Pitching likely to determine Majors’ playoff fortunes

The Majors have relied heavily on their top two starters: Boon and De Los Santos. Is the strategy sustainable? Will the bullpen ultimately decide the team’s fate?

Braeden Ferrington has led the way out of the Majors’ bullpen — after the team’s all-star starting duo of Owen Boon and Pedro De Los Santos. In his first eight games, he pitched to an impressive 0.69 ERA. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

It’s been working so far.

The London Majors, going with a 1-2 punch of starting pitchers Owen Boon and Pedro De Los Santos, and then relying on a slew of bullpen arms to cover the rest, have been highly successful this summer – perhaps surprisingly so.

The Majors’ top two have been phenomenal to date. Entering action Wednesday (Aug. 25), Boon and De Los Santos were 1-2, respectively, in wins (6 and 5) and strikeouts (50 and 43) in 2021 Intercounty Baseball League action. In ERA, their roles were reversed, with De Los Santos’s 2.08 tops in the league, and Boon’s 2.66 second overall.

Between them, they’ve thrown over half (52 percent) of London’s innings so far this season, making seven starts apiece (a combined 14 of the Majors’ 22 starts so far). No other team in the IBL has relied so much on their top two arms in 2021.

It’s been impressive. But is it sustainable?

Manager Roop Chanderdat thinks it is, though he knows the team’s ultimate fortunes this year will almost certainly come down to its pitching – and likely how its bullpen arms perform in the playoffs.

“It’s working out well. We go with our two main starters and then use different guys in a starting role,” Chanderdat said. “When we began the year, I said if we had some shortcomings it was going to be pitching depth, so we knew that some guys were going to get a lot more opportunity to show what they can do.”

That will almost assuredly be the case down the stretch as the Majors play their final eight regular season games and then head into playoffs.

In other words, it’ll be an approach requiring all arms to be at the ready. But, then again, that’s the way it’s been all year.

“I tell our guys we’re playing for today and don’t worry about tomorrow. Let’s try to get a win today,” said Chanderdat. “It’s worked out fairly well. If we had a couple more arms, could we have a couple more wins? Sure, but with (the pitching staff) we’ve got, I’m happy with how the guys are performing.”

In fact, they’ve performed admirably. Entering action August 25, the Majors owned the best team ERA (3.82) in the league, a full run better than second-place Barrie. London’s WHIP (walks plus hits per innings pitched) was also tops in the league, while Majors pitchers have held the opposition to a .219 batting average (the next best was .263).

Still, there’s no denying a significant breakdown between the team’s top two arms and the rest of the staff. Combined, Boon and De Los Santos have posted a 2.34 ERA. The rest of the arms have pitched to a combined 5.40. And that breakdown gets even more stark when you subtract reliever Braeden Ferrington’s impressive numbers (he’s third on the team in innings and owns a pristine 0.69 ERA).

It could be argued that the bloated bullpen ERA is in part due to a few calamitous relief outings that have inflated the overall number. But the fact remains, if the London Majors are to end their IBL championship drought of 45 years this season, the deciding factor will likely be the pitching – and the performance of the arms behind their top two starters.

For his part, Ferrington, a seven-year Majors veteran, thinks the bullpen is up to the challenge. He doesn’t believe the team’s two-man starting pitcher approach has meant the staff lacks depth or will be hindered come playoff time.

“I think it’s been a good thing, to be honest, because everyone’s getting the chance to compete to the fullest of their capabilities,” Ferrington said about the opportunities relievers have received this year. “We pound the zone and keep rolling on with whoever’s next. It’s led to good team chemistry (in the bullpen), and everyone’s enjoying it.”

Ferrington’s certainly been enjoying it – and he’s been a key arm after the ‘big two.’ A short-burst reliever with a fairly defined role in his previous six seasons with the Majors, the right-hander has seen his role evolve this year. He’s been a bulk reliever, pitching three or more innings at a time, he’s pitched in late-game situations, and he even started a game this year (his second career IBL start).

One of the defining moments of Ferrington’s season came in a game against the Kitchener Panthers – “the longest rain delay in IBL history,” the pitcher joked.

After London’s starter, Dylan Brooks, was unable to record an out in his July 24th outing, Ferrington came in to serve in long relief. Trailing 3-0 right off the bat, Ferrington held the Panthers off the scoreboard for the next three innings while the Majors’ bats amassed 12 runs. And then the rain came.

Luke Kelley, a native of Wake Forest, NC, joined the Majors’ pitching staff in mid-August. In his first start, the left-hander went seven innings, allowing five runs on six hits in a 102-pitch effort. (Photo: Matt Hiscox Photography).

The suspended contest resumed on August 20, and Ferrington took the mound again to finish the job. His final line was seven innings pitched and no earned runs allowed. He permitted just four hits while walking one and striking out four – and earning the win.

In 26 innings overall (seven relief appearances and one start), Ferrington has allowed 21 hits, walked six and struck out 16 while posting that aforementioned 0.69 ERA – which would actually lead the league if he qualified (entering action Aug. 25 he was just 1 2/3 innings short of the minimum). One can foresee a key situation in the playoffs where the Majors’ fate is in the hands Ferrington.

“He’s really stepped up,” said Chanderdat. “I really have to give him credit. He’s worked on his craft right from year one to now, and he’s earned his innings. He’s gotten chances and opportunities and really run with it.”

Jaryd Lund has done the same. In 13 innings of work, the 20-year-old rookie has struck out 12 and earned two saves while pitching to a 3.46 ERA. The Majors will also be relying on Robert Doyle to provide quality innings down the stretch.

But about that starting pitching? Some additional help may be on the way. Before the signing deadline, earlier in August, Chanderdat landed a couple of arms that could play a role the rest of the way – perhaps most notably, Luke Kelley, a 28-year-old left-hander.

Kelley, a native of Wake Forest, North Carolina, spent the earlier part of the summer pitching for the Bakersfield Train Robbers in the Pecos league. The lefty journeyman has played in various semi-pro leagues in recent years.

In his Majors debut, Kelley worked an inning and struck out two in a 16-6 drubbing of the Brantford Red Sox on the road. In Barrie, on August 21, he made his first start. Over seven innings, the left-hander allowed five runs on six hits while walking three and striking out four in a 102-pitch effort (a no-decision in a game the Majors went on to win 13-10).

Something to build on, for sure. Will Kelley assume a No. 3 starter role after Boon and De Los Santos? It seems realistic, and it would certainly help with London’s pitching depth (Nick Carrell, another pitcher from the U.S., was also added before the deadline. His first two outings did not go very well, but he could be another option).

An option for what? For pitching – whether that means making a start or pitching out of the pen. As Ferrington says, this year’s Majors team, without the usual staple import arms as in normal years, is about less-defined roles and simply doing the job when called upon and getting outs.

“It’s all-hands-on-deck,” Ferrington said. “Everybody’s in the same boat, and we all get along. I think that’s the biggest thing. We enjoy each other’s company, and we’re all trying to compete for the same trophy. I came back for that reason, and I think our window of opportunity has arrived.”