The end of May in south Texas means the start of the time of the year when tropical depressions are given names only a mother could love and take out their frustration on coastal areas of the gulf. The Hooks are in their own tropical depression through the first two months of the season. Their 20-27 record is 1/2 game out of the cellar of the Texas League. Let’s see what good when can find here.
THE GOOD:
The Hitters –
Andrew Locke is the hitter who has been the most consistant for the Hooks so far this season. The rule 5 pick up from the Dodgers is hitting .376 on the season. His average for May dropped .119 points but he still hit .327 for the month. Mark Ori continues to hit above .300 on the season. He hit .305 for May. Drew Meyer saw all of his offensive numbers climb in May (.324/.397/.444). Josh Flores raised his average from .169 at the end of April to .242 at the end of May by hitting a solid .289 in May. He also showed some power with 8 extra base hits in May.
As a team, they have some pop. They lead the league in Home Runs with 50 in 47 games. Six of those homers belong to Jonathan Fixler. In 52 at bats at AA he has 4 doubles and 6 home runs. No singles yet. He has an average of .192 and a slugging % of .615.
The Hooks are 3rd in runs (260), RBI (242), total bases (689), slugging (.420), and OPS (.761). They are tied for second fewest times caught stealing (12).
Individually, Andrew Locke is having an MVP start to the season. Drew leads the league in RBIs (57), total bases (111), slugging % (.613) and is tied for the lead in HR (10). He is tied for 10th in runs scored (33), and has the 3rd most hits with 68. He is tied for 6th in doubles (13). Locke is getting on base at a .413 clip which is 8th best which combined with his slugging % places him at the top of OPS (1.026). Colin DeLome shares the home run lead with Locke. He is also tied for 3rd in runs scored (36). He has stretched out 3 triples which ties him for 5th most. His 82 total bases places him 9th. He has swiped 7 bases (T-10th). Drew Meyer has scored 37 runs (2nd) and has 57 hits (9th). He ranks 5th in doubles (14), and is tied for 7th most walks (23). Jimmy Van Ostrand is tied for 4th with 8 HR. That power helps place him at 5th in Slugging (.549) and 8th in OPS (.928). Josh Flores, is showing his speed has returned from his knee injury last year. He has 9 steals which ties him for 8th most.
The Pitchers:
For the month, Douglas Arguello started 4 games and earned a 2.28 ERA for the month. He had a complete game in the process. Daniel Meszaros made 5 appearances in CC after his call up. All but one were scoreless outings. Chris Salamida has shown some signs of adjusting to AA. He followed up a 13.50 ERA in April with a 3.38 in May.
The Hooks staff leads the league in complete games with 3. They have only hit 19 batters (T-2nd fewest) and have only walked a league low 128 batters. So they throw strikes!
Individually among the leaders, Douglas Arguello has the 9th best ERA in the league (3.26). T. J. Burton has finished 10 games, which puts him tied for 7th most.
THE BAD
The Hitters
The Texas League is about adusting. There are only 8 teams so you see pitchers and batters frequently. Here are some guys who didn’t ajust to the pitchers adjustments. James Van Ostrand followed up his .441 April with a .179 May. Mitch Einertson followed his .288 April with a .224 May. Wlad Sutil followed his .319 April with a .261 May. Colin DeLome followed his .280 April with a .232 May.
As a team, the Hooks have only stolen 28 bases, the second lowest total in the league. They have the second fewest doubles (77) and the fewest triples (6). They have taken the fewest walks (148)
Individually, Delome is tied for the second most fans with (46). Wlad Sutil has been caught stealing 5 times which ties him for 5th place.
The Pitchers:
There are several slides that could be highlighted but we will only highlight the spectacular. Brad James went from having a 2.81 ERA in April to a 10.71 in May.
Here is where things go from bad to ugly. Hooks pitching staff is at the bottom of the league in ERA, Saves, Hits, Runs, Earned Runs, WHIP, Strike Outs & Home Runs.
Casey Hudspeth & Sergio Perez have both given up 62 hits to tie them for 5th. Polin Trinidad is not far behind with 60 (T-7th). Hudspeth has given up the 2nd most runs with 34. Perez has given up 1 less and is tied for 4th. Brad James has surrendered 32 and is tied for 8th most. You reverse their order for their rank in earned runs however. It goes James (30, T-3), Perez (29, T-5) and Hudspeth (28, T-8th). Hudspeth has given up 8 long balls which ties him for 2nd most. Trinidad’s 6 round trippers puts him in a tie for 5th. Hudspeth & James each have 4 hit batters which ties them for 7th most. They also combine for 42% of the teams total hit batters. James’ 26 free passes puts him up in a tie for 3rd most.
Odd Stat of the Month: Casey Hudspeth’s home / road split. At home he is 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA. On the road, he is 0-4 with a 10.80 record.