The Good & Bad Report: Lancaster May 2009

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

Lancaster comes crawling towards the end of May with a 13-33 record. It is the second worst in all of full season baseball. So you should see a fair amount of “bad” but there is also so “good” or at least some “not so bad” sprinkled in. Let’s take a look.

THE GOOD

The Hitters:

Eric Suttle joined the team in mid May from extended spring training. He has a hit in each of the six games he has started and is off to a .333 start in 8 total games. Jon Gaston has rebounded from a tough April (.232) to a strong May (.341). His power, which wasn’t bad in April, was even better in May. He went from 10 extra base hits in April to 17 in May. Jason Castro jumped his average from .278 in April to .292 in May. He knocked in 22 RBI in 25 games in May.

As a team, the JetHawks are supposed to have one of the most hitter friendly home fields in all of pro baseball. Maybe they just need more hitters for the park to be friendly towards. They have hit 101 doubles, good for 2nd most and they have only been caught stealing 18 times which is tied for 2nd fewest. (Of course you do have to be on base to be caught stealing). Just about every other category is in he bottom 4 in the league.

Individually, Jon Gaston’s 34 runs ties him for 6th in the league. His 4 triples tie him for 7th most. His 11 homers are good for 2nd most in the league. His 32 RBI place him at #10 in the league. Jon’s 100 total bases is the 4th most and his 27 walks ties him for 4th most. His slugging percentage of .625 places him in 4th place and contributes to his 1.021 OPS which is also in 4th place.

Jack Shuck’s 57 hits tie him for 5th most in the league. His 4 triples also tie him for 7th most. His 11 swiped bases is tied for 5th most.

Jason Castro has hit 16 doubles, good for 3rd most. His 34 RBI puts him in a tie for 7th most.

David Flores has hit 14 doubles, which ties him or 9th most.

Craig Corrado has stolen 10 bases which ties him for 7th most.

The Pitchers:

C. J. Lo got promoted to Corpus Christi after showing he was a man amoung boys. He struck out 12 in his 10 2/3 IP before heading for Texas and the DL. Jack Tilghman came up when Lo went to CC. He has appeared in 3 games thus far and has put up some positive numbers. He has struck out 12 in 8 IP. He doesn’t have the reputation of a strike out pitcher, so this is a bit of a surprise. Leandro Cespedes came of the DL and appeared in 4 games with 2 starts in May. In 17 IP, he produced an ERA of 1.59. He took the loss in both starts but both would qualify as quality starts.

The best thing that can be said about the Lancaster pitchers is they go out their every day and throw the ball to be hit. They have only walked 140 batters, good for 4th best and only hit 26, which is 6th fewest.

C. J. Lo had 5 holds before his promotion which is the 3rd most.

THE BAD

The Batters:

After a .356 April, Marcus Cabral has returned to earth with a .221 May. Christopher Jackson saw his average drop below the Mendoza line as he is wrapping up May with a .186 average. Craig Corrado also had a sub .200 May, he hit .189 and just broke a slump that gives him a .028 average in his last 10 games.

As a team, average (.260) and strike outs (357) are both the 4th worst in the league. I am not a statastician enought to know what the park adjusted average would I suspect it would be but it would be much worse.

Individually, Jon Gaston has accounted for 44 of those strike outs and that puts him as having K’d the 10th most in the league. Craig Corrado has been caught stealing bases 5 times and that ties him for 10th most times nabbed.

The Pitchers:

It’s bad. Really, really bad. Almost as bad as reading the the Talk Zone that Pravata is not going to be the king ferrett around SnS anymore. The JetHawks pitching staff is last in ERA, Runs, Earned Runs, Hits, Strike Outs and WHIP. They have given up amost 100 more hits, 47 more runs and 49 more earned runs than the second worst team. And this is just the end of May! This looks like a job for the young arms of Lexington.

David Duncan has taken the loss every time he has taken the mound. His 8 losses are the most in the league. He has also given up the 2nd most hits, the most runs, the most earned runs, and tied for the 9th most home runs surrended.

Christopher Hicks has given up 61 hits (t- 3rd most).

Jose Duran has given up 8 long balls (t-2nd most) and 31 earned runs (t-6th most)

Shane Wolf has give up the 9th most earned runs (29).

Lancaster

The Good & Bad Report: Lexington – May 2009

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

May in Kentucky means more than the Kentucky Derby. As we reach the end of May, Lexington finds itself just of the pace. They are 23-22 and 2 games back of Southern Division leading Charleston. Let’s see how the Legends stack up at the end of May.

