The Durham Bulls in 2016: Part 3 - The Hitters

As we pointed out in Part 1 of this series, the Bulls hitting was pretty dismal this year. In fact, taken in the aggregate, it was the lack of hitting, more than any other factor, that  made this the worst season in Bulls' history. We discussed the pitching at Part 2. See also Part 4 - The Tampa Bay Rays, and Part 5 - The DBAP.

The Bulls saw 28 different batters come to the plate this year. Two of those were pitchers, Dana Eveland and Eddie Gamboa, only had one plate appearance. Two were short-term rehab assignments, infielders Matt Duffy for 3 games and Logan Forsyth for 2 games. A young minor leaguer, Alec Sole was in three games. We do need to point out that in his one at-bat pitcher Eddie Gamboa got a hit and scored a run ending up with the team-best batting average of 1.000 and OPS of 2.000!

Looking at this chart of OPS numbers we see that we that we have to reach down to the 4th player in the rank-ordering before we find a player above the "average" line and who who had any significant amount of playing time (Jaff Decker).

There was, however, a cluster of promising young players that we'd hope to see again next year: Casey Gillaspie, Johhny Field, Daniel Robertson, and "veteran" 26 year-old Jaff Decker.

Click on chart for larger image

This table is sorted by a more "advanced" stat, Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA) and includes another stat, Weighted Runs Above Average (wRAA) that gives us a hint of the player's contribution to the team this year.

Name	Age	G	AB	PA	RBI	AVG	OPS	wOBA	wRAA
Casey Gillaspie	23	47	179	203	23	.307	.909	.407	13.7
Mikie Mahtook	26	27	105	120	7	.305	.821	.371	4.9
Nick Franklin	25	64	240	270	28	.254	.772	.364	2.9
Jaff Decker	26	99	349	417	35	.255	.787	.357	12.7
Johnny Field	24	69	255	285	27	.275	.793	.353	7.8
Daniel Robertson	22	118	436	511	43	.259	.713	.331	5.6
J.P. Arencibia	30	78	309	324	47	.252	.727	.326	2.2
Curt Casali	27	20	63	81	15	.254	.714	.322	1
Richie Shaffer	25	119	428	496	48	.227	.695	.321	1.7
Kyle Roller	28	50	162	187	12	.216	.692	.318	0.2
Taylor Motter	26	88	350	387	46	.229	.686	.311	-1.7
Dayron Varona	28	118	435	463	59	.232	.681	.306	-3.7
Jake Goebbert	28	93	321	364	35	.218	.661	.303	-3.8
Luke Maile	25	58	194	214	12	.242	.650	.300	-2.7
Eury Perez	26	27	88	99	4	.239	.602	.278	-2.9
Juniel Querecuto	23	36	120	129	11	.242	.597	.272	-4.3
Jake Hager	23	71	272	293	21	.228	.592	.266	-11.1
Carlos Corporan	32	20	65	70	9	.200	.554	.255	-3.2
Patrick Leonard	23	42	131	145	6	.198	.528	.250	-7.3
Hank Conger	28	30	109	116	11	.165	.503	.227	-7.8
Cameron Seitzer	26	42	135	144	3	.178	.429	.204	-12.2

The Hitters

Players are discussed in order of games played. "Slash Line" is Batting Average/On Base Percentage/Slugging Percentage. The Bulls played a 144 game season that ended September 5, 2016.

Richie Shaffer (119 games, 496 plate appearances,.227/.329/.367, OPS .695, wOBA .321) did not deliver on his promise from 2015 where he had stellar seasons at Montgomery and with the Bulls. He played in several positions and seems to have a decent arm. Longoria is, of course, in his way at Tampa Bay. Nevertheless, his 27 doubles were in second place on the team (and 14th in the IL), as were his 48 RBI. He also led the team in strikeouts with 135 and drew the most walks at 65. He was up with the Rays a couple of times and went back for September. [stats]

