Storm Chasers lose steam to end week, split first two series of season – Farm to Fountains

Week record: 4-4

Overall record: 4-4

After dropping the season opener against the Iowa Cubs on March 28^th, the Storm Chasers bounced back with an incredible come-from-behind win in game two. They trailed 7-2 until the top of the 6^th inning when Nick Loftin hit a bases-clearing double, shifting the momentum in the Storm Chasers’ favor. With the game tied 7-7 in the top of the 8^th inning, Luke Maile hit a grand slam to put the game away and secure a 12-7 win for the good guys. Game three of the series against the Cubs was postponed due to weather.

After a series opening loss to the Louisville Bats, the Storm Chasers tallied three wins in a row, thanks to some great pitching performances from Noah Cameron, Thomas Hatch, and Tyson Guerrero. Tyson Guerrero’s performance was especially impressive, as he pitched five perfect innings with seven strikeouts. Unfortunately, another pitcher did enough to earn pitcher of the week honors, but Guerrero was a very close second. The squad struggled to finish the weekend strong, with a slow offensive performance in a 4-0 loss on Saturday and a tough extra-inning loss on Sunday.

Among the 20 International League teams, Omaha is ranked 10^th in batting average (.252), 6^th in OBP (.363), and is tied for 1^st with 13 home runs. On the pitching side, they rank 12^th in ERA (4.75), 9^th in WHIP (1.39), and 10^th in OBA (.243). These middling rankings check out for a team that has a .500 record.

Drew Waters – 10 for 22, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 5 BB, 7 K, 3 SB

Season Stats: .455/.556/.909, 1.465 OPS

How can you not give this honor to the man who was the first Storm Chaser to hit for the cycle since Jimmy Paredes in 2014? Being there to witness the cycle in person was an awesome experience. Drew Waters is an enigma. The man has obvious talent and goes through stretches of looking unstoppable, like he has the past eight games. Unfortunately, this is typically followed by a stretch of lots of swing-and-miss and struggles at the plate. Hopefully, he can prove us all wrong this season. His defense is solid enough to roam the outfield at Kauffman Stadium, and if his bat stays this hot, it may be worth giving Mr. Waters another shot to prove himself.

Runner-up: Cam Devanney – 10 for 27, 1 2B, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 3 BB, 8 K, 1 SB

Luinder Avila – 11.2 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 16 K

Season stats: 2.31 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, .171 OBA, 5.33 K/BB

The Luinder Avila hype continues to build. He followed up a really strong showing in the Arizona Fall League with an even better showing in major league spring training. In Surprise, he flashed his 98 MPH fastball and sinker and only allowed one earned run in six innings pitched, with seven strikeouts to go with it. His first start of the season was a beauty, tallying 11 strikeouts over 5.2 IP. His stuff looked plain unhittable, generating whiff after whiff on his devasting curveball. The sky is the limit for Avila, who may spend some time in Kansas City this season.

Runner-up: Tyson Guerrero – 9 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 13 K

April 8^th-13^th @ St. Paul Saints

_{Image credit: Omaha Storm Chasers}

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