Lexington Legends - April 2012

Over the last couple of weeks, I've attempted to cull through and organize hundreds of photos I took at the various minor league venues during the 2012 season. Here are a few you may enjoy. I have also uploaded photos to Flickr. You can find my Lexington Legends photos from April 2012 here. Unfortunately, I haven't tagged the photos yet, but hope to do so at some point during the off-season. I'll be posting additional photos over the next couple of days.

Mike Kvasnicka warming up Luis Cruz

Mike Kvasnicka taking infield

Roving Coach Paul Runge working with Jordan Scott

Delino DeShields taking a breather

Jordan Scott

Photos by Jayne Hansen

 All Rights Reserved*

*The players and coaches featured in these photos are hereby granted permission to use these photos for personal uses. All other uses require permission and acknowledgment.

So How Did I Do? Lexington Legends

I've been dragging my heels a bit in going back to look at some of my predictions for the Astros minor league  teams for 2012. Frankly I was surprised that I did fairly well overall with one major exception. Let's look at my predictions as to how the 2012 full season teams would fare. First the A level Lexington Legends.

OFFENSE

I was concerned about the offense on this team. On paper, they looked to improve slightly in batting average and on-base percentage over the 2011 team, but were poised for a large drop-off in power coming in to the season. I saw Mike Kvasnicka and Matt Duffy as keys to shoring up the team slugging percentage. I wanted to see those two players translate some of their doubles power into home run power as I thought they were the most likely candidates to do so. They both obliged nicely.

Mike Kvasnicka
32 doubles/4 triples/4 home runs in 128 games in 2011
15 doubles/1 triple/15 home runs in 63 games in 2012

Matt Duffy
20 doubles/1 triple/2 home runs in 63 games in 2011
32 doubles/1 triple/16 home runs in 134 games in 2012

I also wanted to see at least incremental improvements offensively from three players. Robert Pena started off the year at Lexington slowly, but did start showing those incremental improvements prior to his promotion to Lancaster. Alex Todd didn't do anything incrementally. He blew away his rather anemic 2011 numbers and only spent 22 games with Lexington before getting the call up to Lancaster. And we all know about Delino DeShields terrific season as he went from hitting .220/.305/.322 at Lexington in 2011 to .298/.401/.439 in 2012, leading to his late season call-up to Lancaster.

And finally, I wanted to see three players avoid major drop-offs from their 2011 seasons. Matt Duffy continued to show consistency all season and ended up with only a slightly lower batting average than he did in 2011 despite playing in more than twice as many games (and had a higher OBP and SLG). However, Emilio King went from .293/.332/.439 in 98 games with Lexington in 2011 to hitting .135/.220/.176 in 20 games with Lexington in 2012, leading to a trip back to extended Spring Training. Somewhere in between was Jordan Scott who I saw as unlikely to produce at the level he had the previous year (.323/.380/.406 through three levels), but who ultimately fell off offensively more than I had expected (.230/.325/.280).

Ultimately, the offense stacked up this way:

2011 - .255/.327/.389 with 4.67 runs scored per game
2012 - .252/.344/.380 with 5.01 runs scored per game

PITCHING

I was more optimistic about the pitching than the offense. Overall, the 2012 staff looked to be stronger than the 2011 staff and I expected improvement in that area. But after I established some of my keys to success, the team quickly re-keyed the locks. First of all I was looking for Nick Tropeano to build on his terrific freshman year success. Check. But I hoped for the same from Kyle Hallock who struggled out of the gate before having surgery and missing the vast bulk of the season.

But I looked rather perspicacious when I went on to note that Luis Cruz and Carlos Quevedo, both of whom started the season in the bullpen, had experience as starters and were quite capable of picking up the slack if the opening day roster rotation struggled. Quevedo started four games for Lexington, but Cruz became a regular and started 24 games for the team and did so quite capably.

The other key, in my mind, was improvement by Mike Foltynewicz and Tanner Bushue. I expected improvement from Folty but was very pleasantly surprised by the level of his improvement. I also expected improvement from Bushue, but he continued to struggle with mechanics and was quickly sent back to extended Spring Training after only six games.

I also liked the bullpen and saw good seasons from Dayan Diaz and Jason Chowning, in particular, as establishing the strength of the Lexington 'pen. They did not disappoint.

Ultimately, this is how the pitching stacked up:

2011 - 4.63 ERA/1.413 WHIP/5.30 runs allowed per game
2012 - 4.26 ERA/1.387 WHIP/4.81 runs allowed per game

OVERALL RECORD

I underestimated how well every single full season team would do, but I did come close on Lexington.

2011 Actual - 59-79/.428 win percentage
2012 Prediction - 65-75/.464 win percentage
2012 Actual - 69-69/.500 win percentage

Next up: Lancaster

Congratulations!!!

