2008 Scouting Report

Cedar Rapids Kernels

May Profile

While it's untrue that the Angels ignore Sabermetrics, it is fair to say that they quite consciously believe, and prove, that it's possible to build contending teams without adopting the prevailing Sabermetric style. And, as you'd expect, the Angels' MWL farm club looks quite different from Oakland's Kane County team largely because the systems draft and train on different assumptions. This is good--even though I share the Sabermetric prejudices myself, the Angels' recent success story helps keep everyone honest.

Anyway: The CR team April was quite successful. The team's starting pitching is generally strong, while the hitters score well despite lacking either a true star or a balanced offense. The one thing this team does exceptionally well--steal bases--isn't enough to explain their success.

While first baseman Efren Navarro is by far the best hitter in this team's lineup, he's a notch or two below the league's elite hitters. Outfielder Jeremy Moore is a potential star--he's got exceptional speed and some power--but hasn't yet put things together. OF Tyler Johnson's the team's other power source; SS Andrew Romine's another very fine baserunner. Obviously manager Keith Johnson has found ways to put the pieces together effectively.

Michael Anton, Jordan Walden, Trevor Reckling, Robert Fish, and Mason Tobin give this team a reliable starting rotation; none are weak links, though Walden's had some bad luck. The bullpen's been ineffective except for Sammy Leon and closer Ryan Brazier.

This page will be revised in early June.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics are through April 30.

Season Summary

• First Half (through April 30): 14-11, .580 (fourth place, 5.0 behind)
• Pitching: 3.41, 14-11, 6 saves, 7 holds, 2 complete games, 175 strikeouts
• Hitting: .232, 115 runs, 13 HR, 46 steals (74% success)
• Defense: 32 errors (1.28 per game)
• April: 14-11 (.580)

• Position Players used: 16 (and 2 pitchers have batted)
• Pitchers used: 15
• Pitchers per game: 3.20

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Starting Pitcher Mason Tobin

• Best Starting Pitcher: Michael Anton (2.84, 3-1, 18 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Ryan Brasier (1.20, 0-1, 5 saves, no holds, 13 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Robert Fish, Sammy Leon, Ismael Carmona
• Control Pitchers: Michael Anton, Sammy Leon

• Best Hitter: Efren Navarro (.320, 1 HR, 13 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: Jeremy Moore (4)
• High Batting Average: Efren Navarro (.320)
• High On Base Percentage: Efren Navarro (.416)
• High Slugging Percentage: Efren Navarro (.453), Jeremy Moore (.469), Tyle Johnson (.453),
• Notable Baserunners: Jeremy Moore, Andrew Romine
• Notable Batting Eye: Andrew Romine

Pre-Season Profile

This team's going to be exciting. (Might be good, too.) There's power (Gordon Gronkowski and Jeremy Moore--and maybe a half-dozen guys who can reach the fences with some regularity), there's speed (Clayton Fuller, especially, but lots of speed throughout the lineup), and the pitching's got some excellent prospects (Mason Tobin, Trevor Reckling, & Ryan Brasier could be outstanding).

Manager

Keith Johnson has never managed professionally.

First Round Draft Selections

• none

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 21.8
• Pitchers: 21.1
• Hitters: 22.4

• Oldest Player on the Team: Gordon Gronkowski (6/26/1983)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Trevor Reckling (5/22/1989)

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 new CR team is a version of last summer's Orem Owlz.

Team             League           W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                        (Teams)
Rancho Cucamonga California (A+) 69/71   7(10)       0       1
Cedar Rapids     Midwest (A)     78/61   3(14)       2       1
Orem             Pioneer (R+)    37/39   4(8)        9       8
Angels           Arizona (R)     33/23   2(9)        3       5

Six of these players appeared at two levels last season and are counted twice in this table. One played briefly at the Triple-A level, a second appeared in one Double-A game, and a third seems to have spent last summer on the DL. All were members of the Angels organization last year.