THE GOOD

The Hitters

Before we see who is ranked in the top 10 in the South Atlantic League, let’s highlight some guys who made progress during the month.

Marques Williams was called up in mid May. In the 10 games he has played in since then, he is hitting .379.

Jay Austin appears to be getting some traction. After a .191 April, he has improved with a .256 May.

Now on the the rankings:

They are hitting the ball with some power. The Legends are second in the league with 29 homer runs. That is all that is good about the offense right now.

Ebert Rosario’s .324 average places him 9th best in the league and his .500 slugging ties him for 10th best.

The Pitchers:

The pitchers are the reason for the teams success to this point in time. Here are some highlight performances from May.

Jordan Lyles went 1-2 with a 1.76 ERA in 30 2/3 IP. He fanned 36 in the month.

Although the starters are getting a great deal of press. There are some solid bullpen arms that are helping hold those leads. Here are 3 solid May performers:

Henry Villar – 19 IP, 1.76 ERA, 18 K, 1 save

Patrick Urckfitz 11 1/3 IP, 0.79 ERA, 12 K, 4 saves

Austin Mowdy 12 1/3 IP, 0.73 ERA, 1 save

Here is how the Legends stack up against the league leaders:

Although they have no pitcher in the t0p 10 for ERA, they have the best team ERA at 2.84. They have recorded the second most saves (17). Legend’s pitchers have allowed the 3rd fewest runs (154) and the second fewest earned runs (122). They have only walked 113 batters in 387 innings which is the 3rd lowest total walks. They have the second lowest WHIP (1.18) and the second most holds (15).

Individually, here is how they rank:

Robert Bono is tied for 4th most wins with 5

Ross Seaton is tied for 4th most wins with 5

Daniel Meszaros is still in 2nd for saves with 9 despite being called up to Corpus Christi.

Jordan Lyles has the 4th most strike outs with 56.

Kyle Greenwalt is tied for 10th best WHIP with 1.06

Henry Villar is tied for the league lead in holds with 5.

Patrick Urckfitz is tied for 5th most holds with 4.

THE BAD

The Hitters:

Here are those who struggled in May:

Russell Dixon hit .065 in 13 games before being shipped out to extended spring training.

Phil Disher continues to struggle. He raised his batting average 6 points from April to .159 for May.

Frederico Hernadez saw his average slip from .264 in April to .231 in May but the bigger slide was his power numbers. His slugging dropped from .509 for April down to .295 in May.

This is where the Legends are stinking it up. They are last in hits (322), average (.227), stolen bases (27) and tied for last in triples (7) and on base percentage (.291). The Legends have the 2nd lowest OPS (.618). They have the 3rd fewest walks (111), the 3rd lowest slugging percentage (.324) and are tied for the 3rd most times caught stealing (27).

Those who have the shame of being listed among the leaders of the negative stats are:

Phil Disher has fanned 51 times which is the 2nd most in the league.

Jay Austin has been caught stealing 8 times which ties him for the most in the league.

Brandon Barnes has been caught stealing 5 times which ties him for 6th most in the league.

The Pitchers:

Brian Wabick’s ERA actual went down from 10. 61 in April to 6.52 for May. He had two outings in May where he gave up 3 or more runs in one inning of work.

Arcenio Leon saw his number jump in May. He went from a 2. 38 ERA in April to a 6.43 ERA in May. Opponents were hitting him at a .333 clip in May compared to a 0.081 in April.

Nothing too bad to report on the team as a whole. The Legends’ pitchers have only fanned 316 batters which is the second fewest in the league.

As for individuals:

Kyle Greenwalt, Ross Seaton & Jordan Lyles have all be listed as the losing pitcher 4 times. That ties them for 6th.

Greenewalt has also hit 6 batters which ties him for 5th most.

Seaton & Lyles have hit 5 batters which ties time for 10th most.

