2008 Scouting Report

Great Lakes Loons

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.

This page will be revised in early June.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics are through April 30.

Season Summary

• First Half (through April 30): 11-14, .440 (fourth place, 4.0 behind)
• Pitching: 3.95, 11-14, 8 saves, 6 holds, no complete games, 208 strikeouts
• Hitting: .219, 79 runs, 14 HR, 17 steals (71% success)
• Defense: 29 errors (1.16 per game)
• April: 11-14 (.440)

• Position Players used: 14
• Pitchers used: 13
• Pitchers per game: 2.96

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Reliever Miguel Ramirez

• Best Starting Pitcher: Steve Johnson (2.55, 2-1, 22 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Miguel Ramirez (0.00, 0-0, 6 saves, 9 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Johnathan Dutton, Matthew Sartor, Robert Blevins, Miguel Sanfler
• Control Pitchers: Avery Morris, Steve Johnson, Matthew Sartor, Robert Blevins

• Best Hitter: Andrew Lambo (.280, 3 HR, 19 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: Kenley Jansen, Jaime Ortiz (4)
• High Batting Average: none
• High On Base Percentage: none
• High Slugging Percentage: Andrew Lambo (.512), Kenley Jansen (.490)
• Notable Baserunners: Joseph Becker, Erik Kanaby
• Notable Batting Eye: none

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

• Oldest Player on the Team: Parker Dalton (7/7/1983)
• 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.