Daily Notes: Now with More Windy Footage!
Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.
1. Assorted Headlines
2. Windy Footage of Hitter Chris Nowak
3. SCOUT Leaderboards: Puerto Rican League
Assorted Headlines
Every Team Buying Players from Independent American Association
Six players from the independent American Association have been sold to major-league clubs over the last five days, reports the league’s official site. Right-handed reliever James Hoyt, who recently turned 26, is the latest to enter affiliated ball, signing a minor-league deal with the Atlanta Braves on Tuesday. Per Baseball Reference, Hoyt has posted a 104:46 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 78.1 innings with unaffiliated teams over the last two seasons. Hoyt was ranked ninth among all independent league prospects by Baseball America last month.
Nowak Is the Living God of Magallanes, Maybe
Chris Nowak, a 29-year-old corner-type who led the Atlantic League in overall regressed hitting by a pretty substantial margin, has become a deity in the Venezuelan Winter League, this game report in Spanish maybe says.
Horrible Things Always Happening in Dallas
For whatever reason, the author receives not only baseballing news as part of his Rangers RSS feed from the Dallas Morning News, but also every other article printed by that esteemed publication. What one realizes almost immediately is that horrible things are almost always happening in Dallas. Like, for example, it appears as though a man riding with his wife in some manner of shuttle bus yesterday had his arm severed off at the elbow after said shuttle bus was rear-ended and cascaded off the highway. This sort of things occurs with alarming frequency in and around the Dallas Metro area.
Windy Footage of Hitter Chris Nowak
Here’s some windy footage of hitter Chris Nowak, who played in the Atlantic League last year and is maybe a divinity of some sort in Venezuela:
SCOUT Leaderboards: Puerto Rican League
Below are the current SCOUT leaderboards for the Puerto Rican League. (Ages as of July 1st, 2012. Players listed with most recent team. Click here for more on what is SCOUT.)
SCOUT Leaderboard: Puerto Rican League Hitters (Overall)
Below is the current SCOUT batting leaderboard for the Puerto Rican League. SCOUT+ is calculated using regressed home-run, walk, and strikeout rates, where 100 is average and above 100 is above average.
| Player | Team | Age | Pos | PA | xHR% | xBB% | xK% | SCOUT+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andy Gonzalez | Brewers | 30 | SS | 51 | 2.3% | 12.0% | 19.5% | 116 |
| Carlos Rivera | MEX | 34 | 1B | 45 | 2.0% | 9.8% | 16.3% | 113 |
| Johnny Monell | Giants | 26 | C | 40 | 2.1% | 10.5% | 18.3% | 111 |
| Angel Sanchez | Astros | 28 | SS | 50 | 1.7% | 10.6% | 16.3% | 111 |
| Jesus Feliciano | Rays | 33 | OF | 46 | 1.4% | 9.7% | 13.5% | 110 |
| Edgardo Baez | MEX | 26 | OF | 46 | 2.0% | 10.7% | 19.5% | 109 |
| Michael Perez | D-backs | 19 | C | 12 | 2.2% | 9.8% | 19.3% | 109 |
| Brandon Snyder | Rangers | 25 | 1B | 12 | 1.9% | 10.3% | 18.6% | 108 |
| Cory Vaughn | Mets | 23 | OF | 45 | 1.7% | 12.3% | 21.0% | 107 |
| Daniel Ortiz* | Twins | 22 | OF | 36 | 1.8% | 9.7% | 17.5% | 107 |
*Roberto Ortiz hit a home run in his only plate appearances — and for that we celebrate him.
SCOUT Leaderboard: Puerto Rican League Hitters (Prospects)
Here is the SCOUT batting leaderboard for the Puerto Rican League, but only populated with players who are 25 or under — i.e. something more like “prospect” age relative to the league.
