Today is Fireflies Opening Day for the second time ever! Not quite the excitement of last year, as the Fireflies already have one season under their belt. I stopped posting on here late last season, but will try to add a few new posts a week this season. There is obviously a lot to talk about this year's roster, so let's get into it.
Preseason Fireflies Rankings
1.Milton Ramos, SS
2016: Batted .220 with no home runs and 35 RBIs and OPS of .564 for the Fireflies
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' third round pick in 2014 out of high school
Age: 21
My preseason #1 Firefly last year was Ivan Wilson. That turned out to be a terrible pick. But most "experts" had Ramos as their top Firefly, and that turned out to be a bad pick as well. Ramos had a terrible OPS all season, and was even inconsistent defensively which is his strength, As a result, he never got promoted last year or even in Spring Training this year and he remains a Firefly. There really should be no reason for putting him this high. But he is still younger than most of this year's roster, nearly all of which of which have never played over 100 professional games in a single season like Ramos did last year (or even in a league that plays 100+ games). And there still is a reason the Mets drafted him high enough for him to get a good signing bonus to go pro out of high school. He has the potential, and now he has the experience. It's up to him to deliver this year.
2. Dash Winningham, 1B
2016: Batted .234 with 12 home runs and 69 RBIs and OPS of .671 for the Fireflies
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' eighth round pick in 2014 out of high school
Age: 21
Like Ramos, Winningham was drafted out of a Florida high school three years ago. And like Ramos, he will be a Firefly for the second straight year. That's not a good thing, as in baseball player development being assigned to the same team a second year in a row is like getting held back in school. Winningham in the first half of last season was a solid contact hitter, but didn't bring the power that the Mets drafted him for. His power numbers improved late in the season, but at the expense of making contact much of the time. He's a better hitter than Ramos by far, but he doesn't have the value Ramos does of being an athletic shortstop. I've seen lots of guys who are decent hitters in the minors, but not great and don't bring any other tools to the table. That is my fear with Winningham, but like Ramos he is young and has plenty of time to improve against guys who are the same age or older and did not play in full season Class A last year.
3. Desmond Lindsay, CF
2016: Batted .303 with 4 home runs and 17 RBIs and OPS of .884 for Low A Brooklyn and Low Rookie GCL Mets
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' second round pick in 2015 out of high school
Age: 20
Lindsay is a five tool outfielder and the "expert" pick for this year's top Firefly. But can he avoid being this year's Milton Ramos? Everything suggests he will be a great player, but his experience above high school ball is behind most of the team (except for you know who that will be covered at the end of these rankings). He only played in 37 games last year, 5 of which were in the complex-based Gulf Coast League. He's the hope of the team this year, but it may take time for him to be able to produce and get promoted as the first two guys on this list showed last year.
4. Merandy Gonzalez, P
2016: 6-3 with 2.87 ERA for Low A Brooklyn
Home Country: Dominican Republic
International Free Agent
Age: 21
While Merandy, one of two starting pitchers named Gonzalez on this year's team, didn't play for the Fireflies at age 20 like Ramos and Winningham did, he was able to have a solid season for Short Season Brooklyn last year. It's hard to project the international free agents, but he has put up solid stats at a young age in his professional career. We'll see how far that gets him this year and beyond.
5. Harol Gonzalez, P
2016: 7-3 with 2.01 ERA for Low A Brooklyn
Home Country: Dominican Republic
International Free Agent
Age: 22
Harol is the other Gonzalez on this year's team, and will begin the season as the #1 starter in the Fireflies' rotation. He had a better season than Merandy last year, but is a year older so he doesn't project as well. But anytime you have an ERA just over 2 in 13 starts you're doing something right. He needs another really great season with the Fireflies, and might emerge as a late blooming prospect if he can deliver. Hope his profile picture with the Fireflies is as good as it was at Brooklyn last year.
6. Gabriel Llanes, P
2016: 4-8 with 3.94 ERA for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: California
Draft: Mets' 15th round pick in 2014 out of high school
Age: 21
Llanes had a bad 4-8 record last year, but that probably should be ignored as Brooklyn had little hitting behind him last year. The 3.94 ERA is solid, but only just okay considering the level of competition he was at last year. He only walked one batters per 10 innings pitched last year, a very good stat for a young pitcher. He's going to have to improve from his short season appearances out of high school, but he's still younger than most of the team and has shown potential already.
7. Jordan Humphreys, P
2016: 3-6 with 3.58 ERA for High Rookie Kingsport and Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' 18th round pick in 2015 out of high school
Age: 20
Humphreys like Llanes had a decent ERA but bad record last year. Humphreys however pitched most of the season one level below Llanes in Kingsport of the Appalachian League. But Humphreys is also a year younger than Llanes, and now are at the same level. It seems surprising that Humphreys was able to make full professional season baseball at age 20 after only being an 18th round pick, a slot where many players head off to college instead. I expect that he may turn out like Chase Ingram did last year, a solid starter but one who is prone to struggling at times as the Mets' try to transition him to higher professional baseball a bit too soon.
8. Blake Tiberi, 3B
2016: Batted .235 with 2 home runs and 24 RBIs and an OPS of .632 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Kentucky
Draft: Mets' third round pick in 2016 out of Louisville
Age: 22
Tiberi was a standout ACC 3rd baseman before struggling making the transition to pro baseball with Louisville last year. That sounds a lot like David Thompson, who was an excellent Firefly last year before getting promoted midseason. Definitely hope Tiberi can have a good season for the Fireflies, and as a prospect out of college I expect him to get promoted quickly if he can produce early.
9. Blake Taylor, P
2016: 1 save, no decisions and ERA of 4.15 for High Rookie Kingsport
Home State: California
Draft: Pirates' second round pick in 2013 out of high school
Age: 21
No, not the Blake Taylor who was USC's closer about 15 years ago. This Blake Taylor was drafted as a lively arm by the Pirates out of high school 4 years ago before getting traded to the Mets. So far Taylor has not met expectations. After struggling as a starter out of high school, the Mets decided to transition him into becoming a reliever. He often overpowers hitters, but is not consistent in getting outs and is prone to becoming wild. The potential is there for him to become a lockdown reliever if Mets' coaches get him to maintain control. But there have been many guys that professional teams take a chance on because they can throw hard but not accurately, and I am worried that Taylor could be one of those. Of the Fireflies from last year, he reminds me most of Christian Montgomery and he did not end up panning out.
10. Ali Sanchez, C
2016: Batted .216 with no home runs and 11 RBIs and an OPS of .535 for Low A Brooklyn
Home Country: Venezuela
International Free Agent
Age: 20
Sanchez struggled last yer with Brooklyn, but must be a decent enough catcher as he got promoted to Columbia for 2017. Plus, he is very young for this level. It's tough to project international free agents as said before. He could finally step up and have a big season, or he could be like Jose Garcia before he got injured. Once again the Fireflies are crowded with catching options, so a good chance he will have to wait to get regular playing time early.
11. Jacob Zanon, CF
2016: Batted .197 with 2 home runs and 18 RBIs and an OPS of .571 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Oregon
Draft: Mets' 15th round pick in 2016 out of Lewis & Clark State
Age: 21
Zanon is fairly young for a college prospect, coming out of Lewis & Clark State, which is a NAIA school but one known for baseball. Zanon put up amazing baserunning stats last year, stealing 20 bases and only caught twice while scoring 19 runs. If he gets on base, he can do damage. The big problem for him is that getting on base is often an issue, as he batted below the Mendoza line for Brooklyn. As said, he's still young so he still has time to work his hitting out. If he can't, he can always be a pinch runner.
12. Michael Paez, 2B
2016: Batted .190 with 2 home runs and 11 RBIs and an OPS of .555 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' 4th round pick in 2016 out of Coastal Carolina
Age: 22
Paez should have a lot of appeal to Firefly fans this year, as he won a national title a year ago for Coastal Carolina on the eastern end of the state. Outside of a local product as well as a PR stunt (both of who I will mention later) Paez has the most appeal to fans of any 2017 Firefly. Only problem was that Paez was very bad in his first summer of pro ball last year. Perhaps the rush and excitement of a run to a national title wore down Paez, and he will be better this year. But Paez also struggled in Omaha last year and was mostly carried by his often lesser regarded Chanticleer teammates. If Paez can get back to his form just before the CWS when the Mets drafted him, the SAL better look out. College infielders aren't usually hit or miss as pitchers and high school guys often are, but Paez could be one. Let's hope he's a hit.
