In another winning month for the Bags, it was another month that slightly got worse than the last percentage wise. The Bags finished the month of June with a 16-11 record, in what was their hardest month of the year schedule wise. It included series with Boston, New Orleans, Toronto, and Greenville twice. The Bags finish the month 3 games back of the division leading Greenville 84's and 1/2 game behind the Chicago Machine. Going into July the Bags are 52-30.
Players of the Month
MR Jose "Dog Pound" Gomes: 15.2 IP, 3-0, 15 K, 6H, 8 BB. For the 2nd straight month Gomes did not allow a run to score on his watch. He extended his scoreless streak to 38.2 IP which is over 31 appearances. Any concern that the bullpen would take a step down with the loss of Daniel Morris can be put to rest.
OF Peter Larson: .337/.442/.533 2 HR, 13 RBI, 31 hits, 19 BB. Peter Larson returned to the on-base machine we all know and love during June. He was on base an astonishing 50 times, good for 44% of his AB. If the Bags are going to compete they are going to need for players at the top of the order to be one base for the big boys.
OF Sergio Rodriguez: .322/.400/.655 6 HR, 18 RBI, 19 runs. Sergio was a nice surprise after injuries pushed him into an every day starting role. He led the team in RBI for most of the month until Doyle passed him on the last day of the month. The guy just does what he is asked. He played great defense and even stole 2 bases.
Roster Changes, Questions and Answers:
A couple of injuries really dictated the moves this month. On back to back days both OF Al Ryan and OF Jose Ortiz went down with muscle strains. Both of them were diagnosed and guessed to be out around a month apiece. Taro Kino and Ken Taylor were both called up to take over and have split the little time they have played in. There has been talk about super SP prospect Jose Ramos being called up to make a few starts in the rotation. If this does indeed it happen it will go against Swain's earlier statement claiming he would not being seen until Spring Training of next season.
Minor Leaguers of the Month
3rd official installment of MLOTM here at the Bag Report to recognize the top minor leaguer player in the Jersey Shore system for June. Last month's were MR Yin-Zhen Zong and SS Lawrence Schroeder.
Pitcher:
Jesus Zapata (AA): 3-1, 1.27 ERA, 35.1 IP, 39 K, 0.96 WHIP. The 20 year Zapata lit up AA in his 5 starts which included 21 straight innings without giving up an ER. He has really picked up the strikeout this season averaging almost 8 per 9 innings. He was signed to a MLC by the Bags in March of 2013 after being released by Greenville.
Hitter:
OF Taro Kino: .368/.439/.621. 32 hits, 6 HR, 28 RBI. 28 year old Kino lit up AAA pitching and continues to be a powerful bat for AAA Tuscaloosa. He led the entire organization with his 28 RBI and his hot month is what dictated his promotion to Jersey Shore, where he hit 1 for 8 in 2 games. If he keeps up his torrid hitting in AAA, the Bags will have to find a roster spot for him.
GO D-BAGS
If you ask 22 year old Richard Coker how he got where he is today he might not be able to give you an answer right away. The Boston, Massachusetts native was your typical kid growing up in the suburbs who played sports year round mixed in with the usual trouble making teenagers like to do. It was apparent when he was just a young teenager that the kid was athletically gifted. He led his Little Guy football team when he was just the age of 12 to the state title in a passing attack that is rare to that level. The kid was big and he could throw. He wasn't the fleetest of foot, but already grown to 5'9" as a 14 year old, he was among the biggest kids in the class when he entered High School.
"At that time I had one dream to play Pro Football. My idol was and still is Tom Brady and I love the Patroits. The only problem was I grew too fast. I was the biggest kid when I was 12 and each year after the kids caught up a little bit. By the time I started my senior year I stood 5'11" and weighed 180 and I was pretty average." Coker talked to a lot of recruiters during his senior year which he led the Butler High Golden Tornados to a 9-2 record and a state semi-final appearance. "I wanted Boston College, Notre Dame, Rutgers, but it was always the same answer, too small kid. It was a let down. Football was my game, and pretty much my life up until that point."
In the early Spring his buddy convinced him to try out for the baseball team, a sport he hadn't played since little league. "It's not that I didn't like baseball, but I had football in the fall, basketball in the winter and spring and by the time the earliest summer months hit I was in football camps, there just wasn't much time for baseball." Being naturally gifted he picked the game back up fairly quickly.
Though his swing didn't produce much power, it was natural and making contact wasn't a problem for him. He made the team and coach put him at first base where it seemed he had played there his entire life. "The kid was a defensive whiz at 1B. Scooping, diving, stretching he was everywhere. We eventually moved him to 3B where he wasn't quite as good, but he certainly had the arm for it." Coker attributes his quickness to the football field. "As a QB you only have so many seconds before you know you are getting crushed. At 3B you have to react so quickly to the ball that I was just use to it."
Coker played in 27 of the teams 40 games and surprised everyone by hitting .341 and having a knack for getting on base by also walking 21 times. He became a staple at hitting 3rd and playing 3rd on a nightly basis. The Golden Tornadoes finished the season 15-25, missed the playoffs but Coker and 2B Vincente Ventura continued to hit in the cage. Coker was surprised when he got a call from an agent in June telling him that there was a good chance he was to be taken in the BSA amateur draft in the next month. At the time Coker had planned on going to school and being a 2 sport athlete, but the idea of being drafted excited him.
To most people's surprise on July 1, 2013 the Jersey Shore D-Bags selected Coker 20th overall in the 1st round of the draft. "I went from wanting to play football the year before, to being a first round draft pick in baseball, it was unreal, but way cool," said Coker on draft day. Jersey saw potential. "The kid was raw, but you could see he had skills. We had his contact as way above average, he had that stroke that could get the ball to the gap, he rarely struck out and making of a good eye and not to mention not too shabby at defense. We knew it would take some time, but when you draft in the last part of the 1st round taking a risk isn't a bad thing," GM Josh Swain told us recently.
Coker joined A ball Manhattan and looked raw in his first season. He hit just .224, walked only 12 times in 220+ plate appearances and struck out at a 19% clip. "We expected struggles. He didn't take to the struggling very well to no surprise though. Those natural athletes are use to succeeding as kids and into High School, first year of professional life can be tough."
