MiLB Player Development
In today’s game of baseball, player development can often be overshadowed by teams acquiring big name players via trade or free agency. However, the ability for organizations to develop and produce homegrown talent has been proven to be vital for both short and long-term success. The Atlanta Braves, for example, have done one of the best jobs in baseball developing their youth. Players such as Ronald Acuña, Spencer Strider, Michael Harris II, Ozzie Albies, and Austin Riley, to name a few, were all either drafted or signed through the international pool and brought up through their farm system. On the other hand there are teams like the San Diego Padres, who are much more willing to trade away the ladder of their prospects for big names, or give free agents massive contracts. There isn’t a right or wrong way to how teams handle their farm system, however I believe that a mix of homegrown talent and free agent signings/trades is the best way to stay competitive for a long time. In this article, I will go into detail on what player development looks like in 2023 and some good predictors that teams look at when evaluating prospects.
Here’s a quick breakdown of minor league baseball: Only about 10% of minor leaguers reach the MLB, according to the University of Michigan. Players rise through four, or in some cases five, different minor league levels on their path to the MLB (Complex League, Low-A, High-A, AA, AAA). At the minor league level, teams focus and care much more on developing their players than winning games. Teams are okay with the struggles and mistakes that young players often make because it’s all part of their developmental process. The staff across all farm systems play a massive role in the growth of their players. Coaches and anybody else involved, focus on developing both the mental and physical traits needed to reach the big leagues. Coaches make adjustments to players’ swings, help develop good habits, and improve their approaches to the game, to name a few.
Key Statistics Explained
Analytics and saber-metrics are more important and prevalent in baseball than ever. There are statistics for almost everything imaginable. From how hard a ball is hit, to how good of a fielder a player is, there are stats for everything. Below are a few undervalued and overlooked stats for pitching and hitting, in my opinion. These statistics are very important when teams are evaluating and making decisions on whether to promote, demote, sign, or trade players.
Pitching:
- WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched): the amount of runners a pitcher allows per inning. 1.30 = league average
- tERA (true earned run average): assesses a pitcher’s performance based on what he can control, rewarded for weaker contact. League average = 4.20
- ERA+ (adjusted earned run average): a pitcher’s ERA, but it is standardized across the league to take into account factors such as opponents and ballparks. League average = 100
Hitting:
- wOBA (weighted on-base average): similar to OBP, but takes into account how a player reached base. League average = .320
- wRC+ (weighted runs created plus): how many total runs a player contributed to, combining a player’s ability to get on base, while also hitting for extra bases and taking into account the ballpark and the pitcher’s ERA. League average = 100
- BABIP (batting average on balls in play): calculates a hitter’s batting average only on balls hit in play, removing home runs. League average = .300
Advancement and Role of Technology
The advancement of modern science and technology has revolutionized player development and the game of baseball. There are systems that track everything that happens during practice or games. Teams are able to use these technologies to tailor development plans to each and every player on the team. In today’s game of baseball, data and analytics will guide which and what decisions are made regarding the team. Data is being captured and brought to the game at a rate that has never been seen before.
Here are some of the major technologies that directly impact player development and allow for more in-depth looks on player performance and mechanics:
- Trackman: uses a combination of cameras and radars to track the baseball and gives observed, or actual movement. Used in hitting for swing paths; tracks exit velocity, launch angle, contact point. Used in pitching for pitch design; tracks spin, trajectory, release angle, movement.
- Rapsodo: uses a combination of cameras and radars to track the baseball and gives estimated, or game-like movement. Used in hitting to track how each batted ball would do in a game; exit velocity, launch angle, distance, spin rate. Used in pitching to track spin efficiency, raw spin, and % of raw spin that impacts movement.
- Edgertronic: films mechanics in a high-quality, slow-motion video; what exactly is the pitcher’s hand doing at release and how the ball is spinning off.
- BATS: tracks every pitch, at-bat, and play in-game, with the video clip attached to it; allows for coach/player to see everything that happened.
A great example of how this technology is used is, as Edgertronic film is watched, a coach and athlete have the ability to connect the data from Trackman or Rapsodo to gain a better understanding of what is happening and why. They can see the video of the pitch release, while knowing what movement and spin the ball had. Making adjustments to pitch grips, or pitch usage are just a few of the many things coaches can do because of these programs, to maximize their players’ performance and development.
Every team has a research and development department and uses all the same technology, which means the competitive advantage gap is closing. So where can teams get an upper edge? Some teams rely too much on data and analytics, while others combine the data with older, more traditional approaches of teaching how to be a winning baseball player. Things like the ability to anticipate, pitch sequencing, IQ, work ethic and other intangibles, are vital to be a successful big leaguer. Athletic training in the weight room has also gotten very popular among the MLB. Training not only for strength, but for explosiveness, flexibility, prevention, and endurance.