13. Joseph Zanghi, P
2016: 1-0 with 8 saves and an ERA of 1.23 ERA for Low A Brooklyn.
Home State: Connecticut
Draft: Reds' 24th round pick in 2015 out of Cumberland County College
Age: 22
Zanghi was excellent as Brooklyn's closer last year, and should serve the same role for the Fireflies this year. He wasn't highly regarded out of college though, starting at Southern New Hampshire before going the JUCO route and not signing after being drafted low in 2015 before signing with the Mets in 2016. It's possible that the Mets found a sleeper pick who has finally emerged as a great pitcher late. Most likely Zanghi will be a solid minor league bullpen guy who doesn't catch they eye of scouts and doesn't advance much in the system. He is very similar to Tyler Bashlor of last year who turned out alright.
14. Luis Carpio, DH
2016: Batted .203 with no home runs and 3 RBIs with an OPS of .584 with the GCL Mets and Low A Brooklyn
Home Country: Venezuela
International Free Agent
Age: 19
International free agents are tough to project and Carpio may be the toughest to project. He was a solid player in Rookie League but did extremely poorly with Short Season A Brooklyn. But he's on the Fireflies before turning 20, the only player on the team who can say that. And he is officially listed as a DH, not good considering the Mets' don't have one if you move up. Carpio may be a good pro player someday, but I doubt that will be in 2017 as he will probably be behind other guys on the depth chart and be mostly used as a pinch hitter. He could possibly see another stint in Brooklyn this summer.
15. Colin Holderman, P
2016: 1-0 with 3 saves and an ERA of 3.86 for High Rookie Kingsport
Home State: Illinois
Draft: Mets' ninth round pick in 2016 out of Heartland Community College
Age: 21
Holderman had a bad freshman year at SIU of the Missouri Valley, then went to a JUCO and excelled and got drafted fairly high. He had an okay year at Kingsport last year, and figures to be the Fireflies' setup pitcher this year. And he has the perfect name for a setup man, who are going for the "hold". He certainly has the potential for a breakout season, but I'm still a bit skeptical as he was just okay two levels below the SAL in the Appy League a year ago and struggled against mid-major batters who are not of professional quality two years ago.
16. Austin McGeorge, P
2016: 0-1 with a save and an ERA of 2.84 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: California
Draft: Mets' seventh round pick in 2016 out of Long Beach State
Age: 22
If any Firefly bullpen pitcher exceeds my expectations for this season, it might be McGeorge. He's not that high on this list because he had a good but not great year for Brooklyn in limited action coming off the college season with the Dirtbags of Long Beach State. I suspect he will be a solid pitcher, but not quite a lockdown guy. Best case scenario is that he will be like Alex Palsha of last year, worst case scenario is that he will be like Johnny Magliozzi. Not a bad range, but not a major prospect either.
17. Gene Cone, RF
2016: Batted .227 with a home run and 17 RBIs with an OPS of .587 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: South Carolina
Draft: Mets' 10th round pick in 2016 out of South Carolina
Age: 22
Cone grew up and played high school ball at Spring Valley, only about 15 miles NE of Spirit Communications Park where the Fireflies play. And then he played for USC which is just across downtown from SCP as well. And of course USC is a very popular college team, drawing over 7K fans per game, twice what the Fireflies draw. To have one of the better Gamecock hitters playing in Columbia should be a huge boost for the Fireflies. But no, the Fireflies instead had to pressure the Mets' to send them their PR stunt signing who has gotten all the publicity. Cone over 3 years eventually emerged as a solid hitter in a Gamecock lineup which lacked one. But USC has certainly produced better players before, and Cone struggled in Brooklyn. I doubt Cone will reach the majors, but he has the potential to be a solid minor leaguer. And most importantly, he will be a local favorite everybody can root for. Let's hope he will be the outfielder Fireflies fans talk about rather than T@#!w.
18. Witt Haggard, P
2016: 3-4 with an ERA of 3.58 for the Fireflies
Home State: Texas
Draft: Mets' 10th round pick in 2015 out of Delta State
Age: 25
Like Ramos and Winningham, Haggard is coming back for a second year as a Firefly. Haggard however is four years older than those two and has more of a ceiling. It's possible he would be released by now if it weren't for that he initially went to college to play football before turning his attention to baseball (at least he made the change earlier than you know who that will be rounding out this list). And it's also possible that he would be at St. Lucie if not for a bad start in 2016 that saw him miss a lot of time due to injury. Haggard in the second half of the season was solid if not spectacular. I suspect that the pressure will be on Haggard early, and he will either be released or promoted early in the season.
19. Taylor Henry, P
2016: 2-1, 4 saves with an ERA of 1.93 for Low A Brooklyn and High A St. Lucie
Home State: Louisiana
Draft: Mets' 21st round pick in 2015 out of Centenary
Age: 23
Henry has been a solid reliever his career, and figures to be the Fireflies' go-to-guy in middle relief this season. He has come in under the radar, having played for a D3 school in college and was drafted low. As an older Class A guy, he needs to come through this season. I suspect he will be a good guy to have in the bullpen, but it might be difficult for him to break through as a prospect as the Mets have plenty of guys who have come through lately as bullpen prospects. He reminds me most of Seth Davis from last year's team.
20. Seth Davis, P
2016: 2-3, 1 save with an ERA of 2.31 for the Fireflies
Home State: Colorado
Draft: Mets' 29th round pick in 2015 out of Augustana (IL)
Age: 23
Speaking of Seth Davis, here he is. He had a solid season as an under-the-radar middle reliever last year for the Fireflies. So why is she still here? Because out of Spring Training he is injured. Once he gets healthy he presumable will return here, and will need to have the same stuff as last year. If he does, he should head to St. Lucie soon. But he wasn't a big prospect to begin with, so if he doesn't look as good he might be on his way out soon as well. That said, there is always a need for a lefty reliever which helps his chances.
21. Cameron Griffin, P
2016: Did not play due to injury, was 2-0 with 7 saves in 2015 and an ERA of 1.67 for Savannah
Home State: Georgia
Draft: Mets' 34th round pick in 2013 out of Columbus State
Age: 25
Griffin wasn't a highly regarded prospect, but emerged as a solid reliever out of D2 Columbus State. Unfortunately, he got hurt as the Savannah's closer in 2015 and missed all of 2016. He is the last Sand Gnat still standing in Class A's middle tier. If he can regain the form he had in 2015 as the Gnats' closer, he might get promoted if he can first challenge Zanghi for the closer role. Griffin's success is why the Mets have hung on to a guy barely drafted out of college four years ago. Griffin's age is what is working against him the most at this point.
22. Brandon Brosher, C
2016: Batted .183 with 6 home runs and 19 RBIs with an OPS of .611 for Low A Brooklyn, the Fireflies, and High A St. Lucie
Home State: Florida
Draft: Mets' 36th round pick in 2013 out of high school
Age: 22
Brosher spent some time with the Fireflies' last year, but was held back with injuries and didn't do well hitting for contact last year. If Brosher can boost his batting average, he might emerge as the starter in a crowded situation behind the plate for the Fireflies. He doesn't have to worry about being behind Patrick Mazeika this year for playing time. But he was barely drafted out of high school, and his stats show that he perhaps should have gone to college to get better for the professional ranks. Now that he is the age of a college graduate, it will be interesting to see how he does this go-around.
23. Anthony Dimino, C
2016: Batted .333 with 1 home run and 19 RBIs with an OPS of .858 for High Rookie Kingsport and Low A Brooklyn
Home State: North Carolina
Draft: Mets' 28th round pick in 2015 out of Belmont Abbey
Age: 23
Dimino is Brosher's main competition for catching time early in the season, with Sanchez likely to emerge later in the season. Dimino was an outstanding hitter last season, just as good if not better than any 2017 Firefly last year. However, most of last year Dimino was a 22 year old hitting in the Appalachian League. This will be a big step up for him after playing in the lower levels of the minor leagues and Division II in college. Dimino is the kind of player who would excel in the Coastal Plain League, as he did for the Gatsonia Grizzlies. But contrary to what casual fans may think the SAL is a big step up from that and he may struggle with little margin to do so as a 23 year old.
