Tag: Odúbel Herrera

TWIWBL 67.1: Year 2, Week 10

On October 8, 2024

June 4th

We’ve entered June, so we’re clearly heading towards our midseason stride.

#Awards

Since we cross into June we have a bevy of awards.

In the AL, the New York Black Yankees‘ Babe Ruth was named the Batter of the Month, hitting .347 with 15 homers in May, driving in 34 and scoring 30 times. And look, that’s impressive. But Ruth’s reputation certainly helped him with the honor, given that he had the 3rd best OPS in the AL for the month, trailing behind Miami‘s José Canseco (1.430) and Detroit‘s Ty Cobb (1.429). Canseco also had more homeruns, leading the WBL for the month with 18. Ruth’s RBI and R numbers did lead the league, and it is hard to argue against his numbers.

In the NL, the award went to Ottawa‘s Larry Walker for the second consecutive month. Walker hit .273 with 17 dingers and a whopping 38 RBI, but his selection wasn’t unanimous. Looking at just the major slash stats, his BA was eclipsed by Houston‘s Tony Gwynn, who hit .441 for the month; his OBP by Homestead‘s Josh Gibson, who led the NL with a .480 mark; and Gibson’s teammate Mike Epstein SLG mark of .833 SLG eclipsed Walker’s .818. But Walker’s HR and RBI numbers led the league by a lot, and 38 RBI in 26 games is just remarkable.

The Black Yankees doubled it up, with Ron Guidry winning the AL Pitcher of the Month, going 6-0 with a 1.73 ERA in May while in the NL, Rob Dibble of the Indianapolis ABC‘s was a bit of a surprise selection. Dibble went 2-0 with a 1.64 ERA and 8 saves, certainly a strong performance. You really can’t quibble with Guidry’s selection, but Dibble was selected over San Francisco‘s Lefty Grove (5-1, 1.18) and Brooklyn‘s Smokey Joe Williams (4-1, 2.16). Homestead’s Josh Lindblom had more saves than Dibble (11 to 8), but Lindblom’s other numbers weren’t nearly as impressive. Still, if it were up to me, the award would have gone to Grove.

There’s just not a lot to say about Julio Rodríguez other than wow. Miami’s surprise starter in CF leaving Spring Training hit .397 with 13 homeruns in the month, earning the AL Rookie of the Month. Over in the NL, the award went to Smokey Joe Williams, who, as mentioned above, was in the running for the overall award, let alone the rookie honor.

Player of the Week Awards were given out as well, although overshadowed by the larger honors for May.

Philadelphia‘s Aaron Judge has continued to develop from his impressive showing last season, and a recent hot streak where he hit .444 with 3 homeruns earned him the NL Player of the Week. Canseco was significantly hotter, hitting .636 with 5 homeruns to earn the AL award for the second consecutive week, perhaps some comfort against being snubbed for the monthly honor for May.

#Team Performance

Last week I wrote The New York Black Yankees and the Indianapolis ABC’s have each gone 8-2 over their last 10 games. This week, it’s still true. New York now leads Cleveland in the Bill James Division by 6.5 games, while Indianapolis has moved into 1st place in the Marvin Miller Division, leading Kansas City by .5 games.

San Francisco has a little more breathing room in the Cum Posey Division, leading Chicago by 5.5 games and the surprising Miami Cuban Giants by 6. The Effa Manley Division is still tight, with all 5 teams separated by only 4.5 games, from Homestead in 1st to Philadelphia and Ottawa in a virtual tie for 5th.

Detroit continues to flounder, going 2-8 in their last 10 games and plummeting to 13.5 games behind the Black Yankees.

#Player Performance

Batters

A shorter list: Ty Cobb is first or second in each of the slash categories, and he, Larry Walker, and José Canseco are all challenging Babe Ruth‘s historical dominance of the league.

Cobb and Tony Gwynn are still well over .400 as the calendar turns to June.

