2002 Scouting Report

Kane County Cougars

End of Season Profile

The Cougars had a rough summer. Despite a great season from Jason Stokes and three months of great pitching from Dontrelle Willis, Geneva's team didn't bring much to the yard. Two stars and fine defense aren't enough to compete in this league. By season's end, they'd improved to mediocre. They did OK at the box office, though....

Dontrelle Willis was wonderful. Although the other starters were respectable, the pitching staff had no depth. Middle reliever John Skinner pitched well, but the rest of the bullpen was a combustion chamber.

Jason Stokes was the Midwest League MVP, and deserved it; he had a terrific season. Except for some good baserunning, the rest of the offense was awful: no power, no hits, no walks.

The Cougars used 22 position players and 21 pitchers during the 2002 season. Utility infielder Kris Clute pitched one inning in relief and is included in both counts.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics on this page are through the end of the season.

Season Summary

• Second Half: 35-35, .500 (4th place tie, 9.0 behind)
• First Half: 29-40, .420 (8th place, 13.5 behind)
• Pitching: 64-75, 4.03, 31 saves, 952 strikeouts
• Hitting: .239, 559 runs, 66 HR, 147 steals (68% success)
• Defense: 143 errors (1.03 per game); .699 defensive efficiency
• April: 10-14 (.417)
• May: 11-18 (.379)
• June: 13-13 (.500)
• July: 14-14 (.500)
• August & September: 16-16 (.500)

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: First Baseman Jason Stokes or Starting Pitcher Dontrelle Willis

• Best Starting Pitcher: Dontrelle Willis (1.83, 10-2, 101 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: no effective bullpen stopper
• Strikeout Pitchers: Kevin Cave, Elvis Dejesus, John Skinner
• Control Pitchers: Dontrelle Willis, Nick Ungs, John Skinner, Wes McCrotty

• Best Hitter: Jason Stokes (.341, 27 HR, 75 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: Jason Stokes (27)
• High Batting Average: Jason Stokes (.341)
• High On Base Percentage: Jason Stokes (.421)
• High Slugging Percentage: Jason Stokes (.645)
• Notable Baserunners: Charles Frazier, Mike Tucker, Kris Clute, Anthony Brewer, Eric Reed, Rex Rundgren, Hunter Wyant
• Notable Batting Eye: Will Arroyo

July Profile

They've improved: The Cougars are now winning half their games, and remain in contention for the last playoff spot. They remain a rather boring team with a couple stars--and they've lost their star pitcher.

The Cougars lineup features the league's best hitter--Jason Stokes--and our best baserunner--Charlie Frazier. Stokes has a slight shot at the triple crown (it's hard to knock in runs without someone on base), and will win the MVP award unless it goes to a pitcher.

Dontrelle Willis, another legitimate MVP candidate, was promoted as the month ended. The Cougars have a decent pitching rotation, but can't afford to go to the bullpen. Starter Nick Ungs is a promising talent.

The Cougars have scored 433 runs; their opponents have scored 509 runs.

June Profile

Still the same story: Dontrelle Willis and Jason Stokes continued to perform at MVP levels. No one else performed at all.

Notable Midseason Losses: nothing to lose.

Worth Watching: Reliever John Skinner.

May Profile

This team appears to be the worst Kane County team ever. But Jason Stokes and Dontrelle Willis are worth the trip to Elfstrom.

There's little this team does well. They don't hit well, they don't score runs; the pitching's terrible. They're pretty good on the basepaths, and the fielding is about league-average.

The pitching staff is starter Dontrelle Willis, reliever John Skinner, and a bunch of guys who've yet to prove they can pitch well at this level. Willis is probably the MWL MVP through May 31, and Skinner's been spectacular pitching late in already-decided games. Starter Jeff Fulchino's a solid player, but has had some bad luck. No one else deserves mention.

First baseman Jason Stokes is also an MVP candidate, at this point; he's a powerful, high-average hitter. Charles Frazier, a slap-hitting outfielder with a decent eye, is leading the league in stolen bases. I can't find much positive to say about the rest....

April Profile

Jason Stokes is off to a terrific start, and the Cougars have the makings of a fine pitching rotation. But there's no evidence of a supporting cast. It could be along summer at Elfstrom.

Pre-Season Profile

Manager

Steve Phillips moves to Kane County after managing Clinton last summer. He's a fairly conservative manager by MWL standards, though he lets good baserunners run fairly free.

First Round Draft Selection

• none

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 21.1
• Pitchers: 20.8
• Hitters: 21.5

• Oldest Player on the Team: Catcher Matt Postell (born January 10, 1977)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Pitcher Allen Baxter (born July 6, 1983)

The average player in the Midwest League this season is 21.6 years old. Average ages were calculated from the opening day roster; age as of July 1, 2002.

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 year's Cougars feature a pitching staff which mainly toiled in the Gulf Coast League last summer; Kane County's position players were mainly at Utica in 2001.

Team           League             W/L   Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                       (Teams)
Brevard County Florida State (A+) 80/55  1(14)      1       1
Kane County    Midwest (A)        88/50  1(14)      4       1
Utica          New York-Penn (A-) 27/47 13(14)      9       5
Marlins        Gulf Coast (R)     29/31  9(13)      3       6

Several of these players were promoted in mid-season and are counted twice in this table; one is counted three times. One of the new Cougars played in another organization last summer, another played in an Independent league, and two sat out the season on the Disabled List.