Oscar Taveras

[a_smith]

a little soon to say that it just the power developing. Could be aided a lot by the Texas league parks and springfield's homer happy park in particular.

But wow does this kid look impressive.

[cpebbles]

Springfield might be the single most HR boosting park in all of AA.

True, but check the home/away splits.

[go birds]

Yea aren't most of his homers away from Springfield?

[ilstu24]

Springfield might be the single most HR boosting park in all of AA.

He's still 19...19!

Man, I thought I loved the kid and I put him 4th in my prospects...clearly he should have been 2nd.

(Or *gasp* 1st)

I read somewhere that 5 of his 7 homers were on the road.

[lukethedrifter]

Springfield might be the single most HR boosting park in all of AA.

He's still 19...19!

Man, I thought I loved the kid and I put him 4th in my prospects...clearly he should have been 2nd.

(Or *gasp* 1st)

I read somewhere that 5 of his 7 homers were on the road.

two pages back?

5 of 7 HRs have come on the road, so it hasn't just been a Springfield mirage.

[a_smith]

Isn't the Texas League as a whole and not just springfield known for being hitter friendly

[cpebbles]

It's usually considered a hitters' league, but not to a ridiculous extent like the PCL and California League.

[phins]

Only for HR's (standard SSS caveats apply):

Texas League:

Arkansas: LHB- 73/RHB- 58
NW Arkansas: LHB- 127/RHB- 91
Springfield: LHB- 173/RHB- 147
Tulsa: LHB- 111/RHB- 103
Corpus Christi: LHB- 103/RHB- 130
Frisco: LHB- 97/RHB- 112
Midland: LHB- 97/RHB- 78
San Antonio: LHB- 66/RHB- 63

Average: LHB- 106/RHB- 98

Pacific Coast League:

Albuquerque: LHB- 127/RHB- 153
Iowa: LHB- 85/RHB- 96
Memphis: LHB- 101/RHB- 94
Nashville: LHB- 102/RHB- 111
New Orleans: LHB- 84/RHB- 96
Oklahoma: LHB- 88/RHB- 70
Omaha: LHB- 100/RHB-100
Round Rock: LHB- 100/RHB- 100

Average: LHB- 98/RHB- 103

California League:

Bakersfield: LHB- 123/RHB- 124
Modesto: LHB- 49/RHB- 40
San Jose: LHB- 74/RHB- 110
Stockton: LHB- 166/RHB- 137
Visalia: LHB- 112/RHB- 130
High Desert: LHB- 151/RHB- 160
Inland Empire: LHB- 56/RHB- 63
Lake Elsinore: LHB- 66/RHB- 52
Lancaster: LHB- 114/RHB- 139
Rancho Cucamongo: LHB- 105/RHB- 87

Average: LHB- 102/RHB- 104

From a purely statistical point of view, it appears that the Texas League is the best consistent HR hitting environment for left-handed hitters of the three leagues. The Cal League has some explosive offensive environments to hit in though (though none match up with Springfield; especially for lefties). The Pac Coast League seems to have a reputation that isn't even being upheld this year. Mostly a consistently fair environment for left-handed hitters to hit.

[phins]

In an effort to give a better sample size as well, I looked at prior years, and Springfield tied for 4th in boosting HR's the most in ALL of the minor leagues (not just the three leagues above). This didn't differentiate between handedness of hitters, so I can only assume they would have been even higher if considering only left-handed hitters.

Three previous years' park factors for reference.

http://www.baseballthinkfactory.org/ora ... ltipliers/

[Swirls]

What happened to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City? I remember Albuquerque and those two were the launching pads like Springfield.