Minor League Wrap (6/14-20/10)
Everett did indeed start play on Friday, but you won’t see them below here because three games is just not enough to work with, so I’ll do a week and a half of Aquasox next week and most of a week of Pulaski, which starts on Tuesday. I’ll have a roster preview for them when I get it. Peoria starts today, but if you weren’t around last season, I just update some interesting statlines for the week rather than looking at individual games because the climate is too much of a mess to make any meaningful conclusions about what’s happening.
To the jump!
All-Stars, That We Know Of:
With the first half behind us, some leagues are having their all-star listings coming out. Voting is still open for the PCL, and the Southern League, which has their game in mid-July, is still open as well, but we know who will represent the Mariners for the other two leagues. In California, now that Tenbrink has promoted, it’s going to be RHP Kenn Kasparek and 1B Rich Poythress. Kasparek has managed a ERA below three, despite pitching where he does, and with 86.1 innings, is tied for the league lead after Sunday night. I wish I could speak more glowingly about the rest of his performance, as the strikeouts are quite low. Poythress is second in the league with fourteen home runs, and with a number of first basemen around that area, it’s an honor for him to be named. One area where he does excel relative to his peers is on-base percentage, where his .372 mark is third among regulars. The guy in the top spot, Brandon Belt, has a .503 OBP and will probably be starting the game.
In the Midwest League, the Lumberkings boast four all-stars, DH Vinnie Catricala, SS Nick Franklin, LHP Brian Moran, and RHP Erasmo Ramirez, and you know that if Vasquez were still around, he’d be in it too. Catricala, you’ll recognize as being the second best hitter on the roster, but he’s also tied for third in the league with twenty doubles and will start the game for the West. One of the great crimes of fan voting is that he won’t be joined by Franklin, who despite hitting .299/.354/.549, will be sitting in favor of Peoria’s Hak-Ju Lee, who is hitting .271/.337/.340. I’ve been mad about this for weeks now, so there’s nothing more I can really add. Moran is the team’s best southpaw and one of the few relievers on the roster who has good odds on winning Pitcher of the Week on a regular basis. He’s struck out forty-three in 36.1 innings and walked just six. Ramirez is known for having the sixth best ERA in the league among starters, but if that’s not enough, he’s walked just three all season in 66.1 innings of work. Congratulations to all.
Tacoma Rainiers (6-2 this week, 36-32 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, June 14th 2010
Tacoma 11, Colorado Springs 6 (COL – 3)
W: Palazzolo (1-1, 3.18); L: Escalona (1-2, 8.91)
Tuesday, June 15th 2010
Tacoma 7, Colorado Springs 0 (COL – 4)
W: Seddon (7-3, 3.66); L: Rogers (0-2, 9.45)
Wednesday, June 16th 2010
Tacoma 1, Colorado Springs 2 (COL – 3)
W: Street (1-1, 7.94); L: Pauley (1-5, 3.62)
Tacoma 1, Colorado Springs 0 (- 4) (seven innings)
W: Petit (2-1, 6.00); L: Birkins (3-4, 6.69)
Thursday, June 17th 2010
Tacoma 5, Colorado Springs 7 (COL – 2)
W: Roe (5-7, 5.86); L: Baldwin (4-2, 4.42)
Friday, June 18th 2010
Tacoma 7, Portland 5 (SD – 17)
W: Palazzolo (2-1, 5.11); L: Russell (2-5, 6.85)
Saturday, June 19th 2010
Tacoma 7, Portland 4 (SD – 18)
W: French (7-2, 2.21); L: Liz (4-2, 3.92)
Sunday, June 20th 2010
Tacoma 4, Portland 2 (SD – 19)
W: Seddon (8-3, 3.43); L: Carrillo (4-5, 4.60)
Hitter of the Week:
RF Mike Wilson, R/R, 6/29/1983
8 G, 29 AB, 7 R, 9 H, 4 HR, 8 RBI, 2 CS, 7/3 K/BB, .310/.375/.724
The four-dinger week for Wilson seems easier to understand if you remind yourself that they played eight games. More difficult to grapple with is the idea that Wilson’s nine home runs with Tacoma are only his totals for the PCL, and he had eight others in the Southern League before he got there, which puts him squarely in the system lead. Wilson is slugging .674 against the league’s left-handers, a bit better than what he was doing in limited time with the D-Jaxx. This would make him an interesting option if we decided at some point we needed someone like that at the expense of a little defensive versatility. He’s been on the 40-man a couple of times in the past, but always manages to get himself injured just after.
