2019 Mudcats Full Season Notes
DOWNLOAD / VIEW THE FULL 2019 SEASON RECAP PACKET2019 CAROLINA MUDCATS - MILWAUKEE BREWERS - CAROLINA LEAGUE2019 Total Games: 139 | 2019 Home Games: 70 | 2019 Away Games: 69 | Five County Stadium (6,500) | Zebulon, NCOverall Record: 65-74; 7th in CLFirst Half: 39-30, .565, 3rd in SouthernSecond Half:
DOWNLOAD / VIEW THE FULL 2019 SEASON RECAP PACKET
2019 CAROLINA MUDCATS - MILWAUKEE BREWERS - CAROLINA LEAGUE
2019 Total Games: 139 | 2019 Home Games: 70 | 2019 Away Games: 69 | Five County Stadium (6,500) | Zebulon, NC
Overall Record: 65-74; 7th in CL
First Half: 39-30, .565, 3rd in Southern
Second Half: 26-44, .371, 5th in Southern
Longest Streaks: W6, 7/5-7/9 | L8, 7/24-7/31
Last 10: 2-8 | Last 35: 10-25 | Last 105: 45-60
Monthly: 16-10; 13-14; 16-11; 10-19; 10-18; 0-2
Home Record: 37-33 (1st: 20-15, 2nd: 17-18)
Road Record: 28-41 (1st: 19-15, 2nd: 9-26)
Division/Non-Division Record: 25-44 / 40-30
AT-A-GLANCE: The Mudcats began the 2019 season going 16-10 in April while finishing the first month of the season in second place and just two games out of first. They also went 31-14 over the first quarter of the season while remaining in second place behind the Down East Wood Ducks from 4/28 through 5/29. The Mudcats, however, dipped down to third place after falling into a five game losing streak from 5/25 through 5/30, including three straight losses to the Wood Ducks and two in Winston-Salem versus the Dash. Carolina went on to finish the first half going 10-11 over its final 21 games before the All-Star break, thus finishing the half in third at 39-30 behind the First Half Champion Wood Ducks (50-20) and second place Dash (38-26). With the slate wiped clean, the Mudcats went on to begin the second half in positive fashion going 12-8 over their first 20 games following the All-Star break. That strong second half start was fueled by a perfect 6-0 home stand beginning on 7/5 and concluding on 7/9 versus Frederick and Lynchburg respectively. Carolina's early second half success was short-lived, however, as the club went on to finish 2019 going just 14-36 from 7/10 through the end of the season. That run from 7/10 through the end of the year included losing streaks of eight (7/3-7/31), three (8/3-8/6), six (8/10-8/16), three (8/20-8/22), three (8/25-8/27) and five (8/29-9/2). The Mudcats went on to finish the second half in last in the Southern Division and seventh in the overall standings.
TURNING POINT: The Mudcats played a crucial late-May home series versus Down East on 5/24 and entered the series at just 3.5 games back of the first place Wood Ducks. Carolina took the series opener in walk-off fashion on 5/24 while pulling within just 2.5 games back of the eventual first half champion Wood Ducks. Carolina then had a 4-3 lead in the ninth inning in game two of the series on 5/25 before losing 6-4 after Down East's J.P. Martinez hit a three-run homer off
AN APRIL TO REMEMBER: Carolina's 16-10 record in April was the club's best since 2008 when the then-Southern League and Florida Marlins affiliated Mudcats opened the year with a record of 17-10. Just three years earlier, the 2005 Marlins affiliated Mudcats opened the season going 18-4 in April. The 2005 and 2008 Mudcats both went on to reach the Southern League playoffs in their respective seasons... Carolina's 25 home runs hit in April were a new franchise high for most home runs hit by a Mudcats team in April since the 2004 squad hit 24 homers in the first month of their season.
