2024 Storm Chasers Season Summary

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RECORD SETTING SEASON

Omaha's 89 wins in 2024 set a single-season franchise record, while the team's .601 winning percentage sits as the 2nd-best in the 56-season history of the Triple-A Omaha club.

• The 2024 Chasers broke the franchise wins record with their 87th win of the year September 17 at Louisville, a 7-1 victory over the Bats ... the previous record was held by the 86-win 1990 Omaha Royals that won the Triple-A Classic 4 games to 1 over the Rochester Red Wings.
• Omaha came one win shy of setting the franchise winning percentage record in 2024, needing 90 wins to set a new club best ... the best winning percentage in Triple-A Omaha history is from the inaugural 1969 Omaha Royals at .607 (85-55) ... prior to 2024, the 1969 season was the only year the Triple-A Omaha club finished with a winning percentage greater than .600.

IN GOOD STANDINGS

After winning the first half with a 49-24 record, Omaha finished the regular season as the best overall team in the International League as well, 30 games over .500 with a 89-59 record (.601 winning percentage).

• Of the 120 full season Minor League teams, Omaha's .601 winning percentage overall this year ranked as the 9th-best ... the Palm Beach Cardinals (Cardinals Single-A) were the best team in Minor League Baseball with a .638 winning percentage (83-47 record).
• 89 wins tied for the 2nd-most of any team in Minor League Baseball this season (tied with Scranton/WB) and ranked only behind the 93-win Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Astros Triple-A) ... Omaha was 1 of 4 Minor League teams with 85+ wins.
• The Chasers were 1st or 2nd in the Minors in wins every day between May 25 and September 6 ... Omaha held sole possession of the best winning percentage in full-season Minor League Baseball for 30 days, June 5 to July 5.

A TALE OF TWO TEAMS

The 2024 Storm Chasers completed a remarkable turnaround from the 2023 club, one of the best year-to-year improvements in club history.

• In 2023, Omaha went 68-77, finishing 16th in the 20-team International League ...an improvement of 21 wins from 68 last season to 89 this year are the most one year to the next in Triple-A Omaha franchise history ... a 132-point improvement in winning percentage (.469 to .601) ranks as the 3rd-best year-to-year increase, with the 2021 Storm Chasers going 73-56 (.566) after going 59-80 (.424) in 2019.
• Omaha's 21-win difference from 2023 to 2024 was the 2nd-best improvement in Minor League Baseball this year, only trailing the Triple-A National Champion Sugar Land Space Cowboys that from 61 wins last year to 93 this year (32-win improvement).
• The Chasers' pitching was also one of the most-improved in the Minors, with Omaha's team ERA dropping from 5.33 in 2023 to a league-best 4.21 in 2024, the 3rd-best improvement of any Triple-A team ... a drop of 1.15 in ERA is the best year-to-year difference in club history.

HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL-STAR

Omaha had three representatives among the International League awards and All-Star team – manager Mike Jirschele was named the league's Manager of the Year, while Evan Sisk and Walter Pennington were chosen as the two relievers on the 2024 International League All-Star team.

• Jirschele’s Manager of the Year recognition is his first such award with Omaha in his 16th season as the Triple-A Omaha manager ... he was previously recognized as the 1992 GCL Manager of the Year, the 1994 Carolina League Manager of the Year and the 1994 Minor League Manager of the Year by The Sporting News ... Jirschele is the fourth Triple-A Omaha manager to be named a league manager of the year, joining Jack McKeon (1969 American Association), Joe Sparks (1981 American Association) and Sal Rende (1990 American Association).
• Sisk earned his first career MiLB All-Star selection ... he appeared in a league-leading 58 games out of the bullpen for Omaha and went 6-2 with 15 saves, a 1.57 ERA (10 ER in 57.1 IP) and 81 strikeouts (12.72 K/9) ... he ranked 3rd in MiLB in appearances and 4th in the league in saves.
• Pennington also earned his first career MiLB All-Star selection ... he appeared in 37 games for Omaha (2 starts) and went 6-3 for the Storm Chasers with a 2.26 ERA (15 ER in 59.2 IP) with 79 strikeouts (11.92 K/9) ... Pennington was traded to Texas July 29 in exchange for Michael Lorenzen and 15 of his 17 appearances to end the year in the Rangers organization came in the Major Leagues.
• The three award winners in 2024 are Omaha’s first league award winners since the 2021 Triple-A East All-Star honors and league awards, when Jackson Kowar (Pitcher of the Year), Ryan McBroom (All-Star DH) and Bobby Witt Jr. (Top MLB Prospect) were recognized by MiLB.

