The Chattanooga Lookouts closed out the 2017 Southern League first half on a role by winning nine of their last ten games heading into the All-Star break, and the squad hasn’t cooled down one bit in the second half. Dating back to June 9th, the first half Northern Division champs have won 20 of their last 22 games. You read that correctly, the Chattanooga Lookouts have won 20 of their last 22 games. The first half league leader in wins with 42, Chattanooga did most of their damage at home where they compiled a 23-12 record at AT&T field.
After a rain drenched, and unfortunately cancelled, All-Star game, the Lookouts welcomed the Pensacola Blue Wahoos to town where they took four out of five games from the only other team to reach at least 40 wins in the first half. A huge statement was made in the series as these Lookouts proved they were going to be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the season.
The Lookouts would then head west to Pearl to square off with the Mississippi Braves in a six game series. They were set to face a highly talented pitching staff that had been constructed by the Braves Double-A team, but it was the visiting staff that really shined as they gave up just 11 runs in the six game sweep of the M-Braves.
No matter what sample size you take or you slice up the last month, the Lookouts have dominated one of the most competitive leagues in Minor League baseball since the calendar flipped to June. While this is an extremely well-rounded team with a good manager, there have been a couple of players that have been leading the charge.
On the offensive side of things, shortstop Nick Gordon is currently slashing .309/.378/.476 (.853) with 6 HR, 44 RBI, 6 3B, 21 2B. The Twins number one prospect ranks highly in virtually every offensive category while being one of only two players in the entire league with at least 300 AB’s.
It is hard to pinpoint one pitcher to credit a lot of the success to, mainly because the entire staff has been so good. You won’t see the individual leader boards littered with Lookouts, but what you will see is them having consistent performances as a group. The team stats really reflect that. The staff currently sits second in ERA at 3.03, trailing only Pensacola at 3.01. For some perspective, the third place team on the ERA leader board is Biloxi at 3.40. They have allowed the second fewest hits, by one, and second fewest runs, by two, while posting the league leading WHIP of 1.22, just a tick ahead of Mobile and Pensacola.
It is rare to see at the Minor League level, but every now and then a farm club fields a team that clicks. That is certainly the case for this year’s edition of the Chattanooga Lookouts. A continued cohesive team effort combined with guys picking each other on down nights could lead this team to a Southern League title, Chattanooga’s second in three years.
The Lookouts will look to continue their success as they open up a five game home series with the Tennessee Smokies tonight at 6:15pm.
The post Chattanooga Lookouts in the Midst of Historic Run appeared first on Legends On Deck.