FIRST QUARTER: The Mudcats went 21-14 over their first 35 games, or first quarter, of the 2019 season. That 21-14 (.600) start matched the 1994 Mudcats for the fourth best first 35-game record in team history. The 1995 and 2005 Mudcats own the franchise's best first 35-game team record in franchise history after both clubs started their respective seasons at 24-11.
PEAKING: The 2019 Mudcats reached as high as 13 games above .500 overall after totaling a 51-38 record on 7/9/19. They spent just one day at 13 games above .500, four games at 12 games up, six at 11 games up and reached 10 games above .500 10 times throughout the season. Before the 2019 season, the last time a Mudcats team sat at least 10 games above .500 overall was on 7/27/08 when the then-Southern League Mudcats were 58-48 in the overall standings.
BELOW SEA LEVEL: The Mudcats finished the 2019 season going 14-36 over the club's final 50 games and by losing five straight games to close the season while finishing the year at just 65-74 overall. It was the club's second straight season with 65 victories overall and marked Carolina's 19th season with an overall record below .500 (since 1991).
CAROLINA LEAGUE MVP: C
CL PITCHER OF THE YEAR: RHP
EXCLUSIVE COMPANY: Carolina League MVP Mario Feliciano led the CL in home runs (19) in 2019. Before Feliciano, the last Mudcats player to finish a season as the league leader in homers was
THE ALL-STARS: The Mudcats placed seven players to the Carolina League's Southern Division mid-season All-Star team with C Mario Feliciano, C
WHERE THE BATTERS RANKED: Among qualified players at season's end, the Mudcats had several players rank among the Carolina League (CL) leaders in the following... Mario Feliciano finished the season 1st in the CL in home runs (19), 2nd in RBI (81), 1st in slugging (.477), 3rd in OPS (.801), 10th in batting average (.273), 8th in hits (120), 2nd in XBH (48), 2nd in total bases (210), tied for 6th in runs (62), tied for 2nd in 2-out RBI (32), 5th in wRC (69) and 1st in ISO* (.205)...
WHERE THE PITCHERS RANKED: Among qualified pitchers at season's end, the Mudcats had several pitchers rank among the Carolina League (CL) leaders in the following... Noah Zavolas finished the season 2nd in the CL in ERA (2.98), 4th in innings pitched (133.0) and 2nd in WHIP (1.14), 1st in BB/9 (1.56) and 1st in K/BB* (4.43)...
IN BUNCHES: The Mudcats were one of two Carolina League teams to have had four players reach double digits in home runs during the 2019 season. Those four consisted of Mario Feliciano and his league best 19 home runs, Payton Henry (14), Tristen Lutz (13) and
ALL THE Ks: Carolina batters combined to total both a Carolina League and franchise record 1,412 strikeouts during the 2019 season; marking the third straight season that the Carolina offense set a Carolina League and franchise record for strikeouts in a season. The 2018 Carolina offense totaled a then-record breaking 1,311 strikeouts last year, while the 2017 team totaled a then-record 1,245 strikeouts two season ago.
HITS AND Ks: The Carolina offense totaled 409 more strikeouts than hits (1,412 SO, 1,003 H) during the 2019 season. Carolina's difference in total strikeouts over total hits was the 2nd largest in Minor League Baseball. The 2019 Mudcats also joined the 2018 (1,311 SO, 1,049 H) and 2017 Mudcats (1,245 SO, 1,081 H) and 2007 Mudcats (1,219 SO, 1,149 H) as the four Mudcats teams in team history to finish a season with more strikeouts than hits.
BEANBALLS: The Carolina offense combined to total a Carolina League high and franchise record 107 hit-by-pitches during the 2019 season. The previous team record was 73 HBP set in both the 2010 and 2013 seasons. Carolina was additionally third overall in MiLB in most hit-by-pitches in 2019.