Nearly a .500 Hitter Mention:
3B Matt Mangini, L/R, 12/21/1985
7 G, 24 AB, 9 R, 11 H, HR, 2 RBI, 3/2 K/BB, .458/.500/.583
Yet Another Hitting Catcher Mention:
C Guillermo Quiroz, R/R, 11/29/1981
6 G, 19 AB, 3 R, 7 H, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2/3 K/BB, .368/.455/.632
Pitcher of the Week:
LHP Chris Seddon. 10/13/1983
2-0, 2 GS, SHO, 0.00 ERA in 14.0 IP, 8 H, 9/2 K/BB, 21/10 G/F
If there much else I need to say aside from two of Seddon’s last three starts have been shutouts? Well, there was the matter of him giving up seven runs on twelve hits and two walks in the four and a third innings stint that fell between them, but I’d prefer to highlight the good. One of those good points is that he seems to be better when he’s getting those groundballs, as the other start was pretty extreme on the opposite end of the spectrum. He’s also leading the PCL in shutouts, which shouldn’t be all that surprising. Nor should it be surprising that the Rainiers themselves lead the league, since Shell had one earlier in the year. In another organization, I might see him getting a few appearances with the big club, but considering how we’ve been shuttling every other pitcher on the 40-man and in Tacoma back and forth, I don’t expect it.
A CG Loss Mention:
RHP David Pauley, 6/17/1983
0-1,GS, CG, 2.08 ERA in 8.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 2/2 K/BB, 12/9 G/F
From The Training Room:
You mean aside from PINEDA? You probably noticed that Ian Snell, Matt Tuiasosopo, Luke French, and Doug Fister all joined the Rainiers in the past few days. At least one of these is not like the others. Fister threw four innings on Sunday and let a couple of runs score after four hits and three Ks. And what percentage of his forty-eight pitches were fastballs? If I guessed “all of them”, I’d probably still end up within the margin of error… Josh Bard is also currently on the roster as a rehabber, going 1-for-7 at the plate, but Carlton Tanabe may also be seen behind the plate in the upcoming series against Salt Lake City, as Blake Ochoa was sent to High Desert. Tanabe was originally slated to start the season with the Rainiers… When French came in, Wes Littleton was sent to California, possibly to be closer to his family… IF Anthony Phillips joined the Aquasox, as expected, and UT Jeffery Dominguez was probably brought over from West Tenn in anticipation of that. Mumba Rivera joined him on the trip. Beware… The one other note, as though we didn’t have enough already, is that Ramon Vazquez opted out of his contract and became a free agent, while the Rainiers brought in left-hander Billy Traber, last seen in the majors with the Red Sox last season.
Strange Happenings:
According to PETA, Cheney Stadium ranks seventh in the top ten vegetarian-friendly ballparks of minor league baseball. This is so not an invitation to talk about food politics, you wouldn’t even believe it… Seddon may have thrown two shutouts in his last three starts, but there’s a Mets prospect who has thrown three in a row… Halman hit two home runs in his first game back. He hasn’t done much since.
