Chickens on the Run: Spokane Indians

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Saturday, July 31, 2010

7/31: Rangers Farm Report

The Newberg Report surpassed 9,000 subscribers yesterday. Thanks for reading. I’m assuming I still have a job despite the loss of so many minor leaguers. I can expand my focus if things get slow. Real estate trends. Russian history. How to properly saute Brussels sprouts.

Stars of the Day
AAA: Omar Beltre, Tanner Scheppers, Pedro Strop / Craig Gentry, Brandon Boggs
AA: Richard Bleier / Johnny Whittleman, Joey Butler
High-A: Cody Podraza, Jake Kaase, Mike Bianucci
Low-A: Jake Brigham, Ovispo de los Santos / Jared Bolden
Short-A: Andrew Doyle, Tim Stanford
Rookie: ugh

AAA: at Oklahoma City 4, Round Rock 1
Record: 57-48, +3.5

Texas didn’t trade its whole system; its AAA squad featured three pitchers who could help in September (or sooner). Omar Beltre (2.50 ERA) worked six innings on just 75 pitches and limited the Express to a run on two hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Tanner Scheppers threw 16 of 21 pitches for strikes in a two-innings, two-strikeout appearances. Pedro Strop fanned two in a clean 9th.

Brandon Boggs (pictured) was 2-3 with a double and walk. Craig Gentry reached on two HBPs and a walk.

AA: at Frisco 4, San Antonio 7
Record: 19-15, -1.0

To the disappointment of my attending sister and nephew, Frisco coughed up its 4-1 lead in the 8th.

Frisco suited up ten pitchers and 10 position players. CF Engel Beltre departed after hitting the outfield wall in the 1st, leaving the Riders with no bench. Reliever Tim Murphy can play an outfield corner (and did so in Bakersfield a while back), but if MIFs Marcus Lemon or Renny Osuna goes down, the alternatives are… interesting. Elio Sarmiento, second baseman?

Given the overuse of the bullpen lately, Richard Bleier (4.76 ERA) was the ideal starter, and he lasted 7.1 innings. A walk and hit batter ended his evening. Both would score, giving him three earned runs in total on eight hits, a walk, and four strikeouts. Tim Murphy allowed four runs on four hits including a three-run homer with two out after an Emerson Frostad error.

DH Johnny Whittleman drove in three on a single and double. He’s batting .233/.333/.383 since rejoining Frisco. Joey Butler singled and tripled.

Marcus Lemon has started 16 consecutive games at second base after spending most of the season in left or at DH. He’s batting 300/.347/.371 during that span but has committed five errors.

Frisco did in fact receive reliever Mark Hamburger yesterday. Texas acquired Hamburger for Eddie Guardado in 2008, and the 23-year-old has pitched very well in Bakersfield, compiling 49 strikeouts in 45.2 innings and a 1.77 ERA. Elizardo Ramirez also dropped down from AAA.

Kasey Kiker was shipped to Arizona and placed on the DL with shoulder fatigue.

High-A: Bakersfield 10, at Lancaster 5
Record: 23-12, +4.0

Thanks to an extremely unbalanced schedule, Bakersfield rarely visits Lancaster, one of the most hitter-friendly parks on the planet. Often, the wind blows out to center at 25 MPH or higher. In 2007, Lancaster and its opponents averaged 16.2 runs per game at home. That figure has fallen to 12.4 this season (in part because Lancaster’s offense is awful), but the park is still inflating scoring by 18%. I would rather Texas keep its affiliation with Bakersfield than play in Lancaster or High Desert. If you’ve wondered how Bakersfield can play offense-neutral despite a center-field wall a modest 356 feet from home plate, look to Lancaster.

The goal for pitchers is survival, and Wilfredo Boscan (4.13 ERA) survived last night. In seven innings, Boscan walked none, struck out eight, and allowed five runs on 11 hits.

DH Mike Bianucci (.249/.302/.407) went 3-5 with two doubles. LF Cody Podraza (.636 in three high-A games) collected two singles and a walk.

Low-A: at Hickory 3, Kannapolis 2
Record: 19-14, -3.0

Vin DiFazio singled home Jared Bolden in the 9th for the victory. Bolden’s two-run homer in the 6th had erased a 2-0 deficit. SS Jonathan Roof (.282/.317/.282) was 2-3.

