The Thunder's Ray Kruml is second in the Eastern League with 23 steals this season. Trentonian Photo/GREGG SLABODA

TRENTON — Ray Kruml learned the golden rule of base stealing at a young age: just keep running.

Two-and-half-months into the season, Kruml is off to a flying a start on the basepaths. His 23 steals rank second in the Eastern League and are a big reason the Thunder’s 69 swipes are also second in the league.

“It’s one of the parts of my game that I’ve worked on for a while,” said Kruml, whose .274 average out of the leadoff spot has also given the Thunder a nice boost. “I’ve always been that type of player to get on base and then steal bases. If I can get a high percentage of base stealing to caught stealing ratio, I’m going to be able to do a lot of things.”

So far, so good for the 25-year-old center fielder in his minor league career. He’s only 76.6 percent this season (23-for-30) but he stole 42 bases (50 attempts) between Class A Charleston and Tampa last season and has an 80.8 percent success rate (101-for-125) since the Yankees selected him in the 11th round of the 2008 draft.

That’s all part of the just-run mentality.

“He makes his attempts every time he gets on base, and that’s what base-stealers do,” said Thunder manager Tony Franklin, who swiped 97 bags during his 10-year minor league career. “One thing you have to do as a base-stealer is you have to be daring. You have to have the willingness to go, no matter what. Even if you get thrown out two or three times in a row, you have to get back on the bases and go.”

Kruml’s done enough to earn the trust of his manager on the bases. He has the green light to go when the situation is right.

“I think (Franklin) trusts me to know the right situations to go and when to not go,” Kruml said. “I don’t think I’ve got in trouble yet, so I think I’m doing an all right job.”

Franklin thinks Kruml is similar to Yankees outfielder Brett Gardner in terms of his base running and doesn’t see why his skill wouldn’t translate to higher levels.

“There’s no reason why he can’t take that talent he possesses here and take it to the major league level,” Franklin said. “That ability he has there plays at the major league level.”

For now though, Kruml will just keep running.

“It’s tougher to pick stuff up (as you move up),” he said, “but I’m just going to keep going. That’s all I can do.”

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Catcher Austin Romine was eligible to come off the disabled list yesterday but is not quite ready after suffering a concussion June 2 against Altoona.

Franklin said the organization is being cautious with Romine but he expects him back soon.

“Years ago when we played, if you felt well you played,” Franklin said. “We probably could have been concussed but we played. Now, I think doctors are a little bit more aware of what the possibilities are after collisions. If they deem a person to be concussed, it’s going to take some time.”

Romine is hitting .298 with four homers and 31 RBIs.

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Designated hitter Cody Johnson was not in the lineup yesterday because of illness.

Johnson, whose 13 homers are third in the EL, has not missed a game since May 18.

TRENTON – As was the case with Justin Christian toward the end of last season, the Thunder have lost their leadoff man to Scranton. And just as it did with Christian, the loss is going to have a big effect on the offense.

In his second full season with Trenton, Krum was thriving, playing stellar defense in left field and was providing the team with a consistent and needed spark at the of the lineup.

“He played very well. He did a nice job for us,” manager Tony Franklin said. “His average and all that stuff doesn’t indicate the most productive of seasons, but the guy has made some very good strides with just his batting technique. … He has a chance to do some very good things in this game.”

To Franklin, the batting eye and the walks that it produced were what helped set Krum apart.

Before he departed, the 25-year-old drew 25 walks and stole 14 bases – both marks are good for second in the organization, behind Charleston’s Ramon Flores and teammate Ray Kruml, respectively – and a .242/.348/.293 slash line.

“I think he’s the victim sometimes of umpires’ poor ball-strike calls,” the manager said, suggesting that, were the umpires more consistent, Krum could have drawn even more free passes. “I think he’s got a better eye than the umpires. He’ll swing at some bad pitches up in the zone, but for the most part, he’s got a pretty good eye.”

The move gives Scranton some depth while Jordan Parraz and Greg Golson are on the disabled list.

To adjust to his absence, at least for last night’s game, Kruml was moved into the leadoff hole and Addison Maruszak was plugged into the ninth spot. Cody Johnson took Krum’s spot in the outfield.

