Wilmington aiming at stolen base record

The Blue Rocks are on a pace for 282 thefts in 144 games. That can challenge the Carolina League record of 293, set by the Durham Bulls in 1980. In fact, in the last 16 years across the Minors, only the 1998 Capital City Bombers, with 295, have more steals than Wilmington is on pace to record. Both those feats came before the widespread popularity of sabermetrics, which has called into question the efficacy of the stolen base.

But the Blue Rocks are contradicting that trend. Despite hitting a league-worst .251 with a meager 39 home runs -- 75 fewer than first-place Myrtle Beach and just five more than both Dallas McPherson and Nelson Cruz of the Pacific Coast League -- the Blue Rocks have spent the entire season lingering around the .500 mark.

Blue Rocks Steals Leaders:
Derrick Robinson 48/59
Jarrod Dyson 33/42
Joe Dickerson 24/38
Chris McConnell 21/35
Kurt Mertins 21/25

They're stealing as a team with 71.4% success.

11 months ago RoyalsRetro Comment 28 comments 0 recs |

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Comments

That's great and disappointing at the same time.

I would much rather see them going after the HR record. I think the radio announcer said their team has combine to hit around .215 out of the DH position.

Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?

by kcscoliny on Jul 25, 2008 12:00 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs

Minor league DH

In the minors (particularly below AAA), good prospects don’t DH. Good prospects have a position, or at least are made to play a position (like Butler). So I think it is common for minor league DH’s to put up poor numbers. And, for what its worth, the Carolina League is a pitcher’s league. Not a lot of power there. That doesn’t mean that Wilmington has power that is hidden. They are definitely power light.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

It's a surprisingly high split

Bianchi alone has hit like .270 as a position player and around .100 when he Dh’s (80+Ab’s I think). Most of the bad stats at the DH spot are from Seratelli but everyone in that spot has struggled.

Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?

by kcscoliny on Jul 25, 2008 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I almost ignored this

I might be missing something but, what does this have to do with the Royals, or baseball? Is this a joke thing or is this really the political comment I think it is? Because if it is, I think it has no place on this site. Again, correct me if I’m misunderstanding it.

by I need more Esteban on Jul 25, 2008 1:16 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Shit

Wrong Thread, MY BAD.

by I need more Esteban on Jul 25, 2008 1:16 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Stats from the Dominican

Victor Soto, DSL Royals: .298/.413/.385, 31 for 104, 18 walks/20 strikeouts, 19 for 22 in stealing bases

Soto will be 20 in October and has been with the organization since March 2006.

(and Willian Avinazar appears to be the best pitcher on the DSL Royals)

Also, Danny Francisco of the DSL Mets has 31 stolen bases despite a hitting line of .196/.324/.217 (28 for 143)

by BHWick on Jul 25, 2008 1:33 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

correction

Jose Francisco

by BHWick on Jul 25, 2008 1:34 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

some of these success rates look pretty bad

by royalsreview on Jul 25, 2008 1:36 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I guess in a pitcher friendly league you don't have to be as

successful to be…successful.

My mother's basement is better than YOUR mother's basement!!

by Royal Kingdom on Jul 25, 2008 1:40 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

2 out of the 5 are below break even

3 out of the 5 are well above. So the glass is 3/5ths full.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 1:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm more exited

about Dickerson’s hitting potential than his SB potential.

I agree with RR, in that those success rates are, shall we say, underwhelming, with the exception of Robinson. Unfortunately, Robinson looks like another slap hitting version of Gathright with the stick.

by loyal2sdad on Jul 25, 2008 1:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Huh?

I agree with RR, in that those success rates are, shall we say, underwhelming,

3 out of the 5 listed have success rates batter than 78%. How is that underwhelming? If I listed the hitting stats of 5 players and three of them had an OPS over .850, would that be underwhelming? What I see is a lot of SB’s and an overall SB% better than break even. And at least 3 of the 5 listed have been very successful at stealing bases. I don’t think stealing bases is very important but let’s give credit where credit is due.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 1:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

i guess McConnell's terrible numbers just jumped out at me

i also wonder if the overall rate is helped by the little guys who are maybe like 5 for 5 in steals or whatever… anywho

by royalsreview on Jul 25, 2008 2:49 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Perhaps it is

And the overall percentage isn’t great; it’s just ok. But, as always, overall team numbers aren’t what is important. I don’t care if a minor league team’s OPS is .700 if they’ve got two or three guys who are genuinely good hitters. So the fact that Wilmington has three guys with over 20 SB and a SB% over 78 means they’ve got some really good base stealers. Of course this isn’t particularly important as hitting is much, much more important. I’d rather they have three guys with an OPS over .900 and zero steals.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 2:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I wonder if this is an organizational philsophy

Or turning lemons into lemonade. That is, are we drafting guys who can run, but don’t hit for power, or simply doing best with the guys we have?

Are these guys all Baird guys? I think Mertins might have been a Dayton guy.

As much as I don’t like the stolen base as an offensive weapon, it is exciting, and it would be kinda cool to get the record.

Relive Royals History at royalsretro.blogspot.com

by RoyalsRetro on Jul 25, 2008 4:20 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

It kind of seems like Moore prefers fast, athletic outfielders who are good defenders

For the record, I don’t like that at all. I prefer power over speed and good hitting over speed and defense, by a lot. If I read Moore’s offensive philosophy correctly, I don’t like it at all.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Since we are bloggers and Moore is the GM (for now)

I guess the Royals will be going with his philosophy. I am in the middle on this one. I would certainly like to see more power than what we have in the organization right now. On the other hand, I like the speed and defense look too.

by grudz96 on Jul 25, 2008 4:55 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

In the very least, we need some diversification

Speed and defense have their value. But we at least need a good mix of contact hitting, power hitting, speed and defense. I don’t think we have that mix right now. We’re very long on speed and defense in the minors and very short on good hitting, particularly power hitting.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 4:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

+1

I totally agree with you NY but he has used the last 2 picks on projectable Power guys. Maybe he thinks it is easier to find a player that will develop with those other(speed/defense) skills. I wish he would try to find more plate discipline/power types unfortunately finding a player with speed and plate discipline is rare.

Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?

by kcscoliny on Jul 25, 2008 5:19 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Last 2 #1 picks

Who cares about RBI's, how many HDB's you got?

by kcscoliny on Jul 25, 2008 5:20 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, I liked those two picks

And particularly liked the hitting and particularly power hitting focus. Moore gets full credit for that and those are obviously the most important picks. But it seems like after the first round, it’s all about speed, defense and athleticism. We need some balance in the system.

This is just my opinion. I could easily be wrong.

by NYRoyal on Jul 25, 2008 5:23 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Its the new theme of the Royals - New.Blue.Tradition ad campaign,

bringing back the powder blues…they’re taking the whole thing back to the 70’s/80’s including the small ball strategy…I can’t wait for the return of the Astroturf.

My mother's basement is better than YOUR mother's basement!!

by Royal Kingdom on Jul 25, 2008 5:03 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs