February 15, 2008
Show Your Work
This is the longer version of what I’ll be writing about in the 2/15 Newberg Report email. Nothing earth-shattering. I just thought it was interesting. All data from 2007:
| League | Team Errors per Game |
Team HBP + PB + WP per Game |
Total Team Mistakes per Game |
% Runs Unearned |
% Runs w/o RBI |
| American (MLB) |
0.60 |
0.76 |
1.37 |
7.6% |
4.7% |
| Pacific Coast (AAA) |
0.83 |
0.93 |
1.77 |
10.7% |
6.7% |
| Texas (AA) |
0.79 |
1.05 |
1.84 |
10.6% |
6.8% |
| California (A-high) |
1.14 |
1.38 |
2.52 |
14.5% |
8.4% |
| Midwest (A-low) |
1.24 |
1.27 |
2.51 |
16.5% |
10.8% |
| Northwest (A-short) |
1.35 |
1.91 |
3.26 |
18.1% |
12.2% |
| Arizona (Rookie) |
1.88 |
2.34 |
4.22 |
21.8% |
17.0% |
Posted by Lucas at 09:59 AM
September 04, 2007
New and Improved Org Chart
Now with Spokane and AZL rosters.
Posted by Lucas at 05:40 PM
June 01, 2007
New Rundown Feature
The yellow "Rundown" box at upper right links to stats for the entire Rangers minor-league organization. They include all the fun "+" stats (OPS+, ERA+, walk rates, K rates, etc.) that are indexed for each player's league and home park.
I'll probably update them once per month.
Posted by Lucas at 07:14 PM
May 15, 2007
Newberg Report Special: Checking In On Omar Poveda
I wrote the following about Clinton pitcher Omar Poveda on April 5th:
“I expect wonderful things from him in 2007. Now 19, he already has a full-length season under his belt when most players his age are still in extended Spring Training. He also pitched much better last season than his 4-13 record and 4.88 ERA would suggest, as his peripheral stats were very solid. Perhaps his defense let him down: 31% of grounders against him ended up hits, compared to only 25% for the Midwest League as a whole.”
Omar Poveda has lowered his ERA from 4.88 in 2006 to a sparkling 2.51 this season. Interestingly, his three basic peripherals (homers, walks and strikeouts) indicate little to no improvement. His strikeout rate has increased very slightly (21% in ’07 versus 20% in ‘06), but he’s walking more batters (8% vs. 6%) and is on pace to allow nine more homers than last year. What explains his huge decrease in ERA? I have some ideas:
1. Better Defense
In 2006, Clinton allowed opposing batters to hit .331 on balls in play (homers and strikeouts excluded) compared to .310 for the Midwest League. This year, Clinton’s hit rate has plummeted to .304. The difference equates to about 25 hits in 34 games this season. That’s huge.
Likewise, the LumberKings have improved greatly at leaving runners on base. 44 pitchers qualified for the Midwest League’s ERA title in 2006. The three worst at stranding runners were Jake Rasner, Zachary Phillips, and Poveda, all L-Kings. In 2007, Poveda ranks 7th best among 55 qualifiers, and every starter but Michael Ballard is among the top 25%.
Strand rates and hit rates on balls in play don’t hinge entirely on defense. The quality of the pitchers, their ground/fly tendencies, and plain old luck also play roles. But I believe it’s safe to conclude that Clinton’s defense is turning more batted balls into outs this season.
2. Luck
Poveda currently holds a hit rate on balls in play of .188, lowest in the Midwest League. No MWL qualifier finished last season under .257, and Poveda’s was .355. Numerous studies have shown that pitchers have far less influence over this rate than strikeouts, walks and homers. Thus, Poveda’s huge decline in hit rate on balls in play may be partially due to improved performance but is largely a function of luck. He almost certainly can’t maintain such a low hit rate in the long run.
With a hit rate on balls in play of .304 (the team rate) instead of his .188, I estimate Poveda would have an ERA of 3.40, still good, but well above his actual ERA of 2.51.
3. Bizarre Batted-Ball Patterns (i.e., More Luck)
Poveda has exhibited a pronounced fly ball tendency this season. Fly-prone pitchers can and do succeed in the Majors, but, other factors being equal, pitchers who induce more grounders are preferable (especially considering Texas prospects’ final destination of Rangers Ballpark, where fly balls reach the seats with alarming frequency).
In Poveda’s case, the simple ground/fly ratio hides some strange and significant information. As you know, popups are an ideal result for a pitcher since they almost never land safely. In the Midwest League, approximately 20% of fly balls are popups caught by an infielder. The Major League rate is about 22%. As noted by Lone Star Ball’s Adam Morris, fly-prone Barry Zito has a special talent for inducing popups. In 2006, 32% of his fly balls failed to reach the outfield.
Poveda’s popup rate as a percentage of all fly balls is an astounding 47%.
Poveda also has an extraordinarily low line drive rate of 6%, compared to 14% in 2006. Typical for the MWL is between 12%-13%. About 75% of line drives are base hits, often as doubles and triples, so minimizing them is key.
The vital question is: Do Poveda’s high popup rate and low line-drive rate indicate skill or luck?
To provide an answer, or at least some context, I reviewed last year’s top five in ERA plus two others in the top five in Run Average (which includes unearned runs). The average pop/fly ratio was 22%, and none was higher than 27%. Poveda’s is 47%. No pitcher had a line drive rate below 11%, while Poveda’s is a miniscule 6%.
That doesn’t absolutely prove that Poveda can’t maintain his current rates, but he is definitely bucking some very long odds.
I’m not foretelling Poveda’s imminent meltdown. I’m not even suggesting that Poveda isn’t pitching well, for he most certainly is. He’s just not pitching quite as well as his 2.51 ERA suggests. I’m hopeful that he can maintain his strong performance even as the flukiness of some of his peripherals dissipates.
Poveda takes the mound at noon today.
Posted by Lucas at 10:42 AM
April 01, 2007
2007 Ranger Minor League Schedules
Added to the "Rundown" links at upper-right.
Posted by Lucas at 11:56 AM
March 30, 2007
Newberg Report Special: The Pacific Coast League
Many of the Ranger affiliates discussed so far have long and interesting histories, but those histories are not intertwined with Texas. To be sure, affiliations are often short-lived, especially at lower levels. As you’ve read, Texas’s recent history is especially turbulent. When the franchise pulled up stakes and moved its Spring Training home to Arizona in 2003, it ended three decades of mostly eastern-based minor-league relationships.
The AAA Oklahoma Redhawks are the proud exception. Since both New York teams terminated lengthy affiliations over the winter, Texas and Oklahoma now have the fifth-longest association in AAA:
Atlanta – Richmond, since 1966 (when Braves moved out of Milwaukee)
Kansas City – Omaha, 1969 (affiliate since beginning of franchise)
Boston – Pawtucket, 1973
Chicago Cubs – Iowa, 1981
Texas – Oklahoma, 1983
Indeed, Oklahoma has changed its name, nickname, league and stadium since affiliating with Texas.
Oklahoma City’s connection with professional baseball began in 1904 as the Mets of the Southwestern League. The team began a fifteen-year membership in the Western League in 1918, followed by 22 years in the Texas League. While in the TL, Oklahoma City was known as the Indians and usually (but not exclusively) affiliated with Cleveland.
