Daily Notes: SCOUT Leaderboards for Low-A
Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of the Daily Notes.
1. SCOUT Leaderboards for Low-A
2. Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
3. Today’s Complete Schedule
SCOUT Leaderboards for Low-A
A Brief Introduction
Featured in this edition of the Notes are the SCOUT leaderboards for Low-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 / Double-A / High-A / Class A.
SCOUT Leaderboard: Low-A Hitters (Overall)
Below is the current SCOUT batting leaderboard for all Low-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 Low-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.
| Player | Team | League | Age | PA | HR | BB | K | xHR% | xBB% | xK% | SCOUT+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jin-De Jhang | Pirates (A-) | NYP | 20 | 45 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2.0% | 9.0% | 15.3% | 121 |
| Conrad Gregor | Astros (A-) | NYP | 21 | 70 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 1.3% | 11.4% | 14.6% | 120 |
| Isaac Ballou | Nationals (A-) | NYP | 23 | 58 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 1.3% | 10.4% | 14.2% | 119 |
| Yasiel Balaguert | Cubs (A-) | NWL | 20 | 79 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 2.0% | 11.8% | 20.9% | 118 |
| Kevin Mager | Red Sox (A-) | NYP | 24 | 53 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 1.7% | 10.7% | 17.6% | 117 |
| Dan Collins | Pirates (A-) | NYP | 22 | 57 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2.3% | 9.0% | 19.0% | 117 |
| Tony Kemp | Astros (A-) | NYP | 21 | 69 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 1.3% | 10.0% | 14.8% | 116 |
| D.J. Peterson | Mariners (A-) | NWL | 21 | 57 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 1.8% | 10.4% | 18.5% | 115 |
| Jamodrick Mcgruder | Mariners (A-) | NWL | 21 | 67 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 0.7% | 12.9% | 17.2% | 113 |
| Claudio Bautista | Indians (A-) | NYP | 19 | 61 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 1.6% | 8.8% | 16.5% | 113 |
SCOUT Leaderboard: Low-A Hitters (Age 21 and Under)
Here are the top-10 batters from Low-A who might still, because of their age, be considered prospects — again, as determined by the methodology explained above.
| Player | Team | League | Age | PA | HR | BB | K | xHR% | xBB% | xK% | SCOUT+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jin-De Jhang | Pirates (A-) | NYP | 20 | 45 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 2.0% | 9.0% | 15.3% | 121 |
| Conrad Gregor | Astros (A-) | NYP | 21 | 70 | 1 | 12 | 6 | 1.3% | 11.4% | 14.6% | 120 |
| Yasiel Balaguert | Cubs (A-) | NWL | 20 | 79 | 4 | 12 | 17 | 2.0% | 11.8% | 20.9% | 118 |
| Tony Kemp | Astros (A-) | NYP | 21 | 69 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 1.3% | 10.0% | 14.8% | 116 |
| D.J. Peterson | Mariners (A-) | NWL | 21 | 57 | 3 | 7 | 9 | 1.8% | 10.4% | 18.5% | 115 |
| Jamodrick Mcgruder | Mariners (A-) | NWL | 21 | 67 | 0 | 13 | 9 | 0.7% | 12.9% | 17.2% | 113 |
| Claudio Bautista | Indians (A-) | NYP | 19 | 61 | 2 | 6 | 7 | 1.6% | 8.8% | 16.5% | 113 |
| Dylan Cozens | Phillies (A-) | NYP | 19 | 51 | 2 | 8 | 9 | 1.7% | 10.2% | 19.2% | 113 |
| Tyler Hollick | Giants (A-) | NWL | 20 | 85 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 1.0% | 11.1% | 16.8% | 112 |
| Alfredo Morales | Mariners (A-) | NWL | 20 | 40 | 1 | 8 | 6 | 1.1% | 11.7% | 18.8% | 111 |
SCOUT Leaderboard: Low-A Pitchers (Overall)
Below is the current SCOUT pitching leaderboard for Low-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 Low-A pitchers, 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.