Jake Brigham (4.21 ERA) fanned three in a seven-inning, 97-pitch outing. He allowed two runs on five this and a walk. Ovispo de los Santos threw two perfect frames with three strikeouts.

Short-A: Spokane 1, at Eugene 2
Record: 1-2

Spokane four-hit the Emeralds to no avail. Starter Andrew Doyle yielded an unearned run in four innings on two hits and two strikeouts. Tim Stanford fanned two in two innings. Colby Killian (2.63 ERA) allowed one hit and struck out three in two innings, but his two-error 7th helped to pushed Eugene’s go-ahead run across in the 7th.

CF Jake Skole (.281/.350/.360) went 2-4 and scored Spokane’s run.

Rookie: Rangers 0, Brewers 14
Record: 15-16, -6.5

Yipes. Shawn Blackwell couldn’t escape the 1st (0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 R), and Korean import Tae-Kyung Ahn can’t find the plate (0.2 IP, 4 BB, 11 walks in 4 IP this season). Edward Alfonzo made a successful professional debut as a pitcher (1 IP, 0 R) after converting from the outfield. Richard Alvarez (1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB) pitched for the first time in three weeks.

DH Drew Robinson (.286/.415/.364) had two of the team’s five hits.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Mike Ballard
AA: Maybe Elizardo Ramirez, who threw two innings three days ago. Or, as I tweeted yesterday, Frisco will have three folks throw ceremonial first pitches, and the one with the best velocity joins the rotation.
High-A: Carlos Pimentel
Low-A: Braden Tullis
Short-A: Randol Rojas
Rookie: Ezequiel Rijo
-Scott Lucas

Friday, July 23, 2010

7/23: Rangers Farm Report

Stars of the Day
AAA: Guillermo Moscoso / Mitch Moreland, Jarrod Saltalamacchia, Ryan Garko, Matt Brown
AA: Martin Perez, Tim Murphy, Evan Reed / Emerson Frostad, Andy Jenkins
High-A: Jonathan Greene, Chris Gradoville
Low-A: Joseph Ortiz / Vin Difazio, Guillermo Pimentel
Short-A: Ben Rowen, Justin Earls, Francisco Mendoza / Santiago Chirino

AAA: Oklahoma City 8, at Iowa 4
Record: 53-44, +2.0

Playing first base for the 7th consecutive game, Mitch Moreland singled twice and drew two walks. Since the beginning of May, Moreland is batting .313/.401/.504 with exactly 40 walks and 40 strikeouts.

Jarrod Saltalamacchia (.258/.333/.435 in July) walked and clubbed his 10th homer. DH Ryan Garko doubled twice and drove in four.

Guillermo Moscoso (4.52 ERA) had his best outing in several weeks, completing seven innings in a reasonable 91 pitches and allowing three earned runs on six hits, two walks, and five strikeouts. Clay Rapada and Pedro Strop threw scoreless frames.

AA: Frisco 3, at San Antonio 2
Record: 17-9, +3.0

In front of a boisterous, Dollar Beer Night crowd of 7,000 plus some nerd with a camera and notepad, Martin Perez and his pals held off a late charge by the Missions.

Perez’s fastball ranged from 88-94 MPH in the early innings and 90-96 later on; the vast majority were between 90 and 94. Particularly against lefties, Perez continuously pounded the low-outside corner. Lefties were 1-13 against him with only one fly ball and both of his two strikeouts. 61 of the 84 pitches I charted (I missed three – hard to take pictures and write simultaneously) were fastballs, and 72% of those went for strikes.

Perez’s curve (73-79 MPH) and change (81-84) were very impressive, if only intermittently so. He concentrated on the curve early and mixed in more changes in the 6th and 7th. Perez lost his curve in the 5th, missing (mostly low) on six in a row at one point. Until then, he’d avoided the deep counts that have plagued him much of the season. Though four innings, he’d thrown only 46 pitches. He would need another 41 to get the next seven outs.

Through the first out of the 7th, Perez had allowed only two hits and a walk. Alas, following a single on a fastball that caught too much of the plate, his 87th and final pitch was a badly hung changeup that AAA veteran Christian Colonel deposited on the berm past the left-center fence. Still, on the whole Perez was dominant, mixing his pitches effectively and hitting his spots.

