Returning to forum after a rough outing a week ago, Stephen threw 91 pitches on the night yielding 5 hits, 2 walks and fanning 6 batters. Tarpley now has a 3.42 ERA in 55.1 innings, with 52 strikeouts to his credit. Stephen's performance earned him the top spot on the Pirates Prospects Daily Top Performers with a Game Score of 74. |
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In the first half of Saturday's double header. Stephen went 6 innings giving up one run on two hits, walked 3 and struck out 5 to get the team's 3-1 victory. While it was another strong outing for him, Stephen indicated that the high heat and humidly made his afternoon "a bit of a grind". "I felt that I wasn't totally on today. And while the ball felt a little strange coming out of my hand, I was able to keep it low in the zone so I knew I'd be alright... I still hit my spots." Stephen has surrendered just two runs in his last 22 innings of work effectively dropping his ERA to 3.4
Tarpley's six three-hit frames, Suchy's homer clinch South crownClick Image for full MILB StoryBradenton's manager Michael Ryan had this to say...
"I think that's the reason why we were able to win the first half was our pitching," Ryan said. "Our pitching and defense has been outstanding. Tarpley for us tonight was spectacular. He was locating all three of his pitches. He wanted the ball in this situation and he showed up tonight for us."
While he is still not listed on the Bradenton Marauders' team roster or Website, word has it that Stephen will make his 2016 season debut pitching in an away game versus Fort Myers at 7:05pm eastern time.
Stephen Tarpley Itching to Join his TeamHaving pitched his mandatory 3 and 4 inning rehab games, his (hopefully final) 5 inning training game is slated for this coming Saturday! If all goes well as it did for his previous two starts, Stephen should be looking to join his regular season team shortly.
In his last two outing Stephen threw a 3 inning shutout walking one and striking out 5 and a 4 inning game last Monday again with 1 walk and 5 strikeouts giving up one earned run on one hit. In both games his fastball's average sitting velocity was up 2+ mph over last year's average! NL CentralPirates LHP Prospect Stephen Tarpley Will Start the Season on the DLDad's thoughts.
As Tony Soprano used to eloquently say "what can you do"? ...Damn it's ruff being a Dad! For the second year straight, you watch your young man prepare for his upcoming season, dedicated, excited, relentless in his pursuit of his dream. He departs in high spirits ready to slay the baseball world. He has a great Spring Training and then right before breaking with his team... Wham, not again... Last year a little shoulder soreness kept him in extended Spring Training at the last moment, and this year, a slight oblique strain has put him on the disabled list. The worst part about an oblique strain (even a small one) is that you have to treat it like a major one or you could risk extending your recovery time. At first news, Stephen was admittedly down... even though he was coming off of three strong short seasons in a row, Stephen was determined to show his organization "who he truly is" with a great "full" season and maybe a fall season to back it up! With positive feedback from the doctor, this week finds him in much better spirits. More soon! MiLB Contributor picks Tarpley for his South Atlantic League Pitcher of the YearMLBfarm.com Cumulative StatsHint: I'm not going to tell you even though the reason was made public. -Smile -Yes, as a couple of you (who actually listen to the games) have noticed and pointed out, that there appears to be something different in Stephen's approach on the mound since coming off that 8 or 9 game dominant streak that he had going through mid-August. Of course as his dad, I noticed right away that he was throwing way more pitches in fewer innings while giving up more hits. And as a pitcher's DAD YES, I worry when ANY changes are made right in the middle of a freakishly long hot streak and certainly worry when changes are made so close to the end of the season right before playoffs. --- BUT--- WE ALL MUST REMEMBER that Stephen's development as a potential Major League pitcher is justifiably more important to the powers that be (and to Stephen) than the outcome of any particular Minor League game or individual performance. When I asked Stephen about his thoughts on why the change was made so late in the season, he just chuckled and told me that the answer was "above his pay grade". He finished by telling me not to worry, that he will make the adjustment and still come out on top :-) All I can say is... Go Dawg!!!
Tonight Tarpley went 6 strong innings, he gave up 2 hits and witnessed 2 unearned runs cross in an error strewn first inning. He struck out 5, walked 2 and picked off a batter at 1st. Two errors behind him and a passed ball all in the first inning tried to set the tone for Tarpley's outing but he continued to deal and pitched 5 additional innings of 1 hit baseball.
Unfortunately the Power's bats could produce only 2 hits and no runs throughout Stephen's six innings on the mound. The Power went on to loose to Lexington 8-1. With this outing, Stephen lowered his ERA to 2.35 but saw his record fall to 11 wins and 4 losses. After last week's uncharacteristic loss, Stephen was impatient to get back on the mound and "set things right". He went seven strong innings giving up 1 run on 5 hits (he didn't allow a hit until the fourth). He also got 11 ground outs in the game improving his GO/AO to 1.46 and dropping his season ERA to 2.49 while picking up his 10th Quality Start.
* Big "Thank You" to The Augusta Chronicle (the competitor's news paper) for providing a gracious, professional, informative recant of Stephen's last efforts against their team! Please click The Augusta Chronicle to view the article. This night would find Stephen without his normal "stuff". He had to battle against a strong offensive team with only one pitch working, a breaking ball to fight into the 6th inning. On the night Tarpley gave up 6 runs on 10 hits and exited the game with 5.1 innings pitched after giving us his 2nd home run of the season. One of the few high points of the evening, Stephen struck out 8 and walked 0 but picked up his 3rd loss of the season. His Record is 10-3. Not All was Lost!Helping to relieve the sting of a challenging evening, Stephen had the chance to meet two cousins for the very first time! Kenneth Lee Hatchett and his brother Ryce E. Hatchett (pictured) made the trip out from Lexington, KY to see him pitch in person. Stephen said that he really enjoyed meeting them both but only wished he had gotten them Will Call tickets and wished that they could have caught him on "a normal night".
Big thanks to both Ryce and Kenneth, and to my Uncle Michael E. Tarpley (from Columbus, OH) who came out and gave support and Family Love to Stephen... I envy you guys, I've yet to have the opportunity to catch my Son pitch professionally! Tarpley on Top: Power Southpaw HonoredOh What A Night (8 Innings, 3 Hits, 2 Strikeouts, 0 Walks, 0 Runs) 9-0 VictoryOn the Night Stephen has:
Picked up his 10th Season Victory His Record: 10 Wins, 2 Loses, 4 Non-Decisions while remaining undefeated On the Road Picked up his 9th "Quality Start" Picked Up Team's First 8 Inning Outing (He is only Power pitcher to go 7 or more in a single night and he's done it 3 times) Improved his ERA to 2.16 Currently pitched himself into a two-way tie for Team Leading Strikeouts with 87 Ks -All this while pitching 13 fewer games than the other West Virginia Starting pitchers (due to a minor Spring Training Injury) |
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June 2019
About the AuthorI am Stephen Tarpley Sr. "Nikko's" Dad and #2 fan... |