Hitting statistics at Connecticut should be viewed with some skepticism. For the early months of the season– usually April and May, although sometimes also June, cold temperatures and strong winds inhibit flyballs, often limiting extra basehits. Partial season MLE’s in Connecticut are particularly untrustworthy, as late promotions like Sandoval and Rohlinger play in more clement weather in comparison to their teammates whose numbers have suffered because of the early season park factors. But with those caveats said, here are the adjusted statistics via the MLE converter from MinorLeagueSplits:
| Connecticut | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | K | BA | OBP | SLG |
| Sandoval | 103 | 30 | 7 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 16 | 0.293 | 0.312 | 0.472 |
| Martinez-Esteve | 304 | 78 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 28 | 0.255 | 0.319 | 0.317 |
| Rohlinger | 97 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 12 | 0.248 | 0.290 | 0.391 |
| Ishikawa | 244 | 59 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 25 | 49 | 0.240 | 0.311 | 0.367 |
| Copeland | 348 | 78 | 12 | 9 | 4 | 27 | 66 | 0.226 | 0.282 | 0.342 |
Sandoval’s numbers are still very good for a catcher, even after the conversion. The power is still good and he’s not striking out at an extraordinary rate. I had written last week that one shouldn’t expect Pablo to ever be the type of player to put up good walk totals. The lack of walks, however, are worrying as they could portend a lower contact rate in the future. That is, Pablo may be making good contact against pitches off the plate right now, but he may struggle to land good wood on the ball against major league pitchers. The MLE’s of course take that into effect, but it’s still worth considering. (Small sample size issues may also be at play here.) But still, a very good prospect.
Eddy’s numbers look quite pedestrian after the conversion. I’m of the opinion that he needs to be promoted to AAA. Either his power will come back or it won’t. His batting average and BB/K ratio indicate that Connecticut is not much of a challenge for him. If Eddy’s power never returns, he won’t be much more than a bench player in the majors.
Ryan Rohlinger and Ben Copeland are two fringe prospects that I’m keeping an eye on. Rohlinger has shown good plate discipline and decent power, but I’m not sure if his offensive production will be enough for a third baseman. He did play shortstop in college, but scouts don’t think he has the range to be anything more than an emergency filler at that position. He has only played at third base this year. His MLE slash stats, however, are not that much worse than Jose Castillo’s (although small sample size is a factor here also). If Jose Castillo can be a starter in the major leagues, then there’s hope for Ryan yet.
Ben Copeland is a tweener in the outfield– decent speed, decent pop, but no outstanding tool to carry him forward. He has improved his hitting every month he has played at Connecticut and I expect his average to be much more respectable by the season’s end. He’s not a true center-fielder, though he can field it without embarrassing himself. He projects to be a 4th outfielder.
Ryan Rohlinger and Ben Copeland strike me as very similar players. Both are solid players with no truly outstanding skill. Both also don’t hit enough in for their positions, so they project to be utility players. But because of their youth– although neither are exactly young for the league– they still have a chance to break out in a big way.
It’s nice to finally see legitimate hitting prospects in the upper minors. I will post part three tomorrow. You can find part one here and the original Connecticut stats here.
