Every team with playoff aspirations winds up with several non-descript guys who sim well (like Hiram Bocachica). Well the A's are no exception, and I thought it would be fun to check out what these guys are doing in real life.
First of all, newest to the group is lefty Charlie Manning, who projects a 4.24 ERA but more importantly can pitch to lefties and righties and doesn't walk a ton. He sims pretty well in Oakland, but in real life with the Columbus Clippers he 0-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 2 saves in 18 2/3, with a 24/9 K/BB and and opponents are hitting only .197 off of him. He's in the Washington system so who knows, he could find his way to the majors at some point this year.
Jon Van Every, a platoon type playing for the Pawtucket Red Sox, is starting for the A's in CF against righties. He projects to an OPS slightly over .800 against them with VG power, and also plays VG defense in center. In real life Van Every is playing every day for the Red Sox and putting up a .289/.373/.505 line with 5 homers and 16 RBI. The big concern for him is clearly strikeouts, as he has 36 in 97 ABs. Hopefully he does better than that ratio for the IBC A's.
Robby Hammock, the catcher against lefties and defensive replacement, has struggled with the Diamondbacks, but remains on the roster despite the activation of Miguel Montero. He's struggled in limited action this year, but he's in the show.
Finally, we have the eventual 2008 IBC Cy Young Mark DiFelice. You look at the guy's numbers over the years and wonder how it is that he never got a shot. Over 10 years he's gone 77-57 with a 3.57 ERA 1.16 WHIP and a K/BB of almost 4.5 to 1. Last year in 124 innings between AA and AAA (with some starting and relieving in both) he was 10-3 with a 2.31 ERA, 123 Ks and 15 walks. That's 8.2/1 folks, that's ludicrous. He also had a .210 BAA, leading to a WHIP of 0.88. This year has been even more ridiculous, as through 3 starts he is 3-0 with a 2.65 ERA, and 25/0 K/BB, having allowed 13 hits in 17 innings. Small sample size? Sure. 31 year old career minor leaguer? Sure, but with his track record and the piles of steaming crap that a number of teams are running out on the mound this guy has to be worth a shot somewhere. If not he can keep destroying AAA and I'll have another nice SIM from a no one next year.
A's One Year Wonder Watch
Moderator: Giants
It's been awhile since we've done this. Mark DiFelice is appearing occasionally out of the Brewers bullpen, still hasn't walked anyone.
Jon Van Every is hitting 9th and playing a decent center field for Pawtucket after a brief cup of coffee, he'll be back in September.
Robby Hammock has a .982 OPS in AAA for Tucson.
And let's welcome newcomers Rowdy Hardy and Mike Hessman. The 25 year old Hardy had a monster 2007 in the Carolina League (as expected for someone old for the level) at 15-5 2.48 0.95 WHIP. He struggled to begin the season in AA this year, but has pitched much better of late and has his ERA down to 4.37 and WHIP down to 1.41 after they were over 6.00 and 1.75 respectively. The key to Hardy's game is control, and I've run sims in which he outperforms Mark "Cy" DiFelice. Look out American League.
Hessman was signed to cover Konerko's absence from the right side, and is actually a slight defensive upgrade from Bill Hall at 3B vs. lefties. Hessman might be a double duty simmer, as he currently is second the minors in home runs with 23 and sports a .999 OPS.
Jon Van Every is hitting 9th and playing a decent center field for Pawtucket after a brief cup of coffee, he'll be back in September.
Robby Hammock has a .982 OPS in AAA for Tucson.
And let's welcome newcomers Rowdy Hardy and Mike Hessman. The 25 year old Hardy had a monster 2007 in the Carolina League (as expected for someone old for the level) at 15-5 2.48 0.95 WHIP. He struggled to begin the season in AA this year, but has pitched much better of late and has his ERA down to 4.37 and WHIP down to 1.41 after they were over 6.00 and 1.75 respectively. The key to Hardy's game is control, and I've run sims in which he outperforms Mark "Cy" DiFelice. Look out American League.
Hessman was signed to cover Konerko's absence from the right side, and is actually a slight defensive upgrade from Bill Hall at 3B vs. lefties. Hessman might be a double duty simmer, as he currently is second the minors in home runs with 23 and sports a .999 OPS.
Just for the hell of it I thought it would be fun to look at how my guys finished the year (in order of how important they were to my team this year). You all enjoy.
