2015 Minor League Baseball Analyst

By Rob Gordon and Jeremy Deloney

The first book of its kind to fully integrate sabermetrics and scouting, the 2015 Minor League Baseball Analyst provides a distinctive brand of analysis for more than 1,000 minor league baseball players. Features include scouting reports for all players, batter skills ratings, pitch repertoires, performance trends, major league equivalents, and expected major league debuts. A complete sabermetric glossary is also included. This one-of-a-kind reference is ideally suited for baseball analysts and those who play in fantasy leagues with farm systems.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Triumph Books
• Release date: Mar 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781633192522

Rob Gordon

I live in central New Jersey. I have a B.S., spent over six years in the US military, and have used observations and experience, conversations with others, much reading, and a bit of imagination in developing this story.

Book preview

MINOR LEAGUE

BASEBALL

ANALYST

ROB GORDON AND JEREMY DELONEY | BRENT HERSHEY, EDITOR | TENTH EDITION

Copyright © 2015, USA TODAY Sports Media Group LLC.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher, Triumph Books LLC, 814 North Franklin Street, Chicago, Illinois 60610.

Triumph Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

This book is available in quantity at special discounts for your group or organization. For further information, contact:

Triumph Books LLC

814 North Franklin Street

Chicago, Illinois 60610

[phone]

www.triumphbooks.com

Printed in U.S.A.

eISBN: 978-1-63319-252-2

Data provided by TheBaseballCube.com and Baseball Info Solutions

Cover design by Brent Hershey

Front cover photograph by Jerry Lai/USA TODAY Sports Images

Acknowledgments

Jeremy Deloney:

It is never difficult to express gratitude and thanks to those who deserve such praise, though many of those individuals prefer to deflect the positive attention. The challenge is finding new and creative ways to convey my appreciation. This is my sixth year with the Minor League Baseball Analyst and the hard work and dedication devoted to this project remains.

I am forever grateful to the fine folks at BaseballHQ.com who provided me with such an opportunity, especially as a young aspiring writer who had little industry experience. What began as a hobby evolved into something greater and this experience wouldn’t be possible without the support of several individuals. Thank you to Deric McKamey, Ron Shandler, Brent Hershey, Ray Murphy, and Rob Gordon for their leadership, expertise, and encouragement.

My wife Amy continues to be my main source of support and inspiration. I believe luck is evident in everyday life and I certainly am fortunate that our paths crossed at the University of Dayton way back in the early- to mid-1990s. Sure, we’ve aged (somewhat) and my hair continues to thin, but her love and support is a constant. I’m not one to resort to clichés, but she is the best person ever.

My terrific kids, Owen, Ethan, and Madeline, who may be partially responsible for my thinning hair, also are equally accountable for the joy I encounter on a daily basis. They are all unique, yet seem to share a love and zest of life. My advice to them: be passionate, laugh, and play/work hard.

My parents, Bill and Nancy, and my brothers BJ and Andy. have known me the longest, yet continue to allow me to keep the Deloney name. I use it proudly.

Lastly, I want to thank the readers of the MLBA and BaseballHQ.com. I will always appreciate your support and feedback, whether positive or negative. Perhaps I’ll see you again next year.

Rob Gordon:

In 2003 Ron Shandler gave me the opportunity to do something I’d wanted to do all of my life—write about baseball. Ron is one of the smartest baseball people I’ve had the pleasure of meeting, and I owe him a huge thank you.

Deric McKamey took me under his wing and spent countless hours explaining what scouts look for. Deric’s total recall of the most obscure minor league players still amazes me. Deric has moved on to bigger and better things in professional baseball, but his imprint on the structure and content of this book lives.

Jeremy Deloney and I are now in our sixth edition of the Minor League Baseball Analyst and each year I’m more and more impressed with his comprehensive and astute knowledge of the minor leagues. Jeremy sees tons of games in the Midwest League and elsewhere and is able to quickly and concisely analyze a player’s potential. Over the past couple of years Jeremy and I have gotten invaluable help from the rest of the HQ minor league team: Colby Garrapy, Brent Hershey, and Chris Mallonee.

I would especially like to thank Brent Hershey. Brent served as our editor at BaseballHQ.com throughout the year and throughout the production of this book. Brent and partner Ray Murphy have always been the glue that has held this project together. Thank you Brent and Ray!

