Lynchburg coming to the Appy?

Last week it was announced that the Atlanta Braves have reached a tentative deal to purchase the Lynchburg Hillcats.  When and if they purchase the team, they plan to move the team to Wilmington, North Carolina.  The whole deal is contingent upon Wilmington and the Braves reaching an agreement on building a new stadium complex.

Another part of the deal is that the Braves have given the Hillcat's board of directors "assurance that they will help the City of Lynchburg find another affiliated minor-league baseball team if they move the franchise to North Carolina."

BallparkDigest.com predicts that if the Braves move the team, an A-Ball replacement will not be likely.

We're guessing that replacement -- if it happens -- won't come at the Class A level. Lynchburg is probably more of an Appy League kinda town.

 Based on current affiliate agreements, most of the teams in the Appy are owned by their affiliate.   Bristol (White Sox), Johnson City (Cardinals), Greeneville (Astros), Kingsport (Mets), Danville (Braves), Elizabethton (Twins), and Princeton (Rays) are all owned by the parent organization.  Which means they could move the team at any time. They normally have a lease agreement for the stadium.  For example the Astros signed a five year agreement with Tusculum College last August for the use of Pioneer Park.

The other teams, have player development contracts that are usually signed on a two year basis. Here is the status for each of the remaining teams:

Bluefield Blue Jays - signed through 2014

Burlington Royals - signed through 2012

Pulaski Mariners - signed through 2012, possible extension to 2014

I would be surprised if Lynchburg falls all the way down to the Appy.  But it's facilities would be an upgrade over several of the other cities.  We will keep watching how this plays out. 

There are always rumblings about a team leaving or moving, for example in December, the Mets announced they are closing their GCL team and saying Kingsport will have the K-Mets for 2012.

Age in the Appy and Making the Show

 I did some research over the last few days looking at those who make it to the big leagues from the Appy and the age at which they made their Appy League debut.  The results were interesting. In this post, we will look at the number by year, the number by age,  the number by affiliate, and the number by position player vs. pitcher.

Year to Year
I looked at 2004 - 2009 rosters.  Here are the numbers of players on those rosters who have made it to the show.  If a player repeated, I only listed them in their first season unless their second season was 2004 (there were six such players).

2004 - 31  (16 teens/ 15 older)
2005 - 21  (9 teens/ 12 older)
2006 - 19  (9 teens/ 10 older)
2007 - 16  (8 teens/ 8 older)
2008 - 12  (6 teens/ 6 older)
2009 -  3  (0 teens/ 3 older)

That is a total of 102 players who have made their MLB debut.  Sixty of the 102 have been pitchers and 42 were position players.  One, David Carpenter, started in the Appy as a fielder and then returned when converted to pitcher.  Since he made his MLB debut as a pitcher, I used his pitching debut for his age.

The diminishing number is not a surprise as it takes time for most players to climb the ladder.   It is surprising that the teen to older ratio stays around 50% for all years except 2009.  There were some fast moving teens in 2008.  That group includes Salvador Perez & Kelvin Herrera of the Royals, Julio Teheran & Randell Delgado of the Braves and  Jordan Lyles & Jose Altuve of the Astros.

Age #
You can see from the chart below the the most common ages were 18 (26), 20 (22), 21 (19) and 19 (17) .  You can also see that if you are over 20 in the Appy your chances of making the big leagues decline if you are a position player.
Overall, teens make up 47% of the players who have made their MLB debut from the Appy since 2004.  Teens make up 55.6% of the position players and 40% of the pitchers.

Affiliate Breakdown
In terms of affiliation, the Braves and Twins have had the most players make the majors with 20 each.  With the Braves nine of the 20 made their debut as teenagers.  Elvis Andrus made his debut as a 16 year old.  He is the youngest of the 102.  Other teens in the Braves pipeline included Jason Hayward, Julio Teheran, Randall Degado, Neftali Perez and Matt Harrison.  (note that three of those are now Rangers thanks to the Texeira trade)

With the Twins, they have only had four teenagers make it to the majors.  They accounted for seven of the 19 players who were 21 when they made their Appy debut and four of the 10 players who were 22 when they made their Appy debut.

The Astros and the Cards each had 12 players make it from the Appy to the major leagues.  Six of the 12 Astros who made it all the way were teens when they made their Appy debut.  However, four of those repeated the level (Paulino, Gutierrez, Barthmaier and Altuve). 

The Cards' dozen includes four teens.  With Colby Rasmus being the big name in the bunch.  They had three players who have made it who were 22 during their Appy debut, with David Carpenter being one of those.

