The Grays inherit players from the Pirates, as well as a smattering of NeL players generally associated with the Grays.
HOME PAGE | ROSTER | POSITIONAL STRENGTH | LEADERS
Homestead is in a virtual tie with Brooklyn atop the Effa Manley Division.
There is a long way to go, but a playoff appearance would be a heck of an accomplishment for what was one of the truly weaker sides in the league last season.
It’s an offense that is evolving into one of the most dangerous lineups in the league top to bottom, with most of the talent under 25 years of age.
Josh Gibson is emerging as a generational talent. OF Rick Reichardt is actually hitting better than Gibson with a 1.166 OPS to Gibson’s 1.155. But Gibson is 21 and a C and–assuming health–has a long career as one of, if not the, best backstop in the league ahead of him. But it’s about more than the two of them: veteran presence Willie Stargell is tied with Reichardt in homeruns and Mike Epstein gives them 4 batters in double digits.
3B Chris Sabo has a SLG over .700, arguing for more playing time, but both Nap Lajoie and Honus Wagner seem to be learning how to use their immense talents. Wagner, Andy Van Slyke, and Andrew McCutchen have combined for 46 SBs, led by McCutchen’s 20.
Neither Van Slyke nor McCutchen are hitting much (Van Slyke’s OPS has edged over .700, which isn’t bad, but McCutchen is stuck in the .650s). Roberto Clemente is struggling to match his production from last season, and the other reserves–Rey Sánchez and Del Crandell are doing virtually nothing in their limited opportunities).
Stargell strikes out too much, and Wagner’s offense at this point is merely decent for a young SS, not actually decent. That’s about it.
It’s better than last year. But all that means is that it’s not miserable.
Josh Lindblom has emerged–perhaps a little surprisingly–as an elite closer, with 12 saves and 3 wins in his 19 appearances, and the lowest WHIP on the staff.
Francisco Liriano is still the “ace” of the staff, but the quotes are very well deserved: he’s 3-4 with a 4.48 ERA, numbers that are pretty much indistinguishable from those of Billy Pierce and Bob Friend. Doug Drabek won a job on the staff with a strong Spring Training, and has been excellent, but is just recovering from injury. His successful return to form would go a long way to solidifying the mound corps.
Michael Jackson has recovered from a rough 2000 to be a solid bullpen contributor this year.
Finding the back end of the rotation has been a struggle. Ray Brown has been hit hard, but retains his spot in the rotation for now, while the final rotation spot has become a bit of a free-for-all, currently distributed between Carlos Zambrano, Brickyard Kennedy, and Cliff Lee. But none of those are having much luck.
Rick Ownbey and Dave Giusti, so effective last year, have been, at best, thoroughly mediocre this year.
TOP PROSPECTS | MINOR LEAGUE SYSTEM
The Grays have a strong system. In the OF, Ralph Kiner (still a teenager) and the Waner brother, Lloyd and Paul, look to have WBL ceilings, and in the IF, there are a wealth of options in Judy Johnson, Freddie Lindstrom, Howard Johnson, and Khalil Greene.
Throw in Clayton Kershaw (currently dominating A ball), Nip Winters, Pink Hawley, and Tim Lincecum and there is enough talent to sort out the Grays’ mound woes, although the exact path to do so is far from clear.
Pitching. And then, more pitching.
Beyond that, when the Grays traded for Lajoie last year, they had visions of a Lajoie/Wagner infield developing into a truly elite pairing. They need to keep building towards that, with the hope they, Gibson, and a few others can all peak at the same time.
Key Questions from Spring Training
The Grays open up the week with 3 games in New York to take on the division rival Gothams.
Homestead starter listed first.
Francisco Liriano (3-4, 4.48) @ Christy Mathewson (2-5, 4.71)
Bob Friend (3-2, 5.43) @ Juan Marichal (4-3, 4.68)
Ray Brown (3-4, 6.21) @ Gaylord Perry (5-4, 5.15)
It’s not like Francisco Liriano was bad–it’s just that Christy Mathewson was better, as Liriano gave up 2 runs in just over 6 innings while Matty held the Grays scoreless through 7. A single to Mike Epstein and a double from Napoleon Lajoie chased Mathewson.