He played in just 14 Manhattan games in 2014 before being promoted to AA Gainsville. He hit .320, had an OBP of .370 but the strike outs were still troubling. 20 in 70 plate appearances. In fact he had more strike outs than he made regular outs, but yet he was still called up. "We had an influx of talent at A and we were lacking bodies in AA. I probably called him up too soon, but he could hit. I guess call it more of a challenge if anything."
The rest of 2014 was a struggle. AA was hard. Coker played in 100 games, hitting .209, striking out 94 times. He fell off the D-Bags top 20 prospect list and was disappointed In 2014 he met Lawrence Schroeder whom the D-Bags drafted in the amateur draft out of Virginia that year and the two playing on the same side of the IF instantly become friends. "Schroeder helped. He was always up beat, always telling me to keep my head up. Helps having a friend."
In baseball and in life, sometimes things just start clicking, and after a slow April and May that's what happened for Coker in the summer of 2015. Coker, Dave Dodd and Fransisco Torres led the offense to a Gainesville record 88 wins, a big upgrade over the 43 they won the year before. Coker ended up hitting .301/.350/.419 with a career high 9 HR and 26 2B. While his strikeout rate was still high he was improving. In 2014 he walked once for every 5.22 K's. In 2015 it had improved to 1 in every 3.36. There was hope yet again for the then 21 year old.
Hoping for a promotion in 2015, Jersey sent Coker back to AA for the season. If Jersey was looking for improvment they have found some thus far. Though his average only sits at 280, he is on pace for less K's and almost double the walks he took last season, which is exactly what Jersey wanted to see. They still see him as a potential starter in the IF at the major league level. He has been in the system for almost 4 years and he is still only 22, the beauty of drafting out of high school.
There's no telling if there is a time table for Coker. They have rushed him, they have held him back. We might see him in AAA later this year, maybe it will be next year, but the potential is there. Should we expect anything else out of a 1st round D-Bags draft pick?
Follow Coker on his way to the bigs and the D-Bags push for their 2nd straight playoff appearance!
GO D-BAGS
The 2010 amateur draft took place September 1st, 2010 towards the end of the then VBL6's 1st season in existence. A lot of people like to put grades on drafts the minute they happen, but taking a 6 year window and looking back is a much better way to grade. As we are just a month away from the 2016 amateur draft, let's look back at that 2010 draft, see all the potential that has come out, find our busts, steals and overall....let's see what happened. The 2010 draft is FILLED with hitters who are scattered all over the BSA.
First off, there was ALOT of talent taken in our first amateur draft, many of today's stars came right here out of that draft. Where else to start but #1 overall. The then Eugene franchise, who is now Reno, selected SP Tommy Connare, who did have extreme upside. He never did learn a dominant 3rd pitch and has had up and downs as a SP, who is now a main cog in the Los Cabos bullpen. Not a bust, but didn't live up to #1 pick hype.
The first hitter taken, and the #2 pick in the draft was Mr. John Doby by Vista, and he is still with the team. At times Doby has been dominant posting career numbers of .291/.407/.488. Doby's problems have been injuries and staying on the field though. In 4+ BSA seasons the most games he has played in a season is 127.
Now look break down that first round and find the steal and bust of the round.
The hitter steal of the first round falls to Jersey at 21 in 2B Mike Bryant. Bryant is a 2 time All Star, has finished 2nd in MVP voting 2 seasons in a row. He leads all players in the draft class in HR, RBI, BA, SLG and OPS.
For every steal there is a bust, and unfortunately for Jacksonville that pick came at pick 6. Chris Dawson a powerful 1B out of UNC looked to be at the time a cornerstone at 1B for Jacksonville for the next 12-15 years, but after 3 years in the minors he was traded to Baffin where he would play AAA ball until last year before seeing some action. While he still has talent, at 28 years old with only 6 HR and 21 RBI to his BSA career, at this point he is my first round bust of a hitter.
Other players of note drafted in the first round include OF Carlos Perez (3rd), OF Stu Wilson (8th), C Bryan Sandstrom (9th), OF Al Burrill (11th), OF Antonio Sanchez (17th), IF Tom Jacobson (18th), 3B Luis Alou (19th), OF Rocky Anderson (22nd), and OF Porter Standford (28th).
On the pitching side of things things were a little bit more clouded. Even though Cy Young winner Steve Haynes was picked at #10, my steal of the first round is SP Greg Casey, pick 24, by San Fransisco. The flame thrower spent his first big league season notching 34 saves as the SF closer before being moved to a starter and eventually traded to Hendersonville. Haynes and Casey have matching career records of 44-37.
As for the bust for pitching in the first round, my pick is Rob King, pick 12, by then Somerton out of the Univ. of Georgia. King never became that front line starter Somerton had envisioned and didn't make the big league club until 2013 with New orleans, going 0-6 in 11 starts with an ERA of 7.11. He now pitches in the Toronto Titan's system at the A ball level.
Other pitchers of note in the first round include: Richard White (4th) and Ross Holley (7th).
Drafts are not won in the first round, they are usually the safe picks. Drafts are won by finding those gems in the later rounds. Here's what we found in the 2nd round:
All-Star Catcher Gernot Renner (2nd Round, 6th pick), breakout star OF Domingo Martinez (2nd Round, 11th), former 40 HR man OF Ghebru Olatunji (2nd, 15), CF Jose Estrada (2nd, 19), 2015 ROY 3B/SS Adam Morrow (2nd, 21), and Boston setup man Horace Thomas (2nd, 16th).
The 3rd round is where I find 3 of my Top 5 steals of the overall draft though. How these guys fell so far, no one might ever know. Round 3, pick 14 3B Bryce Hester. Hester leads all players in hits from the 2010 draft class and who has been traded 4 times since being drafted. At pick 27 in Round 3, Kansas City selected 1B Tony Marin. Marin was released by KC before he had the chance to get much playing time and proved everyone he was a player when he hit .323 with 46 HR and 139 last season and finished 2nd in MVP voting.
In a very mundane pitching class the biggest steal of the draft might be then Oklahoma, now Toronto's pick, the 7th pick of the 3rd round. They selected a SP by the name of Mike Haward. Haward is an All Star and a 2 time champion with Hendersonville who leads all pitchers of the 2010 class in wins with 55.
In the 4th round Jersey found in a gem in Russell "The Muscle" Phillips with pick 21 in the round. Phillips was later traded to Sacramento, then to Niagara Falls where he broke out last year with his 40 HR campaign and looks like a legit slugger.