Mark DiFelice:
19-7 2.97 ERA 1.03 WHIP 216 K 40 BB 248.1 IP (IBC)
5-1 3.22 ERA 0.90 WHIP 65 K 8 BB 58.1 IP (AAA)
1-0 2.84 ERA 1.10 WHIP 20 K 4 BB 19.0 IP (MLB)
He could anchor my staff again next year with numbers like that!
Jon Van Every:
.246/.349/.457 14 HR 48 RBI 346 AB (IBC)
.263/.360/.524 26 HR 70 RBI 380 AB (AAA)
.235/.278/.353 0 HR 5 RBI 17 AB (MLB)
Brad Ziegler
2-1 1 SV 4.25 ERA 1.38 WHIP 34 K 14 BB 48.2 IP (IBC)
2-0 8 SV 0.37 ERA 0.78 WHIP 20 K 4 BB 24.1 IP (AAA)
3-0 11 SV 1.06 ERA 1.16 WHIP 30 K 22 BB 59.2 IP (MLB)
Robby Hammock
.296/.363/.480 8 HR 44 RBI 277 AB (IBC)
.240/.297/.355 5 HR 27 RBI 217 AB (AAA)
.190/.292/.214 0 HR 2 RBI 42 AB (MLB)
Mike Hessman
.222/.337/.543 15 HR 31 RBI 162 AB (IBC)
.271/.374/.602 34 HR 72 RBI 399 AB (AAA)
.091/.091/.227 1 HR 1 RBI 22 AB (Olympics)
.296/.387/.889 5 HR 7 RBI 27 AB (MLB)
Brian Mazone
5-5 3.93 ERA 1.34 WHIP 34 K 25 BB 66.1 IP (IBC)
9-12 4.10 ERA 1.29 WHIP 116 K 36 BB 164.2 IP (AAA)
Rowdy Hardy
4-3 5.24 ERA 1.38 WHIP 24 K 16 BB 55 IP (IBC)
6-11 4.97 ERA 1.45 WHIP 87 K 31 BB 155.2 IP (AA)
Thank you all for your service, there is a decent chance we'll see Ziegler, DiFelice, Hessman, and Van Every (if he keeps his VG defensive projection) floating around the two time defending IBC champs next year.
Mark DiFelice:
19-7 2.97 ERA 1.03 WHIP 216 K 40 BB 248.1 IP (IBC)
5-1 3.22 ERA 0.90 WHIP 65 K 8 BB 58.1 IP (AAA)
1-0 2.84 ERA 1.10 WHIP 20 K 4 BB 19.0 IP (MLB)
He could anchor my staff again next year with numbers like that!
Jon Van Every:
.246/.349/.457 14 HR 48 RBI 346 AB (IBC)
.263/.360/.524 26 HR 70 RBI 380 AB (AAA)
.235/.278/.353 0 HR 5 RBI 17 AB (MLB)
Brad Ziegler
2-1 1 SV 4.25 ERA 1.38 WHIP 34 K 14 BB 48.2 IP (IBC)
2-0 8 SV 0.37 ERA 0.78 WHIP 20 K 4 BB 24.1 IP (AAA)
3-0 11 SV 1.06 ERA 1.16 WHIP 30 K 22 BB 59.2 IP (MLB)
Robby Hammock
.296/.363/.480 8 HR 44 RBI 277 AB (IBC)
.240/.297/.355 5 HR 27 RBI 217 AB (AAA)
.190/.292/.214 0 HR 2 RBI 42 AB (MLB)
Mike Hessman
.222/.337/.543 15 HR 31 RBI 162 AB (IBC)
.271/.374/.602 34 HR 72 RBI 399 AB (AAA)
.091/.091/.227 1 HR 1 RBI 22 AB (Olympics)
.296/.387/.889 5 HR 7 RBI 27 AB (MLB)
Brian Mazone
5-5 3.93 ERA 1.34 WHIP 34 K 25 BB 66.1 IP (IBC)
9-12 4.10 ERA 1.29 WHIP 116 K 36 BB 164.2 IP (AAA)
Rowdy Hardy
4-3 5.24 ERA 1.38 WHIP 24 K 16 BB 55 IP (IBC)
6-11 4.97 ERA 1.45 WHIP 87 K 31 BB 155.2 IP (AA)
Thank you all for your service, there is a decent chance we'll see Ziegler, DiFelice, Hessman, and Van Every (if he keeps his VG defensive projection) floating around the two time defending IBC champs next year.
