2008 Scouting Report

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers

May Profile

The Timber Rattlers scored 68 runs in their first 22 games; they surrendered 94. They hit 3 homers; they allowed 13. This team's pitchers are, basically, wild; the offense is abysmal. That doesn't mean there's nothing to watch, but this is a weak squad.

Outfielders Gavin Dickey and Daniel Carroll--both of whom are on the Disabled List as I write--are pretty much the entire offense. Carroll, in particular, looks like a promising talent, but no slap hitter can carry a team in this league.

Wisconsin's pitching rotation's going to be a challenge for manager Kevin Pollreisz and pitching coach Jaime Navarro; so far, the staff hasn't demonstrated much strength. There's more promise in the bullpen; Michael Pineda, Travis Mortimore, Bryan Harris, and Shawn Kelley have all pitched well, albeit with limited opportunities, during April.

This page will be revised in early June.

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics are through April 30.

Season Summary

• First Half (through April 30): 8-14, .364 (seventh place, 9.5 behind)
• Pitching: 3.92, 8-14, 6 saves, 4 holds, no complete games, 166 strikeouts
• Hitting: .233, 68 runs scored, 3 HR, 26 steals (70% success)
• Defense: 28 errors (1.27 per game)
• April: 8-14 (.364)

• Position Players used: 15
• Pitchers used: 14
• Pitchers per game: 3.45

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Outfielder Daniel Carroll

• Best Starting Pitcher: Juan Ramirez (3.74, 0-1, 22 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Travis Mortimore (1.08, 1-1, no saves, 3 holds, 6 strikeouts) or Shawn Kelley (1.35, 0-0, 3 saves, no holds, 11 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Juan Ramirez, Phillippe Aumont, Keith Meyer, Shawn Kelley
• Control Pitchers: Phillippe Aumont, Keith Meyer, Shawn Kelley

• Best Hitter: Daniel Carroll (.339, no HR, 4 RBI; 11 runs scored, 10 steals)
• Home Run Leader: Korey Feiner (2)
• High Batting Average: Gavin Dickey (.407), Daniel Carroll (.339), Blake Ochoa (.304)
• High On Base Percentage: Gavin Dickey (.467), Daniel Carroll (.413)
• High Slugging Percentage: Gavin Dickey (.519)
• Notable Baserunners: Daniel Carroll, Alex Liddi, Joe Dunnigan
• Notable Batting Eye: none

Pre-Season Profile

Unless several hitters have recovered over the winter, the Timber Rattlers won't be scoring many runs this summer; only Ron Garth and Daniel Carroll have respectable records. The pitching, on the other hand, just might keep the Snakes in the hunt. Travis Mortimore, Michael Pineda, and Jake Wild all look pretty promising, and the rest of the staff looks pretty solid. First round pick Phillipe Aumont hadn't pitched professionally before the season's start, but it's fairly safe to assume he'll make a contribution.

Manager

Based on his four seasons at Everett, Terry Pollreisz is generally a conventional manager. He's willing to let a good runner have his fun; he generally resists issuing intentional passes.

First Round Draft Selections

• Phillipe Aumont (2007, 11th selection)

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 22.0
• Pitchers: 22.0
• Hitters: 21.9

• Oldest Player on the Team: Korey Feiner (9/25/1981)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Michael Pineda (1/18/1989)

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.

Many of these players appeared in Appleton last summer, with reinforcements from virtually everywhere in the system. The Mariners don't work like any other organization.

Team           League          W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                     (Teams)
High Desert    California (A+) 54/86 10(10)       5       1
Wisconsin      Midwest (A)     53/85 14(14)       8       4
Everett        Northwest (A-)  35/41  5(8)        4       5
Mariners       Arizona (R)     37/19  1(9)        3       2

There's evidence of lots of movement in the Mariners' system here: Six of these players appeared at two levels in the organization last summer, another appeared at three, another at four, and (insanely) one played for five Seattle farm clubs in 2007. Three appeared briefly at the Triple-A level, two at Double-A, and one spent the season playing for the DSL Mariners. Two of the T'Rats did not play professionally last year; one was in another organization (mostly at the Triple-A level!)