Tim Murphy fanned three in one inning with an intriguing “five-eighths” delivery (it’s not a straight sidearm, but I wouldn’t call it 3/4ths, either) that swept the ball across the plate far from the first-base side. His fastball began in the upper 80s and finished at 92, and two of the strikeouts came on swings at diving sliders. Murphy was no more than sporadically effective in Bakersfield (strong ground-fly ratio, terrible walk rate) but justified the promotion last night. Evan Reed was Evan Reed. He pitched the last 1.2 innings with a heavy diet of 92-94 MPH fastballs and (by my count) only one slider.

DH Emerson Frostad singled and tripled, and Andy Jenkins reached on a single, double, and walk. Marcus Lemon singled twice, the first one a nice “take what they give you” slap up the middle to drive in the first run. He was also picked off first and committed two errors at second.

Engel Beltre (0-5) mimicked his MLB Network appearance from a few weeks ago, constantly beating the ball into the grass in front of the plate.

A scout behind me in the stands was very high on Josh Lueke. Very, very, very high. He thinks Lueke will find a cure for the common cold when he’s done with his Hall of Fame baseball career.

High-A: Bakersfield 13, at Rancho Cucamonga 6
Record: 17-11, +1.0

Joe Wieland’s less than excellent adventure through the Cal League continued with a nightmare in Rancho Cucamonga. Wieland allowed two homers, eight other hits, and nine runs in 6.1 innings. He walked one and struck out four. His ability to whiff batters and avoid walks remains very impressive in the face of five successive pastings. So, give him a pass on that 9.35 ERA for now. He’s more likely to come around than not.

Yoon-Hee Nam (5.01 ERA) endured a triple-homer-homer sequence while allowing five runs in 1.2 innings.

3B Jonathan Greene homered for the third time in two games and added a single. 1B Chris Gradoville went 305 with a double and homer.

Low-A: at Hickory 7, Delmarva 5
Record: 15-12, -0.5

A couple of two-run homers ruined Braden Tullis’s evening. He allowed one more run and four additional hits over five innings, walked none, and struck out two. Tullis (2.51 ERA) had permitted only run in his three previous starts. Joseph Ortiz (1.42 ERA) struck out eight in 3.2 innings. Ortiz has faced 101 batters this season and fanned 38. That is, to use the baseball term, “impressive.”

As an informed source told me, “Delmarva keeps throwing Guillermo Pimentel fastballs, and he keeps hitting them.” The 20-year-old Pimentel (.333/.404/.378) went 3-4, stole a base and drove in two. His promotion to Hickory was certainly a surprise to me, but, so far, so good. Vin DiFazio (.261/.366/.523) walked and hit a two-run homer, his 8th.

Short-A: at Spokane 0, Yakima 2
Record: 18-15, -0.5, Elimination Number 5

2B Santiago Chirino’s two hits and a walk highlighted an ugly night for the Indian offense. Jurickson Profar is hitless in his last 20 at-bats.

Ben Henry (3.00 ERA) allowed only two runs in four innings despite allowing eight hits (including a homer) and a walk. He struck out five. Ben Rowen (2.1 IP, 4 SO), Justin Earls (1.2 IP, 3 SO), and Francisco Mendoza (1 IP, 3 SO) shut down the Bears for the duration.

Yakima and Spokane are a combined 3-for-47 with runners in scoring position the last two nights.

Rookie: Rangers off

Derek Holland is expected to pitch with the rookies tonight.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Michael Kirkman
AA: Michael Schlact
High-A: Robbie Ross
Low-A: Robbie Erlin
Short-A: Chad Bell
Rookie: Holland or perhaps Denny Peralta

Scott Lucas

Happy 4th birthday, James!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

7/20: Rangers Farm Report

Stars of the Day
AAA: Omar Beltre, Willie Eyre / Max Ramirez
AA: Tanner Roark, Evan Reed / Joey Butler
High-A: Mark Hamburger / Chris Gradoville, Tommy Mendonca
Short-A: Jared Hoying, Michael Olt, Josh Richmond, Santiago Chirino, Ryan Strausborger
Rookie: Chris Hanna / Travis Meiners, Christian Villanueva, Drew Robinson, Johnathan Moore

AAA: Oklahoma City 8, at Iowa 0
Record: 52-41, +3.5

Different city, same result. Having won the home closer of the series with Iowa 17-6, the Redhawks bussed to Des Moines and scored five in the 1st plus two more in the 2nd off one Thomas Diamond, who ranked 3rd in the league in ERA entering the contest. Three years after Tommy John surgery, Diamond is finally pitching well in AAA, but yesterday he was the aggravator of old, burning through 115 pitches and walking five in four innings.

