The mission of most team's AAA teams is generally 2-fold: "Finishing school" for prospects and an extended bench for the MLB team. The Sacramento River Cats fulfilled both parts and did it well as 51 players played for both teams and several of them look to have long term roles for the Giants. The River Cats started off strong finishing second in the PCL West in the first half with a 42-30 record. After numerous promotions to the Giants and from AA, they slipped to third place in the second half at 37-38. Over the full season they had the second best record in the PCL West and the third best overall. Let's break down the team stats and individual stat leaders for the season.
Team Stats(league ranking in parentheses):
Batting:
BA: .278(4)
OBP: .361(5)
SLG%: .427(8)
Runs: 822(6)
Hits: 1400(5)
Doubles: 282(5)
Triples: 25(8)
Home Runs: 138(9)
RBI: 773(6)
Walks: 591(10)
Strikeouts: 992(1-fewest). The next fewest K's was 1157 so quite a large gap.
HBP: 91(3)
Sac: 33(3)
Sac Fly: 63(1)
My Take: We see an even more extreme stat pattern reflecting Buster's image, best in league in K's and worst in walks with lower power numbers.
Pitching:
ERA: 4.67(3)
HR: 133(2-fewest)
Walks: 643(6)
Strikeouts: 1222(5)
Saves: 34(3)
Save Ops: 51(8).
GO/AO: 1.03(6)
My Take: Nothing To See Here. Kind of middling for all stats probably reflecting the use of 24 pitchers over the season.
Individual Stats:
Batting: 200+ AB for rate stats.
BA: Turner Hill- .353, Scott Bandura- .318, Bo Davidson- .309.
OBP: Turner Hill- .420, Scott Bandura- .398, Bo Davidson- .389.
SLG%: Bo Davidson- .534, Turner Hill- .529, Scott Bandura- .492.
Hits: Scott Bandura- 117, Nate Furman- 117, Will Brennan- 114, Turner Hill- 114.
Doubles: Scott Bandura- 28, Nate Furman- 25, Will Brennan- 24.
Triples: Turner Hill- 4, Scott Bandura- 3, Will Brennan- 3.
HR: Will Brennan- 11, Scott Bandura- 10, Bo Davidson- 10
Runs: Scott Bandura- 71, Turner Hill- 65, Nate Furman- 63
RBI: Will Brennan- 63, Scott Bandura- 62, Turner Hill- 60.
SB: Scott Bandura- 24, Turner Hill- 23, Nate Furman- 19.
My Take: Mostly similar names mostly due to number of AB's. Of the guys who logged the most AB's, Turner Hill showed the most at the MLB level. Bo Davidson is the top prospect. Others who were not on the team as long but impressed at the MLB level include Drew Cavanaugh, Jonah Cox and of course Bryce Eldridge.
Pitching: 30 IP for rate stats.
Wins: Cesar Perdomo- 7, Wilkin Ramos- 6, Carson Whisenhunt- 6.
ERA(relievers): Ryan Walker- 2.52, Michael Fulmer- 2.98, Trent Harris- 3.12.
ERA(Starters): Joe Whitman- 3.74, Carson Whisenhunt- 4.15, Blade Tidwell- 4.38
Saves: Michael Fulmer- 10, Eric Cerantola- 6, Carson Seymour- 4.
K/9(relievers): Trent Harris- 11.60, Michael Fulmer- 11.06
K/9(starters): Carson Whisenhunt- 9.84, Blade Tidwell- 9.75, Joe Whitman- 7.36, Cesar Perdomo- 6.80.
My Take: Again, not much in the way of takeaways. A bit curious why Michael Fulmer never got his shot at The Churn. Maybe the reason Joe Whitman never got a call was his low K/9 but Cesar Perdomo's was worse. Beyond that, the cupboard was pretty much emptied out at AAA level. There are some promising pitching prospects at lower levels, bolstered by the 2026 draft but overall organizational pitching is thinner than hitting.
Another season of churn at the big league level? It seems like in order to carry out Buster's plan, he would be looking for opportunities up to the trade deadline next season to swap those on the major league roster for promising upper-level minors/on the cusp major leaguers to fill out the system. A lot will depend on how quickly the youngsters at the lower levels progress, of course.
ReplyDeleteDoes anything or any player demonstrate the gulf between AAA and MLB more than our Will Brennan?
ReplyDeleteI think the keeper out of all the young guys that were call up is Cox. He did fade a little bit in Sept, but he brings something to the game no one else does.....speed. Let him lead off and see if he can be a disruptor on the base paths. As long as he can get his OPB into the 330+ range I think he offers to much upside not to play. Cavanaugh could certainly share time with Susac when he makes it back...or be the back up. My biggest question mark is Turner. I do not think he showed enough to be considered more than a backup...at least initially. He started off well but cratered in Sept.
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