Midwest League 2001

Lansing Lugnuts

Post-Season Profile

And the Lugnuts kept improving; in August, they played as well as any MWL team. Good thing, because they weren't getting any help from their competitors; in one stretch, the Lugnuts won 9 of 10 and hardly gained on the Cats, the Dragons, or the Hawks....

The pitching staff just kept coming at you; they threw strikes, they threw hard. In a friendlier park, they'd have posted numbers which reflected their talents. With better support in the early going, several of these pitchers could have racked up a bunch of wins.

The improvement in the second half mostly resulted from a change in the performance of the position players, though. Essentially, Adam Morrissey, Jason Dubois, Ray Sadler, and Blair Barbier picked up their teammates and carried them. Morrissey, Dubois, and Sadler had terrific second halves--playing well enough, come August, to make up for the generally weak support from the other hitters. All in all, a remarkable performance.

Worth mentioning: Manager Julio Garcia was injured during a game in early April, and really only worked effectively with the team after the All-Star break. Lansing's turnaround suggests his return to health had an effect.

Season Summary

• Second Half: 38-32, .543, 4th place, 6.5 behind (playoff qualifier)
• First Half: 27-43, .386, 6th place, 14.0 behind
• Pitching: 65-75, 4.32, 35 saves, 1132 strikeouts
• Hitting: .270, 690 runs, 121 HR, 91 steals (61% success)
• Errors: 179 (1.28 per game)
• April: 8-16 (.333)
• May: 13-17 (.433)
• June: 10-16 (.385)
• July: 15-13 (.536)
• August: 19-9 (.679)
• September: 0-4 (.000)

• Best Player on the Team: Second Baseman Adam Morrissey

• Best Starting Pitcher: Robert Miniel (4.25, 6-7, 140 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Ferenc Jongejan (1.99, 16 saves, 2-5)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Jose Cueto, Roberto Miniel, Wilton Chavez, Aaron Krawiec, Todd Wellemeyer, Eric Albright, Larry Alvarez
• Control Pitchers: Roberto Miniel, Aaron Krawiec, Eric Albright, Tim Lavery, Scott Fries, Larry Alvarez

• Best Hitter: Adam Morrissey (.309, 14 HR, 62 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: Jason Dubois (24)
• High Batting Average: Blair Barbier (.314), Ray Sadler (.341), Adam Morrissey (.309), Dionnar Martinez (.321)
• High On Base Percentage: Adam Morrissey (.427)
• High Slugging Percentage: Blair Barbier (.494), Ray Sadler (.508), Adam Morrissey (.524), Jason Dubois (.562)
• Notable Baserunners: Ray Sadler, Mike Mallory, Luis Montanez, Brendan Harris
• Notable Batting Eye: Blake Blasi

July Profile

Count the Lugnuts in the much improved column. The Lansing hitting's gotten better since our last look; the pitching remains strong. This remains a pitching-oriented team, after you allow for Lansing's strong hitting environment.

Reynal Pinto's got the best record on the remaining starting pitchers, though Aaron Krawiec is far more talented and turns in some brilliant games. Closers Eric Albright & Ference Jongejan are better than their records suggest. Tim Lavery's been very effective as a utility pitcher, and middle relievers Scott Fries and Larry Alvarez have shown well.

Blair Barbier, Ray Sadler, Adam Morrissey, and Jason Dubois are very effective batsmen; this is a very potent set of hitters. Mike Mallory's got power and speed, but isn't hitting well. Unfortunately, there's no one else....

Also worth watching: Relief pitcher John Corbin.

June Profile

This team's unlike any Lansing's seen: There are several fine pitchers. But the hitting's abysmal, and the defense is bad.

First baseman Blair Barbier is having an excellent season, with capable help from outfielders Jason Dubois and Adam Morrissey. Beyond these three, there's not a lot of talent, though shortstop Luis Montanez has brilliant games and outfielder Mike Mallory runs well.

These guys throw strikes. Aaron Krawiec and Jose Cueto are among the league's best pitchers, though Krawiec's been inconsistent. The remaining starters would be winning with even minimal offensive support. The bullpen's got some problems, though Tim Lavery, Larry Alvarez, and Scott Fries have pitched well. Alvarez, in particular, merits watching.

Notable mid-season losses: Blake Blasi & Wilton Chavez.

May Profile

The Lugnuts aren't as bad as they've looked. On paper, this team's about average for the Midwest League. There's little depth, but the core of the team's fairly solid.

Outfielder Jason Dubois and first baseman Blair Barbier are very good players, and OF Adam Morrissey is a strong contributor. The offense seems to have some bad luck, and should score better henceforth.

Aaron Krawiec started the season with a bad outing, but has developed into an excellent pitcher. Rotation mates Wilton Chavez and Todd Wellemeyer throw strikes consistently. Ferenc Jongejan has been very effective in a closer role, and most of the bullpen's done very well.

April Profile

So far, Lansing's team's looked downright awful: No power, no speed, bad fielding, ineffective pitching. The pitchers are ringing up a lot of strikeouts, but permitting too many runs....

Pre-Season Profile

Manager

This will be Julio Garcia's fourth year as a minor league manager. Garcia's a fairly conventional manager. Although his runners aren't asked to run wild on the basepaths, their success rate has been very poor.

First Round Draft Selections

• Luis Montanez (2000; 3rd selection)

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 21.2
• Pitchers: 21.4
• Hitters: 21.0

• Oldest Player on the Team: Eric Albright (born 10/4/77)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Frangil Cordero (born 7/8/82)

The average player in the Midwest League is 21.6 years old. Average ages were calculated from the opening day roster; age as of July 1, 2001.

This website has more information about team ages.

Where they played last season

This is a brief portrait of how the team was put together. These summaries are based on the team's opening day roster and will not be revised to reflect roster changes.

This season's Lansing Lugnuts resemble last summer's Eugene Emeralds. I said that about last year's Luggies, too. This team has better players.

Team         League             W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                      (Teams)
Daytona      Florida State (A+) 76/63   5(14)      2       0
Lansing      Midwest (A)        70/68   8(14)      3       2
Eugene       Northwest (A-)     40/36   3(8)       7       9
Cubs         Arizona (R)        32/24   3(9)       4       2

The Cubs moved few of these pitchers last summer, though many of the position players appeared for two teams and are counted twice in the table. Two of the new Luggies did not play professionally last summer. None of these played any higher in the minors than Class A.