The 4th round also is where current Greenville closer Jorge Valentin was taken by then Sunnyvalle, now New York. In 161 career innings he has an ERA of 2.62 with 30 saves.
In Round 5 with the 10th pick then Haddonfield, now Indy, selected OF Todd Church. Church's first year as a regular was in 2015 where he busted out hitting .327 with 166 hits and 30 doubles for the Lions.
My last gem of the draft was found in Round 7. The 13th pick of the round the then Long Beach Havens, selected out of Oklahoma 1B/OF Robbie McLaughlin. McLaughlin is known as having one of the best eyes in the game combined with good contract and 30+ 2B power to the gaps and that's from a 7th round pick.
Overall there are 17 hitters who have played in 400+ games, 7 players who have 500+ hits and 3 players with 100+ HR. 3 pitchers have 40+ wins, 3 have 20+ saves, we have a Cy Young winner and have been runner up for MVP on 3seperate occasions. Not bad for a class whom most players are 27 or recently turned 28.
Make those draft lists, there are gems and late finds to be found!
2016 continues to the year of the 3-headed monster in the CL East. Jersey almost matched their record in April with an 18-10 record and currently sit 4.5 games behind Greenville for the division lead and 4 games behind Chicago for 2nd place and the WC lead.
Players of the Month
2B Mike Bryant: .404/.465/.711 7 HR 36 RBI 46 hits 12 2B. Why not start out with the league's POTM? For the 3rd time in his career Byrant was named the BSA player of the month for his outstanding play during May. He over .400 for the 2nd straight month and his 46 hits are an unconfirmed team record for a single month. 12 multi-hit games, including 4 games with 4+ hits to go along with 10 multi-RBI games. He leads the BSA in almost every offensive category. Bryant also won back to back player of the week awards to begin the month.
1B Matt Doyle: .353/.448/.716 11 HR 35 RBI. After a terrible April, Doyle broke out in a big way. He climbed to near the top of the charts in both HR and RBI and averaged over an RBI per game. The beginning of the month say Doyle have a 3 game stretch where he had 7 hits, 3 HR and 12 RBI. He and Bryant continue to carry this offense.
3B Alberto Perez: .339/.389/.46 2 HR 13 RBI 24 R 8 2B. Perez just continues to flat out hit. He hit 2nd for the most of the month and flourished with the stick. His 39 hits were only behind the 46 of Bryant and he currently sits in the Top 5 for batting average in the CL with .355 average. The 28 year old has already surpassed his career highs in every category and looks like here is in Jersey to stay.
MR Jose Gomes: 0.00 ERA, 23.0 IP, 0.61 WHIP, 28 K, 7 hits allowed. Hello Dog Pound! Gomes returned to the Gome of old for May and he was nearly unhittable. 7 hits allowed in 23 innings while chalking up 28 K, he was the among the best MR in baseball during the month. He and Saenz have been a deadly 1-2 punch in the back end of the bullpen.
SP Art Ellis: 3-1, 3.31 ERA, 39 K 35.1 IP. Ellis was the most consistent starter for the month and finally lost at the tail end for his first lost in his last 10 outings. He continues to show why he was worth the big contract Jersey handed to him before the year started.
Roster Moves, Questions and Answers
The D-Bags gave us a little treat this month when the called up the #1 hitting prospect in BSA OF Dave Dodd. Dodd has ridiculous raw power and showed it off hitting 3 HR in the 9 games he played in May. Welcome to the show kid. The reason Dodd got the call up was that Leon Foster was sent to the DL with shoulder tendinitis which is really too bad because he was starting to look like the Foster that made the All Star team in his first year in Jersey. Foster plans on being back towards the end of May, possibly early June.
Also in May we watched the continued struggles of Dave Rice, the Bags Rule V MR pick from Chicago. His struggles continued into May and he was eventually offered back to Chicago. Takafumi Ogusuku took his spot in the pen and was just OK having a 5.14 ERA in 7 IP, striking out 7 and walking 6.
The speculation is still out to when we will super pitching prospect SP Jose Ramos. He is starting to look more poised and polished and still just 21 years old. He had the best starter of his career when he struck out 15 batters in a win against Topeka on 5/18 in just 7 innings. GM Josh Swain said there is no time table for his call up, but we will keep a close eye out.
Minor Leaguers of the Month
In the 2nd installment we will introduce 2 more minor leaguers who had great months. Last months MLOTM were Dave Dodd and MR Angel Lara.
Pitcher: Yin-zhen Zong (AAA) 13.0 IP, 2.08 ERA, 19 K. The 25 year old Zong who was a 7th round pick in 2013 has had a couple tough years in AAA. The past two seasons he has started, relieved and closed and both years had an ERA north of 6. And before the month of May his ERA of 5.40 was nothing of interest. Something seemed to have clicked during the last month. He mowed down hitters lowing his season ERA to 3.65 while he is striking out over 12 batters per 9 innings. If this continues he could find himself in the Jersey pen before too long.
Hitter: Lawrence Schroeder (AAA) .344/.383/.611. 7 HR 23 RBI 29 R 45 Hits. Schroeder, the 24 year old SS, just continues to get better. The former 1st round pick played the majority of 2015 in AAA putting up respectable numbers, but nothing like this year. His power has been a surprise to go with some great gap power and high contact which makes his quite the IF threat. He also has a plus glove at SS. With Adam Morrow's struggles on the big club, could we being seeing Schroeder man the field for the Bags anytime soon? He is on pace for 39 HR, 126 RBI and a .355 average in AAA. What more could you ask for?
Yesterday we went through and identified position by position the best players or "All-Pros" thus far through the 2016 season. Today, we go through and look at the exact opposite, the worst of the worst. I cut it off at 110 PA for the season which roughly comes out to playing 2/3 of the time this season. Here we go:
Catcher: Juan Cardenas, IND. 135 AB, 3 HR, 11 RBI, .200/.234/.296, -5.8 VORP. After having a resurgence as a 30 year old after 2 sub-par seasons, Cardenas has fallen off considerably. His average is down near 100 points from last season, he is on pace for less than half the doubles and his OBP and SLG are 100+ points off last season. The good news is he only makes 900K and for whatever reason he has shown some power, 3 HR this season already. His career high is 6.