After four baseball-free years, Oklahoma City rejoined pro ball in 1962 as the 89ers of the American Association, a Triple-A league situated in the Midwest. (“89ers” refers to the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889.) One year later, the league folded and its teams were divided into the Pacific Coast League and International League, with Oklahoma City joining the PCL. In 1969 the Association reformed and OKC rejoined. During its first 21 years, the AAA 89ers united with Houston, Cleveland and Philadelphia. In 1983, the 89ers affiliated with the Texas Rangers, which had plowed through five AAA affiliates in the eight years since leaving Spokane.
1998 would be a momentous year for Oklahoma City baseball. First, the American Association disappeared for good, and the 89ers returned to the PCL. Second, the team dropped the “City” and changed the nickname, becoming the Oklahoma Redhawks. Third, the team moved into a new stadium.
From 1961 through 1997, the 89ers played in All-Sports Stadium, located on the state fairgrounds in western OKC. For the following season, the team moved to the new, state-of-the-art Bricktown Ballpark constructed at the edge of downtown. Originally sponsored by Southwestern Bell and then the abbreviated SBC, the park now has “AT&T” in its moniker. Actually, since Southwestern Bell renamed itself SBC, and SBC later purchased AT&T and assumed its name, sponsorship hasn’t changed at all.
The Redhawks bring plenty of fans to the Brick. Oklahoma ranked fifteenth in per-game attendance among all minor-league teams in 2006. They also ranked sixth in the 16-team PCL and 12th among the 30 AAA teams. (Three lower-level teams outdrew them: the AA Frisco Roughriders, the low-A Dayton Dragons, and the short-A Brooklyn Cyclones.) The park also hosts the Big 12 college baseball championship tournament, and in 2006 it hosted the first Bricktown Showdown, a one-game playoff between the winners of the PCL and International League.
Oklahoma has claimed four titles as an AAA club, twice in the PCL (1963 and 1965) and twice in the Association (1992 and 1996). While affiliated with Texas, the 89ers/Redhawks have had three league MVPs: Steve Buechele in 1985, Juan Gonzalez in 1991, and Lee Stevens in 1996.
As for the Pacific Coast League, it began in 1903 as an independent league and joined Organized Baseball the following year. The Los Angeles Angels, Oakland Oaks, Portland Browns, Sacramento Senators, San Francisco Seals, and Seattle Siwashes comprised the original members. For fifty years, the PCL was the dominant league on the west coast. During the 1950s it was classified as “open,” ostensibly a level above AAA. The league aspired to become a third major league, but the arrival of the Dodgers and Giants dashed those hopes. Additional cities once hosting a PCL team and now part of MLB are Dallas/Fort Worth (well, close enough), Denver, Phoenix, and San Diego.
The 1960 Tacoma Giants featured future Hall-of-Famers Willie McCovey, Juan Marichal, and (briefly) Gaylord Perry. In 1964, the league included Tony Perez, Phil Niekro and Fergie Jenkins. Warren Spahn, who won 363 MLB games over 21 years, finished his career in 1967 as a 46-year-old member of the Tulsa Oilers.
The PCL splits its teams into four divisions. Oklahoma fights Round Rock (Astros affiliate), New Orleans (Mets), and Albuquerque (Marlins) for the American South division crown. After a 144-game schedule, the champions of the two American divisions play a best-of-five, as do the two Pacific champs. The winners play another best-of-five for the league title. Incidentally, only four of the Pacific Coast League’s sixteen teams are within 200 miles of the Pacific Coast. Nashville is 1,750 miles to the east.
Among Oklahoma’s fifteen batters with the most at-bats and fifteen pitchers with the most innings in 2006, their origins are as follows:
0 – 2006 draftees
0 – 2005 draftees
0 – 2004 draftees
1 – 2003 draftee
3 – 2002 draftees
0 – 2001 draftees
2 – 2000 draftees
1 – 1999 draftee
1 – 1996 draftee (guess who?)
2 – undrafted free agents
5 – undrafted free agents signed from another team
4 – minor-league free agents (with MLB experience)
9 – trade acquisitions
2 – MLB waiver claims
The Oklahoma roster has the broadest range of origins and ages among Texas’s minor-league teams and the smallest percentage (33%) of players originally signing with the Rangers. In 2006, ages ranged from 21 (Joaquin Arias, John Danks) to 34 (Jamie Burke, Adam Hyzdu); hitters averaged 26 years of age, pitchers 26.5.
While the typical AAA team will have many more players of Major League caliber than a Double-A team, it often has fewer prospects. One reason is that many of baseball’s elite prospects may spend only a brief period in AAA or skip it entirely. Mark Teixeira and Ivan Rodriguez never played a game for Oklahoma. Michael Young lasted seven weeks before his promotion to Texas. Hank Blalock started his first MLB game after bypassing AAA, though his slow start in 2002 soon led to four months in a Redhawk uniform. Another reason is that MLB teams need reinforcements in case of injury. AAA teams abound with players like John Wasdin, Adam Hyzdu, and Jamie Burke, veterans who never achieved (or failed to retain) assured roster spots in Major League baseball but have the ability to fill in for short periods if needed.
Despite its reputation as a hitter’s paradise, PCL offenses scored 3% fewer runs per game than the American League in 2006 (but 2% more than the NL). The Brick put Detroit’s pitcher-friendly Comerica Park to shame last year. The Redhawks and their opponents scored only 7.2 runs per game in Oklahoma versus 9.6 on the road. Bricktown Ballpark also depressed home runs by nearly 20% relative to other parks. The park-adjusted, league-average ERA in Oklahoma last year was only 3.89, and the adjusted batting line was a mere .259/.331/.387. To make a long story short, Jason Botts was even better than you thought.
Bobby Jones returns to manage the Redhawks after a one-year stint as Ranger first base coach. Jones has sixteen years of managerial experience in the Texas system including six in Oklahoma. Andy Hawkins will again coach Oklahoma’s pitchers.
If you’d like to see each PCL team’s facilities, download this file, and open it within Google Earth.
This concludes my rundown of the Texas minor-league system. Up next: baseball!
Posted by Lucas at 05:17 PM
March 23, 2007
Newberg Report Special: The Texas League
Frisco’s minor-league history is brief but rooted in one of baseball’s most storied leagues.
The Texas League was founded in 1888 but lasted only three years. Resurrected twelve years later as a Class D circuit, it slowly moved up the food chain until achieving AA status in 1946. Except for the years of World War II, the league has operated continuously since 1902. It has two divisions of four teams each, and teams play a 140-game schedule. The first and second-half winners in each division meet in a best-of-five series, and the victors play another best-of-five for the championship.
To date, 26 Hall-of-Famers have played in the Texas League. In 1931, it featured Dizzy Dean, Joe Medwick and Hank Greenberg. Both Brooks Robinson and Willie McCovey played in 1957, and Joe Morgan faced off against Steve Carlton in 1964.
27 cities in Texas and 12 in other states have hosted Texas League teams over the years. Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston were longtime members before Major League Baseball came to Texas. San Antonio has the longest continuous presence in the league, having joined in 1907. Arlington debuted in 1965 as the Dallas/Fort Worth Spurs, and the team affiliated with the Cubs, Astros and Orioles during its seven-year tenure. The Spurs played in Turnpike Stadium, which was expanded and renamed Arlington Stadium when the Rangers arrived in 1972.
In 2001, Tom Hicks’s Southwest Sports Group became part-owner of Mandalay Entertainment’s Shreveport Captains. After two very lame-duck seasons as the Swamp Dragons, the team relocated to Frisco and debuted in the newly constructed Dr Pepper / Seven Up Ballpark on April 3, 2003. Frisco’s entry terminated Shreveport’s 35-year association with the league and a 26-year relationship between Texas and the Tulsa Drillers.
