In the final part of this 2019 Minor Leagues series we’ll cover A+ ball which is one level below AA and a half level above A. Although it’s possible to go farther down into A and across the ocean into Japanese and Korean baseball it’s too cumbersome and most players end up in A+, AA, or AAA before playing in MLB anyway.
This model only calculates value on a per season basis. There is a lot more involved in player development than simple value but if a player can’t dominate a minor league he probably won’t make it in MLB.
This post will cover Cubs and White Sox A+ team. The White Sox have been sellers the last bunch of years so their players should be percolating up through their system.
The A+ class of players includes all 30 affiliates split into three leagues; Carolina, Florida, and California as described here.
Myrtle_Beach_Pelicans_car Team Status
| BAT | PITCH | Rs | Ra | W | L | UR | LR | TeamID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -39.8 | -58.6 | 293 | 381 | 27 | 52 | 12.6 | -2.0 | Myrtle_Beach_Pelicans_car_aplus_CHN |
The Cubs A+ affiliate, Myrtle Beach Pelicans, having a terrible season both in wins/losses and BAT/PITCH. This probably does not bode well for prospects. Let’s look at their top players.
Top Myrtle_Beach_Pelicans_car Players
| Rank | WAA | Name_TeamID | Pos | WinPct | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XXXXX | 0.97 | Ben_Hecht_CHN | PITCH | 0.625 | 24 | |
| XXXXX | 0.90 | Oscar_De_La_Cruz_CHN | PITCH | 0.770 | 24 | |
| XXXXX | 0.71 | Jesus_Camargo_CHN | PITCH | 0.573 | 23 | |
| XXXXX | 0.63 | Cam_Balego_CHN | BAT | 0.549 | 24 | |
| XXXXX | 0.55 | Ryan_Lawlor_CHN | PITCH | 0.686 | 25 | |
| XXXXX | 0.53 | Javier_Assad_CHN | PITCH | 0.535 | 21 | |
| XXXXX | 0.53 | Garrett_Kelly_CHN | PITCH | 0.633 | 24 | |
| XXXXX | 0.40 | Miguel_Amaya_CHN | BAT | 0.531 | 20 | |
| XXXXX | 0.27 | Enrique_De_Los_Rios_CHN | PITCH | NA | 24 | |
| XXXXX | 0.27 | Jeffrey_Passantino_CHN | PITCH | NA | 23 |
Nobody is ranked although there are a couple of high Win% listed. There are a lot of negative players on this team causing all the losses. There is no point in showing the bottom of this list.
Winston-Salem_Dash_car Team Status
| BAT | PITCH | Rs | Ra | W | L | UR | LR | TeamID | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18.2 | 13.2 | 358 | 326 | 42 | 34 | -4.4 | 5.0 | Winston-Salem_Dash_car_aplus_CHA |
The White Sox A+ affiliate, Winston-Salem Dash, having a pretty good season so far to go along with their very interesting name. What is a Dash BTW? Both White Sox and Cubs affiliates in the same Carolina A+ league.
Top Winston-Salem_Dash_car Players
| Rank | WAA | Name_TeamID | Pos | WinPct | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +016+ | 2.75 | Luis_Robert_CHA | BAT | 0.971 | 21 | |
| +087+ | 1.72 | JJ_Muno_CHA | BAT | 0.719 | 25 | |
| +101+ | 1.57 | Will_Kincanon_CHA | PITCH | 0.728 | 23 | |
| +128+ | 1.39 | Kyle_Kubat_CHA | PITCH | 0.784 | 26 | |
| XXXXX | 1.24 | Kade_McClure_CHA | PITCH | 0.688 | 23 | |
| XXXXX | 1.11 | Zach_Remillard_CHA | BAT | 0.571 | 25 | |
| XXXXX | 1.03 | Luis_Ledo_CHA | PITCH | 0.656 | 24 | |
| XXXXX | 0.97 | Codi_Heuer_CHA | PITCH | 0.614 | 22 | |
| XXXXX | 0.92 | Craig_Dedelow_CHA | BAT | 0.559 | 24 | |
| XXXXX | 0.88 | Blake_Battenfield_CHA | PITCH | 0.613 | 24 |
Not sure who any of these players are but Luis Robert is tearing up A+. His batting average is 0.453 right now. Players in A+ rarely get brought up to their MLB team unless maybe for September call ups. White Sox fans may see many of the above players next year or the year after that.
Top 25 A+ Players
| Rank | WAA | Name_TeamID | Pos | WinPct | Age | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| +001+ | 6.59 | Luis_Castro_COL | BAT | 0.878 | 23 | |
| +002+ | 4.35 | MacKenzie_Gore_SDN | PITCH | 0.771 | 20 | |
| +003+ | 3.86 | Devin_Mann_LAN | BAT | 0.730 | 22 | |
| +004+ | 3.78 | Jeter_Downs_LAN | BAT | 0.723 | 20 | |
| +005+ | 3.51 | Donovan_Casey_LAN | BAT | 0.711 | 23 | |
| +006+ | 3.42 | Sean_Bouchard_COL | BAT | 0.730 | 23 | |
| +007+ | 3.32 | Alex_Fagalde_SLN | PITCH | 0.707 | 25 | |
| +008+ | 3.28 | Aldrem_Corredor_WAS | BAT | 0.689 | 23 | |
| +009+ | 3.04 | Todd_Czinege_COL | BAT | 0.730 | 24 | |
| +010+ | 3.02 | Cody_Bolton_PIT | PITCH | 0.720 | 21 | |
| +011+ | 3.00 | Casey_Golden_COL | BAT | 0.734 | 24 | |
| +012+ | 2.92 | Tommy_Romero_TBA | PITCH | 0.694 | 21 | |
| +013+ | 2.88 | Miguel_Yajure_NYA | PITCH | 0.668 | 21 | |
| +014+ | 2.88 | Mario_Feliciano_MIL | BAT | 0.678 | 20 | |
| +015+ | 2.86 | Damon_Jones_PHI | PITCH | 0.721 | 24 | |
| +016+ | 2.75 | Luis_Robert_CHA | BAT | 0.971 | 21 | |
| +017+ | 2.71 | Josh_Green_ARI | PITCH | 0.682 | 23 | |
| +018+ | 2.71 | Seth_Beer_HOU | BAT | 0.842 | 22 | |
| +019+ | 2.67 | Joey_Murray_TOR | PITCH | 0.734 | 22 | |
| +020+ | 2.65 | Ryan_Dorow_TEX | BAT | 0.670 | 23 | |
| +021+ | 2.58 | Graham_Spraker_TOR | PITCH | 0.694 | 24 | |
| +022+ | 2.58 | Dylan_Busby_PIT | BAT | 0.674 | 23 | |
| +023+ | 2.56 | Edward_Cabrera_MIA | PITCH | 0.699 | 21 | |
| +024+ | 2.56 | Bryan_Mata_BOS | PITCH | 0.725 | 20 | |
| +025+ | 2.56 | Jake_Adams_HOU | BAT | 0.677 | 23 |
I don’t know any of these players and there are no Cubs in top 25 in this class of baseball. All the above players are very young looking at the age columns and all of them will probably be in AA next season or even this season.
That is all for minor leagues this season. An end of season minor league update might be made in the off season when there is nothing else to post about. Until then ….