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Season Summary
- First Half: 30-38 (.441), 4th place, 11.0 behind
- Second Half: 31-39 (.443), 3rd place, 9.0 behind
- Pitching: 61-77, 4.49, 35 saves, 976 strikeouts
- Hitting: .255, 666 runs, 90 HR, 152 steals (71% success)
- Errors: 229 (1.66 per game)
- April: 8-10 (.444)
- May: 14-17 (.452)
- June: 11-15 (.423)
- July: 9-19 (.321)
- August: 18-12 (.600)
- September: 1-4 (.200)
- Best Player on the Team: Starting Pitcher Doug Bridges
- Best Starting Pitcher: Doug Bridges (15-5, 3.59, 128 strikeouts)
- Bullpen Stopper: Chris Demouy (2-1, 16 saves, 2.40, 51 strikeouts)
- Strikeout Pitchers: Chris Demouy, Denny Gilich
- Control Pitchers: Greg Jones, Renney Duarte
- Best Hitter: Rich Stuart (.288, 15 HR, 55 RBI)
- Home Run Leader: Mike Christensen (18)
- High Batting Average: none
- High On Base Percentage: Justin Ross (.450)
- High Slugging Percentage: Rich Stuart (.548), Mike Christensen (.468)
- Notable Baserunners: Elpidio Guzman, Brian Oliver, Ariel Delgado, Justin Ross, Marcus Knight
- Notable Batting Eye: Will Croud, Justin Ross
July Profile
The Kernels have permitted 572 runs while scoring just 507. They came crashing down in July....
Third baseman Mike Christensen remains the best position player; he's got a decent average, serious power, but little patience at the plate. Shortstop Brian Oliver and catcher Jason Hill are solid players. Beyond these, the lineup's pretty weak.
The pitching staff has one star--Doug Bridges--and a decent closer in Chris Demouy. Bridges is having a great year and has good skills. Long reliever Greg Jacobs is better than his record shows; the same can be said for short reliever Greg Jones. The rest of the staff is near average for the league.
June Profile
They're still a disappointing team. The Kernels have a lot of talent, and many players are doing well as individuals, but as a team they play bad baseball. Part of the problem is a leaky defense, but it's not that bad a defense.
Third baseman Mike Christensen is a fine player with excellent power. Shortstop Brian Oliver, DH Angel Diaz, and catcher Jason Hill would be contributors on most teams.
The pitching staff has lots of potential, but needs a lot of development. Doug Bridges, the best starter, is among the league's best, while Renney Duarte promises to turn out well. The bullpen's truly exciting: four pitchers--Chris Demouy, Greg Jones, Greg Jacobs, and Denny Gilich--consistently throw strikes. But they've given away lots of ballgames....
Notable mid-season loss: Outfielder Justin Ross was promoted to Lake Elsinore.
Also worth watching: Designated hitter Rich Stuart and second baseman Steve Ahlers.
May Profile
This year's Cedar Rapids nine is a frustrating lot: On paper, this is an excellent team. On the field, they're not delivering. They hit well, have a good mix of offensive skills, and have a couple star players. The pitching staff seems to have good potential. But they're playing like a mediocre team. And the defense is very bad.
Third Baseman Mike Christensen's this team's star: Excellent power, exceptional defense, and a very good batting average. Justin Ross, who's listed as an outfielder, has excellent leadoff-hitter skills but his lack of a set position makes me suspect his defense. First baseman Ariel Delgado has good power (and some speed); catcher Jason Hill's a fine all-around player. Many of these guys are excellent baserunners; center fielder Elpidio Guzman's exceptional.
This team's best pitcher is spot starter/long reliever Renney Duarte, who's leading the league in shutouts and has excellent stats. The staff, in general, has excellent control; the strikeout pitchers on the staff are in short relief roles. As usual, the Kernels lead the league in complete games; obviously this is a feature of Anaheim's farm system, not team talent.
April Profile
The Kernels weren't very good in April; both the pitching and hitting were below average, and the defense was simply terrible. The team's one strength is baserunning; they're easily the league's most successful thieves.
Pre-Season Profile
Manager
Mitch Seoane's managed in the Angels organization since 1991, including three prior years in our league. He spent last year managing the Angels' Triple-A affiliate in Vancouver. He's likely to let a pitcher finish a strong outing, and unlikely to run a baserunner unless the situation's quite favorable. He rarely issues an intentional pass.
Where they played last season
These comments and table are based on opening day rosters.
At heart, this is last year's fine Boise nine, with a handful of Cedar Rapids holdovers and the best of the Butte hitters.
Team League W/L Place Hitters Pitchers
(Teams)
Lake Elsinore California (A+) 66-74 7(8) 0 2
Cedar Rapids Midwest (A) 71-69 8(14) 4 2
Boise Northwest (A-) 47-29 1T(8) 7 8
Butte Pioneer (R) 26-50 7(8) 4 0
There was almost no movement in the Anaheim system last summer; one new Kernel played for three of these teams and is counted for all three in the table. One player on this team played in another organization last summer. No player on this team appeared above Class A last summer.
Returning to the Midwest League
Members of last summer's Cedar Rapids team.
- Ariel Delgado (133 games)
- Angel Diaz (5 games)
- Dwayne Dobson (P, 23 games)
- Renney Duarte (P, 4 games)
- Marcus Knight (47 games)
- Keith Medosh (71 games)
Oldest & Youngest Kernels
On opening day, the average age of the Kernels was 22.5 years. Follow this link for more information about MWL team ages.
- Oldest player on the team: Travis Rapp (born January 28, 1975)
- Youngest player on the team: Elpidio Guzman (born February 24, 1979)
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