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Season Summary
- Second Half: 48-22, .686 (1st place, 7.0 ahead)
- First Half: 41-26, .612 (1st place, 1.0 ahead)
- Pitching: 89-48, 2.96, 49 saves, 6 complete games, 962 strikeouts
- Hitting: .254, 620 runs scored, 81 HR, 123 steals (66% success)
- Defense: 124 errors (0.91 per game)
- April: 15-7 (.682)
- May: 17-11 (.607)
- June: 16-10 (.615)
- July: 23-6 (.793)
- August-September: 18-14 (.563)
- Playoff Round 1: 2-1 (.667)
- Playoff Round 2: 2-0 (1.000)
- Championship Round: 3-1 (.750)
- Position Players used:16
- Pitchers used: 22
- Pitchers per game: 3.1
Leading Players
- Best Player on the Team: Shortstop Mike Holliman or Outfielder Cameron Maybin
- Best Starting Pitcher: Burke Badenhop (2.84, 14-3, 124 Ks)
- Bullpen Stopper: Orlando Perdomo (4.15, 0-2, 28 saves, 0 holds, 41 Ks) or Anthony Claggett (0.91, 7-2, 14 saves, 14 holds, 58 Ks)
- Strikeout Pitchers: Orlando Perdomo, Ricky Steik
- Control Pitchers: Burke Badenhop, Ramon Garcia, Orlando Perdomo, Josh Rainwater, Matt Rusch, Ricky Steik
- Best Hitter: Cameron Maybin (.304, 9 HR, 69 RBI) or Mike Holliman (.278, 15 HR, 54 RBI)
- Home Run Leader: Mike Holliman (15)
- High Batting Average: Cameron Maybin (.304)
- High On Base Percentage: none
- High Slugging Percentage: Mike Hernadez (.461), Mike Holliman (.501), Cameron Maybin (.457)
- Notable Baserunners: Mike Holliman, Justin Justice, Cameron Maybin, Rafael Mendez, Will Rhymes
- Notable Batting Eye: Pedro Cotto, Will Rhymes
Mid-July Profile
The Tigers have the best team in our league, too....
Fifth Third Ballpark distorts the Whitecaps' numbers significantly, but this is a pretty good hitting club with very good pitching.
Now that Cameron Maybin's healthy, he's beginning to show us that first-round talent; while he's not quite in the MWL's top tier, he's certainly close behind those folks. Shortstop Mike Hollimon's a similar player; a bit more power, a bit less speed. Catcher Dusty Ryan, outfielders Mike Hernandez, Matt Joyce, Justin Justice, and Pedro Cotto, and second baseman Will Rhymes are all valuable hitters. In another ballyard this group would be putting up excellent numbers.
Ramon Garcia, Burke Badenhop, and Lucas French front the MWL's strongest pitching rotation. The bullpen's a wonder; Matt Rusch, Anthony Claggett, Loren Fraser, closer Orlando Perdomo, and Ricky Steik all are consistently excellent.
May Profile
The Whitecaps have scored 221 runs while permitting 168 to score; their won/lost record reflects that differential. They've a good offense and great pitching. The defense remains exceptional; baserunning isn't really important to this team.
The thing about the West Michigan offense is that there are few weak spots; even though outfielder Cameron Maybin's been laid up for the past two weeks, they've kept winning because everybody contributes to the scoring. While there's no big bopper in this lineup, most of these guys have some power; there's lots of speed in the lineup, and they're very good at getting on base. Outfielder Pedro Cotto, shortstop Mike Hollimon, outfielders Justin Justice and Matt Joyce, and catcher Dusty Ryan all deserve mention. Late arrival outfielder Michael Hernandez has been hitting exceptionally well.
I called Ramon Garcia the MWL's best pitcher the other day; the rest of the rotation is holding up its part of the bargain. From the 'pen, Anthony Claggett, closer Orlando Perdomo, Matt Rusch, and Ricky Steik have been particularly effective. Like the hitters, though, this team's pitching strength is general, rather than the product of a handful of star players.
April Profile
Looks like the 2006 'Caps have everything: Excellent hitting, exceptional pitching, and a very strong defense. The baserunning's been weak, so far; I guess you can't have everything. How this plays out will largely depend on Detroit's farm director.
Outfielder Cameron Maybin's been everything the scouts promised--an excellent all-round talent. Catcher Dusty Ryan's been nearly as good as Maybin, and shortstop Mike Hollimon would be the best hitter on many MWL nines. OF Jeramy Laster appears to be a power source, but he's not hitting well.
Ramon Garcia & Sendy Vasquez have been outstanding in the pitching rotation, and Lucas French has done well. Relievers Anthony Claggett, Andrew Kown, Orlando Perdomo, and Matt Rusch have been nearly perfect. Reliever Ricky Steik's an odd case; he throws strikes, but hasn't been particularly effective.
Pre-Season Profile
Manager
Matt Walbeck's been a slightly conservative MWL manager through his first two seasons. There's nothing remarkable about his tactical decisions.
First Round Draft Selection
- Cameron Maybin (2005, 10th player selected)
Team Age Information
- Average Team Age: 21.8
- Pitchers: 21.9
- Hitters: 21.8
- Oldest Player on the Team: Pedro Cotto (born 5/26/1982)
- Youngest Player on the Team: Cameron Maybin (born 4/4/1987)
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 Whitecaps' offense mainly played at Oneonta last season, where they were quite successful. The pitchers come about evenly from the Oneonta and Gulf Coast teams.
Team League W/L Place Hitters Pitchers
(Teams)
Lakeland Florida State (A+) 85/48 1(12) 0 0
West Michigan Midwest (A) 73/67 3(14) 2 1
Oneonta New York-Penn (A-) 48/27 2(14) 11 6
Tigers Gulf Coast (R) 24/30 9T(12) 1 5
Most of these players were Tiger farmhands last summer, and only three of them played on more than one team. One player was in another organization last season; another did not play professionally.
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