2005 Lowell Spinners

From SoSH

Contents 1 2005 Lowell Spinners Season-Ending Report 1.1 What is the New York-Penn League? 1.2 Players 1.2.1 2005 Signees 1.2.1.1 Offensive Players 1.2.1.2 Pitching 1.2.2 The Non-2005 Signees 1.2.2.1 Offensive Players 1.2.2.2 Pitchers 1.3 External Sources

2005 Lowell Spinners Season-Ending Report

Final Record: 42-33

What is the New York-Penn League?

The New York-Penn League (NYPL) is an advanced "rookie" league. NYPL teams are mostly made up of newly Drafted Players (Mostly College), Player promoted from the GCL and a couple of repeaters.

The NYPL is made up of 14 teams in 3 divisions.

The level of play is more consistent than in the 3 previous leagues mentioned, and there is a better basis for comparison as most teams are made up the same way. Batters are likely still at a slight disadvantage due to the wood bat adjustment period.

How did we do?

By record, fairly well. The Spinners were in playoff contention throughout the year, finishing second in their conference (and just out of the wildcard spot).

Players

First, 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:
Jed Lowrie

Jed, the 2nd of 3 supplemental picks for the Sox this year, paced the Spinners with a team leading Batting average (.328), On Base Percentage (.429) and Slugging Average (.448) while playing in 53 games. Jed led the team in runs scored (36), hits (66), and walks (34 vs. 30 Ks). Jed hit 12 doubles and 4 HRs.

Pitcher of the Year:
Ryan Phillips

Ryan started all 14 games he appeared in, going 7-2 with a team leading 2.28 ERA. Ryan also led the team in Innings Pitched (67) and strikeouts (61), allowing only 2 unearned runs and 2 HRs over the year. Ryan walked 31.

OK... those are the stars. What about the rest?

That's a fair enough question. I'll split these profiles up by 2005 Signees and those in the system before this year. Before we get there, I should mention that 2 players rehabbed in Lowell, Keith Foulke and Gabe Kapler.

2005 Signees

Offensive Players

• Carl Lipsey: Carl played 4 games in Lowell before being replaced by Jeff Natale/Jed Lowrie and later demoted to the GCL. Carl went .200/.500/.200 in his short stay in Massachusetts.
• Dominic Ramos: The 17th Rounder out of Texas State, Dominic played in 65 games, going .260/.329/.370. Dominic had 8 doubles, 3 triples and 5 HRs, walked 26 times (vs. 56 Ks) while stealing 10 bases (2nd on the team).
• Mark Wagner: The 9th Rounder out of UC-Irvine, this catcher played in 24 games, going .203/.309/.261 with 2 doubles and a triple. Mark walked 9 times vs. 7 Ks.
• Matt Mercurio: The 16th round draft pick out of Florida Southern, Matt was one of two players to lead the team by playing in 66 games. Matt finished the year at .225/.341/.307 with 9 doubles, 2 triples and 2 HRs, walking 33 times and striking out 48.
• Jeff Natale: The 32nd round draft pick out of Trinity spent only 12 games in Lowell before being promoted. He was promoted with good reason as he torched the NYPL opposition, going .488/.522/.610 with 5 doubles.
• Ricardo Sanchez: The 25th rounder from Barry University got into 4 games at the end of the season, walking once (and getting hit once) and striking out 4 times in 5 ABs.
• Jay Johnson: The 13th rounder out of Xavier, Jay played in 60 games, going .273/.337/.386 with 12 doubles, 2 triples and 3 HRs. Jay walked 23 times while striking out 40 times.
• Yahmed Yema: Yahmed, the 7th rounder out of Florida International, played in 55 games, going .301/.350/.411 with a team high 17 doubles, 2 triple and a HR. Yahmed walked 17 times and struck out 21 times, going 8/9 in SB attempts.
• Jason Twomley: The 24th round pick out of UMass-Amherst, Jason was the second player to play in 66 games for the Spinners and went .252/.351/.430 with a team leading 7 HRs, 2nd on the team in doubles with 16 and added 3 triples. Jason walked 24 times but struck out a team high 79 times.
• Jacoby Ellsbury: The Sox first pick of the 2005 draft (out of Oregon State), Jacoby played in 35 games for the Spinners. Ellsbury went .317/.418/.432 with a team high 5 triples (with 3 doubles and a HR), walking 24 times while striking out 20 times. Jacoby was at his best once he got on the bases however, stealing a team high 23 bases (while being caught only 3 times).
• Zak Farkes: The undrafted Free Agent went .174/.232/.273 in 40 games, hitting 7 doubles and 2 HRs, walking 8 times and striking out 36 times.