Daniel Robertson (118 games, 511 plate appearances, .259/.358/.356, OPS .713, wOBA .331) was the most promising young (22) player we saw this year. It says something about the Rays that they did not call him up for a "taste" this September. But that does mean that Bulls fans will get to watch him mature next year. In a perfect world, it would be nice if he were a bit quicker  (just 2 stolen bases). And the 100 K's are worrisome. He led the team for being hit by pitches (11). [stats]

Dayron Varona (117 games (118 on FanGraphs site), 463 plate appearances, .232/.274/.407, OPS .681, wOBA .306) provided some of the rare excitement this year. His numbers are not all that great, but he did lead the team in doubles with 32 (5th in the IL) and RBI with 59. Mid-season he seemed to slow down, but picked up at the end. He has a terrific arm and covers right or left field quite well. Not quite as explosive a player as his fellow Cuban defector Leslie Anderson. We wanted to see a bit more plate discipline. Tied with Jaff Decker for most outfield assists (12). [stats]

Jaff Decker (99 games, 349 plate appearances, .255/.366/.421, OPS .787, wOBA .357) meant a lot to the Bulls this year. He was one of the few exciting players on the team, exciting to watch, that is. And was a rare left-handed bat.  As he has several in the last three years (with Pittsburg and San Diego), he managed some major league time, but did not stick. He was #2 in stolen bases with 18, but led the team in getting caught with 7. He tied with Dayron Varona for most outfield assists (12). We'd like to see him back with the Bulls next year. [stats]
Update: Decker put on 40-man and called up to Rays mid-September.

Jake Goebbert (93 games, 321 plate appearances, .218/.299/.361, OPS .661, wOBA .303) added a left-handed outfielder's bat to the line-up, but, unfortunately, not much else. It is true that several of 10 home runs seemed to come at critical moments. Nevertheless, his OPS was almost 200 points below his 2015 numbers in El Paso (San Diego AAA) and he barely got above the Mendoza Line all year. [stats]

Taylor Motter (88 games, 387 plate appearances, .229/.297/.389, OPS .686, wOBA .311) seemed to be more of a Rays' super-utility man in training than a Durham Bull, this year. He had 33 games with the Rays but did not hit very well. His 2016 numbers are well below his 2015 Bulls numbers of .292/.366/.471. Not sure, but think he might be up for his first shot at free-agency this year. From a fan's perspective, if he can regain 2015 form, we'd like to see him back. [stats]

J.P. Arencibia (78 games, 324 plate appearances, .252/.284/.443 OPS .727, wOBA .326) joined the Bulls after 12 games with Lehigh Valley (AAA team of the Phillies). To be honest, after his superb September with the Rays in 2015, we didn't expect him back. At bat, he led the Bulls in home runs with 15, but overall his hitting was off. As a catcher, however, our guess is that he provided quite a bit of added value to the team because, once Luke Maile went up to the Rays, there was not much left to work with the pitching crew. J.P. announced his retirement at the end of the season. We wish him well. [stats]

Jake Hager (71 games, 293 PA, .228/.269/.324, OPS .592, wOBA .266) came to the Bulls in June after 43 games with Montgomery. This was his first time at AAA. He alternated between second base and shortstop with a couple of games at third. He had a piece of 41 double plays, and made a decent partner for Daniel Robertson at short. His bat needs some work, but he's young. Likely to be back next year. [stats]

Johnny Field (69 games, 285 PA, .275/.338/.455, OPS .793, wOBA .353) came up to the Bulls at the end of May for his AAA debut after 45 games with the Biscuits. The young (24) outfielder has had a good year and is one of the few Bulls with a decent OPS. Not particularly quick afoot (3 steals, 6 caught stealings), he was quick enough to lead the team in triples (4) and he ranked third in doubles with 23. Very likely to return next year. [stats]

Nick Franklin (64 games, 270 PA, .254/.322/.392, OPS .714, wOBA .322) was never expected to be a full-time Durham Bull when he came to the Rays system back in 2014. Maybe, maybe this year was the charm. At least he is now playing regularly with the Rays even if he did put in a substantial number of games with the Bulls this year. He did not have a great year at bat as a Bull, he actually has much better stats with the Rays (OPS .836). We don't expect him back. [stats]