Fans in Frisco and the surrounding area showed up in astonishing numbers. In their inaugural season, the Roughriders ranked fifth in attendance among all minor-league teams with 9,264 per game. Round Rock’s advancement to AAA in 2005 bequeathed to Frisco the honor of highest attendance among AA teams during the past two years.
Ownership and Cadbury Schweppes, makers of Dr Pepper and Seven Up, agreed to shorten the park’s name to Dr Pepper Ballpark in 2006. Per Jim Trebilock, senior veep of marketing and brand management: “Renaming the stadium reinforces the Dr Pepper brand’s iconic status in the Dallas/Fort Worth market and aligns more closely with a strategy that has long tied Dr Pepper to sporting venues and events.” He could have just said “The old name was too long,” but it’s all good.
Nothing against its residents, but when I heard that Frisco would host a AA team I was dumbstruck. When I moved out of the D/FW area in 1986, Frisco seemed no more likely to claim a professional baseball team than Alvarado or Decatur. As I learned, it’s grown a bit since then:
1980 – 3,500 residents
1990 – 6,100
2000 – 33,700
2005 – 71,000
Frisco’s population has increased at an annualized rate of 17.7% during the past 25 years. The city planning department suggests a population of over 90,000 as of September 2006 and 275,000 by 2020. Frisco also hosts a Major League Soccer franchise, the training facility of the NHL Stars, and north Texas’s largest mall.
The Roughriders lost in the league finals to San Antonio in their inaugural year, then won the following season. The ’04 champs included Jason Botts, Ian Kinsler, Drew Meyer, Kameron Loe, Chris Young, and several other future Major Leaguers. Texas often sends Major Leaguers to Frisco rather than more-distant Oklahoma City for rehab assignments. Botts, Loe, and five other Rangers spent a few days in Frisco last season.
Among Frisco’s fifteen batters with the most at-bats and fifteen pitchers with the most innings in 2006, their origins are as follows:
0 – 2006 draftees
1 – 2005 draftee
6 – 2004 draftees
1 – 2003 draftee
3 – 2002 draftees
0 – 2001 draftees
1 – 2000 draftee
6 – undrafted free agents
5 – undrafted free agents signed from another team
6 – trade acquisitions
1 – MLB waiver claim
The hitters averaged 23.8 years of age, the pitchers 24.2. The youngest among the top thirty was pitcher John Danks, who turned 21 last April. Most were between 22 and 25-years-old. 20-year-old Eric Hurley just missed placing among the top fifteen in innings pitched. 35-year-old Lou Pote was 17th.
AA roster composition shifts markedly from the lower levels, where almost everyone has played only for the Texas organization. In contrast, only 60% of Frisco’s top thirty players in 2006 were originally signed by the Rangers.
The Texas League plays very close to the American League in terms of runs scored. Teams tend to reach base at a slightly higher rate but hit for less power. Walk and strikeout rates are 10% higher than in the AL. Dr. Pepper Ballpark slightly favored hitters last year. A league-average batting line for a Frisco hitter in 2006 was .269/.345/.407, and 4.50 was the average ERA. Unearned runs still exceed the AL but are well below the per-game averages in low-A and high-A.
Dave Anderson will replace Darryl Kennedy as manager for 2007. Anderson played for the World Series champion Dodgers in 1988 and has seven years of minor-league managerial experience. He also coached the University of Memphis team for four years.
If you’d like to see each team’s facilities, download this file, and open it within Google Earth. Surprisingly, Dr Pepper Ballpark has yet to appear in the satellite imagery.
Posted by Lucas at 01:43 PM
March 20, 2007
Newberg Report Special: The California League
The next step up in the Ranger farm system is the Bakersfield Blaze of the California League (CAL). The league began in 1941 as level C but was reclassified as A in 1963. It ranks higher than the Midwest League despite the same classification and is usually described as “A-advanced” or “high-A.” Current affiliations include the entire western divisions of the American and National Leagues plus the Boston Red Sox. Bakersfield is a charter member. In an arrangement that resembles Texas within the AL West, Bakersfield plays in the Northern Division despite being geographically closer to the southern, Los Angeles-area teams.
The CAL has a bizarre postseason format. Six of the league’s ten teams qualify. Each division’s first-half champion receives a first-round bye, while each second-half champ plays a best-of-three against the team within its division with the next best overall record. Then, the first-half champs play the winners of the first series in a best-of-five, and those winners play each other in a final best-of-five. (There will be a quiz next Monday.) Bakersfield last won the title in 1989 as a Dodgers affiliate.
Prior to joining the CAL, Bakersfield hosted only two years of professional baseball: as the Drillers of the San Joaquin Valley League in 1910 and the Bees of the California State League in 1929. Since then, Bakersfield has associated with many teams, the lengthiest union being with the Dodgers from 1968-1975 and 1984-1994. Afterwards, the team adopted the nickname “Blaze” and operated as a co-op for two years. The Blaze then spent four years with the Giants and the Devil Rays before affiliating with the Rangers. Texas’s relationship with Bakersfield is the shortest among its minor-league clubs. Texas originally affiliated with Stockton when it vacated the southeast US in 2003, but after two years the franchise contracted with the Blaze.
Historic Sam Lynn Ballpark (the “Historic” appears to be an official part of the name) was constructed in 1941 and is among the quirkiest in baseball. The in-play area resembles an overgrown softball field: dimensions are an ordinary 328 feet down the lines but only 356 to dead center, plus a uniform 15-foot wall. Despite the coziness, the park did not favors hitters in 2006 (or, more likely, the league’s other parks were equally hitter-friendly). Also, the park faces nearly due west, meaning a batter can look directly into the setting sun if so inclined. Umpires in the past would call an in-game delay until the sun crept below the outfield wall. More recently, a taller fence behind centerfield provides extra protection, and the team simply begins mid-summer games later than everyone else.
In 2006, low-A Clinton drew 108,000 fans in a city with 27,000 inhabitants. High-A Bakersfield drew only 77,000 despite its location in a rapidly growing city with 311,000 residents. Worse still, attendance is down from 101,000 in 2002, and only Visalia drew fewer fans in 2006. Since Visalia will complete a major renovation of its ballpark during the offseason, Bakersfield probably will rank last in CAL attendance in 2007. Rumors of the team’s departure have circulated since 1995 after it lost its long-time affiliation with the Dodgers. Since 1994, Bakersfield has never held an affiliation for more than four years. In 2004, a consortium of CAL owners purchased the team and ran it essentially as a ward of the league.
D.G. Elmore purchased the team in 2005 and appears committed to baseball in Bakersfield. The Rangers are also committed, having recently signed a four-year extension through 2010. Unfortunately, the new owner and the city have made no apparent progress on solving the facility problem. A new park is imperative to baseball’s future in Bakersfield, but the basic questions remain unanswered. Should it be located downtown? Should it be shared with Cal State Bakersfield? Most importantly, who will pay for it? Presumably, a new stadium won’t face the setting sun; the late and variable starting times make a colorful story but certainly aren’t helping attendance.
