Continuing age-based analysis of minor league statistics, the 2016 Midwest League could be the most interesting case yet. Unlike the Southern League or Pacific Coast League, the Midwest League featured a group of three different age levels with similar production, and two adjacent age groups that did not fall far. From age-21 to age-22 to age-23 players, Midwest League bats slashed .245 / .316 / .356, .249 / .318 / .352, and .247 / .317 / .353, respectively. On the outskirts, age-20 batted .249 / .307 / .367 while age-24 batted .252 / .315 / .333, giving the league an expansive middle ground of 345 players that can be judged by very similar production standards.

One might ask whether this reflects the nascent stages of minor league competition, perhaps where players may be closer to the same development curve, thereby exhibiting less stratification among minor league players. Perhaps Class-A is the first level at which “organizational lifers” emerge, or players hit their first professional ceiling and stick around for a year or two before heading to their next career. It would be worthwhile digging into a scouting explanation for this phenomenon, in order to see how the physical tools relate to the statistics; perhaps everyone (or almost everyone) at Class-A is still learning the strike zone, or pitch recognition, or some foundational trait that places the vast majority of players on the same level.

There are a number of notable bats that defined the Timber Rattlers in 2016. Isan Diaz produced one of the best seasons at the Class-A level, and although he did not win MVP, he certainly has the performance level worthy of consideration. Lucas Erceg also stormed the league out of the 2016 draft, demonstrating a completely different developmental stage (relatively polished college draftee) than Diaz. Along with Diaz and Erceg, several depth players produced interesting or good seasons, giving fans and writers more players to think about and watch during the 2017 campaign. Perhaps no one will be more interesting to follow than Monte Harrison, whose statistical line was damaged by a rough April and early-May, and whose hot streak was cut short by injury. Harrison has shown flashes of “putting it together,” so it will be crucial to see how he returns from injury.

Down in Florida, the Brevard County club had a rough season, mostly due to the bats. This level lagged behind in the system during 2016, and unfortunately, even age-based statistics do not allow one to reconsider many gems.

It is worth noting that Corey Ray produced a fine campaign, based on his age level and the fact that he was making his professional debut in an aggressive assignment. While Ray’s surface stats of .247 / .307 / .385 does not look very good, age-21 players in the Florida State League were notably worse than that production level, allowing one to see that Ray showed solid hitting, discipline, and (especially) strong isolated slugging. Even if one follows scouting reports to raise some questions about the hit tool, there is a sense that Ray’s tools are already showing up in his stat line, even if that line is depressed by his environment.

LHP Brent Suter:  (W, 1-0) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K — 0.00 ERA
RHP Jim Henderson:  (S, 1) 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — 4.22 ERA
RF Domingo Santana:  2-for-4, HR (17), 2 RBI, R, K — .329 AVG
3B Pete Orr:  1-for-3, HR (2), 2 RBI, R — .279 AVG
CF Kyle Wren:  2-for-3, RBI, BB, SB (9), 2 R — .268 AVG

RHP Hiram Burgos:  6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K — 3.09 ERA
RHP Jaye Chapman:  (S, 10) 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — 3.29 ERA
C Nevin Ashley:  2-for-4, 3B, RBI, R, K — .305 AVG
3B Matt Dominguez:  1-for-2, 2B, RBI, R — .257 AVG

RHP Ariel Pena:  (L, 1-2) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K — 4.94 ERA
RHP David Goforth:  1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 2 K — 2.31 ERA
1B Matt Clark:  2-for-4, 2B — .280 AVG
LF Domingo Santana:  1-for-4, RBI, K — .324 AVG

Biloxi Shuckers: (20-22), 5.0 GB

RHP Jorge Lopez:  (L, 10-5) 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR — 2.62 ERA
RHP Drew Gagnon:  2.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HR — 18.00 ERA
3B Taylor Green:  2-f0r-4, 2B, SB (1) — .238 AVG
2B Nathan Orf:  1-for-3, BB, K — .270 AVG

RHP Adrian Houser:  5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K — 3.27 ERA
RHP Brooks Hall:  (L, 7-8) 1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 1 K — 4.47 ERA
CF Tyrone Taylor:  2-for-2, 2 BB, CS (5) — .260 AVG
LF Victor Roache:  1-for-3, RBI, BB — .255 AVG

LHP Josh Hader:  3.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K — 4.15 ERA
RHP Yhonathan Barrios:  (W, 1-0) 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K — 0.00 ERA
SS Orlando Arcia:  3-for-6, 2B, RBI, R, K — .300 AVG
3B Brandon Macias:  2-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, R — .253 AVG
CF Brett Phillips:  1-for-3, 3B, RBI, 2 BB, R, 2 K — .214 AVG

Brevard County Manatees: (18-23), 8.0 GB

LHP Wei-Chung Wang:  (L, 8-4) 6.0 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR — 3.91 ERA
RHP Tristan Archer:  2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K — 4.11 ERA
3B Taylor Brennan:  1-for-3, 2B, BB — .248 AVG
CF Omar Garcia:  0-for-3, 2 BB, SB (43), 2 K — .258 AVG

RHP Cy Sneed:  7.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 8 K — 2.77 ERA
RHP Preston Gainey:  (L, 2-3) 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — 2.64 ERA
2B Chris McFarland:  3-for-5, RBI — .276 AVG
CF Omar Garcia:  2-for-5, SB (44), R, K — .260 AVG