| Player | Team | Age | Pos | PA | xHR% | xBB% | xK% | SCOUT+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Perez | D-backs | 19 | C | 12 | 2.2% | 9.8% | 19.3% | 109 |
| Brandon Snyder | Rangers | 25 | 1B | 12 | 1.9% | 10.3% | 18.6% | 108 |
| Cory Vaughn | Mets | 23 | OF | 45 | 1.7% | 12.3% | 21.0% | 107 |
| Daniel Ortiz | Twins | 22 | OF | 36 | 1.8% | 9.7% | 17.5% | 107 |
| Jesmuel Valentin | Dodgers | 18 | SS | 12 | 1.6% | 11.3% | 19.9% | 104 |
| Roberto Ortiz | Orioles | 23 | OF | 1 | 1.9% | 9.4% | 19.4% | 104 |
| Juan Centeno | Mets | 22 | C | 23 | 1.8% | 8.3% | 17.2% | 104 |
| Benji Gonzalez | Pirates | 22 | SS | 13 | 1.6% | 10.3% | 18.5% | 104 |
| Christian Colon | Royals | 23 | SS | 53 | 1.3% | 8.4% | 14.6% | 103 |
| Jose Castro | White Sox | 25 | 2B | 11 | 1.9% | 8.9% | 18.7% | 103 |
SCOUT Leaderboard: Puerto Rican League Pitchers (Overall)
Below is the current SCOUT pitching leaderboard for the Puerto Rican League. SCOUT- is calculated using regressed strikeout and walk rates where 100 is average and below 100 is above average.
| Player | Team | Age | G | GS | IP | TBF | xK% | xBB% | SCOUT- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jose De La Torre | Red Sox | 26 | 7 | 0 | 10.0 | 36 | 23.9% | 8.7% | 85 |
| Kelvin Villa | IND | 26 | 4 | 3 | 16.1 | 64 | 23.0% | 8.5% | 87 |
| Joe Colon | Indians | 22 | 3 | 2 | 8.0 | 33 | 23.0% | 9.1% | 89 |
| Brian Moran | Mariners | 23 | 3 | 0 | 4.1 | 15 | 22.6% | 9.0% | 90 |
| Josh Walter | IND | 27 | 5 | 1 | 11.2 | 46 | 22.7% | 9.2% | 90 |
| Mark Cohoon | Mets | 24 | 3 | 3 | 14.1 | 64 | 21.6% | 8.5% | 91 |
| Shinya Kayama | NPB | 22 | 3 | 3 | 17.2 | 73 | 21.9% | 9.0% | 92 |
| Hector Santiago | White Sox | 24 | 3 | 3 | 16.0 | 67 | 22.0% | 9.2% | 92 |
| Daniel Stange | Padres | 26 | 6 | 0 | 6.2 | 24 | 21.5% | 9.2% | 93 |
| Rob Bryson | Indians | 24 | 6 | 0 | 7.1 | 30 | 22.0% | 9.8% | 94 |
SCOUT Leaderboard: Puerto Rican League Pitchers (Starters)
Here is the SCOUT pitching leaderboard for the Puerto Rican League, but only populated with pitchers who’ve made at least half of their appearances as starts.
| Player | Team | Age | G | GS | IP | TBF | xK% | xBB% | SCOUT- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kelvin Villa | IND | 26 | 4 | 3 | 16.1 | 64 | 23.0% | 8.5% | 87 |
| Joe Colon | Indians | 22 | 3 | 2 | 8.0 | 33 | 23.0% | 9.1% | 89 |
| Mark Cohoon | Mets | 24 | 3 | 3 | 14.1 | 64 | 21.6% | 8.5% | 91 |
| Shinya Kayama | NPB | 22 | 3 | 3 | 17.2 | 73 | 21.9% | 9.0% | 92 |
| Hector Santiago | White Sox | 24 | 3 | 3 | 16.0 | 67 | 22.0% | 9.2% | 92 |
| Ryan Tatusko | Nationals | 27 | 4 | 4 | 21.1 | 89 | 21.1% | 9.4% | 95 |
| Scott Kazmir | N/A | 28 | 2 | 2 | 9.0 | 40 | 20.7% | 9.5% | 96 |
| Shoki Kasahara | NPB | 21 | 3 | 3 | 14.0 | 59 | 19.6% | 8.6% | 97 |
| Josh Romanski | Yankees | 25 | 3 | 3 | 12.2 | 52 | 19.9% | 8.9% | 97 |
| Anthony Ranaudo | Red Sox | 22 | 3 | 3 | 8.2 | 34 | 19.6% | 9.1% | 98 |
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
I reside in the Dallas metro area. I have resided in the Dallas metro area for 6 weeks.
My limbs are intact, but in these 6 weeks, I have been in two automobile collisions, one of which totaled my vehicle; my neighbours have choked my apartment intake with cigarette smoke on a daily basis; and my local grocery store has marked up the price of Lobotomy Bock to $9.99 per six-pack.
Life truly is difficult in Dallas.
You’re not, perchance, a time traveller here to stop an assassination, are you? I realize you probably wouldn’t admit it if you were.
The past is obdurate.