Among Bakersfield’s fifteen batters with the most at-bats and fifteen pitchers with the most innings in 2006, their origins are as follows:
1 – 2006 draftees
7 – 2005 draftees
8 – 2004 draftees
6 – 2003 draftees
1 – 2002 draftees
4 – undrafted free agents
3 – undrafted free agents signed from another team
The ’06 draftee is 21-year-old reliever Danny Ray Herrera, also known as “Danny Ra Herrera” at The Baseball Cube. He and infielders German Duran and Mauro Gomez were the youngest members of last year’s team. The fifteen most active hitters averaged 22.8 years of age, and the pitchers averaged 22.5. Both groups average a little over one year in age more than their Clinton counterparts.
While the lower-level Midwest League depresses runs, the California League encourages them, glorifies them, even demands them. In 2006, the league hit .275/.350/.413 and teams scored 5.3 runs per game, 8% higher than the American League. It allowed a 9% greater walk rate but also 17% more strikeouts. Top prospect Eric Hurley surrendered 5.36 runs (earned and unearned) per nine innings last year, which sounds ugly but is in fact perfectly average for the league and park. As with the Midwest League, unearned runs are inflated relative to MLB. Bakersfield allowed 156 unearned runs last year, over one per game. Sam Lynn Park played neutrally last year.
Carlos Subero will return for his second season of managing the Blaze. He had previously managed the LumberKings from 2003-2005 and the rookie-level squad in 2001-2002.
If you’d like to see each team’s facilities, download this file, and open it within Google Earth.
Posted by Lucas at 05:03 PM
March 17, 2007
Newberg Report Special: The Midwest League
Clinton’s professional baseball history began in 1906 as the Miners of the Class D Iowa State League. The city hosted clubs sporadically during the next 48 years before becoming a charter member of the Midwest League (MWL), a renamed and expanded version of the Mississippi-Ohio Valley League. The MWL upgraded to Class A in 1962. It has fourteen teams split into two divisions and a 140-game, split-season schedule. With an excessive spirit of inclusiveness, the league allows eight teams into the postseason: each division’s winner and runner-up in each half-season. Teams play two best-of-threes culminating in a best-of-five final.
Clinton has affiliated with numerous teams over the years, the most lengthy being a fifteen-year association with the Giants that ended in 1994. For most of its history, the team used the same nickname as its MLB parent. In 1994, its owners adopted the name LumberKings to honor the city’s heritage. Clinton is located on the western bank of the Mississippi River and was one of the largest wood processors in the nation during the second half of the nineteenth century.
Clinton plays at Alliant Energy Field. The former Riverview Stadium is a Works Progress Administration project constructed in 1937. Clinton residents voted down a city-financed renovation in 2002, but the complex underwent a $3.7 million renovation before 2006 with funding from Vision Iowa, the county Community Development Association, and other public and private sources. Improvements included new clubhouses, a completely reconstructed playing field, new fences, new seating sections, and replacement of the old wood bleachers with metal.
Despite the improvements, Clinton is a remnant of a bygone era in minor-league baseball, when practically any moderate-sized city could host a C or D-level team. It’s no coincidence that the five largest metropolitan areas in the MWL – Dayton, Grand Rapids, Fort Wayne, Lansing, and Kane County -- gained their franchises after 1990. Each has over 400,000 residents, while Clinton has just over 27,000 and the county less than 50,000. Worse, the city population has declined 20% since 1970.
Nevertheless, Clinton is committed to keeping baseball, and the park improvements are part of a larger effort to revitalize the city’s economic livelihood. The team is actually owned by Clinton’s citizens, who have rebuffed several offers to sell the team (and relocate it, no doubt). There is hope. After bottoming out at 44,400 fans in 1998, attendance has climbed in eight consecutive seasons. After the offseason renovations, 2006 attendance jumped 13% last year, from 95,775 to 108,301, despite the worst performance in Clinton baseball history. A postseason editorial in the Clinton Herald offered cautious optimism.
Texas affiliated with Clinton in 2003 after four years with Savannah of the South Atlantic League. This season, Mike Micucci will manage the LumberKings after a season in Spokane. Among Clinton’s fifteen batters with the most at-bats and fifteen pitchers with the most innings in 2006, their origins are as follows:
1 – 2006 draftees
8 – 2005 draftees
5 – 2004 draftees
2 – 2003 draftees
10 – undrafted free agents
1 – undrafted free agent signed from another team
3 – acquired in trade
You’ve probably read that Ranger management has handled its prospects aggressively. That strategy was featured most prominently in Clinton, where the typical LumberKing was no older than those in short-season Spokane. The hitters averaged 21.7 years of age versus 21.5 in Spokane, and the pitchers were actually younger: 21.0 compared to 21.4. Spokane’s only teenaged pitcher among the top fifteen was Kasey Kiker, while Clinton had four: Omar Poveda, Jake Rasner (now a White Sock), Zach Phillips, and Michael Kirkman. The team’s relative youth probably contributed to its woeful 45-94 record, including a 26-44 performance before the home faithful.
Full-season baseball is an unprecedented challenge to the players. 2006 Texas state high-school champs The Woodlands played 39 games. The 2005 NCAA champion Texas Longhorns played 72. The short-season Spokane Indians play 76. In contrast, the LumberKings will play 140 games in 152 days, plus playoffs if necessary.
Fans should keep in mind a few things when following the L-Kings:
- The MWL favors pitchers. Run scoring is about 10% lower than in the American League. The league batted only .253/.325/.365 last year, compared to .275/.339/.437 for the AL. John Mayberry’s line of .268/.358/.479 may look vanilla for a true prospect, but that’s an OPS+ of 135.
- Strikeout rates are 16% higher than in the American League. An MWL pitcher who strikes out 7.5 batters per nine innings is merely average.
- On the other hand, the league permits far more unearned runs than the Major Leagues. In 2006, 16% of runs allowed in the MWL were unearned compared to 8% in the AL. Texas gave up 53 unearned runs last year. Clinton allowed 111 in 23 fewer games.
- Alliant Energy Field used to favor pitchers, but in 2006 it became a hitter’s park. The park renovations cut the distance near the left-field corner, and they may have also slightly shortened the distance to right and right-center.
Once again, if you’d like to see each MWL team’s facilities, download this file, and open it within Google Earth. Unfortunately, Alliant Energy Field and several of the other parks don’t resolve very well. Those Silicon Valley snobs apparently can’t be bothered with “flyover” country.
Posted by Lucas at 12:26 PM
March 15, 2007
Newberg Report Special: The Northwest League
Texas sends its college-aged draftees and highest caliber high-schoolers to the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League of Professional Baseball (NWL). The NWL is classified as “short season” A ball; eight teams play a 76-game schedule beginning in mid-June after the draft. The league has two divisions, and the winners of each play a best-of-five series for the championship. Currently, the Athletics, Cubs, Diamondbacks, Giants, Mariners, Padres, Rangers, and Rockies affiliate with the league. The NWL began in 1937 as the Class B Western International League (WIL). The league adopted its current moniker in 1952 and except during 1956 has operated in Class A ever since.
Spokane’s association with pro baseball dates back to1890, only six months after Washington became a state. The Spokane Bunchgrassers (no, really) founded the Pacific Northwest League with Tacoma, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon, and won its inaugural championship. The league folded during its third year in the midst of an economic depression. Spokane joined a new league in 1901 and operated during the next two years as the Blue Stockings and the Smoke Eaters (no, really). Then the team adopted the name “Indians,” which, per Baseball-Reference.com, was a corruption of “Inlanders.” Regardless of league or affiliation, Spokane has called its team the Indians for all but three of the last 70 years.