The only other affiliate to have at least 10 players was the White Sox.  Seven of their 11 have been 18 or 19 when they made their Appy debut.  Current Astro Lucas Harrell is in this group.  He was 19 when he made his Appy appearance in 2004.

The other affiliates had the following amount of success.

Rays 7 - all teens
Orioles 6 - five teens
Mets 5 - three teens
Indians 3 - no teens
Jays 3 - one teen
Royals 2 - both teens
Mariners 1 - no teens

In fairness, the Indians, Royals, Mariners and Jays have not had continuous presence in the league.   The Indians left Burlington after the 2006 season and the Royals moved in.  The Jays left Pulaski after the 2006 season and the Mariners moved in for the 2008 season. 

Conclusion
These numbers will continue to change over time as more players from 2007, 2008 and 2009 make their path to the majors; be it for a cup of coffee or a hall of fame career.  However, the numbers lead me to the following conclusions:

1. Watch teens in the Appy, especially position players.
2. Pitchers can be slightly older and still be worth watching.
3. Position players over the age of 20 are a long shot.
4. It is okay for teens to repeat but not 20's.

This backs up what my gut and common sense told me but it is always nice to have some facts to back it up.

Does this raise any questions you want answered?  Let me know appyastros(at)gmail.com or on twitter @AppyAstros

Both Rookies of the Year have Appy Ties

Both Jeremy Hellickson and Craig Kimbrell started their pro careers in the Appy League. 

Hellickson, appeared in four games for the Princeton Devil Rays in 2005 as an 18 year old.  He never came to Greeneville or faced the G-Stros.

Kimbrell, appeared in 12 games for the Danville Braves in 2008.  He faced Greeneville twice both securing saves in one run wins.  Back on June 21st, 2008, he came into the game in the 8th inning. This is from the game log on MILB.

Greeneville Bottom of the 8th

• Pitcher Change: Craig Kimbrel replaces Junior Rojas.
• Frank Almonte pops out to second baseman Chais Fuller.
• Kody Hinze grounds out, third baseman Jon Gilmore to first baseman Gerardo Rodriguez.
• Dionel Montas strikes out swinging. 

Greeneville Bottom of the 9th

• Carlos Mojica called out on strikes.
• Ricardo Bonfante doubles (1) on a line drive to left fielder Mike Elkerson.
• Albert Cartwright grounds out, shortstop Shayne Moody to first baseman Gerardo Rodriguez. Ricardo Bonfante to 3rd.
• Renzo Tello reaches on fielding error by third baseman Jon Gilmore. Ricardo Bonfante scores.
• Devon Torrence walks. Renzo Tello to 2nd.
• Jay Austin grounds out, second baseman Chais Fuller to first baseman Gerardo Rodriguez. 

He faced Greeneville again on June 26th.  This is the game log from that affair when he entered with two outs in the 8th. 

Greeneville Top of the 8th 

• Pitcher Change: Craig Kimbrel replaces Matt Timms.
• Jose Altuve walks.
• Frank Almonte grounds out, pitcher Craig Kimbrel to first baseman Chais Fuller. 

Greeneville Top of the 9th

• Kody Hinze walks.
• Offensive Substitution: Pinch hitter Federico Hernandez replaces Dionel Montas.
• Offensive Substitution: Pinch runner Albert Cartwright replaces Kody Hinze.
• With Federico Hernandez batting, wild pitch by Craig Kimbrel, Albert Cartwright to 2nd.
• Federico Hernandez flies out to right fielder Chris Shehan. Albert Cartwright to 3rd.
• Renzo Tello lines into unassisted double play, third baseman Jon Gilmore. Albert Cartwright doubled off 3rd.

 Based on his minor league stats, Kimbrell was one of those rare pitchers who never started a game on his climb to the majors. 

Appy League Ties to the World Series

Josh Hamilton photo from SP Times story "Greener than grass".  Tells of Josh Hamilton's first season - a great read!

Every year, during the World Series, I go back and look at who from the two rosters might have played in the Appy League.  This year, there are ten players who wore an Appy League uniform. 

Cardinals - 

Yadier Molina - 2001 Johnson City Cardinals
Rafael Furcal - 1998 Danville Braves
Arthur Rhodes - 1988 Bluefield Orioles

Rangers- 

Elvis Andrus - 2005 Danville Braves (only for 6 games)
Josh Hamilton - 1999 Princeton Devil Rays
Endy Chavez - 1997 & 1998 Kingsport Mets
Matt Harrison - 2004 Danville Braves
Colby Lewis - 1999 Pulaski Rangers
C.J. Wilson  -2001 Pulaski Rangers
Neftali Feliz - 2007 Danville Braves

The interesting thing is that there is only one former Johnson City Cardinal on the rosters.  Meanwhile there are four former Danville Braves (looks like the Rangers won that Texeira trade - Feliz, Harrison & Andrus were all part of that trade).