RHP Javier Salas:  4.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 5 K, 3 HR — 4.38 ERA
RHP Kaleb Earls:  (L, 1-2) 1.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K — 3.24 ERA
RF Jose Pena:  4-for-4, 2 HR (3), 2 RBI, 2 R — .245 AVG
2B Chris McFarland:  2-for-4, BB, R, 2 K — .278 AVG

Wisconsin Timber Rattlers: (15-27), 15.5 GB

LHP David Carver:  (L, 1-3) 3.0 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 1 K — 6.05 ERA
RHP Gian Rizzo:  3.0 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR — 3.24 ERA
1B Alan Sharkey:  1-for-3, 2 BB, K — .246 AVG
LF Mitch Meyer:  3-for-4, R — .231 AVG

RHP Cody Ponce:  3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 4 K — 1.50 ERA
RHP David Burkhalter:  (W, 4-7) 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K — 4.90 ERA
CF Omar Cotto:  2-for-4, RBI, BB, SB (1), R — .154 AVG
1B Alan Sharkey:  1-for-2, RBI, 2 BB, SB (2) — .248 AVG

LHP Nathan Kirby:  3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K — 1.50 ERA
RHP Devin Williams:  3.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K — 3.15 ERA
RHP Eric Hanhold:  (L, 0-3) 2.1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — 7.63 ERA
2B Tucker Neuhaus:  1-for-3, 2B, R, K — .232 AVG
RF Sthervin Matos:  1-for-4, 2B, SB (17), R, 2 K — .199 AVG

Helena Brewers: (3-7), 3.0 GB

RHP J.B. Kole:  3.1 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR — 5.35 ERA
RHP Alex Farina:  (L, 0-1) 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 3 K — 2.00 ERA
SS Jake Gatewood:  2-for-5, 2 RBI, K — .252 AVG
RF Carlos Belonis:  3-for-5, RBI, SB (13), R, K — .228 AVG

RHP Jordan Yamamoto:  4.0 IP, 11 H, 8 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 1 HR — 7.53 ERA
RHP Jon Olczak:  (L, 0-1) 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR — 4.26 ERA
1B Steven Karkenny:  2-for-4, 2B, HR (7), RBI, BB, R, K — .265 AVG
LF Malik Collymore:  3-for-6, 2B, 2 R — .400 AVG

LHP Jake Drossner:  4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R (4 ER), 3 BB, 4 K — 4.50 ERA
RHP Marcos Diplan:  (S, 2) 3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 3 K — 3.78 ERA
2B Jose Cuas:  3-for-4, 3B, 2 HR (5), 4 RBI, 3 R — .248 AVG
LF Malik Collymore:  2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB (1), 2 R — .417 AVG

AZL Brewers: (7-5), 0.5 GB

RHP Karsen Lindell:  4.0 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K — 4.24 ERA
RHP Brandon Kintzler:  1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — 0.00 ERA
CF Trent Clark:  3-for-5, SB (12), 2 R — .330 AVG
1B Juan Ortiz:  3-for-5, 2 2B, RBI, K — .281 AVG
LF Demi Orimoloye:  1-for-3, 3 RBI, BB, SB (17), K — .294 AVG

[Did not play on Saturday.]

RHP Jordan Desguin:  4.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 6 K — 1.64 ERA
RHP Brandon Kintzler:  1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K — 0.00 ERA
RHP Jose Flores:  (L, 1-1) 2.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR — 4.58 ERA
1B Juan Ortiz:  3-for-6, 2B, SB (3), 2 K — .295 AVG
CF Trent Clark:  1-for-4, BB — .328 AVG

DSL Brewers: (25-35), 15.0 GB

RHP Wuilder Rodriguez:  5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K — 3.08 ERA
RHP Joaquin De La Cruz:  (L, 0-5) 3.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 1 K — 5.35 ERA
SS Franly Mallen:  2-for-4, 2B, R, K — .262 AVG

RHP Carlos Luna:  4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K — 1.46 ERA
LHP Isaac Silva:  (L, 0-3) 1.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 1 K — 11.12 ERA
2B Franly Mallen:  1-for-3, 3B, RBI, BB, SB (3), 2 R, 2 K — .263 AVG
CF Marcos Pinero:  1-for-3, BB, 2 SB (18), K — .259 AVG

[Did not play on Sunday.]

Prospect of the Day:  3B Jose Cuas, Helena

Drafted in the 11th round of this summer’s draft, Cuas has lived up to his billing as a guy with significant raw power and a penchant to swing-and-miss too often. On Sunday afternoon, the 21-year-old slugger connected with a pair of homers, a triple, and four runs batted in. That continued his strong weekend performance, as he went 2-for-5 with a couple runs batted in on Saturday evening. Of course, he did go 0-for-6 with three strikeouts on Friday, but his big-time production in the latter half of the weekend allows us to overlook that a bit.

Cuas profiles best defensively at third base, though the Brewers appear to be shifting him around the infield a bit to increase his versatility. If he proves adequate at second base, the offensive threshold he needs to cross is much lower than at third — at least, according to the conventional wisdom. The hit tool must improve drastically if he wants to find success in full-season ball. Still, power is becoming a rarer commodity in today’s game. The Brewers invested little to draft Cuas in the 11th round, and if something can click along his minor-league journey, the organization may have found a bit of a diamond in the rough.