PLAYOFF DROUGHT: The Mudcats failed to reach the playoffs again in 2019, stretching their current playoff drought to eight (8) consecutive Carolina League seasons. Carolina has additionally failed to reach the playoffs in 11 consecutive seasons overall between their time in the Carolina League (2012-Present) and Southern League (1991-2011). The Mudcats last reached the playoffs in 2008 when they lost to the Mississippi Braves in the Southern League Championship Series… Current post-season droughts in MiLB (full-season teams): Buffalo (AAA): 14 seasons, New Orleans (AAA): 12 seasons, Carolina (A+): 11 seasons, Hartford (AA): 10 seasons, Louisville (AAA): 9 seasons.
WALK IT OFF: The Mudcats totaled six walk-off wins over the club's first 21 games of the 2019 season. Carolina went 13-8 over those first 21 games with nearly half of those 13 victories coming in walk-off fashion on 4/11, 4/28, 5/11, 5/20, 5/21 and 5/24. In all, Carolina totaled eight walk-off wins through the 2019 season; including three walk-offs coming on game winning home runs from
WALK-OFF BIG FLIES: Mario Feliciano's walk-off home run to defeat Lynchburg on 5/20 was his second walk-off of the 2019 season and third overall walk-off homer of the year for the Mudcats. Feliciano also hit a walk-off, three-run blast on 5/11 to defeat the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Dallas Carroll, meanwhile, hit the first walk-off homer of the season (one month earlier) on 4/11 versus Wilmington. Carroll's walk-off earlier in 2019 was Carolina's first since
TO THE SHOW: Seven former Mudcats including RHP
ROAD WOES: The Mudcats lost nine straight road games between 7/13-7/15 & 7/24-7/27 and went just 1-13 over 14 road games between 7/1-7/3, 7/10-7/15 & 7/24-7/28. They also started the second half just 4-14 away from home after originally starting the 2019 season 16-11 over their first eight road series.
WEEKLY HONORS:RHP Dylan File was named the CL's Pitcher of the Week for the week ending on 4/28 after pitching through 6.0 scoreless innings with 5 SO on 4/25 in Myrtle Beach (W, 6.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 HB, 5 SO)... C Mario Feliciano was named the CL's Player of the Week for the week ending on 6/9 after hitting a league high 5 HR and totaling a league high 1.786 OPS between 6/3 and 6/9. Feliciano also slashed .429/.500/1.286 (9 H, 8 R, 27 TB, 1 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 2 BB 11 RBI) during that week... RHP Noah Zavolas won his first of two CL Pitcher of the Week awards on 6/24 after pitching through a complete-game, two-hit shutout with a career best 11 SO on 6/13 in Potomac... Zavolas was again named the CL's Pitcher of the Weekon 8/5 after pitching through 6.0 scoreless innings with 8 SO on 8/1 versus Down East (week of 7/29-8/4). Zavolas also walked one and scattered three hits while combining with relievers
NOAH NO-RUNS: Noah Zavolas was the first Carolina League pitcher to turn in a nine-inning complete-game shutout during the 2019 season after he pitched through a complete-game, two-hit shutout in Potomac on 6/3. Zavolas totaled a career best 11 strikeouts and began his complete-game gem with nine straight outs before allowing a lead off single in the fourth and a double with one out in the fifth. He then went on to finish his spectacular outing by retiring the final 16 batters faced in consecutive order... Zavolas was the first Mudcat to spin a nine-inning complete-game shutout since 2010 when LHP Matt Fairel (9.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO), of the then-Southern League Mudcats, went the distance in a 5-0 Carolina victory in Montgomery on 7/23/10.
FOR THREE: Tristen Lutz's first inning triple on 5/3 in Wilmington was the first for the Mudcats during the 2019 season. Lutz's triple came in club's 29th game of the season making the Mudcats the last affiliated Minor League Baseball team to record a triple in 2019 (29th game).
STREAKING: Ryan Aguilar reached base safely in a team best 26 straight games from 4/14 through 5/13. The streak came to an end when he entered an extra-innings game on 5/14 in Lynchburg as a defensive replacement in the tenth and later struck out in his only at bat of the game in the eleventh. Aguilar hit .278/.420/.356 with a .775 OPS during the streak (25-for-90, 18 R, 4 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 19 BB, 3 HBP, 28 SO).
