The WAR Room is back again, bringing you the 2015 advanced stats for every Cleveland minor leaguer. Though it is still early in the season, there are some interesting trends to watch and monitor as the season goes on. Join Jim Piascik as he breaks down Clint Frazier playing well, especially for his age, in High-A, Jesus Aguilar’s continued troubles, and much more as he takes you into The WAR Room.
As always, just like with scouting, it is always important to keep context in mind with these stats. A pitcher who is old for his level using that experience to succeed against young, inexperienced hitters must be taken with a grain of salt; the same goes when looking at these WAR totals.
But it is a useful tool to put each player’s performance into context and look at where they sit in regard to the rest of the league.
For reference on how I computed WAR, a reminder on the problems inherent in the stats, and everything else you need to know, click here. For a refresher on WAR and what it is, click here.
As a reminder, a 0.0 WAR per 162 games is replacement level — otherwise known as the kind of performance an average player from the level below could offer — a 2.0 WAR per 162 games is average, and a 5.0 WAR per 162 games is All-Star level.
Also, the lack of good defensive metrics for the minor leagues means we have to adjust for a range of defensive abilities. To account for this, I will give you each player’s WAR with a qualifier: either poor-defense WAR for a poor defender (-10 runs below-average per 162 games), average-defense WAR for an average defender (0 runs per 162 games), or great-defense WAR for a great defender (10 runs above-average per 162 games).
Additionally, note that pitchers have FIP-based WAR — which is based on peripherals like strikeouts, walks, home runs, etc. — and RA-based WAR — which is based on runs allowed.
One more thing, all “+” stats are averaged at 100. Anything over 100, like 110, is higher and means that player is 10 percent better than the league average. Anything under 100, like 90, is lower and means that player is 10 percent worse than the league average. In the case of any “-” stats — when lower is better, like with ERA — a 90 ERA- means that player is 10 percent better than the league average.
For the full stats, go ahead and click here. Stats are updated through Saturday, June 6.
It is not always the most outwardly impressive, but given his high prospect standing the context of his age and level, outfielder Clint Frazier is once again putting up very good numbers. As a 20-year-old in High-A, Frazier is young for his level, yet the outfielder is still posting an above-average 1.2 average-defense WAR through 53 games. The swing and miss remains in Frazier’s game (23.3% strikeout rate, 123 K%+), but the outfielder’s prodigious power has not fully manifested in 2015 (.153 isolated power, 135 ISO+) and he is still putting up good numbers. Sure, Frazier still needs to work on making more contact to allow his power to come out, but given he is already getting results despite being so young, the future still looks bright. Read More…
From Indians Baseball Insider, June 8, 2015
Jim Piascik 