The Tri-City ValleyCats Season in Review

Tri-City led their division most of the season, but a late season five-game skid coupled with a Lowell five-game win streak turned the tables. Fortunately, Tri-City won three of their last four while Lowell had a four-game losing streak and the ValleyCats ended up on top of the standings in the Stedler Division. They went on to make short work of Aberdeen, shutting them out in both games of the series to advance to the New York-Penn League Championship series. After losing game one of the LCS to State College in extra innings, they came back and took the final two to earn the NYPL crown. Here is how their 2013 season compared to the 2012 campaign.

2012 Win Percentage - .671
2013 Win Percentage - .579

2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 414 - 251 = 163
2013 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 324 - 267 = 57

2012 Team ERA & WHIP - 2.75 & 1.170
2013 Team ERA & WHIP - 3.01 & 1.139

2012 Team Batting Line - .271/.355/.391
2013 Team Batting Line - .246/.322/.345

As you can see, the pitching was quite good in 2013 and was very comparable to 2012. This year's staff was first in WHIP and sixth in ERA while last year's crew ranked fourth and second respectively in those areas (out of 14 teams). The 'Cats were ranked second in strikeouts (fourth in 2012) and dead last in walks (12th in 2012). Let's look at some of the individuals who contributed to those terrific numbers.

RHP Michael Feliz was, without question, the pitching star of this team. In 14 games (10 starts), he was 4-2 with a league leading 1.96 ERA and a 0.957 WHIP (second in the league). He ranked third in the league in strikeouts. Feliz fanned 78 batters while issuing 13 walks in 69 innings pitched. He will turn 20 at the end of this month.

21-year old LHP Evan Grills had a bit of a breakout season this year. In 16 games (8 starts), he went 7-1 (tied for first in the league in wins) with a 3.34 ERA (19th in the league) and a 1.258 WHIP (17th). Interestingly enough, Grills had some fairly dramatic splits between starting and relieving. In eight starts, he was 5-1 with a 4.67 ERA and a 1.65 WHIP. In eight relief appearances, he was 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA and a 0.987 WHIP.

There are so many pitchers who stood out for Tri-City that I am going to simply summarize them below ranked by number of innings pitched.

RHP Kyle Westwood (22) - 44.2IP 11G/8GS 0.81ERA 0.761WHIP
*RHP Zach Morton (23) - 32.2IP 9G/4GS 1.93ERA 0.735WHIP
LHP Chris Cotton (22) - 31IP 8G/6GS 1.74ERA 1.097WHIP
*RHP Andrew Walter (22) - 25.1IP 14G 2.49ERA 0.750WHIP
*RHP Richard Rodriguez (23) - 21IP 16G 1.29ERA 0.952WHIP
LHP Albert Minnis (21) - 14IP 14G 2.57ERA 1.143WHIP
*RHP Patrick Christensen (22) - 14IP 14G 3.86ERA 1.143WHIP

*Morton was promoted to Quad Cities where he made eight appearances (one start). His combined numbers are a 1.75 ERA and an 0.877 WHIP in 51.1 innings pitched.

*Walter was promoted to Quad Cities where he made six appearances. His combined numbers are a 1.66 ERA and an 0.711 WHIP in 38 innings pitched.

*Rodriguez started the season and ended the season with Quad Cities and did not fare as well at that venue as he did at Tri-City. In 44.1 innings combined (30 appearances), he had a 4.47 ERA and a 1.331 WHIP.

*Christensen was promoted to Quad Cities where he made nine appearances. His combined numbers are a 2.57 ERA and 1.000 WHIP over 28 innings pitched.

Tyler Brunnemann did well at Tri-City in limited action after his promotion there (0.90 ERA and 0.500 WHIP in 10 innings) as did Gonzalo Sanudo (0.00 ERA and 0.308 WHIP in 13 innings). Sanudo was fourth in the league in saves (with eight) despite only pitching in nine games in the NYPL.

In the postseason, the staff compiled a 1.34 ERA and a 0.851 WHIP with Feliz, Chris Munnelly (who I discussed in my Greeneville review), Sanudo, Westwood, Grills and Brunnemann all pitching very well. In particular, Westwood contributed two wins in the postseason with a 0.692 ERA and a 1.000 WHIP and Sanudo converted saves in all four of the postseason wins.

PHEW!!! A lot of guys pitched really, really well for the 'Cats.

Now, let's look at the offense. Batting average ranked fifth in the league, on-base percentage was third and slugging was sixth (all out of 14 teams). Not bad at all, but their 2012 counterparts ranked first in all of those categories so they had some big shoes to fill. The team struck out fewer times than anyone else in the league. They ranked second in walks and home runs, in the middle of the pack in stolen bases and triples and toward the bottom of the league in doubles.

Many of Tri-Cities' best hitters didn't spend much time there. OF Dan Gulbransen (.397/.426/.638) was promoted after only 15 games there. Likewise, C Luis Alvarez (.303/.395/.485) played in only 12 games at Tri-City. 22-year old 3B Tyler White ended his season at Tri-City, hitting .286/.362/.384 with 25 RBI in 28 games. 2B Tony Kemp (21) spent the bulk of his season at Tri-City, hitting .282/.355/.362 in 48 games. He was tied for 10th in the league in stolen bases despite having played his final 27 games at Quad Cities.

Of those who spent the entire season at Tri-City, no one stands out quite as much as 21-year old 1B Conrad Gregor. Gregor ranked second in walks, third in hits (tie), sixth in on-base percentage, 10th in batting average, 10th in RBI (tie) and 13th in runs scored (tie). He hit .289/.379/.385 with twelve doubles, one triple, four home runs, 35 RBI (tied for team lead). He walked 37 times to 43 strikeouts in 317 plate appearances.

Others who ranked at the top of the New York-Penn League were 21-year old CF James Ramsay (top 10 in runs, triples and walks), 22-year old SS Chan Moon (top 10 in triples and top 20 in stolen bases), 23-year old DH/1B Mike Martinez (third in home runs, top 10 in RBI, top 20 in slugging percentage), and 21-year old OF D'Andre Toney (top 20 in stolen bases). Martinez and Toney will start the 2014 season on the restricted list.

And one final note for faithful reader John. Vamos Gatos!!!

Seasons in Review for Other Astros Minor League Teams
DSL Season in Review
GCL Season in Review
Greeneville Season in Review