After another baseball-free stretch, in 1937 Spokane joined the WIL and remained for its upgrade to the Class A NWL. Except during World War II, Spokane has hosted professional baseball continuously since 1937. In fact, Spokane leapfrogged to AAA when it joined the Pacific Coast League in 1958. The city returned to the NWL after 1982.
I hope the Rangers take pride in having Spokane as an affiliate, because its citizens love their baseball. The Indians have led the NWL in attendance every year since 2000, and its 2006 per-game average of 4,800 fans exceeded seven AAA teams and nineteen AA teams. Daily attendance compares favorably to the AAA Las Vegas 51s, Charlotte Knights, Richmond Braves and Omaha Royals. Spokane is a gigantic step up from the largely fan-free Arizona League.
Texas’s relationship with Spokane actually dates back to 1973, when the Indians were the Ranger AAA affiliate. Spokane won the PCL championship that season with a roster that included Lenny Randle, Bill Madlock, John Wockenfuss, Rick Waits and Don Stanhouse. Spokane won again in 1974 with several of the same players plus Roy Howell and Larry Gura. After another season Texas switched to Sacramento.
The Rangers reacquainted themselves with Spokane in 2003 when they moved all of their low-level minor-league affiliations out of the southeast US. The relationship paid immediate dividends as the ’03 squad went 50-26 and won the Northwest League title. The champs included rookies Ian Kinsler, Wes Littleton, John Danks and Matt Farnum. Spokane won the title again in 2005 despite a 37-39 record. Notables from that team were John Mayberry, Steven Murphy, Freddy Thon, Doug Mathis and Broc Coffman.
Spokane harbors a slightly more mature collection of players than rookie-league Arizona. Most college and junior-college players begin their careers there. Among the 30 players spending the most time in Spokane (fifteen hitters and pitchers) in 2006, their origins were as follows:
15 – 2006 draftees
5 – 2005 draftees
4 – 2004 draftees
1 – 2003 draftees
3 – undrafted free agents
1 – undrafted free agent signed from another team
1 – acquired in trade
The average Spokane hitter was 21.5 years of age, the average pitcher, 21.4. Among the top thirty players, only one was a teenager, fresh-out-of-high-school first rounder Kasey Kiker (more on him in a week or so).
George Brett owns the Indians along with brothers Bobby and J.B. Former MLB pitcher Ken Brett, who died in 2003, was also an owner. Nine-year MLB veteran Andy Fox, who drew a walk for the Rangers in his final plate appearance, will manage the Indians. Hector Ortiz, who also played briefly for Texas, will serve as hitting coach.
If you’re familiar with Google Earth and would like to see each NWL team’s facilities, visit http://rangers.scottlucas.com/newberg/NWL.kmz, download the file, and open it within Google Earth.
Posted by Lucas at 07:12 PM
March 12, 2007
Newberg Report Special: The Arizona League
Some minor leagues have histories rich enough to be microcosms of American history. The Arizona League is not among them.
The Arizona League (AZL) represents the lowest level of MLB-affiliated baseball within the United States. It began in 1988 as a counterpart to Florida’s Gulf Coast League. Only 22 of the 30 Major League clubs field teams at this level. Unlike most minor-league teams, AZL teams are directly owned and operated by Major League franchises, and teams play in their Spring Training facilities. Texas shares its Arizona complex with the Kansas City Royals.
The league presently consists of nine teams including Texas, the rest of the AL West, Kansas City, the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee, San Diego, and San Francisco. Teams play a 56-game schedule from mid-June through the end of August, followed by a single championship game between the winners of the season’s first and second halves. The ferocious heat and lack of a fan base keep crowds to minimal levels. As described by former Arizona Cubs manager Jerry Hairston in Bill Mitchell’s Minor League Ramblings, “We start our flips in the batting cage at a quarter 'til seven [in the morning]. Then we do our fundamentals so all that's done. We start our games at 10 o'clock before most of the heat of the day.” The league doesn’t bother charging entry or maintaining attendance records.
Technically, players over the age of twenty and with more than two years of minor-league experience are ineligible, but the league frequently hosts older prospects on rehab assignments and even Major Leaguers. Star-crossed reliever Jeff Zimmerman threw his final pitches in Surprise in 2003. During 2006, Jason Botts, Robinson Tejeda, and Randall “Sausage Killer” Simon each spent a few summer days with players who were lining up prom dates only months earlier.
Texas joined the league in 2003 when it moved its Spring Training home from Port Charlotte, Florida, to the Phoenix suburb of Surprise. Located twenty miles northwest of Phoenix on a gridlocked Highway 60, Surprise has grown from 7,000 residents in 1990 to over 80,000 today thanks mostly to Del Webb’s Sun City Grand housing development.
Not every team with a Spring Training home in Arizona participates in the AZL. The White Sox, Rockies and, oddly enough, the Arizona Diamondbacks don’t field teams, though each did in the past. Both the Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers are negotiating moves to Arizona and could join the league within a couple of years. That said, the future of the AZL is not assured. After 2005 MLB considered disbanding the league, but it continues to operate.
Most of the Rangers’ high-school-aged draftees and young Latin American players play their first stateside pro ball in Surprise. Among the squad’s fifteen hitters and fifteen pitchers with the most playing time in 2006, eight were selected in the 2006 draft and six in 2005. One (Armando Galarraga on a lengthy rehab) was acquired in trade, and the other fifteen were undrafted free agents mostly from outside the US. The hitters averaged 19.3 years in age, the pitchers 20.6.
Texas hasn’t maintained a presence in Arizona long enough to build much of a history. So far, the only Rangers to play there during their normal course of development are Edinson Volquez and Scott Feldman. The former “Edison” made his US debut in Surprise in 2003. Feldman pitched a combined thirteen AZL innings during 2003-2004 before rocketing up the ladder and into the Majors in 2005. The ’03 team went 38-18 before losing the championship game to park-mate Kansas City. Eric Hurley could join Volquez and Feldman before long, and the departed John Danks (another ’03 alumnus) might reach the Majors within three weeks.
Pedro Lopez will return to lead the AZL Rangers after spending a year in Bakersfield as hitting instructor. He managed the team from 2003-2005.
If you’re familiar with Google Earth and would like to see each team’s facilities, download this file, and open it within Google Earth.
Posted by Lucas at 11:47 PM
October 15, 2006
Minor League Review, Part 8: Oklahoma Redhawks Pitchers
About the league and park: Click here. Short version: The PCL isn’t much different than Major League Baseball. The Redhawks play in an extreme pitcher’s park.
About the pitchers: Redhawk pitchers might not have performed quite as well as you thought, given the park-adjusted RA of 4.36 and ERA of 3.83. Edinson Volquez rode a fantastic strikeout rate and an atrocious walk rate to a nice overall season. Last year, he walked only two per nine innings; this year, 5.4. I take comfort that he actually pitched a little better on the road than at home. On the other hand, his brief MLB tenure has been disastrous. I assume he’s already penciled into Oklahoma’s starting rotation for next April.
In terms of overall statistics, John Danks didn’t offer much beyond a terrific K rate in half a season in AAA, but for a 21-year-old it’s a nice start. Danks has always needed a half-season to learn the league, and he’ll need at least another half-season in AAA to master it. Put another way, I fail to sense any urgency to bring him to Arlington next April, regardless of the shape of the Ranger rotation. Better to see him make fools of AAA hitters for a while.