It got a little weird form there: Robb Nen‘s first pitch hit Honus Wagner on the elbow, forcing him out of the ballgame; Chris Sabo brought home one run on a sac fly, Andy Van Slyke reached on an error by Brandon Crawford, and an infield hit from Rick Reichardt tied the game at 2. Josh Gibson hit a sharp single to LF, scoring 1, but Jo-Jo Moore threw out Van Slyke at home. Willie Stargell drove in another, and Roberto Clemente beat out an infield single, meaning the Grays had run through their entire lineup in the inning. It looked like Nen had gotten out of it when Andrew McCutchen (who had pinch run for Epstein way back when) whiffed, but the ball got past the Gothams’ C, Dick Dietz, and McCutchen beat the throw to first, scoring another run.
So, Homestead now held a 5-2 lead heading to the bottom of the 8th. Dietz would try to redeem himself, hitting his first career homerun after a pinch double from Willie Mays, closing the lead to 5-4.
Josh Lindblom was perfect in the 9th, sealing the come from behind victory for the Grays.
HOM 5 (Ownbey 3-1; Lindblom 13 Sv; Giusti 4 H) @ NYG 4 (Nen 1-1, 2 B Sv)
HRs: HOM – none; NYG – Posey (13), Dietz (1).
Box Score
Good news for Homestead, as Wagner will only miss a day with a bruised elbow.
With Bob Friend still out with some wrist issues, Cliff Lee got the start for Homestead against Tony Mullane, who wasn’t expected to last more than 3 or 4 innings in a sort of bullpen game for New York.
Perhaps to be expected with a couple spot starters, there were some longballs early: Rick Reichardt, Josh Gibson, and Andrew McCutchen for Homestead and Willie Mays for New York, leading to a 3-2 lead for the Grays after 3. Mullane gave up another one in the 5th, but overall his start wasn’t bad.
Lee’s was even better, until a Jo-Jo Moore double closed the gap to 4-3 and chased him from the game. Johnny Callison gave New York the lead later in the inning with a double off Brickyard Kennedy. It was short lived: Mike Epstein took the usually unhittable Mike Norris deep in the top of the 8th for a 2 run shot, swinging the game back to Homestead, 6-5. Norris hit 2 batters, but got out of the inning without further damage.
Gibson hit his 2nd of the game in the top of the 9th, which grew in importance when Larry Doyle hit a pinch hit dinger off closer Josh Lindblom to leadoff the bottom of the frame. Lindblom was able to close it out, giving the Grays the first 2 games of the series.
HOM 7 (Kennedy 2-0, 1 B Sv; Lindblom 13 Sv; Jackson 7 H) @ NYG 6 (Norris 2-3, 1 B Sv)
HRs: HOM – Reichardt (18), Gibson 2 (16), McCutchen (3), Epstein (14); NYG – Mays (19), Doyle (2).
Box Score
When the Grays’ offense clicks, it clicks. 14 hits, 9 runs, and (finally) a strong outing from Ray Brown later, and Homestead had the series sweep. They did it with 6 runs in the top of the 4th, sending 4 balls over the outfield walls. An inning later, Andy Van Slyke joined Andrew McCutchen, Goose Goslin, Josh Gibson, and Mike Epstein in the homerun parade.
Brown loaded the bases to start the 8th, but Dave Giusti came in to get out of the jam without allowing a run. Giusti was forced from the game, but is likely to be available in a day or 2.
HOM 9 (Brown 4-4) @ NYG 1 (Marichal 4-4)
HRs: HOM – McCutchen (4), Goslin (2), Gibson (17), Van Slyke (3), Epstein (15); NYG – Crawford (7).
Box Score
This is what the Grays dream of: an irrepressible offense, enough pitching to get by, and a stream of victories.
]]>Progress. Finishing over .500 with some clarity on long-term talent would be a success for next year.
The roster stabilizes, and a handful of talent establishes itself as the core of future years. Napolean Lajoie and Honus Wagner settle in at 2B and SS respectively, and the OF talent clarifies. And, anyone reliable steps forward on the mound. Anyone.
Nothing settles, nobody figures it out, and the pitching continues to be miserable.