West Tenn Diamond Jaxx (3-4 this week, 39-30 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, June 14th 2010
West Tenn 1, Tennessee 2 (CHC + 14)
W: Chen (7-5, 2.43); L: Cortes (4-2, 5.92)
Tuesday, June 15th 2010
Off day
Wednesday, June 16th 2010
Chattanooga 5 (LA – 4), West Tenn 6 (eight innings)
W: Paredes (2-1, 2.92); L: Huber (0-1, 2.57)
Chattanooga 5 (- 5) West Tenn 8 (seven innings)
W: Jensen (2-0, 4.45); L: Leach (0-1, 20.25)
Thursday, June 17th 2010
Chattanooga 14 (LA – 4) West Tenn 2
W: Castillo (4-6, 2.64); L: Robles (5-4, 4.41)
Friday, June 18th 2010
Chattanooga 1 (LA – 5) West Tenn 5
W: Pineda (8-1, 2.22); L: Sexton (3-6, 4.03)
Saturday, June 19th 2010
Chattanooga 5 (LA – 4) West Tenn 0 (seven innings)
W: Withrow (3-3, 4.75); L: Hensley (6-4, 2.54)
Chattanooga 3 (- 3), West Tenn 2 (seven innings)
W: Jansen (4-0, 1.10); L: Varvaro (0-2, 2.73)
Sunday, June 20th 2010
Off days
Hitter of the Week:
Carlos Peguero, L/L, 2/22/1987
7 G, 21 AB, 5 R, 6 H, 3B, HR, 5 RBI, SB, 9/4 K/BB, HBP, .286/.423/.524
It’s been a while since Peguero has earned this distinction, in no small part because those strikeouts are rather horrifying. After hitting .390/.457/.780 in April and scuffling his way to a .243/.347/.393 line in May, Peguero is settling down to somewhere in between, hitting .284/.372/.448 for June, which is probably the best reflection of his prospect status at this point. He’ll hit a few balls an impressive distance, strike out entirely too often, and sometimes intimidate a pitcher into throwing around him enough for a walk. It’s not likely that he’ll draw fifteen free passes like he did last month, but he could surpass April’s total of eight pretty quickly at his current pace and the power hitting seems be on its way back. He’s not a future all-star. He’s probably not even a regular. He could, however, be an interesting role player.
Back and Hitting Mention:
3B/LF Nate Tenbrink, L/R, 12/21/1986
6 G, 18 AB, R, 5 H, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, 2/3 K/BB, .278/.381/.556
Pitcher of the Week:
RHP Dan Cortes, 3/4/1987
0-1, 2 GS, 0.81 ERA in 11.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R (ER), 12/1 K/BB, 10/7 G/F, WP
Of all the names I could have picked, I bet you probably weren’t expecting this one. Cortes is a bit notorious because his stuff has improved drastically over the course of his minor league career, bringing him from relative no-name status to prospectdom as he’s added velocity to his fastball and pitches to his arsenal. The knock on him is that his command has never been much more than passable at best. He’s never been under three walks per nine innings and in 305.1 innings at the double-A level, he’s sitting at five walks per nine. Over the past three starts for him (four overall since leaving the DL), he’s walked two in fourteen innings. This week, he managed to work his way around the league’s best offense at Tennessee and one of four teams (including the Jaxx) that walks more than they do in Chattanooga. Somehow, he only gave out one free pass.
Tacoma Rainier Mention:
RHP Michael Pineda, 1/18/1989
1-0, GS, 0.00 ERA in 6.2 IP, 5 H, R (0 ER), 5/1 K/BB, 8/6 G/F, HB
Still On the Rehab Trail Mention:
LHP Robert Rohrbaugh, 12/28/1983
0-0, G, 2.45 ERA in 3.2 IP, 3 H, R, 7/0 K/BB, 0/4 G/F
From the Training Room:
I already got Rivera and Dominguez, but the corresponding moves were that Nate Tenbrink was activated from the DL, and a day later, bullpen arm Steven Richard was called in from High Desert.
Strange Happenings:
The losing pitcher you see for game one of the DH on Wednesday was indeed former Mariner Jon Huber.
