Best And Worst Minor League Offenses



As a supplement to yesterday's Best And Worst Minor League Teams post, here's a look at which of the 120 full-season minor league clubs have been putting forth the most productive offenses. Naturally, these comparisons will favor clubs in hitter's leagues like the California and Pacific Coast over clubs in pitching oriented leagues like the Florida State and Midwest, factors which should be illustrated here. We'll revisit this with the best and worst pitching staffs later on.

We'll start with straightforward team average and move on from there.

Statistics are through Monday's games. Bold denotes category leaders.

TOP 10 MINOR LEAGUE OFFENSES BY AVERAGE
Rank. Team (Org) Level League AVG G R/G HR OBP SLG
1. Albuquerque (Dodgers) AAA PCL .303 76 6.16 86 .350 .476
2. Las Vegas (Blue Jays) AAA PCL .298 79 5.53 95 .351 .482
3. High Desert (Mariners) HiA CAL .297 75 5.89 83 .361 .460
4. Winston-Salem (White Sox) HiA CAR .294 75 5.65 68 .357 .453
5. Colorado Springs (Rockies) AAA PCL .289 78 5.46 64 .356 .446
    Fresno (Giants) AAA PCL .289 79 5.18 66 .365 .440
7. Northwest Arkansas (Royals) AA TL .288 76 5.54 62 .367 .438
8. San Jose (Giants) HiA CAL .286 75 5.37 54 .354 .429
9. Columbus (Indians) AAA IL .285 79 5.37 76 .359 .444
    Tennessee (Cubs) AA SL .285 76 5.07 63 .352 .430

No surprise to see three clubs at the top of the list that play in three of the minors' most hitter-friendly ballparks, with another, Colorado Springs, at No. 5. And now for the bottom 10.

BOTTOM 10 MINOR LEAGUE OFFENSES BY AVERAGE
Rank. Team (Org) Level League AVG G R/G HR OBP SLG
111. Harrisburg (Nationals) AA EL .240 77 3.60 56 .300 .363
       San Antonio (Padres) AA TL .240 76 4.03 45 .327 .350
113. Potomac (Nationals) HiA CAR .239 75 4.40 49 .321 .372
114. Erie (Tigers) AA EL .238 77 4.47 84 .310 .400
115. West Virginia (Pirates) LoA SAL .237 75 4.08 55 .309 .375
        Burlington (Royals) LoA MWL .237 73 4.18 36 .309 .353
117. Arkansas (Angels) AA TL .234 76 3.64 50 .304 .343
118. Greensboro (Marlins) LoA SAL .233 75 4.27 80 .304 .380
119. Myrtle Beach (Braves) HiA CAR .230 75 3.97 49 .294 .340
120. Jupiter (Marlins) HiA FSL .226 73 3.19 21 .288 .316

Our sympathies go out to the Jupiter Hammerheads' pitching staff, as this won't be their lineup's only appearance here. The Marlins and Nationals both earn the unfortunate distinction of having two affiliates in the bottom 10. Of course, Florida doesn't just have two of the bottom 10, but two of the bottom three.

Moving along, here are the top minor league clubs to watch if you're looking for some long balls.

TOP 10 MINOR LEAGUE OFFENSES BY HOME RUNS
Rank. Team (Org) Level League HR G HR Leader (HRs)
1. Las Vegas (Blue Jays) AAA PCL 95 79 J.P. Arencibia (18)
2. Albuquerque (Dodgers) AAA PCL 86 76 Xavier Paul (12)
3. Erie (Tigers) AA EL 84 77 Wilkin Ramirez (15)
4. High Desert (Mariners) HiA CAL 83 75 Johermyn Chavez (15)
    Charlotte (White Sox) AAA IL 83 79 Tyler Flowers (15)
6. Durham (Rays) AAA IL 81 77 Dan Johnson (18)
7. Greensboro (Marlins) LoA SAL 80 75 Justin Bass (15)
8. Buffalo (Mets) AAA IL 79 78 Mike Hessman (18)
9. Omaha (Royals) AAA PCL 77 76 Kila Ka'aihue (14)
    Binghamton (Mets) AA EL 77 76 Nick Evans (13)
    Tacoma (Mariners) AAA PCL 77 78 Greg Halman (14)

Think Erie and Greensboro rely on the home run? Both clubs pull off the daily-double of being among the worst hitting teams and the best home run hitting teams. Shows what a difference playing in parks with some cozy dimensions can make.

BOTTOM 10 MINOR LEAGUE OFFENSES BY HOME RUNS
Rank. Team (Org) Level League HR G HR Leader (HRs)
111. Hagerstown (Nationals) LoA SAL 30 75 Steven Souza (9)
112. Savannah (Mets) LoA SAL 27 75 Wilmer Flores (7)
113. Peoria (Cubs) LoA MWL 26 73 Justin Bour (7)
        West Michigan (Tigers) LoA MWL 26 73 Wade Gaynor (7)
115. Wilmington (Royals) HiA CAR 25 75 Jamie Romak (6)
116. Fort Myers (Twins) HiA FSL 24 75 J. Benson/N. Hanson (4)
117. Tampa (Yankees) HiA FSL 23 72 Melky Mesa (6)
118. Brevard County (Brewers) HiA FSL 22 74 Brock Kjeldgaard (8)
119. Jupiter (Marlins) HiA FSL 21 73 Paul Gran (4)
120. Rome (Braves) LoA SAL 19 74 Mycal Jones (6)

Again, no surprise to see so many FSL clubs populating the bottom of the list, and Rome plays in the one of the South Atlantic League's more pitcher-friendly parks, though 19 homers in 74 games is low no matter where you're playing. For those wondering, the lowest ranked Triple-A club was Portland, which tied for 88th with 40 homers in 78 games. Frisco was the lowest Double-A club with 37 long balls in 75 games, putting them tied for 98th. And at the other end of the FSL spectrum, Dunedin's 60 homers were enough to lead the circuit, even though they tied for 37th in the minors.

