31 January 2013

The Orioles are going Indy: Frontier and Pecos

This article is the second of two.  In the first article, I discussed expectations to have of players picked up in the independent leagues.  The short of that is simply not to expect much, but there are certainly some surprises like Daniel Nava or George Sherrill.

This article will focus on players the Orioles signed from the the Frontier League and the Pecos League.
Frontier League
P Logan Mahon, Gateway
P Mike Recchia, Windy City
SS Chris Wade, Windy City
C Jim Vahalik, Washington Wild Things

Pecos League
P Luis Pardo, Trinidad Triggers

Frontier League
The Frontier League is the oldest running independent league with its origin going back to 1993.  The players in this league tend to be younger than in the American Association.  Half of every team is required to make up half of their squads with rookies who cannot be older than 27.  As such, this league is considered slightly less competitive than the American Association.  Two Orioles who have appeared in games in this league are the aforementioned George Sherrill and Chris Jakubauskas.  Sherrill and Brendan Donnelly are the two most successful alumni from the league.

More detail of the Oriole signees from the Frontier League:

Logan Mahon, LHRP
24 years old

Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff W L ERA G GS IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2011 22 Casper PION Rk COL 0 0 4.50 5 0 6.0 9.0 0.0 6.0 9.0
2012 23 Gateway FRON Ind 2 1 2.52 33 0 35.2 7.6 0.0 5.3 6.3

What can I say about Logan Mahon?  Absolutely nothing.  None of my contacts are much aware of him.  He was a late round selection by the Rockies in 2011, was released, and then performed decently for Gateway last year putting up some unimpressive strikeout and walk numbers.

Mike Recchia, RHRP
24 years old

Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff W L ERA G GS IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9 SO/BB
2010 21 Staten Island NYPL A- NYY 0 1 4.93 22 0 34.2 7.8 0.3 3.1 7.8 2.50
2011 22 2 Teams 2 Lgs A-A- NYY 6 3 2.49 31 0 61.1 8.1 0.4 1.9 7.0 3.69
2011 22 Staten Island NYPL A- NYY 3 2 3.00 9 0 15.0 10.8 0.0 1.8 11.4 6.33
2011 22 Charleston SALL A NYY 3 1 2.33 22 0 46.1 7.2 0.6 1.9 5.6 2.90
2012 23 Windy City FRON Ind 11 3 2.51 24 20 150.1 6.4 0.6 3.4 10.6 3.16
A- (2 seasons)
A-
3 3 4.35 31 0 49.2 8.7 0.2 2.7 8.9 3.27
A (1 season)
A
3 1 2.33 22 0 46.1 7.2 0.6 1.9 5.6 2.90
Ind (1 season)
Ind
11 3 2.51 24 20 150.1 6.4 0.6 3.4 10.6 3.16
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Recchia has done a lot with little.  He was an undrafted free agent signing by the Yankees in 2010 and managed to perform well in low level minor league ball.  However, he did not sufficiently impress the Yankees and was released.  I was told that he is a fastball, curveball reliever who tops out around 90 mph.  He gets by on hitters chasing his breaking ball and commands his fastball well.  He should be a great member of a low minors bullpen, but I think he will have difficulty if he faces more advanced hitters who will force him to throw his fastball by letting his curve go by.

Chris Wade, SS
25 years old

Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff PA AB 2B 3B HR SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG
2009 21 Marlins GULF Rk FLA 6 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .200 .333 .400
2009 21 Jamestown NYPL A- FLA 196 166 6 3 0 5 4 14 29 .277 .356 .349
2010 22 Greensboro SALL A FLA 244 223 19 0 1 10 4 11 32 .233 .268 .332
2010 22 Jupiter FLOR A+ FLA 71 61 1 1 1 3 0 8 11 .164 .257 .262
2011 23 Windy City FRON Ind 355 300 18 2 2 8 2 27 30 .253 .323 .347
2012 24 Windy City FRON Ind 405 345 11 1 5 20 6 34 37 .301 .375 .383
Ind (2 seasons)
Ind
760 645 29 3 7 28 8 61 67 .279 .351 .366
A (1 season)
A
244 223 19 0 1 10 4 11 32 .233 .268 .332
Rk (1 season)
Rk
6 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 .200 .333 .400
A- (1 season)
A-
196 166 6 3 0 5 4 14 29 .277 .356 .349
A+ (1 season)
A+
71 61 1 1 1 3 0 8 11 .164 .257 .262
Again, no specific information here.  I can only discuss broadly what a player like Wade would be worth.  The Independent leagues are a difficult place to find any useful position players at all.  Scouting as an entity does a pretty good job finding all driven, suitable hints of talent when it comes to position players.  For a SS who will be entering his age 25 season and has never shown any usable power, it is difficult to be too excited about his chances.  Wade did turn a number of his doubles into home runs his second time through Windy City, but actually had a lower ISO.  My guess is that Wade has shown solid defensive skills and good contact skills.  He will be someone who will be a backup middle infielder in the lower minors.