1st Base: Lorenzo Rodriguez, IND. 128 AB, 1 HR, 12 RBI, .148/.231/.188, -14.4 VORP. Statistically Lo-Rod has been the worst hitter in the BSA this season. 4 straight seasons of 22 HR or more might be in jeopardy. His putrid SLG% of .188 is nearly 300 points below his career average. Being only 30 you have to assume it's just a rough start, but he has been downright terrible.
2nd Base: Carlos Carrillo, ORL. 144 AB, 0 HR, 11 RBI, .146/.205/.215, -14.1 VORP. This 20 year old rookie hit only .228 in AA ball last year and struck out in 27% of his AB's and has never seen AAA pitching, but apparently that earned him a promotion as he has started all 41 games for Orlando thus far. I have a feeling he will see some AAA time this year. On the bright side, he has exception speed (on pace for 24 SB) and plays excellent defense.
Shortstop: Mike Frost, SCS. 118 AB, 1 HR, 12 RBI, .212/.299/.280, -2.4 VORP. 36 year old veteran who has played the role of utility player for the majority of his career has started 36 of of the Sheens 42 games thus far this season. The surprising thing about his numbers is they really aren't off his career averages all that much, which is saying something. Generally a solid defender, he has seemed to have lost a bit ranking near the top in errors and the bottom in fielding percentage.
Third Base: Mike Wilson, ELP. 137 AB, 3 HR, 14 RBI, .212/.238/.336, -3.9 VORP. 3B was actually a position with no real outliers. Wilson feels like a utility player who is getting starts right now. 6:1 K:BB ratio hurts, plays average defense but is on pace for 32 doubles.
Left Field: Sean Gardner, CHI. 154 AB, 4 HR, 15 RBI, .195/.290/.305, -6.6 VORP. What has happened to Gardner? 2 years ago he looked like a star breaking out. He missed 3 months last year, but before that we saw a drop in power numbers. This year his bat has been almost non-existent. On pace for 216 K's and only 15 HR. Batting average below .200 makes you cringe, especially from a guy making 4.5M this year.
Center Field: Augusto Vega, KCY. 144 AB, 2 HR, 18 RBI, .201/.264/.257, -6.5 VORP. Hard to say anything good about Vega this year. Will turn 32 later this year, is an upcoming FA, makes $7.32M and is hitting 60 points below career average and almost 200 points of slugging below average. On pace to K more than 50 times more than his career high. Also on pace for only 8 HR, which would be a career low.
Right Field: Todd James, POC. 109 AB, 2 HR, 14 RBI, .202/.282/.321, -3.4 VORP. Back to back years of 32 and 22 HR in STL before coming to Pocatello. Not a guy known for a high average or OBP, but when his biggest tool, power, isn't working, he is a play less than desired. He is only 26 and has a favorable contract. If past results have any indication, he will turn it around, but for now......he's bad.
Designated Hitter: Naomi Kitamura, MAU. 113 AB, 1 HR, 6 RBI, .177/.238/.265, -6.8 VORP. 19 year old rookie who hit .276/.382/.276 in AA last year. Has a lot of power potential, but hasn't shown it outside of A ball. Hit .276 in 29 AB in AAA before being called up. Ton of potential, doesn't seem to be ready.
Starting Pitcher: Fernando Alvarado, NYK. 10 GS, 0-7, 9.55 ERA, 2.42 WHIP 25/24 BB/K. 26 years old, has a career record of 7-34, ouch. Never succeeding beyond AA might have hurt his growth. Has only gone 6 innings once this year, has never given up less hits than innings in any start this season.
Starting Pitcher: Christian Livingston, JAX. 8 GS, 1-5, 9.34 ERA, 1.88 WHIP, 17/16 BB/K. Head scratcher. 27 years old, in his 3rd year in the BSA. Had ERA's of 4.84 and 4.74 in first 2 years, has double that this year. On pace to give up 20 HR, had given up 18 in his career up to this year. Very high BABIP, should turn it around, but an ERA of almost 10 doesn't help anyone.
Starting Pitcher: Roberto Moreno, IND. 7 GS, 10 G, 1-4, 8.61 ERA. Caution signs should have went up when he posted an ERA of 8.07 out of Baffin's bullpen last season. Has been pulled out of IND's starting rotation, in his 7 starts his ERA was actually worse being over 9. 31 years old, small contract, will he make it through the season without being cut?
Starting Pitcher: Bill "Headhunter" Maddox, NFF. 9 GS, 0-6, 8.27 ERA, 1.91 WHIP. 11 starts for New Orleans last year, 2.36 ERA. 9 starts for Niagara this year, 8.27 ERA. What happened? In 31 less innings pitched he has given up just 1 less hit this season, 3 more HR and one less walk. Add to the fact that he is making +4M this season...he has to turn it around......right?
Reliever: Diego Castillo, ELP. 11.2 IP, 14.66 ERA, 3.17 WHIP. He has never been a good pitcher, but this year has been terrible. 3:1 BB/K ratio and is allowing more than 3 runners per inning and has a BABIP of .426. Bad pitching mixed with bad luck lead to horrendous results.
Closer: Rodrigo Ramon, BAF. 9.1 IP, 0-3, 15.43 ERA, 9 BB. What
happened to Razor thus far? He was demoted to right the ship but before
that he was terrible. He has given up half the hits he did last season
13% of the innings. He has been very good for the past 2 seasons, but
his start has to cause concern.
We are a quarter of the way through the 2016 season and we have had some surprises, some of the same, some terrible and some extraordinary performances. If the season ended today, here would be my if you would "All-Pro" selections: (all players selected must have enough AB to qualify for rate stats)
Catcher: Luis Munoz, MAD. 13 HR, 24 RBI, .299/.388/.635. Meltdown has been the best of the best thus far and it isn't even close. On pace for 50 HR and all around the best season of his career
1st Base: Ernesto Roman, CHI. 15 HR, 38 RBI, .335/.431/.696. Roman has been a terror for pitching thus far and a big helping reason why Chicago is off to such a hot start. On pace to shatter career highs all over the board. Leads all 1st basemen in OPS, WAR, XBH, TB, HR and ISO.
2nd Base: Mike Bryant, JER. 12 HR, 54 RBI, .449/.517/.791. Leads the league in most categories. Has absolutely been on a tear all season long. On pave for 295 hits and 224 RBI. Best pure hitter in the game? Certainly debatable.
