Max Kepler began this baseball season sidelined due to a strain near his elbow.
Once he got going, he really got going.
After a brief rehab stint with the Fort Myers Miracle in the high Single-A Florida State League, Kepler made his Double-A debut on April 19 and promptly started producing for the Chattanooga Lookouts. The German-born first baseman and left fielder finished the Southern League’s first half as its leading hitter with a .342 average.
“I’m definitely feeling good at the plate, and I’m thankful for everything that has dropped in as a hit this first half and for all the wins we’ve gotten together as a team,” Kepler said. “I’ve been more aggressive this year, but I’ve also been laying off the junk they’re throwing me. I’m taking healthier hacks, and I’m just trying to be positive every day.”
The Lookouts closed the first half Sunday with a 6-5 comeback victory at home over the Jacksonville Suns, with Kepler going 0-for-2 with two walks. Trailing 5-1 in the sixth inning, Adam Walker hit a two-run home run to left and Miguel Sano hit a three-run homer to right.
Chattanooga, which wrapped up the North Division championship Thursday night, finished the first half with a 43-25 record and a .632 win percentage. That is the highest first-half win clip for the Lookouts since they moved to AT&T Field before the 2000 season, topping the .629 percentage (44-26) of Chattanooga’s first-half champs in 2006.
“Without Max, we don’t do this,” Lookouts manager Doug Mientkiewicz said. “He has come leap years in six months.”
The Lookouts have come a long way since April, when the first month of the season yielded a 9-11 record. They have gone 34-14 since, going on a 19-5 run to open May and a 14-2 run to close the half.
Chattanooga began this season rated by Baseball America as the most talent-rich team in Double-A and with the top Double-A prospect, center fielder and leadoff hitter Byron Buxton. On June 13, Buxton was promoted to the Minnesota Twins after batting .283 with 12 triples.
“All of baseball expected this team to do well,” catcher Stuart Turner said. “There were a lot of expectations, so to go out and do it has been great. We put some pressure on ourselves early, but once we started playing the game, we competed and knew we could work through the rough patches.”
The Lookouts finished the half as the league’s second-best hitting team behind South Division champion Biloxi. Walker, who also splits time between first base and left field, led the league in home runs (19), RBIs (59) and total bases (145).
Pitching was another matter, as Chattanooga ranked ninth in the 10-member collection with a team ERA of 3.96. Touted starting pitchers Jose Berrios and Alex Wimmers held their own, though, with Berrios going 7-3 with a 3.09 ERA and earning a spot in Tuesday night’s all-star game in Montgomery.
“We’ve made some progress, and overall everybody got better,” pitching coach Stu Cliburn said. “Our starting pitching has definitely gotten better, and it’s been up and down as far as the bullpen. Obviously some of the best arms in our organization are here, and though there has been some progress, there is still a lot of work involved.
“When you’ve won the first half, you’ve done something right.”
The Lookouts do not play again until Thursday night, when they open the second half with a five-game series in Montgomery.
“We did what we were supposed to do,” Mientkiewicz said. “These guys understand me well enough to know that we expect this group to win.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.