Post-Season Recap: Trappings of Success
Published on September 24, 2015 under Florida State League (FSL1)
Clearwater Threshers News Release
The Clearwater Threshers may have fallen shy of a Florida State League title, but the 2015 season was nothing short of a grade-A success.
Clearwater finished 79-58 overall, owning the best record in the FSL. It was just the second time in 12 years that the Threshers compiled at least 75 wins since the team moved to Bright House Field in 2004.
The Threshers went on a magical run to win the first half in the North, and proved even stronger through the last few months on their way to a 42-25 record, clinching a second-half FSL North title as well.
Winners of both halves, the Clearwater Threshers had punched a ticket to the playoffs for the first time in eight years. Despite falling in two games to the Daytona Tortugas in the FSL North Championship series, the 2015 season should not be regarded as anything other than a giant leap forward.
Catcher/first baseman Willians Astudillo and outfielder Andrew Pullin represented the Threshers in each of the triple crown categories in the Florida State League. Astudillo hit .314 to win the batting title in the FSL, completing his fifth consecutive season batting .300 or better. He struck out just ten times the entire season - or once per every 41.8 plate appearances - by far the toughest to strike out in all of affiliated baseball.
Pullin put together a breakout year and emerged as one of the top run producers in the league. He set career-highs in both home runs and runs batted in, finishing tied with Dunedin's Matt Dean atop the league with 14 homers, and fourth in the FSL with 73 RBIs.
Meanwhile, Ulises Joaquin finished fourth in the league with 16 saves, which rank him third all-time in the Threshers' 12-year history.
Minor league success is most importantly measured by ability of a team to prepare players for the next level. Andrew Knapp dramatically exemplified the cast of 2015 Threshers who carried their success up to Double A.
Knapp hit .262 in 63 games with Clearwater and was a Florida State League All Star before earning a promotion up to Reading at the end of the first half. From there, the 23-year old catching prospect caught fire, tearing up the Eastern League to the tune of a .360 average and 11 home runs in 55 games.
Edubray Ramos opened the year as a 22-year old who had not pitched above short-season ball, but emerged as one of the most underrated and dominant back-end relievers in the FSL. He was promoted to Reading on July 10, and finished with a 2.07 ERA between the two levels.
After missing a month at midseason on the disabled list, outfielder Dylan Cozens hit .327 in the second half on his way to a call-up to the Fightin Phils on August 28, where he blasted three home runs and knocked in nine runs in 11 games to end the regular season.
For the second-straight year, Miguel Nunez emerged as perhaps the Threshers' most-improved player, transitioning from a back-end starter to a high-stakes reliever. After posting a 6.75 ERA in four starts, Nunez had a 2.11 ERA and a .178 opponent average in 36 relief outings, and converted all eight save opportunities.
A discussion on most-improved players can not be had without the mention of Victor Arano. The 20-year old hurler went winless in the first half, but turned his season around and posted an ERA two runs lower in the second half, going 4-5 with a 3.80 ERA in 13 second-half outings.
It was a season that featured a historic first-half comeback. One that saw Clearwater six games back with seven remaining, and five games away with just five left, and with their backs to the wall the Threshers rattled off five consecutive wins to clinch their first playoff berth since 2007.
It saw, in the midst of that division race, the Threshers erase a 7-0 deficit against the St. Lucie Mets in the final game before the All Star Break. It saw Pullin send a deep drive into the night for a grand slam to cap that seven-run rally, and Aaron Brown chop a single over the drawn-in infield for his second walkoff hit in as many days to keep the Threshers alive.
The Clearwater faithful yet again came out in full force in 2015, as Threshers fans achieved the highest total attendance and highest average attendance in the FSL for the fifth-straight year.
No atmosphere was more electric than that of July 3, when a record 9,966 fans saw the Clearwater Threshers throw a two-hit shutout of the Tampa Yankees in a 3-0 win. Clearwater surpassed the previous single-game record of 9,844 set on July 3, 2009.
As always, Bright House Field saw a number of exciting promotional nights throughout the season, featuring Pitch for Pink, 90's Night, the City Centennial Celebration, Star Wars Night, Super Hero and Sci-Fi Night, Veterans and Military Appreciation, and the celebration of 30 Years of Baseball in Clearwater. Post-game concerts featured Naughty by Nature and Infinite Skillz, the Dave Matthews Tribute Band, and Moriah Peters, with giveaways ranging from a Phinley Mascot Mania bobblehead, to a commemorative city of Clearwater baseball, to Threshers rally towels.
From rising stars to memorable comebacks, from post-game dance parties to extraordinary fireworks spectaculars, the 2015 season was nothing short of a victory for the Clearwater Threshers.
Clearwater opens the 2016 schedule on the road at Dunedin on April 7, before kicking off the home schedule at Bright House Field on Friday, April 8 at 6:30 p.m.
Florida State League Stories from September 24, 2015
- Post-Season Recap: Trappings of Success - Clearwater Threshers
- Justin Verlander and Kirk Gibson Selected to Florida State League Hall of Fame - Lakeland Flying Tigers
- Luis Sojo to be Inducted into FSL Hall of Fame - Tampa Yankees
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