3rd Base: Felix Morales, GRN. 11 HR, 32 RBI, .296/.401/.634. Former MVP picking up where he left off after a down year in 2015. Leads all hot corners in WAR, OPS, wOBA, HR, ISO and XBH.
Shortstop: Phil Ingilby, MAD. 5 HR, 18 RBI, .309/.356/.557. This is the closest decision so far. It was between him or Keller on STL, and I went with Ingilby. They have the same WAR, and Keller has a better OPS, HR, RBI but Ingilby leads all SS in SLG, runs, ISO, XBH and TB and plays better defense. Not bad for a guy who is 30, has a career .218 average and before this season had hit 22 career HR.
Left Field: Manuel Mozcado, MAD. 8 HR, 22 RBI, .368/.482/.684. Mozcado showing last year wasn't a fluke. Leads all LF in AVG, OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA, ISO and WAR. Roger Anderson was next on my list but with an OBP of almost .100 points higher to go with similar power, Mozcado was my choice.
Center Field: Domingo Cardona, SCS. 16 HR, 33 RBI, .276/.377/.707. Cardona leads the league in HR and tops all CF in SLG, OPS, wOBA and ISO. Chouda would have been a good choice here as well. Cardona is considered a rookie as well, and should be in the thick of things for ROY.
Right Field: Domingo Martinez, SNF. 7 HR, 30 RBI, .409/.472/.610. Guy has been on fire. His WAR sits at 3.4 and the next closest is 2.2. Hitting 2nd in the league only behind Mike Bryant. At 2 million dollars, in the running for best contract in the league.
Starting Pitcher: Scott Hill, HEN. 8-0, 1.81 ERA, 0.70 WHIP. Leads league in K's with 72 in 64.2 IP and has allowed 1, yes 1 walk. His 1.45 FIP would be a new low even for his illustrious career. He is still without a doubt by far the most dominant hurler in the league.
Middle Reliever: Oliver Donahue, HEN. 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.72 WHIP. 18.0 IP and no runs or earned runs allowed for Muscles. He also has 28 K's to go with a single walk while only allowing 12 hits and only 2 of them going for extra bases. Best setup man for the best bullpen in the league.
Closer: Jose Corona, CHI. 1-1, 16 saves, 1.56 ERA, 1.15 WHIP. Converted 16 of 17 saves so far, which is a league lead. There are closers with better ERA's and better K numbers, but with the amount of saves converted so far, he gets my vote.
Quarter of the way through the season and here are my "All-Pro" picks.
Quarter Season MVP - Mike Bryant, JER.
Quarter Season Cy Young - Scott Hil, HEN.
Quarter Seaon ROY - Carlos "Buzzy" Lopez, STL.
"With the 21st pick in the 2010 Rule IV Amateur Draft the Jersey Shore D-Bags select Mike Bryant, second base, out of Stanford University" ~ Commissioner Ulery, September 1, 2010
Combination of glove, power, speed and contact made Bryant a prototypical 1st round pick. Jersey was shocked he fell to them at 21. "We had him Top 10, especially playing in the middle infield. Guy was a no-brainier in our mindset." said GM Josh Swain. Bryant has put in long hours in the cage and worked in the off season to make him one of most feared hitters in the BSA today. We sit a few months short of 6 years since the Bags took Bryant to celebrate his 100th career HR. He was drafted at the age of 22, spent nearly 3 years in the minors refining his skills before breaking out in 2013. 435 games and 1767 At bats later he reaches his 1st milestone.
Tuesday, May 10th, 2016. After hitting his 99th career HR a week earlier, the Bags sat in the middle of a home stand. Beating the LA Bruins 2 out of 3 was nice, but for Bryant he sat on 99. The counter by the "Bryant Bunch" in the Right Field bleachers told the entire crowd where he sat. They were hoping to see fireworks at home. Alfonso Medina was on the mound for the Madison Bombers that afternoon, whom Bryant was 3 for 7 against without a HR. Bryant would get his chance early. Hitting cleanup, the first two hitters in the inning, Peter Larson and Alberto Perez would reach base via walks. After the catcher Duran would fly out, Bryant would get his cuts. It only took Medina 4 pitches to sit Bryant down swinging on a slider out of the zone.
His 2nd try would come leading off the bottom of the 3rd inning with his team trailing 5-2. He had a favorable count of 2-1 before a big swing and a miss left the count evened at 2-2. The 5th pitch Bryant just missed which resulted in a fly out to CF. Bryant would barely have his helmet off before his good buddy Matt Doyle would take the 3rd pitch of his AB 375 feet, 17 rows up in the right field bleachers. It wouldn't take long for Bryant to get another chance. It was just the next inning. With runners on the corners down 5-3, Bryant strolled to the plate to face Medina for the 3rd time today. The first pitch was a fastball which caught the inside corner for a strike, a good slider and a swing and a miss would put Bryant down in the hole 0-2. Medina set and pitched.....Medina made a mistake. A hanging curveball. Bryant rarely misses mistakes. He didn't this time. Bryant with a dead pull punished that curveball. What seemed like minutes later, the ball landed 457 feet deep into the upper deck for a go ahead 3 run HR, and the 100 HR of the young slugger's career. The crowd gave a standing ovation and Bryant would return out of the dugout with a tip of the hat.
How far can Bryant go? 100 HR is a nice milestone and it puts him in the company of 100+ players who also have hit that many HR. He is 28, which for a 3rd year player is older than most. The big milestones may be out of reach, but with the way he has played in his short career, I don't think we have seen him to his full potential yet. The kid is special. The real question is which milestone will come 2nd now? 1000 career hits or 200 HR? He currently sits at 582 career hits and 100 HR. My bet is on hits, but with the way the HR are leaving the yard, it might be close!
Hopefully Bryant can continue the D-Bags in this tough division battle and lead the Bags back to the playoffs this season!
GO D-BAGS!
And we are off! It seems like we just had opening day and in the blink of an eye and the first month of the season is in the books. A successful 17-9 month puts Jersey where they left off last season but puts them in 3rd place behind the hottest team in baseball, the Chicago Machine and the arch rivals Greenville. This month had a little bit of everything like usual, but more positive than negative.
Players of the Month
2B Mikey "The Machine" Bryant: .404/.487/.677 6 HR 26 RBI. Why not start with the hottest hitter in baseball right now? It isn't Bryant's first time being on the POTM and it won't be his last. Bryant was on fire all month. He had 12 multi-hit games and 5 3+ hit games including a 5 hit performance against the Sheens.