Many other baseball people provided invaluable support and encouragement over the years. They include Jeff Barton, Jim Callis, John Sickels, Rick Wilton, Patrick Davitt, Todd Zola, Jason Grey, Joe Sheehan, Jeff Erickson, Lawr Michaels, Mark Murray, Brian Walton, Jason Collette, Kimball Crossley, Steve Moyer, Phil Hertz, Jock Thompson, and Doug Dennis.

Some day, someone will write a story about Baseball Unlimited. Until then, I’ll just have to thank the boys—Michael Hartman, Steve Hartman, Keegan Hartman, Michael Cooney, Bob Hathaway, Doug Hathaway, Raj Patel, Derald Cook, Todd Hooper, Dave Dannemiller, Ted Maizes, Nick Gleckman, Greg Murrey, Randy Jones, and John Mundelius. You guys rock and may BU live forever!

My oldest son Bobby started high school this year and is going into his 4th year of travel baseball. His head coach Rob Stockman and the rest of the coaching staff, John Schneider and Steve Farkas, took the boys travel team to another level in 2014. All of the boys improved and learned good sportsmanship along the way. Also a big shout-out to rest of the Dearborn baseball gang, Greg McKae, Matt McKae, Danny McKae, Kevin Barkoff, Rob Fay, and Craig Cotter.

I would especially like to thank my family. My two boys—Bobby and Jimmy—make the sky bluer, the sun brighter, and the crack of the bat all the more sweet. My mother Sandra Gordon took me on an annual birthday trip to see the Cubs play and drove me to countless baseball practices, and my father Robert W. Gordon III took me to Chicago to see the great Roberto Clemente play in his last season and has shared my passion for the game. My sister Susan Arntson helped raise me and tried to keep me out of trouble. Thank you! Her husband Jeff and kids Rachael, Josh, Marrisa, and Jake seem like more than just family.

Finally—a huge thank you to my amazing and beautiful wife Paula Gordon. This may sound like a cliché, but I really would not have been able to do this without her in my life.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Insights

Organization Ratings/Rankings

Batters

Pitchers

Major League Equivalents

Mega-Lists

Glossary

Team Affiliations

Blatant Advertisements for Other Products

INTRODUCTION

by Jeremy Deloney

Now in its tenth edition in 2015, the Minor League Baseball Analyst has shown to have staying power within the prospect universe. It all started in 2005 with Deric McKamey, now a scout with the St. Louis Cardinals. His unique and expert insights added a lot of color to the ambiguous world of minor league prospects and the tradition continues today. Deric passed the torch to Rob Gordon and me six years ago and we’ve done our best to maintain the consistent, objective perspective that Deric brought to the table. While we’ve added several names to the mix, the goal remains the same: to bring readers fresh ideas in an inimitable format while adding our own personal assessments. Brent Hershey, the editor of the MLBA and General Manager of Content for BaseballHQ.com, continues to bring out the best in all of us, while Colby Garrapy and Chris Mallonee have proven they have gifted eyes for all things minor leagues.

The space for prospect coverage has gotten awfully crowded, and that is a good thing. Not only does it give all of us plenty of resources and insight, it also forces us at BHQ to remain the standard-bearers by finding new ways to keep our readers informed and entertained. We do that in the MLBA and with our coverage at BaseballHQ.com. You’ll see some new features in this book and at our site in 2015, and we’re excited to take you along for the ride.

There is little doubt the MLBA attracts fantasy baseball players with its statistical focus and valuable compilation of lists and rankings. However, the MLBA also is an important resource for any minor league baseball fan. With assessments on over 1,000 prospects, most minor league games will have at least a few players featured in this book. I’ve actually seen the MLBA at a few games myself.

We truly appreciate the thirst for prospect information and we enjoy bringing our assessments to you. While we also understand there are several other qualified prospect sites and outlets available to you, we encourage you to make the MLBA a staple of your annual routine, whether it be taking it with you to a minor league game or enjoying the daily and weekly analysis via BaseballHQ.com. Rob and I have done this for a long time and have several connections within the game. We don’t simply regurgitate information from other outlets and present it as our own. We spend a lot of time at minor league ballparks and in contact with organizational personnel so you get the benefit of both observations and analysis.

While the general format of the book remains the same with valuable statistical information, impactful essays, and a multitude of lists, you’ll see some slight tweaks