I'M DIFFERENT, YEAH, I'M (RUN) DIFFERENT(IAL)

Omaha outscored its opponents 792 to 662 this season, a +130 run differential.

• A +130 run differential this year was both the best mark in the International League and in Triple-A, ahead of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (+127).
• Omaha ranked 8th in Minor League Baseball in run differential ... the Midland Rockhounds led MiLB in run differential at +180 (674 to 494).
• +130 ranks as the 2nd-best run differential in franchise history, trailing only the 1969 Omaha Royals that ended the year at +163 (805 to 642).

TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT

86 of Omaha's 148 regular season games this year were decided by 3 runs or less (58%), including 34 of 59 losses in 2024 (57%), with 18 of 59 losses by just one run (31%).

• Omaha was 27-18 in 1-run games this season, tied for the 4th-most 1-run wins of any Minor League team ... Akron led the Minors with 33 wins by 1 run ... the first two games of the International League Championship Series were also decided by one run.
• Omaha's 41 saves were the 2nd-most in the International League, the 3rd-most at the Triple-A level and 5th-best in Minor League Baseball.
• Evan Sisk's 15 saves overall this year ranked 4th in the International League ... Sisk had 13 of the team's last 14 saves ... he is the 15th pitcher in Triple-A Omaha history to save 15 games in a season ... the last to do so was Jesse Chavez, with 16 in 2011, the Storm Chasers-era record.

SERIES SPEAKING

The Storm Chasers won 15 series in 2024, of the 27 regular season series, including 11 separate 6-game series wins.

• Outside of the 15 series wins, Omaha had 6 series splits this season and just 5 series losses ... over the last 6 series, Omaha has won 3 and split 3.
• Omaha had two stretches of going over a month without losing a series, 7 straight series between late April and mid-June, as well as 6 consecutive series from mid-July to late August.
• Last year, Omaha had just 8 series wins, including just 3 at Werner Park ... this year, the Chasers had 10 series wins at home.
• There were 5 instances where Omaha lost 3 of the first 4 games of a series and won the last 2 to avoid a series loss, including 3 straight series from July into August ... 2 times, the Chasers lost 2 of the first 4 games and won the last 3 for a series win.

WIN, WIN, WIN, NO MATTER MONTH

The Storm Chasers had a record above .500 in every month of the season but September, setting a club record in the process.

• The Chasers went 2-1 in March (.667), 12-9 in April (.571), 23-6 in May (.793), 15-11 in June (.577), 12-11 in July (.522) and 16-11 in August (.592) ... in September, Omaha was 9-10 (.474).
• Prior to this year, Omaha had never gone more than 4 straight months with a winning record (in the Storm Chasers era) ... even the back-to-back National Champion teams in 2013 and 2014 each had two losing months.
• In total, Omaha had a winning record in 7 consecutive months, dating back to September 2023 ... the Chasers needed to win the last game of the regular season to finish September with a winning record (and set a franchise overall winning % record), but Omaha fell to Louisville 6-0 September 22, a 1-hit shutout loss.

RELIEF AID

Omaha's bullpen was arguably the best at the Triple-A level in 2024.

• Storm Chasers relievers lead all Triple-A bullpens with a 3.71 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and .220/.323/.347 opposing slash line ... the .218 opponents' batting average ranked tied 20th among all 120 full-season Minor League teams.
• Omaha's bullpen combined to not allow a run in 41 regular season games this year, roughly one in every 3.61 games in 2024 ... the bullpen also had 21 games without a walk this season, including 12 times in the 2nd half of the season.
• In the 1st half of the season, the Chasers led Triple-A with a 3.58 bullpen ERA, while ranking 5th among the 120 full-season Minor League teams with a .208 opponents' average.

EXTRAS, EXTRAS, READ ALL ABOUT IT

The Storm Chasers played 17 extra-inning games in 2024, after playing a franchise-low 4 in 2023 ... they went 10-7 in extra-inning games this year, tied for the league lead in extra-inning wins.

