State of the IronPigs – April Showers

With today’s travel day I thought it would be a good time to review the IronPigs April performance.

First, let’s look at the team as a whole.

Pitching

ERA – 11th of 14 teams at 5.07. (Indianapolis leading with 2.58)

Hits allowed – 8th of 14 with 204. (Rochester leading with 135)

Runs allowed – 4th of 14 with 133 allowed. (Syracuse allowed the most with 149)

Walks allowed – 3rd of 14 with 112 walks. (Pawtucket leading with 122)

Strikeouts – 13th of 14 with 165. (Durham leading with 257)

*****

Hitting

Avg – 6th of 14 with .255 avg. (Buffalo leading with .305 avg)

Hits – 7th of 14 with 211. (Durham leading with 243)

RBI – 5th of 14 with 103. (Durham leading with 141)

HR – 3rd of 14 with 23. (Buffalo leading with 27)

*****

The pitching is struggling with control, the high walks and lower strikeout numbers confirm our frustration while watching/listening to the games in April. With pitching woes clearly showing in stats… the hitting stats can be misleading.

The Pigs are hitting, but those stats are skewed by blowout wins/losses. We’ve seen more than a few teenage scores on both sides of the scoreboard this season so far.

*****

Looking to the individual efforts

The Hitters

After the first full month Cesar Hernandez is hitting .375 good for third overall in the International League and is the league hits leader with 36 and is tops in triples with 3. Cesar’s 7 stolen bases are good for 8th overall, 1 base behind Rich Thompson down in Durham. The 22 year old switch hitting prospect also boasts 8 RBI and 7 stolen bases. Watching him at CCP reminds me of Pittsburgh’s Andrew McCutchen.

Next up is veteran Josh Fields. While his playing time has been limited in National League affiliate games (No DH) Fields has kept it respectable with a .315 average and showing some hustle out there with 2 doubles and 2 triples to go with his 3 home runs. His on base percentage of .373 is second only to Hernandez (.417). Fields could easily step in to a Phillie’s infield role if the need arises.

Steve Susdorf also has had limited playing time but in 12 games he is hitting a solid .280 with 5 RBI and 3 doubles. He has only struck out 4 times in 25 at bats.

Outfielder Leandro Castro, hitting .273 has added to the speed of the team swiping 5 stolen bases second on the team to Hernandez. He also has 6 doubles and 2 HR on the season.

Michael Martinez is also hitting .273 but in fewer games than Castro. Only appearing in 17 games the shortstop has 1 extra base hit and 5 RBI. He has stolen 2 bases and has been caught stealing twice.

Darin “Babe” Ruf has been hot lately and brought his spring average up to .267. He leads the IronPigs with 9 doubles (Good for 4th in the league) and is second in HR with 4 while leading the team in RBI with 15. Ruf could be very dangerous at the plate this summer if he stays at hot as he is now.

Cody Asche. Hitting .265 Cody leads the team in HR’s with 5 and has been solid with 11 RBI in 22 games. He has 22 strikeouts though, only 2nd most on the team behind Ruf with 24.

Jermaine Mitchell. Mitchell is hitting and even .250 and a total of 7 extra base hits. (5 doubles, 1 triple, 1 HR) Mitchell also drove in 5 runs so far.

Cody Overbeck is leading the team in HRs with 5 and hitting .250 as well. Cody has 12 RBI and is on the higher end of the strike out scale with Asche and Ruf.

Steve Lerud is hitting .233 in 9 games behind the plate for the Pigs. He does have 2 HR and 5 RBI so his time hasn’t been wasted. Steve’s playing time is hampered with prospect Tommy Joseph as the #1 catcher but he’s been good off the bench.

Tommy Joseph has been struggling but showing signs of hope. His .207 average doesn’t reflect his efforts and with warmer weather coming he should get a solid grip and improve. His .207 average is the 3rd worse on the team but he does have 3 HR and 14 RBI to his credit. Those numbers, and his level of play, will improve over the season.

