Tuesday, September 24, 2013

The Lancaster JetHawks Season in Review

Lancaster dominated the South Division for most of the season. Although the JetHawks could be streaky at times, they ended the season with the only winning record in the South Division and with just one win less than the league-leading San Jose team. In 2012, they squeaked into the playoffs and went all the way. This year, it was another team (the Inland Empire 66ers) who squeaked in, beat Lancaster in five games and went on to win the California League Championship. Here is how the JetHawks 2012 and 2013 seasons compared.

2012 Win Percentage - .529
2013 Win Percentage - .586

2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 843 - 786 = 57
2013 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 976 - 792 = 184

2012 Team ERA & WHIP - 5.00 & 1.458
2013 Team ERA & WHIP - 5.09 & 1.447

2012 Team Batting Line - .283/.353/.448
2013 Team Batting Line - .289/.384/.469

The offense on this team scored 299 more runs than the next Astros affiliate. And that wasn't just because The Hangar is a hitter-friendly ballpark. On-base percentage was the one area that improved the most over 2012 and that showed as more baserunners naturally translated into more runs scored. The JetHawks were ranked first (out of 10 teams) in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, doubles and walks. They were third in home runs, fourth in triples, fifth in stolen bases and they had the fewest number of strikeouts in the league. The list of individuals from the team that ranked in the top 20 in the league in offensive categories is nothing short of astounding.

3B Matt Duffy (24), despite spending his final 24 games in Corpus Christi, still was ranked second in batting average, sixth in OBP, third in slugging, 10th in RBI and was tied for 14th in home runs as he hit .323/.397/.553 with 20 doubles, four triples, 19 home runs and 84 RBI in 100 games at Lancaster. OF Preston Tucker (23) was also still ranked 20th in RBI in the league after having only spent 75 games there before his promotion to Corpus Christi. Tucker hit .326/.384/.544 with 18 doubles, one triple, 15 home runs and 74 RBI in his time with the 'Hawks.

OF Andrew Aplin (22) was all over the league top 20. He was first in RBI, second in walks, second in runs scored, seventh in doubles, tied for 11th in stolen bases, 15th in hits, tied for 15th in triples and 16th in on-base percentage. He finished the season with a .278/.376/.424 batting line with 32 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs, 107 RBI and 24 stolen bases.

2B Delino DeShields (21) ranked third in batting average and second in on-base percentage with his .317/.405/.468 line. He was also second in triples (14), second in stolen bases (51), third in runs scored and 11th in both hits and walks.

1B/DH/C M.P. Cokinos (23) ranked third in batting average, eighth in on-base percentage and 17th in slugging (.313/.395/.475), fourth in RBI (94) and 20th in hits.

IF Joe Sclafani (23) ranked seventh in batting average (.303), seventh in on-base percentage (.396) and 18th in slugging (.474). He was also 13th in runs scored and 17th in walks.

OF Brandon Meredith (23) was fifth in the league in walks and on-base percentage, ninth in slugging, 12th in runs scored and was just outside the top 20 in home runs. He finished the season hitting .279/.399/.507 with 25 doubles, five triples, 16 home runs and 68 RBI. In the post season, he hit .368 with four doubles, four RBI and a stolen base.

Others in the top 20 included OF Chris Epps (24), C Tyler Heineman (22) and SS Nolan Fontana (22). Epps was third in walks, ninth in doubles, 12th in slugging (.503), 13th in on-base percentage (.381), and in the top 20 in runs scored and RBI. Heineman was in the top 20 in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. And Nolan Fontana was first in on-base percentage (.415) and walks (102 in 104 games), ninth in runs scored and in the top 20 in triples. Fontana hit .381 with a double, triple, four walks, three RBI and three runs scored in the postseason.

Yes, the JetHawks had four of the top 10 in batting average, six of the top 10 in on-base percentage, two of the top 10 in slugging percentage, three of the top 10 in runs scored, three of the top 10 in RBI, and four of the top five in walks.

On the other side of the coin, the team ERA ranked 9th out of 10 which is frankly not surprising. The only team with a worse ERA was High Desert which, not coincidentally, has the only ballpark in the California League that is more hitter-friendly than The Hangar. The team WHIP and strikeouts, on the other hand, were in the middle of the pack for the league and the team issued the fewest walks of all 10 teams.

LHP Luis Cruz, who recently turned 23, spent the majority of the season with Lancaster and was seventh in the league in strikeouts, ninth in WHIP (1.332), and 16th in ERA (5.16). His 150 strikeouts for the season led all Astros minor league pitchers for the season. He also pitched the final four innings of a no-hitter started by fellow lefty Kyle Hallock (25) back in May. Cruz went on to pitch his final four games (two starts) for Corpus Christi where he compiled a 2-0 record with an 0.53 ERA and an 0.529 WHIP. One of those starts was a complete game shutout in which he struck out 14 batters.

