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Season Summary
- First Half: 38-31 (.551), 2nd place, 3.5 behind
- Second Half: 39-31 (.557), 2nd place, 1.0 behind
- Pitching: 77-62, 3.94, 31 saves, 1103 strikeouts
- Hitting: .258, 743 runs, 110 HR, 96 steals (62% success)
- Errors: 185 (1.33 per game)
- April: 12-9 (.571)
- May: 15-13 (.536)
- June: 14-13 (.519)
- July: 18-8 (.692)
- August: 13-18 (.419)
- September: 5-1 (.833)
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Best Player on the Team: Outfielder Michael Restovich
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Best Starting Pitcher: Juan Rincon (14-8, 2.92, 153 strikeouts)
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Bullpen Stopper: Saul Rivera (4-1, 23 saves, 1.42, 102 strikeouts)
- Strikeout Pitchers: Saul Rivera, Les Victoria
- Control Pitcher: Tom Howard
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Best Hitter: Michael Restovich (.312, 19 HR, 107 RBI) or Jon Schaeffer (.290, 17 HR, 65 RBI)
- Home Run Leaders: Michael Restovich & Brian McMillin (19)
- High Batting Average: Michael Restovich (.312)
- High On Base Percentage: Michael Restovich (.412), Jon Schaeffer (.444), Bobby Kielty (.401)
- High Slugging Percentage: Michael Restovich (.513), Jon Schaeffer (.526), Bobby Kielty (.514), Brian McMillin (.469)
- Notable Baserunners: Bobby Kielty, Brian McMillin, Kyle Hawthorne
- Notable Batting Eye: Jon Schaeffer, Luis Rodriguez, Dan Leatherman, Dave Marciniak
July Profile
The Bandits have scored 543 runs while permitting their opponents to score only 476 times. This is a team with excellent pitching, a handful of star hitters, and a bunch of role players.
Outfielder Michael Restovich is my favorite MWL player this summer; there's no more interesting player to watch from day to day. Catcher Jon Schaeffer and outfielder Bobby Kielty (finally) are the other keys to the offense.
Manager Marzan's "rotation" is an interesting beastie: Juan Rincon and Brent Hoard pitch every fifth game, and most of the other pitchers are doing what amount to spot starts. It's hard to argue with the results. Closer Saul Rivera's having a very fine season, too.
June Profile
The Bandits have a handful of players among the best in this league, but the team's strength is that it plays solid baseball. The team plays fine defense, but their baserunning has to be called embarrassing.
Outfielder Michael Restovich is a delight, and catcher Jon Schaeffer is having a terrific year. These are strong and capable hitters who can damage the league's best pitchers. Although the lineup has a couple weak spots, the hitters have a balance of skills which work well together. Only Brian McMillin's a danger on the basepaths.
The pitching staff has a severe pitch limit, which makes its numbers look a little weak; that's misleading. Brent Hoard is among the league's very best mound talents this season, and the other regular starters--Juan Rincon, Joe Foote, and Aaron Miller--are effective and capable. Closer Saul Rivera is pitching very well, too.
Notable mid-season losses: None notable.
Also worth watching: Short reliever Grant Balfour's better than his record shows.
May Profile
Good defense, adequate pitching, and decent hitting: This is a solid ballclub. There are a handful of players on this team who can really hurt the opposition.
Right fielder Michael Restovich and catcher Jon Schaeffer are two of the finest players in this league. The other offensive players are role players, but the talent's scattered in ways manager Marzan can put to good use.
The pitching's a mixed bag: Starter Brent Hoard's the best lefty starter in the Midwest League, and righty Juan Rincon's pitching very well. Closer Saul Rivera's a very strong talent, and most of the short relievers look promising, though none have worked enough to deliver on those promises. Long reliever Aaron Miller seems to have some control problems, but is difficult to hit.
April Profile
QC's team was very good in April. It's a decent-hitting team; they're very good at getting on base and don't strike out much, and have no marked weaknesses. The pitching's been very strong; it's especially good at preventing long hits. All of this has been complemented by excellent defense.
Pre-Season Profile
Manager
Jose Marzan's been managing in the Twins organization for several years, mainly in the low minors; last summer he ran the MWL's Fort Wayne team. He's an unusually conservative manager for our league. Generally speaking, his teams don't run, his starting pitchers don't finish games, and he doesn't often call for intentional walks.
Where they played last season
These comments and table are based on opening day rosters.
The Bandit offense this season played last season in Elizabethton--where they had very good results. The pitching is drawn about equally from the Twins' low farm clubs.
Team League W/L Place Hitters Pitchers
(Teams)
Fort Myers Florida State (A+) 65-73 10(14) 0 0
Fort Wayne Midwest (A) 79-61 2T(14) 4 4
Elizabethton Appalachian (R+) 38-29 2(10) 7 4
Twins Gulf Coast (R) 34-26 3T(14) 2 3
The Twins don't move their farmhands much, so only a couple players are counted twice in this table. Two of the River Bandits did not play professionally last summer. None of these players appeared above Class A in 1998.
First Round Draft Selection
Returning to the Midwest League
Members of last summer's Fort Wayne team.
- Brent Hoard (P, 15 games)
- Jason McConnell (91 games)
- Aaron Miller (P, 22 games)
- Mike Restovich (11 games)
- Juan Rincon (P, 13 games)
- Jon Schaeffer (122 games)
- Allan Shrum (6 games)
Oldest & Youngest River Bandits
On opening day, the average age of the Bandits was 21.3 years. Follow this link for more information about MWL team ages.
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Oldest player on the team: Jon Schaeffer (born January 20, 1976)
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Youngest player on the team: Luis Rodriguez (born June 27, 1980)
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