So who are the most patient teams? We'll present those numbers and a few more to round out our survey.

MINOR LEAGUE TEAM WALKS LEADERS
Rank. Team (Org) Level League BB AVG OBP
1. Quad Cities (Cardinals) LoA MWL 322 .252 .342
2. Stockton (Athletics) HiA CAL 321 .270 .354
3. New Hampshire (Blue Jays) AA EL 320 .268 .354
4. Reno (Diamondbacks) AAA PCL 318 .265 .349
5. Kane County (Athletics) LoA MWL 317 .241 .333
6. Sacramento (Athletics) AAA PCL 315 .260 .343
7. Lake Elsinore (Padres) HiA CAL 313 .278 .360
8. Indianapolis (Pirates) AAA IL 312 .268 .350
9. San Antonio (Padres) AA TL 311 .240 .327
10. Portland (Red Sox) AA EL 310 .256 .344

Double-A Northwest Arkansas, which leads the minors with a .367 team on-base percentage, ranks 16th in walks with 297. We know patience has been one of the Athletics' core philosophies, but having three of their affiliates in the top six is still impressive. Double-A Midland is their only straggler, ranking a still respectable 38th with 263 free passes.

MINOR LEAGUE TEAM WALKS BOTTOM 10
Rank. Team (Org) Level League BB AVG OBP
111. Louisville (Reds) AAA IL 197 .258 .313
112. Dunedin (Blue Jays) HiA FSL 196 .249 .306
113. Bakersfield (Rangers) HiA CAL 193 .267 .328
114. South Bend (Diamondbacks) LoA MWL 189 .241 .303
115. Albuquerque (Dodgers) AAA PCL 184 .303 .350
116. Lancaster (Astros) HiA CAL 180 .281 .333
117. Lynchburg (Reds) HiA CAR 178 .264 .320
118. Rome (Braves) LoA SAL 169 .252 .309
119. Jupiter (Marlins) HiA FSL 167 .226 .288
120. Dayton (Reds) LoA MWL 152 .260 .311

So are the Reds the anti-A's? That's no mistake, Cincinnati has three of its four affiliates in the bottom 10. The lone exception in their system, Double-A Carolina, isn't a whole lot better, ranking 80th with 225 walks in 76 games.

MINOR LEAGUE TEAM STOLEN BASE LEADERS
Rank. Team (Org) Level League SB CS
SB%
1. Rancho Cucamonga (Angels) HiA CAL 128 57 69.2
2. San Jose (Giants) HiA CAL 127 57 69.0
3. Bowling Green (Rays) LoA MWL 124 47 72.5
4. Cedar Rapids (Angels) LoA MWL 122 31 79.7
5. Greenville (Red Sox) LoA SAL 117 34 77.5
6. Lansing (Blue Jays) LoA MWL 113 52 68.5
7. Lakewood (Phillies) LoA SAL 102 58 63.8
8. Chattanooga (Dodgers) AA SL 100 42 70.4
9. Palm Beach (Cardinals) HiA FSL 97 32 75.2
10. Northwest Arkansas (Royals) AA TL 93 38 71.0

 

MINOR LEAGUE TEAM STOLEN BASE EFFICIENCY LEADERS
Rank. Team (Org) Level League SB% SB
CS
1. Dunedin (Blue Jays) HiA FSL 81.1 73 17
2. Durham (Rays) AAA IL 81.1 90 21
3. Round Rock (Astros) AAA PCL 80.7 46 11
4. Charlotte (White Sox) AAA IL 80.2 69 17
5. Cedar Rapids (Angels) LoA MWL 79.7 122 31
6. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (Yankees) AAA IL 79.0 49 13
7. Toledo (Tigers) AAA IL 78.9 71 19
8. New Hampshire (Blue Jays) AA EL 78.8 78 21
9. Oklahoma City (Rangers) AAA PCL 78.6 66 18
10. Salt Lake (Angels) AAA PCL 77.6 52 15

Basestealers can run wild in the Class A leagues, where many pitchers haven't yet learned to control a running game and fast runners can rely on their speed. Triple-A players don't run as much, as their opponents more often know how to keep them in check, but they've got a better feel for when they can do it.

Cedar Rapids bucks that trend, though, showing they can both run when they want and know how to pick their spots. They're not alone though, as Angels' affiliates make multiple appearances on both lists.



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1 Comment

Amazing that San Jose is on an offensive leader list, while the Cal League is a hitters league, their park has been a pitchers park relative to the rest of the league, by a large margin.


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