Posts Tagged “Blake King”

Hooray. We’re moving along to more meaningful stats. Well, sort of. As I mentioned before, Roger Dean is a hitter’s graveyard. Therefore, it makes pitchers look a little better than they actually are. Moving from Palm Beach to Springfield can be one of the toughest transitions for any pitcher; it separates the men from the boys.

Before we dive in, here’s the league averages: The pitcher’s average age is 23. League average ERA is 3.56 (!). Hits per nine is 8.6, HR/9 is .5, BB/9 3.2, K/9 – 7.3, SO/BB 2.31, WHIP is 1.3.

Gorgen, Kopp and Castillo probably would rate as the best starting pitching prospects on this  team. I wouldn’t say any of their performances really stood out this past season.

Blake King put the K in King, but was still way too wild. My personal man-cruch Adam Reifer proved to be more hittable than I thought he would be this past season, but he settled down a bit as the season went on.

Other than Sanchez, who pitched more innings in Springfield, I wouldn’t give any of these prospects better than a C, C+ grade.

Hawaii. The most sought-after postal route of them all. The air is so dewy-sweet you don’t even have to lick the stamps. ~Newman

The Hawaiian Winter League was brought back a couple of years ago for a good reason, and that is to provide a better alternative to nurse a “project prospect” into getting some extra work in than the Caribbean Leagues. Unlike the dry air of Arizona, the dewy-sweet air of Hawaii makes for a more neutral or even pitcher friendly environment.

The Hawaii League has also more recently has been used for clubs to send some of their late-signing draft picks, but in most cases it’s more for lower level prospects coming off of disappointing years whether it be due to injury or struggles. I wish my job did that. I’d love to hear “Erik, you’ve been really getting your can kicked lately, so we’re sending you to work in Hawaii”.

It’s a mixed league that includes Japanese players, which provides a great test for hitters needing to work on their approach. If you were one of the few and obsessed people like me that took the time to watch Olympic baseball, you noticed Asian pitchers have a tendency to pitch backwards. A hurler from the Far East is more likely drop a breaking ball or a change-up on you in a fastball count, so “dead red” hitters need to be on their toes. The Cardinals sent four players to Hawaii to work on their game, some more interesting than others.

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