by Bill Moriarity / A’s Farm Editor
With the first two months of the minor league season almost in the books, it seems like a good time to take a look at the A’s minor league team leaders in a few key hitting and pitching categories. And it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise to see the names of top prospects like Franklin Barreto, Matt Chapman and A.J. Puk high atop our list of A’s minor league team leaders.
Leaders are included for all four of the A’s full-season affiliates – Nashville, Midland, Stockton and Beloit. A minimum of 100 at-bats is required for the hitting categories and a minimum of 40 innings is required for the ERA and WHIP categories for pitchers. An asterisk indicates not just a team leader but also an organizational leader in a particular category, and the stats are complete through games of Sunday, May 28. Some of these names you may expect to see atop the lists, while others might come as a bit of a surprise!
You can always stay up to date on the A’s top prospects and all the daily action in the A’s minor league system right here on Athletics Farm. A version of this report originally appeared on Athletics Nation…
Click here to see the A’s Minor League Team Leaders…
NASHVILLE SOUNDS
(minimum 100 ABs & 40 IPs)
HR – 3B/OF Renato Nunez 12*
AVG – SS Franklin Barreto .307
OBP – 1B Matt Olson .368
SLG – 3B Matt Chapman .582*
ERA – RHP Paul Blackburn 3.33
WHIP – RHP Paul Blackburn 1.13
SO – RHP Daniel Gossett 42
SV – RHP Simon Castro 3
Nunez, Olson, Chapman and Barreto have been Nashville’s big boppers this season. Not only does Barreto boast Nashville’s best batting average, but he also leads his team in hits, triples and total bases as a 21-year-old. Nunez has accumulated more home runs and extra-base hits than all A’s minor leaguers, while Chapman has compiled the best slugging percentage in the system by averaging a home run once every 11 at-bats. Olson is tied with Nunez for the team lead in doubles with 10, has the second-best slugging percentage on the squad, and also boasts Nashville’s best on-base percentage thanks to his team-leading 23 walks. On the down side, all four of them have been striking out just about once every 3 at-bats so far this season for the Sounds. Outfielder Jaycob Brugman, who’s just a bit below 100 at-bats after missing the first month of the season would have the team’s best batting average and on-base percentage if he hadn’t fallen shy of the threshold. Meanwhile, on the mound, with the exception of a trio of shaky outings, Blackburn has been dominant, allowing a total of just 4 earned runs over his other 6 starts, and he’s currently riding a streak of 13 scoreless innings. Gossett garnered more strikeouts than any A’s minor leaguer last season and he’s currently the Sounds’ strikeout leader, notching an average of 8 strikeouts every 9 innings for Nashville. Castro’s 3 saves lead all current Sounds. The 29-year-old Dominican can be overpowering at times, as evidenced by his 27 strikeouts in just 16 innings of work, but he can also be a bit inconsistent, and he’s walked 8, hit 3 batters and surrendered 3 home runs for the Sounds.
MIDLAND ROCKHOUNDS
(minimum 100 ABs & 40 IPs)
HR – 1B Viosergy Rosa 9
AVG – OF B.J. Boyd .318*
OBP – OF Brett Vertigan .410*
SLG – OF Tyler Marincov .473
ERA – RHP Corey Walter 2.44
WHIP – RHP Corey Walter 1.29
SO – RHP Grant Holmes 47
SV – RHP Kyle Finnegan 6*
Vertigan and Boyd have been Midland’s table-setters while Rosa and Marincov have wielded the big bats for the RockHounds. Vertigan and Boyd are both first or second on the team in hits, doubles, batting average and on-base-percentage, while Rosa and Marincov are both first or second in home runs, extra-base hits, RBIs and slugging percentage, as well as in strikeouts. Boyd leads the team in triples with 4 and boasts the best batting average among all A’s minor leaguers with at least 100 at-bats, while Vertigan has the best on-base percentage in the system and his 6 stolen bases tie him for the team lead. Meanwhile, Midland’s top pitcher, Corey Walter, was recently promoted to Triple-A Nashville and won his first game for the Sounds after allowing just 1 run over 7 innings of work in Sunday’s start. As a 28th-round draft pick in 2014, Walter hardly started out as a top prospect, but his performance for the Hounds was hard to beat. The 24-year-old allowed more than 2 earned runs just twice in his 10 appearances for Midland this season. Holmes, who was the 1st-round draft pick of the Dodgers in 2014, is the staff strikeout leader with 47, but the 21-year-old also leads the squad in walks with 22 and has mostly struggled this season, posting an ERA of 5.27 over 42 2/3 frames. RHP Jake Sanchez had been the most dominant pitcher out of Midland’s bullpen, but he missed time when he suffered a ruptured eardrum after being hit in the head with a line drive, and he was just recently promoted to Nashville along with Walter. When he was healthy, he and Finnegan had been sharing closer duties, but Finnegan is now the Hounds’ main shut-down artist and he currently leads the system with 6 saves. He’s struck out 18 in 21 2/3 innings and has kept his ERA to a tidy 2.49.