Interesting that both Volquez and Danks improve their control dramatically after the first inning:
| Player | Category | Innings |
Walks |
Walks/Inning |
| Volquez | 1st inning | 21.0 |
23 |
1.10 |
| Other | 99.7 |
49 |
0.49 |
|
| Danks | 1st inning | 13.0 |
11 |
0.85 |
| Other | 57.7 |
23 |
0.40 |
Robinson Tejeda was Danks with fewer homers allowed. He actually pitched better in the waning weeks in Texas than in Oklahoma. As with Volquez, shaky control has held him back. He’ll be a Ranger next April barring injury or meltdown. I’m hopeful that John Rheinecker can do what R.A. Dickey never quite could: maintain an MLB career as a swingman. Somehow, he pitched 60 innings at home but only 32 on the road, so his index stats (RA+, etc.) may be a bit overstated. But he also had a road ERA of 1.67, so perhaps not.
| Player | G |
GS |
IP |
RA |
RA+ |
ERA |
ERA+ |
WHIP |
WHIP+ |
HRrate |
HRrate+ |
BBrate |
BBrate+ |
SOrate |
SOrate+ |
| Scott Feldman |
23 |
0 |
27.3 |
2.96 |
147 |
1.98 |
194 |
1.06 |
129 |
1.8% |
105 |
8.2% |
111 |
21.8% |
122 |
| John Rheinecker |
15 |
15 |
93.0 |
3.19 |
137 |
2.52 |
152 |
1.26 |
108 |
1.3% |
147 |
6.2% |
145 |
17.7% |
99 |
| John Wasdin |
13 |
9 |
63.0 |
3.29 |
133 |
2.00 |
192 |
1.10 |
124 |
0.8% |
240 |
6.8% |
134 |
24.7% |
139 |
| Robinson Tejeda |
15 |
15 |
80.0 |
3.38 |
129 |
3.15 |
122 |
1.29 |
106 |
2.1% |
92 |
12.6% |
72 |
23.7% |
132 |
| Jose Diaz |
28 |
1 |
35.7 |
3.53 |
123 |
3.28 |
117 |
1.40 |
98 |
1.3% |
148 |
14.2% |
64 |
29.7% |
167 |
| Erasmo Ramirez |
54 |
0 |
67.7 |
3.59 |
121 |
3.59 |
107 |
1.12 |
122 |
1.8% |
105 |
2.6% |
354 |
17.2% |
96 |
| Edinson Volquez |
21 |
21 |
120.7 |
3.80 |
115 |
3.21 |
120 |
1.31 |
104 |
1.8% |
108 |
14.2% |
64 |
25.7% |
144 |
| Derek Lee |
29 |
23 |
143.7 |
4.57 |
95 |
4.26 |
90 |
1.45 |
94 |
2.4% |
80 |
8.5% |
107 |
14.7% |
82 |
| Kevin Walker |
46 |
5 |
68.0 |
4.90 |
89 |
4.63 |
83 |
1.60 |
85 |
1.6% |
117 |
10.5% |
87 |
19.4% |
108 |
| Kelvin Jimenez |
26 |
0 |
38.0 |
5.21 |
84 |
5.21 |
74 |
1.68 |
81 |
2.3% |
83 |
13.8% |
66 |
23.1% |
129 |
| R.A. Dickey |
22 |
19 |
131.7 |
5.47 |
80 |
4.92 |
78 |
1.37 |
100 |
3.0% |
64 |
8.1% |
112 |
10.8% |
60 |
| John Danks |
14 |
13 |
70.7 |
5.48 |
80 |
4.33 |
89 |
1.43 |
96 |
3.6% |
53 |
11.2% |
81 |
23.7% |
133 |
| Nick Masset |
24 |
7 |
67.3 |
6.42 |
68 |
4.81 |
80 |
1.59 |
86 |
1.3% |
145 |
9.3% |
98 |
21.5% |
121 |
| Ryan Bukvich |
31 |
0 |
35.3 |
6.88 |
63 |
6.11 |
63 |
1.87 |
73 |
4.8% |
40 |
13.2% |
69 |
22.2% |
124 |
| Kameron Loe |
13 |
3 |
22.7 |
9.53 |
46 |
9.13 |
42 |
1.99 |
69 |
2.7% |
71 |
11.8% |
77 |
19.0% |
106 |
| TEAM | 140 |
140 |
1,250.7 |
4.56 |
96 |
3.89 |
99 |
1.39 |
98 |
2.1% |
93 |
9.5% |
96 |
19.7% |
111 |
| Park-Adjusted League Average | - |
- |
- |
4.36 |
- |
3.83 |
- |
1.37 |
- |
1.9% |
- |
9.1% |
- |
17.9% |
- |
Posted by Lucas at 02:22 PM
October 13, 2006
Minor League Review, Part 7: Oklahoma Redhawks Hitters
About the League: Though it reputedly favors hitters, the Pacific Coast League sat squarely between the American and National Leagues in terms of runs scored per game. (Actually, the league’s slugger-happiness is limited to five of its sixteen cities: Colorado Springs, Tucson, Las Vegas, Salt Lake and Albuquerque.) This season, the league most closely resembled the AL in 1997. The league averaged 4.8 runs per game with a batting line of .271/.342/.416.
Pacific Coast League vs American League |
|
| Runs Scored | 3% lower |
| Runs Allowed | 1% lower |
| ERA | 5% lower |
| Batting Average | .004 lower |
| On-Base Percentage | .003 higher |
| Slugging Percentage | .019 lower |
| Walk Rate | 8% higher |
| Strikeout Rate | 7% higher |
About the Park: Bricktown Ballpark remorselessly punishes hitters. Think Comerica before the fences moved in, or the early years of Pac Bell Park, or Yankee Stadium during the ‘30s. The official website claims that “sluggers will enjoy a 325-foot left field porch,” but they’re not enjoying it very often. Redhawks and their opponents hit only 76 homers at the Brick compared to 129 in road parks. For Redhawk players, playing in Oklahoma depresses homers by almost 20%. That and the other factors are vital to understanding the performances of the Rangers’ AAA squad. For hitters, the park-adjusted average line was only .259/.331/.387, and for pitchers, the league average ERA was a tiny 3.89.
Park Factors -- Bricktown Ballpark |
|
| Runs | 0.88 |
| Average | 0.96 |
| On-Base Percentage | 0.97 |
| Slugging Percentage | 0.93 |
| Home Runs | 0.82 |
| Walks | 1.02 |
| Strikeouts | 0.99 |
About the players: Revisit the preceding paragraph, then contemplate Jason Botts’s line of .309/.398/.582, good for a Herculean OPS+ of 170. I’m not saying he’ll definitely hit Major-League pitching, but clearly he needs a legitimate opportunity, not the illusory one he got over the summer.
Alas, even Corpus Christi with 400% humidity wouldn’t create park factors sufficient to prettify Joaquin Arias’s line of .268/.296/.361. With the huge caveat that he didn’t turn 22 until last month, I must note that Arias has never exceeded five homers or walked in more than 6% of his plate appearances in any of his five minor-league seasons. Let’s just say he’s not ready yet, despite his startling six-for-eleven MLB debut.
