Midwest League 2001

Beloit Snappers

Post-Season Profile

The Snappers improved; this was a competitive team in the second half of the season. This is how things are supposed to work in the MWL. Manager Don Money seems to have earned his keep.

Strange statistics: Pete Smart had a 0-8 won/lost record, but pitched pretty well (3.07 ERA). On the other hand, Ryan Miller won 10 games with a 5.30 ERA. Mike Shwam won 9 games without starting any; he also had 9 saves. Some of this was reaction to promotions and changes, but mostly it was Don Money trying to find the right roles for the pitchers he'd been assigned by the Brewers.

Beloit's hitters had either power or speed--a different bunch of role-players for Money to manipulate. Only Derry Hammond, Pete Zoccolillo, and Daryl Clark were dependable performers, but the pieces were there to assemble an effective offense. In the second season, this worked pretty well.

Season Summary

• Second Half: 37-32, .536, 4th place, 5.5 behind (playoff qualifier)
• First Half: 30-39, .435, 6th place, 17.5 behind
• Pitching: 67-71, 4.23, 35 saves, 1153 strikeouts
• Hitting: .254, 647 runs, 100 HR, 93 steals (70% success)
• Errors: 164 (1.19 per game)
• April: 7-17 (.292)
• May: 14-14 (.500)
• June: 17-10 (.630)
• July: 12-16 (.429)
• August: 14-14 (.500)
• September: 3-0 (1.000)

• Best Player on the Team: Third Baseman Daryl Clark

• Best Starting Pitcher: Ben Hendrickson (2.84, 8-9, 133 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Mike Shwam (2.60, 9 saves, 9-3)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Ben Hendrickson, Roberto Maysonet, Ryan Miller, Mike Shwam, Victor Cordero, Dan Hall, Greg Schaub
• Control Pitchers: Dave Pember, Mike Shwam

• Best Hitter: Daryl Clark (.283, 21 HR, 92 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: Daryl Clark (21)
• High Batting Average: Jason Belcher (.326)
• High On Base Percentage: none notable
• High Slugging Percentage: Daryl Clark (.465), Derry Hammond (.492), Eliezer Alfonzo (.463)
• Notable Baserunners: Elio Ayala, Rob Pregnalato, Hector Garcia, Todd West, Eric De la Cruz, Dave Krynzel
• Notable Batting Eye: Todd West

July Profile

The Snappers started the second half like they'd solved the League. They've been struggling for the last few days....

There's some talent on the pitching staff. Mike Shwam's been starring in a mixed role, and Ben Hendrickson's pitched better than his won/lost record suggests. What there isn't, here, is a lot of depth....

The hitting is similar. Derry Hammond is a good hitter, and both Eliezer Alfonzo and Daryl Clark have some power. There's some good speed in the lineup, too. But, again, there's no depth.

Also worth watching: Designated Hitter Jason Belcher.

June Profile

Already we've got a second-half surprise: After a miserable first half, the Snappers have developed into a dominant team. It appears that Don Money's stopped using the weak pitchers, and convinced the offense to kick things up a notch. The Snappers have played decent defense all season.

This team still lacks any strong hitters. Derry Hammond remains the best, and he's not the sort to carry a team. Hammond, Daryl Clark, Robert Voltz, and Eliezer Alfonzo have signicant power, but there's not much else to the Beloit offense.

There's enough talent in the pitching staff to win, though, if any runs are posted by the hitters. Roberto Miniel, Roberto Maysonet, and Ben Hendrickson form a solid starting corps, and the bullpen is strong except for some obvious weak spots.

Can they keep it up? I've got my doubts. But I certainly hope so....

Notable mid-season losses: Dave Krynzel, Ruddy Lugo, & Dave Pember.

May Profile

It could be a long summer at Pohlman Field. The Snappers don't have a real star, this summer, and the team's a notch or two below par. You just can't afford to have Derry Hammond as your best hitter. The pitching story is similar. The Snappers do play excellent defense.

Derry Hammond's a fine ballplayer, really; he'd play daily on any MWL team. He'd bat fifth on most teams; fourth on a couple, and probably seventh on one or two. The problem is that he's the team's best hitter. Most of the rest are obviously worse.

Dave Pember, Roberto Maysonet, and Ben Hendrickson are basically interchangeable; like Hammond, they'd be regulars anywhere in the league. But no one would mistake these guys for stars, and the other pitchers are clearly worse.

April Profile

The new regime in Milwaukee's sent a younger team to Beloit than we've seen lately, but it didn't play well in April. The offense shows neither power nor speed. The pitching seems to have potential, but they're not delivering.

Pre-Season Profile

Manager

This is Don Money's fourth season as a professional manager, all of them at Beloit. Money is a very conventional MWL manager, except that his teams bunt far more often than most.

First Round Draft Selection

• David Krynzel (2000; 11th pick)

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 21.6
• Pitchers: 21.8
• Hitters: 21.5

• Oldest Player on the Team: Hipolito Martinez (born 1/30/77)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Dave Krynzel (born 11/7/81)

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.

Last summer's team at Ogden was fairly talented, and forms the core of the 2001 Snappers. Helena and Beloit both made fairly heavy contributions, as well.

Team     League          W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                               (Teams)
Mudville California (A+) 68/72   7(10)      2       0
Beloit   Midwest (A)     71/64  T5(14)      2       4
Helena   Pioneer (R+)    26/50   8(8)       3       5
Ogden    Pioneer (R+)    41/34   4(8)       6       6

The new Brewer player development team moved a lot of players during the season last year, so many of these folks played in two towns last summer. One member of the team was with another organization in 2000; none played above Class A.