This will be the last minor league covered. AAA consists of two leagues; Pacific Coast League (pcl) and International (int). More about these leagues can be read here. Like MLB, this model combines all 30 franchise affiliates from both leagues into one bowl of data soup. Let’s start with the Cubs affiliate.
Iowa Cubs Team Status
| BAT | PITCH | Rs | Ra | W | L | UR | LR | TeamID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7.9 | -59.4 | 556 | 610 | 55 | 59 | -0.3 | -2.0 | Iowa_Cubs_CHN | 8/10/2017 |
| -99.8 | -10.1 | 478 | 592 | 46 | 79 | 0.4 | -4.5 | Iowa_Cubs_CHN | 8/22/2018 |
The above shows team status for last year’s last snapshot and the one taken today. A year ago the Cubs were almost 0.500, just 4 games under. Today they’re -33. BAT tanked but PITCH actually improved even though it’s still underwater as well.
Top Iowa Cubs
| Rank | WAA | Name_TeamID | Pos | WinPct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +081+ | 2.50 | Kyle_Ryan_CHN | PITCH | 0.696 | |
| +142+ | 1.89 | Randy_Rosario_CHN | PITCH | 0.875 | |
| +163+ | 1.74 | Dakota_Mekkes_CHN | PITCH | 0.787 | |
| +169+ | 1.70 | Dillon_Maples_CHN | PITCH | 0.705 | |
| XXXXX | 1.45 | Anthony_Bass_CHN | PITCH | 0.713 | |
| XXXXX | 1.24 | James_Norwood_CHN | PITCH | 0.842 | |
| XXXXX | 1.13 | Ryan_Court_CHN | BAT | 0.555 | |
| XXXXX | 1.13 | David_Bote_CHN | BAT | 0.582 | |
| XXXXX | 0.92 | Michael_Roth_CHN | PITCH | 0.639 | |
| XXXXX | 0.82 | Mike_Freeman_CHN | BAT | 0.557 | |
| XXXXX | 0.82 | Jason_Vosler_CHN | BAT | 0.580 |
Kyle Ryan has been in MLB since 2014 and came to the Cubs from Detroit. He pitched well for the Iowa Cubs this season with a rather high Win% rate. Names in blue have played for the MLB Cubs and we saw Jason Vosler last season and with the Smokies this season.
| Rank | WAA | Name_TeamID | Pos | WinPct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +043+ | 2.90 | Jason_Vosler_CHN | BAT | 0.625 | aa | 2017 | |
| XXXXX | 0.92 | Jason_Vosler_CHN | BAT | 0.603 | aa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 0.82 | Jason_Vosler_CHN | BAT | 0.580 | aaa | 2018 |
Not bad. Maybe we’ll see him in September call ups.
Charlette Knights Team Status
| BAT | PITCH | Rs | Ra | W | L | UR | LR | TeamID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -61.6 | -44.6 | 489 | 611 | 46 | 70 | -16.3 | 0.5 | Charlotte_Knights_CHA | 8/10/2017 |
| -111.3 | 21.0 | 472 | 553 | 57 | 68 | 8.4 | 1.0 | Charlotte_Knights_CHA | 8/22/2018 |
Since last season BAT tanked while PITCH improved and their W-L record went from -14 to -11, almost the same. UR way up. The White Sox had quite the fire sale last season so it is not expected for that talent to percolate up to AAA. That this team has improved somewhat means their deals from two years ago may be paying dividends. We’ll drill down into individual players below.
The above shows the Knights had a dismal UR, a team indicator for fielding as a team, last season which has dramatically improved this season. The current MLB White Sox have the worst UR amongst all 30 MLB teams at -23.0. The second worst in MLB is PHI with -12.0 . It will be interesting to see if the above improvement shows up in the MLB White Sox a year from now when we do this again. Let’s look at the top players that make up the Knights.
Top Charlette Knights
| Rank | WAA | Name_TeamID | Pos | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +027+ | 3.61 | Donn_Roach_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | -0.17 | Jeanmar_Gomez_CHA | PITCH | mlb | 2018 | |
| +104+ | 2.10 | Jeanmar_Gomez_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | -0.42 | Tyler_Danish_CHA | PITCH | mlb | 2018 | |
| +147+ | 1.85 | Tyler_Danish_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | -0.76 | Spencer_Adams_CHA | PITCH | aa | 2018 | |
| +156+ | 1.78 | Spencer_Adams_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| -015- | -3.55 | Dylan_Covey_CHA | PITCH | mlb | 2018 | |
| +157+ | 1.76 | Dylan_Covey_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 0.19 | Michael_Kopech_CHA | PITCH | mlb | 2018 | |
| +172+ | 1.70 | Michael_Kopech_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| -037- | -2.96 | Jordan_Guerrero_CHA | PITCH | aa | 2018 | |
| +183+ | 1.62 | Jordan_Guerrero_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 0.55 | Xavier_Cedeno_CHA | PITCH | mlb | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 1.53 | Xavier_Cedeno_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| +198+ | 1.39 | Ian_Hamilton_CHA | PITCH | aa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 1.18 | Ian_Hamilton_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| +059+ | 3.02 | Carlos_Rodon_CHA | PITCH | mlb | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 0.84 | Carlos_Rodon_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 0.42 | Aaron_Bummer_CHA | PITCH | mlb | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 0.78 | Aaron_Bummer_CHA | PITCH | aaa | 2018 |
Since this is AAA, the top level minor league, players move around a lot. The above table lists the top Knights according to their AAA value and also shows their value and rank records from other leagues they played for this season.