José Canseco (MCG). 304/421/881. 29 HR.
Oscar Charleston (IND). 333/390/611. 7 3B.
Ty Cobb (DET). 420/471/862. 79 H, 28 2B, 4.0 WAR.
Josh Gibson (HOM). 382/447/742. 48 R.
Tony Gwynn (HOU). 427/463/683. 85 H.
Pete Hill (HOU). 282/366/505. 8 3B.
Stan Musial (KCM). 312/382/540. 29 2B.
Babe Ruth (NYY). 307/426/743. 66 RBI, 55 R, 44 BB, 3.7 WAR.
Larry Walker (OTT). 318/394/764. 26 HR, 61 RBI.

It often feels like the SB leaders should be handled separately: San Francisco’s Rickey Henderson leads the WBL with 42 steals. Indianapolis’ Bob Bescher has moved into 2nd place with 32 (and only 6 CS) while Ottawa’s Tim Raines has 30. Raines’ struggles at the plate are clearly contributing to his not challenging Henderson this year: while Rickey’s has an OBP just under .400 at .392, Raines is way down at .332.

Pitchers

Starters

Indianapolis’ Luis Padrón leads the league at 9-1, with Houston’s Toad Ramsey (9-2) and the Black Yankees’ Ron Guidry (8-1) close behind. Six pitchers have 7 wins, we’ve only included below the 3 that have only 1 or 2 losses. Also included are all 3 starters with sub-3.00 ERA’s (Ramsey, Philadelphia’s Hardie Henderson, and Los Angeles‘ Doc Gooden).

Frank Castillo (KCM). 7-1, 3.88.
Johnny Cueto (IND). 7-1, 3.43.
Doc Gooden (LAA). 5-4, 2.92.
Lefty Grove (SFS). 7-4, 3.13. 92 IP, 2.7 WAR.
Ron Guidry (NYY). 8-1, 3.17. 99 K, 3.39 FIP, 2.7 WAR.
Hardie Henderson (PHI). 6-3, 2.83.
Luis Padrón (IND). 9-1, 3.66.
Eddie Plank (SFS). 7-2, 3.94.
Toad Ramsey (HOU). 9-2. 2.69. 87 IP, 108 K, 0.93 WHIP, 2.66 FIP, 3.8 WAR.
JM Ward (PHI). 2-1, 3.46. 1.00 WHIP.

Relievers

There really isn’t a dominant closer in the WBL this season–the league leaders in saves have given up a bunch of runs; the dominant performers haven’t been racking up the saves. Indianapolis’ Rob Dibble is probably the best of the group. Kansas City’s Craig Kimbrel, tied with the Black Yankees’ Rheal Cormier for the league lead in Holds, has probably been the best bullpen performer overall so far, and is pushing teammate Jeff Pfeffer for a shot at the closer spot.

13 IP minimum.

Rheal Cormier (NYY). 0-0, 2.84. 9 H.
Rob Dibble (IND). 2-1, 3.06. 12 Sv.
Rod Beck (SFS). 2-2, 4.91. 14 Sv.
Craig Kimbrel (KCM). 1-0, 1.10. 1 Sv, 9 H.
Josh Lindblom (HOM). 3-1, 3.80. 15 Sv.
Tug McGraw (HOU). 2-2, 1.26. 1 Sv.
Jeff Pfeffer (KCM). 1-2, 6.16. 12 Sv.

Some mention somewhere should be made of Brooklyn’s Fernando Valenzuela, who is 3-0 with a 1.98 ERA and 4 Holds in over 40 innings. The Royal Giants have a very strong rotation, and Valenzuela is still looking for his first opportunity to step into a starting role.

#Injury Report

Will this week be the long awaited reckoning for Chicago’s Jack Doyle? The return of SS Damian Jackson, expected at the end of the week, may be the final nail in Doyle’s WBL service time.

#A Ball Check In

Wrapping up our 3 week trip through the minors, we’ll examine A ball this week. Given A ball’s focus on youth, we won’t have an age division, instead just presenting the top 2 performers at each position. 100 A PA minimum for batters.