Only three of the players might have played at Pioneer park - Andrus, Harrison & Feliz.

Johnson City Cardinals Lose The Hill

On my drive to work today, I heard on "The Sports Monster" an interview with East Tennessee State head baseball coach Tony Skole (pronounced like the dip - what a great baseball name). He mentioned that the hill that stretched from the right field line almost to the corner of center (yes, there is a corner in center field) had been leveled.

The Johnson City Press followed that interview up with a story. They described the berm this way:

Perhaps 15 feet high and banked at 55- or 60-degree angles in places, the hill turned outfielders into mountain goats. And because it doubled as a football stadium perimeter and continued to arc in from the right field corner, the berm also made straightaway right-center field some 310 feet from the plate.

Shopping at the right-center field gap could provide cheap home runs for batters who often circled the bases almost apologetically after slicing balls through the breeze and over the hill while pitchers cursed the baseball gods.

Skole said there were seasons their home ERA was 2.50 points higher because of the short field in right. So much for a home field advantage. He added:

From a fan’s standpoint, you don’t see a 20-foot hill in the outfield,” East Tennessee State coach Tony Skole, who has managed some 300 games there. “It added a lot of charisma. But if you pitched there on a consistent basis you could end up pulling your hair out. I know a lot of the purists are probably disappointed … but from a coaching standpoint I really applaud the city for taking it down and making the adjustment.

There are other great recollections of the hill in the article. I encourage you to check it out.

Howard Johnson Field at Cardinal Park used to back up to Steve Spurrier Field where the Science Hill Hilltoppers played their football games. That created the short right field. Now, with Science Hill having it's new on campus stadium, the football stands were leveled and so was the hill.

Here are some links to pictures of "the hill" - pic 1 , pic 2.

Personally, I am glad my son got to attend a game in that park last season so he could see "the hill" . With "the hill" leveled, now the high walls in left and the deep corner in center are the only character left in what otherwise is just an old nondescript stadium.

Appy League World Series Ties

The Rangers vs. The Giants: 2010 World Series. What could possibly be the tie between the Appy League and two teams that don't have affiliates in the league? Well, there are six players on the post season rosters who spent time in the Appy. All of them on the Rangers.

You see before the Pulaski, Virginia hosted the Mariners... before they didn't host a team for one year and caused a 9 team schedule that caused a horrible fuss people are still complaining abut...before they hosted the Blue Jays...they were the Pulaski Rangers from 1997 to 2002. During that time, C. J. Wilson (2001) & Colby Lewis (1999) played home games in Calfee Park.

Lewis went 7-3 with a 1.95 ERA as a 19 year old starter. He rode the buses to games with Kevin Mench & Aaron Harang, as the P-Rangers won the Eastern Division crown.

Wilson dominated Appy batters striking out 49 in 24 innings in just 8 starts before being promoted. Riding the bus with Mr. Wilson as 2010 Houston Astro Jason Bourgeois.

That is only 2 of the 6 players. So where did the rest of them play? One famous one played in Princeton; home of the Devil Rays affiliate. Josh Hamilton was a young but very rich 18 year old, who hit .347 and knocked 10 HR in his year in Princeton, West Virginia. He shared fast food meals with Carl Crawford and had his mom following him doing his laundry. (Don't think so? There is evidence in this story It is a lengthy read but worth the time.)

The other 3 players all played for the Danville Braves. Two of them came to the Rangers in the trade with Atlanta for Mark Teixeira. Those two are Elvis Andrus (2005) and Neftali Feliz (2007). The last guy took a long route coming through Atlanta, and New York before he landed in Texas this season. Jeff Francour was a Danville Brave in 2002.

Francour hit .327 in 38 games as a just drafted 18 year old. He rode the bus with Kyle Davies and was managed by Ralph Henriquez, father of former Astro farm hand Ralphie.

Andrus made a short stop (pun fully intended)for just 6 games in 2005. He wasn't the only shortstop making cameo appearances in Danville that season, Yunell Escobar also showed up for 8 games.

Feliz made 8 appearances in 2007; seven of them were starts. He finished with a 1.98 as a 19 year old. He shared road time with Jason Hayward for 4 games during the season.