2006 Scouting Report

Burlington Bees

• Community Field, Burlington, Iowa.
• Affiliated with the Kansas City Royals.
• Manager: Jim Gabella.
• Coaches: Patrick Anderson, Steve Luebber (pitching).

This page profiles the 2006 Burlington Bees, a Single-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals and a member of the Midwest League.

• History: MWLguide.com

Profile

Unless otherwise indicated, all statistics on this page are through September 4, 2006.

Season Summary

• Second Half: 29-41, .414 (6th place, 13.5 behind)
• First Half: 35-32, .522 (3rd place, 5.0 behind)
• Pitching: 64-73, 3.47, 34 saves, 1 complete game, 940 strikeouts
• Hitting: .242, 539 runs, 52 HR, 158 steals (68% success)
• Defense: 128 errors (0.93 errors per game)
• April: 9-13 (.409)
• May: 17-11 (.607)
• June: 13-13 (.500)
• July: 11-18 (.379)
• August-September: 14-18 (.438)

• Position Players used: 18
• Pitchers used: 20
  • Includes one position player used in a mop-up role.
• Pitchers per game: 3.0

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Third Baseman Mario Lisson

• Best Starting Pitcher: Christopher Nichol (2.82, 4-9, 140 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Kraig Schambough (3.14, 4-8, 12 saves, 3 holds, 61 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Chris Nicoll, Gilbert de la Vara
• Control Pitchers: Chris Nicoll, Rayner Oliveros, Gilbert de la Vara

• Best Hitter: Mario Lisson (.263, 13 HR, 73 RBI; 41 steals)
• Home Run Leader: Miguel Vega & Mario Lisson (13)
• High Batting Average: none
• High On Base Percentage: none
• High Slugging Percentage: none
• Notable Baserunners: Jose Duarte, Joshua Johnson, Mario Lisson, Ethien Santana, Kiel Thibault
• Notable Batting Eye: Josh Johnson

Mid-July Profile

Still the same story: The Bees have a very good pitching staff, but they're being let down by the offense. Unsurprisingly, they've won about half of their games over the course of the season.

Third baseman Mario Lisson's the best position player; he's your basic solid baseball player. SS Josh Johnson and C Brady Everett are playing respectable ball, too. Miguel Vega has power but little else, while OF Jose Duarte and Ethien Santana have speed.

Late arrival Mike Penn's developed into the staff ace, though Matt Kniginyzky and Chris Nicoll are still pitching consistently well. Carlos Rosa has also pitched well, but the lack of support has dulled his numbers a bit. Nearly all of the relievers are remarkably effective; Kraig Schambough's more or less the closer, and the best in the crew.

May Profile

The Bees have scored 204 runs while permitting 173. They have a fairly good pitching staff, but the team's generally weak offense makes for a .500 record. The Burlington offense is built on speed. They play pretty good defense.

Shortstop Josh Johnson has good leadoff skills, and Miguel Vega is the team's best power source. Most of the position players are speedy slap hitters.

Starter Matt Kniginyzky is by far the best pitcher on the squad, with Chris Nicoll and Carlos Rosa also pitching well in the rotation. Gilbert de la Vara leads the bullpen in saves, but Kraig Schambough's been more effective in mixed relief roles.

April Profile

The Bees aren't hitting so far. It's a general failure, redeemed only slightly be good baserunning. The pitching's been pretty good, and combined with an excellent defense has made the team pretty difficult to score on. The defense has kept the team competitive even without an offense.

Third baseman Mario Lisson's a great raw talent, but really needs to improve his pitch selection. Catchers JP Lowen and Karl Thibault are hitting quite well. Past these few, there's some promise, but so far little delivery.

The starting rotation--particularly Mattt Kniginyzky, Christopher Nicoll, and Carlos Rosa--has been outstanding, as have relievers Kraig Schambough, Eliszer Garcia, and Rayner Oliveros.

Pre-Season Profile

Manager

Jim Gabella's had two manager careers, and his methods have changed a bit over the years. He likes his players to run, and is fairly likely to call for a bunt.

First Round Draft Selections

• None

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 21.8
• Pitchers: 21.8
• Hitters: 21.8

• Oldest Player on the Team: Carlos Arroyo (born 5/30/1981)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Josh Johnson (born 1/11/1986)

The average player in the Midwest League this season is 21.9 years old. This information is based on opening day rosters as published on the team website and will not be updated.

Where they played last season

This summary is based on the team's opening day roster and will not be revised to reflect roster changes.

The Burlington team this year resembles the 2005 Idaho Falls team, with significant additions from other places.

Team           League             W/L     Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                         (Teams)
High Desert    California (A+)   75/65   3T(10)      0       0
Burlington     Midwest (A)       65/75  11T(14)      2       3
Idaho Falls    Pioneer (R)       34/42   6T(8)       8       6
Royals         Arizona (R)       34/22    2(9)       4       2

A few of these players played at two levels last year. One played in another organization last summer, another played in Independent ball, and a third spent the season on the disabled list. (That's pretty much the way my Royals writeups always read....)