With the absence of minor league updates I am having withdrawal symptoms, so I decided to look at some minor league hitters stats. I read an article around a month ago that looked at numbers in the lower minors and calculated which numbers mean something in predicting future success. I cannot find the story now, but as I remember it the two main numbers with meaning were age relative to league and strikeout rate. Or to put it another way, if a player is young for the league, and if he can put the bat on the ball, that is a sign of future success. I looked at those numbers for all of the Jays minor league teams and the results are below.
Hitters are evaluated based on five tools, but one tool is the most important, the hit for average tool. Some players can fill a utility role as a great defender, some can find a role as a power bat with a low average, but most players in the majors can hit for average. A minor league players batting average might not be a true indicator of future success in the majors. Particularly in the lower minors hitters can take advantage of weak fielders, inconsistent pitchers, and bad fields. But ultimately if you can put the bat on the ball, you have a better chance of success at higher levels.