Luke Maile (58 games, 214 PA, .242/.310/.340, OPS .650, wOBA .300) began the season with the Bulls, moved up to the Rays in mid-July, and never came back. Catchers are very difficult to evaluate from the stands. We certainly thought that Maile was ready to go as his stats improved throughout June. Just 25 years old, we expect that he's got a solid career ahead of him. As we will discuss later, however, the Rays are notorious for mishandling/misjudging catchers. We are not confident that he will be finding a place with the Rays as a major leaguer. We liked watching him play, though. [stats]

Kyle Roller (50 games, 187 PA, .216/.316/.377, OPS .692, wOBA .318) never quite delivered on the promise he showed in 2014 with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (OPS .875), although after leaving the Bulls in mid-June he did just fine in independent ball. Overall, the Bulls would have been better served if the Rays had found better ballplayers than Roller, Jake Goebbert, Eury Perez, and Carlos Corporan to fill out the roster at the beginning of the year. [stats]

Casey Gillaspie (47 games, 203 plate appearances, .307/.389/.520, OPS .909. wOBA .407) was a rare breath of fresh air after he came up from the Montgomery Biscuits in mid-July and stayed for the rest of the year. He appears to be a pure hitting first-baseman (switch-hitter, better as a lefty against righties). At 23 he's young and very likely to be back next year. We hope so. We like watching him play baseball. Note that he only made one error at first base as a Bull. [stats]

Patrick Leonard (42 games, 145 plate appearances, .198/.276/.252, OPS .528, wOBA .250) was much less successful in his AAA debut. However, after starting with the Bulls in April, he went to Montgomery at the beginning of June and had a decent year there. Just 23, you have to think he'll get another shot next year. [stats]

Cameron Seitzer (40 games, 144 plate appearances, .178/.229/.200, OPS .429, wOBA .204) appears to have been thoroughly mistreated by the Rays, although we're willing to stand corrected. As far as we can tell he was a backup infielder-in-waiting who filled a roster hole when it was convenient and then transferred (on paper) elsewhere when it wasn't. He was essentially with the Bulls all year, but only played in 40 games. Unfortunately, when he got his rare opportunities, he did not do very well. [stats]

Juniel Querecuto (36 games, 229 PA, .242/.289/.308, OPS .597, wOBA .272) does not have very good numbers for his visits with the Bulls. He started with the Biscuits, came to the Bulls in mid-May and stayed to mid-June. He went back to the Biscuits for a week or so, came back to the Bulls for late June and early July, back to the Biscuits, up to the Bulls, and ended the season with the Biscuits. That's three promotions to the Bulls this year. Not good numbers, even for an infielder. Young at 23, likely playing winter ball. We'll have to see about next year. [stats]
Update (9/12/2016): Added to 40-man roster and called up.

Hank Conger (30 games, 116 plate appearances, .165/.200/.303, OPS .503, wOBA .227) had a few good moments as a Bull after he was sent down by the Rays in mid-July for the last month and a half, but not many. As we mentioned, we have a hard time judging catchers from the stands, but his hitting numbers were not good at all. Unlikely to return next year. [stats]

Mikie Mahtook (27 games, 120 PA, .305/.383/.438, OPS .821. wOBA .371) spent the first six weeks with the Bulls and then went up to the Rays to spend almost all of the season with the Rays or on the DL (he did come back for 7 games at the end of the Bulls season). Mahtook is a major leaguer (even if his season has not gone well), although it sure would have helped to have at least one or two players of his rising talent with the Bulls this year. [stats]

Eury Perez (27 games, 99 PA, .239/.295/.307, OPS .602, wOBA .278) started the system in the Pacific Coast League with Houston's Fresno Grizzlies. Even at 26, he's been with a lot of teams and systems, coming up with the Nationals, then with the Yankees, Atlanta, and Houston before the Rays. He arrived in June and was on and off the roster a good bit. His last at bat was August 17. He had his moments. He was third in stolen bases, even with his reduced playing time. We have no way of knowing if he has any health issues, so hard to predict if he will be coming back. [stats]

