The 2017 season ended in an Eastern League Championship for the Altoona Curve who experienced a crazy amount of highs and lows throughout the entirety of the season.
Manager Michael Ryan had his team dialed in from the outset having many of the Altoona Curve last season in Bradenton. Having that relationship established early helped as the Curve experienced high roster turnover as a result of prospects being called-up and a multitude of injuries. Altoona forged on and outlasted Trenton when it mattered most sweeping the Thunder to win their second EL Championship in club history.
Next season marks the 20th season in team history and it will feature season-long celebrations and promotions as the organization goes all out to honor the 20th anniversary of the team.
The team itself should return to Altoona largely intact pending a rash of movement this off-season. Ryan will be back guiding the Curve from the dugout, whether or not his coaches from this year will be joining him has yet to be determined. A majority of the players based on their performances this year should return to Altoona for at least part of another season.
Those players should include infielders Cole Tucker and Kevin Kramer, outfielder Jerrick Suiter, and pitchers Mitch Keller, Austin Coley, and Tanner Anderson. The pitching position is land locked in Indianapolis based on the current roster status so unless movement picks up this season a majority of the dominant pitching staff if not all of it will find themselves back in Altoona for the beginning of the 2018 season.
Let’s take a look back at five of the most memorable performances of the 2017 season:
Edwin Espinal, a defensive wizard
Edwin Espinal worked his way both offensively and defensively to being called-up to Indianapolis July 28th from Altoona. While with the Curve, the first baseman posted a 1.000 fielding percentage being the only first baseman in the minors to do so this season.
The defensive wizardry earned Espinal the Rawlings Gold Glove Award for first base, given annually to nine players throughout all of Minor League Baseball, the first such award for the Double-A All-Star.
Espinal was no slouch at the plate, backing up his quality play in the field with some stellar play in the batter’s box as well. The first base prospect hit .294 slugging a career-high 15 home runs while knocking in a career-high 86 RBIs, best in the entire Pirates minor league system.
Mitch Keller phenom in the making
Mitch Keller took the mound for the first time August 6th against the Trenton Thunder, a team he would eventually face three times altogether as a member of the Altoona Curve. As soon the ball left his hand on the mound that day, a phenom was born.
Keller gave up a total of eight runs in his six regular season outings giving up more than two runs in an outing only once, but it was the show he put on in the post-season that had people buzzing about the future of the top-prospect.
It was Keller who notched the game-one start in Bowie to begin the Eastern League Playoffs and it was Keller who would be the only Curve pitcher on the mound that game. Keller went the distance going nine innings allowing only one hit while surrendering zero runs and striking out four Baysox hitters. The nine inning complete game was the first of his career in the playoffs but it provided a spring board as Altoona went on an incredible run eventually winning the championship and needing only three games to do so.
Keller wasn’t done in the playoffs, however, as he earned the nod to pitch game-three of the Eastern League Championship at home in the series deciding game. He fell short in going the distance going 7.1 innings but allowed only two runs on four hits while striking out eight Thunder hitters on the night en route to Eastern League Post-Season MVP honors.
Tolman’s immediate impact
Mitchell Tolman was set to head home following the end of Bradenton’s season in the early days of September, however, the infielder found himself on a plane to central Pennsylvania en route to help the Curve in the playoffs.
Tolman only played in three regular season games for Altoona prior to the start of the playoffs, but made his impact known to all with his performance in those three games. After hitting a sac-fly in his first at-bat for the Curve, Tolman followed it up with a 1-for-3 day at the plate and another RBI in his second game.
In Tolman’s third game, a legend was born. Tolman went 1-for-6 for the game, but the lone hit was an absolute bomb to left field that won the game and ended the regular season in the 12th inning for the Curve. Tolman’s 3-run homer spring-boarded him into a post-season where he reached base in every game and had multiple hits in two of the six playoff games.
The beginning of Luplow’s meteoric rise
By now, those who follow the Pittsburgh Pirates know Jordan Luplow now spends his time playing for the Major League team. His journey this season began in Double-A Altoona, before he excelled his way to Triple-A Indianapolis and eventually the Pirates.
Luplow’s minor league season ended with him being named Pirates Minor League Player of the Year over the weekend, an honor well deserved for the outfield prospect.
It was Altoona where Luplow’s electric hands began to elevate his game and his stat lines to numbers not yet seen throughout his career. He was promoted June 30th to Indianapolis with a team-leading 16 home runs and ended the season as the team leader. During his time with the Curve this season, Luplow hit .273 with 37 RBIs to go with those home runs and appeared in 73 games prior to being called up.
Luplow was named to the Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star team as a result of his record breaking performance in the first half of the season.
What’s Next?
With the season long being over, the Curve players have gone far and wide some back to Pirate City in Bradenton and others preparing for the Arizona Fall League. As for the organization itself, upgrades have begun at People’s Natural Gas Field to replace the outdated playing surface.
The Altoona Curve will open up their 20th Season and the 2018 regular season April 5th by welcoming Akron to the newly surfaced PNG Field.
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