Among other prospects… well, who are they? Laynce Nix, Will Smith, Rashad Eldridge are gone, Texas chopped Aarom Baldiris off the 40-man roster, and Drew Meyer... oy. 23-year-old Anthony Webster didn’t set the PCL aflame. Freddy Guzman reached base at a sterling .375 pace and probably would have make a fine fourth outfielder in the Majors in 2006, but I think Texas would only grudgingly deposit him in Arlington’s center field next year if Gary Matthews departs.
| Player | POS |
G |
OPS |
OPS+ |
AVG |
AVG+ |
OBP |
OBP+ |
SLG |
SLG+ |
ISO |
ISO+ |
BB% |
BB%+ |
SO% |
SO%+ |
Net Steals |
| Jason Botts |
OF |
63 |
.980 |
170 |
.309 |
119 |
.398 |
120 |
.582 |
150 |
.273 |
213 |
12.4% |
133 |
21.7% |
77 |
6 |
| Adam Hyzdu |
OF |
128 |
.846 |
135 |
.271 |
105 |
.370 |
112 |
.476 |
123 |
.205 |
160 |
14.4% |
156 |
18.9% |
88 |
-1 |
| Jason Hart |
1B |
88 |
.775 |
114 |
.254 |
98 |
.315 |
95 |
.459 |
119 |
.205 |
160 |
7.0% |
75 |
16.6% |
101 |
-1 |
| Will Smith |
OF |
43 |
.753 |
110 |
.280 |
108 |
.351 |
106 |
.402 |
104 |
.122 |
95 |
10.2% |
110 |
16.5% |
101 |
0 |
| Adrian Brown |
OF |
36 |
.747 |
110 |
.295 |
114 |
.379 |
114 |
.369 |
95 |
.074 |
58 |
12.2% |
132 |
12.9% |
130 |
9 |
| Laynce Nix |
OF |
77 |
.753 |
109 |
.269 |
104 |
.323 |
98 |
.430 |
111 |
.161 |
126 |
5.9% |
64 |
21.2% |
79 |
2 |
| Jamie Burke |
C |
102 |
.745 |
107 |
.278 |
107 |
.323 |
98 |
.422 |
109 |
.144 |
112 |
5.6% |
61 |
10.0% |
167 |
0 |
| Freddy Guzman |
OF |
69 |
.720 |
102 |
.282 |
109 |
.375 |
113 |
.345 |
89 |
.063 |
49 |
12.5% |
135 |
12.5% |
133 |
13 |
| Anthony Webster |
OF |
69 |
.701 |
95 |
.269 |
104 |
.317 |
96 |
.384 |
99 |
.115 |
90 |
5.1% |
55 |
12.9% |
129 |
8 |
| Joaquin Arias |
SS |
124 |
.657 |
83 |
.268 |
103 |
.296 |
89 |
.361 |
93 |
.093 |
73 |
3.7% |
40 |
11.5% |
145 |
6 |
| Nick Trzesniak |
C |
50 |
.646 |
80 |
.255 |
98 |
.316 |
95 |
.329 |
85 |
.074 |
58 |
8.5% |
92 |
15.3% |
109 |
0 |
| Adam Morrissey |
2B |
42 |
.622 |
74 |
.236 |
91 |
.296 |
89 |
.326 |
84 |
.090 |
70 |
7.1% |
77 |
20.9% |
80 |
-4 |
| Jace Brewer |
SS |
65 |
.619 |
72 |
.242 |
93 |
.284 |
86 |
.335 |
87 |
.093 |
73 |
4.9% |
53 |
15.7% |
107 |
-7 |
| Rashad Eldridge |
OF |
36 |
.583 |
63 |
.220 |
85 |
.290 |
88 |
.293 |
76 |
.073 |
57 |
8.9% |
96 |
21.2% |
79 |
-3 |
| Drew Meyer |
SS |
95 |
.583 |
63 |
.228 |
88 |
.278 |
84 |
.305 |
79 |
.077 |
60 |
6.9% |
74 |
20.0% |
83 |
-13 |
| Tom Gregorio |
C |
37 |
.570 |
59 |
.218 |
84 |
.279 |
84 |
.291 |
75 |
.073 |
57 |
8.3% |
90 |
17.3% |
96 |
0 |
| Aarom Baldiris |
2B |
78 |
.533 |
49 |
.216 |
83 |
.253 |
76 |
.280 |
72 |
.064 |
50 |
4.0% |
43 |
14.8% |
112 |
-3 |
| TEAM | - |
140 |
.707 |
97 |
.261 |
101 |
.323 |
98 |
.384 |
99 |
.123 |
96 |
8.1% |
87 |
16.0% |
104 |
15 |
| Park-Adjusted League Average | - |
- |
.718 |
- |
.259 |
- |
.331 |
- |
.387 |
- |
.128 |
- |
9.3% |
- |
16.7% |
- |
8 |
About the stats: See the post on Clinton’s hitters for explanations and caveats.
Posted by Lucas at 06:00 PM
October 09, 2006
Minor League Review, Part 6: Frisco Roughriders Pitchers
About the league and park: Click here. Very short version:Texas League plays similarly to the American League circa 1991-1993, which is to say, friendly to offenses but not quite so friendly as the late 1990s. The park moderately favors hitters.
About the pitchers: As with the California League, young Eric Hurley (2004 supplemental first-rounder) handled the Texas League with aplomb. The walk and strikeout rates are delicious; a slightly lower homer rate in 2007 would be the cherry on top. 2004 top pick Thomas Diamond struck out over one of every four batters he faced… and walked one of every seven. He allowed only a .285 average on balls in play, preferably a result of his dominance rather than luck. If he can pull his walk rate below 4.5 per nine innings, he’ll make the short list for reinforcements for Arlington in 2007.
2003 first-rounder John Danks was more uncomfortably homer-prone (22 in 140 innings between AA and AAA) and allowed a slugging percentage of .480 in AA. Nevertheless, he posted a decent RA of 104. The lefty struck out batters at a higher rate than even Diamond and had none of the control issues. Daniel Haigwood (the return for Fabio Castro) kept the ball in play, permitting only four homers in 62 innings. Unfortunately, the ball was too much in play – he allowed a ghastly .394 OBP. A round of applause for Kea Kometani, a 15th-rounder from 2005 who jumped to AA during the season and offered solid peripherals that belied his ordinary RA.
Players ordered by Run Average.