• 10 extra-inning wins were not only tied for the most in the league, but also at the Triple-A level, tied for the 5th-most in the Minors ... Palm Beach led MiLB with 12 extra-inning wins, while Pensacola went 11-1, the highest winning percentage (.917) among teams that played at least 10 extra-inning games.
• Omaha opened the season with back-to-back extra-inning games, March 29 and 30 vs. Iowa, both walk-off wins for Omaha ... it was the first time the Chasers had played back-to-back extra-inning games since July 2 and 3, 2019 @ Round Rock, both games Omaha lost ... the last time the Storm Chasers won back-to-back extra-inning games was July 6, 2016, when Omaha won both games of a day/night doubleheader in Iowa against the Cubs.
• 17 extra-inning games falls 3 shy of the Triple-A Omaha franchise record of 20 in a season (in 1995 & 1997) ... 10 extra-inning wins is one short of the club record of 11 (in 1970, 1978 & 2007).

DOUBLE THE TROUBLE

Omaha played 7 doubleheaders in 2024, after just 1 in 2023.

• The Storm Chasers went 7-7 in doubleheader games this year, with 6 of 7 doubleheaders played on the road.
• Omaha pulled out doubleheader sweeps May 30 at Indianapolis and June 14 at Toledo ... the Chasers split three doubleheaders this season April 4 at Columbus, May 1 at Iowa and August 30 vs. St. Paul ... they were swept in a pair of doubleheaders as well, June 28 at Columbus and September 5 at Memphis.
• The Chasers played an extra-inning game (8 innings or more) in 4 doubleheaders this year, after playing 3 extra-inning games in their previous 28 double-dips, dating back to 2017.
• Last season, the Storm Chasers only played 1 doubleheader (July 2 vs. Iowa), but the team played 5 in 2022 and 4 in each 2021 and 2019 ... the Chasers last played at least 7 doubleheaders in a season in 2017, when they had 8.
• Omaha outscored its opponent in 3 of 7 doubleheaders, outhitting its opponent in 3 of 7 as well.

WEEKEND AT STORMY’S

Throughout 2024, weekend games were Omaha's strongest time of the week, but especially during the summer.

• Omaha combined to go 37-12 in Saturday & Sunday games in 2024, including a pair of 5-week stretches where the Chasers went 10-0 in games on those days, May 4 to June 2 and July 13 to August 11 ... Omaha outscored its opponents 58-29 in that first 10-game stretch, then 83-23 in the second 10-game period, the only Minor League team that went undefeated in either period.
• The Storm Chasers won both Saturday and Sunday in 15 of 24 possible tries, losing both games only twice – both in June.
• In the 2nd half of the season, Omaha outscored its opponents 164-90, tied for the most runs scored on Saturday/Sunday in the IL in that timeframe, with the 2nd-fewest runs allowed.

SUNDAY FUNDAY

Omaha was one of the best baseball teams in Sunday games in 2024.

• Omaha went 18-6 in Sunday games, which ranked as tied for the 4th-most wins in the final day of the week of any Major OR Minor League team ... the pitching staff's 2.60 ERA (63 ER in 218.0 IP) on Sunday was the 2nd-best in baseball (MLB or MiLB).
• In the second half, the Chasers were 10-2 in Sunday games, one of 6 teams in baseball with 10 Sunday wins from June 25 on ... the team won 8 straight Sunday games from June 30 at Columbus through August 25 at Buffalo, but only won 2 of the last 4.
• 3 of Omaha's 8 walk-off wins in the regular season came on Sunday, the most on any day of the week.

DRAMA KINGS

Omaha had 8 walk-off wins in 2024, doubling the team's total from 2023 and representing the club's most in the last six seasons ... the Chasers added one more in the postseason as well.

• The 8 walk-off wins came from 4 different types of plays ... 4 singles, 3 sacrifice flies, 1 passed ball and 1 home run.
• On Opening Night (March 29) Cam Devanney scored from third base on a passed ball with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning ... the next day, March 30, Mike Brosseau brought Devin Mann home from third base on a sacrifice fly in the 10th ... this marked the first time the Chasers won back-to-back games in walk-off fashion since July 17 & 18, 2019 vs. New Orleans.
• Ryan Fitzgerald's two-run walk-off homer May 12 vs. Jacksonville was Omaha's first walk-off homer in nearly 2 years, since Nate Eaton's solo game winner May 31, 2022 vs. Indianapolis.
• Nick Pratto's walk-off sac fly to win Game 2 of the International League Championship Series September 25 vs. Columbus was Omaha's first walk-off win in a playoff game since Brian Fletcher's walk-off solo home run in Game 2 of the 2013 Pacific Coast League Championship Series, September 11 vs. Salt Lake.
• Omaha also drastically cut down the walk-off losses, from 12 in 2023 to just 5 in 2024, the fewest since the team's 5 in 2019.