Lexington

Offensive Pitching in Corpus Christi

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

If your offense produced 31 runs in a 4 game series, you might win more than one game. Right? Not if you have the Hooks’ pitching. The Hooks surrendered 53 runs in the 4 game series, giving up double digits in the 3 games they lost. They gave up 8 in the one game they won. Here are some of the numbers from the starters for the series:

Brad James – 2 1/3 IP, 9 ER, 2 HR
Sergio Perez – 4 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 1 HR
Casey Hudspeth – 4 IP, 7 ER, 3 HR

It’s not that the bullpen was that much better. Here are some of their numbers from the weekend:

Wilton Lopez – 4 IP, 7 ER
Rob Semerano – 3 2/3 IP, 8 ER
T. J. Burton – 1 IP, 4 ER
Andy Van Hekken – 3 IP, 3 ER
Chris Salamida – 1 IP, 2 ER

The one bright spot from the weekend is Daniel Meszaros, who in 3 IP didn’t give up a single run. He has only give up 2 hits in his 5 IP since his promotion from Lexington up to Corpus Christi.

Brad James, Meszaros, Sergio Perez

The Scouting Life

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

John Kosciak, scout for the Houston Astros, was interviewed by his local paper. Kosciak is the amateur scout for the North East US and does some college scouting in warmer climates before baseball can be played in the New England, Ney York and Eastern Canada.

How many games does he watch? A bunch:

“They played the Big East-Big Ten challenge in Clearwater. They had several games going on at the same time,” said Kosciak. “There were days when I saw three games in the same day.”…

“I try to see a game every day,” he said. “Because a lot of night (amateur) baseball isn’t played in this area it’s tough to see more than one game in a day. Sometimes it’s possible to watch two games in a day during the weekend.”

How often does he see pro talent? Not as much:

“Sometimes you might go 3-4 days without seeing anyone who is a pro prospect. There are weeks when I might send in 5-6 reports on players, but that doesn’t happen all the time,” said Kosciak.

His opinion of baseball beauty pagents showcases for prospects:

The players have to pay a lot of money to attend the showcases. It makes it easier for me, but if a player is good he’ll be found. He doesn’t have to attend a showcase to be seen.”

His best contribution so far? Look at what Drew Locke is doing in Corpus Christi:

Los Angeles opted not to protect Drew Locke, a former Boston College standout who had played in its minor league system, ahead of last year’s Rule 5 Draft. Kosciak had originally signed Locke and recommended that he be selected by Houston in the minor league phase of the draft last December.

Lex Pitchers Highlighted By BA

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

Baseball America highlights a Legendary Staff in the daily dish today.

Here is what they said about the young pitchers on Lexington’s roster:

Ross Seaton:

He’s done a nice job so far. I think he’s a little bit more mature at his age than some of the other kids,” Lexington manager Tom Lawless said. “He’s got major league pitches, there’s no doubt about that. It’s just a matter of getting experience pitching, getting his 30 starts. He’s going to get bigger and he’s going to get stronger. He understands what he wants to do. He’s pretty close to being a professional right now.

Jordan Lyles:

He’s pretty much just like Ross (Seaton),” Lawless said. “He might be a little bit behind Ross with the maturity level, but he’s got a major league arm. He’s got a tremendous fastball and a good breaking ball.

“This is all new to him, too, a full year getting 25-30 starts. It’s just a process. I think he’ll be fine as the year goes on.”

Bono & Greenwalt:

“Both those guys bring a lot of energy to the game,” Lawless said. “They work fast. They throw strikes. The defense is going to play good behind them wherever they pitch because they work fast, get the ball and throw strikes. They have movement on their fastballs. They’re not afraid to challenge hitters. I think that’s a big thing today.”

Brad Dydalewicz:

He generates tremendous movement on his pitches, a low-90s fastball, a curveball and a changeup. His delivery needs some refining, but Lawless was impressed by how few good swings hitters had against him.

Bono, Dydalewicz, Greenwalt, Lyles, Seaton

Pitch Count? What Pitch Count

Posted on May 12, 2009 by Duman in From the Bus Stop

It looks like there is a new way of doing things in the Astros’ farm system. In the last week, Corpus Christi pitchers, Casey Hudspeth and Douglas Arguello have each thrown a 9 inning complete game. Prior to these two, a complete game had not been thrown by a Hooks pitcher in almost 2 years (Ronnie Martinez 6/9/07).

What has changed?

“I wanted to give him (starter Casey Hudspeth) a shot to complete his game,” Pujols said. “I believe that they’re not even looking at the dugout anymore. They’re just pitching until we take them out. And they know that. They see that we’ve already proved that if they pitch well enough to complete a game, they’re going to do it.”

To put it another way

“He (starter Douglas Arguello) finished the eighth pretty fresh,” Pujols said. “The thing this year is there are no (set) pitch counts. I felt he was throwing the ball pretty well and gave him a chance to finish the game.”

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