Pitchers used: 22
- This includes one appearance by a position player in a mop-up role, and one by a position player who has since been converted to a pitcher on the Cubbies' rookie league team.
Leading Players
- Best Player on the Team: Center Fielder Felix Pie or Designated Hitter Donnie Hood
- Best Starting Pitcher: Anderson Tavarez (12-9, 3.24, 100 strikeouts) or Jae-Kuk Ryu (6-1, 1.75, 57 strikeouts)
- Bullpen Stopper: Jason Wylie (1.38, 1-2, 29 saves, 54 strikeouts)
- Strikeout Pitchers: Justin Jones, Andy Sisco, Yorkin Ferreras, Mark Carter, Wes O'Brien
- Control Pitchers: Jae-Kuk Ryu, Anderson Tavarez, Andy Sisco, Yorkin Ferreras, Ryan O'Malley, Mark Carter
- Best Hitter: Donnie Hood (.317, 9 HR, 32 RBI)
- Home Run Leader: Kevin Collins (14)
- High Batting Average: Donnie Hood (.317)
- High On Base Percentage: none
- High Slugging Percentage: Donnie Hood (.559), Francisco Salas (.480), Jake Fox (.490)
- Notable Baserunners: Buck Coats,, Felix Pie, Keith Butler, Robinson Chirinos, Ryan Theriot, J.J. Johnson
- Notable Batting Eye: none
The Lugnuts at Mid-Season
The Lugnuts have scored 290 runs and have permitted 238 runs. Julio Garcia uses 3.5 pitchers per game.
The Cubs have been sending terrific pitching to Lansing's teams, and this year's version is clearly the best staff in the MWL. They're backed by a good offensive squad, and a more-or-less average defense. The Luggies are fairly aggressive, and reasonably effective, on the basepaths.
DH Donnie Hood, who occasionally plays the corner infield positions, should get a few MVP votes; he arrived about a month into the season and has become the engine of this team's offense. Several of his teammates have some power--outfielder Jason Fransz, third baseman Robinson Chirinos, and first baseman Kevin Collins. Shortstop Buck Coats is your classic slap hitter. This is a squad with a fairly strong bench.
Lansing's rotation isn't just strong: It has no apparent weak points. Jae-Kuk Ryu belongs in a better league; Anderson Tavarez is likely a better talent. Take them both away, and the rotation would be a very formidable Justin Jones/Andy Sisco/Carlos Vasquez/Richard Hill, with a couple strong role players. Jason Wylie's a reasonable candidate for the MWL's best closer. Hill, Ryan O'Malley, and Dan Foli have pitched well in mixed roles, and Mark Carter's been reliable in the middle innings. Despite throwing in a hitters' ballyard, this team has allowed only 16 home runs, and everyone I've listed has an ERA under the MWL average. There's a strange blemish: This staff has hit 56 batters in 65 games.
Promoted and missed: No one essential.
Worth watching: Utility pitcher Richard Hill.
April 27 Profile
It's the pitching. The Lugnuts pitchers have been terrific, so far; it's not really clear whether Andy Sisco or Justin Jones is the best starter on this team, as both have been pitching very well. Mark Carter's been quite as effective in a middle relief role. The hitting's balanced, but isn't producing runs; Donnie Hood, who's only appeared in a few games, has been hitting extremely well.
On Easter Sunday, Justin Jones combined with Weston O'Brien and Mark Carter to throw a no hitter. During the same game, Donnie Hood hit for the cycle. Not a bad day at the ballpark.
Pre-Season Profile
Manager
Julio Garcia's a fairly conventional manager. Although his runners aren't asked to run wild on the basepaths, their success rate has been unusually poor.
First Round Draft Selections
- Chadd Blasko (2002 sandwich pick; 36th player selected)
Team Age Information
- Average Team Age: 21.1
- Pitchers: 21.0
- Hitters: 21.3
- Oldest Player on the Team: Donny Hood (December 30, 1978)
- Youngest Player on the Team: Felix Pie (February 8, 1985)
These calculations are missing the birthdate for one player.
The average player in the Midwest League this season is about 21.7 years old.
Where they played last season
This summary was based on the team's opening day roster and will not be revised to reflect roster changes.
These guys have a chance to be very good. The pitching's mainly drawn from last summer's excellent Boise team, while the hitters were collected from throughout the Cubs' system.
Team League W/L Place Hitters Pitchers
(Teams)
Daytona Florida State (A+) 64/73 8(12) 1 1
Lansing Midwest (A) 74/65 5(14) 6 2
Boise Northwest (A-) 49/27 1(8) 8 9
Cubs Arizona (R) 35/21 1(7) 4 2
A few of these players appeared for two teams last summer and are counted twice in this table. Four did not play professionally in 2002, while one brings a (exactly one) game of Double-A experience to the Luggie mix.
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