2008 Scouting Report

West Michigan Whitecaps

This page will next be revised in early July.

Unless otherwise indicated, all team statistics are through June 30 and all player statistics are through May 31.

Season Summary

• Second Half (through June 30): 5-7, .417 (3rd place tie, 4.0 behind)
• First Half (final): 37-31, .544 (second place, 1.0 behind; playoff qualifier)
• Pitching: 3.31, 42-38, 15 saves, 16 holds, 5 complete games, 606 striketouts
• Hitting: .252, 356 runs scored, 34 HR, 103 steals (70% success)
• April: 15-10 (.600)
• May: 12-16 (.429)
• June: 15-12 (.556)

• Position Players used: 20
• Pitchers used: 18
• Pitchers per game: 3.03

Leading Players

• Best Player on the Team: Starting Pitcher Alfredo Figaro

• Best Starting Pitcher: Alfredo Figaro (1.38, 6-2, 59 strikeouts)
• Bullpen Stopper: Noah Krol (4.42, 0-1, 6 saves, no holds, 21 strikeouts) or Rudy Darrow (1.42, 3-2, 3 saves, 4 holds, 26 strikeouts)
• Strikeout Pitchers: Rudy Darrow, Noah Krol, Lauren Gagnier
• Control Pitchers: Jon Kibler, Ramon Garcia

• Best Hitter: Roger Tomas (.340, 1 HR, 10 RBI)
• Home Run Leader: Casper Wells (9)
• High Batting Average: Roger Tomas (.340)
• High On Base Percentage: none
• High Slugging Percentage: Casper Wells (.451)
• Notable Baserunners: Kody Kaiser, Kyle Peter, Casper Wells, Justin Henry
• Notable Batting Eye: Justin Henry

May Profile

April didn't sully the 'Caps reputation as the MWL's closest thing to an annual sure bet. This team's offense is strong from top to bottom, though they don't hit many home runs. And only Clinton's pitching staff is clearly superior to this one. This isn't a team with no weaknesses, but it's a solid squad.

While it's certainly helpful to have Curtis Granderson in your lineup, this team was as successful with its regular players. Shortstop Roger Tomas has everything except home run power; much the same can be said for 1B Joe Tucker. This is a perpetual-motion offense; everyone's pretty good at getting on base, and fairly quick on the basepaths. In a different ballpark, probably some of these hitters would be popping homers.

Starter Ramon Garcia likely doesn't need to prove again that he can win in our league--but Alfredo Figaro's been better, and Jonathan Kibler's been nearly as good. Noah Krol's the king of a strong bullpen; these are mostly pitchers who come at you with hard strikes.

Pre-Season Profile

I've some doubts about the Whitecaps pitching depth, though the best pitchers look very good. The position players are similar; this team's going to score runs, because there's some real talent, but we'll have to see how the bench develops before we can fully assess the squad.

Manager

Joe DePastino's never managed professionally.

First Round Draft Selections

• none

Team Age Information

• Average Team Age: 22.7
• Pitchers: 22.9
• Hitters: 22.5

• Oldest Player on the Team: Christopher Carson (1/7/1984)
• Youngest Player on the Team: Joseph Bowen (9/25/1987)

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 MILB.com 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 Whitecaps resemble last summer's Oneonta team, except there was enough movement in this system that such a generalization is a little misleading.

Team          League             W/L    Place    Hitters Pitchers
                                       (Teams)
Lakeland      Florida State (A+) 53/87 12(12)       2      2
West Michigan Midwest (A)        83/57  1(14)       3      3
Oneonta       New York-Penn (A-) 44/32  4(14)       8      7
Tigers        Gulf Coast (R)     28/32  9(12)       4      6

Ten of the Whitecaps played at two levels last summer and are counted twice on this table. Everyone on this team played in the Detroit organization last season.