We are starting to see several minor league players creep up to and across the 25 PA line now, and that is semi-significant. It takes 100 to 120 Plate Apperances for the batting stats to stop looking like something off a video game and start resembling something we can analyze. The 25 PA line means we are about a quarter of the way to actually having fairly meaningful and useful numbers to look at it.
Fortunately, the arrival of the 100 PA threshold and the arrival of permanent warm weather tend to coincide quite nicely. By early May both of those pieces should be coming together and we should be able to enjoy good baseball weather and adequate baseball stats at the same time. Until then, just keep in mind that we are under a permanent Sample Size Alert. I’ll keep referring to the numbers, we just can’t get carried away and start drooling/sobbing over them.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa kept this one close, but they finished the game still looking for a win. The final was 4-2. Tennessee – The Smokies had the night off. They return to action in Tennessee on Wednesday. Daytona – Daytona fell behind early and never quite closed the gap. They lost 5-4. Kane County – It took a ninth inning rally, but Kane County wins again. The final (in regulation, this time) was 6-5.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Two more hits, including a triple, for Brett Jackson. He has also posted four straight games with just one strikeout. That may sound sarcastic, but it really isn’t. Compared to what we were seeing last year, this is progress.
[Iowa] The story with Rafael Dolis has generally been a tale of great stuff but little control. He gave up just one hit in his inning of work in this game, and did not walk anyone. One data point does not make a trend, but it is still good to see.
[Daytona] The power in this game was supplied by Zeke DeVoss. The 2B/CF known more for his speed than his power hit the Cubs only home run of the game.
[Daytona] But no mention of power in Florida would be complete without checking in on Jorge Soler. The big outfielder continued to shred Florida State League pitching with two more singles and a walk. He has had two hits in four of his five games so far this season, and has been on base three times in his last three games. Through five games he has an OBP of 0.522.
[Daytona] John Andreoli has his first stolen base of the season. And his first caught stealing. And he was picked off. The Cubs have been batting him in the middle of the order (and he has responded with a Soler-like slash line), but this guy will make his money by getting on base and stealing. He’d done quite a bit of getting on base already this year. It looks like he is starting to unleash the speed.
[Kane County] Six Cougars had a multi-hit game, but only Rock Shoulders homered. His solo shot was his second long ball of the year.
[Kane County] Back to back to back singles by Gioskar Amaya, Daniel Vogelbach, and Jeimer Candelario allowed Amaya to score the winning run in the bottom of the ninth. The best part? We can realistically imagine those three repeating that performance in Wrigley one day. Those three are three of the best prospects on the KC roster.
[Kane County] Pierce Johnson‘s second start went better than his first. Johnson lasted five innings and gave up two runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts. That isn’t great, but it is a step up from his opening effort.
Other News
I strongly suspect Javier Baez is pressing too hard in Daytona. He went 1 for 5 with two strikeouts in this game, but the one hit was a triple. That means he is striking out in over a third of his plate appearances, but three of his four hits have been for extra bases. Those numbers are symptomatic of a player who is trying to crush every pitch he sees and isn’t taking what the pitcher offers. If that is the case, then we should see his numbers take an uptick once he relaxes and starts letting his natural abilities do the crushing for him.
I thought sending Ben Carhart straight to Daytona was a very aggressive move by the Cubs, but so far the corner infielder has held his own. He reached base twice in this game (single and a walk) and is currently hitting an even .250 on the year.
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NEWSLETTER
We are starting to see several minor league players creep up to and across the 25 PA line now, and that is semi-significant. It takes 100 to 120 Plate Apperances for the batting stats to stop looking like something off a video game and start resembling something we can analyze. The 25 PA line means we are about a quarter of the way to actually having fairly meaningful and useful numbers to look at it.