The Maruszak move is interesting, because despite his .230 average and a .345 slugging percentage, the first baseman and occasional catcher boasts a .360 on-base percentage, best on the team among regulars. His 22 bases on balls were second only to Krum.

“Getting that type of on-base percentage from the bottom of the lineup heading to the top, that kind of helps us there,” Franklin said.

NOTES: Franklin went home sick again before yesterday’s game, this time with flu-like symptoms.

TRENTON – If you like watching Double-A starting pitchers who were born in the 1970s, then the first 35 games of the Thunder’s season have been right up your alley.

In the first six weeks, Trenton has sent Kevin Millwood (1974) and Kei Igawa (1979) to the hill, and will send another ’70s baby to the mound tonight. The man this time is Carlos Silva (1979), who, like Millwood, is another one of the Yankees’ attempts at a reclamation project.

Silva was let go by the Cubs late this spring, and was signed by New York to a minor league contract on April 9, just two days into the minor league season.

He’s made two appearances with High-A Tampa, one for three innings on May 4, and a four-inning stint five days later. He’s allowed two runs on eight hits – one home run – two walks and a strikeout.

The change, of course, requires a little juggling in the Thunder’s rotation. Dellin Betances, originally scheduled to start tonight against Binghamton, will start the homestand finale on Sunday. Manny Banuelos will be pushed to Tuesday in Erie, where the team will begin a short road trip before returning to Waterfront Park on Friday.

Unlike Igawa, tonight’s start will not be Silva’s first in Trenton. With the Reading Phillies in 2001, he gave up seven runs on nine hits – two longballs – in seven innings against the Thunder, who were then an affiliate of the Red Sox.

∙∙∙

It seems all is fine with Tony Franklin after Thursday night’s health scare. He experienced chest pains 20 minutes before yesterday’s game, and was taken to St. Francis Medical Center with team physician Lou Fares.

He was back at the ballpark briefly yesterday morning, but won’t be back in uniform for a little while. In his stead, coach Justin Pope will take over the managerial duties. Franklin said yesterday by phone that he hopes to be back with the team when it travels to Reading, but there’s no set date at this time.

“I just need to take it easy for a few days,” Franklin said yesterday, noting that everything checked out fine at the hospital and that doctors assured them he did not have a heart attack.

Pope, trainer Tim Lentych and pitching coach Tommy Phelps went to see Franklin at the hospital but because of the hour, only Lentych was allowed to visit.

“He’s at home resting now,” Pope said yesterday. “Tim said he’s doing good.”

NOTES: Because Ray Kruml broke for second yesterday after being picked off by Binghamton starter Mark Cohoon, it went into the scorebook as a caught stealing. That meant it was the first time either he or Austin Krum had been pinched on the bases in 27 tries.

TRENTON — It’s only been two weeks, but already an early star has has emerged for the Thunder — and it’s not who you might have expected.

Your Trenton star through 14 games is leadoff man Austin Krum, who has done a fabulous job setting the table for the team’s big boppers.

Krum is hitting a scorching .314/.444/.333 with 11 runs scored, which stands as 21.5 percent of the team’s total.

His early breakout comes as a bit of surprise because, toward the end of last season, Krum was having a tremendously rough go of it. He hit .150 through August and September last year, although he got moderately better in the playoffs.

He credits this season’s turnaround to a renewed approach to shorten his swing more befitting of someone in the leadoff hitter’s role.

“I tried to cut down my swing this offseason, worked hard at it. I was trying to stay within myself and stay within my game and not get out of that,” he said after Trenton’s win over Richmond on Wednesday, during which he collected three hits, including a beautiful bunt single that helped catalyze a two-run rally in the second inning.

“I think that, if you can consistently keep a good approach, that you’re going to put yourself in a better position to succeed,” Krum finished.

One of the men Krum sets the table for, catcher Austin Romine, has also taken notice of his teammate’s early production. And why shouldn’t he? Of Romine’s 12 RBIs, five have scored Krum.

“We don’t expect anything less or anything more, Romine said. “He’s going to go out there and do what he does every day. A lot of the younger hitters that haven’t been in Double-A before, they can see how to go about their work and how you prepare for a game. It just speaks volumes if you keep your head down and keep playing hard, that the hits are going to start falling.”