24. Adonis Uceta, P
2016: 3-6 with a 4.99 ERA for High Rookie Kingsport
Home Country: Dominican Republic
International Free Agent
Age: 22
Uceta struggled in the Appalachian League last year, but got promoted two levels as the Mets want to see if their IFA signing can pan out as he is now 22 and will turn 23 in a month. Unlike the Gonzalezs, Uceta will not likely be one of the better guys in the rotation out of the Dominican. If he is going to break out, now is the time to do it.
25. Matt Blackham, P
2016: Did not play due to injury, in 2015 was 2-2 with an ERA of 3.82 for Low A Brooklyn
Home State: Tennessee
Draft: Mets' 29th round pick in 2014 out of Middle Tennessee State
Age: 24
Like Griffin, Blackham missed 2016 and is looking to rebound in 2017. Blackham is a year younger and slightly higher regarded out of college than Griffin, but not by much and Griffin had a better 2015 at a level higher than Blackham. I'm skeptical if Blackham can get it going after a missing a year at a higher level than he has ever been, but he deserves the same chance Tyler Bashlor excelled with last year.
26. Max Kuhns, P
2016: No Decisions, 1 save with an ERA of 6.28 for High Rookie Kingsport
Home State: Colorado
Draft: Mets' 21st round pick in 2016 out of Santa Clara
Age: 22
Kuhns had a middling draft pick last year out of college, got sent to a league of mostly 19 and 20 year olds and did poorly. That doesn't sound like your typical player who makes it to Class A a year after getting drafted. The hope is that he wasn't fully recovered last summer coming off of pitching in the competitive West Coast Conference, and he'll be fully ready this year.
27. Jose Garcia, C
2016: Batted .200 with no home runs and 3 RBIs with an OPS of .511 for the Fireflies
Home Country: Venezuela
International Free Agent
Age: 22
Garcia looked like he could be promising as a defensive catcher early last year, but couldn't hit and got hurt and is still hurt. IFAs are tough to predict but it's hard to see him bouncing back strong, but hopefully he'll get healthy and get a chance.
28. Natanael Ramos, C
2016: Batted .289 with no home runs and 3 RBIs with an OPS of .767 for the Fireflies and Low Rookie GCL Mets
Home Country: Venezuela
International Free Agent
Age: 23
Ramos did better than Garcia when he played, but was also frequently injured. The Mets might be less patient with Ramos though because of his age. If Garcia and Ramos both get healthy, that could add an interesting twist to the battle for catcher. Right now I'm hopeful yet pessimistic for the chances that Garcia or Ramos could come back strong and become prospects again.
29. Tim Tebow, OF
2016: Never played professional baseball prior to September signing with Mets
Home State: Florida
Undrafted Free Agent out of Florida (did not play baseball in college)
Age: 29
Prior to signing with the Mets this past September and playing instructional league followed by the Arizona Fall League and Spring Training, Tebow had not played baseball in over a decade, last playing as a junior for Nease High School in Florida. Like Witt Haggard, Tebow also tried to be a SEC quarterback. Unlike Haggard at Ole Miss, Tebow was successful at Florida, hence why he wasn't playing baseball. At Florida Tebow won both a Heisman Trophy and and a national title, making him a hyped prospect going into the NFL. Tebow eventually got a chance in the NFL and led the Denver Broncos to a first play OT victory, the first NFL game with the current NFL OT rules. But after that despite significant media attention Tebow could not make another NFL team after a shot with the Jets and tryouts with the Patriots and Eagles. Then Tebow decided to play baseball, and is now a Firefly at age 29, four years older than the next oldest players and 7 years older than the team average. Tebow actually didn't attend Nease, the high school he played for in Florida. Instead he was given a Christian home school education, and prompted other states to possibly allow home school athletes into public school. Tebow's Christian background is pretty strong compared to even most athletes, and was in a controversial pro-life Super Bowl Ad for Focus on the Family. Tebow's praying even led to a meme called Tebowing, and Tebow has 3.76 million Twitter followers. By comparison, the Fireflies only have 11.7 thousand Twitter followers and his Fireflies' teammate Dash Winningham has just over two thousand followers.
Okay, obviously Tebow is not making the major leagues as all experts have said. And in the Twitter war between the Greenville Drive and the Fireflies over Tebow, sadly I have to side with our Upstate rivals. Minor League Baseball needs to be about seeing which players can develop in to major leaguers, not just the next PR stunt. And Tebow is the biggest PR stunt of them all since the 1994 Birmingham Barons with Michael Jordan. When Tebow first announced he was considering pro baseball, my first thought was, "Oh God, I hope the Mets don't sign him". And then in September I drowsily looked at ESPN.com, and saw the sub-headline that Mets had signed him. Gradually it came to me, "Oh wait, they did???". I wanted the Fireflies to become big time last year. THIS is not what I had in mind. One concern I had was that Tebow's presence would turn Fireflies games into some sort of religious revival. I still have that concern, but my biggest is that the Fireflies will turn out to be a joke to the public. This year's roster appears to be weaker than last year's which probably means even more losing. And even fewer prospects moving on to greatness. I blame the Mets as they have the responsibility over roster decisions, but I think the Fireflies deserve some blame as well, starting when they photoshopped a Fireflies' jersey onto Tebow's Eagles profile pic. Team president John Katz kept talking up all offseason about the possibility of Tebow coming here, which makes me think that the team lobbied for it. And the Fireflies need the fans, but will they stay when Tebow is promoted to St. Lucie or released by midseason? In the short term, Tebow will bring a weird excitement and buzz. In the long term.......... well, we need the Commons at BullStreet to finish up construction.
But the Fireflies are bigger than Tebow, and that's what I'm trying to cover here. I might not post a lot this season, but I will write when I can. By Memorial Day I'm guessing in some manner Tebow will be gone, released or moving on if he does even slightly okay here. And then Gene Cone will be the draw, as he should be. We have 140 games, starting with today. Let's make it a great season and Go Fireflies.
Thursday, April 6, 2017
Monday, August 1, 2016
Full Class A Rainout Watch (through July)
Time to check in on baseball's worst tradition, the rainout. If you need a refresh on what constitutes a rainout, here is my previous summary. Last time I broadened the rainout list to cover both Middle (or Low, to those who think of Short Season as not really Class A) A leagues. This time I am covering all seven Class A Leagues: the High A California, Carolina, and Florida State Leagues; the Middle A Midwest and South Atlantic Leagues; and the Low/Short Season A New York-Penn and Northwest Leagues.