High Desert Mavericks (2-4 this week, 37-33 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, June 14th 2010
San Jose 10 (SF + 17), High Desert 3
W: Odle (7-2, 4.68); L: Wild (5-3, 4.61)
Tuesday, June 15th 2010
San Jose 15 (SF + 18), High Desert 11
W: Woodruff (1-0, 2.53); L: Nation (3-2, 5.55)
Wednesday, June 16th 2010
San Jose 4 (SF + 19), High Desert 3
W: Surkamp (3-1, 3.50); L: LaFromboise (6-4, 4.35)
Thursday, June 17th 2010
Lancaster 2 (HOU – 15), High Desert 3
W: Vasquez (3-2, 1.98); L: Godfrey (2-3, 3.99)
Friday, June 18th 2010
Lancaster 5 (HOU – 23), High Desert 1 (seven innings)
W: Keuchel (3-5, 3.75); L: Cleto (1-2, 6.18)
Saturday, June 19th 2010
Lancaster 8 (HOU – 24), High Desert 16
W: Penney (3-2, 3.30); L: Mowdy (1-3, 4.25)
Sunday, June 20th 2010
All-star Break
Hitter of the Week:
SS Juan Diaz, S/R, 12/12/1988
6 G, 18 AB, 2 R, 9 H, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, 2/3 K/BB, .500/.571/.722
Before Nick Franklin had established himself as a prospect, before Triunfel started playing short regularly again, there was Juan Diaz on the depth charts as the system’s best minor league option at shortstop. A .311/.356/.446 hitter last season, he was named a Cal League All-Star and then suddenly found the road blocked on the middle infield by the Triunfel/Ackley duo in West Tenn. This season started poorly for him, but the bat has been heating up lately. He slugged six home runs in May, more than he’s had in any season to date, and for June he’s been at a more normal level of hitting .344/.417/.438. Assuming Ackley gets promoted at some point to Tacoma, and the Pineda move suggest things might be in motion, Diaz is going to get the call to West Tenn. He’s not anything special as prospects go, but utility infielder isn’t out of the question, and he could provide a stopgap if it comes to that.
Still Slugging At Home Mention:
LF/1B Dennis Raben, L/L, 7/31/1987
4 G, 16 AB, 3 R, 5 H, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 4/1 K/BB, .313/.353/.688
Hitting in the System that First Drafted Him Mention:
RF Eddy Martinez-Esteve, R/R, 7/14/1983
5 G, 18 AB, 4 R, 7 H, 2B, 3 RBI, 3/3 K/BB, .389/.476/.444
Three-Home Run Week Mention:
LF Johermyn Chavez, R/R, 1/26/1989
6 G, 24 AB, 6 R, 7 H, 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 10/1 K/BB, .292/.320/.708
Pitcher of the Week:
LHP Anthony Vasquez, 9/19/1986
1-0, GS, 1.00 ERA in 9.0 IP, 9 H, 2 R (ER), 3/0 K/BB, 17/6 G/F, WP
Seddon wasn’t the only minor league lefty with a complete game this week, as Vasquez managed to throw one too. Unlike Seddon, Vasquez was throwing his at one of the best hitting parks in all of the minor leagues and still managing to keep the ball in the park. Part of that is probably because he’s been excelling at keeping the ball in the park, running a 1.41 GO/AO in spite of the climate, though I imagine the fact that he hasn’t walked a single batter as a starter, with 30.0 innings in the role, probably helps too. He only walked two in eleven innings while picking up after Cleto on the piggyback starts. One area of concern may be that he’s only struck out twenty-five in 41.0 innings with the Mavs after striking out forty-five in 48.1 innings with the Lumberkings. I imagine this is mitigated somewhat by all the double plays. Nevertheless, don’t expect him to strike out guys in bunches anymore.
A Few Bad Pitches Mention:
LHP Bobby LaFromboise, 6/25/1986,
0-1, GS, 6.00 ERA in 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 8/2 K/BB, 3/5 G/F
From the Training Room:
Richard moving on to double-A brought in Chris Kirkland from Clinton, which was probably the smartest move. Ryan Moorer also moved back to Clinton, which was what allowed Littleton to join the team… On Saturday, catcher Trevor Coleman hit the DL and that brought Ochoa down to a more appropriate level for his experience.
Strange Happenings:
Almonte also hit three home runs this week. He struck out ten times too, just like Chavez. DINGERS!… If you’re wondering about the seven innings game, it was part of a doubleheader that included a suspended game from April, but I can’t do anything with that because those stats are part of the April block now.
Clinton Lumberkings (2-4 this week, 37-32 overall)
The Week in Review:
Monday, June 14th 2010
Off day
Tuesday, June 15th 2010
Wisconsin 8 (MIL – 18), Clinton 1
W: Lasker (4-3, 3.46); L: Stanton (6-3, 3.51)
Wednesday, June 16th 2010
Wisconsin 7 (MIL – 17), Clinton 2
W: Odorizzi (3-1, 3.68); L: Gillheeney (4-5, 2.93)
Thursday, June 17th 2010
Wisconsin 2 (MIL – 18), Clinton 3
W: Moran (3-1, 1.57); L: Thielbar (0-2, 4.62)
Friday, June 18th 2010
Rain.