3B Alberto Perez: .373/.387/.676 7 HR 20 RBI. We all remember Perez from his playoff run last year and came out with a bang this season. For a guy not known for power bashing 7 HR was unheard of, but the Bags will take it. He also added 10 doubles. Looks like he is here to stay. We know the power might not hold up, but if he can keep his average up, Perez could be a force in the Jersey lineup this year.
OF Leon Foster .270/.353/.517 5 HR 25 RBI. Welcome back Mr. Foster. After using his option to come back to Jersey Foster is showing that power he used to display when he came over from New York. 2nd in the team in RBI in a contract year, Foster trying to prove he can still ball.
CL Jaime Saenz 1-1 8 saves 1.59 ERA 1.15 WHIP. Saenz took over the closer role and flourished taking over for Daniel Morris. He had more K's than IP and with a lot of blowouts he didn't get into that many games. He looks like he will be the closer to stay.
Roster Questions, Changes and Answers
A month and we have seen no serious injuries which helps keep the roster in tact. We did see a new player in the fold this month as 19 year old MR Hyo-Chin Kim was called up to spot start for Rob Goodship as he missed a start with a minor injury. Kim looked good throwing 7.1 IP, giving up 3 ER and K's 2 for his first ML win. With his high stamina we might see more of him in the spot starting role in the future.
MR Chris Woodruff was waived and DFA'ed after a terrible start where he seemingly couldn't get anyone out. MR Takafumi Ogusuku was recalled and pitching 2.1 scoreless innings while striking out 6.
There's a lot of young talent in AAA ready to be called up if needed including SS Schroeder, OF Torres, OF Kino, and OF Dodd who are all hitting AAA very well.
Minor Leaguers of the Month
In a new section this year we will be picking one hitter and pitcher from the entire organization of farm clubs to pick one pitcher and hitter as POTM for the organization.
Pitcher:
MR Angel Lara (AA): 11.1 IP 0.00 ERA 0.71 WHIP 4 Hits 17 K's. Lara was as close to perfect as you come in April almost striking out 2 batters per innings while only giving up 4 hits. He earned himself a promotion at the end of the month and will be in Tuscaloosa next month.
Hitter:
OF Dave Dodd (AAA): .367/.461/.765 8 HR 31 RBI . The guys is an absolute stud. Top 3 ranked hitter prospect in the game and is showing why. He crushed AA for 2 weeks then AAA for 2 weeks. He even stole 4 bases. In 24 games he knocked in 31 runs and looks like he really wants to play soon for the D-Bags.
Baseball is about statistics. There are more statistics in baseball than in any sport combined. And we here in Jersey are no different, we love tracking our players and their accomplishments. Here is a list statistics and what we might be in store for the 2016 season. Some more likely than others.
Let's start on the pitching side of things.
Pitching:
35 year old Dan Macias has 3 wins in 4 starts. It's a long shot, but 19 more wins this year (22 wins total) would make him the 3rd ever pitcher to reach 150 wins. With 2 more wins he passes Ethan Pickup for 5th All-time.
Sticking with Macias, his 19 K's thus far puts him just 105 K's from 1800, which (After Ricky Bolden does it soon) would make him the 5th pitcher to reach this milestone.
Rob Goodship with 1 win this season, needs 12 more this season for 51 career, which would make him the current all time Win leader in D-Bag history.
Jaime Saenz with 2.6 VORP this season needs 17.4 more this season to pass former closer Daniel Morris as the franchise all-time VORP leader.
Hitting:
Leon Foster, with 17 RBI in 16 games, needs 92 more RBI to join the 800 RBI club which has only been accomplishment thus far by 5 players and 2 soon to be members. 109 RBI might be a stretch for the season though.
Foster also needs to strikeout only 3 more time to join the 1100 club, occupied by 3 players. With 103 more he would join only John Crowe, and possibly Enrique Jarmillo as the only players on the 1200 list.
Mikey Bryant, 3 HR thus far, needs 5 more to make him the 1st D-Bag ever to hit for 100 career HR. It would also only make him the 3rd 2B ever to hit 100+ HR behind Luis Pezina and Jeff Cole.
Matt Doyle would need 23 total, already has 5, for the 100 HR plateau as well. Doyle has average a HR ever 14.23 AB in his career so far. Career leader John Crowe has a 15.62 average for his career.
There are also a few team records Bryant could set this season. He needs to score 111 total runs this season to set the team record in runs, he currently sits 3rd behind Parker Morrow and Mason Bonniface. He would also need 226 hits (which would break his own team record of 209) to pass Parker Morrow the only man he sits behind at this point.
With the team's last 5-4 win over Austin on 4/22 with 4 total bases, Bryant passed Morrow for 1st on the franchise record for total bases.
With 29 HR this season (which would be a career high) Luis Antonio Duran would become the 8th catcher to hit 100 HR in BSA history.
With most players being in their mid-20's there isn't a lot for milestones. But some things to look this season besides the amount of wins the D-Bags rack up!
GO D-BAGS!
2016 is underway! Before we get too far into the season we would like to introduce to the roster, a couple new faces, but mostly a recognizable cast!
Starting Pitching - Jersey brings back a strong staff, with Macias the veteran leader and rest ranging from ages 26-30.
Art Ellis - 30 years old. Supplanted Macias as Ace of the staff last season. Came to Jersey in trade with Madison Bombers.
2015 stats: 13-8 2.94 ERA 1.20 WHIP
Contract: $9.6M. Signed through 2021 with last year being a team option.
Dan Macias - 35 yeras old. Came to Jersey in trade with Orlando before 2014 season. Former 20 game winner.
2015 stats: 10-14 4.32 ERA 1.35 WHIP
Contract: $8.81M. Signed through 2017 season.
Jerry Burgess - 29 years old. Came to Jersey in trade with El Paso during 2015 season. Control can be his achilles heel.
2015 stats (Jersey only): 7-3 4.76 ERA 1.36 WHIP
Contract: $6.85M. Signed through 2020 with last year being a team option.
Rob Goodship - 29 years old. Came over from Edison (Now Boston) as a waiver claim before the 2011 season. Longest team member in the starting rotation.
2015 stats: 11-6 4.03 ERA 1.44 WHIP
Contract: $3.79M. Signed through the 2020 season.
Greg Schaefer - 26 years old. Came over to Jersey via the Rule V draft in 2011. Youngest member of the rotation.
