2005 GCL Red Sox
From SoSH
Contents |
2005 GCL Red Sox Season Ending Report
Final Record: 29-23
What is the Gulf Coast League?
The Gulf Coast League (GCL) is a "complex" Rookie Minor League. GCL teams are made up of players (generally) in their first year of play in the States. Players come from a variety of places including the Dominican and Venezuelan Summer Leagues, International Free Agents, 2004 Draftees and Undrafted Free Agents.
The GCL had 12 teams in 3 divisions.
Given the types of players in the league, it is tough to give an overall impression of players. My observation is that pitching tends to be ahead of hitting at this level (perhaps due to players switching from aluminum bats to wood bats). As with the two Caribbean Leagues, lots of errors are made.
How did we do?
By record, quite well. The Red Sox won (for the second year in succession) the Southern Division of the GCL. They then went to the playoffs where they lost to the Northern Division Champion Yankees in a one game playoff.
Players
First, roster composition.
The Red Sox roster is made up of 5 major components: 1) Caribbean players, 2) Australian Pitchers, 3) 2005 Draftees (mostly HS), 4) 2005 Undrafted Free Agents, and 5) Rehabbers.
The problem with looking at the the record of the GCL is the fact that the Red Sox use their GCL club as the initial (and primary) place to rehab players. Whether it be Claudio Arias (a High-A OF) or Chris Smith (a AA Pitcher), the first appearances come in the GCL. This is usually helpful to the team in a record standpoint (and certainly useful to the organization as a whole), but makes it more difficult to gauge how good the team is absent these players. Additionally, the Sox did not stop with simple rehabbers from within the system. They brought in reinforcements... specifically Rich "El Guapo" Garces pitched 3 innings for the Sox. Do the Sox rehab more players at this level than other teams? I do not know... but it is worthy of a mention.
Fine, we get it. Tell us about these players.
OK, I will be ignoring all of these rehabbers, most of whom do not show up on the stats anyway.
And, as usual, a note of caution...
I haven't seen these players. I have no idea how they look. I can only base my opinions solely on the stats provided.
Offensive Player of the Year:
Bubba Bell
Bubba, a 39th round draft pick out of Nicholls State, easily gets the award. Bubba led the team in games played (43), Average (.317), Slugging (.457), Doubles (13), Triples (2), RBI (27) and hits (54). Bubba was second on the team in OBP (.363). That being said, he came out of college and was placed in the GCL. As a prospect, he still has to be considered behind all of the OFers drafted by the Sox prior to him (Ellsbury, Corsalletti, Engel, Yema, Johnson and Twomley)... but he should get a chance to play next year (in either Lowell or Greenville) and enhance his stock.
Pitcher of the Year:
Tim Cox
The Austrlian made his debut for the Sox with 49 1/3 innings for the GCL Sox before getting a late season promotion to Lowell. Tim finished the season with a 2.19 ERA, giving up 17 runs (5 unearned), allowing 36 hits and 7 walks (for a WHIP under 1) while striking out 56.
Now... for the rest of the players. What I am going to do here is split this up into 3 sections: International Players, Drafted Players and Undrafted Free Agents.
International
Offensive Players
- Moises Santa: Moises spent his first year in the US by putting up a .309/.339/.400 line, hitting 4 doubles and 2 HRs in 30 games.
- Jesus Garcia: Jesus put up a .264/.322/.368 line in his first US campaign, hitting 5 doubles and 2 HRs, walking 10 times and striking out 19 in 32 games.
- Richard Santana: Richard was the statistical leader in one of the four (positive) categories Bubba Bell did not lead, leading the team with 23 runs in 40 games. Richard put up a .255/.325/.352 line in his first season in the US. Santana had 9 doubles, a triple and a HR, walking 11 times and striking out 28 times.
- Manuel Arambarris: Manny made his debut in the US, coming from the VSL and from an injured arm which stopped his 2004 season early. Manny put up a .247/.319/.329 line with 7 doubles, 7 walks and 11 strikeouts in 26 games.
- Emilio Linares: Emilio did not enjoy his first taste of baseball in the US, putting up a .231/.288/.324 line, leading the team with 35 strikeouts and 15 errors in 36 games.
- Manuel Rafael: Manny put up a .217/.292/.264 line with 6 doubles, 13 walks and 21 strikeouts.
Pitchers
- Rhys Taylor: Rhys made his American debut a year after he was signed out of Australia, and put up some fine numbers. However, he will be in the Washington National organization next year, as he was traded (along with Yader Peralta) to the Nats for the 4 day service of Mike Stanton. Rhys was second on the team with a 1.49 ERA, giving up 6 earned runs in 36 1/3 innings. However, Rhys gave up 7 unearned runs and allowed the ball in play more than one would like to see, giving up 28 hits and striking out only 15. Rhys walked 7 players.