Saturday, June 19th 2010
Clinton 2, Beloit 0 (MIN + 3) (eight innings)
W: Josselyn (2-2, 3.67); L: Holbrooks (2-3, 1.66)
Clinton 5, Beloit 6 (+ 4) (seven innings)
W: Tonkin (1-5, 3.48); L: Housey (4-3, 4.04)
Sunday, June 20th 2010
Clinton 3, Beloit 4 (MIN + 5)
W: Munoz (4-5, 5.56); L: Stanton (6-4, 3.77)
Hitter of the Week:
RF Kalian Sams, R/R, 8/25/1986
6 G, 21 AB, 2 R, 6 H, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI, CS, 12/2 K/BB, .286/.348/.524
With Martinez out and both Franklin and Catricala napping, enter Sams, who had a week like one might expect from him, save that a few more of his hits dropped in. Some people talk about three true outcomes, but Sams only really has two, and it’s more strikeouts than home runs as you can plainly see. However, if we were to mess with the rules a bit for the sake of investigation, we’d see that 69% of his hits going for extra-bases equates to about 13% of his total at-bats, and then add in the 48.4% Ks to fill out a large part of the remainder. Sams has two more home runs than he has singles right now. No doubt, Sams is a fascinating player, and for all the wrong reasons.
Best of the Remaining Options Mention:
CF Daniel Carroll, R/R, 1/6/1989
5 G, 18 AB, 5 H, 2 2B, 4 RBI, 2 SB, 7/1 K/BB, .278/.350/.389
Pitcher of the Week:
LHP Jonathan Hesketh, 6/3/1986
0-0, GS, 0.00 ERA in 6.0 IP, 2 H, 8/3 K/BB, 5/4 G/F
Since Hesketh has become a regular fixture in the recaps, in the midst of a June that has seen him allow just three runs in 23.0 innings while striking out thirty, I feel like I may need to shift from saying “he’s not as bad as he’s been recently” to “he’s probably not as good as he’s seemed the last few outings”. Beyond the stuff, which includes a heater that’s in the mid-80s on a good day, his walk rate has doubled from last season to this one. What was once an asset at 1.7 is now a slight liability at 3.4 per nine innings. True, he’s not really letting anyone on base otherwise, and has slowed down his pace of the past month, but a pitcher of his stuff has very little margin of error to work with.
At Least There Were No Home Runs This Week Mention:
RHP Erasmo Ramirez, 5/2/1990
0-0, GS, 1.29 ERA in 7.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R (ER), 6/0 K/BB, 8/6 G/F, 3 HB
From the Training Room:
Aside from the exchange of bullpen arms, Brandon Bantz came down from filling in on the D-Jaxx roster, which meant that Steve Baron was sent west to join the Aquasox. Now you have another reason to go to Everett.
Strange Happenings:
Daniel Carroll had two doubles on Sunday. Those were his second and third doubles of the season. Carroll has 160 at-bats… The Lumberkings have been hit by pitches fifty-eight times this season. No other team has topped forty-five. They’ve also grounded into the fewest double plays with just twenty-nine, where most teams are in the forties somewhere… Franklin wasn’t going to make it on for his hitting this week, but he did walk four times and hit his fifth home run this month too.
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20 Responses to “Minor League Wrap (6/14-20/10)”
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As always, Jay, thanks for this. It’s great to have a weekly report like this on its own merits, but in a season such as the big club is having, it’s especially welcome to read what we might have to look forward to (as well as sober reminders not to get too excited about certain performances; yes, I’m looking at you, Peguero…)
Anyway, many many thanks for all the hard work…
So what’s the deal with Mangini and Wilson? Is it time to start viewing them as potential major leaguers or are their numbers total flukes?
Hesketh has been a strikeout machine. How can you say he’s not that good? Because he throws in the 80’s? So did Jaimie Moyer. The fact that he isn’t a power pitcher doesn’t mean he can’t pitch. Those stats above are awesome.