2015 stats: 13-11 5.16 ERA 1.44 WHIP
Contract: $2.08M. Signed through the 2017 season.
Worth Noting: Top pitching prospect Jose Ramos sits in AAA and is the closest starter to the Bigs. At only 20 he needs a strong season to prove he is worth bringing up.
Jose Ramos - 20 years old. IFA signing 2013. Huge potential, has yet to post good results in AAA.
2015 stats: AA: 10-8 3.65 ERA 1.10 WHIP AAA: 2-4 4.41 ERA 1.41 WHIP
The Bullpen: - Jersey brings back another strong pen with some new faces, gone is Daniel Morris who had spent his career on the team.
Dave Rice - 26 years old. Came over to Jersey via the Rule V draft his past offseason from Pittsburgh (Now Chicago). Has never pitched above AA.
2015 stats: AA: 6-4 4 saves 3.61 ERA 1.32 WHIP
Contract: 400K. Not arbitration eligible through 2019.
Jose Ruiz - 23 years old. Was drafted in the inaugural draft by Jersey. Hard throwing right-hander, will be the main middle reliever.
2015 stats: 4-4 1 save. 4.07 ERA 1.33 WHIP
Contract: 400K. Arbitration eligible through 2017.
Chris Woodruff - 31 years old. Was claimed in waivers this offseason from Jacksonville. Talented right handed who has never seemed to put it together.
2015 stats: 1-2 1 save. 6.44 ERA 2.01 WHIP
Contract: 600K. Signed through 2017.
Lucio Tapia - 31 years old. 1st of 3 hard throwers at back end of bullpen. Claimed off of waivers from Whitewater (St. Louis) during 2010 season.
2015 stats: 6-3 3 saves. 2.44 ERA 1.33 WHIP.
Contract: 3.26M. Signed through 2018 season.
Jose "Dog Pound" Gomes - 29 years old. Was drafted in the inaugural draft by Jersey. Hard thrower, will be primary set-up man.
2015 stats: 4-3 7 saves. 3.92 ERA 1.18 WHIP
Contract: 3.47M. Signed through 2018 season with last year being a player option.
Jaime "Mungo" Saenz - 30 years old. One of only 2 lefties on the staff. Joined Jersey during inaugural draft. Will be the closer with Morris departing for Baffin Island.
2015 stats: 16-0 2 saves. 1.99 ERA 0.95 WHIP
Worth Noting: Jersey's AAA club is filled with young talent whom aren't scheduled to be ready for the Bigs as of the start of the season, but could be called up for a chance at anytime. They include:
Hyo-Chin Kim - 19 years old. IFA signing 2013. Quality lefty who has stamina to possibly spot start. Called up to AAA late last year.
2015 stats: AA: 4-5 4 saves. 3.44 ERA 1.38 WHIP AAA: 2-0 4.60 ERA 1.31 WHIP.
Takafumi Ogusuku - 20 years old. IFA signing 2013. Can hit 100 MPH with his fastball, Control and giving up the long ball are his faults.
2015 stats: BSA: 0-1 5.29 ERA 1.00 WHIP AAA: 6-3 2 saves. 2.92 ERA 1.46 WHIP
Yin-Zhen Zong - 25 years old. Drafted by Jersey, 7th round 2013. Slowly worked his way through the system. Struggled thus far at 1.5 years in AAA. Seemed to find his "stuff" last season.
2015 stats: AAA: 5-9 (25 starts) 6.94 ERA 1.77 WHIP
The Catchers - Jersey made a hard decision to bring back Duran despite high salary, he is far and away the best on the roster, but the back up spot always up for debate.
Luis Antonio Duran - 27 years old. Claimed off over waivers from Alaska (El Paso) during 2010 season. 3 straight years with 20+ HR, last season being his best with 136 OPS+
2015 stats: 21 HR 67 RBI .272/.404/.469
Contract: $8.75M. Free agent after current season.
Albert Lopez - 28 years old. Signed a MLC during the 2011 season. Great ability and arm at catcher. Caught and played excellent during 2015 postseason after Duran injury. Average hitting talent.
2015 stats: AAA: 14 HR 48 RBI .272/.349/.491 BSA: 0 HR 3 RBI .159/.213/.205
Worth Noting: - While Lopez won the backup job, there are 2 candidates in AAA who can step in and catch if he doesn't get the job done.
Tomas Gutierrez - 28 years old. Came to Jersey in trade with Cleveland before 2013 season. Primary back up during 2015 season. Average overall hitting and defense.
2015 stats: BSA: 2 HR 15 RBI .237/.329/.360
Contract: 400K. Eligible for arbitration after 2017 season.
Ramon Garcia - 33 years old. Many of you might remember Garcia. He was drafted in the inaugural draft by Jersey, then came back on a MLC before the start of the 2015 season. Great contact hitter.
2015 stats: AAA: 5 HR 29 RBI .299/.367/.392
1st Basemen - Entrenched by Matt Doyle at first, the position should stay filled for years to come.
Matt Doyle - 26 years old. 1st round pick, 2011 draft. Phenom. Led CL in HR last year with 44, looking to improve on that. Could see RBI title fall if he stays healthy.
2015 stats: 44 HR 147 RBI. .302/.386/.572.
Contract: 4.7M. Signed through 2021 season.
Manny Romero - 28 years old. Drafted in the inaugural draft as a 22 year old. Primary DH, has huge gap power. Hits lefties very well.
2015 stats: 24 HR 82 RBI. .261/.313/.461.
Contract: 2.89M Signed through 2018 season.
Worth Noting: After losing Edgardo Gonzales to waivers, possible candidates are slim in AAA, but many players can be 1st if necessary.
Derrick Wright - 30 years old. Spent 2015 with Jersey, now is in AAA. Came to Jersey in the Jose Brito trade with Sacramento in 2012.
2015 stats: 3 HR 14 RBI. .238/.336/.389.
Contract: 400K. Arbitration eligible after the 2017 season.
Stephen Allison - 27 years old. Drafted in the inaugural draft by Jersey. Has power potential but tough time seeing because of limited AB's. Could be a platoon player against lefties.
2015 stats: AAA: 8 HR 24 RBI .302/.380/.594 (106 AB)
2nd Basemen: Much like 1st base, 2nd base is occupied with a super star. Mikey Bryant is currently the only one listed on the roster.