Pete Orr. Who would have thought Pete would have been listed this late. If you hadn’t figured it out I am posting in order of batting average highest to lowest and I’ve only got one more IronPig to go. Pete is hitting .163 in 17 games with one extra base hit to his name. This is one of those head shakers. We know Pete can play and I guarantee we will see improvements over April for him. Everyone has a bad month now and then and I’m saying he becomes a threat soon.

Tyson Gillies. While his .148 average looks poor, it has been rising lately. He has a triple and home run under his belt along with 4 stolen bases. Tyson needs playing time and when he’s ready he will hit like we know he is capable of.

******

The Pitchers

I’m going to list the pitchers by ERA regardless of Starter vs. Reliever.

Joe Savery is 1-0 with a .93 ERA. His call up to fill a role with the Phillies wasn’t a fluke and unless someone in Philadelphia doesn’t show improvement soon he will be replacing them.

Cesar Jimenez is 0-1 with a 1.69 ERA. He has 2 starts to his credit of 6 game appearances and has struck out 15 while walking only 3. Not bad Cesar, not bad at all.

Justin DeFratus is 3-0 with a 1.93 ERA. Justin seems to be filling the role Michael Schwimer did 2 years ago as the pitcher of record for late inning rally wins. In 9 games he’s struck out 11 and walked only 4. DeFratus has the stuff for the Phillie’s bullpen just need a spot to open up.

Adam Morgan. 1-2 with a 3.23 ERA. In 5 game starts Adam has struck out 20 and walked 9. He’s had some control issues but AAA is the place to work them out. It’s also early in the season and he will be around for a while.

J.C. Ramirez. No record with a 3.60 ERA. JC has pitched in 4 games, a total of 5 innings for the IronPigs and has allowed 2 earned runs. Didn’t get much time with the Pigs but did an ok job.

B.J. Rosenberg. Rosenberg is 0-2 with a 4.79 ERA in 4 games striking out 16 while walking 10. He too is struggling with control but has the potential to work out of it. Keep an eye on him later in the season.

Zach Miner. Miner is 1-1 with a 5.19 ERA in 7 games. Zach is in the More walks than strikeouts club walking 10 and striking out only 5. This guy is a veteran and if anyone on the team can get back into the strike zone it will be him.

Michael Stutes. 1-2 with a 6.39 ERA. I really believe Mike should be in the Phillie’s pen. I know his stats and effort this spring really doesn’t reflect that but he is better than this. Once the winter cobwebs and frustrations clear he will be himself again and become deserving of moving up.

Jake Diekman. 1-0 with a 6.55 ERA. 14 walks, 7 strikeouts. Control. Control. Control. Look for him to improve as the weather does.

Tyler Cloyd. 0-3 with a 6.67 ERA. Last year’s IL Pitcher of the Year is struggling with control. New year, new catcher, new uniforms… who knows. Tyler has caught the IronPig pitcher’s control bug and the results are showing. Still, Tyler has struck out 22 while walking 11 but he definitely has better days ahead. Cloyd will be in Philly before the year is done.

Justin Friend. 1-1 with a 7.07 ERA. In 14 innings he has struck out 10 and walked 13. How many walks can a team issue? Killing the stats and more importantly the win column. Friend needs some developmental time and he’ll be alright.

Ethan Martin. 1-2 with a 7.66 ERA. Martin has struck out a team high of 23 batters but also walked a team high of 20. He’s riding the same train as the others. Perhaps we need to check the water in the clubhouse?

Jonathan Pettibone. 0-1 with a 9.64 ERA in 2 games. Yes, the Pettibone that is killing it up with the Phillies right now. Stats don’t make a player and don’t produce results. Each and every player listed above should take note of that.

*****

This is a young team with scattered vets mixed in. They are working to gel together and develop the talents they have. Many other teams out there are heavy on AAAA vets and are leading the pack but this season’s IronPigs are a high quality group of prospects. Prospects are learning and learn by mistakes. Keep the faith Pig Fans. No one, especially me, enjoys losing baseball but it is baseball and it’s in our backyard.

OinK!