SL PLAYOFF PREVIEW: Biscuits pitching the key to late-season success

The Montgomery Biscuits pitching staff has been one of the best in minor league baseball in 2025. It ranks second in the Southern league in earned run average. (File photo)

By TIM GAYLE

It’s been an unusual season, one that saw the Montgomery Biscuits on the bottom of the Southern League South for nine games in July, in first place a month later after winning 14 of 15 games, then finish out the year with four losses in their final six games.

The one constant has been the Biscuits’ pitching, which ranks second in the Southern League in earned run average. Four of Montgomery’s starters are ranked among the top 21 prospects in their minor league system, including Tuesday starter Brody Hopkins (ranked third), Ty Johnson (19th), T.J. Nichols (20th) and Jackson Baumeister (21st).

Another starting pitcher that has shined all season is the normal Tuesday starter, Ty Cummings, who is likely to pitch in Biloxi in the second or third game of the best-of-three Southern League Divisional Series.  

“We saw him in spring training and then we saw him early in the year and his role kind of changed a little bit,” Montgomery manager Kevin Boles said. “He had bounced around -- he’s a guy that can start and be relief. Now he’s really taken off. He’s commanded the zone better. He’s controlling the running game. There have been some issues with that, but that’s gotten better. He’s come a long way. And you feel comfortable with him being out on the mound. You know he’s going to compete. He’s going to attack.

“He’s done a great job. And you know what you’re getting with his work every day. It’s focused, he’s going to put in a good effort every day. He’s on a mission.”

Cummings was a reliever when he was drafted in the seventh round of the 2023 draft by the Seattle Mariners and may be used in that role in the Southern League playoffs. He was playing Single-A ball when he was traded to the Rays in October, 2024 as part of the Randy Arozarena trade. He was sent to Montgomery, then promoted in May to Triple-A Durham.

“It was definitely crazy,” Cummings said of the trade. “I wasn’t expecting it and then all of a sudden it’s like, all right, you’ve been traded to the Rays. I had just been drafted, too, so it’s almost like starting over.

“For the most part, it’s pretty similar. They definitely have some different philosophies, but they preach the same thing of getting ahead and throwing quality pitches in the zone. So far it’s been a pretty easy transition coming over here. It’s been great for me.”

His brief stint in Durham was a welcome one for the North Carolina native, who had been playing 44 hours from home in Everett, Wash., before the trade.

“It was a cool experience and it was a little closer to being back home, which was pretty cool,” Cummings said. “Those guys are in Triple A for a reason. They’re all great players. It was cool to get that learning experience and see what it was like, get a taste of what that level of baseball is like and how they go about their work every single day.”

Back in Montgomery by the end of May, his seven wins leads the Biscuits and his 116 innings pitched is tied with Hopkins for the most on the team. He ranks third on the team (and 13th in the Southern League) for opponents’ batting average at .256 and third on the team (and fifth in the league) with a 3.34 ERA.

“It’s definitely been a little bit of an adjustment, understanding that these hitters have more of an approach, they know what they’re looking for when they come up here, so I’d say early in the season I was getting through those learning curves of what works, what doesn’t work, what you need to do to be successful,” Cummings said. “It’s been pretty good this first year of learning through the difficulties and kind of implementing what I’ve learned so far.”

On of the aspects of pitching he had to grow accustomed to was close games. This season, the Biscuits (78-60) won 44 of their 78 games by one or two runs and lost 32 of their 60 games by one or two runs.

“For the most part, our hitters have our backs,” Cummings said. “They’ve saved me plenty of times this year so I really honestly just try to go out there and throw quality pitch after quality pitch and not really worry about what the scoreboard says.

“And when I shake Boles’ hand and my day is done, that’s when I kind of break it down. But for the most part, it (the score) doesn’t really bother me, I’m just trying to put up as many zeros as I can.”

Whether he’s used as a starter or in relief, Cummings likely will play a prominent role in the Biscuits’ drive for their first Southern League championship since 2007.

“We’re just going to go out there and try to play our best brand of baseball,” he said. “We’ve definitely gotten better over the course of the season. We’re starting to get some of those close games where they fall our away. But at the end of the day, it’s baseball so we’re just trying to go out there and get better each day.”

SOUTHERN LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

BEST-OF-THREE DIVISIONAL SERIES

Tuesday

Biloxi (74-64) at Montgomery (78-60), Riverwalk Stadium, 6:35 p.m.

Chattanooga (73-61) at Birmingham (81-57), Regions Field, 7 p.m.

Thursday

Montgomery at Biloxi, MGM Park, 6:35 p.m. (A third game, if necessary, will follow on Friday at 6:35 p.m.)

Birmingham at Chattanooga, AT&T Field, 7:15 p.m. (A third game, if necessary, will follow on Friday at 7:15 p.m.)

BEST-OF-THREE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Sunday

Montgomery-Biloxi winner at Chattanooga-Birmingham winner

Tuesday

Chattanooga-Birmingham winner at Montgomery-Biloxi winner, 6:35 p.m. (A third game, if necessary, will be played at the South Division winner on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m.)