BICKFORD'S RUN:
RECORD SETTING: Payton Henry totaled a Mudcats franchise record 22 hit-by-pitches during the 2019 season. Henry also tied the all-time team record for double plays hit into after grounding into 18 double plays through the 2019 season... Matt Smith allowed 17 home runs during the 2019 season; placing him third in team history in most homers allowed in a single season.
THREE TRUE OUTCOMES: Home runs, walks and strikeouts accounted for 39.0% of Carolina's plate appearances in 2019; the highest such percentage of the three true outcomes in the Carolina League and 5th highest in Minor League Baseball.
DUAL THREAT: After playing only as a pitcher during his first year as a pro in 2018, Clayton Andrews played as a two-way player for the first time in his professional career after pitching in relief and playing in center field with the Mudcats during the first half of the 2019 season. Andrews appeared in 21 games (27.1 IP) as a reliever and eight games as Carolina's starting center fielder in 2019. As a pitcher, Andrews went 2-2 with a 2.63 ERA (9 BB, 43 SO) and 11 saves. As a position player, Andrews hit .387/.424/.387 (12-for-31) and hit safely in six straight games between 6/4-6/29; including three straight multi-hit games on 6/16, 6/25 and 6/29. His first start in center came on 5/20 vs Lynchburg.
BACK STOP SPLITS: C Payton Henry and C Mario Feliciano almost fully split catching duties during the 2019 season with Henry starting 66 games behind the plate and Feliciano starting in 61... The Carolina pitching staff went 35-31 and totaled a 3.68 ERA (3.1 BB/9, 8.8 SO/9) in games started by and caught by Henry. Carolina's pitchers went 28-33 with a 4.19 ERA (3.1 BB/9, 8.0 SO/9) in games started by and caught by Feliciano... Henry additionally finished 2nd among Carolina League catchers in most caught steals (44) while catching 37.6% (44 CS, 117 ATT) of would-be base stealers. Feliciano caught 28.6% of base stealers (18 CS, 63 ATT).
KINGS OF THE NORTH: The Mudcats went 40-30 versus Carolina League Northern Division teams during the 2019 season; including marks of 20-14 in the first half and 20-16 in the second. Carolina went just 25-44 in games against their Carolina League Southern Division rivals, including a dismal 10-36 run vs. Southern Division teams from 5/25 (vs. DE, 2.5 G back of first before 5/25) through the remainder of the season.
NEW NAMES: The Mudcats introduced two new team identities before the 2019 season. The two new alternate identities introduced by the club for 2019 included the "Micro Brews" which payed homage to the Milwaukee Brewers and local craft breweries and "Pescados de Carolina" which was part of MiLB's "Copa de la Diversión" initiative celebrating Hispanic heritage and culture. Carolina went 3-4 as the Micro Brews in 2019 and 6-1 as Pescados de Carolina
COMEBACK KIDS: The Mudcats scored five straight two-out runs in the ninth to come back and defeat the Hillcats 8-7 on 8/17 in Lynchburg. The come back victory was Carolina's biggest of the 2019 season and was Carolina's second victory when trailing after the eighth.
OPPO-POP: Payton Henry's first inning home run on 8/17 in Lynchburg was both his 14th and final home run of the 2019 season and was his first hit to left field. Henry had not homered to his pull side in 2019 until 8/17 as all of his previous homers had gone to either center (2), right-center (3) or right (8).
NO-HIT: The Mudcats were no-hit by
EARLY FAREWELLS: C Payton Henry suffered a season ending leg injury on 8/27... OF Tristen Lutz left a game on 8/17 early with an apparent injury and did not return... Carolina League Pitcher of the Year RHP Noah Zavolas reached his season long innings limit in early August (8/14) and did not return... Manager Joe Ayrault and Hitting Coach Bobby Bell returned to their homes in Florida due to Hurricane Dorian on 8/30 and missed the final four games of the season.