Minor League Update - Lexington Legends

The mustachioed Legends of Lexington have started 9-10 to start the 2014 season. The club currently sits sixth in the seven-team South Atlantic League’s Southern Division, trailing first place Savannah (SF) by 2.5 games.

As a team, the Legends are hitting .249/.299/.350 with a league low 36 walks. The pitching staff has recorded a solid 3.31 ERA, ranking in the top half of the league. The staff has a league-high two shutouts this season.

Individual Hitting

 

MiLB.com/lexingtonlegends.com (Mary Lay)

Who’s Hot:

Outfielder and Missouri native Fred Ford leads the South Atlantic League with 17 RBI and ranks second with seven doubles. The 22-year old, who has also spent some time at first base is hitting .283/.338/.500 across 64 plate appearances in 18 games.

He and third baseman Michael Antonio each have two of the club’s eight total home runs. Antonio and outfielder Dominique Taylor have nine RBI, trailing only Ford on the Lexington roster.

Who’s Not:

Prospect Elier Hernandez is off to a slow start, hitting .206/.242/.222 in 16 games with only one RBI to this point.

Shortstop Humberto Arteaga may be turning the corner with seven hits in his last four ballgames, but his line is less than stellar at .239/.239/.254 – which of course means he has yet to draw a walk in 67 plate appearances out of the two-hole. Arteaga has collected hits in 13 of 16 games, but has scored only twice and driven in only two runs.

Individual Pitching

Who’s Hot:

Andrew Edwards ranks second in the league among qualified starters with a 1.06 ERA over 17 innings. Teammate Andrew Matt Tenuta falls just behind him with a 1.09 ERA in 24.2 innings and has allowed only 24 base runners thus far.

Luis Santos is 1-0 with a save as a tandem starter. In 14.1 innings, the right hander has allowed 13 hits and only one walk. He has struck out 13.

Who’s Not:

Andrew Fairchild was dominant in his first start of the season, tossing six no-hit innings April 8. He walked three and struck out seven in the outing and allowed one unearned run. However, in his next start, the 20-year old lefty surrendered nine earned runs in just 1.1 innings. He walked six and allowed two hits. To this point, Fairchild is 0-2 with an 11.05 ERA with four wild pitches.

Lefty Luis Rico’s three losses are tied for most in the league. He has allowed three earned runs or more in three of four starts this season, and has posted a 9.00 ERA to this point.

2014 Prospect Countdown: #38 Dominique Taylor

38. Dominique Taylor Outfield

www.kcroyals.com

Age: 21
Position: OF
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 200
B/T: R/R
Acquired: Drafted in the 15th Round (444th Overall) of the 2013 Amateur Draft
From: Frankfort, Germany

Landon Adams (NR): Admittedly, I don't know much about the #38 prospect on our 2014 countdown. I do know that in additional to his impressive numbers in Idaho Falls, Taylor has the peripherals to back them. He squared up 2% more balls than his league counterparts and struck out 7.6% less. A right handed hitter, Taylor displayed much more power against same side pitching (.520 slug) than he did against southpaws (.417). I'm interested to see if this is a small sample size issue or if Taylor really will have a reverse platoon split as his career progresses.

Paden Bennett (NR):  Easy to forget about the 15th round selection out of last year's draft when Hunter Dozier burst onto the scene and started raking.  Well, Dominique Taylor stood out as well.  Taylor had a great first season in Idaho Falls with a .882 OPS.  The German native showed a good power/speed combination with 8 homers and 13 steals in 233 at bats.  Taylor may be a player to keep an eye on.

Joe Cox (28): Another player with very little major league experience (though more than nothing!) makes this list.  Drafted in the 15^th round of lasts year’s draft out of UC Irvine, I ranked Taylor at the tail end of my ranks in part because of his impressive offensive debut in the Pioneer League.  At age 20, Taylor hit .322/.380/.502 in 261 PA’s for Idaho Falls, his starts split between LF and CF. The numbers that jump out to me were his 8 home runs and solid 11.1% strike out rate, he also added 13 SB.  There has to be an asterisk next to Taylor’s good numbers due to the offensive environments of the Pioneer League, but any sign of a power/speed combo with good contact skills is something to monitor.

Dan Ware (NR): 1st round pick Hunter Dozier wasn't the only player to impress in his debut season.  Now 21, the young outfielder compiled an impressive line to begin his professional career.  Taylor showed decent power with 8 HR, had a low K rate, low GB rate, and even flashed some speed on the base paths.  Dominique will likely head to Lexington come 2014, along with fellow team mate Hunter Dozier.

Total Points: 3