Tom Brennan - THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS

Tom Brennan - THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS

No, this article is not about the errors of Matt Harvey's ways, who I hope borrows Hillary's Reset Button and pitches like Tom Seaver and behaves like David Wright going forward.

Nope, this is about minor league FIELDERS.

We focus constantly on how a guy hits, how a guy pitches...but fielding is critical, too.  It can be make-or-break.

Of the minors guys who to me appear to have a legitimate shot at the bigs, who is fielding like Rey Ordonez and who like Iron hands Chuck Hiller?

Today, AAA and AA guys; A ball guys next article.

AAA:

SS Amed Rosario: hitting .371, but 9 errors in 32 games.  He also made 23 errors in 113 games last year.  So, that is 32 errors in 145 games - he may have a strong glove rep, but that is an area that clearly still needs improvement.  But even Rey Ordonez made 27 errors as a Mets rookie in 1996, but was a .980 fielder thereafter.  So I anticipate Amed will also greatly cut down on his errors going forward.

3B Phil Evans: hitting just .235, with 7 errors in 29 games.  Defense has been an Achilles Heel in Evans' career, with 100 errors in 487 games started (.957 fielding at 2B, .931 at 3B, and .950 at SS.  By comparison, LJ Mazzilli has 57 errors in 376 starts, and Matt Reynolds has 69 errors in 467 starts, with matt having more starts at SS than the other 2.  It seems Matt is the best fielder of the 3, then LJ, then Evans.

2B Gavin Cecchini: not hitting like last year, but not fielding like last year, either, since switching over from SS, where he made 33 errors in 105 AAA games in 2016.  This year, he is hitting a rising .254, but with a mere 2 errors in 30 games.  That is MAJOR improvement for Cecchini's glove.

And he is no Chuck Hiller, who in 421 career Iron Hands starts and 54 other games at 2B made a crazy 84 errors. 

I hear he opened up an ironing franchise business after hanging up the glove.

1B Dominic Smith: hitting .326, with just 1 error in 33 games, so the Gold Glove rep is holding up for Mr. Smith.

SP Tyler Pill: now in his 6th year, he has ZERO errors in his career in 113 games.  Imagine that!!  Gold Glover!  I wonder what the professional baseball record is for pitching in consecutive games without errors?

RP Kevin McGowan: no errors in 12 games this year, and 8 in 50 career starts and 65 relief appearances; just 3 in 2016 and 2017.  In 105 innings this year and last, spanning 47 relief outings and 5 starts, he is 7-2, 2.57 with 102 Ks.

RP Tim Peterson: he is 13-4, 3.39 in his career with 264 Ks in 218 IP, and unscored on in 11.2 IP in 2017, so he has major league reliever potential. 

Fielding-wise, he has been stellar in relief this year, and career, only 1 error in 145 relief outings and 4 starts.  Even Tyler Pill thinks that is impressive.

AA:

SS Luis Guillorme: after a terrific spring training, he is hitting a terrific .321.  Just 3 errors in 15 games at SS, none in 12 games at 2B.  Great glove, fine low pop hitter.  

Are Bud Harrelson or Rey Odonez good comps for Luis?

 

C Tomas Nido: Last year's FSL batting champ is hitting just .226 this year, but is on the upswing stick-wise, and has 13 RBI in 22 G. 

Shocking! Nido made 41 errors in his first 250 career games. 

On the good news side, though, Nido has made ZERO errors in 15 starts this year, and he has gunned down a solid 95 of 242 (39%) since 2015.

SP PJ Conlon: 47 games pitched, including 29 starts, in his career in which he is 15-4, 1.78.  Three errors career, none this year.  Nice.

SP Corey Oswalt: 3-2, 2.04 in 6 starts this year.  Just 4 errors in 62 career starts and 6 relief outings.  Not bad.

RP Al Baldonado: stellar in relief in 2017, 14.2 IP, 0 R, 21 K.  No errors this year, and only 3 in 138 minor league games.  Also impressive.

NEXT TIME: HIGH A AND A BALL GUYS