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.

It was the worst of times. That about sums it up. The Legends finished 45-93 for the season. That is the worst record of any full season professional team in America. The Astros and the Legends have extended their development contract for two more years in August. I guess the folks in Lexington might have mixed feelings if that is good or bad.

Although (Legends President Alan)Stein noted that attendance (people in seats) was down by only 3.5 percent, and that the Legends’ research indicated that only about 15 percent of fans care about winning, he made a point of speaking about a return to championship contention some day.

When asked why he made an issue of winning if the fans don’t care, Stein smiled and said, “Because I care.”

So for the 15% who care, here are the numbers and rankings for the 2008 version of the Legends.Read More

The Legends have climbed out our the cellar to 18-27 in the second half. They are in 6th out of 8 teams in the Northern half of the Sally League.

The Good:

The Hitters

There is not much good at the plate going on for the Legends. Their highest rankings out of the 16 team South Atlantic League is a tie for 4th in triples (28) and 5th place in HR (87). They are also in the top third of teams in stolen bases (124). They are tied for the second fewest caught stealings (29).

Brian Pellegrini’s 20 home runs put him tied for 2nd in the league. He would be tied for the top spot in slugging but he doesn’t have enough at bats to qualify.
Read More

At the end of each month, I will capture the good & bad of each farm team based on their standings in league stats. Lexington leads us off. At 8-16, they are currently at the bottom of the Sally North. All stats through Sunday 4/27. Rankings listed are out of the 16 teams in the South Atl. League.

The Good:

Hitters

Lexington as a team ranks 3rd in homers (20), 5th in average (.250) and slugging (.391). They are also tied for 3rd fewest times caught stealing (7).Read More