First thing to notice is all their top players are pitchers — which should be expected with such a high negative BAT in team status. This means the White Sox’ hopes for next season will rely on some of the above to be able to pitch at MLB level.
The top two guys colored in green are pitching very well at the AAA level but they have been in and out of MLB over the years. Click on Donn Roach and Jeanmar Gomez to see their career stats from baseball-reference.com. Donn Roach even pitched in a game for the Cubs and Gomez has been around MLB since 2010 so technically he’s a veteran.
The blue colored names are mlb records. Interesting that Jordan Guerrero tanked in AA and was promoted to AAA and has pitched well. There is much more going on in minors than this data model can see. This model is only a reflection upon past performance. With September call ups around the corner we may see many of these names on CHA MLB roster soon. Also, this guy was left out.
| Rank | WAA | Name_TeamID | Pos | Win% | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +037+ | 1.95 | Eloy_Jimenez_CHA | BAT | 0.807 | aplus | 2017 | |
| +037+ | 1.74 | Eloy_Jimenez_CHN | BAT | 0.692 | aplus | 2017 | |
| +051+ | 2.58 | Eloy_Jimenez_CHA | BAT | 0.717 | aa | 2018 | |
| XXXXX | 0.53 | Eloy_Jimenez_CHA | BAT | 0.557 | aaa | 2018 |
The above show our snapshot from last season as well. This model does not compile A level however. His win% rate shows he excelled in A+ and AA. He might have started at A level in 2017. He might be on the MLB team in September and most likely sometime next season depending upon how the White Sox are handling him.
Top AAA
| Rank | WAA | Name_TeamID | Pos | WinPct | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +001+ | 6.28 | Tyler_O’Neill_SLN | BAT | 0.942 | |
| +002+ | 5.92 | Christian_Walker_ARI | BAT | 0.834 | |
| +003+ | 5.90 | Mike_Tauchman_COL | BAT | 0.770 | |
| +004+ | 5.90 | Kevin_Cron_ARI | BAT | 0.794 | |
| +005+ | 5.86 | Jabari_Blash_ANA | BAT | 0.858 | |
| +006+ | 5.59 | Kyle_Tucker_HOU | BAT | 0.762 | |
| +007+ | 5.46 | AJ_Reed_HOU | BAT | 0.713 | |
| +008+ | 5.35 | Cole_Irvin_PHI | PITCH | 0.661 | |
| +009+ | 5.33 | J.D._Davis_HOU | BAT | 0.813 | |
| +010+ | 5.25 | Zach_Borenstein_NYN | BAT | 0.693 | |
| +011+ | 5.02 | Adam_Plutko_CLE | PITCH | 0.767 | |
| +012+ | 4.89 | Socrates_Brito_ARI | BAT | 0.713 | |
| +013+ | 4.60 | Franmil_Reyes_SDN | BAT | 0.853 | |
| +014+ | 4.58 | Enyel_De_Los_Santos_PHI | PITCH | 0.678 | |
| +015+ | 4.56 | Ryan_Weber_TBA | PITCH | 0.698 | |
| +016+ | 4.45 | Josh_Fuentes_COL | BAT | 0.659 | |
| +017+ | 4.45 | Dakota_Hudson_SLN | PITCH | 0.679 | |
| +018+ | 4.41 | Daniel_Poncedeleon_SLN | PITCH | 0.716 | |
| +019+ | 4.28 | Brett_Nicholas_SDN | BAT | 0.699 | |
| +020+ | 4.18 | Peter_Alonso_NYN | BAT | 0.822 | |
| +021+ | 4.16 | Trevor_Oaks_KCA | PITCH | 0.658 | |
| +022+ | 3.99 | Kolby_Allard_ATL | PITCH | 0.664 | |
| +023+ | 3.88 | Jordan_Patterson_COL | BAT | 0.672 | |
| +024+ | 3.88 | Tyler_White_HOU | BAT | 0.738 | |
| +025+ | 3.86 | Robert_Stephenson_CIN | PITCH | 0.654 |
The above is a name dump based upon WAA weighting which is the only appropriate way to rank. Not familiar with any of the above names except Robert Stephenson who, IIRC, pitched against the Cubs this season. Many of the above could be professional minor league players who can dominate AAA but can’t make it in MLB.
That is all for now and perhaps minor leagues for this season. A playoff horse race compilation needs to be made before roster expansion and that’s in a few days. Until then ….