've scored the most runs out of any team in the league. They're also starting three offensive players in Sunday's all star game in Holyoke- the first time since 2006 that the Mountaineers have had more then two starters.

Pitching: A+

Team pitching ranks:

	ERA	SV	BB	SO	WHIP	BAA
Stat	2.48	12	81	162	1.20	.231
Northern	2nd	1st	2nd	6th	3rd	4th
NECBL	2nd	1st	3rd	12th	3rd	5th

Vermont's pitchers rank dead-last in strikeouts- 90 less then first place Newport. However, they've pitched to contact and it's worked well, as the Mountaineers rank second to just Sanford in ERA and are third in WHIP. Easily one of the elite pitching teams in the league, Vermont's rotation is unmatched in depth and they've got an excellent bullpen. Brown has used a closer-by-committee with five different players picking up saves. They've overcome season-ending knee surgery to Evan Bell and all but one of the five pitchers who've made multiple starts have ERA's under 2.62.