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:

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:





Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.

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Pat
10 years ago

That was a nasty three pitch strikeout by Marte there. Got plenty of calls on the outside corner though but sadly that will be the highlight of his career.

Also why was Koby Clemens never given a chance on such horrible Astros teams?