| Player | G |
GS |
IP |
RA |
RA+ |
ERA |
ERA+ |
WHIP |
WHIP+ |
HRrate |
HRrate+ |
BBrate |
BBrate+ |
SOrate |
SOrate+ |
| Michael Bumstead |
33 |
0 |
54.7 |
2.14 |
240 |
1.81 |
248 |
1.08 |
138 |
0.0% |
inf |
9.3% |
101 |
25.9% |
145 |
| Eric Hurley |
6 |
6 |
37.0 |
2.19 |
235 |
1.95 |
231 |
0.86 |
173 |
2.8% |
81 |
7.8% |
120 |
22.1% |
124 |
| Nick Masset |
8 |
8 |
48.0 |
3.00 |
171 |
2.06 |
218 |
1.21 |
123 |
0.0% |
inf |
10.2% |
92 |
20.3% |
114 |
| Daniel Haigwood |
12 |
12 |
62.0 |
4.21 |
122 |
3.63 |
124 |
1.77 |
84 |
1.4% |
166 |
15.3% |
61 |
19.8% |
111 |
| Thomas Diamond |
27 |
27 |
129.3 |
4.52 |
114 |
4.24 |
106 |
1.41 |
106 |
2.5% |
92 |
14.1% |
67 |
26.1% |
147 |
| Jeremy Ward |
30 |
0 |
49.7 |
4.71 |
109 |
4.35 |
103 |
1.35 |
110 |
2.4% |
97 |
7.6% |
123 |
21.8% |
122 |
| John Danks |
13 |
13 |
69.3 |
4.93 |
104 |
4.15 |
108 |
1.38 |
108 |
3.7% |
62 |
7.4% |
126 |
27.7% |
156 |
| Jesse Chavez |
38 |
0 |
59.0 |
5.03 |
102 |
4.42 |
102 |
1.39 |
107 |
2.0% |
117 |
11.1% |
84 |
27.8% |
156 |
| Kea Kometani |
17 |
16 |
88.3 |
5.09 |
101 |
4.69 |
96 |
1.45 |
103 |
1.0% |
222 |
8.6% |
109 |
20.1% |
113 |
| Danny Touchet |
34 |
0 |
65.7 |
5.21 |
99 |
5.07 |
89 |
1.46 |
102 |
2.1% |
111 |
6.2% |
150 |
15.6% |
88 |
| Jesse Carlson |
43 |
0 |
58.0 |
6.05 |
85 |
4.66 |
96 |
1.43 |
104 |
2.8% |
84 |
7.1% |
132 |
17.8% |
100 |
| Steven Rowe |
45 |
3 |
83.0 |
6.40 |
80 |
5.53 |
81 |
1.54 |
97 |
3.8% |
61 |
8.9% |
106 |
18.0% |
101 |
| Andy Walker |
20 |
15 |
93.0 |
6.48 |
79 |
5.81 |
77 |
1.51 |
99 |
5.1% |
45 |
5.1% |
183 |
12.7% |
71 |
| Ryan Jensen |
11 |
8 |
50.0 |
6.66 |
77 |
5.94 |
76 |
1.50 |
99 |
2.7% |
85 |
5.9% |
160 |
16.7% |
94 |
| Armando Galarraga |
9 |
9 |
41.0 |
7.46 |
69 |
5.49 |
82 |
1.68 |
89 |
2.6% |
89 |
6.8% |
138 |
19.8% |
111 |
| TEAM TOTALS |
140 |
140 |
1,238.0 |
4.91 |
105 |
4.30 |
105 |
1.42 |
105 |
2.3% |
102 |
9.2% |
102 |
20.5% |
115 |
| Park-Adjusted League Average | - |
- |
- |
5.14 |
- |
4.50 |
- |
1.49 |
- |
2.40% |
- |
9.4% |
- |
17.8% |
- |
About the stats: See the top of this post for explanations and caveats.
Posted by Lucas at 11:58 PM
October 05, 2006
Emerson Frostad Has Arrived
Mentioned in Rotoworld.
Also, someone should pay me to spend several months in Hawaii.
Posted by Lucas at 12:35 AM
October 02, 2006
Minor League Review, Part 5: Frisco Roughriders Hitters
The League: Known as a hitter-friendly league, the Texas League bears a strong resemblance to the AL during 1991-1993 and 1995. Compared to 2006, walks and strikeouts are 10% more frequent and (as with any minor league) unearned runs more common. (0.63 per nine innings compared to 0.38 in the AL).
Texas League vs American League |
|
| Runs Scored | 1% lower |
| Runs Allowed | 1% higher |
| ERA | 4% lower |
| Batting Average | .005 lower |
| On-Base Percentage | .005 higher |
| Slugging Percentage | .019 lower |
| Walk Rate | 10% higher |
| Strikeout Rate | 10% higher |
The Park: Standard down the lines (335’), a bit shallow to the alleys (364’) and deep to center (409’), Dr. Pepper Ballpark favors hitters. I understand that tickets are the most expensive in AA, up to $18. In AAA Round Rock, tickets top out at $12, plus you get to see Joe McEwing.
Park Factors -- Dr. Pepper Ballpark |
|
| Runs | 1.03 |
| Average | 1.02 |
| On-Base Percentage | 1.02 |
| Slugging Percentage | 1.01 |
| Walks | 1.02 |
| Strikeouts | 0.99 |
Update your satellite imagery, Google!
The Team: Nate Gold (10th round, 2002) had a 145 OPS+ and led the league in homers. Unfortunately, he turned 26 in June, borderline-ancient for a prospect in AA. Texas exposed him to the Rule 5 draft last winter and may do so again despite his upsurge. Perhaps Texas will add him to the 40-man roster this fall and try to sneak him through waivers at the end of Spring Training if they need his spot.
Ben Harrison (2002, 7th) performed admirably after a midseason promotion from Bakerfield, though his walk rate plummeted. Kevin Mahar (undrafted) maintained his power (sixth in the league in triples, eighth in homers) but lost fifty points of average and eighty of OBP in his transition to AA. Travis Metcalf (2004, 11th) lost everything but his cap; his OPS plummeted from .870 in Bakersfield in 2005 to .622 in Frisco. The Rangers needn’t make a roster. Like Gold, they could face exposure to thus winter’s Rule 5 draft.
Overall, Frisco had a weak offense, scoring about one-quarter run per game under the park-adjusted league average.
| Player | POS |
G |
OPS |
OPS+ |
AVG |
AVG+ |
OBP |
OBP+ |
SLG |
SLG+ |
ISO |
ISO+ |
BB% |
BB%+ |
SO% |
SO%+ |
Net Steals |
| Nate Gold |
1B |
120 |
.958 |
145 |
.292 |
107 |
.376 |
107 |
.582 |
138 |
.290 |
195 |
10.8% |
115 |
15.8% |
106 |
-5 |
| Kevin Richardson |
C |
93 |
.857 |
120 |
.271 |
99 |
.358 |
102 |
.498 |
118 |
.227 |
152 |
9.8% |
1002 |
23.9% |
70 |
2 |
| Adam Morrissey |
2B |
54 |
.844 |
118 |
.313 |
114 |
.387 |
110 |
.457 |
108 |
.144 |
97 |
10.7% |
112 |
18.4% |
91 |
-2 |
| Ben Harrison |
OF |
42 |
.832 |
113 |
.282 |
103 |
.341 |
97 |
.491 |
116 |
.209 |
140 |
5.8% |
60 |
16.4% |
102 |
4 |
| Anthony Webster |
OF |
59 |
.827 |
113 |
.310 |
113 |
.364 |
104 |
.463 |
109 |
.153 |
103 |
7.7% |
80 |
10.4% |
161 |
-7 |
| Kevin Mahar |
OF |
127 |
.789 |
102 |
.267 |
98 |
.319 |
91 |
.469 |
111 |
.202 |
136 |
6.1% |
64 |
17.9% |
94 |
-1 |
| Casey Benjamin |
SS |
92 |
.771 |
99 |
.283 |
103 |
.349 |
99 |
.422 |
100 |
.139 |
93 |
9.4% |
98 |
14.5% |
115 |
-2 |
| Mike Nickeas |
C |
39 |
.745 |
95 |
.248 |
91 |
.382 |
109 |
.363 |
86 |
.115 |
77 |
15.7% |
1603 |
16.3% |
103 |
-1 |
| Jake Blalock |
OF |
110 |
.711 |
85 |
.266 |
97 |
.339 |
97 |
.372 |
88 |
.106 |
71 |
9.6% |
100 |
18.4% |
91 |
2 |
| Enrique Cruz |
SS |
76 |
.694 |
79 |
.270 |
99 |
.323 |
92 |
.370 |
87 |
.100 |
67 |
6.3% |
656 |
22.6% |
74 |
-4 |
| Jim Fasano |
1B |
96 |
.692 |
79 |
.244 |