Curt Casali (20 games, 81 PA, .254/.407/.365, OPS .772, wOBA .364) began the season with the Rays and stayed there until early August, when he was sent down, apparently to work on his hitting. He went back to the Rays at the end of the Bulls' season. Hitting was always a bit of a weak point with Casali, and this year did not seem to be that much different. With the Bulls, he was sharing time with two other catchers (Arencibia and Conger) and he did just fine with his limited plate appearances. Hard to tell if he's going to stick with the Rays next year. [stats]

Carlos Corporan (20 games, 70 PA, .200/.246/.308, OPS .554. wOBA .255) started the season with the Bulls, but was released in mid-May. He spent the next couple of months with the New Orleans Zephyrs, Miami's AAA team. Yet another example of the Rays having a hard time picking/developing catchers. [stats]

The Rest

• Mayo Acosta is essentially the Bulls bullpen catcher. He has been on and off the roster for the last four years, essentially succeeding Craig Albernaz in that role (Albernaz, by the way, is with the Rays' Hudson Valley Renegades as their hitting coach).
• Tim Beckham got in 5 games and 12 plate appearances at the end of the season.
• Matt Duffy, an infielder, had 12 plate appearances on a rehab assignment.
• Alec Sole visited for three games in August while he was enroute from the Charlotte Stone Crabs to end the season with 6 games with the Montgomery Biscuits.
• Logan Forsyth had two games on a rehab assignment.

1 by 1; 2 by 11

Game 93, July 14, NBT Stadium, Syracuse, New York
Durham Bulls (Rays): 4
Syracuse Chiefs (Nationals): 5
Wrap, Box, Syracuse.com

Stats:
Game Score: Gamboa 62; Season Avg 52 (6 starts, 19.2 innings)
Tm OPS: Game .548; Season .656; Difference -.108
Tm wOBA: Game .248; Season .295; Difference -.047


Game 94, July 15, NBT Stadium
Durham Bulls: 1
Syracuse Chiefs: 12
Season: 40-54; Trip: 0-2
Wrap, Box

Stats:
Game Score: Faria -6; Season 50 (4 starts, 15.2 innings)
Tm OPS: Game .659; Season .656; Diff .003
Tm wOBA: Game .262; Season .295; Diff -.033


The best thing that I can think of to say is that not very many people saw these games. I am sure there's a reason for the Chiefs' poor attendance, but they rank at the bottom of the International League. On a Friday night, they were credited with just 5,248 fans (and just 5,869 on Thursday). But that's above their season average of just 3,866, so perhaps the Bulls are a draw.

I don't want to write about these two games. The first was lost when Dayron Varona missed a fly ball in the 9th. But that was after Parker Markel gave up the Bulls lead in the 6th inning and J.P. Arencibia tied it up in the 9th.

Jacob Faria's 1st inning last night was as ugly an inning as you would ever want to see. Single, walk, walk, single, grand slam, single, single, K, Sac fly (second out), single.

But the pain kept up as the Bulls' iron hands committed two errors on one ball that let a run in, and then there was a triple before a K ended the inning.

14 Chiefs came to bat.

Quite possibly the worst 1st inning in Bulls history.

A slew of roster changes, and likely more coming:

• Luke Maile got called up to Tampa Bay (and went 2 for 3 with a RBI)
• Kyle Roller came off the disabled list, but was released.
• Hank Conger, a catcher who has been with the Rays all season, is headed toward the Bulls. Stats.
• Dana Eveland arrived from Tampa Bay and pitched on Thursday.
• Kyle Winkler went back to Montgomery.
• Johnny Field came off the disabled list and played Thursday and Friday.
• Mayo Acosta is back from "Hudson Valley"; Cameron Seitzer is off to Hudson Valley. 
• An infielder named Casey Gillaspie is coming up from Montgomery (stats).
• Pitcher Ryan Garton is coming back from Tampa Bay.
• Pitcher Tyler Sturdevant is coming back from Tampa Bay.

Got all that? Very likely even more changes coming. The team that comes back after this road trip is going to be quite different than the one that left.

Austin Pruitt got the win in the Triple-A All-Star game. Congrats.

