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SAN FRANCISCO – Andrew Suarez looked up at one of his minor leagues earlier this year, found that the Sacramento River Cats had lost five points and thought, "We can still win that."
The thought process was not just about being optimistic. It was to be realistic in the Pacific Coast League.
The league has always been crazy, but this season has seen new levels of production. The PCL started using MLB balls and the alignments took off in a league where altitude was already a problem for pitchers. The teams have an average of 5.62 points per game and an OPS of 0.816, and the league ERA is 5.29.
"It's a bit like playing Coors Field wherever you go," Suarez said.
This can be brutal for young pitchers, a lot of fun for young hitter and quite confusing for leaders to decide which ones are worthy of qualifying for the big leagues. Organizations like to reward players who play in minor miners, but how to promote a single player while his entire team is hitting at an unprecedented pace? How do you determine if the production of a batter is legitimate or if a pitcher is really in trouble?
After calling Mac Williamson, Farhan Zaidi, president of baseball operations, acknowledged that it was a delicate assessment.
"You have to judge it, not just by looking at the numbers, but according to the relative ranks," said Zaidi. "We have guys like (Mike) Gerber and Mac who really hit as well as all the players in this league, so maybe it 's not apple to apples with what' s going on. has spent in this league last year or in recent years in the PCL The fact that these guys are among the best hitters in this league, I think it gives credibility to this performance. "
Williamson's statistics have not been translated. He hit only .118 in the major leagues with a circuit (at the current Coors Field) before the Giants put him on an assignment on Saturday. Gerber hit .323 with seven home runs before his promotion, then scored one in 15 with nine strikeouts in a big league appearance.
Behind these two, there is much more noise.
Mike Yastrzemski, the offensive player who took Williamson's place, got a .414 percentage on the base and 12 homers in 40 games when the Giants called him. Austin Slater has a .453 OBP and nine circuits. Zach Green is at .424 with eight circuits.
Traditionally, if you have a number of double-digit phone calls during a few months in minor leagues, you are waiting for a call, but giants must be more discriminating in the face of changes in the league (it should be noted here that thinks that MLB ball, which is now used in minors, is in a hurry).
They must also see the numbers of pitchers in a different way.
Tyler Beede was promoted earlier this year after averaging at least 1.99 in five starts. He was one of four pitchers in the league at less than 3.00 at the time, and Zaidi spoke of the league's difficulty with the need to take a look at Beede. Shaun Anderson had a 4.11 ERA when the Giants decided he was ready for the big leagues. Suarez was at 6.33 when the Giants brought him back. The reception did not care about the twisted figures in the miners. Suarez also did not care much about them.
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How do you treat the new PCL as a launcher?
"I do not look at the scores," Suarez said with a smile.
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