Results tagged ‘ Alex Avila ’
Whitecaps and Tigers Extentd Relationship
At least I know that two of my kids will graduate high school while the ‘Caps are still affiliated with the Tigers. Seriously, though, this move makes sence, and it’s good to know we’ll keep seeing future Tigers come through the system. I’ve always wondered if the Tigers had any interest in possibly moving affiliation to the Lansing LugNuts or the Great Lakes (Midland) Loons, but I guess that question has been answered. This move also will help attendance at Fifth Third Ballpark, and bring fans from all over western and northern Michigan. Grand Rapids is a great town, and also hosts the Red Wings top AHL affiliate in the Griffins. The Tigers had already signed on for West Michigan through 2014, but the extention now goes to 2018. The Whitecaps CEO Lew Chamberlain is also happy about the deal, as he stated to the Grand Rapids Press:
“For the people of West Michigan and the fans, it’s really important for them now to know that we will be developing young Tigers for years to come. Because that is the exciting part of it. When you turn on your TV and see guys like Brennan Boesch and Ryan Raburn and Alex Avila. Guys that you watched here just a few years ago, and to know that we are going to continue to do that is what is really fun and exciting for me. This has been a terrific relationship between the two organizations from top to bottom, and now we don’t have to worry about what might happen next year or at the end of 2014. So There is some stability there, and that was important. The Tigers have provided us the great players and great teams, and they understand what we are all about as an organization.”
Spoken like a true business man. At least my favorite baseball teams know how to make a relationship last…
The Whitecaps are still looking for a playoff spot, but trail both Fort Wayne and Great Lakes by two points. After a rough start, they’ve played pretty consistantly in the second half of the season with a 26-24 record (58-61 overall). They have only 20 games left in the season, though, with ten at home. Below are some pics of the ‘Caps recent series with Great Lakes and the Dayton Dragons.
Photos courtesy of the West Michigan Whitecaps and Grand Rapids Press
Whitecaps Update: 2011 Mid-Season Report
Ok, I’ve been slacking a bit on my Whitecaps coverage, but at least I’ve been to more games this season that the last few years, so that more fun that’s just reading the stats. The Whitecaps are off to a solid second half, so here’s hoping they can stay hot and continue their playoff streak. Inserted are photos from the ‘Caps recent series with the Fort Wayne TinCaps from the Grand Rapids Press. Happy 4th of July everyone….
First Half: The Whitecaps really struggled early this season, with such a young roster, but were able to battle back a bit. They ended the first half 32-37, which was good for 6th in the eight team division. What’s impressive, is that they went through a rough 12 game losing streak early in the season, so being able to recover from that is a positive sign.
Second Half: West Michigan is off to a solid start in the second half of the season, going 7-4, which is good enough for second place in the East one game behind the Dayton Dragons. Outfielder Jeff Rowland is off to a great start in this second stint. He’s batting .400 with four doubles, six walks, and a .600 OBP. The pitching staff is also getting the job done for the Whitecaps. Their starters have had seven quality starts in the first 10 games and are 3-1 with a 2.22 ERA. The team has gone 17-8 since June 3 and are almost at .500 for the entire season.
Team Leaders: Rookie sensation Nick Castellanos is emerging as a team leader, despite having a slow start to his first full pro season. He’s leading the ‘Caps in batting average with .306, RBI’s with 48, and SLG% with .441. James Robbins is leading the team in home runs with 10, and Luis Castillo is tops with a .369 OBP. On the mound, Kevin Eichhorn leads the team in three categories of his own: wins with 6, SO with 68, and a 1.17 WHIP. Antonio Cruz has the best ERA with 3.29, and Bruce Rondon is tops with 15 saves.
All Stars: Representing the Whitecaps in this year Midwest League All-Star game were Bruce Rondon, Rob Brantly, and Hernan Perez. Rondon pitched a scoreless 0.2 of an inning with one strikeout. Brantly went 0-3, while Perez went 0-2 in the East’s 8-3 loss to the West. In this season’s MLB All-Star game, catcher Alex Avila of the Tigers has been voted in as the starter. He’ll be joined on the American League roster by Matt Joyce (TB) and may face the National League’s Jair Jurrjens (ATL) on the mound.
Photos courtesy of the Grand Rapids Press
VOTE AVILA ’11
If you’re one of the millions of Americans who excercise your right not to vote, now might be a good time for a change. Voting can undo some major injustices, and if Detroit Tigers catcher (and former West Michigan Whitecap) Alex Avia does not start the 2011 MLB All-Star Game, that would be an injustice. At this time, Avila is trailing Yankees catcher Russell Martin by a fairly significant amount (2,226,797 to 1,730,511 as of 6/21). If you compare the two, however, you’d have to agree that Avila is simply the better choice. The Tigers back-stop is hitting .304, with 15 doubles, 10 homers, and 45 RBI. Compare this to Martin, who is batting a whopping .230, though his nine home runs and 30 RBI’s aren’t bad. Defensively, Martin has caught only 12 base-stealers, while 34 have made it safely to second while he was behind the plate, for a CS% of .261. Avila, however has a CS% of .400, nailing 20 out of 50 at second. I’m not saying that Martin is a bad player, or a bad person, or anything like that. The simple facts of baseball at this point, however, state that Avila is the better catcher at this time and should be the starter come July 12. I also understand how the system works for the All-Star game, and Martin being a Yankee has a huge advantage. Even Jeter is leading the race to start at short stop, and we all know that he’s battling injury, and did not play like his legendary self this season. The power is in our hands, we can vote on who actually deserves to be there, or let the All-Star game become more pointless that it has already become.
Vote for Alex!!!
Other Whitecaps alumni who should be in the starting line-up on July 12 at Matt Joyce (TB) and Jair Jurrjens (ATL). Joyce is batting .313 with 10 home runs and 38 RBI for the Rays. Jurrjens has been one of the best pitchers in the National League all season with the Braves, sporting an ERA of 2.07 and a record of 10-3. He has struck out 55 batters to boot. Representing the Tigers in the Futures Game for Team USA is former ‘Cap Jacob Turner. Turner is 2-2, with an ERA of 3.01 with 72 strike-outs for the Erie SeaWolves of the Eastern League.
Illustration courtesy of Samara Pearlstein
Whitecaps in Spring Training
Many alumni of the famed West Michigan Whitecaps are now in spring training with their current team. Some have spots all but wrapped up with their MLB team, other are fighting for a spot, and some are still on the rise through the system. It’s fun to watch the games and see guys in action that I’ve watched or maybe have met at Fifth Third Ballpark in Grand Rapids. Here’s some pics of some the former ‘Caps in training. We wish them all the best no matter where they might be.
Alex Avila-C (Tigers)
Duane Below-P (Tigers)
Brennan Boesch-OF (Tigers)
Luke French-P (Mariners)
Brandon Inge-3B (Tigers)
Matt Joyce-OF (Rays)
Photos courtesy of Getty Images
Whitecaps Update
Still In Second: The Whitecaps are still standing in second place in the MWL Eastern Division with a record of 32-24 in the second half. They are just unable to catch the almost unbeatable 
Fort Wayne TinCaps. who they trail by 8.0 games as of this post.
Hot Bat: Short stop Gustavo Nunez has been hot at the plate since returning to West Michigan. Last week Nunez homered from both sides of the plate (including a grand slam), during a nine-run first inning against the Dayton Dragons, a game the ‘Caps would win 14-2. Over the last 10 games he’s batting .357 with three homers and eight RBI’s.
Ups and Downs: Ronnie Borquin has been reassigned to the Whitecaps from the AA Erie Seawolves. He was sent to Erie right after the MWL All-Star game and hit .228 with five homers and 19 RBI’s during his AA stint. Second basebman Brandon Douglas has been placed on the disabled list. Also a MWL All-Star, Douglas is batting .333 with 34 RBI’s in 74 games so far this season in West Michigan.
Alex Avila: Wow, it seems like just last season when I was watching Avila play in a ‘Caps uniform. Oh, wait, it WAS just last season. Spending most of the 2009 season with the AA Seawolves, he was recently promoted to the Detroit Tigers and is making the most of it, going 2-4 in his MLB debut. As of this post, he’s hitting .370 with three home runs, four doubles, and nine RBI’s in just 10 games with Detroit. The Tigers have had a tough time finding a reliable backup at catcher this season that can do anything productive at the plate.
“I guess that’s the reason they called me up”, Avila stated. “They want to see what you can do and how you can play at this level…Any time you’re in the lineup, you just try to do your job. Then, hopefully, you’ll stick up here.”
In his stint with the Whitecaps last season, he hit .305 with 22 RBI’s in 58 games. He was assigned to West Michigan after being drafted out of the Univ. of Alabama. Being his dad is the Tigers assistant GM, baseball must be in his blood.
“Ever since I was young,” Avila said, “all we did was baseball.”
Photo courtesy of The Detroit News
Minoring In Baseball
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