With the bases loaded, Max Ramirez deposited a Diamond pitch over the fence for his first homer in 22 AAA games. Ramirez (.278/.359/.380) later singled. 1B Mitch Moreland singled and walked, and Jarrod Saltalamacchia hit his second triple in two days.

Three Redhawks combined on a one-hitter. Omar Beltre (2.08 ERA) allowed a Micah Hoffpauir double in the 4th and struck out four in five innings. He wasn’t terribly efficient, averaging 17 pitches per inning and walking three. Willie Eyre fanned four in three perfect innings.

AA: Frisco 5, at San Antonio 2
Record: 16-7, +4.0

Tanner Roark (4.18 ERA) struck out four and walked three while shutting down the Missions for 5.2 innings. Evan Reed (1.49 ERA) tossed a scoreless 8th and 9th. Tim Murphy fanned two in 1.1 innings. To date, he’s pitched better in Frisco than Bakersfield.

RF Joey Butler doubled twice and walked. 1B Johnny Whittleman went 2-3 with a walk and double and is batting .318/.423/.545 since returning to Frisco. Engel Beltre tripled.
Taylor Teagarden (.243/.332/.359) added another golden sombrero to his collection.

High-A: at Bakersfield 8, Visalia 6
Record: 16-9, +2.0

Bakersfield and Wilfredo Boscan recovered from a 1st inning 4-0 deficit. Boscan (4.25 ERA) gave up two walks, two singles, and two homers in the opening frame, after which he allowed three baserunners in four innings. He struck out five. Mark Hamburger struck out the side in the 9th.

The Blaze didn’t tally an extra-base hit but drew six walks and two HBPs. DH Chris Gradoville went 4-5, and 3B Tommy Mendonca (.237/.323/.339) reached on two walks and an HBP. Mendonca isn’t far from having a higher OBP than slugging percentage, a situation I would never have envisioned entering the season.

Low-A: Hickory off

I’ve developed a bad habit of listing the upcoming starter regardless of whether the team is actually playing that day. So, definitely today, Matt Thompson.

Short-A: Spokane 10, at Boise 11
Record: 17-13, +0.5

Spokane again let a large lead devolve into a nailbiter, this time with dire results. Down 10-4 after the 5th, Boise scored in all of the last four innings including three in the 9th. Reliever Ryan Rodebaugh gave up two runs in the 8th, then began the 9th with two singles and a walk. Replacement Kevin Johnson proceeded to issue three bases-loaded walks. Johnson’s ERA remains a healthy 1.74, but he’s walked 12 in just 10.1 innings.

Miguel de los Santos (2.00 ERA) struck out six in five innings but gave up four runs on four hits and two walks. Francisco Mendoza allowed seven hits in two innings but escaped with only two runs on his ledger.

3B Michael Olt went 3-4 with a walk; after a slow start, he’s hitting /324/.432/.559 in July. RF Josh Richmond singled and drew four walks. LF Jared Hoying walked and clubbed his third homer and second in two days.

2B Santiago Chirino went 2-4 with a walk and his first steal, and DH Ryan Strausborger singled, tripled, and stole his sixth base. Failing to join the party was SS Jurickson Profar, who went 0-6 with two strikeouts and committed his 4th error.

Rookie: Rangers 11, Giants 10
Record: 12-11, -1.0

Christian Villanueva drove in five on a three-run homer (his second), a double and single. The 19-year-old from Mexico is shredding the complex league (.342/.405/.526). RF Travis Meiners went 2-3 with a walk. 2B Drew Robinson reached on two walks and a single, and Johnathan Moore was 3-4 with a double.

