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Grade A in chemistry

Playing together in spring part of Scrappers’ success

Scrapper #28 Simeon Lucas, right, is congratulated by Scrapper #11 Clark Scolamiero after crossing home plate for a score during 5th inning action against Williamsport Crosscutters...by R. Michael Semple

NILES — Building team chemistry almost seems silly at the minor league levels.

For starters, by the time a player learns something about a teammate, he’ll probably be promoted (or demoted) to another level of the organization.

Then there’s the fact that winning really doesn’t mean much. The focus of the minor leagues is to develop players — improving weaknesses and sharpening strengths while learning how to be a professional. Winning the game is usually secondary.

And yet the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, now 9-2 with the best record in the New York-Penn League, look like a team that’s been playing together for years.

There’s a reason for it.

Scrapper's 2nd baseman #17 Richie Palacios looks for the call and gets the force out on Crosscutters #4 Jesus Henriquez during 5th inning action...by R. Michael Semple

Much of the team played together earlier this year at spring training and continued that work at extended spring training in Arizona.

“We definitely have a leg up, playing together and coming together as a team,” said cleanup hitter Mitch Reeves, who blasted his team-high third home run during Tuesday’s 8-2 victory over Williamsport. “Knowing each other’s skill-sets is really important. And we put in a lot of hard work in spring training, with all of our coaches, and we just carried it over to here. The results are showing.”

They certainly are.

Mahoning Valley is off to its best start in franchise history. They’ve won each of their first four series and are one of the top offensive teams in the NY-PL, leading the league with a .278 team batting average.

Scrappers manager Jim Pankovits pointed to the top of the lineup when asked about the offensive success, and it’s easy to see why. Shortstop/second baseman Jose Fermin, usually the leadoff hitter, is batting .333 through 11 games. Fellow infielder Tyler Freeman, a No. 2 hitter, is second in the NY-PL with a .452 average, and Reeves, a first baseman, leads the league in RBIs (12), is second in homers (3) and also is hitting .302.

Scrapper pitcher #48 Juan Mota delivers a pitch to a Crosscutter batter during 4th inning action...by R. Michael Semple

Then throw in talented players like third baseman Elvis Perez (fifth in the league with a .382 average) and recently promoted 2018 third-round draft pick Richie Palacios, along with a team that enjoys each other’s company, and as Reeves said, the results are showing.

“Just about every guy on the club improved during our time there in Arizona,” Pankovits said. “They started a little slow, but they came on and should’ve felt fairly confident coming out of there. We won a bunch of games, they played well and they improved.”

One area that is of upmost importance to young players is dealing with the ups and downs of professional baseball.

Most players were stars either in high school, college or whatever respective league they were a part of, but that can change quickly at the pro level. Reeves, for instance, started the season off hot, with home runs in two of his first three games and had a batting average well over .300. Then he went hitless for three straight games and looked to be in a slump before Tuesday’s performance (2-for-4, four RBIs).

One thing Reeves said he learned during his first two years as a professional is to stay level-headed, through the good and bad.

“That’s baseball,” he said. “That’s how it goes. It’s frustrating when you go through your ups and downs, but you’ve got to stay with it, and eventually balls will drop for you. That’s what happened. I got a little cheap hit up the middle (today). Something like that gets your confidence going, and it can be the biggest difference in world for you.”

It did for Reeves, who hit a mammoth home run in his next at-bat. He hopes the same holds true for teammate Simeon Lucas, who belted his second home run with a shot to left as well.

Lucas has just two hits in 16 at-bats this year, but both are home runs. A 2014 seventh-round draft pick out of Grant High School, Lucas was a regular contributor last year, when he hit .262 in 43 games with MV. This year has been a struggle as he’s playing less as a designated hitter, but one hit could ignite the power-hitting left-handed batter.

“He’s got legitimate power and he works extremely harder,” Pankovits said. “One of the hardest things to do in this game is swing the bat when you don’t play everyday. … I talked about that in our meeting today, how when you come to the ballpark you have to pretend like you’re in there even if you’re not. Try to get your work in and be prepared for that time when you are back in there, and for the most part, these guys have been doing a great job of that.”

The Scrappers have their first day off today before starting a six-game road trip in West Virginia on Thursday.

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