This post will show the top ten players with the highest WAA in the Pacific Coast AAA League. WAAs were calculated using this league’s averages for 2013 and the WAA show players playing the most above average. Theoretically the top ten is the cream of the crop but mathematics can only show what was and can’t predict the future. Above average AAA players usually never make it in the majors and finding a superstar in these minor leagues is like searching for a needle in a haystack. The superstars will emerge with the highest WAAs but they will get moved to the majors very quickly. Most above average minor league players spend their careers in minor leagues. The next part of this post will display career tables for the top 5 to provide a glimpse int how talent varies from year to year.
Top ten PCL players in 2013
Here are the PCL rankings for 2013.
| Rank | WAA | BA/IP | OBP/ERA | PA/G | RBI/W | R/L | Name_Tm | BAT/PITCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6.7 | 0.303 | 0.363 | 518 | 100 | 84 | Nick_Buss_Albuquerque_Isotopes_LAN_pcl | BAT |
| 2 | 6.0 | 0.344 | 0.379 | 298 | 79 | 48 | Brett_Pill_Fresno_Grizzlies_SFN_pcl | BAT |
| 3 | 5.3 | 0.330 | 0.359 | 575 | 81 | 104 | Chris_Owings_Reno_Aces_ARI_pcl | BAT |
| 4 | 5.2 | 138.0 | 2.80 | 23 | 6 | 11 | Brian_Flynn_New_Orleans_Zephyrs_MIA_pcl | PITCH |
| 5 | 5.0 | 0.306 | 0.351 | 480 | 89 | 74 | Ryan_Wheeler_Colorado_Springs_Sky_Sox_COL_pcl | BAT |
| 6 | 5.0 | 0.321 | 0.357 | 463 | 86 | 69 | Wilmer_Flores_Las_Vegas_51s_NYN_pcl | BAT |
| 7 | 4.4 | 0.348 | 0.479 | 263 | 48 | 55 | Scott_Van_Slyke_Albuquerque_Isotopes_LAN_pcl | BAT |
| 8 | 4.2 | 0.302 | 0.390 | 600 | 89 | 90 | Michael_Choice_Sacramento_River_Cats_OAK_pcl | BAT |
Nick Buss Career
Leagues lower than AA are not pulled in for years preceding 2013. LA brought Buss in September where he had 20 plate appearances. He didn’t do so well but 20 PAs is not enough data to make any judgment.
| Year | WAA | BA/IP | OBP/ERA | PA/G | RBI/W | R/L | Name_Tm | BAT/PITCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 0.9 | 0.272 | 0.328 | 558 | 57 | 70 | Nick_Buss_Chattanooga_Lookouts_LAN_sl | BAT |
| 2013 | 6.7 | 0.303 | 0.363 | 518 | 100 | 84 | Nick_Buss_Albuquerque_Isotopes_LAN_pcl | BAT |
| 2013 | -0.5 | 0.105 | 0.150 | 20 | 0 | 0 | Nick_Buss_LAN | BAT |
Brett Pill
Brett has been brought up for the last three years. He posted an above average WAA=0.4 in 2013 for the Giants with 114 PAs which makes him an above average MLB player.