The Durham Bulls at the All Star Break - Part 3 - Pitchers and Hitters

Pitchers

The Bulls have seen 31 different players on the mound this season.  Three were position players. Several have been called up. Some have come back. Others have been released. They have 13 on the roster, but that's a moving target. We charted 12 of the current crew and included Adam Wilk, who is currently on the disabled list. Not included are Ryan Stanek, Casey Coleman, Kyle Winkler, and Dana Eveland because they have very few innings and/or their roster status isn't clear. Also note that Jacob Faria, who is on the chart, only has 15 innings in Triple-A. Overall, as was noted in our previous post, the pitching crew is doing OK.

ERA/FIP

The stats geeks don't like ERA for lots of reasons. So here's a chart with both ERA and FIP (Fielding Independent Percentage). In general, FIP seems better for a short-term look and ERA for a longer term. This chart is sorted by FIP. We have a sample size problem (few innings) with a couple of the guys. Nevertheless, the bottom four pitchers, which include a starter and three relievers, are not having good years, the rest are OK.

click on chart for larger view

WHIP

Walks/Hits per Inning Pitched, interestingly, sorts out with the same four pitchers on the bottom.

Pitches per Out

This is a home-brewed stat that basically highlights just how hard a pitcher has to work to get an out. Again, the same four pitchers— Steve Geltz, Neil Wagner, Mark Sappington, and Justin Marks—are at the bottom.

Hitters

Coming to the plate so far this year we've seen 21 different Durham Bulls. We've charted 14 of them, but admit that it could be a moving target. A catcher, Hank Conger, is on his way from Tampa Bay. Kyle Roller, who was in 50 games this year, has been released. Cameron Seitzer and Mayo Acosta are on and off the roster. Juniel Querecuto is with Montgomery at the moment.

This is not a very impressive crew this year. We pointed out the team stats in a previous post. The individual stats show only 4 with positive wRAAs and one of those, Johnny Field is on the disabled list. It's worth noting that all but two have now gotten above the "Mendoza Line" (.200) in their batting averages. However, when watching a game it's hard to get your hopes up when any of these guys come to the plate.

From a fan's perspective, we have to say that the players who have been the most fun to watch were Jaff Decker, Dayon Varona, and Taylor Motter. We have hopes that Jake Goebbert and J.P. Arencibia will catch some breaks. We think Luke Maile is breaking out, but he or J.P. Arencibia is likely to be called up today or tomorrow. Richie Shaffer is helping the team a lot, the best wRAA of them all. It just seems like he is working so hard, for less return than hoped for.

Name	Age	PA	AVG	OPS	wRAA	wOBA
Jaff Decker	26	264	.233	.733	4.1	.338
Johnny Field	24	116	.250	.751	1.7	.337
Richie Shaffer	25	351	.250	.729	5.0	.336
Dayron Varona	28	304	.235	.718	0.8	.321
Daniel Robertson	22	340	.254	.664	-2.2	.309
Jake Goebbert	28	242	.214	.653	-2.8	.302
Luke Maile	25	214	.242	.650	-2.7	.301
Eury Perez	26	50	.239	.626	-1.1	.288
J.P. Arencibia	30	162	.221	.623	-4.2	.283
Jake Hager	23	111	.245	.609	-3.4	.277
Juniel Querecuto	23	100	.228	.587	-3.8	.267
Taylor Motter	26	179	.202	.585	-7.1	.265
Cameron Seitzer	26	140	.176	.419	-12.3	.201
Mayo Acosta	28	46	.091	.200	-7.7	.094

Five in a Row!

Game 58, June 5, DBAP
Gwinnett Braves: 0
Durham Bulls: 9

Season: 26–32; Home Stand: 6–1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Stats:
Game Score: Snell 68; Season Avg 56
Tm OPS: Game .813; Season .653
Tm wOBA: Game .363; Season: .296

The Gwinnett Braves pitching crew were more than generous again, giving up 8 walks. And the Bulls took advantage of it early. Half of the runners who scored in the first 4 innings got on base with a walk. A double by Kyle Roller, home runs by Johnny Field (off the Bull) and Dayron Varona drove them in, as did a single by Varona.