High A
1. (Port) Charlotte 7
T2. Lynchburg 6
T2. Potomac 6
T2. Salem 6
T5. Carolina 5
T5. Tampa 5
T5. Wilmington 5
T8. Bradenton 4
T8. Brevard County 4
T8. Fort Myers 4
T8. Lakeland 4
T8. Myrtle Beach 4
T8. St. Lucie 4
T14. Daytona 3
T14. Frederick 3
T14. San Jose 3
T17. Bakersfield 2
T17. Clearwater 2
T17. Palm Beach 2
T17. Winston-Salem 2
T21. Jupiter 1
T21. Lancaster 1
T21. Stockton 1
T24. Dunedin 0
T24. High Desert 0
T24. Inland Empire 0
T24. Lake Elsinore 0
T24. Modesto 0
T24. Rancho Cucamonga 0
T24. Visalia 0
Middle A
1. Beloit 7
2. Lexington 6
T3. Bowling Green 5
T3. Clinton 5
T3. Delmarva 5
T3. Kannapolis 5
T3. West Virginia 5
T8. Greensboro 4
T8. Hagerstown 4
T8. Lakewood 4
T11. Asheville 3
T11. Augusta 3
T11. Charleston 3
T11. Dayton 3
T11. Quad Cities 3
T11. West Michigan 3
T17. Burlington 2
T17. Cedar Rapids 2
T17. Fort Wayne 2
T17. Greenville 2
T17. Hickory 2
T17. Lansing 2
T17. Rome 2
T17. Wisconsin 2
T25. Columbia 1
T25. Great Lakes 1
T25. Kane County 1
T25. Lake County 1
T25. Peoria 1
T25. South Bend 1
Low (or Short Season) A
1. Aberdeen 3
T2. Hudson Valley 2
T2. Tri-City (NY) 2
T4. Batavia 1
T4. Boise 1
T4, Brooklyn 1
T4. Everett 1
T4. Mahoning Valley 1
T4. Salem-Keizer 1
T4. Staten Island 1
T4. Vermont 1
T4. West Virginia 1
T4. Williamsport 1
T14. Auburn 0
T14. Connecticut 0
T14. Eugene 0
T14. Hillsboro 0
T14. Lowell 0
T14. Spokane 0
T14. State College 0
T14. Tri-City (WA) 0
T14. Vancouver 0
As far as the High A leagues, not surprisingly the California League has very few rainouts. San Jose leads the league with three rainouts, all on the first week of the season. California is generally a good place to be in the summer. The only recent cancellation in that league was by Lancaster, not because of too much rain but too little leading to the Sand Fire. I thought the Florida State League would have more, but it is played in Spring Training stadiums with good staff who can recover a field from the routine Florida thunderstorms. Only Charlotte (the city is Port Charlotte, like Port St. Lucie they shorten it to the county name) has had serious issues dealing with the weather in the FSL. Roger Dean Stadium, which houses both the Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals, has had only three rainouts despite having a game nearly every day of the season. And Dunedin has had none! Kudos to whoever works the stadium down there at beating the Florida weather for a remarkable job at getting baseball played.
The Low A (the real Low A, not what the SAL is colloquially called) leagues have very few rainouts because of its official designation: Short Season A. The NYPL and Northwest League have only been operating this season for six weeks so far. But congrats to Aberdeen for somehow getting three rainouts already in that time period. Given that the Ironbirds sell well, you would think they would put more effort into getting the games played.
For the Middle A leagues, poorly attended Beloit leads with 7 rainouts. Even though the attendance is per game played, I think it's quite possible that in some manner what is driving the high rainouts there is keeping attendance low. It could either be due to poor facilities or that fans in southern Wisconsin don't want to put up with poor weather anymore. But on the whole, the Midwest League is faring a lot better than the SAL. The Midwest often has thunderstorms roll through and has heat and humidity too. But aside from a few teams, the Midwest League has not had many issues getting the games played especially since the end of spring. Meanwhile the SAL continues to rack up rainouts, albeit not quite as bad as the higher level Carolina League. Five of the 16 Midwest League teams only have one rainout while only one SAL team has fewer than two rainouts: the Fireflies!
So why are the Fireflies so much better than the rest of the league at avoiding rainouts? I had thought maybe Spirit Communications Park had better drainage as a new stadium, but I saw the rained out game on July 18 and that was clearly not the case as the field could not handle a freak pop-up storm. Those kinds of storms happen nearly every day around here, so it's really surprising they couldn't handle it. Perhaps the field could have been fixed but they were very quick to call the game, barely over 30 minutes after the start of the delay. It's possible the umpire had a lack of patience for the storm moving out or the Fireflies were more interested in getting ready for a long bus ride the next day to Hagerstown. It's good that is the only rainout so far, but even one rainout is too much and you want to get as many games in without succumbing to every passing summer thunderstorm because we will get more without a doubt.
This is my first post in over two weeks! And I'll probably not post much in the near future until I get caught up on other things right now after having gone to many of the games.
High A
1. (Port) Charlotte 7
T2. Lynchburg 6
T2. Potomac 6
T2. Salem 6
T5. Carolina 5
T5. Tampa 5
T5. Wilmington 5
T8. Bradenton 4
T8. Brevard County 4
T8. Fort Myers 4
T8. Lakeland 4
T8. Myrtle Beach 4
T8. St. Lucie 4
T14. Daytona 3
T14. Frederick 3
T14. San Jose 3
T17. Bakersfield 2
T17. Clearwater 2
T17. Palm Beach 2
T17. Winston-Salem 2
T21. Jupiter 1
T21. Lancaster 1
T21. Stockton 1
T24. Dunedin 0
T24. High Desert 0
T24. Inland Empire 0
T24. Lake Elsinore 0
T24. Modesto 0
T24. Rancho Cucamonga 0
T24. Visalia 0
Middle A
1. Beloit 7
2. Lexington 6
T3. Bowling Green 5
T3. Clinton 5
T3. Delmarva 5
T3. Kannapolis 5
T3. West Virginia 5
T8. Greensboro 4
T8. Hagerstown 4
T8. Lakewood 4
T11. Asheville 3
T11. Augusta 3
T11. Charleston 3
T11. Dayton 3
T11. Quad Cities 3
T11. West Michigan 3
T17. Burlington 2
T17. Cedar Rapids 2
T17. Fort Wayne 2
T17. Greenville 2
T17. Hickory 2
T17. Lansing 2
T17. Rome 2
T17. Wisconsin 2
T25. Columbia 1
T25. Great Lakes 1
T25. Kane County 1
T25. Lake County 1
T25. Peoria 1
T25. South Bend 1
Low (or Short Season) A
1. Aberdeen 3
T2. Hudson Valley 2
T2. Tri-City (NY) 2
T4. Batavia 1
T4. Boise 1
T4, Brooklyn 1
T4. Everett 1
T4. Mahoning Valley 1
T4. Salem-Keizer 1
T4. Staten Island 1
T4. Vermont 1
T4. West Virginia 1
T4. Williamsport 1
T14. Auburn 0
T14. Connecticut 0
T14. Eugene 0
T14. Hillsboro 0
T14. Lowell 0
T14. Spokane 0
T14. State College 0
T14. Tri-City (WA) 0
T14. Vancouver 0
As far as the High A leagues, not surprisingly the California League has very few rainouts. San Jose leads the league with three rainouts, all on the first week of the season. California is generally a good place to be in the summer. The only recent cancellation in that league was by Lancaster, not because of too much rain but too little leading to the Sand Fire. I thought the Florida State League would have more, but it is played in Spring Training stadiums with good staff who can recover a field from the routine Florida thunderstorms. Only Charlotte (the city is Port Charlotte, like Port St. Lucie they shorten it to the county name) has had serious issues dealing with the weather in the FSL. Roger Dean Stadium, which houses both the Jupiter Hammerheads and Palm Beach Cardinals, has had only three rainouts despite having a game nearly every day of the season. And Dunedin has had none! Kudos to whoever works the stadium down there at beating the Florida weather for a remarkable job at getting baseball played.
The Low A (the real Low A, not what the SAL is colloquially called) leagues have very few rainouts because of its official designation: Short Season A. The NYPL and Northwest League have only been operating this season for six weeks so far. But congrats to Aberdeen for somehow getting three rainouts already in that time period. Given that the Ironbirds sell well, you would think they would put more effort into getting the games played.
For the Middle A leagues, poorly attended Beloit leads with 7 rainouts. Even though the attendance is per game played, I think it's quite possible that in some manner what is driving the high rainouts there is keeping attendance low. It could either be due to poor facilities or that fans in southern Wisconsin don't want to put up with poor weather anymore. But on the whole, the Midwest League is faring a lot better than the SAL. The Midwest often has thunderstorms roll through and has heat and humidity too. But aside from a few teams, the Midwest League has not had many issues getting the games played especially since the end of spring. Meanwhile the SAL continues to rack up rainouts, albeit not quite as bad as the higher level Carolina League. Five of the 16 Midwest League teams only have one rainout while only one SAL team has fewer than two rainouts: the Fireflies!
