The Oklahoma City RedHawks Season in Review

Oklahoma City had the best record in the American Southern Division and in the Pacific Coast League, but they fell to Omaha in three straight games in the Conference Finals and did not advance to the League Finals. Here is how the RedHawks 2012 and 2013 seasons compared.

2012 Win Percentage - .545
2013 Win Percentage - .569

2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 764 - 758 = 6
2013 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 677 - 645 = 32

2012 Team ERA & WHIP - 4.89 & 1.508
2013 Team ERA & WHIP - 4.21 & 1.395

2012 Team Batting Line - .282/.349/.434
2013 Team Batting Line - .271/.347/.403

The pitching was definitely an improvement over last season, primarily because there were a few actual prospects pitching there, not just filler and players who had struggled in Houston (although, naturally, there were a few of those as well). Out of 16 teams in the league, the Oklahoma City crew were sixth in ERA, fifth in WHIP, fifth in walks allowed and 14th in strikeouts.

It's hard to make any sweeping generalizations, though, when a whopping 35 pitchers appeared on the RedHawks roster at some point during the season and only a couple pitched more than 100 innings there. I've already talked about some of the pitchers who were promoted to Oklahoma City and, presumably, you're familiar enough with those who were promoted to Houston that I don't need to dwell on those so let's keep this short.

I only briefly mentioned RHP Asher Wojciechowski in my Corpus recap, discussing how he fared at the AA level. In 22 games (21 starts) for AAA Oklahoma City, he went 9-7 with a 3.56 ERA and a 1.194 WHIP. He was seventh in ERA, third in WHIP and in the top 20 in strikeouts in the Pacific Coast League. He finished the season with a combined 11-8 record, 3.32 ERA and 1.150 WHIP.

LHP Eric Berger (27) appeared in 44 games (three starts) and had a 6-3 record with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.288 WHIP. RHP Jason Stoffel, who turned 25 last week, pitched in 44 games with a 3.47 ERA and a 1.267 WHIP.

The offense was first in the league in one category -- stolen bases. They were in the middle of the pack in batting average, on-base percentage, triples and walks and were toward the bottom in slugging, doubles and home runs. Only two teams struck out fewer times than the RedHawks, though.

Similar to the pitching, there are only a few position players that I haven't already talked about who haven't made their major league debuts already. Again, let's keep this short.

CF George Springer, who turned 24 last week, split his season between Corpus Christi (73 games) and Oklahoma City (62 games). Despite only playing in 62 games with the RedHawks, Springer was tied for eighth in home runs and ninth in stolen bases. He hit .311/.425/.626 with seven doubles, four triples, 18 home runs, 53 RBI, and 22 stolen bases in those 62 games and ended his season with a combined .303/.411/.600 batting line, 27 doubles, four triples, 37 home runs, 108 RBI and 45 stolen bases. Strikeouts have been an issue for Springer. He struck out in 29.7% of his plate appearances in Corpus Christi and in 24.4% of his plate appearances in Oklahoma City.

2B Jose Martinez (27) hit .282/.316/.410 with 19 doubles, one triple, six home runs and 42 RBI in 81 games at Oklahoma City. C Carlos Perez (22) hit. 269/.328/.345 in 75 games and threw out 47% of all would-be base stealers.

1B Jonathan Singleton hit .220/.340/.347 with 13 doubles, six home runs and 31 RBI in his 73 games with the RedHawks. He walked 46 times and struck out 89 times in 294 plate appearances. He was starting to heat up toward the end of the season, but overall, it was still somewhat of a disappointing season for him.

Again, it is hard to make any sweeping generalizations about the team since the roster has been a bit of a revolving door. By my count, I believe that there were 28 players who played for both the RedHawks and the Astros this year. As the prospects in the system make their way up through the ranks, the makeup of the AAA roster will continue to evolve. There should be more legitimate prospects coming through the level over the next few years and while there will always be a continuous shuttle of players between Houston and Oklahoma City (or wherever the AAA affiliate will be), I am hoping that, with the addition of a couple of consistent bullpen arms over the offseason (please, please, please Mr. Luhnow), there will be fewer frequent flyer miles awarded next season.

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
Lancaster JetHawks Season in Review
Corpus Christi Hooks Season in Review