Where the Erie SeaWolves stand through the first 25 games in Eastern League play in 2024

Gabe Alvarez sees the potential in the Erie SeaWolves competing for another Eastern League championship.

They just aren't there yet through 25 games.

“We're not where we want to be, but this team is very capable of winning this league,” said the SeaWolves manager. “We'll get there.”

The SeaWolves started the season on fire with three straight series wins, but weather and bullpen issues have dropped Erie into third place in the league's Southwest Division.

In the past four weeks, the SeaWolves have been postponed three times. Only one of those games will be made up next week when the 'Wolves travel to Harrisburg despite it being an Erie home game.

The other two games won't be made up as the SeaWolves won't play Bowie or Binghamton in the rest of the first half.

Through Tuesday, Akron led the Southwest Division at 18-10 with Harrisburg 1½ games back at 16-11 and Erie in third at 14-11 and 2½ games back. The two lost games could have been either crucial wins or costly losses, but the SeaWolves have to try and make up ground over the next 41 games.

Dominant pitching

Even with rising star Jackson Jobe going to the injured list with a hamstring injury, the SeaWolves have had one of the top pitching staffs in the Eastern League. Through Tuesday, Erie is second in the league with a team ERA of 3.07.

When breaking down pitching even further, the Erie starters are second in the league with an ERA of 2.88 but the starters have just one win. The SeaWolves' bullpen is fourth in the league with a 3.23 ERA and is second in the league with 13 wins.

One of Erie's dominant pitchers has been Lael Lockhart, who put together another scoreless outing on Tuesday.

“If you ask Lael he'll say he wasn't particularly sharp but he's such a competitor,” Alvarez said. “He makes big pitches when he has to. We always want to pound the zone on the mound and he had to adjust his strikezone a few times.”

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Lockhart is 1-2 with a 2.35 ERA and is fourth in the Eastern League with 34 strikeouts. The bullpen has several arms off to a fast start this year including Tim Naughton (2-0, 0.64 ERA), PJ Poulin (1-1, 0.79), Adam Wolf (2-0, 0.96) and Joel Peguero (1-0, 1.74).

Starting off: 4,000 turn out to see Erie SeaWolves pitchers dominate Binghamton in home opener

Figuring out the offense

It was clear coming into Opening Day that the SeaWolves' strength was on the mound. Erie is now looking to get the bats going to stay in the first-half playoff race.

“On offense, we emphasize to keep pushing to get a few runs across each inning and we've done a good job keeping the pressure on,” said first baseman Jake Holton. “The pitching has been nails and lights out every game. The hitters are figuring it out and we had sort of the same thing happen last year. We had to deal with some weather but we kept working and I think we'll get hot soon.”

The SeaWolves are ninth in the league of 12 teams with a team batting average of .218. Erie is also ninth in runs scored with 110 and the SeaWolves are hitting .203 when falling behind in games.

Gage Workman has been a leader for the 'Wolves this season as he is hitting .286 with four home runs and 11 RBIs, while Holton is hitting .269 with a team-leading 14 RBIs. The rest of the team is hitting below .250 early on in the season.

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Any help coming?

The SeaWolves might be more likely to get help from Triple-A Toledo as injured players return and players get sent down than receiving help from West Michigan. The No. 1 prospect for the Tigers, 19-year-old outfielder Max Clark, is still in Lakeland and likely won't jump two levels to reach Erie this season. Kevin McGonigle, the No. 6 prospect for Detroit, is also 19 years old and in Lakeland.

The top prospect in West Michigan is Max Anderson (No. 17), a second baseman hitting .262 with 11 RBIs this season. Pitcher Dylan Smith (No. 23), outfielder Roberto Campos (24), shortstop Peyton Graham (25) and infielder Izaac Pacheco (29) are all with the Whitecaps as well.

Contact Tom Reisenweber at treisenweber@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNreisenweber.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie SeaWolves in 2024: Pitching leads the way through 25 games