So why are the Fireflies so much better than the rest of the league at avoiding rainouts? I had thought maybe Spirit Communications Park had better drainage as a new stadium, but I saw the rained out game on July 18 and that was clearly not the case as the field could not handle a freak pop-up storm. Those kinds of storms happen nearly every day around here, so it's really surprising they couldn't handle it. Perhaps the field could have been fixed but they were very quick to call the game, barely over 30 minutes after the start of the delay. It's possible the umpire had a lack of patience for the storm moving out or the Fireflies were more interested in getting ready for a long bus ride the next day to Hagerstown. It's good that is the only rainout so far, but even one rainout is too much and you want to get as many games in without succumbing to every passing summer thunderstorm because we will get more without a doubt.
This is my first post in over two weeks! And I'll probably not post much in the near future until I get caught up on other things right now after having gone to many of the games.
Sunday, July 17, 2016
Former Fireflies Report (July 17)
It's time to take a look at former Fireflies who have moved on to Port St. Lucie. First things first: Tucker Tharp is fully healed and ready for more playing time and has been sent back down here, so he is no longer a former Firefly. At the same time Kevin Kaczmarski was deemed ready to move on so he will be on the report. Alex Palsha finally got promoted while the PSL Mets sent down..... Andrew Church? Apparently a 3.60 ERA wasn't good enough in the roster shuffles, so he was sent down here so I could get another chance to see him. But I didn't want to see a rain delay last night and he pitches the best of any Firefly this season, throwing a complete game 1-hitter. That is obviously of course what happens when I stay home, just haven't had any luck when seeing the Fireflies this year. And now of course that should get Church promoted again, maybe even to AA soon.
Batters
Pitchers
Siena and Thompson have been struggling to make the jump one level up, though Thompson seems to be improving the last few games. Kaczmarski on the other hand has done very well his first few games. I think the Mets timed his promotion very well, as it came when he was performing at his best. Siena was on the other hand on a downward trajectory when he got promoted while Thompson was stabilizing after recovering from an injury. Of course who knows what will happen once everybody gets more games in.
Conlon hasn't been doing as well in High A as Middle A, but he still has had a remarkable season, going 11-1 with a 1.94 ERA between both levels of full season Class A combined. He should be a lock to reach AA, if not this season then next.
Palsha needed just two innings to get half of his Columbia win total at St. Lucie. He didn't strike anybody out, but still his first outing as a PSL Met was a lot better than his first as a Firefly, and he ended up reasonably successful here.
Batters
| Batter | Level | TB | R | RBI | BB/HBP | SB | CS | 0 for 1 | SO | Score | AVG | HR | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinny Siena | High A | 18 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 51 | 13 | 96 | 0.239 | 0 | 0.619 |
| Kevin Kaczmarski | High A | 11 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 80 | 0.438 | 0 | 1.188 |
| David Thompson | High A | 10 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 6 | 62 | 0.235 | 0 | 0.627 |
Pitchers
| Pitcher | Level | Outs | K | ER | H | BB/HBP | W | S | L | Score | ERA | WHIP | K/9IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P.J. Conlon | High A | 99 | 23 | 8 | 28 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 416 | 2.18 | 1.00 | 6.3 |
| Alex Palsha | High A | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 0.00 | 0.50 | 0.0 |
Siena and Thompson have been struggling to make the jump one level up, though Thompson seems to be improving the last few games. Kaczmarski on the other hand has done very well his first few games. I think the Mets timed his promotion very well, as it came when he was performing at his best. Siena was on the other hand on a downward trajectory when he got promoted while Thompson was stabilizing after recovering from an injury. Of course who knows what will happen once everybody gets more games in.
Conlon hasn't been doing as well in High A as Middle A, but he still has had a remarkable season, going 11-1 with a 1.94 ERA between both levels of full season Class A combined. He should be a lock to reach AA, if not this season then next.
Palsha needed just two innings to get half of his Columbia win total at St. Lucie. He didn't strike anybody out, but still his first outing as a PSL Met was a lot better than his first as a Firefly, and he ended up reasonably successful here.
Wednesday, July 13, 2016
July 13 Standings and Attendance Update
It's been another really rough week for the Fireflies, getting swept by Augusta again and after last night have lost 5 straight. Here is a look at the standings now:
* = first half winner
** = leads second half
Now for the latest attendance in the South Atlantic League:
1. Greensboro 5,195
2. Lakewood 5,076
3. Greenville 4,845
4. Charleston 4,382
5. Lexington 4,028
6. Columbia 3,867
7. Delmarva 3,221
8. Asheville 2,594
9. Rome 2,571
10. Augusta 2,562
11. West Virginia 2,258
12. Hickory 2,214
13. Kannapolis 1,596
14. Hagerstown 1,191
The Fireflies have been doing pretty bad on the field lately, going 5-14 since Conlon and Siena were promoted at the start of the second half. So what's wrong? I think a lot of it lies in that the Mets in 2015 had no first round picks. Further more, the Mets' second, third, and fifth round picks are all high school players who still haven't gotten out of Rookie League yet. The only Mets draft pick out of a 4 year college in the first 6 rounds last year was David Thompson, who was promoted out of here a week ago. The good news is that the Mets were heavy in drafting college guys this June, which means we should see better and more experienced talent in Columbia very soon. Hopefully they won't do what they did with last year's 7th round pick in Corey Taylor in promoting them from Brooklyn to St, Lucie with no stop in Columbia.
So is this hurting our attendance right now? I think part of the reason that MiLB teams do stupid "stuff" (another s word might be more appropriate there) is that they have no control of how good there teams will be. The Fireflies have no power to get a better baseball team, only the Mets do and the Mets are going to do what is best for the Mets. I suppose the Fireflies could see if another SAL or Midwest League team would like to exchange affiliations, but that's a bit unlikely and probably wouldn't accomplish much. Usually affiliation changes are mostly driven by marketing on the part of the MLB team. Getting Brooklyn outfielder Gene Cone who played HS ball less than 10 miles from Spirit Communications Park and college ball for a very popular team less than 5 miles away should be a boost for getting community support. Now if the Mets decide to send Cone to St. Lucie instead, maybe the Fireflies would have a grievance for changing affiliations.
At some point, I am going to need to do a correlation study on what drives attendance rankings. What is most important? Winning? How new the stadium is? Market size? My feeling is that in the majors, winning is most important but it might be winning from the previous year rather than right now due to season ticket sales.My feeling is that stadium newness is probably the driving factor in the high minors while market size drives attendance in the low minors. But what defines market size? And can some markets be too big if they have competing entertainment options? I will have to look at that with either a future attendance report or a Sunday feature.
* = first half winner
** = leads second half
| Team | Affiliate | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northern Division | |||||
| Hagerstown* | Nationals | 53 | 36 | 0.596 | -- |
| Greensboro** | Marlins | 51 | 38 | 0.573 | 2 |
| Delmarva | Orioles | 50 | 38 | 0.568 | 2.5 |
| Hickory | Rangers | 47 | 42 | 0.528 | 6 |
| West Virginia | Pirates | 44 | 44 | 0.500 | 8.5 |
| Lakewood | Phillies | 39 | 49 | 0.443 | 13.5 |
| Kannapolis | White Sox | 35 | 54 | 0.393 | 18 |
| Southern Division | |||||
| Charleston* | Yankees | 50 | 37 | 0.575 | -- |
| Augusta** | Giants | 48 | 41 | 0.539 | 3 |
| Greenville | Red Sox | 46 | 41 | 0.529 | 4 |
| Asheville | Rockies | 44 | 43 | 0.506 | 6 |
| Columbia | Mets | 41 | 48 | 0.461 | 10 |
| Rome | Braves | 36 | 52 | 0.409 | 14.5 |
| Lexington | Royals | 33 | 54 | 0.379 | 17 |
Now for the latest attendance in the South Atlantic League:
1. Greensboro 5,195
2. Lakewood 5,076
3. Greenville 4,845
4. Charleston 4,382
5. Lexington 4,028
6. Columbia 3,867
7. Delmarva 3,221
8. Asheville 2,594
9. Rome 2,571
10. Augusta 2,562
11. West Virginia 2,258
12. Hickory 2,214
13. Kannapolis 1,596
14. Hagerstown 1,191
The Fireflies have been doing pretty bad on the field lately, going 5-14 since Conlon and Siena were promoted at the start of the second half. So what's wrong? I think a lot of it lies in that the Mets in 2015 had no first round picks. Further more, the Mets' second, third, and fifth round picks are all high school players who still haven't gotten out of Rookie League yet. The only Mets draft pick out of a 4 year college in the first 6 rounds last year was David Thompson, who was promoted out of here a week ago. The good news is that the Mets were heavy in drafting college guys this June, which means we should see better and more experienced talent in Columbia very soon. Hopefully they won't do what they did with last year's 7th round pick in Corey Taylor in promoting them from Brooklyn to St, Lucie with no stop in Columbia.