| Player | Team | League | Age | G | GS | IP | TBF | K | BB | xK% | xBB% | SCOUT- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joshua Mcelwee | Rangers (A-) | NWL | 24 | 5 | 0 | 8.1 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 29.0% | 9.6% | 70 |
| John Gant | Mets (A-) | NYP | 20 | 3 | 3 | 16.0 | 65 | 25 | 4 | 28.0% | 8.1% | 71 |
| Sergio Gomez | Red Sox (A-) | NYP | 19 | 3 | 2 | 15.2 | 54 | 20 | 1 | 26.1% | 7.7% | 76 |
| Tyler Bremer | Cubs (A-) | NWL | 23 | 6 | 0 | 9.1 | 36 | 16 | 2 | 26.0% | 9.4% | 80 |
| Akeel Morris | Mets (A-) | NYP | 20 | 3 | 0 | 6.2 | 25 | 13 | 2 | 25.3% | 8.4% | 81 |
| Michael Feliz | Astros (A-) | NYP | 19 | 3 | 3 | 16.0 | 59 | 19 | 3 | 24.8% | 8.0% | 82 |
| Richard Vargas | Mariners (A-) | NWL | 22 | 4 | 0 | 6.1 | 22 | 12 | 0 | 25.2% | 9.3% | 82 |
| Jordan Harrison | Rays (A-) | NYP | 22 | 4 | 3 | 21.1 | 85 | 24 | 5 | 24.7% | 8.0% | 82 |
| Chia-Jen Lo | Astros (A-) | NYP | 27 | 6 | 0 | 6.0 | 24 | 12 | 1 | 24.8% | 8.2% | 82 |
| Harold Guerrero | Indians (A-) | NYP | 23 | 4 | 0 | 6.2 | 25 | 12 | 2 | 24.6% | 8.4% | 83 |
SCOUT Leaderboard: Low-A Pitchers (Starters Only)
Here are the top-10 pitchers in Low-A who have made at least half of their appearances as starts — again, as determined by the methodology explained above.
| Player | Team | League | Age | G | GS | IP | TBF | K | BB | xK% | xBB% | SCOUT- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Gant | Mets (A-) | NYP | 20 | 3 | 3 | 16.0 | 65 | 25 | 4 | 28.0% | 8.1% | 71 |
| Sergio Gomez | Red Sox (A-) | NYP | 29 | 3 | 2 | 15.2 | 54 | 20 | 1 | 26.1% | 7.7% | 76 |
| Michael Feliz | Astros (A-) | NYP | 19 | 3 | 3 | 16.0 | 59 | 19 | 3 | 24.8% | 8.0% | 82 |
| Jordan Harrison | Rays (A-) | NYP | 22 | 4 | 3 | 21.1 | 85 | 24 | 5 | 24.7% | 8.0% | 82 |
| Cody Dickson | Pirates (A-) | NYP | 21 | 2 | 2 | 5.1 | 25 | 11 | 2 | 24.0% | 8.4% | 86 |
| Paul Blackburn | Cubs (A-) | NWL | 19 | 4 | 4 | 18.0 | 70 | 20 | 6 | 24.1% | 9.5% | 86 |
| Kelvin Vasquez | Rangers (A-) | NWL | 20 | 4 | 3 | 12.1 | 59 | 17 | 5 | 23.6% | 9.5% | 88 |
| Erik Schoenrock | Padres (A-) | NWL | 21 | 4 | 4 | 20.0 | 73 | 19 | 5 | 23.0% | 9.3% | 89 |
| Brent Powers | Athletics (A-) | NYP | 24 | 3 | 3 | 16.0 | 59 | 16 | 4 | 22.8% | 8.2% | 89 |
| Jairo Heredia | Yankees (A-) | NYP | 23 | 3 | 3 | 13.1 | 51 | 14 | 2 | 22.5% | 8.0% | 90 |
Three Notes
• To the degree that 45 plate appearances can be impressive, Pittsburgh catching prospect Jin-De Jhang’s have been. Over that same interval the 20-year-old Jhang has both walked and homered more often than he’s struck out. Originally signed out of Taiwan for $250 thousand, Jhang’s offensive approach was lauded this preseason both by our Marc Hulet and also Tim Williams of Pirates Prospects. Williams considers Jhang a definite candidate to stick at catcher, given his (i.e. Jhang’s arm strength and receiving skills), but acknowledges that Jhang’s ability to control his weight will ultimately be the determining factor.