- Jose Ortiz: Jose put up a 3.82 ERA in 35 1/3 innings, striking out 39 batters in 14 relief appearances. Jose gave up 24 hits and 17 walks, allowing 18 runs (15 earned).
- James Albury: James made his second trip to the GCL and had an uneven season. James ended the season with a 4.83 ERA in 31 2/3 innings, giving up 29 hits (including a team high 4 HRs), while walking 13 and striking out 22. James gave up 21 runs (17 earned).
- Jimmy James: Another GCL repeater, James pitched 28 1/3 innings in the GCL with a 2.54 ERA. Jimmy gave up 23 hits and 12 runs (4 unearned), walking 6 while striking out 13.
- Remos Linares: Brother of Emilio, Remos had a much better year than his brother. Remos pitched 23 1/3 innings in 13 games of relief, finishing with a 2.31 ERA. Linares allowed 19 hits, 7 runs (1 unearned), walked 9 and struck out 20.
- Yader Peralta: Yader spend most of the season in the GCL (although he started the year with 4 unimpressive innings in Greenville, and ended the year with 11 decent innings in Lowell before his trade to the Nationals)... pitching 29 2/3 innings in 17 relief appearances, finishing with a 3.94 ERA. Peralta gave up 33 hits and walked 5, allowing 16 runs (3 unearned) while striking out 21.
- Yulkin German: Unlike my DSL pitcher of 2004 (Jose Capellan), Yulkin came to the US and did relatively well. Yulkin was one of only three pitchers (with significant innings) to strikeout more batters (56) than innings pitched (49, a team high). That being said, as is often the case with young strikeout artists, he did have a small problem... he walked people. Yulkin led the team with 29 walks. However, Yulkin only gave up 33 hits and only 1 HR, allowed 14 earned runs (for a 2.57 ERA) while only allowing 5 unearned runs.
Drafted
Offensive Players
- Michael Jones: The 25th round pick of the 2004 Draft, Michael spent his first season in the Sox organization in Florida. Michael led the team in OBP (.385), hitting for an average of .306 with a slugging of .444. Jones had 9 doubles and 2 HRs, walking 10 times while striking out 18 times.
- Reid Engel: Reid, the fifth round draft pick out of Colorado, played in 27 games for the Sox. Reid put up a line of .233/.313/.330 with 2 doubles, 2 HRs and a triple. Engel walked 11 times and struck out a team high 36 times.
- Jonathan Egan: The 2nd Round Catcher out of Georgia had a tough year in Florida, playing in 35 games. On the positive side, he only had 1 error and led the team in walks with 21 (while striking out 29). On the other hand, his walks were necessary as he didn't hit much... putting up a line of .222/.340/.294.
- Carl Lipsey: The 23rd Round pick started the season in Lowell, but was eventually demoted to the GCL in order to get some playing time. Carl only appeared in 7 games for the GCL Sox, putting up a .154/.292/.154 line.
Pitchers
- Michael Bowden: The third of three supplemental picks for the Sox, Bowden pitched 6 innings over 4 games, allowing 4 hits, 4 walks and striking out 10.
- Scott Blue: The 4th round draft pick signed very quickly, but spent most of the summer rehabbing an arm injury. Blue pitched 3 innings over 4 games, giving up 3 hits and 9 walks, allowing 8 runs (1 unearned) while striking out 2. Hopefully, he will show why he was drafted so highly next season.
Undrafted
Offensive Players
- Jason Hurst: Jason appeared in 32 games, finishing with a .233/.341/.359 line with a team high 3 HRs. Jason walked 14 times while only striking out 19 times.
- Archie Gilbert: Archie appeared in 24 games, finishing with a .219/.293/.260 line.
Pitchers
- Alex Gonzalez: Alex appeared in a team high 18 games (26 2/3 innings), finishing with a 3.04 ERA. Alex gave up 15 hits and 12 walks, struck out 21 while allowing 12 runs (3 unearned).
- Dane Towery: Dane led the team with a 1.48 ERA in 24 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. Dane allowed 24 hits and 5 walks, striking out 16 while allowing 8 runs (half of which were unearned).
- Billy Phillips: Billy pitched 17 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, giving up 16 hits and 17 walks, striking out 14 while allowing 10 runs (2 unearned).
- John Jefferson: John pitched 5 2/3 innings in 4 relief appearanced, finishing with a 9.53 ERA. Billy gave up 8 hits, 6 runs (all earned), 2 walks and struck out 2.
