Final Record: 60-78 (6th place)
Team Leaders
- Batting Average - Chris Heisey (.287)
- On Base Percentage - Chris Heisey (.381)
- Slugging Percentage - Juan Francisco (.496)
- Runs - Chris Heisey (77)
- RBI - Juan Francisco (92)
- Walks - Chris Heisey (57)
- Steals - Drew Stubbs/Chris Heisey (27)
- Wins - Alexander Smit (8)
- Starters ERA - Scott Carroll (3.51)
- Relievers ERA - Ramon Geronimo (0.87)
- Strikeouts - Misael DeJesus (110)
- Starters WHIP - Misael DeJesus (1.26)
- Relievers WHIP - Ramon Geronimo (0.80)
Best Positional Prospect
Drew Stubbs/Todd Frazier - I am not sure which one I am leaning toward right now as far as who is the better of these two prospects. Stubbs brings great defense to the table at a premium position, as well as making improvements to his offensive game this season. Frazier brings an all around solid bat with average, power and plate discipline but he also doesn’t really have a defensive home currently and doesn’t project to be more than average anywhere defensively. Yonder Alonso doesn’t qualify.
Best Pitching Prospect
Zach Stewart - He only pitched in 13 games, but it made up about half of his season being a 2008 draft pick. A reliever doesn’t usually hold a ton of value in my way of looking at prospects, but Stewart has the look of a guy who could be a back of the bullpen type of guy that could be a difference maker.
Keep an eye on
Chris Heisey spent most of his year in Sarasota and just put up solid numbers across the board. He does a lot of things well as he will hit for a solid average, get on base plenty, steal bases at a high rate and play good defense in the outfield. Philippe Valiquette seems like he has been around forever as a draftee in the 2004 draft, but he is just 21 years old and a transition to the bullpen has really turned him into a prospect again. Juan Francisco is obviously a legit prospect and if he can just draw an extra walk or two a month he could really turn into a big prospect.
Comments
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Monday, 1. September 2008
I know records aren’t that important in the minors, but with the talent that has gone through down there at Sarasota that 60-78 record seems a bit disappointing.
Still Sarasota has seen a lot of good prospects put on its uniform this year:
Alonso
Stubbs
Frazier
Francisco
Stewart
Really those guys may all rank in the BA top 150 to 200 prospects after the year.
Monday, 1. September 2008
Beard,
That didn’t even include Chris Valaika, who you could make an arguement for being a top 100 guy too.
Monday, 1. September 2008
They were all fun to watch however the two I enjoyed watching the most down here didn’t even make the list; Jordan Smith and Chris Valaika.
Monday, 1. September 2008
Jim, they both spent a lot of time in AA, which is why they were left off. I saw them as more Chattanooga players than Sarasota guys.
Monday, 1. September 2008
I forgot to include Valaika on my list. Error on my part.
So that just adds to my question of why was their record so bad? My guess is the pitching was pretty bad. Is that accurate?
Monday, 1. September 2008
I think you hit the nail on the head. The pitching was pretty bad for the most part.
Monday, 1. September 2008
I’m not so sure that your stat leaders are correct for starting pitchers. If you use the league’s standards of minimum of innings pitched (~110)for statistical leaders , then Alexander Smit is the team’s leader in ERA and WHIP. Of course, he is the only starting pitcher to reach the minimum innings required.
This is an interesting distinction, because it indicates how few innings each Sarasota pitcher was allowed to throw in this league. There were a lot of pitchers used this season in Sarasota, which seems to be a ‘window’ into the team’s depth, or lack thereof, of pitching prospects.
One of the following, or a combination of, 3 things could be happening here:
1) There are many more legitimate pitching prospects than the team can provide innings of work to.
2) The early year prospects did so well, that they were promoted, while Dayton pitchers were then promoted to Sarasota halfway through the season, therefore limited innings all around.
3) There are no elite prospects (cream of the crop) and management is still trying to determine who’s future development is worth investing in. Therefore more opportunities were given to mid- to low-level prospects this season.
I am hoping that it is a combination of 1 & 2, and that Smit, Carrol, and DeJesus are legitimate starting pitcher prospects that should be fighting for rotation spots in Chatanooga next year.
Tuesday, 2. September 2008
It was good to see Alonso get a .316 avg with a .440 OBP in his limited time in High A, how he handles the Hawaiian league this year should determine if he repeats High A or just starts off next year in AA with Frazier. I think, barring playing like crap in hawaii, that he starts in AA in ‘09.