Daily Notes: In Which Andy Marte and Jake Fox Are Invoked

Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.

1. SCOUT Leaderboards for the Atlantic League
2. Unhelpful Video: Andy Marte Pitching Once

SCOUT Leaderboards for the Atlantic League
Introduction
For four consecutive years between 2003 and -06, Atlanta third-base prospect Andy Marte appeared on Baseball America’s top-100 prospect list — three of those times, within the top-15 overall. He hit 21 home runs in the Class-A Sally League as just an 18-year-old. A few years later, at age 21, he recorded 20 more home runs and a very promising 64:83 walk-to-strikeout ratio in 460 Triple-A plate appearances.

There were few reasons — except those attendant to every prospect — to assume that Marte would be anything less than very good. Curiously, that didn’t happen. First, he was traded to Boston and then Cleveland in the same offseason. Then he largely struggled through six years of major-league baseball. Then, after some time in the Pittsburgh organization, he more or less disappeared. The last update concerning Marte at MLB Trade Rumors, one finds, is from March of 2011.

As of this week, however, Marte’s name has (mostly) resurfaced — care of Paul Braverman, public relations manager for the York Revolution of the independent Atlantic League:

I'd say today puts Andy Marte firmly in @AtlanticLg MVP discussion w/ @SOMPatriots' Jake Fox/@BlueCrabs' Cyle Hankerd. Monster day #YorkRevs

— Paul Braverman (@PaulBraverman) July 15, 2013

The discerning reader will recognize this tweet immediately as one which contains multitudes. One-time top prospect Andy Marte! Power-hitting corner-type and catcher Jake Fox! Someone named Cyle and also Hankerd at the same time!

With major-league baseball having deserted us like someone who deserts a whole group of people, Braverman’s announcement provides a pretense on which to build the present edition of the Notes, which the author has decided will feature a brief statistical investigation of the Atlantic League.

Below, the author has provided that precise thing, accompanied by edifying notes for the Greater Enjoyment of the reader.

SCOUT Leaderboard: Atlantic League Hitters
Below is the current SCOUT batting leaderboard for all Atlantic League hitters. SCOUT+ combines regressed home-run, walk, and strikeout rates in a FIP-like equation to produce a result not unlike wRC+, where 100 is league average and above 100 is above average. Note that xHR%, xBB%, and xK% stand for expected home run, walk, and strikeout rate, respectively.

Player	Team	Pos	PA	HR	BB	K	xHR%	xBB%	xK%	SCOUT+
Jake Fox	SOM	IF	328	21	31	49	6.4%	9.5%	14.9%	161
Cyle Hankerd	SMD	OF	334	19	25	48	5.7%	7.5%	14.4%	147
Brian Burgamy	YRK	IF	197	9	32	31	3.7%	16.1%	15.7%	147
Blake Gailen	LAN	OF	336	10	44	31	3.0%	13.1%	9.2%	142
Andy Marte	YRK	3B	342	15	34	52	4.4%	9.9%	15.2%	137
Koby Clemens	SL	C	235	14	30	57	5.1%	12.8%	24.3%	137
Josh Pressley	SL	IF	213	8	28	31	3.3%	13.1%	14.6%	135
D’Angelo Jimenez	CMD	IF	125	1	27	12	1.6%	16.5%	10.9%	132
Travis Denker	LAN	2B	322	12	30	45	3.7%	9.3%	14.0%	130
Corey Smith	SOM	IF	345	13	28	44	3.8%	8.1%	12.8%	129

SCOUT Leaderboard: Atlantic League Starters
Below is the current SCOUT pitching leaderboard for all Atlantic League pitchers who’ve made at least half their appearances as a starter. SCOUT- combines regressed strikeout and walk rates in a kwERA-like equation to produce a number not unlike ERA-, where 100 is league average and below 100 is better than average. Note that xK% and xBB% stand for expected strikeout and walk rate, respectively.

Player	Team	G	GS	IP	TBF	K	BB	xK%	xBB%	SCOUT-
Michael Nix	SL	8	7	44.2	176	40	15	22.8%	8.2%	86
Matt Fox	YRK	5	4	17.0	69	18	3	21.2%	7.6%	88
Chris Cody	YRK	16	16	94.1	409	81	23	19.8%	6.2%	89
Mitch Atkins	SOM	7	7	43.0	184	39	13	21.2%	7.7%	89
Mike Colla	BPT	9	9	51.2	225	47	17	20.9%	7.8%	90
Matthew Way	LI	12	12	58.2	256	56	25	21.9%	8.8%	90
John Brownell	LI	16	16	97.2	423	81	27	19.2%	6.8%	92
Paul Phillips	SOM	18	9	53.1	237	46	16	19.4%	7.5%	93
Kelvin Villa	BPT	5	5	33.2	157	31	13	19.8%	8.1%	94
Ian Marshall	SMD	16	16	96.0	415	71	19	17.1%	5.4%	94

Notes
• After three years at Southern California, outfielder Cyle Hankerd was taken by the Diamondbacks in the third round of the 2006 draft. Despite that somewhat promising pedigree, he’s never produced adequately at Double-A — in part, perhaps, because of a wrist injury he suffered in 2007. This year marks the 28-year-old’s second spell with an independent league: in 2011 and -12, Hankerd played (and hit well) for Amarillo of the American Association.

• Outfielder Blake Gailen’s name has appeared in these pages before — both in recognition of his very productive 2012 in the Atlantic League and also, just this past February, by way of reporting how he’d signed a minor-league deal with Colorado. Said deal appears to have been only temporary, though, as the 28-year-old Gailen has resurfaced in the Atlantic League — where, once again, he’s hitting excellently.

• Originally a first-round selection by Minnesota in the 2004 draft, right-hander Matt Fox has actually made his way back to affiliated baseball this season, having signed with the New York Mets in mid-May. Until that point, the 30-year-old had distinguished himself within the Atlantic League as one of the few starters to have recorded a strikeout rate above 9.0 K/9. Thus far with Triple-A Las Vegas, Fox has recorded a 38:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 60.2 innings.

Unhelpful Video: Andy Marte Pitching Once
Here’s video of one-time top prospect and current resident of the Atlantic League Andy Marte striking out Nick Swisher in 2010, it would appear: