Daily Notes: Three Notable Minor-League FAs of Note
Table of Contents
Here’s the table of contents for today’s edition of Daily Notes.
1. Three Notable Minor-League Free Agents of Note
2. SCOUT Leaderboards: Arizona Fall League
3. Unhelpful Video: Marquez Smith Hitting a Home Run in 2010
Three Notable Minor-League Free Agents of Note
On Tuesday, Baseball America released a list of 549 minor-league free agents. Below are three of the players from said list likely to appeal to the reader’s sophisticated tastes. (All ages are from 2012.)
Name: Cedric Hunter, 24, OF
2012 Org: St. Louis
2012 Stats: 412 PA. .268/.355/.375 (.289 BABIP), 92 wRC+ (Triple-A)
Notes: A third-round pick out of a Georgia high school in 2006, Hunter was traded to St. Louis this past April after spending six seasons in the Padres organization. His contact skills are fantastic: he’s posted a 9.0% strikeout rate in over 3,000 career minor-league plate appearances. He he only marginal power, however, which has limited his offensive game. Most reports suggest that, defensively, he can handle center, but isn’t major-league average, probably. He does seem like an interesting option as an inexpensive fourth outfielder.
Name: Darwin Perez, 22, MI
2012 Org: Los Angeles AL
2012 Stats: 460 PA, .214/.293/.307 (.265 BABIP), 70 wRC+ (Double-A)
Notes: Perez has been in the Angels system since age 16, giving him six years of minor-league service time already. He won the minor-league Gold Glove at shortstop in 2011, although that honor appears to recognize fielding percentage (almost?) exclusively. Of Perez, prospect analyst John Sickels wrote in his 2012 annual: “[H]is best position is second base although he’s spent most of his time at shortstop. He is very reliable… but his range and arm fit better at second.” Perez was among the names on the most recent iteration of the SCOUT batting leaderboard for the Venezuelan Winter League.
Name: Marquez Smith, 27, 3B
2012 Org: Boston
2012 Stats: 314 PA, .293/.350/.464 (.330 BABIP), 124 wRC+ (Double-A)
Notes: Smith has slashed .294/.365/.507 in 687 Triple-A plate appearances. That line is definitely not park-adjusted and definitely does benefit from Smith having mostly played at the level with Chicago’s Pacific Coast League affiliate. It also seems like enough of a reason to give him (i.e. Smith) one major-league plate appearance ever. Also of note: Smith has received generally excellent (like in the +10-run range) defensive marks at third base from Brian Cartwright’s OLIVER system.
SCOUT Leaderboards: Arizona Fall League
Below are the SCOUT leaderboards for the Arizona Fall League, current through Monday. (Players listed with most recent team. Click here for more on what is SCOUT.)
SCOUT Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League Hitters (Overall)
Below is the current SCOUT batting leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League. SCOUT+ is calculated using regressed home-run, walk, and strikeout rates, where 100 is average and above 100 is above average.
| Player | MLB | Age | PA | xHR% | xBB% | xK% | SCOUT+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kent Matthes | Rockies | 25 | 71 | 2.6% | 11.4% | 17.3% | 121 |
| Christopher Mcguiness | Rangers | 24 | 74 | 2.3% | 11.2% | 16.9% | 118 |
| Jonathan Schoop | Orioles | 20 | 66 | 2.0% | 13.1% | 19.3% | 115 |
| Jonathan Singleton | Astros | 20 | 90 | 2.2% | 13.4% | 21.4% | 114 |
| Joe Panik | Giants | 21 | 64 | 1.7% | 10.7% | 14.2% | 114 |
| Josh Prince | Brewers | 24 | 78 | 1.6% | 11.5% | 15.7% | 113 |
| Adalberto Santos | Pirates | 24 | 60 | 1.7% | 11.4% | 16.7% | 111 |
| Matt Szczur | Cubs | 22 | 82 | 1.6% | 10.8% | 15.1% | 111 |
| Nick Franklin | Mariners | 21 | 57 | 2.0% | 11.6% | 19.1% | 111 |
| Trayce Thompson | White Sox | 21 | 50 | 2.1% | 12.9% | 21.4% | 111 |
SCOUT Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League Hitters (Prospects)
Here is the SCOUT batting leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League, but only populated with players who were 22 or under in 2012 — i.e. more distinctly of “prospect” age relative to the league.