Pos
C	Lew Brown (22, KCM). 331/369/633.	Tom Egan (20, PHI). 279/353/545.
1B	Babe Herman (21, LAA). 246/325/515.	Aubrey Huff (22, CLE). 254/330/443.
2B	Tim Shinnick (21, NYG). 316/416/424.	Ron Jackson (23, NYG). 240/352/473.
SS	Alfredo Griffin (19, DET). 333/389/454.	Dick Schofield (22, HOM). 260/395/360.
3B	Steve Hertz (20, HOM). 276/350/579.	Bob Aspromonte (18, IND). 263/351/444.
LF	Bill Buckner (20, MEM). 415/443/694.	Pip Koehler (24, HOD). 286/385/519.
CF	Odúbel Herrera (22, PHI). 319/394/610.	Clyde Milan (22, NYY). 316/445/480.
RF	Hugh Duffy (20, POR). 283/231/530.	Marquis Grissom (23, MCG). 279/376/430.
SP	Sean Newcomb (24, NYY). 4-1, 2.54. Clayton Kershaw (19, HOM). 4-2, 2.48.	Frank Dwyer (21, HOD). 6-1, 1.58. Jim McElroy (21, PHI). 4-1, 1.65.
RP	Joe Edelin (24, NYY). 1-0, 1.77. 14 Sv.	Mélido Pérez (20, NYY). 3-1, 2.05. 9 Sv, 4 H.

Griffin and Kershaw standout as the only teenagers listed. The Gothams have two 2B listed, although Washington is really spending more time at SS. And, Memphis’ Bill Buckner, although currently out for a couple of weeks through injury, is just dominating the league in most categories. Of this group, he, Kershaw, and Herman are probably the best long term prospects.

TWIWBL 56.20: Spring Training Notes – Philadelphia Stars

By mknn

On March 8, 2024

In TWIWBL

Spring Training Questions

The only truly firm jobs are 3B (Scott Rolen) and CF (Willie Davis). While a handful of others are all but assured a roster spot, who starts where is very much up in the air.

In addition to Rogan, while many feel 2nd round pick Dave Stieb needs a year at AAA, a great spring could catapult him onto the roster.

First Cuts

Robin Roberts has been the worst pitcher in camp, but the Stars’ brass still see a future for the 33 year old, and will give him a few more innings to turn it around. No such reprieve for LaTroy Hawkins, Jack Easton, Ed Hawk, Luke Weaver, Chris Archer, or Fritz Coumbe as all six of them were returned to the minor leagues.

Cs John Clapp and Butch Wynegar were also sent down, which is probably good news for Bullet Joe Rogan, who becomes the de facto 4th backstop in camp. At 1B, Prince Fielder and Dan Pasqua were sent to the minors, with Don Hurst and Cecil Cooper moving up the depth chart while Terry Pendleton was moved out at 3B.

In the middle infield, César Hernández‘ inability to hit outweighed his glove, but otherwise it’s still pretty crowded. Chase Utley and Mickey Morandini have hit very well, while both late season darling Juan Samuel and José Ramírez have struggled. SS is even worse as all three contenders: Jimmy Rollins, Roger Peckinpaugh, and dark horse Mike Bordick have struggled at the plate.

Other than Buck Freeman, the OFers who were supposed to hit–Aaron Judge, George Hendrick, Willie Davis, Bobby Abreu, and Sherry Magee–have hit, with everyone else struggling to make an impact. This has made some choices easy, as Ed Kirkpatrick, Garry Maddox, Odúbel Herrera, John Titus, and highly-touted Richie Ashburn all were sent to the minors.

Second Cuts

Robin Roberts, Brad Kilby, and Fred Cambria were sent to the minors. Roberts was a surprise, but he seems incapable of harnessing his talent.

Don Hurst, Pinky May, and Juan Samuel were sent down as well, with the Stars finally admitting that Samuel’s performance last September was quite the mirage.

