Biscuits in similar position as last year heading into June

First baseman Xavier Issac has played a big role in the Biscuits surge in May, sitting in first place as the road series at Biloxi opens this week. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

A year ago, the Montgomery Biscuits were 28-23 on June 1, two games behind Biloxi and headed toward a pivotal series at the Shuckers that would determine the winner of the first half of the Southern League South Division battle.

A year later, the Biscuits (27-23) are back in familiar territory on June 1, ahead of Biloxi in first place in the Southern League South, heading toward a pivotal series at the Shuckers that could determine the first half division champion.

But even though the statistics are similar, Montgomery manager Kevin Boles said the 2026 version of the Biscuits is far different from the 2025 squad which never played up to their potential until late in the season.

“The atmosphere is better,” Boles observed. “And I don’t even think it was us not reaching our potential early on, it was getting that clubhouse in order. That was project number one and it took four months to get there. With this group, the clubhouse is in really good shape. The guys come ready to work, it’s a different atmosphere from last year. As far as performance, we’ve seen some good things individually. I just think every team in this league, so far, has been pretty even. In both divisions. Everybody is kind of around .500 or a few games in that area.”

The race has been so close, in fact, that the front runner in the Southern League South has had a lead of a game or less in 38 of the 50 games this season, meaning your next loss could drop you into second place. Montgomery currently has a 1.5-game lead over Biloxi, a two-game lead over Pensacola and a four-game lead over Columbus, giving the Biscuits a bigger cushion than normal this season. Still, a two-game skid this week will drop them into second place as no team in the Southern League can separate themselves from the pack.

“Chattanooga was, then they came back down to Earth,” Boles said. “They started off really hot. Everybody’s kind of the same. It’ll be interesting to see. The one team that was very interesting -- Chattanooga obviously was -- but Biloxi was an interesting challenge because they’ve got a lot of nice young prospects on that team. But there’s no perfect team in this league this year. There’s no team that runs on all cylinders at this point. We’ll see if we end up being one of those teams.”

Biscuits first baseman Xavier Isaac voiced the frustration many feel when watching the Biscuits.

“I think we could do a little better,” he said. “I know we’re in first place but the potential on this team is a lot better than people expect.”

Five of the Tampa Bay Rays’ top 30 prospects are Biscuit pitchers, including three in the top 10 -- seventh-rated TJ Nichols, eighth-ranked Michael Forret and ninth-rated Santiago Suarez. As expected, the Biscuits maintain the top-rated pitching unit in the Southern League, ranking first in the league in earned run average (4.29), in runs allowed (226), in earned runs (206) and in walks allowed (150), but are fourth in hits allowed (373), fifth in home runs allowed (57) and seventh in strikeouts (436), an indication that there is plenty of room for improvement.

“It’s gone well,” Boles said. “It could be better. The trap is comparing yourself to the other teams in the league. Our numbers against the other teams in the league stacks up pretty well, we look pretty good. But there’s more room for improvement. Throwing strike one, working ahead in the count, eliminating walks. I know our walk totals are down compared to the rest of the league but I still think it could be better than that.

“Another thing, too, is we’re having a hard time keeping the ball in the ballpark. When teams hit us, they usually do some damage against us.”

As a hitting unit, the Biscuits rank first in the Southern League in home runs (64) and triples (15) and second in doubles (82), but are second in the league in strikeouts (510) and last in the league in drawing walks (175).

“We’ve got to eliminate strikeouts,” Boles said. “We strike out way too much, we really do. We need to put the ball in play. If you look throughout the league, the chase -- especially high fastballs -- the chase rate outside the zone, I can’t believe some of the things we’ve watched throughout the league. And that needs to improve, just the quality overall of baseball. You see it eight to 10 times a game where you see guys swinging at pitches that are chest to neck high. I know the guys are throwing harder, I know the velocity has increased from years past but you’ve still got to manage your strike zone.

“And it’s not just us. We’ve seen it throughout the league. The chase rate outside the zone this year is hard to watch at times. If I’m a pitcher, I’m really excited knowing I can miss my spot by a foot or two and I might end up enticing him to swing.”

With 18 games remaining, the Biscuits could hit the 40-win mark before the first-half race concludes on June 21, which likely would guarantee a first-place finish and extend the team’s Southern League-record 10 consecutive playoff berths.

But if the first 50 games of the season are any indication, the race won’t be decided until the final day or two. Last year’s team faded after a six-game series at Biloxi. This week’s six-game series at Biloxi could once again be the determining factor on the Southern League South’s first-half winner. (Tuesday’s opener was rained out and will be played as part of a doubleheader on Thursday.)

“Last year, there was a lot of repeat of guys and it wasn’t the same vibe as it is this year,” Isaac said. “I think we just hung our heads low when we were taking losses last year, more than this year. I think we just learn from the ‘L’ and go on to the next day. We just need to keep going with our routines. Everybody needs to keep pitching well and hitting well. If we just keep the chemistry well and keep the clubhouse stable, we’ll keep winning.”