Mike "Coffin" Bryant - 28 years old. Drafted in the 1st round in 2010, 21st overall. Back-to-back seasons of 37 HR and 130 RBI. Left handed with big power and above average glove and speed.
2015 stats: 37 HR 131 RBI .323/.379/.563.
Contract: 4.9M. Signed through 2021 season with the last year being a team option.
Worth noting: If Bryant were ever need to be replaced, the only full option is Aaron Bailey, even though there are others who play some 2nd base.
Aaron Bailey - 27 years old. Draft in the 2011 draft, round 4. While Bailey doesn't play a good 2nd base, he has power and a decent eye.
2015 stats: AAA: 25 HR 86 RBI. .305/.387/.556
Shortstop: Adam Morrow slides over to SS fulltime this year after playing primarily 3B in his rookie season.
Adam Morrow - 27 years old. Morrow is a slick fielding IF who doesn't play SS as well as 3B but he's learning. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2010 draft. Won CL ROY last season, has insane eye.
2015 stats: 4 HR 61 RBI. 100 R 120 BB. .282/.402/.360
Contract: 400K. Arbitration eligible after the 2017 season.
Marvin Taylor - 30 years old. Prototypical utility IF. Plays every IF position at an elite level. Signed as FA, April 2011. Good eye and great at limiting K's.
2015 stats: 1 HR 26 RBI. .240/.344/.299
Contract: 895K. Signed through 2017 season.
Worth Noting: While Morrow's job is safe, there is another former 1st round pick who hit AAA very well last year and could cause the problem of "too many players" in the IF for Jersey, which is never bad.
Lawrence Schroeder - 24 years old. 1st round pick, 2014 draft. Young new school prototypical big SS. Sits at 6'3" 225 pounds. Has above average contact, great gap power and above average power.
2015 stats: 19 HR 95 RBI. .287/.338/.457
3rd Basemen: After spending a lot of time ripping AAA, playoff hero, Alberto Perez gets the nod to be the opening day starting 3B, pushing Morrow to SS.
Alberto Perez - 28 years old. Was drafted in the 47th round of the inaugural draft. Hit .300 at every level, including last year in limited AB's. Has a decent glove, doesn't K much and an average eye.
2015 stats: AAA: 7 HR 40 RBI. .398/.486/.536. BSA: 5 HR 24 RBI .306/.345/.511
Contract: 400K. Signed through the 2020 season.
Worth Noting: Perez is on the person on the roster listed at 3B, but his backup is Taylor. The next person in line for the 3B resides in AA, but could soon be at AAA.
Richard Coker - 22 years old. 1st round pick, 2013. Coming out of high school, Coker has shown a pattern, struggle in your first year at a level, succeed the next, pointing his way to AAA this year should be soon.
2015 stats: AA: 9 HR 76 RBI. .301/.350/.419
The Outfield: Now while we could break this up into individual positions, so many can play 2 or more, this was easily. While no superstars exist, the OF is chalked full of talent.
Sergio Rodriguez - 28 years old. Draft by Jersey in the inaugural draft. It took him 5 years to move up the minor league system and get regular AB's for Jersey, but paid off. Rangy, speedy OF with average hitting skills across the board.
2015 stats: BSA: 7 HR 26 RBI. .320/.400/.549. AAA: 11 HR 40 RBI .317/.413/.518
Contract: 400K. Arbitration eligible after the 2017 season.
Leon Foster - 30 years old. Came to Jersey in trade with New York before 2013 season. Great OF with great power. Top 10 all time in BSA for HR. Likes to K....a lot. Injury troubles as of late.
2015 stats: 11 HR 36 RBI. .273/.356/.517
Contract: 13.87M. Free agent after 2016 season.
Tim Duncan - 27 years old. Came to Jersey in trade with LA during 2014 season. The long awaited time of Duncan is here after Powers left for FA. Elite speed and above average defense and contract. Leadoff hitter potential.
2015 stats: AAA: 16 HR 58 RBI. 38 SB. .317/.382/.483.
Contract: 400K. Arbitration eligible after the 2018 season.
Peter Larson - 29 years old. Came to Jersey with Duncan in 2014 trade with LA. Good contact hitter with elite eye, best in baseball. Average defense. Seems to be prone to injury.
2015 stats: 4 HR 44 RBI. .268/.437/.379
Contract: 4.4M. Signed through 2019 season, last year being a player option.
Jose Ortiz - 27 years old. 2nd season in Jersey, came over via Rule V draft from Reno, 2015. Good contract hitter, loves hitting to the gap and rarely strikes out. Average defender, lacks much speed.
2015 stats: 1 HR 25 RBI 18 2B. .341/.401/.482 (164 AB)
Contract: 400K. Arbitration eligible after the 2017 season.
Al Ryan - 27 years old. Came to Jersey in a trade with Greenville before the 2014 season. Lefty with big power. 2 straight seasons with 20+ HR. Average defense and speed.
2015 stats: 21 HR 71 RBI. .265/.355/.473.
Worth Noting: While Jersey has this group of OF, there are a handful in AAA that should be capable now or at some point this season to step up if need be.
Taro Kino - 28 years old. Signed a MLC during the 2011 season. Right handed with good contact and power. Hasn't taken advantage of MLB Ab's yet, hence why he is in AAA still.
2015 stats: AAA: 24 HR 68 RBI. .344/.429/.594 BSA: 0 HR 10 RBI .236/.336/.368 (106 AB)
Ken Taylor - 28 years old. Came to Jersey in a trade with Vista during the 2014 season. Left hander with big power, great gap power and average eye. Above average glove.
2015 stats: AAA: 27 HR 87 RBI. .290/.407/.645
Fransisco Torres - 20 years old. IFA signing 2013. Torres is former #1 overall hitting prospect who seems to have fallen off a little. Good gap and power, great eye. Great LF and above average speed.
2015 stats: AA: 21 HR 62 RBI 28 2B. .358/.510/.642. Only played 12 games in AAA.
Dave "Diamond" Dodd - 21 years old. Signed a MLC during the 2013 season, former 2nd round pick of Reno. Huge potential. Great contact skills, elite power and speed, above average glove.
2015 stats: AA: 15 HR 58 RBI 20 2B. .280/.355/.444.
There is your 25 man roster plus a slew of players you might see during the upcoming season. Can these players lead Jersey to another playoff run, we think so!
GO D-BAGS!
