The average age for pitchers in the FCL this year was 21.0 There were 16 teams, and average team ages ranged from 19.8 (Pirates) to 22.1 (Astros Orange). The average age for the Cardinals was 20.7, which was the 5th youngest group.
The Cardinals, like the Class A team, play at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter. This is a pitcher's park that really suppresses power. It is also a park that has Statcast. They record Statcast data for A ball games, but apparently not for FCL games.
The average batting line for the league was .232/.342/.350 for a .691 OPS. The average K rate was 25%. The average walk rate was 12%. The average BJM was 7.4%. Teams scored 5.3 runs per nine innings, 4.85 per game.
FCL Cardinal pitchers were young, but they played in a pitcher’s park. They were solid, but not spectacular as a group. They had 19 pitchers at the end of the year.
First, let’s look at who threw the most innings.
Name |
Age |
Throws |
Innings |
K% |
xFIP |
K-BB% |
Benjamin Arias |
20 |
Right |
42 |
20.5 |
4.70 |
9.7 |
Wilmer Ortega |
21 |
Right |
34 |
26.8 |
3.88 |
20.4 |
Diorys Guerrero |
21 |
Left |
29.2 |
27.7 |
3.97 |
16.2 |
Edwin Nunez |
20 |
Right |
26.2 |
19.3 |
5.18 |
6.7 |
Augusto Calderon |
21 |
Right |
23.1 |
26.8 |
3.73 |
17.9 |
Victor Villanueva |
21 |
Right |
22 |
33.0 |
3.26 |
22.3 |
Yoanel Dominguez (20), Jose Davila (19), and Hancel Rincon (20) would have made that list, but they advanced to A ball. Arias had the most starts, 11 of his 12 appearances. These guys did not throw a lot of innings.
Second, let’s look at the yutes.
Three teens, all 19, finished the year here and one, Jose Davila, advanced to A ball.
Name |
Age |
Throws |
Innings |
K% |
xFIP |
K-BB% |
Yordy Richard |
19 |
Right |
12 |
21.7 |
6.05 |
4.3 |
Ettore Giulanelli |
19 |
Right |
10 |
20.0 |
6.52 |
-4.4 |
Alec Willis |
19 |
Right |
11.1 |
34.8 |
2.28 |
30.4 |
Yordy and Ettore struggled. Alec Willis did not. Alec Willis was the break out pitcher this year, and he is on the Tink Hence path, but a year behind (same age as Hence, but a level below).
Finally, let’s look at the promising arms here.
Besides the teens, there are some other notable pitchers. Also, with no video coverage, people can only see these guys in person. The club has brought all these arms here, and it is hard to really say anything based on 3 months of games and mostly less than 30IP.
Here are 6 guys to know.
Alec Willis – ’21 draft pick with lots of potential
Edwin Nunez – IFA, huge fastball, huge control problems
Ludwin Jimenez – good in the complex, struggles in A ball, still only 20
Randel Clemente – big arm, FG ranked 33
Angel Cuenca – spent some time in A ball, still only 20
Ettore Giulanelli – he’s Italian!
It is really hard to know much about these guys. You can see some signals, but even those might not mean much. My six guys might struggle while 6 others make the majors.
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