2006 Scouting Report

Clinton LumberKings

• Alliant Energy Field, Clinton, Iowa.
• Affiliated with the Texas Rangers.
• Manager: Andy Fox.
• Coaches: Stan Hilton (pitching), Brian Dayett.

This page profiles the 2006 Clinton LumberKings, a Single-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers and a member of the Midwest League.

• History: MWLguide.com

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

Season Summary

• Second Half: 22-48, .314 (8th place, 20.5 behind)
• First Half: 23-46, .333 (8th place, 18.0 behind)
• Pitching: 45-94, 4.81, 22 saves, 1 complete game, 1013 strikeouts
• Hitting: .243, 534 runs scored, 72 HR, 114 steals (62% success)
• Defense: 150 errors (1.08 per game)
• April: 7-15 (.318)
• May: 11-19 (.367)
• June: 9-17 (.346)
• July: 5-24 (.172)
• August-September: 13-19 (.406)

• Position Players used: 18
• Pitchers used: 22
  • Includes two position players used as mop-up pitchers.
• Pitchers per game: 2.9

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Outfielder John Mayberry

• Best Starting Pitcher: Omar Poveda (4.88, 4-13, 133 Ks)
• Bullpen Stopper: Jose Marte (3.51, 6-7, 12 saves, 3 holds, 71 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Nathan Fogle, Josh Giles, Michael Kirkman, Jose Marte, Glenn Swanson
• Control Pitchers: Kevin Altman, Josh Giles, Omar Poveda, Glenn Swanson

• Best Hitter: John Mayberry (.268, 21 HR, 77 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: John Mayberry (21)
• High Batting Average: none
• High On Base Percentage: none
• High Slugging Percentage: John Mayberry (.479)
• Notable Baserunners: Terrance Blunt, David Peterson, Truan Mehl, Matt Smith, Jose Vallejo
• Notable Batting Eye: none

Profile

Mid-July Profile

Weak hitting, and truly awful pitching: The makings of a sad, sad season in Clinton.

John Mayberry, Jr., looks a lot like his father and may well develop into a fine major leaguer; he's having a solid season in the Clinton lineup. But if this player's the heart of your offense, you just aren't going to score enough runs. There's no one else with a balanced batting line, and none with any particular strengths. 3B John Whittleman and C Brian Valichka have power, but don't hit well; SS Matt Smith is decent at getting on base but has no power at all. There's some speed in this lineup, but only OF Truan Mehl seems to run wisely.

Jake Rasner and Omar Poveda have had difficult seasons, but they've pitched pretty well; both have underlying numbers which look better than their ERA and W/L records. Josh Giles has been a bright spot from the pen, but that's only a couple dozen innings. Joey McLaughlin, who started the season in Lansing, has been doing well for the L'Kings.

May Profile

The LumberKings have scored 205 runs while permitting 276 opposing runs. This team has a truly poor pitching staff and a weak offense--and the league's worst won-lost record at the end of May. The defense, too, is sub-par.

Outfielder John Mayberry and first baseman Freddie Thon are the only bright lights on this team; while neither's a true star player, both are solid talents and play well. Shortstop Matt Smith's showing some leadoff abilities, but is far too reckless on the basepaths.

The L'Kings' pitching staff is simply too weak to be competitive. They certainly throw strikes, but far too many of those strikes turn into hits. While it's fair to say that Omar Poveda and Jake Rasner, both of whom have pitched reasonably well, have been the victims of bad luck and poor support, it's also fair to say that if those are your best pitchers you're unlikely to be in contention for a playoff spot in this league.

April Profile

The LumberKings got off to a poor start; there's not much offense here, and except for a couple talents the pitching's been weak. There are a handful of players who merit watching, so the month wasn't a total disaster.

Outfielder John Mayberry, shortstop Matt Smith, and first baseman Freddie Thon have all gotten off to strong starts--Mayberry's a power source, Thon's a solid all-round player, and Smith's showing a little bit of everything. Terrance Blunt's the team speedster.

The Rangers farms don't use their pitchers like most teams, which makes their stats a little difficult to interpret. Broc Coffman, who's been appearing mostly in relief, is the best pitcher of the staff, and Zach Phillips has pitched extremely well despite a total lack of support from the rest of the team. No one else who's pitched any significant amount has much to show for his efforts.

Pre-Season Profile

Manager

Andy Fox has never managed professionally before.

First Round Draft Selection

• None.

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 21.4
• Pitchers: 21.0
• Hitters: 21.8

• Oldest Player on the Team: Joe Kemp (born 2/22/1982)
• Youngest Player on the Team: John Whittleman (born 2/11/1987)

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 2006 LumberKings lineup is built around players promoted from Spokane and the AZL Rangers.

Team        League             W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                     (Teams)
Bakersfield California (A+)    68/72  7(10)       0      0
Clinton     Midwest (A)        71/69  6(14)       1      3
Spokane     Northwest (A-)     37/39  4(8)        8      4
Rangers     Arizona (R)        27/29 5T(9)        6      6

There wasn't a lot of movement in the Rangers system last summer; most of these players appeared for only one team. One of these players was acquired from another organization; another apparently did not play professionally in 2005.