GETTING OFFENSIVE

At the plate this year, the Storm Chasers were one of the top teams in the International League hitting in critical moments.

• 2 OUTS: The Chasers slashed .242/.329/.436 when there were 2 outs in an inning ... their .765 OPS with 2 outs ranked 3rd in the league, while 69 home runs with 2 outs led the league.
• BASES LOADED: The Chasers slashed .324/.376/.500 when the bases were loaded this year ... their .876 OPS ranked 6th in the league, while the .324 average was the 4th-best ... Cam Devanney tied for the league lead with 20 RBI when hitting with the bases loaded, he tied for 2nd with 13 total bases with the bases loaded, going 9-for-17 (.529) in those situations.
• LATE/CLOSE: The Chasers slashed .252/.343/.453 when the game was late or close ... their .796 OPS in these moments, the 4th-best in the league, while the team was 2nd in the league in home runs (22) and RBI (87) when the game was late or close.

SACRIFICIAL LOVE

The 2024 Storm Chasers led the league with 38 sacrifice bunts, the most by an Omaha team since 2018.

• 38 sacrifice bunts this year ranked as the second-most at the Triple-A level and 5th among full-season Minor League teams ... Kansas City's Double-A affiliate, the Northwest Arkansas Naturals, led the Minors in sac bunts with 49.
• Omaha recorded more sacrifice bunts this season than the last two years combined ... the Chasers only laid down 14 sacrifice bunts last year, after just 12 in 2022 and 16 in 2021 ... the last Storm Chasers team to recorded 38 or more sac bunts in a season was the 2018 club that had 58.
• Catcher Austin Nola led the league with 10 sacrifice bunts this year, one of nine MiLB players with 10 or more ... the last Storm Chaser with 10+ sac bunts in a season was Jecksson Flores with 13 in 2019 ... the franchise record of 21 has been accomplished twice most recently by Terry Shumpert in 1993.
• A run was scored in the same inning as 25 of Omaha's 38 sacrifice bunts ... 13 of those 25 directly impacted a run that subsequently scored (run likely would not have scored without the bunt) ... 4 were squeeze bunts, sac bunts that scored a run.

BEST OF THE BEST

With the Omaha Storm Chasers having a franchise-best year, the season has also saw several players set new career-bests.

• John Rave led the charge of career years, setting personal bests in games played (131), runs scored (93), hits (129), doubles (32), triples (5) and home runs (21) ... he also produced the best slugging percentage (.470) and OPS (.816) of his career.
• Cam Devanney set a personal best for runs batted in (77) this year, as did Nate Eaton (60), who also set a career-best in home runs (16) ... Drew Waters also set a career best in runs batted in (61), in addition to runs scored (84) and walks (53).
• On the mound, Chandler Champlain pitched a career-high 140.1 innings this season between Omaha and Double-A NW Arkansas, as did Noah Cameron (128.2), while Evan Sisk's 81 strikeouts and 15 saves this year were new career bests.
• Three Omaha pitchers set career-bests for Minor League appearances: Steven Cruz (47) Noah Murdock (46) and Jonathan Bowlan (35), while Sisk tied his career-best (56) from 2023.

ONE-HIT WONDERS

Since 2005, Omaha has thrown eight 9.0-inning, 1-hit shutouts ... 2 of them came in 2024 and the pair had remarkable parallels.

• Storm Chasers pitchers combined for 1-hit shutouts August 3 at Rochester and August 16 vs. Louisville ... both games were started by Dinelson Lamet ... both times, the only hit of the game for the opponent came from the first batter of the first inning (Dylan Crews for Rochester and Blake Dunn for Louisville) ... Austin Cox also appeared in both games out of Omaha's bullpen.
• Prior to August 2024, Omaha had not thrown a 9-inning, 1-hit shutout since August 2019, with just six over an 18-season span (2005 to 2023).
• There were 15 9.0-inning, 1-hit shutouts thrown in Triple-A this year ... Omaha is one of two clubs that threw two (also: Syracuse) ... the Chasers are one of five teams, along with Gwinnett, Louisville, Memphis, Nashville and Syracuse, to both throw a 1-hit shutout and be held to a 1-hit shutout offensively.