Besides simply getting on base at a generous clip, he also has the speed to create havoc once he gets there. His 16 stolen bases last year and three so far this season have made that abundantly clear.

What’s different this season is the burner he has hitting in front of him, Ray Kruml, who bats ninth.

Kruml, who plays right field while Krum patrols left, has a system-leading six swipes in as many chances. Together, Krum realizes the pair will be able to torment pitchers throughout the Eastern League.

“It’s awesome. As you guys can see from this first handful of games, Ray’s got some speed. He’s basically a second leadoff guy down there,” Krum said. “Whenever he gets on, he wreaks havoc on the bases. It’s great hitting behind him, because he can do his thing and that allows me to do my thing at the top of the lineup. I can try to move him over and get him in scoring position for these big bangers.

“Whenever we’re on base, it’s probably not very fun for the pitcher, especially because they’ve got to focus on getting the two, three and four (hitters) out after that.”

•••

The Thunder fell in the first game of their road swing on Thursday, 4-3, in 10 innings against the Harrisburg Senators.

Tim Pahuta, a Somerset native and Seton Hall alumnus, connected against closer Fernando Hernandez for a walk-off longball in the tenth inning.

The loss spoiled five stellar innings from starter Graham Stoneburner, who limited the Senators to just two hits and struck out four.

All of the Thunder’s runs came on one swing from Romine, who swatted a three-run double in the third against Harrisburg starter Ryan Tatusko.

•••

Kevin Millwood was officially removed from the Thunder’s roster yesterday, and was quickly replaced by Kei Igawa, who made a spot start for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Millwood was scheduled to start for Scranton yesterday.

•••

Former Thunder starter Hector Noesi, who had been with the Yankees, was demoted to Triple-A yesterday to make room for reliever Buddy Carlyle. Noesi did not pitch during his stint with the big club.

A little offense this time, but not enough pitching to stave off a tie.

PITCHING
David Phelps: 3 innings, 2 runs
Noel Castillo: 3 innings, 0 runs
Brad Rulon: 1 inning, 0 runs
HITTING
Dan Brewer: Solo HR
Jose Gil: Single, Run
Ray Kruml: Triple, RBI, Run
Kevin Smith: Single, RBI
Luis Nunez: Double, RBI
Walter Ibarra: Single

Once again, per the Thunder and Tim Lentych. Zach McAllister started in the Double-A work group today, probably because CC Sabathia started for the Triple-A work group. With that said, here are the results of today's loss.

PITCHERS
Zach McAllister: 3 2/3 innings, 2 runs
Lance Pendleton: 3 1/3 innings, 3 runs
Wilkins Arias: 2 innings, 0 runs

HITTERS
Austin Romine: Two singles
Brandon Laird: Two singles
Ray Kruml: Single, Triple, Run
Jeff Farnham: Single
Kevin Mahoney: RBI

Opening Day at Waterfront Park is just more than two weeks away, and there are many questions that still need answers.

How will the rotation shake out?

Will Brandon Laird play first or third base?

How about shortstop?

Where does Myron Leslie fit?

All these questions — as well as many others — will be addressed starting a week from today, when I travel to Tampa, Fla. to kick off The Trentonian’s coverage of Thunder spring training.
Over those four days, I’ll be working hard to glean every piece of information needed to provide the clearest picture possible of what the team will look like come April 8.

I’ll be in attendance at the Yankees game with the Minnesota Twins on March 31, the Thunder’s home games against the Pirates and Blue Jays, respectively, on April 1 and 2, and the Yankees vs. Future Yankees game on April 3 at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

Look for coverage on Twitter (jnorris427), on my blog, through videos on The Trentonian’s Web site, and, of course, in the paper itself.
•••
The Thunder lost yesterday, 4-1, against the Blue Jays’ Double-A work group. Here are few notable stats from the game, provided by the team through trainer Tim Lentych.
Pitching
D.J. Mitchell: 3 IP, 3 runs
Noel Castillo: 2 IP, 1 run
Jonathan Hovis: 2 IP, 0 runs
Pat Venditte: 2 IP, 0 runs
Hitting
Austin Romine: Single
Walter Ibarra: Single
Ray Kruml: Single, RBI
Jeff Farnham: Double, run