2002 Scouting Report

Lansing Lugnuts

End of Season Profile

If only this team had an offense....

The Luggies rode a strong pitching staff far into the playoffs. This team's pitching was remarkable; it's offense wasn't. The baserunning improved over the season's course, but remained a team weakness. Lansing's team played very good defense.

Ah, what a fine pitching staff! Starters Sergio Mitre and Carmen Pignatiello pitched better than their records show; unfortunately, it's difficult to post wins when your teammates fail to score. Angel Guzman and Reynal Pinto, both of whom got promoted, were better. Almost all the bullpen arms proved effective, too--closers Steve Ellis and Eric Brown were particularly fine. Brett Benik, who pitched in all roles before being promoted, was best of them all.

I've told versions of this story before: First baseman Brad Bouras is a good hitter and a fine ballplayer. But if Brad Bouras was your best hitter, your offense wasn't much of a threat. Outfielder Mike Mallory was a power source, and second baseman Ryan Theriot showed exceptional baserunning skills and was a good fielder. Outfielder Antoine Cameron showed lots of promise.

The Lugnuts used 25 position players and 23 pitchers during the 2002 season.

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

Season Summary

• Second Half: 37-33, .529 (3rd place tie, 5.0 behind; playoff qualifier)
• First Half: 37-32, .536 (4th place, 4.5 behind)
• Pitching: 74-65, 3.16, 36 saves, 997 strikeouts
• Hitting: .242, 572 runs, 67 HR, 103 steals (61% success)
• Defense: 162 errors (1.06 per game); .708 defensive efficiency
• April: 11-14 (.440)
• May: 16-12 (.571)
• June: 17-10 (.630)
• July: 17-12 (.586)
• August & September: 13-17 (.433)
• Playoff Round One: 2-1, .667
• Playoff Round Two: 2-1, .667
• Championship Round: 1-3, .250

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Utility Pitcher Brett Benik

• Best Starting Pitcher: Angel Guzman (1.89, 5-2, 49 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Steve Ellis (1.90, 5-3, 16 saves, 70 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Steve Ellis, Yorkin Ferraras, Pedro Olivero
• Control Pitchers: Reynal Pinto, Sergio Mitre, Eric Brown, Brett Benik

• Best Hitter: Brad Bouras (.271, 16 HR, 71 RBI)
• Home Run Leaders: Mike Mallory & Brad Bouras (16)
• High Batting Average: none
• High On Base Percentage: none
• High Slugging Percentage: Mike Mallory (.451), Antoine Cameron (.500)
• Notable Baserunners: Ryan Theriot, Buck Coats, Ronny Cedeno, Aron Weston, Lukas McKnight, Joey Monahan
• Notable Batting Eye: none notable

July Profile

Lansing's team brings excellent pitching and good defense to the ballyard; the hitting's relatively weak and the baserunning is simply dreadful. On balance, this is a pretty good team, and their record reflects that.

First baseman Brad Bouras and outfielder Mike Mallory are solid, but unexciting, hitters with decent power. Second baseman Ryan Theriot is among the MWL's best baserunners. Past these, there's not much offense.

The Cubs loaded the Lansing pitching staff--which is good, because they've kept promoting the best Lugnut pitchers. Carmen Pignatiello and Sergio Mitre are the best remaining starters, and would have better won/lost records if the team scored runs. The Luggie bullpen's mostly solid; closer Steve Ellis is having a particularly fine season.

The Lugnuts have scored 453 runs; their opponents have scored 399 runs.

June Profile

The Cubs moved many of the best Lansing pitchers during June, so we'll have to see how things develop. This remains a pitching-rich team in a park which favors hitters. So far, things have been going well for Lansing's team, despite their inability to score runs.

Notable Midseason Losses: Outfielder Antoine Cameron; Pitchers Eric Brown, Angel Guzman, & Adam Wynegar.

Worth Watching: Second Baseman Ryan Theriot.

May Profile

The Lugnuts had a very strong May and were briefly among the division's leadership, though they lost a little ground at the end.

Lansing's offense is probably the Midwest League's weakest, this summer; the pitching staff, on the other hand, is exceptionally strong. The defense is among the MWL's best.

Starting pitcher Angel Guzman is having a great season; he'd be a reasonable choice for MWL MVP at this point. (The Cubs appear to agree, since they promoted him in early June.) The rotation also features Carmen Pignatiello, another very strong pitcher; the rest of the starters are acceptable but are not exceptional. Eric Brown, the team's closer, is very good; the rest of the bullpen's quite effective.

The Luggie corner infielders--Brad Bouras at first, Corey Slavik at third--are the only position players who've demonstrated any consistent offensive skills. Outfielder Mike Mallory has good power and speed, but isn't putting them together well. Second baseman Ryan Theriot and shortstop Ronny Cedeno are speedsters, but very poor hitters.

April Profile

In an odd turn, this year's Lansing team seems to have weak hitting and strong pitching; excellent defense, dreadful baserunning. Starting pitchers Carmen Pignatiello and Angel Guzman seem particularly strong.

Pre-Season Profile

Manager

This will be Julio Garcia's fifth 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 Selection

• none

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 21.3
• Pitchers: 21.3
• Hitters: 21.3

• Oldest Player on the Team: Pitcher Eric Albright (born October 4, 1977)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Infielder Ronny Cedeno (born February 2, 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 Luggies are pretty much last year's Boise Hawks--an excellent start. A few gaps were filled from elsewhere in the system.

Team         League             W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                      (Teams)
Daytona      Florida State (A+) 68/68   6(12)      1       0
Lansing      Midwest (A)        65/75   9(14)      3       4
Boise        Northwest (A-)     52/23   1(8)       8       9
Cubs         Arizona (R)        26/30   5(7)       3       4

Every 2002 Lugnut played in the Cubs system last summer. A handful of these players appeared on two teams and are counted twice in this table.