Jim Vahalik, C
24 years old

YearAgeTmLgLevPAAB2B3BHRSBCSBBSOBAOBPSLG
2012232 Teams1 LgInd294266813221354.241.288.312
201223Washington,London/Road WarriorsFRONInd294266813221354.241.288.312
201223London/Road WarriorsFRONInd195174612221028.282.326.362
201223WashingtonFRONInd999220100326.163.212.217
The lines are a little confusing in the BR provided table above.  Just focus on the last two rows for how well Vahalik did last season.  The University of Toledo catcher did not show much at the plate.  He also managed to cut down runners a third of the time, which is not exactly a great number.  It may well be that Vahalik has greatly improved his mechanics in the past year, but typically defensive minded catchers stick out during scouting.  That said, I have very little information here to use to make an assessment.

Pecos League
The Pecos League is a step below the Frontier league and appears to be, based on rosters, targeting players fresh out of college.  The league was founded in 2010 with two seasons played.  The Orioles signed one player from this league:

Luis Pardo, RHP
27 years old

Year Age Tm Lg Lev Aff W L ERA G GS IP H/9 HR/9 BB/9 SO/9
2007 21 Tri-City NYPL A- HOU 0 8 5.35 13 9 35.1 10.4 0.5 5.6 3.8
2008 22 Lexington SALL A HOU 1 9 5.57 16 12 63.0 12.3 1.1 4.3 6.4
2011 25 2 Teams 1 Lg Ind 0 11 5.85 17 16 84.2 12.2 0.9 3.7 6.2
2011 25 Worcester, Federals CAMA Ind 0 11 5.85 17 16 84.2 12.2 0.9 3.7 6.2
2011 25 Federals CAMA Ind 0 10 5.83 15 14 75.2 11.7 1.0 3.8 5.7
2011 25 Worcester CAMA Ind 0 1 6.00 2 2 9.0 17.0 0.0 3.0 10.0
2012 26 Trinidad PECO Ind 4 3 7.81 13 13 70.1 11.8 1.7 3.2 6.8
Ind (2 seasons)
Ind
4 14 6.74 30 29 155.0 12.0 1.2 3.5 6.4
A (1 season)
A
1 9 5.57 16 12 63.0 12.3 1.1 4.3 6.4
A- (1 season)
A-
0 8 5.35 13 9 35.1 10.4 0.5 5.6 3.8
Pardo was a ninth round selection of the Astros in 2007 and was not incredibly inspiring as a prospect.  The Astros were pretty lean on their draft investments during that time.  After suffering troubles for a couple years, he disappeared.  I cannot find any trace of him until he came back on the radar in the CanAm league.  Last year, he threw for Trinidad and put up a 7.81 ERA over 13 starts.  However, if you remove a 14 run, 2 1/3 outing from those numbers then he tossed a 6.22 ERA over 68 innings.  OK, that probably did not make you feel any better.  However, here is the ERA for pitchers who threw over 68 innings in the Pecos League and their ERA.


IP ERA ERA+
Brett Kennedy 73 2.47 286
Derek Johnson 73.2 5.13 138
Nathan Johnson 82.1 5.46 129
Curtis Camilli 74.1 5.81 122
Luis Pardo* 68 6.22 114
Anthony Smith 70.2 7.00 101
Trent Evins 73.1 7.48 94
Scott Sobcazk 70.2 8.02 88
Gregory McDaniel 72 9.50 74

Yes, those ERA+ values are correct.  The Pecos league averages an 7.06 ERA.  It is murder on pitchers.  The top five pitchers could be considered as aces for their teams.  One thing is pretty amazing to me, Brett Kennedy and his 286 ERA+ did not get picked up by affiliated ball.  In late December, he signed a contract to move up to the Frontier League to pitch again for the Gateway Grizzlies.

Based on this video, he did not profile as a pitcher with exceptional pitches, but a solid performance in an offensive heavy league should turn some heads to give him a chance as a filler.  Maybe he continues to outwit the quality of his stuff.  Needless to say, it is very difficult to assess these players where I have few contacts and two year old film from an unfamiliar source.