MIINERS TIED FOR FIRST AT THE ALL STAR BREAK

    Matt Carpenter ( 295.409.594) backbone to Miners Success

The Joplin Miners (44-36) are tied for first place in the Ed McGowan Division of the Ozzie League at the All Star break.  Joplin ranks 4th in the BDBL in OBP, 6th in SLG , 4th in pitching and 3rd in defense.   

Hitting

Key hitters through the first half:

Charlie Blackmon  305. 365. 515
Buster Posey  317. 361. 463
Matt Carpenter 295.409. 594

Carpenter has been the glue to the team throughout the first half.  In addition to playing all infield positions effectively, Carpenter has mauled opposing pitching and sparked some amazing comeback wins. 

Pitching

There is a great difference between starting and relief pitching.  Despite having Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw in the rotation, the starting rotation has an ERA of 4.66 while an army of bullpen specialists have an 1.47 ERA.   Kershaw and Verlander will have to improve their performance if the Miners are going to win the division. 

Defense 

There are a number of defensive metrics but the most logical one in my book is to subtract earned runs from total runs for defensive runs allowed.  The  Miners rank 3rd in the BDBL under this metric.  

Trade Manuevers

Jake Arrieta was picked up to provide some rotation depth.  Arrieta has been a disaster in the first half of the season but the Miners expect to pitch more in line with his career records and take the Miners into the playoffs.