A Look at the Tri-City ValleyCats

Last week, I took a closer look at the DSL Astros, the GCL Astros , and the Greeneville Astros to see how their seasons have been unfolding and what players have stood out. Today, it's the Tri-City ValleyCats turn. Coming in to today, the Tri-City team is 26-15 with a 2.63 ERA, a 1.045 WHIP, and a cumulative batting line of .244/.321/.342.

The 2013 team compares very favorably to the 2012 team in terms of pitching, but the offense lags behind their 2012 counterparts considerably. This year's team is allowing .25 runs per game less than last year's, but they are scoring 1.30 runs per game less as well. Pitching is definitely the strength of this team.

The team ERA and WHIP rank first (out of 14 teams) in the league. The walks allowed rank dead last while strikeouts rank third. The pitching staff has allowed 68 free passes while striking out 310, leading the Astros minor league system with a 4.56 SO/BB rate.

Two pitchers stand out among the league leaders. Among pitchers with enough innings to qualify, RHP Michael Feliz ranks second in the league in ERA (1.49), third in WHIP (0.936) and fourth in strikeouts (42 in 36.1 innings). And did I mention that Feliz is still only 19? RHP Tanner Bushue ranks first in the league in WHIP (0.802) and 14th in ERA (2.94).

There are quite a few more who fall short of the innings requirement, but who have excellent numbers:

LHP Evan Grills - 31IP  2.61 ERA  1.226 WHIP
RHP Adrian Houser - 29.2IP  2.43 ERA  1.281 WHIP
LHP Randall Fant - 27.1IP  2.63 ERA  1.134 WHIP
RHP Andrew Thurman - 25.1IP  2.84 ERA  1.263 WHIP
RHP Zach Morton - 25.1IP  1.07 ERA  0.671 WHIP
RHP Kyle Westwood - 24IP  1.12 ERA  0.708 WHIP
LHP Chris Cotton - 17.2IP  0.51 ERA  0.566 WHIP

Of those who have been used exclusively from the bullpen, there are two pitchers worth noting in particular. In 11 appearances (14.2IP) by RHP Richard Rodriguez, he has a 1.23 ERA and a 0.818 WHIP. He has walked one and struck out 16. The other, RHP Patrick Christensen, has a 4.35 ERA in nine appearances (10.1IP), but has a 0.871 WHIP. He has not walked a batter this season and has struck out 12.

Now for the offense. The team batting average, OBP and SLG all rank fifth out of 14th in the league. They are dead last in doubles, but rank first in home runs. They are third in walks drawn and 13th in strikeouts. Only one player on the ValleyCats team shows up as a league leader in numerous categories. 2B Tony Kemp is second in stolen bases, fifth in hits and walks, 12th in runs scored and is tied for 21st in OBP and is tied for 22nd in batting average.

Others showing up in the top 20 in the league are DH/1B Mike Martinez (tied for seventh in home runs and 20th in RBI), 1B Conrad Gregor (second in walks) and OF James Ramsay (tied for 19th in walks).

A couple of good hitters graduated from the team and were promoted to Quad Cities. C Luis Alvarez was .303/.395/.485 in 12 games and OF Dan Gulbransen was .397/.426/.638 in 15 games. Two recent promotions who may help fill the void are SS Jack Mayfield, who showed decent power in his stint at Greeneville, and C Brett Booth, who tore it up in the GCL and is hitting .400/.455/.600 in his first three games with Tri-City.

Also of note on the team are SS Chan Moon (.303/.361/.355) and OF Ronnie Mitchell, whose .384 slugging percentage is the highest of anyone on the team having a minimum of 100 at bats.

The Tri-City team is currently in first place in the Stedler Division, leading second place Lowell by three games. They currently rank second in the league in win percentage (.634) behind the the Jamestown Jammers (.641) in the Pinckney Division. They are going to need to keep the strong stretch of pitching going and/or pick up the offense. Nine of their 15 losses have been when the offense scored either zero or one run. They are 8-3 in games decided by one run. If the pitching staff starts to struggle, the offense will have to pick them up.