Hitting Development
It’s very important that players’ swings are polished and ready to compete, as well as having the right approach when they face major league pitching. Adjustments are made and their baseball IQ’s are developed. It is often that players come in with very long swings and end up making adjustments to where their hands start, their stance in the box, and their stride, etc. In terms of hitting philosophy, some teams value hitting for contact over power. Especially since the banning of the shift, contact hitters are more valuable than ever. Players like Luis Arráez or Jeff McNeil have made their money peppering the ball to all parts of the field. Figuring out individual strengths at the plate and tailoring the approach to that is very important. Jeff McNeil isn’t going to be a thirty home run hitter and nor is Arráez, but they find different ways to be successful, such as being patient, getting on base, and being able to hit to all sides of the field. These hitters also have elite vision at the plate. Discipline can be very predictive of a player’s future success, as if a player walks a lot and rarely strikes out, it is often that the trend will continue for them in along their careers. Speaking on minor league development at the plate, the table below shows the averages of four different statistics throughout the various levels that have proven to be successful indicators of good hitters:
Here are some takeaways from how hitters are developed as they climb the minor league ladder:
Teams are more likely to promote hitters who consistently hit the ball hard (HardHit% & Barrel%) and register hits along with it. BABIP helps teams and organizations project if a player’s batting average will be sustainable and consistent in the future. Average isn’t everything to organizations, as luck does play a role in calculating BABIP. A player can find a barrel and have a high exit velocity on a ball and hit it to somebody, or have hits that consist of weak contact. Hitters strike out at a much lower rate (K%), resulting in more balls in play and walks, meaning they are also making contact (Contact%) more often and swinging and missing much less (SwStr%). There is much less chasing at pitches outside the zone and more disciplined approaches.
Major League rookies are now being more productive than ever. There has been an influx of rookie hitters over the past few years and a lot of them have turned out to be very productive players. Thanks to the development of these players, rookies this year have had the highest average wRC+ of all time. They are getting on base more and turning their at bats into runs, which ultimately lead to wins. Rookies are also now more athletic and agile than ever, creating more havoc on the bases for teams to defend against. We are seeing a great amount of youth that stick around and stay in the lineups of contending teams. For example, rookies Corbin Carroll and Gunnar Henderson, have all played a massive role in the offensive improvement to their respective teams this season.
Pitching Development & Philosophy
An important part of developing pitchers in the minor leagues is pitching philosophy. Many teams have different approaches to how they want their pitchers to develop. Some teams prefer developing pitchers’ off-speed and secondary pitches just as much or if not more than their fastballs and vice versa. A team such as the Mariners, whose farm system had the lowest usage of four-seam fastballs (20%) among all 30 MLB organizations, had the highest usage of sinkers (21%) and sliders (36%). The Mariners also have the lowest average four-seam release height (5.6’) of any organization, which can show that they don’t value backspin as much as “stuff” and movement. On the other hand, there are teams such as the Guardians, who have the highest fastball usage (50%) and second highest four-seam carry (17.5”). This may be due to the fact that they prioritize the development of velocity more than off-speed. Different teams have different ways of getting the most out of their pitchers and what attributes they want them to have. The table below shows the averages of four different statistics throughout the various levels that have proven to be successful indicators of good pitchers:
Triple-A tends to be more of a hitter-friendly league than that of AA and High-A, but nonetheless, all aspects of the game get better the higher you go. As you can see from the chart, pitchers are allowing less runners (WHIP), leaving more runners stranded on base (LOB%), which are not scoring, and less walks (BB%). They also have a lower BABIP, which can conclude that pitchers are getting weaker contact, which often results in more outs and easier plays for the defense. All professional pitchers have good “stuff”, no matter where they are, but the ability to command and throw all pitches for strikes is crucial to reach the big leagues. One thing to note is that average velocity is higher than it has ever been, but major injuries are also occurring more. There has been a 7.4% increase in Tommy John surgeries since 2016, up to 35.3%, of pitchers who pitched in the MLB. The new wave of pitching development is trying to have prospects max out on their velocity potential.
Final Thoughts
Some teams cycle through their players like nothing if they don’t like what the computer tells them. And for other teams, they stay loyal to some of their players for way too long. For example, from 2007–2023 the Giants had 17 different starting left fielders for 17 consecutive opening days. On the other hand, Alex Gordon was on the opening day lineup card for 12 years for the Royals, even when his play was heavily declining. There is a massive amount of reliance on data in today’s game and it’s important that teams aren’t over-dependent on the numbers because at the end of the day, the data doesn’t play the game for the players, as players often out or underperform the metrics.
Baseball also has a big age discrepancy throughout the minor leagues. From a scouting perspective, being 25 and having success in A ball isn’t as impressive as a 20 year old having success in AA. However, players develop at different paces and ages, and that’s why teams don’t give up early on their players. Baseball is a game that you can play even if you are on the older side. Yuli Gurriel made his major league debut when he was 32 years old in 2016, and ended up being a huge part of Houston’s success. He still plays to this day and is just one of the many examples that if you can contribute and help your team win, you will get your chance. For some players they might fly through the minors, but for others it may take a while, so it’s important to trust the process and keep grinding until the name is called.
Thank you for reading and please feel free to reach with any questions or comments.
Jordan Kaplan
(415) 342–0709
References
- Mje. (2021, November 17). The Structure of Minor League Baseball. Michigan Journal of Economics. https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/mje/2021/11/17/the-structure-of-minor-league-baseball/#:~:text=For%20players%2C%20the%20dream%20of,a%20lucrative%20salary%20(Gordon).
- Otto, D. (2022, March 8). Minor League statistical benchmarks. Your Guide to Minor League Baseball Prospects. https://www.prospects1500.com/milb/minor-league-statistical-benchmarks/
- Slowinski, P. (2010, February 26). Babip. Sabermetrics Library. https://library.fangraphs.com/pitching/babip/
- YouTube. (2023, August 28). YouTube. Retrieved October 10, 2023, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FS2GW3CuZYM&t=1s.
- Zolecki, T. (2023, February 17). Amid tough season, Mallee confident in philosophy. MLB.com. https://www.mlb.com/news/phillies-hitting-coach-mallee-talks-philosophy-c294615886