A big day for Bulls hitters and pitchers led to the biggest run differential of the year, the team’s 4th shutout, the longest winning streak, the first four-game sweep in years, and the best home stand this year.

Blake Snell had an impressive 6 inning, 104 pitch game. A bit shaky in the first inning, when he was victimized by a bad call by the 3rd base ump on a pickoff and run down. The runner went out of the baseline, but ump didn’t see it that way. After a batter or so, Snell was in command the rest of the way.

Juniel Querecuto started the game at second base. The first time he’s done that as a Bull. He was taking the place of Nick Franklin, who finally got his call to the Rays. Querecuto has plenty of experience at the position in lower level minors (where he has mostly been played at shortstop).

Cameron Seitzer came back from “extended Spring Training” to play first base and to fill the hole left by Nick Franklin’s departure.

On the Bench: J.P. Arencibia, Mayo Acosta, Jaff Decker

Outside the game —

• “Dr. Miraculous” runs the numbers of some of the current Montgomery Biscuits (and future Bulls?).

Standings

The Bulls run against the Braves has pushed the Bulls up into second place in the South. They are off to Norfolk for two games and back to Durham for two games before heading North for six games and then, oddly enough, back to Norfolk for three games.

click on chart for larger size

Durham Bulls Offense Has Best Night of the Year

Game 52, Durham Bulls Athletic Park, Durham, North Carolina

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (New York Yankees): 3
Durham Bulls (Tampa Bay Rays): 5

Season: 21–31; Home Stand: 1–0
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun (No story on their website, guess they took Memorial Day off. Too bad. Missed a good game.)

So there I was grumbling to myself for most of the first 6 innings. The Bulls had wasted a one-out triple by Kyle Roller through awkward baserunning by Roller himself and a caught stealing of Dayron Varona. Starting pitcher Justin Marks was really working hard (he ended the game having thrown 103 pitches in just 3 ⅔ innings). And then in the 6th inning, after a leadoff home run by recently-returned Jake Goebbert, the Bulls left the bases loaded. Meanwhile, back in the 4th the RailRiders had put up three runs.

But then came the 7th as the Bulls got a run off a Jaff Decker sacrifice fly and then the 8th when the Bulls put finishing touches on their best hitting game this year, a one game OPS of 1.061 (see chart below)! A solo home run by Nick Franklin and a two-run homer by Dayron Varona were the innings’ highlights.

Meanwhile the bullpen crew of Markel, Wagner, Farquhar, and Floro, threw 5 innings of shutout ball, closing  down one of the best hitting teams in the International League.

Outside the game (sort of) —

• As mentioned, Jake Goebbert passed through waivers and is back with the team.
• Patrick Leonard got sent to the Montgomery Biscuits. Leonard played in 42 games so far this year as a 1st baseman, 3rd baseman, and outfielder. He was hitting just .198, well-below his last year’s performance with the Biscuits. Probably part of larger roster shuffling. Stats.
• Johnny Field got promoted from Montgomery. Looks to be a pure outfielder and it looks like the 24 year-old has been having a pretty good year so far. Stats.
• Cameron Seitzer, who has been with the Bulls all year, has been sent to “Extended Spring Training” (probably a paper move). The first baseman is not having a particularly good year with an OPS of just .464. Stats.
• Early in the game new guy Johnny Field was coaching first base, which got me to wondering, just what is it that hitting coach does during a game? We see the manager and the pitching coach pretty regularly, but not Ozzie Timmons. But then he suddenly showed up, coaching first base. The first time I’ve noticed him there this year. Have I been missing something?
• Remember Ryan Garton, who made 14 appearances for the Bulls before being called up a few days ago? Turns out he’s part of a new training experiment that the Rays are experimenting with, but also being very close-mouthed about. Something about varying the weights of balls thrown in training. Story here.
• Dylan Floro got his third save in his third opportunity last night. Has he found his niche?

Here’s that chart I mentioned earlier. Game-by-game OPS scores for the last 15 games. Last night was the best this year.