So is this hurting our attendance right now? I think part of the reason that MiLB teams do stupid "stuff" (another s word might be more appropriate there) is that they have no control of how good there teams will be. The Fireflies have no power to get a better baseball team, only the Mets do and the Mets are going to do what is best for the Mets. I suppose the Fireflies could see if another SAL or Midwest League team would like to exchange affiliations, but that's a bit unlikely and probably wouldn't accomplish much. Usually affiliation changes are mostly driven by marketing on the part of the MLB team. Getting Brooklyn outfielder Gene Cone who played HS ball less than 10 miles from Spirit Communications Park and college ball for a very popular team less than 5 miles away should be a boost for getting community support. Now if the Mets decide to send Cone to St. Lucie instead, maybe the Fireflies would have a grievance for changing affiliations.
At some point, I am going to need to do a correlation study on what drives attendance rankings. What is most important? Winning? How new the stadium is? Market size? My feeling is that in the majors, winning is most important but it might be winning from the previous year rather than right now due to season ticket sales.My feeling is that stadium newness is probably the driving factor in the high minors while market size drives attendance in the low minors. But what defines market size? And can some markets be too big if they have competing entertainment options? I will have to look at that with either a future attendance report or a Sunday feature.
Tuesday, July 12, 2016
Delmarva Series Preview
I decided to combine the updated Player Standings with the series preview. What I have done is I calculated my Player Rating score for both teams and compared them to one another. Only players on the respective active rosters are listed.
First we'll look at the hitters. Delmarva generally has much better scores for their hitters than the Fireflies do. There are two reasons for this, the first of which is because the Shorebirds hit better than the Fireflies do. The other is that the Fireflies' lineup has been more in flux with injuries and promotions. Losing Thompson and Siena was basically it for the Fireflies' offense, which has led to the Fireflies averaging just 2.75 runs per game over the past 8 games.
The guys to watch out for on Delmarva are their slugging catchers Yermin Mercedes and Alex Murphy, as well as speedy outfielder Cedric Mullins out of Campbell as well as a top Orioles prospect in SS Ryan Mountcastle. Mercedes' stats are very similar to that of Augusta's catcher Miguel Gomez who has been a real Firefly killer this season.
Now let's look at the pitchers. The teams are about equal here, mainly because aside from Conlon's promotion and a couple injuries the Fireflies' pitching staff hasn't been in flux as much as the Shorebirds. However generally aside from Canelon and Palsha the Shorebirds appear to have the edge here as well.
Generally there are no players on the Shorebirds of local interest. The Shorebirds appear to have the better players, so we could have more frustration this week on the field. The Fireflies have still yet to play a team in the second half with an overall losing record and that will again be the case until Rome comes to town Friday. Even if we can't break out of our slide here, hope the weather cooperates.
First we'll look at the hitters. Delmarva generally has much better scores for their hitters than the Fireflies do. There are two reasons for this, the first of which is because the Shorebirds hit better than the Fireflies do. The other is that the Fireflies' lineup has been more in flux with injuries and promotions. Losing Thompson and Siena was basically it for the Fireflies' offense, which has led to the Fireflies averaging just 2.75 runs per game over the past 8 games.
The guys to watch out for on Delmarva are their slugging catchers Yermin Mercedes and Alex Murphy, as well as speedy outfielder Cedric Mullins out of Campbell as well as a top Orioles prospect in SS Ryan Mountcastle. Mercedes' stats are very similar to that of Augusta's catcher Miguel Gomez who has been a real Firefly killer this season.
| # | Player | Team | Pos | Age | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | HBP | AVG | OPS | TB | PA | Score | Round Picked | Home State/Country | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Yermin Mercedes | Delmarva Shorebirds | C | 23 | 284 | 46 | 103 | 10 | 50 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 52 | 2 | 0.363 | 978 | 160 | 316 | 949 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 11 | Cedric Mullins | Delmarva Shorebirds | OF | 21 | 320 | 53 | 77 | 7 | 27 | 20 | 5 | 30 | 67 | 1 | 0.241 | 721 | 132 | 354 | 775 | 13 | Georgia | Campbell |
| 32 | Alex Murphy | Delmarva Shorebirds | C | 21 | 302 | 39 | 73 | 13 | 46 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 88 | 1 | 0.242 | 737 | 129 | 334 | 614 | 6 | Maryland | |
| 13 | J.C. Rodriguez | Columbia Fireflies | 3B | 23 | 295 | 41 | 71 | 4 | 33 | 14 | 2 | 25 | 50 | 1 | 0.241 | 647 | 102 | 324 | 590 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 10 | Kevin Kaczmarski | Columbia Fireflies | OF | 24 | 258 | 41 | 69 | 2 | 28 | 6 | 5 | 28 | 49 | 4 | 0.267 | 766 | 108 | 294 | 589 | 9 | Illinois | Evansville |
| 4 | Ryan Mountcastle | Delmarva Shorebirds | SS | 19 | 282 | 36 | 84 | 5 | 28 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 60 | 1 | 0.298 | 782 | 121 | 308 | 551 | 1 | Florida | |
| 2 | Ademar Rifaela | Delmarva Shorebirds | RF | 21 | 208 | 28 | 53 | 6 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 55 | 2 | 0.255 | 747 | 87 | 232 | 439 | IFA | Curacao | |
| 34 | Dash Winningham | Columbia Fireflies | 1B | 20 | 281 | 24 | 66 | 4 | 37 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 50 | 2 | 0.235 | 651 | 102 | 304 | 393 | 8 | Florida | |
| 7 | Ricardo Andujar | Delmarva Shorebirds | SS | 23 | 234 | 28 | 62 | 2 | 16 | 12 | 7 | 18 | 43 | 3 | 0.265 | 667 | 80 | 255 | 381 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 9 | Drew Turbin | Delmarva Shorebirds | 2B | 23 | 210 | 24 | 49 | 4 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 29 | 54 | 5 | 0.233 | 692 | 74 | 245 | 341 | 14 | Idaho | Dallas Baptist |
| 16 | Natanael Delgado | Delmarva Shorebirds | LF | 20 | 196 | 24 | 47 | 5 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 62 | 0 | 0.240 | 659 | 71 | 216 | 313 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 22 | Joe Tuschak | Columbia Fireflies | LF | 23 | 209 | 29 | 45 | 4 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 22 | 47 | 0 | 0.215 | 625 | 70 | 231 | 296 | 6 | Pennsylvania | |
| 21 | Steve Laurino | Delmarva Shorebirds | 1B | 23 | 219 | 23 | 47 | 4 | 21 | 0 | 1 | 31 | 55 | 1 | 0.215 | 639 | 71 | 252 | 267 | 25 | New York | Marist |
| 7 | Milton Ramos | Columbia Fireflies | SS | 20 | 239 | 21 | 54 | 0 | 27 | 3 | 3 | 20 | 57 | 3 | 0.226 | 574 | 67 | 263 | 232 | 3 | Florida | |
| 27 | Vicente Lupo | Columbia Fireflies | LF | 22 | 116 | 17 | 28 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 53 | 2 | 0.241 | 722 | 44 | 135 | 200 | IFA | Venezuela | |
| 18 | Gerrion Grim | Delmarva Shorebirds | RF | 22 | 120 | 12 | 30 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 45 | 1 | 0.250 | 720 | 47 | 137 | 197 | 14 | Missouri | Jefferson JC |
| 21 | Tyler Moore | Columbia Fireflies | C | 22 | 137 | 22 | 33 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 33 | 0 | 0.241 | 625 | 43 | 154 | 196 | 6 | Louisiana | LSU |
| 35 | Luis Ortega | Columbia Fireflies | 1B | 23 | 136 | 13 | 32 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 30 | 2 | 0.235 | 621 | 46 | 148 | 194 | IFA | Venezuela | |
| 9 | Enmanuel Zabala | Columbia Fireflies | LF | 21 | 48 | 6 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 1 | 0.271 | 689 | 18 | 51 | 74 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 30 | Natanael Ramos | Columbia Fireflies | C | 23 | 37 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 1 | 0.297 | 777 | 15 | 43 | 67 | IFA | Venezuela | |
| 14 | Austin Anderson | Delmarva Shorebirds | 3B | 24 | 120 | 8 | 25 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 31 | 1 | 0.208 | 510 | 31 | 127 | 50 | 9 | Florida | Ole Miss |
| 5 | Eudor Garcia | Columbia Fireflies | 3B | 22 | 23 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0.261 | 624 | 7 | 25 | 36 | 4 | Texas | El Paso CC |
| 1 | Alejandro Juvier | Delmarva Shorebirds | 2B | 20 | 111 | 8 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 34 | 0 | 0.198 | 486 | 26 | 119 | 27 | 15 | Florida | |
| 10 | Randolph Gassaway | Delmarva Shorebirds | OF | 21 | 37 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0.270 | 578 | 10 | 39 | 25 | 16 | Georgia | |
| 4 | Dale Burdick | Columbia Fireflies | 2B | 20 | 15 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0.200 | 517 | 4 | 16 | -2 | 40 | Tennessee |
Now let's look at the pitchers. The teams are about equal here, mainly because aside from Conlon's promotion and a couple injuries the Fireflies' pitching staff hasn't been in flux as much as the Shorebirds. However generally aside from Canelon and Palsha the Shorebirds appear to have the edge here as well.
