Heading to the Beach: Smokies Head to Pensacola for their First Road Trip of the Season

Philip Stalzer

KNOXVILLE, TN - The Smokies are traveling south to Pensacola, Florida for their first road trip of the season. They do so on the back of Karson Simas’ hot start at the plate as they look to take advantage of a struggling Blue Wahoos team. This will be the first meeting between the Smokies and the Blue Wahoos this season, but it could have drastic implications for both teams.

The Smokies currently sit in second place in the Southern League North, three games behind Chattanooga. The Blue Wahoos are in last place in the Southern League South, having only won two of their first eight games to start the season.

The Smokies will look to make up some ground on Chattanooga by beating up on a team that is already off to a rough start to the season. The Blue Wahoos on the other hand will look to get back on track before their first half falls too far off the rails.

First pitch for the series will be at 7:05 p.m. ET on Tuesday night at Blue Wahoos Stadium.

The Smokies’ offense has been impressive to start the year. Batting .266 with an OPS of .800 while also hitting nine home runs and driving in 54 runs as a team, they have been one of the best offenses in the league so far.

Their ability to get on base has given them a lot of opportunities to score in games, and they have not disappointed yet. With runners on base, the Smokies are third in batting average (.297) and OPS (.881). With runners in scoring position, they get better, hitting .300 with a league-leading OPS of .963.

Simas, a Cubs free agent signing this offseason, has been the leader of the Smokies’ offense. Slashing .355/.474/.645 over nine games, Simas has been a threat in every form imaginable. Simas has also gone seven-for-seven on stolen bases, struck out just as often as he has walked, hit two home runs and driven in seven runs. Simas has been impressive to start the year, earning him Southern League Player of the Week. Look for him to make an impact in this series as he moves towards the top of the order.

This early team offensive success has already lifted the Smokies past Birmingham in a shortened three-game series (2-1) to open the season, and Rocket City in a six-game series (4-2).

Where the Smokies have struggled a bit to start the season is on the mound. Ranking sixth in the league with a 6.15 team ERA over 82 innings, the Smokies have given up their fair share of runs.

The Smokies pitching staff can’t really point to one weak point, as they have allowed the fourth most hits (79), the fourth most home runs (9), are tied for first for the most hit batsmen (9), and are fourth in WHIP (1.52) in the league.

The couple of bright spots for the pitching staff have been that they have allowed the second fewest amount of walks (46) and are tied for the third lowest batting average against (.253). It is also worth noting that there are only two teams with a team ERA below 5.00, suggesting lots of offense around the league.

Grant Kipp has been the bright spot in the starting rotation, already having thrown 8.2 innings without allowing a run. Kipp hasn’t allowed many baserunners at all yet this season with a WHIP of 0.60 and a batting average against of .148. His two appearances helped the Smokies sweep the opening week awards, earning Southern League Pitcher of the Week.

Most of the rest of the pitching staff has had their struggles, but bullpen arms like Alex Madera, Dawson Netz, and Tyler Ras have all made multiple appearances and have ERAs below 2.00.

The Blue Wahoos have struggled so far this season. So far, their offense is last in batting average (.189), OBP (.300), SLG (.287), OPS (.587), RBIs (19), and home runs (4).

The one positive for the Blue Wahoos’ offense so far has been that, when they do get on base, they are extremely efficient at stealing bases. With a success rate of over 93%, the best in the league, the Blue Wahoos have been able to give themselves scoring opportunities in a lot of situations.

Payton Green has been the highlight of the Blue Wahoos’ offense. Slashing .316/.409/.579, Green is by far the best hitter in their lineup.

Brendan Jones has also been solid for the Blue Wahoos to start the season. The clear runner up in the lineup, Jones is slashing .269/.387/.462.

While the Blue Wahoos have not been a good offensive team, expect these two to remain a threat wherever they may be in the lineup.

Still, their offense has not been successful with runners in scoring position with a league worst .147 batting average and league worst .500 OPS.

The Blue Wahoos’ pitching hasn’t been much worse than the Smokies, logging a 6.22 team ERA and 1.88 WHIP over 68 innings, but their lack of offense has made it difficult to win games so far.

What has really hurt the Blue Wahoos’ pitching staff this season has been the fact that they are walking the most batters (58) and striking out the second fewest (69) in the league.

Probable Pitching Matchups

4/14 Tuesday, 7:05 PM ET - Doggone Tuesday

RHP Tyler Schlaffer vs. RHP Jacob Miller

4/15 Wednesday, 7:05 PM ET - Winging Wednesday

RHP Yenrri Rojas vs. RHP Alex Williams

4/16 Thursday, 7:05 PM ET - Mullet Thursday

RHP Nick Dean vs. RHP Orlando Ortiz-Mayr

4/17 Friday, 7:05 PM ET - Giveaway Friday

RHP Grant Kipp vs. RHP Brandon White

4/18 Saturday, 7:05 PM ET - Fireworks Saturday

RHP Jake Knapp vs. RHP Karson Milbrandt

4/19 Sunday, 5:05 PM ET - Military Family Sunday

RHP Tyler Schlaffer vs. RHP Will Schomberg

Dominating the series would put the Smokies in a spectacular position to take over the lead in the Southern League North, especially when they host Chattanooga next week. For the Blue Wahoos, a series win could get them back on track and put them right back in the hunt in a competitive Southern League South.

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