If you want to go through the long, long list of minor leaguers who put up good numbers in the low minors without good stuff, feel free. You know how many Jamie Moyers you will find? One. You know how many Yusmeiro Petit’s you’ll find? Fifty bazillion.
Velocity matters. Hesketh doesn’t have it.
First off thanks for this. Now I have 2 questions. I looked at Mangini’s stats yesterday and noticed he had a nice slash line. Does he have a future with the team or is he just a roster filler? And why do you think Ackley gets promoted to Tacoma soon? He hasn’t been tearing the ball at West Tenn. I mean his 17% BB% is nice but I would rather have get called up hitting .300 with a 10% BB%.
GoldenGutz
Ackley has more BB than K’s, his OBP is .390 with a .254BA. He isn’t getting overmatched at all. He may have had an adjustment period to wood bats, a new position, etc….. Even though he isn’t hitting LHP’s he still has a .360 OBP against them. He is ready for AAA pitching, and to gain a better scope of his talents, I would rather he get more AB’s this year against AAA.
Does anyone have Ackleys BABIP?
Jay, I read this entire thing every week, but rarely comment. Thanks for the hard work. It isn’t wasted effort.
Is there a plan to update the Future Forty anytime soon? I’d really like to see how some things have changed. Triunfel is still only 20, but I sense less hype around him these days. Have his long term projections changed? Does he have a real shot to stick at short?
Thanks again. We’re smarter about our system thanks to your hard work.
Ackley BABIP at present is .292 with a 11,8% of LD
Jay,
I got to agree with the earlier sentiment in why don’t we just call up Mike Wilson and boot Sweeney off? This season is toast and Wilson fits in Sweeney’s role (pinch hitter/RH DH) perfectly. Plus he can play either corner without embarrasing himself. He has lots of power, he’s walking a lot and striking out less than ever before. This offense right now is horrific so I for one hope they give him a shot. Thoughts Jay?
Jay, I have similar questions about Wilson as a couple other posts above. I also have a question about Mangini. I heard yesterday that Tui is going to spend some time (perhaps quite a bit of time) at 3B down in Tacoma. This can’t be good news for Mangini – and his playing time. His PT took a big hit initially when Hannahan came off the DL. What is your scouting report on Mangini in regard to the 5 tools? Apologies if you have previously provided this info. Thanks – and again … great job!
Show me where I said specifically “he can’t pitch” because that’s a pretty weighty claim to be making. What I said was that he’s not going to keep doing this as he moves up. I’ve had about ten years worth of experience watching the minor leagues and having my heart broken by left-handers with similar skillsets and similar results. If he does this at the double and triple-A levels, then we start talking.
Wilson has always been able to hit for power. One of his main issues is just that twice in the past four years, he hasn’t been able to get past seventy games due to some injury, so even if he does make it, I’m a little worried about conditioning in general. The eye numbers are better than they ever have been though, as he’s due to walk about seventy-five times and strike out a little over a hundred, so that’s promising.
Mangini was a long-time enigma because even before he turned pro, scouts were trying to figure out why he wasn’t hitting for more power with how good he seemed at hitting in general. I looked up some draft video of him at the time and it appeared to me that it was mostly an upper body swing and didn’t have a whole lot of force behind it, so they may have tweaked it and given him more to work with, seeing as how that was a concern they raised about their players in the offseason.
He’s been hitting over .300 since the beginning of May. His April just happened to be awful.
.292. It was .180 in April, and has been around .330 since. Given that he has good bat control, hits lefty, and plus footspeed, I’m thinking that .330 or so is going to be the norm from here out and April was largely an aberration. Ackley’s skills suggest that he’s going to run higher than average BABIPs throughout his career.
The Future Forty was something that I didn’t really want to get into until the draft was over, but since then I’ve been pretty busy. I’m thinking about it, but I’m redesigning a lot of things and so I’m having to put in a lot of time to make sure I don’t screw it up.
I talked about Triunfel a little last week. He’s been hitting more longballs of late and striking out even less. June has hit hitting .344/.369/.492, and that’s a positive, though everyone knows he could still stand to walk more. Defensively, he’s a guy you can probably stick out there at short his first year or two in the big leagues and expect him to be about average or a little below, but I don’t think many people are going to claim that he’s going to spend his whole career there. I’d also remind everyone he’s still just twenty, getting his first real taste of double-A, and coming off a pretty nasty injury.