DAZZLING DEFENSE

2024 was one of the best fielding seasons in modern Omaha history (since 2005), as the Chasers held a .982 fielding percentage this year.

• A .982 fielding percentage represents the second-best for a Triple-A Omaha club since 2005, only topped by the 2018 Storm Chasers that finished the year with a .983 fielding percentage ... 95 errors is the 3rd-fewest made in a season since 2005, behind 2018 (85) and 2021 (86).
• The 2024 Storm Chasers went through a few excellent defensive stretches, going 5+ games without making an error 4 times, including a team-best stretch of 7 consecutive errorless games (56.0 innings) from March 31 to April 7.
• 4 different Storm Chasers played at least 500 innings at a single defensive position this year: Drew Waters in CF, Nick Pratto at 1B, Tyler Gentry in RF and Cam Devanney at SS ... Devanney's 1060.1 innings at shortstop not only led the team, but were the 2nd-most innings of any MiLB player at a single position this year.
• Devanney's .968 fielding percentage at shortstop (14 errors in 436 total chances) ranked 6th among 15 shortstops in the Minors this season with at least 800 innings played at the position.
• Of the 7 Minor Leaguers that played at least 800 innings in right field this year, Gentry's .986 fielding percentage (3 errors in 207 total chances) was the 2nd-best.

NO FLY ZONE

A pair of Omaha relievers did not allow a home run during the regular season with the Storm Chasers: Noah Murdock and Evan Sisk.

• Murdock not only did not surrender a long ball over his 38.1 innings with the Storm Chasers in 2024, but also did not allow a home run in 24.1 innings with Double-A Northwest Arkansas before his promotion to Triple-A, for 62.2 homerless innings this year ... the streak extends to 67.1 innings without allowing a homer, going back to September 2023 with NWA ... Murdock, however, allowed a home run to his first batter of the postseason, a solo shot to Tyler Freeman that opened the 6th inning of ILCS Game 2.
• Sisk, who spent all of 2024 with Omaha, did not allow a home run over 57.1 innings of work for the Chasers ... that streak extends to 61.0 innings when you factor in his scoreless 2024 postseason, or 72.1 innings when you date back to August 2023 with Omaha.
• Murdock's previous career-best homerless streak was 69.0 innings, between July 2019 and April 2022, while Sisk's was 43.2 innings between June 2022 and April 2023.
• Among all Minor League pitchers in 2023, Murdock's 62.2 innings pitched without allowing a home run were the 4th-most, while Sisk's 57.1 homerless innings were the 10th-most ... when sorting by games pitched, Sisk's 58 appearances were the most to not surrender a home run, while Murdock's 46 were the 5th-most.
• Sisk's homerless season also set a modern Omaha record ... his 57.1 innings and 58 games pitched in a regular season without allowing a home run are both the most by an Omaha pitcher since 2005 ... previously, the records were held by Victor Marte, who appeared in 30 games and threw 42.1 innings for the 2009 Omaha Royals without allowing a long ball, though he did allow a home run at Double-A that season, plus two in the big leagues.
• The longest multi-season homerless streak prior to Sisk's 68 games came from Richard Lovelady, who did not allow a homer over 38 appearances and 57.0 innings from June 2018 to July 2019.

STRIPPING THE STRIPERS

The Storm Chasers' series against the Gwinnett Strippers, April 9 to 14 at Werner Park, was possibly Omaha's best offensive week since the 6-game series were implemented ahead of the 2021 season.

• Omaha scored at least 6 runs and had 9 or more hits in all six games of the series, with at least 10 hits in all five wins during the week and a total of 60 runs scored over the six games ... the team hit .326 (70-for-215) with a 1.055 OPS against the Stripers.
• Over the 6 games against Atlanta's Triple-A affiliate, Omaha set several club records for offense in a 6-game series: runs (60), hits (70), total base s(136), runs batted in (56), batting average (.326), slugging percentage (.633), OPS (1.055) and runs per game (10.0).

MAY FLOWERS

While the Chasers were 14-10 through the end of April, Omaha turned things to a new level in May, going 23-6 to vault the club into the conversation of the best teams in Minor League Baseball.