| Year | WAA | BA/IP | OBP/ERA | PA/G | RBI/W | R/L | Name_Tm | BAT/PITCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.2 | 0.275 | 0.319 | 567 | 84 | 63 | Brett_Pill_Fresno_Grizzlies_SFN_pcl | BAT |
| 2011 | 3.3 | 0.312 | 0.341 | 576 | 107 | 82 | Brett_Pill_Fresno_Grizzlies_SFN_pcl | BAT |
| 2011 | 0.5 | 0.300 | 0.321 | 53 | 9 | 7 | Brett_Pill_SFN | BAT |
| 2012 | 1.4 | 0.285 | 0.336 | 268 | 45 | 35 | Brett_Pill_Fresno_Grizzlies_SFN_pcl | BAT |
| 2012 | -0.5 | 0.210 | 0.265 | 114 | 11 | 10 | Brett_Pill_SFN | BAT |
| 2013 | 6.0 | 0.344 | 0.379 | 298 | 79 | 48 | Brett_Pill_Fresno_Grizzlies_SFN_pcl | BAT |
| 2013 | 0.4 | 0.224 | 0.272 | 92 | 12 | 11 | Brett_Pill_SFN | BAT |
Chris Owing
| Year | WAA | BA/IP | OBP/ERA | PA/G | RBI/W | R/L | Name_Tm | BAT/PITCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -0.6 | 0.263 | 0.291 | 310 | 28 | 35 | Chris_Owings_Mobile_Bay_Bears_ARI_sl | BAT |
| 2013 | 5.3 | 0.330 | 0.359 | 575 | 81 | 104 | Chris_Owings_Reno_Aces_ARI_pcl | BAT |
| 2013 | -0.3 | 0.291 | 0.361 | 61 | 5 | 5 | Chris_Owings_ARI | BAT |
Brian Flynn
Looks like Brian got shelled this year when he came up for the Marlins. They also promoted him from the AA Southern League to AAA PCL this year.
| Year | WAA | BA/IP | OBP/ERA | PA/G | RBI/W | R/L | Name_Tm | BAT/PITCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | -0.6 | 5.0 | 9.00 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Brian_Flynn_Erie_SeaWolves_DET_east | PITCH |
| 2012 | 0.7 | 102.0 | 3.71 | 18 | 8 | 4 | Brian_Flynn_Lakeland_Flying_Tigers_DET_fla | PITCH |
| 2012 | 0.0 | 45.0 | 3.80 | 8 | 3 | 0 | Brian_Flynn_Jacksonville_Suns_MIA_sl | PITCH |
| 2013 | 1.2 | 23.0 | 1.57 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Brian_Flynn_Jacksonville_Suns_MIA_sl | PITCH |
| 2013 | 5.2 | 138.0 | 2.80 | 23 | 6 | 11 | Brian_Flynn_New_Orleans_Zephyrs_MIA_pcl | PITCH |
| 2013 | -2.0 | 18.0 | 8.50 | 4 | 0 | 2 | Brian_Flynn_MIA | PITCH |
Ryan Wheeler
| Year | WAA | BA/IP | OBP/ERA | PA/G | RBI/W | R/L | Name_Tm | BAT/PITCH |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 0.1 | 0.254 | 0.315 | 73 | 10 | 8 | Ryan_Wheeler_Mobile_Bay_Bears_ARI_sl | BAT |
| 2011 | 3.7 | 0.294 | 0.358 | 531 | 89 | 69 | Ryan_Wheeler_Mobile_Bay_Bears_ARI_sl | BAT |
| 2012 | 5.2 | 0.351 | 0.388 | 399 | 90 | 56 | Ryan_Wheeler_Reno_Aces_ARI_pcl | BAT |
| 2012 | -0.6 | 0.239 | 0.294 | 119 | 10 | 11 | Ryan_Wheeler_ARI | BAT |
| 2013 | 5.0 | 0.306 | 0.351 | 480 | 89 | 74 | Ryan_Wheeler_Colorado_Springs_Sky_Sox_COL_pcl | BAT |
| 2013 | -0.1 | 0.220 | 0.238 | 42 | 7 | 1 | Ryan_Wheeler_COL | BAT |
Conclusion
As can be seen from above, it is very hard for even above average players to move up from minor league to MLB and be successful. Most likely there are diamonds in the rough in this PCL lower down in these rankings. WAA provides a one shot glance at evaluating performance. Dumping career tables into these posts is tedious. I will soon have click through ranking page for each league so you can view the career of any player in the minors through the lens of this data model. The purpose of this post was to illustrate the top players in PCL. Next post will cover International AAA and then we’ll dive into various teams’ systems. Perennial winners like the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals always seem to grow new talent so it will be interesting to see what they have in their systems.