Shawn Blackwell (3.94 ERA) was not at his best, giving up five runs in four innings on four hits (including two homers), a walk and two strikeouts. Chris Hanna delivered two scoreless frames with two Ks.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Mathis / Ramirez
AA: Richard Bleier
High-A: Carlos Pimentel
Low-A: Matt Thompson
Short-A: Randol Rojas
Rookie: Ezequiel Rijo
Scott Lucas

Monday, July 19, 2010

7/19: Rangers Farm Report

Blake Beavan struggled in his first start in the Seattle system on Saturday. Still in AA, Beavan walked only one in four innings but burned through 83 pitches and allowed five runs. Michael Main takes the mound tonight.

Stars of the Day
AAA: Michael Kirkman / The Offense
AA: Michael Schlact
High-A: Robbie Ross, Trevor Hurley / David Paisano, Miguel Velazquez
Low-A: Jake Brigham / Travis Adair, Jared Bolden
Short-A: Jurickson Profar, Jared Hoying, Michael Olt
Rookie: Denny Peralta, Alexander Claudio / Jhonny Gomez

AAA: at Oklahoma City 17, Iowa 6
Record: 51-41, +3.5

Having already taken a 6-1 lead through three innings, OKC sent 13 men to the plate and scored eight in the 4th. Craig Gentry (.323/.396/.455) and Jarrod Saltalamacchia both had four of OKC’s 20 hits. Saltalamacchia, in fact, would have hit for the cycle if not for his home run being ruled foul after an umpire’s conference. Corner outfielders Brandon Boggs (.281/.405/.458) and Hernan Iribarren went 3-5 with a double and walk.

In the face of several lengthy waits while his offense scored at will, Michael Kirkman (3.25 ERA) lasted seven innings and allowed three runs on six hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. Kirkman is tied with Thomas Diamond for the league lead in strikeouts with 92 and is 8th in ERA. Cody Eppley gave up three runs in the 9th to see his ERA in OKC balloon to 6.75.

Infielder Matt Camp pitched the 7th and 8th for the I-Cubs. As best as I can tell, he hasn’t taken the mound since high school. He ran his fastball up to 88 and allowed just one run on two hits and two walks. He even struck out a couple. Not bad.

The teams head to Des Moines for five games in four days.

AA: at Frisco 1, Corpus Christi 2
Record: 53-38 overall

Post-surgery Michael Schlact threw well once again, limiting the Hooks to a hit and walk while fanning four in six innings. Corpus Christi tallied runs off reliever Ben Snyder in the 7th and 8th. With OKC hoarding the available supply of offense, Frisco managed only five baserunners. Engel Beltre (.352/.403/.481) hit an RBI single and gunned down a runner at the plate.

High-A: at Bakersfield 7, Visalia 4
Record: 44-50 overall

Robbie Ross showed his 2009 form by generating plenty of grounders and strikeouts. Ross fanned eight and (similarly to Joe Wieland the day before) allowed only four of 20 balls in play to reach the outfield by air. In seven innings, Ross (2.38 ERA) yielded four runs (just one earned) on six hits and a walk. Errors by 1B Jonathan Greene and catcher Jose Felix plus Ross’s own wild pitch resulted in the unearned runs. Trevor Hurley (1.35 ERA) earned a two-inning save, his first in Bakersfield.

Leadoff hitter David Paisano (.289/.347/.372) singled twice and walked, and RF Miguel Velazquez (.288/.325/.411) went 3-4 with a double. Felix drove in three of a couple of singles and a sac fly.

Low-A: Hickory 6, at Lexington 1
Record: 53-41 overall

Jake Brigham utterly refudiated the Legends in throwing a rare low-A complete game. Brigham isn’t striking out many batters in the Sally League (7 in 27 innings) but has reestablished his control. He walked one, struck out four, and gave up three hits.

Travis Adair ran his hit streak to 11 games with two doubles. He’s batting .380/.415/.520 during that span. Jared Bolden hit a two-run homer. Jonathan Roof is batting .308 but has committed three errors in three games.

Short-A: Spokane 12, at Boise 11
Record: 17-12, +1.5

Once down 9-3, the Hawks put the tying run on third in the 9th before finally succumbing. Four errors and six stolen bases allowed certainly didn’t help their cause. Jurickson Profar (.282/.319/.391) connected on three singles and stole two of those bases. Not that he hit any yesterday, but Profar’s nine doubles are fourth-most in the league.