| # | Player | Team | Age | W | L | ERA | SV | IP | Outs | H | R | ER | HR | BB | SO | WP | HB | WHIP | Score | Round Picked | Home State/Country | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | Cristian Alvarado | Delmarva Shorebirds | 21 | 7 | 5 | 3.66 | 0 | 91 | 273 | 91 | 38 | 37 | 8 | 19 | 104 | 3 | 7 | 1.21 | 909 | IFA | Venezuela | |
| 3 | Kevin Canelon | Columbia Fireflies | 22 | 5 | 7 | 3.12 | 0 | 97.2 | 293 | 90 | 40 | 34 | 9 | 19 | 80 | 5 | 3 | 1.11 | 894 | IFA | Venezuela | |
| 15 | Alex Palsha | Columbia Fireflies | 24 | 2 | 3 | 2.57 | 14 | 34.2 | 104 | 23 | 11 | 10 | 1 | 12 | 46 | 4 | 0 | 1.00 | 842 | 27 | California | Sacramento State |
| 25 | Brian Gonzalez | Delmarva Shorebirds | 20 | 5 | 5 | 2.93 | 0 | 89.1 | 268 | 82 | 36 | 29 | 3 | 35 | 69 | 13 | 3 | 1.31 | 808 | 3 | Florida | |
| 29 | Reid Love | Delmarva Shorebirds | 24 | 6 | 5 | 3.49 | 0 | 85.1 | 256 | 81 | 39 | 33 | 6 | 25 | 77 | 3 | 2 | 1.25 | 800 | 10 | Florida | East Carolina |
| 26 | Ofelky Peralta | Delmarva Shorebirds | 19 | 5 | 4 | 3.43 | 0 | 75.2 | 227 | 61 | 34 | 29 | 2 | 42 | 75 | 9 | 3 | 1.36 | 720 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 47 | Christian Turnipseed | Delmarva Shorebirds | 24 | 1 | 2 | 2.91 | 12 | 34 | 102 | 25 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 13 | 38 | 1 | 1 | 1.12 | 707 | 28 | Georgia | North Georgia |
| 40 | Francisco Jimenez | Delmarva Shorebirds | 21 | 6 | 7 | 4.5 | 0 | 83.2 | 251 | 68 | 46 | 42 | 7 | 29 | 62 | 8 | 7 | 1.15 | 648 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 11 | Tyler Bashlor | Columbia Fireflies | 23 | 2 | 1 | 1.62 | 3 | 38.2 | 116 | 23 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 19 | 44 | 9 | 4 | 1.08 | 593 | 11 | Georgia | South Georgia State CC |
| 28 | Joe Shaw | Columbia Fireflies | 22 | 4 | 6 | 4.81 | 0 | 85.2 | 257 | 102 | 57 | 46 | 9 | 21 | 88 | 4 | 6 | 1.43 | 528 | 12 | Texas | Dallas Baptist |
| 23 | Seth Davis | Columbia Fireflies | 23 | 2 | 2 | 2.30 | 1 | 43.1 | 130 | 39 | 14 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 45 | 2 | 7 | 1.35 | 462 | 29 | Colorado | Augustana (IL) |
| 26 | Craig Missigman | Columbia Fireflies | 22 | 1 | 1 | 2.86 | 1 | 44.1 | 133 | 37 | 20 | 14 | 2 | 22 | 42 | 2 | 5 | 1.34 | 430 | 37 | North Carolina | |
| 31 | Jay Flaa | Delmarva Shorebirds | 24 | 3 | 0 | 3.66 | 1 | 32 | 96 | 23 | 14 | 13 | 4 | 13 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 1.13 | 412 | 6 | North Dakota | North Dakota State |
| 45 | Johnny Magliozzi | Columbia Fireflies | 24 | 2 | 3 | 3.69 | 3 | 38.2 | 116 | 43 | 18 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 30 | 2 | 2 | 1.36 | 364 | 17 | Massachusetts | Florida |
| 6 | Chase Ingram | Columbia Fireflies | 21 | 4 | 8 | 5.65 | 0 | 78.1 | 235 | 90 | 57 | 49 | 7 | 33 | 76 | 9 | 6 | 1.58 | 346 | 6 | Florida | Hillsborough CC |
| 36 | Jesus Liranzo | Delmarva Shorebirds | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1.44 | 0 | 24.2 | 74 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 10 | 30 | 3 | 2 | 0.76 | 339 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 33 | Bryce Beeler | Columbia Fireflies | 23 | 1 | 0 | 0.69 | 0 | 13.1 | 40 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0.85 | 197 | 19 | Tennessee | Memphis |
| 46 | Mike Burke | Delmarva Shorebirds | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.1 | 28 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0.67 | 134 | 30 | Ohio | Buffalo |
| 40 | Gaby Almonte | Columbia Fireflies | 23 | 1 | 2 | 4.03 | 0 | 29 | 87 | 38 | 16 | 13 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 1.48 | 130 | IFA | Dominican Republic | |
| 17 | Witt Haggard | Columbia Fireflies | 24 | 2 | 4 | 3.21 | 0 | 13.2 | 41 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 1.64 | 97 | 10 | Texas | Delta State |
| 27 | Robert Strader | Delmarva Shorebirds | 22 | 1 | 2 | 7.2 | 2 | 25 | 75 | 28 | 22 | 20 | 0 | 24 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 2.08 | 65 | 12 | Kentucky | Louisville |
| 35 | Lex Rutledge | Delmarva Shorebirds | 25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.33 | 48 | 6 | Mississippi | Samford |
| 43 | Michael Costello | Delmarva Shorebirds | 23 | 0 | 1 | 6.65 | 0 | 22.2 | 68 | 29 | 19 | 17 | 2 | 5 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 1.48 | 34 | 40 | Virginia | Post |
| 20 | Nicco Blank | Columbia Fireflies | 23 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 0 | 14.1 | 43 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 4 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 1.71 | 23 | 25 | Arizona | Central Arizona CC |
| 30 | Dariel Delgado | Delmarva Shorebirds | 22 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 | 0 | 2.1 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 29 | Florida |
Generally there are no players on the Shorebirds of local interest. The Shorebirds appear to have the better players, so we could have more frustration this week on the field. The Fireflies have still yet to play a team in the second half with an overall losing record and that will again be the case until Rome comes to town Friday. Even if we can't break out of our slide here, hope the weather cooperates.
