Cubs Minor League Daily: The Reinvention of Frank Batista?

Frank Batista entered the Cubs’ system in 2010, and by 2012 he was the closer in Double A Tennessee. He remained the closer in Tennessee (with a few stints in Iowa and in the Mexican League) throughout the 2013 and 2014 seasons as well, and, while he pitched well for a Double A closer, at no point did he make me certain that he had a major league future. He was effective enough that I could envision him in a middle relief slot for a few years, but not so good that I felt the Cubs had to give him a chance.

But, over this past winter he started some games in the Dominican Winter League, and the Cubs kept him starting when he arrived in spring training. Through five starts in Double A, Batista, who just turned 26, has an ERA of 1.19, a K/BB ratio of 3.29, and, in over 30 innings, has allowed well under one base runner per inning. Did the good minor league closer Batista morph into the excellent starting prospect Batista over the winter?

It isn’t impossible, but I don’t think we should rush to that conclusion quite yet. While Batista has gotten off to a very good start this year, there are some oddities on his stat sheet that suggest a regression may be coming. First of all, while a nice reduction walks over last season accounts for some of the reduction in base runners, the rest of it comes down to the fact that hitters (through the first four starts) had a BABIP of just .185 against him (the data on these stats isn’t updated yet for his start yesterday). That is a lot lower than we saw as a closer, and I suspect that it is only a matter of time before some hits starting finding grass against him. Furthermore, his Left On Base percentage as a starter this season was an awesome 93.4% through those same four starts – much higher than he ever posted as a closer. I doubt that he can keep that up either. And if we look at his FIP of 3.73, we get another indication that maybe his stuff hasn’t been quite as good as his results this season.

Then again, he just sailed through another six shutout innings yesterday, so those numbers (which were taken before yesterday’s start) are mostly going to improve a little. That regression, if it is coming hasn’t hit yet.

So how do we resolve this conundrum? Well, if you’re an MiLB.tv subscriber, you can sit down and study some video of Batista on the mound just as soon as you get some free time. And that is exactly what I plan to do one day soon. I tend to doubt that Batista has reinvented himself as an undersized, weak contact generating starting pitching prospect of note… but I would love to be wrong. In a case such as this time, and tape, will tell the tale.

Scores From Yesterday

Iowa – It was a shutout, but Iowa was on the wrong end. They lost 6-0.
Tennessee – The Smokies swept a doubleheader on the road, winning the first game 2-1, and winning the nightcap 4-1.
Myrtle Beach – The Pelicans split their doubleheader. They lost the first game 5-4, but bounced back to win the second 4-2.
South Bend – The Cubs tied it in the eighth but lost in the ninth by a final of 4-3.

Performances of Note

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