2002 Scouting Report

Clinton LumberKings

End of Season Profile

'Twas a sad summer in Clinton. The Expos sent a team with a weak defense, poor baserunning skills, and only a limited offense for Dave Machemer to manage. The team rode a handful of fine pitchers to a better record than they probably deserved.

The team's talent was invested in a handful of pitchers: Starters Luis Torres, Don Levinski, and Shawn Hill all had terrific seasons with this generally weak team. Relievers Chris Schroder, Ben Washburn, Rob Caputo, and Dave Maust all demonstrated strong talents. This staff couldn't carry the team, but they carried their weight.

The Clinton offense had good power, and pretty good depth. On the other hand, there were no real star players, the baserunning was costly, and the defense was atrocious. Felix Diaz and Nick Schnabel, both of whom played third base, were the team's best hitters, though they were very different talents. Clyde Williams, the squad's best power source, was the best hitter who spent the whole season with the L-Kings.

The LumberKings used 23 position players and 24 pitchers during the 2002 season.

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

Season Summary

• Second Half: 33-37, .471 (6th place, 11.0 behind)
• First Half: 28-38, .424 (7th place, 13.0 behind)
• Pitching: 61-75, 4.18, 32 saves, 949 strikeouts
• Hitting: .248, 588 runs, 90 HR, 83 steals (56% success)
• Defense: 189 (1.39 per game); .681 defensive efficiency
• April: 12-10 (.545)
• May: 13-17 (.433)
• June: 9-15 (.375)
• July: 14-14 (.500)
• August & September: 13-19 (.406)

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Starting Pitcher Don Levinski

• Best Starting Pitcher: Don Levinski (3.02, 12-6, 125 strikeouts) or Luis Torres (3.73, 5-1, 41 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Roy Corcoran (4.16, 3-4, 11 saves, 106 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Luis Torres, Don Levinski, Chris Schroder, Roy Corcoran, Rob Caputo, David Maust, Daniel Rueckel
• Control Pitchers: Chris Schroder, Roy Corcoran, Ben Washburn, David Maust

• Best Hitter: Clyde Williams (.266, 16 HR, 71 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: Clyde Williams (16)
• High Batting Average: Nick Schnabel (.331)
• High On Base Percentage: Nick Schnabel (.419)
• High Slugging Percentage: Felix Diaz (.518)
• Notable Baserunners: John Labandeira, Danny Rombley, Greg Thissen, Craig Kerner, Andy McMillan
• Notable Batting Eye: Nick Schnabel

July Profile

Manager Dave Machemer's team has a decent starting rotation, including one of the Midwest League's best pitchers, but everything else about the LumberKings is pretty weak. This team is particularly vulnerable on defense. Under the circumstances, they're having a pretty good season.

Offense? What offense? While there are no truly bad hitters in the Clinton lineup, neither are there any strong hitters.

Somehow Don Levinski and Shawn Hill have won 12 games apiece for a team with 48 victories; Levinski, in particular, seems a remarkable talent. The remaining wins are scattered through the staff.

The LumberKings have scored 447 runs; their opponents have scored 479 runs.

June Profile

The LumberKings have some excellent pitchers, but manager Dave Machemer's options are pretty slim at bat, on the bases, or on defense. Clinton's having a better season than I'd expect from the team and player stats.

Notable Midseason Losses: Third Baseman Nick Schnabel & Starting Pitcher Luis Torres.

Worth Watching: Third baseman Shawn Norris.

May Profile

After a fine April, the LumberKings returned to earth in May. The May version's probably more like we'll see for the rest of the summer; sometimes strong, but inconsistent. Which pitcher starts will generally determine the game result.

Clinton's team has some pitching ability, but not enough to win consistently. The L-King offense is about league-average, except for some terrible baserunning--fortunately, they don't run often. This team's defense is pretty sloppy.

Starters Luis Torres, Shawn Hill, and Don Levinski are talented, but there's no fourth starter, much less a fifth. Hill, in particular, has been starring in his starts. Closer Chris Schroder's been overpowering, and short reliever David Maust has been quite effective.

Third baseman Nick Schnabel's easily Clinton's best hitter, though he's not shown any power. The rest of the usual starters are adequate hitters, and the bench is OK for a bench. Shortstop John Labandeira deserves special mention: His defense is spectacular, though error-prone.

April Profile

The LumberKings had a fine April, getting starring performances from outfielder Dominic Ambrosini and pitchers Luis Torres and Shawn Hill. Manager Dave Machemer's team's got a good set of starters, but little depth on the bench or in the bullpen. Baserunning is not a team strength....

Pre-Season Profile

Manager

Dave Machemer returns to the Midwest League seventeen years after starting his long managerial career at Beloit in 1985. He loves the bunt; on the other hand, his base stealing practices change from year to year. Machemer's pitchers have always had fairly low pitch limits.

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 Chris Schroder (born August 20, 1978)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Outfielder Lorvin Louisa (born February 7, 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.

Although the Expos have left some of last season's LumberKings in Clinton, this year's team was mostly in Vermont last summer.

Team        League             W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                     (Teams)
Jupiter     Florida State (A+) 70/69  T4(12)      1        4
Clinton     Midwest (A)        51/85  14(14)      7        4
Vermont     New York-Penn (A-) 28/47  12(14)      7        7
Expos       Gulf Coast (R)     20/40 T13(14)      3        3

Many of these players appeared on two teams last season and are counted twice in this table. All of the new LumberKings played in the Montreal organization last season.