The park skews numbers, but our hitters walk much more than the rest of the league, and strike out less than the rest of the league, that is extremely promising. Quad City also leads in walks, Tri City is second in walks and last in strikeouts. Greenville is first in walks and next to last in K's One team means nothing, 4 of them means money ball is taking hold strong.
Especially with it being the lower leagues... really shows that it was a philosophy that the front office wanted to take. Fontana has realllllyyyyyy dropped off since a blisteringly hot start to the season, but he is on pace to have more walks than games played this month after "struggling" this past two. I think this approach should be called the Anti-Chris Johnson Approach
That is telling about the system Luhnow has put in place. It's exciting to think the kind of big league club we'll have when that talent comes up.
This is what I love about Luhnow. These are the kinds of players that are doing positive things for the club even when in a slump. Even back to Lance Berkman's forgettable final year, he was still adding value to the team by getting on base.
The broad changes across the minor league system also speak to our last couple drafts being higher on players with skills than players with physical tools. Some organizations seem to put an emphasis on toolsy players, hoping their skills will develop later (Philly always seems to fit this mold), whereas Luhnow's drafts at the Cardinals and Astros seem to emphasize players with proven skills, perhaps with the hope that they can grow into some physical tools. It's hard to say with certainty that that's what's happening, but it definitely feels like a theme across several Luhnow drafts. Players can come in to the minor league systems and contribute with their skills pretty quickly (good fielding, good patience at the plate, etc.), but may be late bloomers with things like power potential. Matt Carpenter is a guy that fits this mold, and former Astro farmhand Ben Zobrist was the same way - show everything but power through their first several years in the minors and then, boom, start showing some power around age 26.
TL;DR version: we don't get a lot of "raw" players, which makes our minor league teams better. Instead, Luhnow seems to have a track record of stocking the minors with polished guys who may, down the road, grow into some power that makes them major league worthy.
Can't forget about the pitching, either. OKC's pitching has been alright. Nothing mind-blowing. Just alright. They're a middling staff in the Pacific Coast League. Corpus Christi's 3.32 team ERA entering tonight is 3rd in the Texas League. They lead the league with 11 shutouts. Although they have the 2nd-fewest strikeouts, with 618, they've issued the 3rd-fewest walks, with 248. The Hooks have also pitched the most innings in the league. Lancaster, obviously, will be bringing up the rear in terms of ERA, runs allowed, and earned runs allowed, given the park they play in. The 282 free passes are the fewest in the California League. Although Quad Cities' 3.78 ERA ranks 7th in the Midwest League, their pitchers have also issued the fewest walks in their league, with 271. Their 739 strikeouts are 3rd in the league. Tri-City's 2.66 ERA is 2nd in the New York-Penn League. They also lead with 11 saves. The ValleyCats have also allowed the fewest hits and the fewest runs in the league. Their 51 walks is the fewest, and 228 strikeouts is 3rd. They're also the only team in the NYPL to have a team WHIP under 1. Greeneville's 2.48 ERA leads the Appalachian League. Elizabethton is 2nd at 3.02. They've allowed the fewest runs in the Appy. They also lead in saves, innings pitched, strikeouts, and WHIP. The Appy Astros currently have 10 pitchers with a K/9 rate of 9 or greater.
Tuesday Story Everyone was off. Except for Corpus and the GCL. Recap AAA All-Star Break The Redhawks will return to action on Thursday, when they travel to Memphis to begin a 4-game series. Corpus Christi 8, Midland 5 The Hooks had a 7-0 lead that was chipped away a bit, but they were able to secure the win. Preston Tucker went 2-4 and he opened up the scoring with an RBI single in the 1st. It remained 1-0 until the Hooks exploded for 6 in the 6th. Max Stassi led off the inning with a solo homer (7). Erik Castro hit a 2-run shot (12), and Drew Muren had a bases-clearing triple. Jonathan Meyer had an RBI infield single in the top of the 9th. Rene Garcia finished 3-5 with a run scored. Castro was 2-5. Ross Seaton had a very nice start. He allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and struck out 3 in 6 2/3. Pat Urckfitz allowed a run on 3 hits and struck out 1 in 1 1/3. Andrew Robinson got knocked out after only recording 1 out in the 9th by a 2-run homer from Chad Oberacker. Jorge De Leon slammed the door shut as he got the final 2 outs of the game. 1 of which was a strikeout. In the series finale, R.J. Alaniz will take on Murphy Smith at 6:30. Lancaster was off They'll begin a 3-game series in Inland Empire beginning at 7:05 Pacific. Their starter is TBA, but according to their game notes, it will be Luis Cruz. He'll face Jake Boyd. Quad Cities was off They will kick off their longest roadtrip of the season in Fort Wayne, as they'll be there for 3 beginning at 7:05 Eastern. The pitching matchup features 2 Florida pitchers who were drafted in the supplemental round last year. Lance McCullers (41) will face Zach Eflin (33). Tri-City was off The ValleyCats will host Auburn in a 3-game series beginning at 7:00 Eastern. Adrian Houser and Tanner Bushue will be facing Jake Johansen. Greeneville was off The Appy Astros welcome Princeton to Pioneer Park for a 3-game series beginning at 7:00 Eastern. Frederick Tiburcio will take on Jacob Faria. GCL Pirates 6, GCL Astros 3 The Pirates scored 4 in the 9th to snatch the win from the Astros. Yonathan Mejia hit an RBI single in the 1st. Jose Solano hit a homer for the 2nd straight day (3), a solo homer in the 5th. And in the 6th, Luis Reynoso hit an RBI single. Jason Martin had the lone extra-base hit, a double. Francis Ramirez went 4 innings and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits, walked 3, and struck out 6. Kevin Ferguson threw 2 scoreless, allowing 2 hits and striking out 1. Juan Carlos Santos walked 1 in a scoreless 7th. Chris Munnelly allowed a hit and fanned 2 in the 8th. Unfortunately, Erick Gonzalez blew it. He allowed 4 unearned runs (3 inherited) on 2 walks while only getting 1 out in the 9th. Zach Dando didn't allow any runs of his own, but he allowed all 3 that he inherited from Gonzalez to score. He walked 2 and struck out 2. The GCLstros are in Clearwater to take on the Phillies. First pitch is at 11:00 AM Eastern. DSL Indians 5, DSL Astros 1 After the Academy took a 1-0 lead in the 6th on a sac fly from Kristian Trompiz, the Indians busted out for 5 in the 7th. Luis Payano was 2-3 with a double. Geronimo Franzua threw 3 scoreless and allowed 2 hits, walked 1, and struck out 1. Cristhopher Santamaria allowed 2 hits and fanned 3 in his 3 scoreless innings. Juan Delis walked the bases loaded to lead off the 7th, and all of them scored, thanks to Angel Heredia. In 3 innings, Heredia allowed 2 runs (1 earned) of his own on 3 hits, walked 2, and struck out 4.