Saturday, July 9, 2016
Former Fireflies Report: July 9
Here's a look now at Fireflies who have moved on. All the players who were demoted to Brooklyn have since returned, so only players who have moved up are on this list. First, a look at the batters:
Yes, David Thompson is now in High A! He has been replaced by suspended former (hopefully anyway) PED user Eudor Garcia at third base for the Fireflies. Once Garcia is able to settle in and perform without "enhancements" I think he will also head to St. Lucie soon as he's already had a productive season in Class A. Hopefully after Garcia moves on we can get the next set of prospects to come in. Anyway, Thompson hasn't done well so far in PSL, but it's only three games.
Vinny Siena and Tucker Tharp are both somewhat struggling to make the leap so far. Tharp's average is a bit more respectable, but Siena's walk rate is still solid while his strikeout rate is dropping. Right now the edge goes to Siena as Tharp has been on the bench a lot in PSL.
Now the pitchers:
Both Andrew Church and P.J. Conlon have done well. Church has been far from domiant though, and as a Firefly fan I think he wasn't rushed enough to get here but was then rushed past here after two starts. That was a big blow to the rotation in Columbia. Conlon has also not done as well as he did in Columbia, but that would be hard to pull off. I don't see either pitcher moving up to AA in the immediate future, but they both should at some point. My guess for the current Firefly most likely to join them in PSL soon would be Alex Palsha.
| Batter | Level | TB | R | RBI | BB/HBP | SB | CS | 0 for 1 | SO | Score | Adjusted Score | AVG | HR | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vinny Siena | High A | 14 | 6 | 6 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 41 | 10 | 75 | 150 | 0.226 | 0 | 0.603 |
| Tucker Tharp | High A | 13 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 12 | 67 | 134 | 0.261 | 0 | 0.603 |
| David Thompson | High A | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 9 | 18 | 0.125 | 0 | 0.489 |
Yes, David Thompson is now in High A! He has been replaced by suspended former (hopefully anyway) PED user Eudor Garcia at third base for the Fireflies. Once Garcia is able to settle in and perform without "enhancements" I think he will also head to St. Lucie soon as he's already had a productive season in Class A. Hopefully after Garcia moves on we can get the next set of prospects to come in. Anyway, Thompson hasn't done well so far in PSL, but it's only three games.
Vinny Siena and Tucker Tharp are both somewhat struggling to make the leap so far. Tharp's average is a bit more respectable, but Siena's walk rate is still solid while his strikeout rate is dropping. Right now the edge goes to Siena as Tharp has been on the bench a lot in PSL.
Now the pitchers:
| Pitcher | Level | Outs | K | ER | H | BB/HBP | W | S | L | Score | Adjusted Score | ERA | WHIP | K/9IP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andrew Church | High A | 105 | 22 | 14 | 31 | 18 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 287 | 574 | 3.60 | 1.286 | 5.7 |
| P.J. Conlon | High A | 65 | 15 | 5 | 18 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 275 | 550 | 2.08 | 1.015 | 6.2 |
Both Andrew Church and P.J. Conlon have done well. Church has been far from domiant though, and as a Firefly fan I think he wasn't rushed enough to get here but was then rushed past here after two starts. That was a big blow to the rotation in Columbia. Conlon has also not done as well as he did in Columbia, but that would be hard to pull off. I don't see either pitcher moving up to AA in the immediate future, but they both should at some point. My guess for the current Firefly most likely to join them in PSL soon would be Alex Palsha.
Friday, July 8, 2016
Class A Rainout Watch
It's now time to check again in with baseball's worst tradition, the rainout. Here is a look through the July 8 games, where two rainouts occurred in the SAL. I have now for comparison added the Midwest League, so all 30 "Low" or really Middle Class A teams are shown. For how this works, here is my last Rainout Watch entry.
1. Lexington 6
T2. Beloit 5
T2. Bowling Green 5
T2. Delmarva 5
T5. Clinton 4
T5. Greensboro 4
T5. Hagerstown 4
T5. West Virginia 4
T9. Asheville 3
T9. Dayton 3
T9. Kannapolis 3
T9. Lakewood 3
T9. Quad Cities 3
T9. West Michigan 3
T15. Augusta 2
T15. Burlington 2
T15. Cedar Rapids 2
T15. Charleston 2
T15. Fort Wayne 2
T15. Greenville 2
T15. Lansing 2
T15. Rome 2
T15. Wisconsin 2
T24. Great Lakes 1
T24. Kane County 1
T24. Lake County 1
T27. Columbia 0
T27. Hickory 0
T27. Peoria 0
T27. South Bend 0
Poor Kentucky. Lexington leads the South Atlantic League in not playing baseball, while Bowling Green is tied for the Midwest League lead. It's probably a matter of timing with the rains that have cut across the south central U.S. and headed to the mountains in West Virginia.
On the other end, we still have no rainouts! Only three other teams our level have no rainouts, with Hickory the only SAL team. The Crawdads are very close to having one, with a rain delay to start in a game against the Fireflies a couple weeks ago and then having the game suspended after the 5th inning. But as long as the game is suspended after the 5th inning, then it's good. I really doubt that we (or Hickory for that matter) will finish with zero rainouts. The forecast for this upcoming home stand looks a bit iffy, so we'll see. If the Fireflies win the Class A title of fewest rainouts, that to me would make up for the subpar play of late on the field and the middling attendance numbers. In fact since the team's goal is related to total attendance (and not per game) then having few rainouts would be a big boost. But given our climate, that's extremely unlikely.
In general, climate hurts the SAL. The Midwest League had more of their weather cancellations early in the spring, while the "Sally" has had some throughout including two this past evening in Greensboro and Lakewood. The Atlantic gets a lot of rain, especially in the South part of it. Going by the northern climate schedule has hurt pro baseball's growth in the South IMO, similar to how the early spring/late winter climate has hurt the growth of college baseball in the North.
Need to include the High A teams at some point, as I would love to see how many more rainouts the Florida State League has over everyone and how few the California League has against everyone.
1. Lexington 6
T2. Beloit 5
T2. Bowling Green 5
T2. Delmarva 5
T5. Clinton 4
T5. Greensboro 4
T5. Hagerstown 4
T5. West Virginia 4
T9. Asheville 3
T9. Dayton 3
T9. Kannapolis 3
T9. Lakewood 3
T9. Quad Cities 3
T9. West Michigan 3
T15. Augusta 2
T15. Burlington 2
T15. Cedar Rapids 2
T15. Charleston 2
T15. Fort Wayne 2
T15. Greenville 2
T15. Lansing 2
T15. Rome 2
T15. Wisconsin 2
T24. Great Lakes 1
T24. Kane County 1
T24. Lake County 1
T27. Columbia 0
T27. Hickory 0
T27. Peoria 0
T27. South Bend 0
Poor Kentucky. Lexington leads the South Atlantic League in not playing baseball, while Bowling Green is tied for the Midwest League lead. It's probably a matter of timing with the rains that have cut across the south central U.S. and headed to the mountains in West Virginia.
On the other end, we still have no rainouts! Only three other teams our level have no rainouts, with Hickory the only SAL team. The Crawdads are very close to having one, with a rain delay to start in a game against the Fireflies a couple weeks ago and then having the game suspended after the 5th inning. But as long as the game is suspended after the 5th inning, then it's good. I really doubt that we (or Hickory for that matter) will finish with zero rainouts. The forecast for this upcoming home stand looks a bit iffy, so we'll see. If the Fireflies win the Class A title of fewest rainouts, that to me would make up for the subpar play of late on the field and the middling attendance numbers. In fact since the team's goal is related to total attendance (and not per game) then having few rainouts would be a big boost. But given our climate, that's extremely unlikely.
In general, climate hurts the SAL. The Midwest League had more of their weather cancellations early in the spring, while the "Sally" has had some throughout including two this past evening in Greensboro and Lakewood. The Atlantic gets a lot of rain, especially in the South part of it. Going by the northern climate schedule has hurt pro baseball's growth in the South IMO, similar to how the early spring/late winter climate has hurt the growth of college baseball in the North.
Need to include the High A teams at some point, as I would love to see how many more rainouts the Florida State League has over everyone and how few the California League has against everyone.
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