The ValleyCats finished the season at 28-45. This was the second worst record in the NY-Penn League. Let’s look and see what bright spots might be there from a rather disappointing season.
The Good
The Hitters
As a team, Tri Cities showed some pop. They were second in the league with 52 HR. That was about the only bright spot for the team.
Individually, Phil Disher has a solid season. He finished 10th in Average (.304) and had the 2nd most hits (85). Disher’s 20 doubles tied him for second and accounted for almost 20% of the ValleyCat’s total (109). His 13 homers were 2nd most in the league. Disher also knocked in 56 runs which put him 1 run short of the league lead. His 150 total bases were 2nd most as well. He took 33 free passes (T-10th). His Slugging % (.536) was the 3rd best in the league and his OPS (.916) was 2nd best.
Jack Shuck finished with the 3rd most runs scored (51). He tied for the 6th most hits (79) and tied for 5th most triples (5). Shuck’s 113 total bases was tied for 9th most. He took 35 free bases (5th most). His OBP (.385) was 10th best. He lead the team with 8 stolen bases (T-33).
David Flores hit 11 round trippers tying him for 4th most. His slugging % (.495) was good for 5th best.
1st round pick Jason Castro, was recenlty named the top prospect in the NYPENN despite only playing slightly more than half the season.
The Pitchers
The ValleyCats didn’ t come close to denting the league leaders as a team. Only one player made the top 10 in a positive way and it was Chris Hicks, who had 4 holds (T-7th).
Team Leaders
ERA: Robert Bono 4.68 – 27th in the league.
Wins: Ashton Moudy 4 – T-33rd in the league.
Appearances: Michael Hacker 23 – 11th in the league
Saves: Michael Hacker 5 – T-14th in the league.
Innings PItched – Robert Bono 75 – T-6th.
Strike Outs – Kirkland Rivers only pitched 19 innings but fanned 49 to lead the team (47th in the league). In fact, 4 of the top 6 on the team in strike outs were relievers.
WHIP- Bono 1.44 – T-22nd
The Bad
The Hitters
As a team, the ValleyCats really struggled to get on base. Their .315 OBP was 3rd worst in the league. Only taking 225 walks (3rd lowest) and K-ing 688 times (3rd most) directly impacts that low OBP. While long balls were their strength, they didn’t hit many doubles (113 – 3rd lowest)
Danny Meier fanned 82 times (3rd most).
Phil Disher fanned 71 times (T-6th most).
Jack Shuck was caught trying to steal 6 times (T-8th most).
The Pitchers
The pitching really struggled for Tri Cities. Their team ERA (4.39) was the 2nd highest in the league. The only had one shut out on the season. They gave up a league leading 50 homers and gave up the 2nd most runs (390) and earned runs (315). They had the 3rd highest number of hit batters (47) and only struck out 581 batters (3rd fewest). The team WHIP was the 3rd highest (1.41).
Antonio Noguera lost 8 games which ties him for 2nd most. He gave up 56 runs and 45 earned runs, both lead the league. He gave up 7 long balls (T-5th)
Robert Bono gave up 90 hits which lead the league. he gave up 53 runs (2nd) and 39 earned runs (T-6th). He gave up 7 long balls (T-5th). He hit 6 batters (T-9th).
Jerrod Holloway lead the team in walks with 23 (T-12).
The Crowd
The Joe was in the middle of the road as far as attendence. They drew an average of 4018 per game and a total gate of 140,331. This ranked them 7th out of 14. The Astros just signed on for two more years in Tri Cities, let’s hope they get better teams to watch.