• 23 wins in May were the most of any Major OR Minor League team in a single 2024 month, with only 6 teams having a 20-win month.
• Omaha's .786 winning percentage in May 2024 was its best in a single month (min. 20 games) since at least 2005 ... a .214 opponents' average was also a new record, while the staff's strikeout rate of 25.4% was the 3rd-best in the team's modern era.
• Offensively, it was one of the best months at the plate in the Storm Chasers era (since 2011) ... 6.21 runs/game ranked as the 4th-most since 2011 ... the team's .357 OBP, .472 SLG and .829 OPS all rank in the top-10 out of 67 months since 2011 where Omaha played at least 20 games.
• After losing the first game of a doubleheader at Iowa May 1, Omaha rattled off 5 straight wins to begin the month, never losing back-to-back games in May ... in fact, Omaha never lost consecutive games between April 20 and June 6.

INCREDIBLE INNINGS

The Storm Chasers had 23 games in 2024 where they led from the first inning through the end of the game, including 20 separate 9-inning games.

• There were 4 instances in 2024 where the Storm Chasers led for all 9 innings in back-to-back games: May 5 & 7, May 10 & 11, June 2 & 4 and August 20 & 21.
• Omaha's longest stretch of consecutive innings with a lead was 26 innings, from the 2nd inning May 4 @ Iowa through the 9th inning, May 7 vs. Jacksonville.
• On the flip side, the Storm Chasers trailed from the first inning through the end of the game in back-to-back games once - August 27 and 28 vs. St. Paul, creating a season-worst 18.0-inning stretch of innings losing.

KICKSTART MY GAME

Storm Chaser starting pitchers shined all season, consistently putting up some of the top marks in the league.

• 19 different pitchers started a game for Omaha in 2024, down from the club record 23 last year ... 14 of 19 made at least 5 starts, with 7 pitchers starting 10+ regular season games for the Chasers.
• A 4.68 ERA from Omaha's starters ranked 5th in the IL this year, after ranking 12th last year (5.18) ... 4.68 is the Chasers' best ERA as a starting rotation since 2018 (4.58), after 4 of the 5 worst seasons for starter ERA over the last 4 seasons (2019 to 2023).
• Omaha got 674.1 innings from its starting pitchers in 2024, the 4th-most in the International League and 15th-best in MiLB.
• The best month for Omaha's starting pitching was August, with a 3.60 ERA (55 ER in 137.2 IP) over 27 games that month, the 8th-best for an IL team in a single month this season (min. 15 games played) ... the club's 137.2 innings and 1.16 WHIP that month was the 3rd-best for an IL team in a single month this year.

RIDING THE CYCLE

Several Omaha players came just one hit shy of hitting for the cycle in 2024, with 8 different players doing so for 17 total instances of coming one hit away from hitting for the cycle.

• Drew Waters came a hit shy of the cycle 6 times with the Storm Chasers in 2024 ... four times he just needed the triple, while twice he needed a home run to finish the cycle.
• CJ Alexander was one hit shy of the cycle 5 times with Omaha this year ... he was a triple shy of the cycle twice, a homer shy of the cycle once, one time needed a single and once needed a double to complete the cycle.
• Ryan Fitzgerald came a hit away from hitting for the cycle twice, while Cam Devanney, Tyler Gentry, Logan Porter, Nick Pratto and John Rave each did it once.
• Both Porter and Waters were a triple away from the cycle April 11 vs. Gwinnett (18-9 W), while Fitzgerald and Gentry both came a hit shy June 30 at Columbus (12-9 W) ... Waters did so in 3 straight games, September 19 to 21, needing a triple two times and needing a home run once, part of 4 straight games with 3 hits.

MAGIC 8 BALL

One key to victory was rather straightforward for Omaha in 2024 ... score at least 8 runs.

• The Chasers went 31-0 when scoring at least 8 runs in a game, with a 58-59 record in games where they scored fewer than 8 runs.
• 31 occurrences of scoring 8 or more runs was once in every 4.8 games in 2024 ... the Chasers never went more than 12 straight games without scoring at least 8 runs, and even four times scored 8+ runs in back-to-back games.
• 8 runs scored also was a key to success last year, with Omaha going 34-1 in 2023 games where the team scored at least 8 runs.

YOU CAN COUNT ON ME

Two factors contributing to Omaha's success this season include the starting pitchers going deep into games and the offense providing their starters run support.

• When Omaha's starter could get through at least 5.0 innings this year, the team had a 50-25 record (.667 winning %), compared to 39-34 (.534 winning %) when starters could not make it through the 5th inning.
• When the offense was able to provide 3+ runs of support, the Storm Chasers are 53-14 (.791 winning %), while the team is just 36-45 (.444 winning %) when the offense offers 2 runs of support or less to the starting pitcher.