If by corner, you mean outfield corner, then yes, although I’d prefer to keep Saunders and Ichiro out there as much as possible. Wilson is going to turn twenty-seven next week so he’s entering his prime as a ballplayer and could be a decent patch on things. That doesn’t mean I’m not seeking out better options, however.
I think at this point, Mangini has hit well enough that he’s going to find his way into the lineup. For one thing, the team is no longer carrying three first basemen, which means that if it comes to it they could do something like Mangini at first, Nelson in left, and Everidge at DH. Alternatively, Tui can put a glove on and stand in so many different places that Mangini could mostly stick it out at the hot corner.
With Mangini, it’s really all about the bat. His footspeed is below average, his arm is nothing special, and around the bag, his hope is to be average and bunts will probably eat him alive. His odds of being a contributor are dependent on his ability to be competent at either corner and hit a whole lot. This is the first time he’s ever managed to do the latter.
And thanks all.
Thanks Jay.
Is Peguero’s ceiling basically Jack Cust (who had similar kinds of slugging and strikeout rates in the minors)? And Juan Diaz can look forward to being (at best) Willie Bloomquist 2.0?
Holy crap hell yes.
Thanks for the wrap-up, Jay. But for the record, Seddon’s shutout came at Security Service Field in Colorado Springs – one of the best hitter’s parks in the minors. It was the second 9-inning shutout tossed there by a visiting pitcher since the team moved there in 1988. Remarkable.
Right. I see “Colorado Springs” in a box score and my brain generally immediately goes “Rockies, pre-humidor”, but probably not everyone makes that connection. It’s amazing that there’s only been two visiting CG shutouts in twenty-two years though. That is really something else.
Peguero’s a more capable defender, though not a plus really, and he really really needs to walk more for that comparison to be anywhere close to good. Cust’s worst full season had him walk sixty-five times, and most of the lesser seasons had him at least get to eighty. Peguero might crack sixty this year, but his previous season best was forty-two. It’s hard to be a valuable three outcome hitter when you’re missing half an outcome.
I don’t know why you’d be bringing Willie B into this, because Bani, DR is a long way from Port Orchard. That aside, Diaz is a switch-hitter and has yet to play a single game off shortstop, so I don’t know if he has the footspeed to be able to cover outfield positions as Willie sort of was able to. I don’t think they really start trying that out until he moves up a level or two though.
Hey, that’s what I’m here for. Someone has to parse this stuff…
Jay, this stuff is invaluable, and I can’t thank you enough.
We were in the midwest last week and caught a Wisconsin-Dayton game in Appleton. The Timber Rattlers still have a lot of ex-Mariner prospects’ souvenirs, including an Aumont jersey hanging in the souvenir shop. But what a dead crowd. The home team falls behind 7-0 and then stages a comeback to tie the game. No one left, but the fans seemed more interested in free beef jerky being thrown to them than the fact that their team had come back from an almost insurmountable deficit (they lost in the ninth).
Also, the concessions were at major league prices. The ticket prices were reasonable ($8 for two rows behind the dugout) but the food and drinks could have been Safeco.
That’s a shame. One of the main reasons for the move was to get the local crowd psyched up about seeing Brewers prospects, but they haven’t really fielded good teams there, not that we were for a while there.
The Inland Empire 66ers haven’t done quite as well with the Dodgers either. They had a .518 winning percentage with the Dodgers the first year, and ever since then we’ve finished ahead of them as the High Desert Mavericks. I don’t know what their attendance is like though.
Anyone want Edwin Encarnancion for the Rainiers in some form or fashion?
The ’66ers are averaging 2,429 per game. 5th most in the Cal league. The Mavs, in contrast, are averaging 1,584. Dumping the Ms in favor of the local team was probably a good move for IE.
The Mavs have a pretty awful stadium and the area is not known to be safe, apparently. It’ll be interesting to see what they do with the lease expiring. There was a suggested deal to build a new stadium in an adjacent town that got shot down pretty quickly.