Andrew Payne was recalled to give some additional depth at CF.

Third Cuts

P Jack Kralick heads to AAA, along with Cecil Cooper, Fred Luderus, and Al Smith.

With Roger Peckinpaugh the presumptive starter at SS, the Stars can only carry 1 of Mike Bordick and Jimmy Rollins. José Ramírez has lost all offensive ability evidently, but his performance last year keeps him in camp for another week.

Final Cuts

Andrew Payne was sent down after a brief sting in major league camp.

The Stars are really struggling with what to do on their roster–too many players are performing too similarly this Spring. They took a copout move, sending reliever Scott Garrelts down–who deserved it based on his performance–which leaves them with only 14 arms in camp.

The scouts still love Bill Dickey, but he just hasn’t shown anything in camp. With Rogan able to fill in behind the platooning Sherm Lollar and Mike Scioscia, Dickey heads to AAA in search of at bats and consistency.

With Kent Peterson‘s injury, Brad Kilby was recalled to big league camp. Mike Bordick was sent down, as the Stars continue to waffle on what to do with José Ramírez and Mickey Morandini. Ramírez hit with some power last year, but can barely make contact this Spring, while Morandini has been decent. It is likely that Ramírez’ ability to play 3B sees him win the roster spot.

Kent Peterson was placed on the DL and Roger Peckinpaugh, who was stellar in a late season cameo but horrific this Spring, was sent to AAA to see if he could work things out.

Wayne Gomes and Brad Kilby were moved to the minors, which were pretty easy choices.

From there it got rough. Buck Freeman was a regular for the Stars last season, but a lackluster Spring combined with quite a crowd at 1B and RF, Freeman finds himself heading to AAA. Facing a similar choice, José Ramírez was retained over Mickey Morandini, largely because he can backup multiple positions. This also means that Chase Utley will once again start the season as the Stars’ 2B. Finally, neither Bobby Abreu nor Aaron Judge did anything this Spring, but Judge’s fantastic debut last season kept him on the roster while Abreu will head to AAA.

Season Review: Philadelphia Stars

By mknn

On December 5, 2023

In Season Reviews, Team News

56 - 98, .363 pct.
5th in Effa Manley Division, 30 games behind.

What Went Right

Not a helluva lot.

CF Willie Davis, 1B Ted Kluszewski, OF George Hendrick, and 3B Scott Rolen were all solid, with Hendrick pushing into a consistent starting role by mid-season. Davis and Rolen were the only players with decent WAR (3.0 for Davis, 2.9 for Rolen). Only Kluszewski (25) and Buck Freeman (21) had more than 20 homeruns, and Klu led the team in RBI’s with 63 and Freeman in R with 71: scoring runs was just a struggle for the Stars all season long.

Three players made strong impressions late in the season led by a fair distance by OF Aaron Judge who managed a .900 OPS in 130 PA. IFs Juan Samuel and Roger Peckinpaugh impressed as well.

Rico Carty started strong, leading the lead in doubles the first few months of the season, but collapsed towards the end–that, combined with his age, puts Carty’s starting position (but not his roster spot) in question.

Ray Collins and Steve Carlton were decent enough in the rotation and the only pitchers with over 2 WAR (Collins 2.9, Carlton 2.3). They were the only pitchers with 30 starts and, even more depressingly, the only pitchers with more than 10 innings and ERA’s under 5.00.

ALL STAR SELECTIONS
P Ron Reed; 3B Scott Rolen

What Went Wrong

Everything else? The middle infield was pretty horrible all year, and nobody really could break out of thoroughly mediocre performances.

Carty ended weak, falling off a cliff on the final months of the season.

And the pitching was thoroughly horrid, from only Robin Roberts having a .500 record (5-5) among the starters to closer Bob Howry having 25 saves, but also getting rocked with an ERA over 6. Injuries didn’t help: Jaret Wright (probably the 3rd most effective starter), Roberts, and Pete Alexander (who was clearly overmatched by the WBL level at age 21, but also has a ton of promise) all missed significant time on the mound.