Snell Looks Good

Game 43, May 20, DBAP
Rochester Red Wings: 1
Durham Bulls: 4
Season: 18-25; Home Stand: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun

Blake Snell had his best game of the year. He gave up only 3 hits, had 9 K’s, and made it through 6 innings. Kyle Roller had a homer; Daniel Robertson had a rare (for the Bulls this year) sacrifice fly; and third baseman Juniel Querecuto picked up the other two RBI.

The game was started early because of a threat of rainstorms. The rains actually didn’t arrive until later last night but it has been coming down ever since. As of right now (8:22) the tarp is on the field. For advice, check out our views on how to cope with rain, or click the link up at our favorite links list.

Outside the game—

• J.P. Arencibia was in the locker room yesterday. We should not expect too much from him just yet since his playing time with the Iron Pigs was limited. Stats.
• Brad Boxberger, a reliable presence in the Tampa Bay bullpen (69 appearances last year), has been rehabbing from a muscle tear all this year. He’s expected to show up in a Bulls uniform today for at least one rehab appearance. He was last with the Bulls for 6 games back in 2014.

Bag Rules

I was wrong. Although the rules have never previously been enforced, there they were on the back of my tickets: “Outside food and beverage prohibited.” I’m told they’ve been announcing at every game that they would start enforcing the rules at this home stand. Guess I wasn’t listening. That does not mean that I’m happy with the decision. I still think I ought to be able to bring in a thermos of coffee on a cold night. But there’s a lot about the 21st century that I don’t much like. Except for Taylor guitars. I like them a lot.

The Tampa Bay Rays are up in Detroit and just went over .500 for only the second time this season.

click for larger image 

A Win!

Game 24, April 30, Louisville Slugger Field, Louisville, Kentucky
Durham Bulls: 3
Louisville Bats: 1
Season: 11-13; Trip: 1-0
Wrap, Box, Louisville Courier-Journal

Both the wrap and the Courier-Journal stories laud the performance of Durham Bulls outfielder Dayron Varona. Wish that I’d seen the plays. Worth a read.

Then there was Taylor Motter’s 4th home run (he playing third base for just the third time this season). And Kyle Roller’s 3rd homer. (Note that as early as we are in this season, five different players have begun a game at third base for the Bulls—basically every infielder on the roster.)

Jamie Schultz had a great start. His game score of 72 was the best of any Durham starting pitcher since his own 71 back on April 24th. He only let up 2 hits and threw 6 K’s over 6 innings.

Outside the game —

• Guess we aren’t the only ones upset about home field losses. Check out the Courier-Journal link. Seems that the Bats aren’t doing good at home either.

Chart

I like the Game Score stat as a way of looking at starting pitchers and, in context, it gives some indication of the importance of starting pitching. Here are the scores of the last 15 games. The circled scores are the anomalies. They mark scores that were above average, yet the Bulls lost (4 of them) or below average, yet the Bulls won.

Bulls Take 2 of 3 from Braves; Off to Norfolk

Game 12, April 18, CoolRay Field, Lawrenceville, Georgia

Durham Bulls: 5

Gwinnett Braves: 4

Wrap, Box

Bulls were outhit 13 to 7. Kyle Roller got his first home run. Note that no Bull has more than 1 homer and the team has only 7 in the first 14 games. Mikie Mahtook back hitting at leadoff and has an impressive 3 for 5 and 1 run scored.

Game 13, April 19

Durham Bulls: 2

Gwinnett Braves: 7

Wrap, Box, Gwinnett Daily Post

Bulls didn’t get a hit until the 8th inning. Only 830 fans in the park (1,172 on 12th and 1, 268 on the 14th). Braves not getting local folks excited. Jamie Schultz’s Game Score of 23 the worst of any Bulls pitcher this year. Mikie Mahtook left game in late innings with pulled muscle.

Game 14, April 20

Durham Bulls: 5

Gwinnett Braves: 3

Wrap, Box

Another impressive start by Austin Pruitt. Mike Mahtook misses first game of the year (pulled muscle, no further info). Doubles by Dayron Varona and Richie Shaffer, plus a sac fly by Nick Franklin drove in the runs.

