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Season Summary
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Second Half: 24-46, .343 (sixth place, 19.0 behind)
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First Half: 30-39, .435 (fifth place, 8.5 behind)
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Pitching: 4.06, 54-85, 38 saves, 25 holds, 1 complete game, 1120 strikeouts
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Hitting: .241, 504 runs, 77 HR, 119 steals (65% success)
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Position Players used: 22
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Pitchers used: 27
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Pitchers per game: 2.95
Leading Players
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Best Player on the Team: Left Fielder Andrew Lambo
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Best Starting Pitcher: Steve Johnson (2.34, 9-2, 57 strikeouts)
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Bullpen Stopper: Miguel Ramirez (4.29, 2-9, 20 saves, no holds, 47 strikeouts)
- Strikeout Pitchers: Victor Garate, Diagoro Rondon, Matt Santor, Robert Blevins, Garrett White, Blake Brannon, Jonathan Dutton, Joshua Lindblom, Geison Aguasviva
- Control Pitchers: Victor Garate, Given Kutz, Matt Sartor, Robert Blevins, Garrett White, Joshua Lindblom, Rob Zimmerman, Geison Aguasviva
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Best Hitter: Andrew Lambo (.288, 15 HR, 79 RBI)
- Home Run Leader: Andrew Lambo (15)
- High Batting Average: none
- High On Base Percentage: none
- High Slugging Percentage: Andrew Lambo (.462)
- Notable Baserunners: Jovanny Rosario, Erik Kanaby, Juan Rivera, Parker Dalton, Travis Vetters, Kenley Jansen, Brian Mathews, Pedro Baez, Joseph Becker
- Notable Batting Eye: Erik Kanaby, Scott Van Slyke
July Profile
The Loons have scored 292 runs while permitting their opponents 360, which largely explains their won/lost record. The Great Lakes pitchers are second in the league in both the strikeout and base on balls categories, which means they're throwing lots of pitches. Midland's team has mostly weak hitters; the pitchers are interesting, but mostly erratic.
One of my site's cliches: Outfielder Andrew Lambo's an excellent ballplayer, but if you're going to build your offense around this player you're doomed to mediocrity. The rest of the hitters are, at best, one-dimensional: Catcher Alex Garabedian offers decent on-base ability, first baseman Jaime Ortiz has good power, and there are several weak-hitting speedsters in the lineup. There's a reason these guys aren't scoring.
But the pitching at Dow Diamond is interesting. They're mostly of a type: The typical Loon pitcher strikes out around ten batters per game, while walking about four (that ten is a good number; the four is not). That's fun, in its way; on any given day you might see a shutout or a blowout. Victor Garate, who's striking out over 12 batters per nine innings while holding the walks to a nearly-sane 3.6 per game, has managed only a 4-3 record while keeping his ERA under 2.00. Bobby Blevins, who's been used in a variety of roles this summer, has pitched consistently well, mostly because he hasn't compiled the high walk totals of his teammates. Matt Sartor and Miguel Ramirez, who've both been mostly closing games, sometimes stop everyone dead--but aren't reliable. Randy Johnson was like this when he was young; perhaps someone will get over it and find their way to the Hall.
Gone from Midland: Steve Johnson, a far more conventional (and successful) pitcher than most of his teammates, took his 9 wins to Inland Empire in late June.
May Profile
April wasn't exactly a success for Midland's team. The offense has been unexpectedly anemic; the pitching, while adequate, hasn't been particularly noteworthy.
Outfielder Andrew Lambo's off to a strong start; he's done a little bit of everything except steal bases. Catcher Kenley Jensen's the only other hitter who's not been struggling. This team's offense is certainly better than it's looked so far.
Closer Miguel Ramirez has been nearly flawless, so far, and there's some talent in the rest of the pitching staff. Steven Johnson and Justin Miller have pitched effectively in the rotation; from the 'pen Matthew Sartor and Robert Blevins have done well.
Pre-Season Profile
The second set of Loons looks pretty promising: A powerful offense, and some excellent pitchers. The hitting's going to be really solid; there aren't many weak links in this lineup. They might be a little reckless on the basepaths, though Bustabad's record says he'll get that under control. The pitching staff's mostly untested, but what they've shown so far is intriguing. Should be an interesting season.
Manager
Juan Bustabad's a pretty conservative manager. The sole exception was his Kane County year; if you should find Quincy Foster in your lineup, you should likely play to that strength, which he did. Year in, year out, Bustabad's teams have been pretty successful.
First Round Draft Selections
- Bryan Morris (2006; 26th selection)
- Preston Mattingly (2006 sandwich pick)
Team Age Information
- Average Team Age: 21.5
- Pitchers: 21.5
- Hitters: 21.5
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Oldest Player on the Team: Parker Dalton (7/7/1983)
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Youngest Player on the Team: Andrew Lambo (8/11/1988)
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 MILB.com 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 core of the Great Lakes pitching staff was here last summer, though it's been augmented from other places in the system. The year's Loons offense mostly played at Ogden for at least part of 2007.
Team League W/L Place Hitters Pitchers
(Teams)
Inland Empire California (A+) 72/67 6(10) 1 1
Great Lakes Midwest (A) 57/82 12(14) 4 5
Ogden Northwest (R+) 34/41 6(8) 10 2
Dodgers Gulf Coast (R) 40/15 1(16) 4 4
Six players appeared at two levels in the Dodgers system last summer, and another appeared at three; they are counted more than once in this table (most of these are position players, for what that's worth). One of the 2008 Loons made a brief appearance at Triple-A in 2007; another spent the summer in the Domincan Summer League; a third was in another organization; a fourth has never played professional ball.
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