| Player | MLB | Age | PA | xHR% | xBB% | xK% | SCOUT+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Schoop | Orioles | 20 | 66 | 2.0% | 13.1% | 19.3% | 115 |
| Jonathan Singleton | Astros | 20 | 90 | 2.2% | 13.4% | 21.4% | 114 |
| Joe Panik | Giants | 21 | 64 | 1.7% | 10.7% | 14.2% | 114 |
| Matt Szczur | Cubs | 22 | 82 | 1.6% | 10.8% | 15.1% | 111 |
| Nick Franklin | Mariners | 21 | 57 | 2.0% | 11.6% | 19.1% | 111 |
| Trayce Thompson | White Sox | 21 | 50 | 2.1% | 12.9% | 21.4% | 111 |
| Cory Spangenberg | Padres | 21 | 34 | 1.8% | 11.2% | 18.9% | 108 |
| Christian Vazquez | Red Sox | 21 | 43 | 1.8% | 11.8% | 20.4% | 106 |
| Ricky Oropesa | Giants | 22 | 42 | 1.8% | 12.8% | 22.5% | 105 |
| Nick Ahmed | Braves | 22 | 52 | 1.7% | 9.8% | 17.8% | 105 |
SCOUT Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League Pitchers (Overall)
Below is the current SCOUT pitching leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League. SCOUT- is calculated using regressed strikeout and walk rates where 100 is average and below 100 is above average.
| Player | MLB | Age | G | GS | IP | TBF | xK% | xBB% | SCOUT- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Montgomery | Yankees | 21 | 7 | 0 | 8.1 | 31 | 26.0% | 10.1% | 88 |
| Chase Anderson | Diamondbacks | 24 | 4 | 4 | 13.2 | 55 | 25.4% | 9.8% | 89 |
| Nicholas Bucci | Brewers | 21 | 4 | 4 | 13.2 | 61 | 24.6% | 9.3% | 89 |
| Grant Dayton | Marlins | 24 | 7 | 0 | 8.1 | 35 | 25.4% | 10.2% | 89 |
| Kyle Gibson | Twins | 24 | 4 | 4 | 15.0 | 67 | 24.5% | 9.2% | 89 |
| Kevin Quackenbush | Padres | 23 | 8 | 0 | 8.1 | 29 | 24.9% | 9.7% | 89 |
| Kevin Rhoderick | Cubs | 23 | 9 | 0 | 9.1 | 35 | 24.8% | 9.6% | 90 |
| Kevin Siegrist | Cardinals | 22 | 4 | 3 | 12.0 | 46 | 23.9% | 9.4% | 91 |
| Nick Tropeano | Astros | 21 | 8 | 1 | 11.0 | 42 | 23.8% | 9.7% | 92 |
| Robbie Erlin | Padres | 21 | 5 | 5 | 14.2 | 57 | 23.8% | 9.8% | 92 |
SCOUT Leaderboard: Arizona Fall League Pitchers (Starters)
Here is the SCOUT pitching leaderboard for the Arizona Fall League, but only populated with pitchers who’ve made at least half of their appearances as starts.
| Player | MLB | Age | G | GS | IP | TBF | xK% | xBB% | SCOUT- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chase Anderson | Diamondbacks | 24 | 4 | 4 | 13.2 | 55 | 25.4% | 9.8% | 89 |
| Nicholas Bucci | Brewers | 21 | 4 | 4 | 13.2 | 61 | 24.6% | 9.3% | 89 |
| Kyle Gibson | Twins | 24 | 4 | 4 | 15.0 | 67 | 24.5% | 9.2% | 89 |
| Kevin Siegrist | Cardinals | 22 | 4 | 3 | 12.0 | 46 | 23.9% | 9.4% | 91 |
| Robbie Erlin | Padres | 21 | 5 | 5 | 14.2 | 57 | 23.8% | 9.8% | 92 |
| T.J. House | Indians | 22 | 4 | 4 | 17.0 | 63 | 23.7% | 9.9% | 92 |
| Seth Blair | Cardinals | 23 | 5 | 5 | 17.1 | 72 | 23.8% | 10.2% | 93 |
| James Paxton | Mariners | 23 | 5 | 5 | 12.2 | 57 | 23.1% | 10.0% | 94 |
| Boone Whiting | Cardinals | 22 | 5 | 5 | 17.1 | 72 | 22.5% | 9.7% | 95 |
| James Nelson | Brewers | 23 | 5 | 4 | 14.2 | 61 | 22.6% | 10.2% | 95 |
Unhelpful Video: Marquez Smith Hitting a Home Run in 2010
This is minor-league free agent Marquez Smith, about whom the author has a strong feeling (if not strong feelings, plural), hitting a home run in the Dominican Winter League in 2010.
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
Read this, thought of you and the hot stove season:
http://blogues.radio-canada.ca/bloguesportif/2012/10/12/ichiro-le-meilleur-de-tous-les-temps/
Leclerc has a good argument about Ichiro’s lost greatness that francophiles might enjoy.