Daily Notes: SCOUT Leaderboards for Double-A

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

1. SCOUT Leaderboards for Double-A
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule

SCOUT Leaderboards for Double-A
A Brief Introduction
Featured in this edition of the Notes are the SCOUT leaderboards for Double-A. Briefly stated, SCOUT represents an attempt to use our knowledge of certain metrics, and at what sample sizes they become reliable, to measure run production/prevention in instances where small samples are all that’s available. Stated less briefly, is the explanation available here.

Other recent editions: Triple-A.

SCOUT Leaderboard: Double-A Hitters (Overall)
Below is the current SCOUT batting leaderboard for all Double-A 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 players are compared not to all Double-A hitters, but to those in their respective league, and then combined afterward for the sake of this leaderboard. Note also that xHR%, xBB%, and xK% stand for expected home run, walk, and strikeout rate, respectively.

SCOUT Leaderboard: Double-A Hitters (Age 23 and Under)
Here are the top-10 batters from Double-A who might still, because of their age, be considered prospects — again, as determined by the methodology explained above.

SCOUT Leaderboard: Double-A Pitchers (Overall)
Below is the current SCOUT pitching leaderboard for Double-A. 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 players are compared not to all Double-A hitters, but to those in their respective league, and then combined afterward for the sake of this leaderboard. Note also that xK% and xBB% stand for expected strikeout and walk rate, respectively.

SCOUT Leaderboard: Double-A Pitchers (Starters Only)
Here are the top-10 pitchers in Double-A who have made at least half of their appearances as starts — again, as determined by the methodology explained above.

Briefest Notes
• Originally a first-round pick by San Diego in the 2008 draft out of Wake Forest, first base-type Allan Dykstra has now amassed over 2000 minor-league plate appearances, none of them above Double-A. Traded by the Padres in 2011 for right-hander Eddie Kunz, he’s played the last two-plus seasons in the Mets org.

• Nearly as productive at Double-A this season — and also the same age — as talented Washington infielder Anthony Rendon is Houston center-field prospect George Springer. Springer’s methods are different than Rendon’s, however: where the latter benefits from controlling the strike zone, the former’s offensive success has been largely dependent on home runs. Of note: Springer was promoted to Triple-A Oklahoma City over the weekend, according to MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart.

• Angels infield prospect Taylor Lindsey is the only player younger than 22 to appear on the Double-A SCOUT batting leaderboard. Just off the leaderboard here, we find a pair of 20-year-olds, as well: celebrated Boston infielder Xander Bogaerts (recently promoted to Triple-A) and less celebrated Cubs second-base prospect Ronald Torreyes, both having recorded a 118 SCOUT+.

• Listed at less than six-feet tall, Mets left-hander Jack Leathersich was taken in the fifth round of the 2011 draft out of baseball house of power UMass-Lowell. Prospect analyst Marc Hulet notes that Leathersich possesses an above-average curveball. He’s recorded a 10:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 5.1 innings at Triple-A Las Vegas following a mid-June promotion.

• As noted yesterday, right-handed Cleveland prospect Danny Salazar has distinguished himself as a leader (per SCOUT, at least) among Triple-A pitchers through just seven starts. Here we find that Salazar had similar success at Double-A earlier this season, recording a 51:10 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 33.2 innings for Double-A Akron before his promotion.

Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
Los Angeles AL at Detroit | 19:08 ET
C.J. Wilson (94.2 IP, 98 xFIP-, 1.3 WAR) faces Rick Porcello (76.0 IP, 74 xFIP-, 1.3 WAR). The top three pitchers by park-adjusted xFIP (relative to league average) over the last month:

Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Detroit Radio.

Today’s Complete Schedule
Here’s the complete schedule for all of today’s games, with our very proprietary watchability (NERD) scores for each one. Pitching probables and game times aggregated from MLB.com and RotoWire. The average NERD Game Score for today is 5.1.

Note: the following table is entirely sortable.

Away		SP	Tm.	Gm.	Tm.	SP		Home	Time
Trevor Cahill	AZ	5	3	5	2	6	WAS	Gio Gonzalez	19:05
Justin Masterson	CLE	8	7	7	9	4	BAL	Chris Tillman	19:05
Yu Darvish	TEX	10	3	6	4	4	NYA	Hiroki Kuroda	19:05
C.J. Wilson	LAA	4	7	7	7	9	DET	Rick Porcello	19:08
Juan Nicasio	COL	4	9	5	8	4	BOS	Ryan Dempster	19:10
Kevin Correia	MIN	3	3	5	0	10	MIA	Jose Fernandez	19:10
Mark Buehrle	TOR	4	6	5	10	3	TB	Matt Moore	19:10
Kris Medlen	ATL	5	7	6	5	7	KC	Ervin Santana	20:10
Edwin Jackson	CHN	5	5	5	4	5	MIL	Kyle Lohse	20:10
Zack Wheeler*	NYN	10	5	8	1	10	CHA	Chris Sale	20:10
Jake Westbrook	STL	1	3	2	3	1	HOU	Lucas Harrell	20:10
Bronson Arroyo	CIN	3	4	4	6	5	OAK	Tommy Milone	22:05
Kyle Kendrick	PHI	3	1	3	8	1	SD	Jason Marquis	22:10
Jeff Locke	PIT	3	6	3	4	2	SEA	Joe Saunders	22:10
Undecided	SF	6	6	6	3	8	LAN	Stephen Fife	22:10

To learn how Pitcher and Team NERD Scores are calculated, click here.
To learn how Game NERD Scores are calculated, click here.
* = Fewer than 20 IP, NERD at discretion of very handsome author.