3B Michael Olt doubled twice, and Jared Hoying went 2-5 with a three-run homer, his second. 1B Andrew Clark (.326/.432/.402) was 3-4 with a walk. Jake Skole (.245/.317/.302) singled, walked, and stole his first base.

Starter Chad Bell (3.86 ERA) allowed eight hits and three runs in 5.2 innings but didn’t walk anyone and usually kept the ball on the ground. He struck out three. Brett Weibley took one on the chin (2 IP, 6 R).

Spokane is 16-5 since its 1-7 start and leads Boise by 1.5 games with nine to play in the new split-season format.

Rookie: Rangers 0, Giants 3
Record: 11-11, -1.0

Denny Peralta (6.94 ERA) struck out seven in five innings, walked none, and gave up a couple of runs on five hits. Jhonny Gomez’s double and single were the offensive highlights.

Today’s Starters
AAA: Omar Beltre
AA: Tanner Roark
High-A: Wilfredo Boscan
Low-A: Matt Thompson
Short-A: Miguel de los Santos
Rookie: Shawn Blackwell (really this time)
Scott Lucas

Monday, June 14, 2010

Spokane Indians 2010 Roster

The Spokane Indians have announced the Opening Day roster. One Mr. Profar is among them:

2010 Picks:

LHP Justin Earls (31st round)
LHP Kevin Johnson (42nd)
RHP Colby Killian (41st)
RHP Zach Osborne (9th)
RHP Ryan Rodebaugh (15th)
RHP Ben Rowen (22nd)

C Carson Vitale (38th)
1B Andrew Clark (13th)
2B Jonathan Roof (8th)
IF Kevin Rodland (34th)

OF Jared Hoying (10th)
OF Jason Kudlock (36th)
OF Ryan Strausborger (16th)

Promoted Players (2009 location in parentheses):

LHP Miguel de los Santos (Dominican Summer League, plus a few 2010 innings in Hickory)
RHP Ovispo de los Santos (rookie ball)
RHP Francisco Mendoza (DSL)
RHP Nick McBride (’09 pick, no experience)
RHP Denny Peralta (rookie)
RHP Randol Rojas (DSL)
RHP Tim Stanford (DSL)
RHP Johan Yan (rookie)

C Yefry Castillo (DSL)
C Kevin Torres (rookie)
2B Alejandro Selen (rookie)
SS Jurickson Profar (no experience)

OF Guillermo Pimentel (rookie)

Returning Players:

RHP Sam Brown
RHP Ben Henry

1B Clark Murphy
IF Daniel Lima (saw a little of Bakersfield in 2010)

Play begins Friday at Tri-City.

By Scott Lucas

Thursday, April 08, 2010

Understanding Minor League Baseball

In For A Round Of Overexposure

The minor leagues begin today. For the next five months, you’ll receive my daily recaps and commentary covering a total of 694 games (weather permitting). First, I’d like to offer a few thoughts that might aid your understanding and enjoyment of the games themselves and my reports:

Winning Isn’t Everything

Despite having one of the best farms in baseball in 2009, Texas’s US-based minor-league teams finished 13 games below .500. Last summer, I found zero statistical correlation between Baseball America’s organizational rankings and each MLB team’s aggregate minor-league winning percentage. Texas certainly wants its minor leaguers to win, but it also challenges its prospects more than many teams. Year after year, the Rangers tend to have younger-than-average teams at every level of the minors. Martin Perez will be the youngest player in the Texas League, and grizzled veteran Blake Beavan is still among the youngest five.

Sometimes a large disconnection exists between a minor-league team’s record and the quality of its prospects. Pitchers with at least 40 innings on the 2005 Frisco RoughRiders include current Major Leaguers C.J. Wilson, Scott Feldman, John Danks, Edinson Volquez, Nick Masset, and Jesse Chavez, plus Wes Littleton, Josh Rupe, and A.J. Murray. Those Riders finished last in the league at 58-82.

That said, I don’t want to gloss over the disappointments. Last year’s young but promising Hickory squad finished 63-76, and several prospects had unsatisfying seasons. The defense as a whole was terrible, and not just because it led the Sally League in errors.