Matchup

After 14 games the Bulls finally play someone other than the Braves or the Knights. The Baltimore Orioles franchise is off to a stunning start at bat, but pitching has been awful, so far. As with the Bulls, all of their games have been against Gwinnett and Charlotte. Games in Harbor Park are often interesting, and fun to watch if you’ve got MiLB-TV.

As of April 21:

	W-L	RS	RA	Diff	BA	Rk	OPS	Rk	ERA	Rk
Durham Bulls	8-6	57	58	-1	.240	9	.678	9	3.64	9
Norfolk Tides	4-9	54	70	-16	.268	4	.712	3	5.10	14

RS=Runs Scored; RA=Runs Allowed; Rk: IL Ranking; Source:http://bit.ly/1NvBdKI

Close, but No Comeback; Watch Out for the Wind

Looks Breezy!

Game 2, 8 April 2016, Durham Athletic Park
Charlotte Knights (White Sox): 8
Durham Bulls (Rays): 6

Season: 1-1; Home Stand: 1-1
Wrap, Box, Herald-Sun (paywall), DRaysBay

The Bulls had a nice lead going into the 6th, but Andriese ran into a bit of trouble and new-to-the-Bulls reliever Tyler Sturdevant let two runs score and gave up one of his own. The Bulls came back to tie it up, however 2015 stalwart Jhan Martinez couldn’t hang on.

Continuing my look at this year’s team …

The Lineup

(note: The “slash line” is: Batting Average/On Base Percentage/On Base Percentage+Slugging; “*” indicates player is on 40-man roster)

RF Mikie Mahtook*: 2 for 4, 1 BB, scored 2 runs. Season — .333/.400/.733
CF Jaff Decker: 2 for 5, scored 2 runs. Season — .500/.500/1.100
SS Taylor Motter*: 1 for 5. Season — .300/.300/.600
1B Richie Shaffer*: 3 for 5, scored 1 run. 3 RBI. Season — .625/.667/1.542
2B Nick Franklin*: 1 for 5, scored 1 run. Season — .222/.222/.444
3B Daniel Robertson: 3 for 3, scored 1 run, 1 HR, 2 RBI. Season — .500/.625/1.625
DH Kyle Roller: 0 for 3. 1 RBI (sac fly). Season — .000/.000/.000
Roller spent the last two seasons with the AAA team of the Yankees, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders. Exclusively a DH and first baseman he was signed as a minor league free agent. Solid stats. Looks like a good addition to the roster. Stats.
LF Patrick Leonard: 0 for 4. 1 RBI (bases loaded ground out). Season — .250/.250/.625
C Luke Maile: 0 for 4. Season — .250/.250/.625

The Pitchers

RHP Matt Andriese*: 5 ⅓ innings. 6 hitds, 4 ER, 0 BB, 9 K’s.
Matt Andriese is essentially with the Bulls for a month or so while the Tampa Bay Rays work with a 4 (instead of 5) man pitching rotation. He had a fine year last year in his 65 innings with the Bulls and his 65 innings with the Rays. Stats. Solondz interview.
RHP Tyler Sturdevant: ⅓ inning. 1 hit, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 inherited runners scored.
Sturdevant spent 2015 with the Cleveland affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. Decent stats.
RHP Ryan Garton: 1⅔ innings. 1 hit, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K’s
Garton is working his way up through the Rays system. He had 70 K’s in 61 innings last year with Montgomery. Stats. Solondz interview.
RHP Jhan Martinez: 1⅔ innings. 2 hits, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K’s.
Martinez was a star of the 2015 Bulls bullpen. Have to think he will come around. Stats. Solondz interview.

Outside the game —

• Rosterification begins. Cameron Seitzer who started at 1B on Thursday is off the roster and Jake Goebbert has been assigned. Gooebert was claimed off waivers from the Pirates. We’ll profile him when/if he ever shows up at bat.
• Baseball America had some love for Blake Snell's game Thursday (Thanks to DRaysBay for the link).
• Tampa Bay has released a top prospects list. Several Bulls are on it.