Tim Hutting is a 6'0" 200-pound native of Newhall, California, and played collegiately at Long Beach State before being drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 8th round of the 2003 MLB draft. Hutting moved quickly through the Giants system, playing in short season-A in 2003, low-A in 2004, double-A in 2005, and split time between high-A and triple-A in 2006. Last season, Hutting played all 96 games for the Joliet Jackhammers and hit .281 with 17 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, and 48 RBI.
Hutting's 111 games in double-A and 24 games in triple-A are the most of any current Frontier League player (to the best of my knowledge Windy City 2nd basemen Gilberto Mejia would be the closest with 60 games in double-A). Defensively, Hutting has only fielded below .950 once in his career (2006 when he fielded .946 in class high-A San Jose). Last year in Joliet, he finished 3rd in the league in assists (287) and double plays (68). Hutting's range factor of 5.06 would have been tops in the Frontier League last season (range factor = total chances divided by games, total chances are calculated as putouts plus assists plus errors).
Jake Whitesides is a 5'11" 200-pound native of Columbia, Missouri, and started his pro career out of high school when he was drafted in the 5th round by the Houston Astros in the 2000 MLB draft. The 2007 season will be Whitesides 9th in professional baseball, and I can confidently say that is tops in the Frontier League. Whitesides has made the rounds in affiliated and independent baseball, playing in the farm systems for three MLB teams, the Houston Astros (2000-2002), Chicago White Sox (2004), and Chicago Cubs (2006), while playing in four different independent leagues including the Frontier League (2003), CanAm League (2004-2005), American Association (2006-2007), and the Northern League (2007).
Last season Whitesides was traded from the St. Joe Blacksnakes of the American Association to the Joliet Jackhammers of the Northern League midway through the season. Along the way he compiled a .281 average with 22 doubles, 11 triples, 3 home runs, and 12 stolen bases to go along with a .331 on-base percentage (Whitesides' 37 extra-base hits would have led the Beach Bums in 2007, the closest being Zack Kalter with 28). The last time Whitesides played in the Frontier League was with the Mid-Missouri Mavericks in 2003, when he was named to the league's All-Star team have hitting .298 with 68 runs, 23 doubles, 11 triples, 4 home runs, and 22 stolen bases.
Worth noting when trying to project Northern League statistics to the Frontier League - the Northern League is widely considered to be a double-A caliber league while the Frontier League is a low-A caliber league. For example, Windy City's All-Star outfielder Mike Coles played in 2006 for the Gary Railcats and hit .274, with a .346 on-base percentage and a .372 slugging percentage. After moving to Windy City of the Frontier League, Coles hit .330, with a .398 on-base percentage, and a .485 slugging percentage. His increase in production is a little better than normal, but typically you will see a +30 in all three categories (AVG/OBP/SLG) when moving from the Northern to Frontier.
Keep in mind this deal is one in several that we have completed or are working on this off-season. More details will be ready once deals (and paperwork) are finalized. Unlike MLB, sending contracts through the mail and via fax takes a little longer in independent baseball, so deals get done much sooner than we are able to announce them.
4 comments:
Reference Hutting & Whiteside: Why would experienced veteran players want to move down to the Frontier League?
Hank,
Thanks for being the first one to comment on the Beach Bums blog!
To answer your question - While the Northern League is considered a double-A level league and the Frontier League is considered a low-A level league, it isn't necessarily "moving down" or "moving up" when going from one league to the other. On the contrary, the Frontier League gets quite a bit of attention from MLB organizations because of the 27 year old age limit (the rest of independent baseball, including the Northern League, has no age limit). The purpose of an MLB scout is to find MLB players, not players that can compete in double-A or triple-A, but never reach the big leagues. Therefore, scouts tend to look at younger players who have potential beyond their current ability (otherwise a player who have to go right into the big leagues). Additionally, when you are a player with the credentials of a Hutting or Whitesides, you have a relationship with scouts across the country that doesn't leave when you change venues. For instance, regional scouts covering the Jackhammers would in large part be in the same scouts covering Traverse City, etc.
The more simplistic answer is that all baseball players play to compete and win championships. The 2008 season will be a great opportunity for these two athletes to put up great numbers and help win Traverse City a championship. The Frontier League is also working on a deal that will benefit players who "age out," which both Hutting and Whitesides will do for the 2009 season, but I am not able to comment on it until the deal is completed.
Jason
good luck with your blog. Tim is a nice player to have!
Check out my blog for a pic.
How come we never see you announcing at the games this year, Jason?
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