Pitching

• James Baxter: The 19th round LHP out of Villanova, James pitched 10 games out of the pen. Baxter pitched 11 innings, finishing with a 3.27 ERA, walking 5 and striking out 4.
• Kevin Guyette: The 10th round RHP out of Arizona, Kevin pitched 6 games and 11 2/3 innings out of the pen, allowing 2 unearned runs and a walk, striking out 10.
• Kyle Tabeek: An undrafted Free Agent, Kyle appeared 7 times for 12 innings, allowing 15 runs (for a 9.75 ERA) and 10 walks, striking out 6.
• TJ Large: The 46th rounder out of Alabama, TJ signed late in the season but appeared in 12 games (13 innings) out of the pen, allowing 13 runs (6.23 ERA) and 6 walks, striking out 10.
• Matt Hancock: The 27th rounder out of Oral Roberts, Matt went 3-2 in 37 innings out of the pen with a 5.59 ERA. Hancock walked 11 and struck out 34... but had some problem with the long ball, giving up 6 HRs.
• Gene Flores: Another undrafted free agent, Gene saw action in 14 games out of the pen, going 2-1 with a 5.06 ERA. Gene walked 7 and struck out 14 in 21 1/3 innings.
• Chris Jones: Jones, the 29th rounder out of Indiana State, appeared in 11 games (24 1/3 innings) out of the pen, going 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA. Chris walked 5 and struck out 26.
• Clay Buchholz: Buchholz, the first of the 3 supplemental round pick, started in 15 games... but (as is usual with the Sox) had an average appearance of less than 3 innings per (41 1/3 innigs). Clay went 0-1 with a 2.61 ERA, walking 9 and striking out 45.
• Hunter Jones: Not to be confused with Chris Jones, Hunter was an undrafted free agent whol appeared in 12 games (1 start) and 28 innings. Hunter went 1-1 with a 3.21 ERA, walking 5 while striking out 30.
• Kyle Fernandes: Kyle made a late season 2 inning appearance, giving up 3 hits, walking one and striking out 3.
• JT Zink: The 8th rounder out of Everett CC, JT started 14 games (48 innings) and ended with an 0-3 record with a 2.63 ERA. JT walked 18 and struck out 26.
• Blake Maxwell: The 40th rounder appeared in 26 games (45 2/3 innings) out of the pen, going 3-3 with 7 saves and a 2.76 ERA. Blake walked 11 and struck out 29.
• Ismael Casillas: The 11th rounder appeared in 18 games (32 innings) out of the pen, going 2-1 with a 3.09 ERA, walking 8 and striking out 40.

The Non-2005 Signees

Offensive Players

• Luis Soto: Luis was one of 3 Spinners to hit 7 HRs, playing in 65 games and going .293/.377/.431. Luis also had 11 doubles and a triple, walking 27 times while striking out 46 times.
• Dustin Kelly: For the second year in a row, Dustin bounced around the organization, playing 44 games for the Spinners. Dustin went .222/.330/.281 with 6 doubles and a HR, walking 24 times vs. 27 strikeouts. Dustin also stuck out one batter at the end of a blowout loss for Lowell.
• Mitch Stachowsky: The 50th rounder from 2003, Mitch played all over the organization (including a trip to AAA Pawtucket) but had 36 games in Lowell. Mitch showed that he might be a power threat with 7 HRs in his 36 games, but struck out 55 times while walking only 4 times. Final Stats: .226/.299/.435
• Mike Leonard: Another one of the catching crew, Mike played in 22 games, going .300/.375/.386 with a double, a triple and a HR, walking and striking out 9 times.
• Tim Burgess: Tim got demoted from his spot in the South Atlantic League, going .231/.286/.410 in 10 games prior to being released by the organization.
• Willy Mota: Willy had a mediocre year, playing in 37 games for the Spinners. Willy went .205/.333/.291 with 6 doubles, 23 walks and 47 Ks.
• Pat Perry: Pat had a horrific time last year in Lowell, and didn't much improve his stock in his 14 games in Lowell this year. Pat went .159/.288/.250 with 3 extra base hits, 6 walks and 9 Ks.

Pitchers

• Yader Peralta: Yader pitched in 6 games out of the pen, going 11 1/3 innings, finishing with a 3.97 ERA, walking 6 and striking out 11.
• Argimiro Guanchez: Argimiro appeared in a team high 26 games out of the pen (36 IP), finishing with a 1-4 record with a team high 8 saves and a 4.25 ERA. Guanchez walked 13 times and struck out 41.
• Adam Blackley: Adam returned back to Lowell and started 15 games (74 Innings), going 6-3 with a 4.01 ERA. Adam walked 23 while striking out 86.
• Modesto Ozuna: Ozuna pitched in 13 games out of the pen, going 2-0 with a 6.35 ERA. Modesto walked 12 and struck out 15 in 22 2/3 innigs.
• Brian Marshall: Brian pitched 11 games (23 IP) out of the pen, going 3-0 with a 2.35 ERA. Brian walked 9 and struck out 31.
• Junior Frias: Junior appeared in 2 innings, giving up 2 runs while striking out 2.
• Randy Newsom: Randy appeared in 2 2/3 innings, giving up a hit, 2 walks and striking out 4.
• Tim Cox: Tim appeared in 2 games (7 innings) at the end of the year, going 1-1 with a 3.86 ERA, walking 3 and striking out 10.
• Mario Pena: Mario started 16 games and pitched 82 innings, going 6-8 with a 4.50 ERA. Mario walked 10 and struck out 31 (and also allowed 15 unearned runs!).

External Sources

• Stats from the Baseball Cube