STOCKTON PORTS
(minimum 100 ABs & 40 IPs)
HR – OF Seth Brown 10
AVG – OF Tyler Ramirez .309
OBP – OF Tyler Ramirez .407
SLG – OF Skye Bolt .439
ERA – LHP Evan Manarino 3.21
WHIP – LHP Evan Manarino 1.05
SO – LHP A.J. Puk 69*
SV – RHP Nolan Blackwood 4
Back for his second season in Stockton, Brown has been wielding the big bat for the Ports, and he not only leads the teams in home runs, but also in RBIs and total bases. But despite the fact that he’s belted a total of 10 home runs, he’s managed to accumulate just 1 double, and his batting average has remained at a lowly .247. Bolt’s 6 doubles, 4 triples and 4 home runs have boosted him just a hair above Brown in terms of slugging percentage, but his batting average also remains at a subpar .242. Ramirez, who was last year’s 7th-round draft pick for the A’s, has been a pleasant surprise for the Ports, and he currently leads the team in hits, runs, walks, batting average and on-base percentage. After last year’s draft, A’s scouting director Eric Kubota said that the team really liked his bat, and it looks like their belief in his abilities is being rewarded. Meanwhile, Manarino has been the Ports’ most consistent performer on the mound. Not only does he boast the best ERA and WHIP among all Stockton’s starters, but he’s also issued just 3 walks while striking out 41 in 47 2/3 frames this season. Last year’s top pick, A.J. Puk, has shown flashes of brilliance and can appear overpowering at times. He currently has more strikeouts than any A’s minor leaguer, and over his last 10 1/3 innings, he’s allowed just 1 hit and 1 run while striking out 15, but he does lead the staff with 20 walks over 44 2/3 frames. Blackwood had been sharing closing duties with RHP Carlos Navas earlier in the year, but Navas has since been promoted to Midland, and Blackwood now has the back end of the bullpen all to himself and is Stockton’s current saves leader. Last year’s 14th-round draft pick has struck out 18 in 20 1/3 innings while putting up an impressive 2.21 ERA for the Ports. [UPDATE: Evan Manarino has since been promoted to Double-A Midland.]
BELOIT SNAPPERS
(minimum 100 ABs & 40 IPs)
HR – 1B Miguel Mercedes 9
AVG – 2B Nate Mondou .315
OBP – 2B Nate Mondou .385
SLG – SS/3B Edwin Diaz .481
ERA – LHP Dalton Sawyer 2.00*
WHIP – LHP Dalton Sawyer 0.89*
SO – RHP Brendan Butler 55
SV – RHP Jesus Zambrano 2
With a .315 batting average and a .385 on-base percentage, Mondou has been a pleasant surprise, consistently getting on base and making things happen for the Snappers. And last year’s 13th-round draft pick is also tied for the team lead in triples and stolen bases. Mercedes and Diaz have wielded a couple of Beloit’s biggest bats since the start of the season. Not only does Diaz boast Beloit’s best slugging percentage, but the 21-year-old is also tied for second in home runs and is now second in on-base percentage for the Snappers after suddenly doubling his usual walk rate this month. And not only does Mercedes lead the Snappers in home runs, but he’s also the team leader in doubles and extra-base hits, though his .213 batting average and .268 on-base percentage make him appear to be a one-dimensional player at this point. Meanwhile, Sawyer has been Beloit’s best starting pitcher so far this season. Last year’s 9th-round draft pick has been almost untouchable, allowing just 25 hits while walking 15 and striking out 50 over 45 innings, and he’s currently sporting the best ERA and WHIP among the system’s starting pitchers. Butler has impressed as well, striking out 55 and walking just 11 in 48 1/3 frames while posting an ERA of 2.42. The fact that Zambrano is the Snappers’ saves leader is a bit of an anomaly. He was never actually serving as the team’s closer and is currently pitching in a tandem-starter situation with RHP Mitchell Jordan, and nine other players have now posted one save for the Snappers.
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