Will the team hit it stride in time for Stargell to contribute? If not, he could be an attractive piece for a competitive team.
POS | Elite | Strong | Solid | Meh | Weak | Unknown |
C | Gibson | Crandall | ||||
1B | Epstein | |||||
2B | Lajoie | |||||
3B | Sabo | |||||
SS | Wagner | Sánchez | ||||
LF/ RF | Reichardt | Van Slyke Wilson | Clemente Stargell | |||
CF | McCutchen | |||||
SP | Liriano | Friend | Pierce Brown Zambrano | |||
End | Lindblom Ownbey | Jackson | ||||
RP | Drabek Giusti Hudson Lincecum |
So. Much. Talent. So little production. Even with that, though, the presence of anything approaching average pitching makes the Grays a .500 team.
WBL | Minors | |
Raw Power | OF Willie Stargell | 3B Steve Hertz |
Batting Eye | 1B Mike Epstein | OF Ralph Kiner |
Contact | OF Roberto Clemente | OF Goose Goslin |
Running Speed | OF Andy Van Slyke | OF Sterling Marte |
Base Stealing | IF Honus Wagner | IF Bobby Wheelock |
IF Defense | U Nap Lajoie | IF Rennie Stennett |
OF Defense | OF Roberto Clemente | OF Max Carey |
Stuff | P Tim Lincecum | P Harry Kelley |
Control | SP Bob Friend | P Syl Johnson |
Velocity | RP Josh Lindblom | RP Mychal Givens |
Rank | Age | POS | Name |
1 (13) | 19 | P | Clayton Kershaw |
2 (21) | 21 | P | Tim Lincecum |
3 (39) | 18 | 3B | Judy Johnson |
4 (46) | 19 | OF | Ralph Kiner |
5 (61) | 24 | P | Bartolo Colón |
6 (64) | 20 | P | Pink Hawley |
7 (79) | 23 | OF | Paul Waner |
8 (109) | 22 | P | Trevor Cahill |
9 (117) | 23 | P | Daniel Hudson |
10 (130) | 20 | 3B | Freddie Lindstrom |
Hope for the Grays persists, largely in how dense and deep their system is. 16 prospects in the top 200 bodes well for their future.
Most | Least | |
Age | P Al Worthington, 38 | 3B Judy Johnson, 18 |
Height | P John Candelaria, 6’7″ | P Earl Hamilton, 5’8″ SS Bobby Wheelock, 5’8″ OF Paul Waner, 5’8″ 1B Eric McNair, 5’8″ |
OPS | OF Harvey Hendrick, 1.088 (—) | IF Ken Harrelson, .432 (WBL) |
HR | OF Starling Marte, 42 (—) IF JJ Hardy, 42 (—) | C Peaches Graham, 0 (WBL/AAA) |
SB | CF Andrew McCutchen, 33 (WBL) | Many with 0 |
WAR | OF Andy Van Slyke, 5.7 (WBL/AAA/AA) | IF Ken Harrelson, -4.3 (WBL) |
W | Frank Arellanes, 15 (—) Moose Haas, 15 (—) | Daniel Hudson, 3 (WBL/AAA/AA) Earl Hamilton, 3 (WBL/AAA) Doug Drabek 3 (—) John Candelaria, 3 (WBL/AAA) |
SV | Mychal Givens, 24 (WBL/AAA/AA) | |
ERA | Charles Nagy, 2.17 (—) | John Candelaria, 6.84 (WBL/AAA) |
WAR | Charles Nagy, 5.3 (—) | John Candelaria, -1.1 (WBL/AAA) |
With a .500 record predicted before the season, the Grays’ season is a bit of a disappointment: nobody could have seen the amount of talent they have on the mound performing so poorly.
This is a team building for 2, maybe 3 or 4, years down the road, so there a ton of unanswered questions that bear watching.
If you had Mike Epstein and Rick Reichardt on your bingo card for best players on the Grays before the season started, you’re a savant. But they were easily the best hitters over the course of the season (Epstein finished with an OPS just shy of .950; Reichardt just over .900).
Two players–OFs Andy Van Slyke and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson–were basically as good as those two in about a half season of work each.
