Crystal Lake Sandgnats Team Analysis: Pitchers

[Apollos]

8/24/2007: Crystal Lake, IL - This is the second of a three part series analyzing the Crystal Lake Sandgnats. The team was constructed around pitching and defense and it is obvious from looking at the statistics that pitching has made this team. Management promised to keep the nucleus of the staff together and has made good on that promise. All of the rotation and bullpen are under the control of the Gnats for at least one more season.

Starting Rotation
Nelson Anderson was a three sport athlete in college. Anderson hails from Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin. He has dominated at all levels. At 6’2”, 195 lbs., Anderson is very athletic and is able to use his powerful legs to regularly hit 95 on the gun. He throws four pitches, three rated above average. At twenty seven, he is just coming into his prime. He has good control: 160 K - 41 BB in 147 innings of work. Anderson is the Gnats ace and staff leader. He recently signed a four year extension.

José Cruz is the second of the Gnats young guns. He is from Springfield, Michigan and at the tender age of twenty six is already well know nationally. He throws a fastball, curve and change, but it is his sinker that is his bread and butter pitch. It looks like his fastball but comes in heavy and elicits ground ball after ground ball, almost knocking bats out of the batters’ hands. Cruz has yielded only six homers in 145 innings. His ERA is a sparkling 2.80. He also recently signed a four year extension.
Bryan Stewart – known to his teammates as “Booker” – is from Yreka, California. Listed at 5’11’’ (he is an inch or two shorter), many scouts passed him by because they thought he was too small to handle a major league work load. He has proved them wrong. His fastball sits comfortably at 94 MPH and he can dial it up when needed, hitting 98 several times this summer. The heater has late riding life with an explosive finish at the plate. He has good athleticism and Gnats coaches projected him as durable, which he has been. Stewart has not as yet signed an extension but he is under the Gnats control for one more season. He has a 2.31 ERA in 156 innings and a 14-4 won-loss record.

Floyd Jackson, from Palm Springs, California, is a self-confessed valley kid (from the desert?). A bit flaky, Jackson is loved by his teammates for his strange sense of humor, quick wit and quirky mannerisms. He throws four pitches and clocks out at 95 MPH. At 6’ 3”, 205 lbs., he has an ideal pitchers frame. He has a K an inning over 140 innings and a 4.50 ERA. Jackson, known as one of the “Gnat Babies”, is only twenty three. He signed a three year extension this summer.

Martin Sparling, at 6’6”, is a giant of a man. In spite of his size he tosses comfortably at only 87 MPH. Because of his size and a circle change that is a plus plus offering he is sneaky fast. He has struck out 110 in 125 innings of work. A fierce competitor, manager Wayne Kedsch says he hates to go out to the mound to lift him because he always refuses to come out of the game. Sparling signed a three year extension.

Collectively the “young guns” are 51-30 over 718 innings with 679 K - 220 BB.

Closer
Ángel Chacón is the closer and a lefty that can bring it at 95 MPH. The league does not have an answer for his fastball/splitter arsenal. A fastball/slider pitcher in the minors, Chacón scrapped the slider in favor of the split-fingered fastball and elevated his game to a new level. He is also stingy on walks – 13 in 66 innings. Chacón’s record stands at 8-3 with 25 saves and a 1.90 ERA. He recently signed a three year extension.

Setup

Hoyt Howard throws at 97 MPH and is the closest thing to a sure thing as you will find. Chubby as a child, Howard is now a fitness fanatic and teaches aerobics in the off-season. An avid hunter, Howard was recently featured in Bowhunter magazine. He is definitely a hunter on the field – 1.56 ERA, 75 IP - 78 K - 17 BB with a 0.91 WHIP. He is the right-handed setup man to closer Chacón.

Markus Shepherd is the left side of the double-barreled set up team. Another hard thrower, Shepherd spots his fastball to get ahead in the count and then throws his devastating splitter to finish the batter off. His stats are almost the mirror image (from the left) of Howard’s – 1.58 ERA, 63 IP - 70 K - 17 BB. Shepherd married his high school sweetheart this past winter. He also signed a three year extension. He is now a resident of Crystal Lake.

Long
Diego Martínez – known as “Sage” to his teammates – is the old man of the squad. He is like a second pitching coach and desires to eventually teach and coach when he retires. As the long man and spot starter, Martinez has in many ways been the squad’s most valuable player, serving in many capacities. Whatever role, he has been effective – 2.70 ERA, 65K in 66 innings.

The Rest
Alfonso Hernández was recently acquired from Kentucky to replace the injured Griffin. Hernández has been a good acquisition. He has posted solid numbers, enjoying a 1.17 WHIP since he joined the club.

Al Goudie – Good-day, mate! An Australian, Goudie is also the hardest thrower on the staff. He regularly hits 99 MPH but has touched into triple digits fairly regularly during this campaign. He has pitched effectively and is an important cog in the Gnats pitching machinery.

Collectively the bullpen staff’s record is 23-11, 40 saves, 361 innings with 332K - 89BB