Grading Out The First Quarter
(PK Park - Eugene, OR) - If you were to ask me what type of ride I would compare the Vancouver Canadians first 19 games to if we were standing out at Playland, I surely would point over to the rickety, old roller coaster that combines great thrills with moments of uncertainty.
If you've ever gotten onto the ol' wooden-framed roller coaster, you would know that along the race around - you encounter sections of the track that you aren't 100% certain will be able to take on the force of your ride. You close your eyes and simply hope for the best.
19 games into this season, and already I feel like we have gone on that ride at least four or five times, and to be perfectly honest - each time I get back onto the ride, I keep thinking it will be smoother than the rest. I think there is a saying that "doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting a different result is insanity?"
Well, let's look back then on an insane first quarter to the Vancouver Canadians season here in 2015. One that has had flashes of brilliance combined with some moments of mediocrity.
Canadians Offense:
Letter Grade: D
To say that the Canadians offense has been struggling is almost an understatement. Vancouver ranks dead last in offense within the Northwest League hitting just .216, some 18 points back on Salem-Keizer who ranks 7th at (.234).
Vancouver is last in several key offensive categories including hits (127 or 7.1per), runs scored (64 or 3.6per), slugging percentage (.299) and on-base percentage (.294).
The Canadians have been shut out four (4) times in 2015 through the first 19 games of the season. By comparison, last year's Vancouver team got shut out just twice in 76 games.
There have been pockets of accomplishment as OF Sean Hurley is tied for the NWL lead in Home Runs (4) while 2B Lane Thomas has racked up 15 RBI despite hitting just .154 (10-for-65) through his 16 games with the Canadians. Fact is, Thomas isn't alone in his early season struggles.
SS JC Cardenas is 4-for-35 (.114) to start his professional career with one extra base hit and two RBI in 10 games. 1B Juan Kelly is hitting just .250 (4-for-16) with runners in scoring position with seven (7) strikeouts.
The Canadians are a league-worst .199 (28-for-141) leading off an inning, meaning they are more often than not playing on an upward slope. Again, by comparison, the 2014 Canadians hit .280 over the first 19 games, an .81 point difference.
Hitting coach Dave Pano is like Scotty in the bowels of the USS Enterprise with the Canadians fan base is asking him to give more - to which Pano can only say "I'm giving you all I got with what I have."
A tough assessment of this year's Canadians team for sure, but one that hopefully resonates and can be put beside improved numbers at the halfway point of the season.
Canadians Pitching:
Letter Grade: C+
Between June 26th and July 1st (six games), the pitching staff single handedly kept the Canadians in games allowing more than three runs only once. Vancouver would go 3-3 (.500) over that stretch.
The magic number for the Canadians through the first quarter of the season is four. If the C's score four or more runs, they are 8-0 (1.000). If they score less than four runs, they are 0-10 (.000).
Vancouver's rotation has been respectable with RHP Clinton Hollon going 1-0 with a 3.15 ERA in 20 innings. Jon Harris is in the rotation, but with just 5 1/3 innings of work, it's hard to put his 1.59 ERA into the fray. RHP Evan Smith (0-2, 4.50 ERA) has had trouble early on allowing a team high 23 hits over his 16 innings on the mound. Smith has also allowed three (3) home runs and a team-high 15 runs, despite just eight (8) of them being earned.
RHP Francisco Rios (0-3, 5.29) struggles to avoid the 'big inning' as his 10 earned runs lead the team. Rios has the potential to catch a wave though as he shows moments when you think he might be able to avoid an inning with his repertoire, as his 15 strikeouts in 17 innings (including six on July 5) make you believe he can turn things around despite still searching for his first win of the season. Kind of reminds some longtime fans of former Canadians pitcher Julio Ramos who started the summer 0-5, before rattling off six straight victories to end the season.
Canadians LHP Dan Lietz (0-2, 10.13) has scuffled over his four outings allowing 10 earned runs in just eight innings, making it passed the 3rd inning only once in his four opportunities.
The bullpen remains the Canadians biggest question mark, looking timid and uncertain despite pitching coach Jim Czajkowski's best efforts to make them compete. In seven appearances, RHP Andrew Case has been the back end's brightest light as the Canadian-born pitcher has a 1.13 ERA with four saves and 11 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings of work. LHP Brandon Hinkle has not given up an earned run in eight innings of work allowing just three hits over that span.
From there however, the fall off the cliff is steep as Joey Aquino (1-0, 9.53), Bob Wheatley (0-0, 10.80) and Michael Kraft (0-0, 2.16) have efforted. Kraft's numbers are respectable, but his eight (8) walks in 8 1/3 innings make his outings much more complicated than they need to be.
Vancouver weathered an early injury-bug as well with LHP Travis Bergen and Jackson McClelland leaving games early. McClelland looks to be fine while Bergen returned to Florida for further assessment.
The Canadians pitching staff has a 4.04 ERA through the first quarter, ranking them 3rd in the NWL, but that number could improve if they cut down on the number of walks (73 or 4.03per) that ranks second highest in the NWL behind only Everett (79). Vancouver has 123 strikeouts over the first quarter of the season (6.83per) which is 7th in the NWL only ahead of Boise (111).
Canadians Defense:
Letter Grade: B-
The Canadians 30 errors (1.67per) ranks them 6th in the Northwest League as the fielding percentage is .957
2B Lane Thomas is responsible for six (6) of the Canadians miscues, but early on, it is almost unfair to peg a teenage infielder with a number like this. Thomas has also recorded the most assists in the NWL (54) so you take the good with the bad.
Catching is where the Canadians are actually exceeding expectations as second-year player Kevin Garcia has put together a solid first quarter playing in 14 games, committing just one error and not being charged with a single past ball this season. However, Garcia has only thrown out 3 of the 18 base runners looking to swipe a bag this summer (16.7%) which is an issue when putting runners on early.
The outfield has also been a nice surprise as Sean Hurley, Earl Burl III and Austin Davis have held their own with Hurley leading the NWL in putouts (42).
FINAL GRADE:
First Quarter : C-
The Canadians enter the final push of the first half under .500 and still seeking an identity. Manager John Schneider and his staff have a track record of getting the most of of each and every player they have encountered, but the final say will still be with the players. They are the ones who can realize that despite a lackluster effort out of the gates, they are still right in the thick of the North Division playoff race, or, they can simply go through the motions and just be happy to spend a summer in Vancouver eventually watching the NWL post-season from their homes across North America.
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