RHP Chris Devenski got to the party late. As the PTBNL in the Brett Myers trade with the White Sox, he only got in five starts with his new club, the Lexington Legends, before the season ended. The last of those five starts was a memorable one. Devenski threw a 16-strikeout complete game no-hitter, the first in Lexington Legends history. Devenski had never pitched beyond the seventh inning in his two years in the minor leagues, yet he was only one fifth-inning walk away from a perfect game in his final start of the season.

Devenski was nominated for a MiLBY award, in which the fans vote for, among other things, the Game of the Year. This year Devenski's no-hitter was the winner. Congratulations to Chris and to all of his Legends teammates on this well-deserved recognition!

Lexington Legends Season Recap

Last week, I took a look at the DSL Astros season, the GCL Astros season, and the Greeneville Astros season. Now let's look at the Lexington Legends Lo-A affiliate. Here's a quick look at how the 2011 and 2012 teams compare.

2011 Win Percentage - .428
2012 Win Percentage - .500

2011 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 645 - 731 = (86)
2012 Runs Scored - Runs Allowed = Run Differential - 691 - 664 = 27

2011 Team ERA & WHIP - 4.63 & 1.413
2012 Team ERA & WHIP - 4.26 & 1.387

2011 Team Batting Line - .255/.327/.389
2012 Team Batting Line - .252/.344/.380

The results for Lexington are somewhat deceptive. As late as mid-August, they were substantially over .500 before hitting a skid in which they lost 16 of 18. I don't know if these players were simply out of gas after many of them participated in their first full professional season, but I'm sure that was a factor. And I'm certain that the loss of Delino DeShields as he was promoted to Lancaster in early August was a factor as well. The season-long chemistry established with DeShields at the top of the order had to be difficult to recreate.

There was a 10-game swing in the win column and a 113-run swing in the run differential. Although the pitching stats don't show a dramatic difference, the team went from toward the bottom of the pack in league ERA and WHIP to solidly in the middle, and went from 9th in saves and 12th in strikeouts (out of 14 teams) to second in the league in both of those categories. Team batting average and slugging percentage are roughly where they were last season. The biggest improvements are in on-base percentage (from 9th to 4th in the league), runs scored and RBIs (from 8th to 4th), and walks and stolen bases (from the bottom of the pack to 2nd in the league).

Here are some individual standouts from the team ~

I'll take a complete look at 2B Delino DeShields, Jr. when I write my season recap on the Lancaster team, but it bears noting that despite having been gone from the Lexington club for almost a month, DeShields is still a league leader in numerous categories, including stolen bases (1st), runs (2nd), OBP (7th) and walks (8th). He's also in the top 20 in the league in batting average, slugging, OPS and hits. He was recently named a South Atlantic League post-season All-Star.

3B Matt Duffy ended the season with a .280/.387/.447 batting line and a team leading 138 hits (7th in the league) and 16 home runs (tied for 9th in the league). He was also in the top 20 in the league in OBP, slugging, runs, RBI and doubles. He also held the dubious "honor" of being hit by pitch 41 times in the season, leading all of the minor leagues ... by far.

1B Zach Johnson led the team, and the league, in RBI with 108 and was tied for the lead on all Astros minor league teams with Erik Castro of Lancaster. He also led the team in walks (5th in the league) and doubles (tied for 3rd in the league), and was in the top three on the team in runs, hits and home runs. He ended the season hitting .238/.339/.406 and was also named to the South Atlantic League post-season All-Star team.

Although OF Brandon Meredith didn't play in enough games to qualify as a league leader in slugging, his .506 slugging percentage over 86 games was still impressive. In 48 fewer games than Zach Johnson and Matt Duffy, Meredith managed to tie Johnson in home runs and trail Duffy by just one. He was also in the top five on the team in runs, RBI, hits, doubles and triples. He ended the season with a .278/.377/.506 batting line.

RF/C Mike Kvasnicka was also limited in playing time due to injuries and similarly to Meredith managed to rank highly in several categories, including doubles, home runs and RBIs. SS Nolan Fontana led the team with a .464 OBP, albeit only over 49 games as he drew 65 walks, only 10 fewer than Zach Johnson who had played in 134 games.

RHP Mike Foltynewicz had an absolute breakthrough season. He turned a 5-11 2011 season into a 14-4 2012 campaign. He was tied for first in wins in the South Atlantic league, and was second in innings pitched, fourth in ERA, sixth in strikeouts and tied for 13th in WHIP among qualifiers. He also made the post-season All-Star squad. He ended the season with a 3.14 ERA and a 1.362 WHIP.

LHP Luis Cruz ended the season with a 9-8 record, a 4.05 ERA (tied for 13th) and a 1.357 WHIP (also tied for 13th). He was third in the league in strikeouts, fifth in innings pitched and tied for 11th in wins.