(DON'T) WALK THIS WAY

Several Omaha pitchers had stretches of excellent control in 2024, including a pair of starting pitchers.

• Luis Cessa and Jonathan Bowlan are the only Omaha starting pitchers that went consecutive starts without issuing a walk ... Cessa went 3 straight starts (12.0 innings) from April 18 to May 3 without walking a batter, while Bowlan did not walk one in 2 consecutive starts (12.0 innings) from April 9 to 14.
• Bowlan and Tyler Duffey each had strong stretches out of the bullpen as well without issuing a free pass ... Bowlan had 8 straight games (9.1 innings) from August 14 to September 11 without issuing a walk, while Duffey had 8 consecutive games as well (9.2 innings) from June 15 to July 13 without a walk.
• Since the move to Werner Park in 2011, Cessa is just the 6th Storm Chaser pitcher to go 3 starts without walking a batter ... no Omaha starter has gone more than 3 straight starts without walk.

NO HITS FOR YOU

Storm Chasers relievers flashed several stretches of being untouchable on the mound throughout the 2024 season.

• Three times, Evan Sisk went 6 straight games without allowing a hit or run: May 15 to 29 (5.0 innings), June 6 to 21 (3.2 innings) and July 9 to 28 (5.0 innings).
• Will Klein twice had a stretch of 6.0 innings or more without allowing a hit ... he fired 9.0 hitless innings across 8 outings from May 10 to 29, but allowed 2 runs (on 5 walks) in that stretch ... he also pitched 6.0 innings without allowing a hit from April 16 to May 3, spanning 5 outings where he allowed 1 run.
• Carlos Hernández twice threw 5.0 hitless innings or more for Omaha: May 21 to June 9 (5.1 IP) and July 30 to August 21 (5.0 IP).

INHERITANCE TAX

Storm Chasers relievers were some of the best in the International League at stranding inherited runners in 2024.

• As a relief corps, Omaha's bullpen allowed just 53 of 190 inherited runners to score ... 27.9% of inherited runners scoring was the 5th-lowest mark in the league, 7th among the 30 Triple-A team and 19th among the 120 full-season Minor League teams.
• Of 149 International League relievers that inherited at least 10 runners in 2024, Omaha had 5 pitchers in the top 30 (top 20%).
• Austin Cox led Omaha by allowing just 1 of 11 runners he inherited to score (9.1%), while Evan Sisk was right there among the best, allowing 4 of 32 (12.5%) inherited runners to score ... of 38 pitchers in the IL that inherited at least 20 runners this year, Sisk's rate of only allowing 12.5% to score ranked as the 3rd-best.

A TALE OF TWO HALVES

Not only did the Storm Chasers as a team perform differently from the 1st half to the 2nd half of the season, so did many players.

• Of 11 players that took at least 100 plate appearances in both the 1st and 2nd halves, 4 saw improvement in the 2nd half, while 6 saw their numbers regress and 1 produced similar halves.
• Brian O'Keefe raised his average from .252 in the 1st half to .311 in the 2nd half, going from a .826 OPS to 1.013 ... Tyler Gentry hit just .215 in the 1st half, but was a .284 hitter in the 2nd half, with his OPS moving from .675 in the 1st half to .841 in the 2nd half ... Drew Waters was a .265 hitter with a .799 OPS in the 1st half, but hit .316 with a .945 OPS in the 2nd half.
• Devin Mann was a .311 hitter with a .909 OPS in the 1st half, but hit just .187 with a .601 OPS in the 2nd half ... Nate Eaton was a .321 hitter with a .897 OPS in the 1st half to a .199 hitter with a .762 OPS in the 2nd half ... John Rave hit .286 in the 1st half but just .236 in the 2nd half, with a .877 1st half OPS to a .762 2nd half OPS.

LEFT-ON-LEFT CRIME

Omaha was one of the best left-on-left hitting teams in Minor League Baseball in 2024, an area the club struggled in 2023.