Defense

It’s worse in the minors. Sometimes, much worse, as displayed in this chart (mistakes). Don’t worry, it’s work-safe. In fact, leave it up. Your boss will think you’re being productive. Here’s the average number of “mistakes” (errors, wild pitches, passed balls, HBPs) made by each team at each level of professional baseball last year:

American (MLB) – 1.4

Pacific Coast (AAA) – 1.7

Texas (AA) – 2.1

California (high-A) – 2.5

South Atlantic (low-A) – 2.7

Northwest (short-A) – 3.1

Arizona (rookie) – 4.1

That table doesn’t tell the whole story. At the lower levels you’ll witness many more overthrown cutoffs, ill-advised attempts to gun down the lead runner, and misplayed balls that don’t count as errors. I’m not suggesting that the Bakersfield Blaze are bumbling around like your Tuesday-night softball team, but the difference in precision at that level versus the Majors is immense.

Intentional Walks

They’re rare in the minors, exceedingly so at the lower levels. In 2009, the American League averaged 29 IBBs per team; the low-A South Atlantic League (home of the Crawdads) averaged nine. Texas’s rookie and short-A staffs didn’t issue a single intentional pass last year. Sluggers will get pitched around in critical situations, but rarely will they be outright gifted first base.

Saturday, April 03, 2010

4/03: Rangers Farm Report

By Scott Lucas

The Rangers ended Spring Training Thursday, and every player knows where he’s headed. I, however, do not. Not all of them, anyway. Alas, the Newberg Report isn’t in the habit of jumping press releases, so you’ll just have to sit tight. In the meantime, I can tantalize you with more information and guesswork.

Various news reports placed lefty Michael Kirkman’s assignment at Frisco, as I mentioned Tuesday, but the official site has him in AAA Oklahoma City. Despite middling results in AA last year, he’s capable of handling the promotion. He’s completed his resurrection from an injury-plagued 75-inning stretch of 2006-2007 during which opponents reached safely at an astounding .464 pace.

Officially optioned to Oklahoma City are pitchers Derek Holland, Kirkman, Brandon McCarthy and Pedro Strop, catcher Max Ramirez, infielder Hernan Iribarren, and outfielders Brandon Boggs and Craig Gentry. Optioned to Frisco are pitchers Omar Beltre (bound for OKC, actually), Alexi Ogando, the injured Omar Poveda, and Zach Phillips.

OKC’s front five on the mound appear to be Holland, McCarthy, Kirkman, Mike Ballard, and… Guillermo Moscoso, unless Texas wants to keep him as a reliever for later use in Arlington? Kasey Kiker, unless Texas decides he needs a little more time in Frisco? Door Number Three? We’ll see.

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Minor League Rotations (And Bullpens) Take Shape

The Rangers tend to announce their minor-league rosters later than most teams. Last year’s games began on April 9th, and the rosters weren’t publicized until the 6th and 7th. However, with some early assignments, local reports, and educated guesswork on my part, we can flesh out the rotations and some of the bullpens:

Derek Holland and Brandon McCarthy are already assigned to AAA Oklahoma City and will be in the rotation. A local report has 2006 14th-rounder Mike Ballard joining them. Ballard, as you might recall, came within inches of making his Major League debut in 2008 when Texas had no starter lined up for a July game. Instead, the Rangers used a committee headed by reliever Warner Madrigal, himself making just in fourth big-league appearance. Ballard’s AAA record is spotty; his excellent control has been betrayed by too many hits and too many homers.

I’ve already penciled lefty Kasey Kiker into Oklahoma City’s rotation, but no announcement has been made. If assigned to Frisco, his term there should be brief. Kiker is the rare player with a precisely steady rate of advancement, spending exactly one season on each rung on the organizational ladder since being drafted in 2006. If his future points to relief, he really needs to shut down lefties. So far, results are mixed. Kiker held lefties to a .178 average and homerless .244 slugging percentage in 2009, but he also gifted them 200 points of on-base percentage in walks and HBPs. The remaining spot probably belongs to Doug Mathis or Guillermo Moscoso, both of whom are fighting with Rule 5 pick Ben Snyder and non-roster invite Willie Eyre for the final spot in the Texas bullpen. Elizardo Ramirez will fill a swing role.