Dominican Summer League Season Recap - Offense

The Dominican Summer League teams ended their seasons a little early due to rainouts of their last couple of games. The Astros Orange team ended the season with a 31-39 record and the Astros Blue team ended with a 35-34 record. But both of the teams were coming on strong in August with 12-7 and 11-6 records, respectively, so they certainly left on a high note.

Since the Astros expanded their presence in the Dominican Summer League to two teams, there are a lot of players from the two teams who deserve a look so I'll be splitting this season recap into offensive performances and pitching performances. First up, the offense ~

Orange Team
.248 BA - 16th out of 36 teams
.377 OBP - 2nd
.342 SLG - 13th

Blue Team
.235 BA - 25th
.358 OBP - 10th
.325 SLG - 20th

The two teams ranked highly in walks. The Orange team was first in drawing walks with 403 and the Blue team was third with 381. In addition, the Orange team was third in stolen bases with 156 in 70 games. By contrast, the Corpus Christi team has stolen 161 bases, but it took them 133 games to do that.

The vast majority of those players having good offensive seasons in the DSL are still only 17 or 18 years old. In my notes on each player, I will indicate the player's current age with his birthday in parentheses. All of the players are in their first season of professional play except for two of them as noted below. Any players who were promoted to the GCL prior to the end of the season will be addressed in the season recap for that team.

CATCHERS

Orlando Marquez - 18 (3/12)
The Venezuelan born Marquez didn't start playing until July 4th. He caught in 15 of his 28 games and had five passed balls, five errors and a 37% caught stealing rate. Marquez hit .296/.381/.429.

Gabriel Bracamonte - 19 (5/15)
Also from Venezuela, Bracamonte showed early promise, but did not play after July 1st. He caught in only 10 of his 15 games with three passed balls, four errors and a 35% caught stealing rate. He hit a robust .378/.481/.511 in that small sampling.

Ihan Bernal - 17 (10/20)
Bernal is, to me, the most intriguing of the group. The young Panamanian may only have hit .200/.411/.284, but he was tied for the league lead with his 51 walks. In 52 games, he walked 51 times and struck out 47 times. Bernal caught in 40 of those games and had a .980 fielding percentage, a 7.33 range factor, 12 passed balls, six errors and a 39% caught stealing rate.

INFIELDERS

2B Jonathan Matute - 17 (4/28)
Another Venezuelan, Matute put up average defensive numbers, but like Bernal, he had a propensity to draw walks. His 43 walks (to 53 strikeouts) in 69 games tied for 10th in the league. His nine sacrifice hits were the most on his team. He had a .245/.369/.327 batting line for the season.

1B Connor MacDonald - 18 (2/27)
One of the young Australians playing for the Astros this year, MacDonald put up a .328/.442/.461 line in 35 games before being shut down on July 10th. His defensive numbers were at or above average.

1B Jake Bowey - 18 (7/16)
MacDonald's fellow Australian Bowey started the season with the Gulf Coast League (6 games) before being sent to the DSL (27 games) to finish the season. A lefty hitter, he hit .221/.362/.375 and walked 24 times while striking out 31 times. His defensive numbers were at or above average.

1B Cristopher Luciano - 18 (5/31)
This young Dominican was third in the league with his 50 walks (to 68 strikeouts) in 62 games. He hit .255/.401/.356 and put up defensive numbers that were at or above average.

3B Wander Franco - 17 (10/11)
Fellow Dominican Franco hit .243/.363/.352 in 68 games and was coming on strong at the end of the season, hitting .323/.392/.431 in August. Franco was tied for fourth in the league in walks with 48 (to 37 strikeouts). Franco is a switch-hitter who hit better from the right side of the plate this season. His defensive numbers were somewhat below average.

3B Reiny Beltre - 18 (7/16)
Beltre also improved toward the end of the season, hitting .294/.422/.368 in August (and .231/.380/.281 for the season). Beltre did not join the team until July 12th and only played in 34 games (walking 20 times and striking out 21). His defensive numbers were somewhat below average. Beltre is from the Dominican Republic.

SS Wilson Amador - 17 (12/14)
This young Dominican has the unenviable honor of currently leading all Astros minor league players in hit by pitches, with 17. He led his team in runs, hits (a tie) and stolen bases, and was tied for 8th in the league in that last category. A .245/.349/.302 hitter in 64 games, he hit .284/.383/.328 in August. With 39 errors to his name, his defense is a work in progress.

IF/OF Marcos Almonte - 18 (3/28)
Almonte is also Dominican. He has played more games at shortstop than any other position, but also played at left field, third base, center field and second base this year. He is tied with Amador (and Andy Pineda below) for the DSL Astros lead in hits, but leads the DSL 'Stros outright in doubles and triples. Almonte is tied for 14th in doubles and walks in the league. He walked 42 times while striking out 44 times in 67 games, as he hit .233/.359/.353. His defensive numbers at short are at or below average.

OUTFIELD

Vincente Sanchez - 17 (10/4)
Sanchez, another Dominican, showed tremendous promise early in the season, but played in only one game after July 8th. The lefty hit .281/.390/.479 in 32 games and his five home runs led the DSL Astros. Another patient hitter, he walked 22 times while striking out 23 times. His defensive numbers are at or slightly below average.

Andy Pineda - 17 (11/11)
Another Dominican lefty, Pineda hit .279/.384/.312 in 65 games and is in a three-way tie for the DSL lead in hits. His defensive abilities appear to be at or above average.

Edgar Lorenzo - 17 (1/15)
Yet another player from the Dominican Republic, Lorenzo showed average or somewhat below defensive abilities while putting up a .236/.361/.363 in 56 games. His bat was coming on strong in August as he hit .302/.431/.453 in August.

Bryan de la Cruz - 17 (12/16)
De la Cruz is also (surprise, surprise) from the Dominican Republic. He hit .346/.435/.481 in August and .262/.387/.317 in 59 games over the season. His defensive numbers are at or somewhat below average.

Jose Benjamin - 18 (12/16)
Benjamin's defense appears to be average to somewhat below average. In 42 games this season, he hit .235/.349/.309 with 20 walks to 24 strikeouts. He is also from the Dominican Republic.

Juan Fuentes - 20 (11/8)
Another average to slightly below average defender (on paper), Fuentes is in his second year as a professional, having played last season in the Blue Jays organization. The switch-hitter hit .300/.423/.367 in 58 games and had the 17th highest OBP in the league. He is from the Dominican Republic.

Rodrigo Ayarza - 19 (2/20)
Ayarza is in his third professional season, but his first with the Astros (after spending two years in the Rangers organization). A switch-hitter from Panama, he led the DSL Astros in RBI and sacrifice flies, and he was tied for 18th in walks in the league (41 walks to 30 strikeouts). On paper, he is an average to above average defender.

Later this week, I'll be taking a look at the DSL pitchers.