Which 2013 Draft Pick Had the Best Professional Debut?

To get a better feel for how 2013 picks have fared since being drafted, I decided to list their stats all in one place. Hitters and pitchers were split into two different tables. The statistics are current for games prior to 9/1/13, which means that these numbers will exclude a couple of games for Peoria (A) and State College (A-) players.

Pitching statistics were taken from Minor League Central. Hitters stats are from FanGraphs since they list wRC+, a stat that contextualizes a player's performance by comparing him against the league in which he plays. Most of you know this by now, every point above or below 100 represents a percentage point better or worse than league average. Players who have not yet appeared at any level were omitted.

Not surprisingly, the Cardinals' number one draft pick, Marco Gonzales, advanced the furthest through the system. His performance was solid in that he missed a decent amount of bats and showed average control. Blake McKnight logged the most innings and walked the fewest percentage of batters. Two players (Michael Holback and Nick Lomascolo) struck out at least 30% of the batters they faced, but they also handed out too many free passes.

When considering a combination of results (ERA), peripherals (FIP), and innings pitched, Zach Loraine of the Johnson City Cardinals arguably had the best performance. Factor in level, and Nick Petree or Andrew Pierce probably get the nod.

While James Ramsey and Stephen Piscotty both started above low-A in 2012, none of this year's hitters advanced beyond State College (A-). Of the three early-round "shortstops" drafted by the Cardinals, Oscar Mercado was the only one to actually appear at the position while Chris Rivera and Malik Collymore split time between second base and DH.

Deciding which hitters had the best professional debut is a little easier with the all-encompassing wRC+. Jake Stone and Justin Ringo are two late round picks who stand out by this measure, but Ringo accumulated more plate appearances and played at a higher level (Johnson City compared to the GCL). Ringo combined decent pop with a sound approach at the plate that included more walks (26) than strikeouts (22).