See also: CAL Batting and Pitching leaders
See also: CL Batting and Pitching leaders
See also: FSL Batting and Pitching leaders

Check out the Triple-A Stat Wrap for a detailed explanation of the methods used here. The Double-A version also is available.

CALIFORNIA LEAGUE

Best Run Differential: Lancaster: +210 (finished first in Southern Division at 83-57)
Fun Fact: Where to begin? The JetHawks hit .329/.413/.583 at home and .263/.357/.442 on the road. Lancaster batters occupied the top five spots in the batting race (Bell, Bates, Daeges, Tony Granadillo and Wagner); the top four in the OBP race (the first four above); and the top three in the SLG race (the first three above).
Team’s Best Player: OF Zach Daeges, .330/.423/.579 with 21 HR, 55 2B and 113 RBIs
Team’s Best Pitcher: RHP Justin Masterson, 8-5, 4.33 in 95 2/3 IP with 56-22 K-BB

Worst Run Differential: High Desert: -283 (finished last in Southern Division at 54-86)
Dubious Distinction: The Mavericks slugged 59 more home runs than No. 2 Stockton, but High Desert pitchers gave up 214 more runs than No. 2 Lancaster.

BATTERS

Not surprisingly, seven Lancaster batters made the list. But the players to watch here are a trio of Rangers (Davis, Teagarden and Mayberry) and Nelson, a 2004 first-round pick of the Rockies who appears to be on track after a couple rough seasons in low Class A. It’s a good sign for the Giants to see Sandoval here as a catcher, as the 2006 Futures Gamer spent most of last year at first base. He threw out 51 percent of basestealers in 59 games behind the plate and is a switch-hitter who makes consistent, hard contact.
                       

Nelson, 21, shows up again, along with two other speedy Rockies, Young and Fowler. With 73 swipes, Young finished runner-up to Ovandy Suero for the minors’ stolen-base crown. Antonelli and Saunders enjoyed breakout years—and they can hit.

Blanks, a first baseman who’s listed at 281 pounds, is certainly a surprise, but he is quite agile for a player of his size, runs fairly well (6.9 seconds in the 60).

Correll, 26, is a former Kansas City T-Bone (independent American Association). Freese, 24, is getting time behind the plate in instructional league for the Padres.

PITCHERS

McDonald also ranked third in the Southern League in K percentage. The 19-year-old Tillman, drafted by the Mariners in the second round in 2006, made perhaps the biggest leap forward—though Sosa, 20, could also lay claim to that distinction. He barely cracked the Giants’ prospect depth chart entering the season. LeBlanc (Alabama) and Bailey (Wagner) also were playing in their first full seasons, but both were drafted out of college.

Buck finally succumbed to Tommy John surgery after his junior season at Oregon State in 2006 and his 2007 Cal League effort were marred by elbow soreness. Even with the pain, Buck pitched extremely well, posting a higher groundout rate than even Masterson, the Eastern League champ. Two other college righthanders, Brooks Brown (Georgia) and Matt Buschmann (Vanderbilt), also made short work of the Cal League. Barnes, 31, moved to the mound full-time last year as a knuckleballer after a solid career as a hitter that included 58 big-league at-bats.

An eighth-round pick from Birmingham-Southern in 2006, Hynick didn’t crack either the strikeout our groundout leaders, but he did something else no pitcher had done since 1999. Hynick led the minors in innings pitched with 182 1/3, becoming the first Cal Leaguer to do so since Lake Elsinore’s Steve Fish tossed 197.

CAROLINA LEAGUE

Best Run Differential: Kinston: +213 (finished first in Southern Division at 87-52)
Fun Fact: The Indians’ balanced offense led the league in runs (782), homers (152), walks (605), OBP (.362) and SLG (.436).
Team’s Best Player: 3B Wes Hodges, .288/.367/.473 with 15 HR, 22 2B and 71 RBIs
Team’s Best Pitcher: LHP Ryan Edell, 11-6, 3.70 in 122 IP with 109-31 K-BB

Worst Run Differential: Frederick: -154 (finished third in Northern Division at 64-74)
Dubious Distinction: The joys of the split-season schedule. Frederick went 32-37 in each half of the season, good enough for first place one time and third the next. So despite the worst run differential in the league, the Keys were playoff bound—on the strength of a .464 first-half winning percentage. Naturally, they won the CL title in four games against Salem.

BATTERS

Einertson, 21, won his second league MVP award this season, with his first coming in the 2004 Appalachian League. Fellow Avalanche outfielders Iorg and Flores, a pair of 2005 picks, also scored well here. But Iorg was lost for the season in June when he tore his UCL in his right elbow. Kaaihue and Schafer enjoyed breakout years for Myrtle Beach, hitting for power despite an unforgiving ballpark.

Though he’s a slightly below-average runner, Rodriguez got the most out of his ability with Kinston, stealing 21 bases and hitting nine triples. On the other hand, Orlando, a native of Brazil, is very fast, but didn’t hit enough to maximize his speed. Ford stands out for not having been caught stealing before his season ended early with a back injury.

PITCHERS

Hernandez, Hanson and Cortes, in particular, deserve credit for being so far above average in a league low on strikeouts. And there’s John Lannan, the 22-year-old lefty from Siena, who’s given the Nats a half a dozen good starts.

Look out! Spoone, 21, cut his walks dramatically while maintaining strong strikeout and groundout rates.  

No, Hardy, a nondrafted free agent with an 84 mph fastball, is not your prototypical pitching prospect. He has two things working for him: A very good 2007 season and an even better name.

A personal favorite since his stint in the Appy League in 2005, Cortes broke out in a big way this season. Nice work by the Royals in nabbing him—and Tyler Lumsden—for Mike MacDougal.

FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE

Best Run Differential: Tampa: +118 (finished first in Western Division at 83-56)
Fun Fact: The Yankees led the league with a 3.23 ERA, but only one pitcher, Anthony Claggett, qualified for the title
Teams’ Best Player: OF Austin Jackson, .345/.398/.566 with 10 HR, 15 2B and 13 SB
Team’s Best Pitcher: RHP Ian Kennedy, 6-1, 1.29 in 63 IP with 72-22 K-BB

Worst Run Differential: Lakeland: -190 (finished last in Western Division at 53-87)
Dubious Distinction: Though they (narrowly) had the league’s worst offense, the Flying Tigers did steal 200 bases, 54 more than any other team, thanks to Ovandy Suero, Wilkin Ramirez, Cameron Maybin and Will Rhymes, all of whom accumulated 20 or more

BATTERS

Bruce was more than ready for the challenges of high Class A and, as it turns out, Double-A and Triple-A. Church was our Independent Leagues Player of the Year in 2006. Nice year for Craig, an eighth-rounder in 2006 from California, who surprised many in his first full season.

Jackson, 20, took his first step toward establishing himself as a legitimate power/speed threat. But what makes his season remarkable is that he hit just .260/.336/.374 in the first 60 games of the year for low Class A Charleston, where he spent all of 2006.

PITCHERS

It’s hard not to get excited by the progress Davis and McGee have made—unless you’re a Red Sox or Yankees fan.

Parnell pitched the entire season at age 22 and made short work of the FSL. He wasn’t quite so successful in Double-A, but he did retain a high strikeout rate. Parnell’s younger rotation-mates, Niese and Guerra, cut their walk rates and kept the ball on the ground. Jukich, 24, came over from the A’s in exchange for Chris Denorfia, and he welcomed the switch from the Cal League, lowering his ERA from 5.40 to 3.55.