RHP Dayan Diaz was 5-4 with 19 saves in 41 appearances out of the bullpen. His ERA of 1.85 led the entire Astros system for pitchers making at least 30 appearances and was accompanied by a 1.200 WHIP. He was tied for third in the league in saves.

LHP Mitch Lambson started at Greeneville and was quickly promoted as he dominated the Appy League. His combined record for the season was 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA, a 0.975 WHIP, 10.6 SO/9 and a 5.40 SO/BB ratio. At Lexington, he had a 2.72 ERA and a 1.101 WHIP.

The sample size on RHP Chris Devenski (5 starts with Lexington) is too small for generalized conclusions, but I would be remiss if I didn't note his complete game no-hitter on his last start of the season, including his 16 strikeouts from that game. I would also be remiss if I didn't point out Hitting Coach Josh Bonifay's inclusion as a coach for the South Atlantic League post-season All-Star team (Hum you!)

I hope to have a post-season look at the Oklahoma City squad ready by the end of the week, but no promises.

South Atlantic League All-Stars

I have been negligent in my duty to report that we have SEVEN South Atlantic League All-Stars coming from the Lexington Legends team. The game will be played in Charleston, South Carolina on Tuesday, June 19th.

RHP Mike Foltynewicz
RHP Nick Tropeano
RHP Jason Chowning (promoted to HiA Lancaster)
RHP Carlos Quevedo
2B Delino DeShields, Jr.
1B Zach Johnson
3B Matt Duffy

I've interviewed six of these seven players. The only one I haven't interviewed yet is Carlos Quevedo, but I named him (along with Chowning) to my Regulators in Waiting bullpen staff in a recent article that I posted at The Crawfishboxes. I am extremely pleased that others are also recognizing some of the great talent we have in the Astros system. Here's the full story.

Some Random Thoughts on Lexington

As most of you probably know, I spent the last few days in Lexington watching the Legends (Astros LoA) in person.  I was able to interview pitching coach Dave Borkowski, hitting coach Josh Bonifay, RHP Nick Tropeano, 1B Zach Johnson, RHP Mike Foltynewicz and LF Jordan Scott.  I also met several other players while I was there.  It will take a while to listen to and transcribe the interviews and make some sense of everything I heard, saw and learned, but I would like to leave you with some overall impressions.

Whitaker Bank Ballpark and the Legends organization is a first class operation.  The facilities are extremely nice and the staff could not have been more friendly and accommodating. Keith Elkins, the voice of the Legends, made the trek from the press box to the back field clubhouse on numerous occasions to set up my interviews and patiently answered my many questions.  Every worker at the ballpark took good-natured pride in what they did (except for one surly waitress who shall remain nameless). Dave, one of the ushers at the stadium, became my new BFF despite the fact that he's a Red Sox fan.

I got a much better understanding of life in the minor leagues from talking to some of the players and meeting several members of the Legends Booster Club (including Ryan, Heather and Clinton who may be familiar to you if you're on twitter) as they hosted a potluck dinner for the players on Sunday after the day game. (As a side note, watching some of these players eat is somewhat awe-inspiring.)  It is not an easy life, but booster clubs and host families certainly make it more bearable.

I was simply blown away by the amount of information that Coaches Borkowski and Bonifay were able to impart in such a short period of time and how in tune they are with each and every one of their players. I didn't get as much of a feel for Bonifay as a coach, but I watched a few minutes of Borkowski working with pitchers on bullpens and I thought that the way he handled them was simply outstanding.  In talking to some of the pitchers, it is evident that they have a great deal of respect for Borkowski as well.

There were several things that surprised me. I didn't expect Mike Foltynewicz to be as charming and easy-going as he was. He was incredibly easy to talk to. I also didn't expect Zach Johnson and Delino DeShields to be as quiet as they were. I was pleasantly surprised to hear how good Nick Tropeano's fastball is and how he's using it to his advantage. I was a little miffed to hear from everyone how funny Matt Duffy is since he gave me the driest interview in the history of interviews over the winter (but since he hit three home runs while I was there, he's forgiven). And I never, ever, ever thought I would or could enjoy a rain delay as much as I did.

And I discovered a couple of players to watch who weren't really on my radar before who bear watching. I was somewhat intrigued by Evan Grills but after meeting him, seeing him pitch and talking to Dave Borkowski about him, I will be following the 19-year old lefty much more closely.  Drew Muren hadn't really even registered with me at all before, but seeing the rail thin centerfielder in action was a true eye opener.  Josh Bonifay described Muren as "wiry strong" and had some other interesting things to say about him. Another player I'll be keeping an eye on is SS Alex Todd.

More information, interviews, profiles and the like will be forthcoming but I just wanted to give you a taste of what I experienced on the trip.

One final thing I learned in Lexington. When the hitting coach calls you "ma'am," you're officially getting old.

Drew Muren April 2012

All 6'6" 195 lbs of him