Josh Gibson declared himself a superstar of the future, with an OPS of .833 as a 20 year old catcher. Davey Johnson was solid at 2B.
Rennie Stennett showed enough in 20 games to earn a look next year.
Willie Stargell has a ton of power.
Francisco Liriano was a good starter for most of the season, and Bob Friend was even better, but only put in 88 innings. Earl Hamilton was decent enough to warrant another look.
Josh Lindblom responded to losing the closer job excellently, earning it back and cementing his role for next season. Rick Ownbey and Dave Giusti surprised, pitching quite well in limited opportunities.
ALL STAR SELECTIONS 1B Mike Epstein; C Josh Gibson
The left side of the infield was a bit of a mess: Honus Wagner has all the talent in the world, and the Grays seem committed to him at SS long term, but he neither hit nor adapted to the position very well. And everyone else given a chance (other than Stennett) struggled mightily: Chris Sabo, Frank Taveras, Jack Wilson, Jeff Kent, and Pedro Feliz.
Roberto Clemente and Andrew McCutcheon were … fine. But the Grays really need one of them–if not both–to take a major step forward.
Willie Stargell only has a ton of power, and struck out nearly 200 times.
Nobody else that was given a chance to join the rotation was any good (Billy Pierce, Corey Kluber, Hal Carlson), and most were quite bad (Carlos Zambrano, Ray Brown, Cliff Lee, Babe Adams, John Candelaria).
Michael Jackson imploded entirely in the second half of the year.
None
IF Phil Garner to San Francisco for IF Steve Hertz & 2nd Round Pick {Judy Johnson}
Given Garner’s age, getting anything for him seems fine.
P Vean Gregg & 5th Round Pick to New York Gothams for P Travis Bowyer, OF Mike Shannon & 4th Round Pick {Pink Hawley}
I mean … it’s weird for a team this desperate for pitching to trade away pitching.
IF Arky Vaughan & 3rd Round Pick to Cleveland for IF Nap Lajoie, P Arodys Vizcaíno & 1st Round Pick {Ralph Kiner}
An absolute win. Moving Vaughan clears the way for Wagner, the Grays hope Lajoie can move to 2B over time, plus the potential of Kiner.
So. Much. Need. Only Ray Brown looks to be around long term, and he needs to get much better. There are useful pieces here, and Cliff Lee has a very live arm, but this is the most pressing need for the Grays organization.
Some talent in the minors, with Daniel Hudson and Mychal Givens standing out especially.
Josh Gibson has superstar written all over him.
How much do you believe in Mike Epstein? Willie Stargell will see some time here as well.
The Grays are hoping that Nap Lajoie can hold this down long term.
Very unsure. Chris Sabo and Freddie Lindstrom are in the minors, but this looks to be pretty vacant.
There is a lot of pressure on Honus Wagner to succeed at shortstop: he clearly has the athletic skill to make the transition.
How much do you believe in Rick Reichardt?
Andrew McCutchen and Max Carey each have shown some tools, but this could be an upgrade spot for the Grays.
Roberto Clemente seems to have this locked down, but there are voices in the organization that think Paul Waner could unseat him.
With the 4th overall pick, the Grays took the highest ceiling pitcher available, Clayton Kershaw.
Their 2nd pick in the 1st round was a bit of a surprise, and may answer the question of how much do you believe in Rick Reichardt as the Grays took franchise player Ralph Kiner. Kiner will play LF, but is probably 2-3 years away from the majors, giving the organization time to sort out its OF. I would expect the rest of their draft to focus more on needs–pitching, pitching, pitching and perhaps a 3B.
In the 2nd Round, that began with Tim Lincecum and continued with franchise pick 3B Judy Johnson, who should only accelerate Wagner’s move to SS. Homestead had no picks in the 3rd round, but 2 in the 4th. The first of those went to 3B Howard Johnson. That should give them some pieces to work with at 3B, so look for Homestead to load up on pitching for most of the rest of the draft, beginning with their last pick of the 4th round, Pink Hawley.
Pitchers beware, Homestead is coming for you: Ed Seward is the Grays’ final exemption, followed by Johnny Morrison and Ping Gardner.
P Nip Winters, OF Dave Hoskins; P Gary Lucas; and IF Liover Peguero.
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