• On Tuesday, the author posted in these electronic pages an interview with Vanderbilt alumnus and recent Tigers draftee, center-fielder Connor Harrell. Here we see two other recently drafted teammates from Harrell’s alma mater, Conrad Gregor and Tony Kemp. Taken by Houston in the fourth and fifth round, respectively, Gregor and Kemp hare exhibiting the sort of plate discipline one typically expects of more polished college batters. Gregor and Kemp have made all of their defensive starts at first and second base, respectively — which is to say, the same positions they played in college.
• Taken by the Mets out of high school in the 21st round of the 2011 draft, right-hander John Gant entered the present season having produced decent results as a professional — recording, for example, a 47:19 strikeout-to-walk ratio last season in 55.1 innings at Rookie-level Kingsport. So far this season, however, the 20-year-old has been unrelenting through three starts and 16.0 innings for Brooklyn in the New York-Penn League, striking out 38.5% of batters faced while walking much closer to 0.0%. According to Toby Hyde, Gant was throwing his fastball at 85-87 mph out of high school and has added velocity since then. That said, there’s a dearth of recent information on Gant and what he might be doing differently this season.
Today’s MLB.TV Free Game
Baltimore at Chicago AL | 19:10 ET
Scott Feldman (91.0 IP, 102 xFIP-, 1.1 WAR) faces Hector Santiago (67.2 IP, 104 xFIP-, 0.8 WAR). The former makes his debut start for the Orioles after having been traded from the Cubs (along with catcher Steve Clevenger) literally yesterday for right-hander Jake Arrieta, other right-hander Pedro Strop, and international bonus slots. Of the trade, Dave Cameron said all these things.
Readers’ Preferred Broadcast: Baltimore 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 5.4.
Note: the following table is entirely sortable.
| Away | SP | Tm. | Gm. | Tm. | SP | Home | Time | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kyle Lohse | MIL | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | WAS | Ross Detwiler | 18:05 |
| John Lannan | PHI | 4 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 3 | PIT | Jeff Locke | 19:05 |
| Max Scherzer | DET | 10 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | TOR | Josh Johnson | 19:07 |
| Randall Delgado* | AZ | 7 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 10 | NYN | Matt Harvey | 19:10 |
| Scott Feldman | BAL | 3 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 | CHA | Hector Santiago | 19:10 |
| Ricky Nolasco | MIA | 5 | 1 | 6 | 8 | 8 | ATL | Mike Minor | 19:10 |
| Edinson Volquez | SD | 3 | 7 | 5 | 7 | 5 | BOS | Jon Lester | 19:10 |
| Barry Zito | SF | 1 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | CIN | Tony Cingrani | 19:10 |
| Felix Hernandez | SEA | 10 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 9 | TEX | Derek Holland | 20:05 |
| Scott Kazmir | CLE | 6 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 1 | KC | Jeremy Guthrie | 20:10 |
| Zack Greinke | LAN | 4 | 1 | 5 | 9 | 7 | COL | Tyler Chatwood | 20:10 |
| CC Sabathia | NYA | 7 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | MIN | P.J. Walters | 20:10 |
| Rob. Hernandez | TB | 7 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | HOU | Bud Norris | 20:10 |
| Matt Garza | CHN | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 5 | OAK | Bartolo Colon | 22:05 |
| Shelby Miller | STL | 10 | 4 | 7 | 6 | 5 | LAA | Jerome Williams | 22:05 |
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.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
FYI, while correctly noted in this leaderboard as 19, Sergio Gomez’ player page lists his birthday as being in 1983 instead of 1993.