Trade Evaluations

March

3B Mike Schmidt, SP Cole Hamels to New York Black Yankees for C Bill Dickey, OF Aaron Judge, 1B Prince Fielder

Not bad. Moving Schmidt opened up room for Rolen and Judge looks like the real deal. Dickey was horrible, but at 22 is still a great prospect. Certainly, the loss of Hamels hurt, but he didn’t last with New York, being shipped to Miami in a separate deal.

June

RP Ron Reed to Cleveland for OF Andrew Payne, P Hardie Henderson, OF Darrell Miller, OF Gibby Brack

Reed was an all star for Philadelphia, but fell apart for the Spiders. Henderson looks good, and both Payne and Brack may see WBL time at some point.

July

OF Gavvy Cravath & 2nd Round Pick to Portland for 1B/3B Harmon Killebrew & 1st Round Pick {Dave Stieb}

P Rheal Cormier & 4th Round Pick to New York Black Yankees for P LaTroy Hawkins, P Fritz Coumbe, IF Mike Bordick & 3rd Round Pick {Bill Gatewood}

The Cravath deal was excellent: he was leaving after the season, and Killebrew is a great prospect and the pick turned into one of the better pitching prospects in the draft in Stieb. The other one is a little meh: Coumbe made the WBL by the end of the season, but was unimpressive, although Hawkins has a very live arm.

Looking Forward

SP

Carlton, JM Ward, and Alexander should eventually be a good top 3. They need more depth, both at WBL and throughout the organization.

RP

Howry’s job is in danger, but there are no obvious options. Brad Kilby was good at AAA and Scott Garrelts shows some promise.

C

The job is, once again, Dickey’s to lose, but perhaps another year in the minors is in store for him. If so, this is likely Mike Scoscia and Sherm Lollar splitting time once again.

1B

This is Klu’s until age catches up with him. Cecil Cooper dominated at AAA, and should see some time, especially if Carty’s decline continues.

2B

The Stars would love to see Chase Utley own this, but he’s struggled mightily so far. Juan Samuel‘s end of season heroics have earned him a close look in spring training.

3B

Rolen has this locked down, but the team will need to do something once Killebrew is ready, although Killer is probably more suited to 1B/DH in any case.

SS

Peckinpaugh will get a chance here, but again it’s a spot where the Stars need some more talent, especially if Jimmy Rollins doesn’t show more.

LF

Sherry Magee looks solid here.

CF

This may be the most interesting choice in the organization. Davis was their best player, and 21 year old Richie Ashburn was probably their best prospect. Both are excellent defensively, so the odds are a trade is the most likely solution.

RF

Judge seems to have this locked down, but Bobby Abreu will see some time here as well.

The Rookie Draft

Rounds 1-4

Philadelphia led off the draft by selecting SP Bullet Joe Rogan, probably the single most WBL-ready prospect available. Rogan should step into the rotation right away. Their 2nd pick in the 1st round was harder, coming down to the future possibilities of IF Trea Turner and more help on the mound. They went with the latter, opting for young RHP Dave Stieb. They continued stockpiling arms, picking up teenager Bruce Hurst and 21 year old Bill Gatewood in the 3rd round.

With Gatewood, the Stars have made four selections, using all four of their franchise exemptions, meaning the rest of their picks for this draft will be players with some historical connection to their franchise.

Rounds 5-8

The Stars will be focusing on adding arms, although IF depth would be fine as well. Since they are out of exceptions, these will all be franchise selections, limiting some of the options. Their picks included OF Milt Thompson (5th), P Odúbel Herrera (6th), OF Rhys Hoskins (7th), and IF Nux James (8th).

Rounds 9-12

At the tail end of the draft, the Stars picked up a reserve C (Todd Pratt), P Chris Archer; P Mélido Pérez; and P Jim McElroy.