RHP Brady Rodgers, who turned 23 last week, also ranked in the top 20 in the league in ERA, WHIP and strikeouts. Rodgers had a masterful postseason appearance in which he allowed one run on four hits and no walks while striking out 11 in seven and a third innings. RHP Aaron West was in the top 20 in strikeouts and would have ranked in the top 20 in ERA and WHIP had he pitched just a few more innings. West had the best strikeout to walk ratio (6.59) in the Astros system for anyone on a full season team. Travis Ballew was second in the California League in saves with 21.

LHP David Rollins (23) put up an 8-5 record with a 3.98 ERA and a 1.161 WHIP in 23 games (14 starts) before being called up to Corpus Christi for his final six starts of the season. His fellow lefty Tommy Shirley (24) largely flew under the radar as he managed a 3.35 ERA and a 1.195 WHIP in 27 games (nine starts). He was even better later in the season as he put up a 2.67 ERA and a 1.056 WHIP in 16 appearances (six starts) in June, July and August. He had a 1.69 ERA and a 0.938 WHIP in his only postseason appearance.

There were a lot of comings and goings on the staff, and I've already discussed Colton Cain, Mike Hauschild, Jordan Jankowski and Vincent Velasquez in my Quad Cities season review. Likewise, I will discuss Mike Foltynewicz and Carlos Quevedo in my Corpus review.

But there were a few bullpen pitchers who spent a good chunk of their seasons with Lancaster that merit a mention here. RHP Jonas Dufek (25) had a tough start to his season, but ended up with a very nice 1.80 ERA and a 1.044 WHIP over his last 30 appearances (45 innings) between Lancaster and Corpus Christi. For the season, he had a 3.19 ERA, a 1.241 WHIP and had 74 strikeouts to 20 walks in 67+ innings. LHP T.J. Geith (24) had a 2.86 ERA and a 1.318 WHIP in 31 appearances before his promotion to Corpus Christi. RHP Michael Dimock (23) had a bit of an up and down season with Lancaster after his early season promotion from Quad Cities, but ended the season with a combined ERA of 3.88 and a 1.162 WHIP. LHP Kenny Long (24) struggled with Corpus Christi to start the season, but put up a 2.83 ERA and a 1.012 WHIP in his final 23 outings back with the JetHawks.

24-year old RHP Gera Sanchez only pitched in a few games at Lancaster after his call up from Quad Cities, but managed a very nice 1.69 ERA and 1.219 WHIP. In the postseason, he allowed no hits and only one walk in his three appearances.

RHP Kyle Smith, who recently turned 21, pitched a two-hit complete game shutout for his one win in five starts with Lancaster after being obtained in the Justin Maxwell trade at the end of July. Let's just say that his other four starts did not go quite as well and leave it at that.

A postscript on the playoffs: As I mentioned in the intro, this team could sometimes be a little streaky and that was the case in the playoffs. Players who had been red-hot going into the playoffs didn't benefit from the four days off between the last game of the regular season and the first game of their playoffs (they had a first round bye while the wild card was decided). They were 12 for 53 with runners in scoring position and left 47 men on base in the five game series. But the pitching, for the most part, was very good as they compiled a 3.18 ERA and a 1.254 WHIP with 50 strikeouts (to only 14 walks) in 51 innings.

Seasons in Review for Other Astros Minor League Teams
DSL Season in Review
GCL Season in Review
Greeneville Season in Review
Tri-City ValleyCats Season in Review
Quad Cities River Bandits Season in Review

6 comments:

  1. I think the loss of Tucker really hurt the Jethawks in the playoffs. He was a huge bat for them. I think he will hit real well at CC next year, reuniting with a lot of his former teammates.

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  2. The 2012/2013 Batting line is confusing me. I thought it was odd that their OBP and SLG were the same, but even more odd when you said the OBP improved the most...what gives?

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    1. Good grief!!! I had the numbers reversed originally and I screwed them up when I tried to fix them. And that it precisely why I need some time off. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. It has been corrected now.

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  3. Anybody who has seen Brandon Meredith, can you give me a physical description of him? He seems to be one to watch, his on base and slugging percentages have always been good, and his batting average looks to be on the rise. Some of the pics I've seen show him as in shape, while others I've seen show him as out of shape and sloppy looking. Any insight/opinions would be nice.

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    1. His is in EXCELLENT shape. He is a big guy, barrel-chested, and he works hard to stay in good shape. He is as intense on the field as he is loose off the field. He is definitely one of my sleepers.

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  4. Love these reviews and your interviews!!! Hope you're not on too long of a vaca!

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