A Look at Tri-City ValleyCats

In looking at the short season teams, we've looked at the DSL Astros (not so good) and the GCL Astros (a definite step up) and the Greeneville Astros (winning!). Now let's look at the creme de la creme of the short season teams, the Tri-City ValleyCats.

As of Wednesday the 18th, the Tri-City team has a record of 22-8. They have scored 5.4 runs per game while the pitching staff has allowed 2.93 runs per game. The average age of hitters and pitchers is the same at 21.7 years of age.

BATTING STATS
Andrew Aplin and Austin Elkins practically own the New York-Penn League in several categories, but there are other players who are excelling in some of these categories as well. This is how the top Tri-City performers rank versus other players in the league in batting statistics (BA, OBP & SLG are based on 2.7 plate appearances per team game).

Batting Average
1st - Andrew Aplin .388
2nd - Austin Elkins .351

On Base Percentage
1st - Andrew Aplin .495
18th - Austin Elkins .390

Slugging Percentage
2nd - Andrew Aplin .612
7th - Austin Elkins .505
17th - Jobduan Morales .453

Runs Scored
3rd* - Jesse Wierzbicki 22
5th* - Andrew Aplin 21
5th* - Austin Elkins 21
13th* - Jobduan Morales 18
13th* - Ryan Dineen 18

Hits
2nd - Austin Elkins 39
7th* - Andrew Aplin 33
12th* - Jesse Wierzbicki 30

Doubles
17th* - Austin Elkins 7

Triples
4th - Andrew Aplin 4
5th* - Austin Elkins 2

Home Runs
4th* - Jobduan Morales 4

RBI
4th* - Dan Gulbransen 19
9th* - Jobduan Morales 18

Walks
9th* - Andrew Aplin 16
12th* - Ryan Dineen 15

Strikeouts
None in the top 20!

Stolen Bases
1st - Andrew Aplin 14
3rd - Austin Elkins 10
14th* - Neiko Johnson 6

In addition to these players, Tyler Heineman does not qualify as a league leader but has a .340 batting average and a .418 on base percentage which would put him in the top five in the league if he did qualify.

As far as how the team numbers rank against the other teams in the league, Tri-City is ranked first in batting average, on base percentage and stolen bases, second in runs scored and RBI, third in slugging percentage and tied for third in triples. They are sixth out of 14 teams in drawing walks and dead last in striking out. They are fifth in hits, tied for fifth in home runs and tenth in doubles.

PITCHING STATS
Several of the ValleyCats pitchers are excelling thus far this season. This is how the top Tri-City pitchers rank versus other pitchers in the league in pitching statistics (based on 0.8 innings pitched per team game).

ERA
Juri Perez 0.76 [See note below]
Aaron West 1.14 [See note below]
3rd - Brady Rodgers 1.37
14th - Vincent Velasquez 2.39

Note that Juri Perez was #1 on the list and Aaron West was tied for #4 on the list before yesterday's game. They both fell off the list of league leaders due to the qualification being based on 0.8 innings pitched per team game.

WHIP
Aaron West 0.634 [See note below]
Juri Perez 1.056 [See note below]
12th - Vincent Velasquez 1.101

Note that Aaron West was #2 on the list and Juri Perez was #8 on the list before yesterday's game. They both fell off the list of league leaders due to the qualification being based on 0.8 innings pitched per team game.

Strikeouts
7th* - Vincent Velasquez 28
7th* - Brady Rodgers 28

Saves
1st - Blake Ford 9

In addition, although these pitchers do not qualify as league leaders in ERA or WHIP, Blake Ford still has a 0.00 ERA after 12 appearances and a 0.771 WHIP; and Travis Ballew has an 0.53 ERA and a 0.706 WHIP in his 8 appearances; and Tommy Shirley has an ERA of 1.29 and a 1.000 WHIP in 3 games. Other pitchers with a WHIP under 1.000 include Kenny Long, Lance Day and Jeremiah Meiners; and Jamaine Cotton has an ERA under 2.00.

The team rankings are great across the board. The team ERA (2.25) ranks first out of 14 teams and the team WHIP (1.102) is third. They are first in wins, fourth in strikeouts, and 13th out of 14 in allowing walks.

*Indicates a tie