The Alley Cats were the Blue Jays Low-A affiliate in the South Atlantic League this year. Next year, the low-A affiliate will be the Lansing Lugnuts of the Midwest League. Charleston drew 1,842 fans per game, well below league average, to old Watt Powell Park; they will be playing in a newly constructed stadium beginning next year.
On the field, it was pitching, pitching, pitching, as the Alley-Cats cruised to a first-half championship and an 84-56 record overall. In the best-of-three division championship, the Cats went out without a mew in two straight. The team led the league in ERA at 3.55. The pitching staff mastered the three true outcomes, giving up the fewest number of homers in the league (76) by plenty, while walking many fewer than average and striking out many more than average. The opposition batting average on balls in play was .302, a little lower than the league average of .307. Tom Mastny, Davis Romero, Danny Core, and in the first half prior to promotions to Dunedin, Shaun Marcum and Justin James, made up a stellar rotation, and Brian Reed, in the first half, and Erik Rico and Matt Dalton led a fine bullpen.
On offence, the Alley Cats were an average team in the league, but with a little less pop than most and a lot more patience than most. Catcher Robinson Diaz led the team in stolen bases with 10; with the shortage of power and the absence of speed, scoring baserunners was a problem for the club. The team batting average on balls in play was a .318, surprising considering the relative dearth of both speed and power. No one really stood out from the crowd offensively after Ryan Roberts left early in the season, but Jermy Acey, Clint Johnson, Joey Reiman, David Smith and Christian Snavely all made significant contributions.
The Players
Jordan’s BB top 30 prospects includes Robinson Diaz, Shaun Marcum, Davis Romero and Tom Mastny. Jonny’s minor league hitters stat report has details on the Charleston hitters, including Diaz. We’ll leave Marcum, Reed, Roberts and James for the Dunedin report. So, without further ado, meet the stars of your 2004 Charleston Alley Cats.
Tom Mastny-RHP
Nasty Mastny will turn 24 on February 4, 2005. He has had nothing but success, despite his modest stuff, in his pro career at Auburn and Charleston. This season, he threw 149 innings, struck out 141, walked 41 and allowed only 4 homers. His opposition BABIP was .303. He went 10-3 with a 2.37 ERA. In light of his age, it will be helpful if he performs well enough at Dunedin next year that he makes it to New Hampshire at some point in the year.
Davis Romero-LHP
Davis Romero will turn 22 on March 30, 2005. He’s got fine stuff, including a fastball with zip, and good control. The knock on him is that he’s very slight. The Jays’ minor league organization wisely, in light of his age and weight, used him as a swing man. He threw 103 innings, striking out 108, walking 30 and allowing 6 homers. His opposition BABIP was .272. He went 5-4 with a 2.53 ERA. After a winter off the Atkins diet, he should be in the Dunedin rotation in 2005.
Felix Romero-RHP
Felix Romero turned 24 in June, 2004. This was the year that Felix put it all together, and blew away the Sally League. He threw 73 innings of relief, struck out 102 (!), walked 20 and gave up 4 homers. His opposition BABIP was .328, and he went 9-4 with a 2.96 ERA before he was promoted to Dunedin. Due to his age and developmental level, he is definitely a longshot to make it to the Show.
Danny Core-RHP
Danny Core turned 23 in July, 2004. Core was solid (ouch!) this year, throwing 157 innings and striking out 132, while walking 53 and allowing 15 homers. Danny plunked 13 opposition hitters for the team lead by plenty. His opposition BABIP was .284, and he went 9-8 with a 3.43 ERA.
Robinson Diaz-C
Robinson turned 21 ten days ago. He hits for a good average, will not take a walk, does not strike out, does not hit homers, and runs well for a catcher. Didn’t the Pirates have a few catchers like this in the 70s? The raw numbers of .287/.341/.361 don’t immediately inspire visions of Cooperstown, but Robinson has a base from which to work. If he improves modestly in a couple areas of his game (power and defence), he’ll probably make it to the majors. Next stop for the Robinson train: Dunedin.
Clint Johnson-1B/DH
Drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1st round in the 1998 draft as a pitcher, Clint made the conversion to the field as a 1B/DH late and turned 27 on July 2, 2004. Hitting .263/.372/.436, he was the key cog in the Alley-Cat offence. It remains to be seen whether he’ll be with the organization next year, but if he does, he’s a good bet to be a solidifying force in Dunedin.
David Smith-OF
Local boy makes good. David Smith turns 24 on January 12, 2005. He turned in a fine year in his 3rd pro season in the outfield for the Alley Cats, going .278/.365/.431. Time is not on David’s side, but he may get a shot in Dunedin next year.
Jermy Acey-2B
Acey is an interesting case. He turns 24 on May 24, 2005. As a second baseman with a range of batting skills (.294 average, 5 homers in 200 ABs, decent plate discipline), he actually has some chance of finding a place in the majors, perhaps as a utility infielder. He hit .294/.377/.408 on the season.
Christian Snavely-OF
Snavely is a power-hitting outfielder, who turns 23 on May 7, 2005. He hit .254/.362/.459, but struck out 115 times in 331 ABs, while hitting 14 homers. He contributed in Charleston, but will have trouble at higher levels unless he makes a little more contact, and grows into his man-strength. He’s probably earned a chance in Dunedin next year.
It was a fine season for the Alley-Cats, who survived the promotion of their best players, to post a good record in the second-half of the season. Goodbye Charleston, hello Lansing.
https://www.battersbox.ca/article.php?story=20040930091604999