• Of 47 left-handed Triple-A hitters with 100 or more plate appearances against lefty pitching, Omaha had 3 of the Top 10 ... Ryan Fitzgerald hit .340 with a .995 OPS, John Rave hit .325 with a .931 OPS and CJ Alexander hit .316 with a .830 OPS ... Fitzgerald was Top-3 in AVG, OBP, SLG and OPS, leading in SLG and OPS.
• In 2024, Chasers' lefty hitters combined to slash .298/.375/.466 with a .841 OPS against left-handed pitching, 2nd in MiLB in AVG, 4th in OBP, 3rd in SLG and 3rd in OPS ... in 2023, the club's lefties slashed .180/.286/.292 with a .578 OPS against southpaws, with .180 being the 5th-worst left-on-left average in the Minors.

DUDE, WE'RE GETTING THE BAND BACK TOGETHER

Omaha used 59 different players in 2024, the fewest in several years.

• 59 players was a stark contrast from the 2023 team that saw 76 players used, or 2022 with 80 ... the last time Omaha used less than 60 players in a year was the 2019 Chasers that used 57 players.
• Omaha's 59 players ranked as the 2nd-fewest in the International League, only trailing 56 from Memphis ... the average IL team used 74 players and Jacksonville led the league with 90 players used.

ALL QUIET ON THE OMAHA FRONT

The 2024 Storm Chasers had multiple stretches of scoreless dominance on the mound, but also stretches of scoring droughts at the plate.

• Omaha is one of 7 International League teams in 2024 that pitched shutouts in back-to-back games ... the Chasers are one of 4 teams that threw back-to-back shutouts twice ... Omaha threw shutouts August 2 and 3 at Rochester, as well as August 15 and 16 vs. Louisville.
• The Storm Chasers were one of 8 International League teams this year that were shut out offensively back-to-back games, one of 3 teams that was shutout in consecutive games twice ... Omaha was the only Triple-A team that was shutout in three straight games (March 31 vs. Iowa to April 4 at Columbus).

LEAGUE CHAMPION CHASERS

Many players on the Storm Chasers' 2024 postseason roster had previous playoff experience in the Minor Leagues, with one of several Royals affiliates that won league championships.

• Most recently, 2021 saw High-A Quad Cities and Double-A Northwest Arkansas win their respective league championships ... in 2019, Rookie Advanced Idaho Falls, Single-A Lexington and High-A Wilmington won league titles ... Lexington also won its league in 2018 as well.
• 9 members of Omaha's postseason roster in 2024 previously won league championships in the Royals organization:
• In total, 18 of 59 players that appeared in a game for Omaha this year had previously won a league championship with the Royals organization ... 11 of those players had multiple championships.
• 1B Nick Pratto, RHP Jonathan Bowlan, LHP Austin Cox have now won a league title at FOUR different Minor League levels ... Pratto was with Single-A Lexington in 2018, while Bowlan and Cox were in 2019 ... they all played for High-A Wilmington in 2019, Double-A Northwest Arkansas in 2021 and then Triple-A Omaha in 2024.

COMEBACK KIDS

Omaha had 49 comeback wins this year, meaning over half of this year's wins were games where the Chasers trailed at some point.

• The Chasers trailed for 3 innings or more in 18 of the comeback wins.
• Omaha had 9 wins where they had to overcome multiple deficits.
• There were 14 games this season that the Storm Chasers won when trailing after the 6th inning.
• 9 of the come-from-behind wins came against Iowa, the most against 1 team but 7 were against Columbus, including both wins in the International League Championship Series.

IT'S SHOW TIME

In 2024, the Omaha Storm Chasers saw 4 players called up to Kansas City to make their Major League debuts, the fewest since 2020, after back-to-back double-digit debut seasons.

• RHP Will Klein was the 1st to be called up to the Major Leagues, recalled by the Royals April 25 to make his MLB debut April 28 @ Detroit with a scoreless inning. It was his first of 5 games with the Royals and of 8 big league games in 2024 (also: 3 with Oakland).
• INF/OF CJ Alexander was Omaha's 2nd big league call-up in 2024, with his contract selected by Kansas City June 24 for his MLB debut that night vs. Miami. CJ went 1-for-8 over 4 games with the Royals, optioned July 5, his only stint in the big leagues.
• LHP Walter Pennington was the 3rd 2024 Storm Chaser to reach the big leagues, with his contract selected July 5, to make his MLB debut that night against his hometown Colorado Rockies. Traded to Texas later in July, Pennington pitched 15 more MLB games with the Rangers in 2024.
• OF Tyler Gentry was Omaha's 4th and final 2024 MLB debutant, recalled August 25 for his first of 3 big league games that afternoon against Philadelphia. He went 0-for-5 with the Royals, optioned September 1.