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Season Summary
- Second Half: 39-31, .557 (2nd place tie, 3.5 behind)
- First Half: 40-29, .580 (2nd place, 1.0 behind)
- Pitching: 79-60, 3.90, 40 saves, 6 complete games, 999 strikeouts
- Hitting: .267, 720 runs, 80 HR, 106 SB (67% success)
- Defense: 131 errors (0.94 per game)
- April: 12-10 (.545)
- May: 19-10 (.655)
- June: 14-13 (.519)
- July: 19-10 (.655)
- August-September: 15-17 (.469)
- Playoff Round 1: 2-1 (.667)
- Playoff Round 2: 2-0 (1.000)
- Championship Round: 1-3 (.250)
- Position Players used: 17
- Pitchers used: 22
- Pitchers per game: 3.4
Leading Players
- Best Player on the Team: Outfielder Jeff Baisley
- Best Starting Pitcher: Jared Lansford (2.86, 11-6, 50 Ks)
- Bullpen Stoppers: Brad Kilby (1.63, 5-1, 9 saves, 6 holds, 73 Ks) & Steven Sharpe (2.64, 1-1, 12 saves, no holds, 36 Ks)
- Strikeout Pitchers: Steven Sharpe, Brad Kilby, Joey Newby, Randy Rapp, Jason Ray
- Control Pitchers: Steven Sharpe, TJ Franco, Brad Kilby
- Best Hitter: Jeff Baisley (.298, 22 HR, 110 RBI)
- Home Run Leader: Jeff Baisley (22)
- High Batting Average: Chad Boyd (.346)
- High On Base Percentage: Chad Boyd (.401)
- High Slugging Percentage: Jeff Baisley (.519), Chad Boyd (.475), Anthony Recker (.464)
- Notable Baserunners: Jeff Baisley, Jose Pineda, Justin Sellers
- Notable Batting Eye: none
Mid-July Profile
The Cougars have a marginal pitching staff, but this team's entirely about offense. They score far more runs than any other MWL team.
Third baseman Jeff Baisley's got power, a bit of speed, and excellent overall numbers; he's a candidate for league MVP. Throw in 2B Isaac Omura, C Anthony Recker, 1B Steve Kleen, and SS Justin Sellers--all would be stars on a weaker team--and you've really got something to watch. Recent callup Chad Boyd's been really impressive.
This team's lost their closer and their most effective starter, but they're making out OK. Jared Lansford's the best remaining rotation pitcher, and closing appears to be a committee effort at this point. There's a lot of weakness, here, but that offense can obviously make up for it
May Profile
The Cougars have scored 267 runs (the MWL's high total) while permitting their opponents 214 tallies. The offense is well-rounded and effective; the pitching has some issues but has been adequate. These guys continue to play terrific defense, and the team's baserunning skills are probably the MWL's best.
Jason Ray and Jared Lansford have both pitched well in the rotation, though the rest of the front-line staff remains weak. If the team's still in the hunt when the ball moves to the relievers, they've likely won the game; this is a deep and effective 'pen. Brad Davis has been incredibly effective in short relief; while TJ Franco, Dan Fyvie, John Herrera, Brad Kilby, and Ron Madej are a notch below Davis, that's one notch below near-perfection.
Jeff Baisley's developed into the star player on this team, and is the only power source, but he's far from being the entire offense. This offense is mainly built on speed, with most of the hitters able to get on base with good regularity. Nick Blasi's the best baserunner, though Jose Pineda's more aggressive.
April Profile
A team with no real stars. The Cougars are afflicted with a remarkably weak starting rotation, something which certainly looks fixable with the talent on hand, as the bullpen's been quite effective. The hitters are decent, but really about league-average overall. This team plays terrific defense.
In a decade of doing these little writeups, never before have I found a team without a clearly-best starting pitcher, and I really don't quite know what to make of that. The bullpen's been glorious, though: especially Brad Davis, Dan Fyvie, and Steve Sharpe, who basically don't let anyone on base, which is always an effective strategy. There are no weak links in the relief staff, which is nearly as unusual as the ineffective rotation.
Infielder Frank Martinez and outfielder Michael Massaro are good all-round hitters; so's Steve Kleen, though at a lower output level. Jeff Baisley joins Martinez as a power source; Nick Blasi and Jose Pineda appear to be the team speedsters.
Pre-Season Profile
Manager
Aaron Neickula's a new manager & has no history to base an analysis on.
First Round Draft Selection
Team Age Information
- Average Team Age: 22.3
- Pitchers: 22.3
- Hitters: 22.3
- Oldest Player on the Team: Steve Sharpe (born 7/20/1981)
- Youngest Player on the Team: Vince Mazzaro (born 9/27/1986)
The average player in the Midwest League this season is 21.9 years old. This information is based on opening day rosters as published on the team website and will not be updated.
Where they played last season
This summary is based on the team's opening day roster and will not be revised to reflect roster changes.
The Cougars team's built around last summer's Vancouver Canadians, who led the Northwest League in wins. A couple holdovers from Kane County and a few Arizona League prospects fill out the roster.
Team League W/L Place Hitters Pitchers
(Teams)
Stockton California (A+) 78/62 2(10) 0 1
Kane County Midwest (A) 67/72 10(14) 4 2
Vancouver Northwest (A-) 46/30 1(8) 9 9
Athletics Arizona (R) 30/26 3(9) 2 4
These guys all played in Oakland's organization last season. A few of them played for two teams, and three appeared on three rosters.
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