Reloading Wingnuts take offensive firepower into American Association playoffs

Some of the Wingnuts’ most impactful hitting contributions have come from players who haven’t had much time to make them.

It’s all relative, of course. The Wingnuts targeted players late in the season who had played well elsewhere and were expected to post attractive numbers over the final month, as Abel Nieves, Jake Luce and David Espinosa have done.

Wichita’s postseason destiny, though, was realized with help from players who couldn’t unseat the dynamic starters. Reserves Jared McDonald, Brent Dean and Taylor Oldham proved admirable understudies, nearly matching the statistics established by leading players.

None of those six hitters reached 150 regular-season at-bats with the Wingnuts, who begin the first round of the American Association playoffs in Laredo with Game 1 of a best-of-five series on Wednesday night.

Their individual and cumulative statistics, however, outpace some of the players who have been here longer. The other current Wingnut who has fewer at-bats is former major-leaguer Victor Diaz, who has 12 RBIs in 12 games.

“Every single one of those guys have done a tremendous job, whether we got them in a trade and they came in and produced, or we had them all year,” Wingnuts manager Kevin Hooper said.

The Wingnuts averaged more than six runs and 10 hits over 100 regular-season games, so it was difficult for any one player to have too big of a stake in the overall success, especially with fewer than 150 at-bats.

Nieves, Luce, Espinosa, McDonald, Dean and Oldham each found a way, though. Combined, they hit .335 in 552 at-bats – more than a season’s worth of appearances – with a .418 on-base percentage and .476 slugging average. As a team, Wichita reached .306/.380/.463.

The Wingnuts constantly found upgrades, as it often seemed as if each new acquisition was more valuable than the previous one.

Nieves, Wichita’s most recent addition to the lineup, had 24 hits in 43 at-bats, flashing the bat control he used to win the batting title in Wichita in 2013 before being traded to Grand Prairie.

Espinosa, acquired in a July trade with Kansas City, has been a do-everything No. 3 hitter in Wichita, with a .338 average, 16 extra-base hits and 28 walks that didn’t count toward 136 at-bats. Luce batted .341 and stole 10 bases in 34 games.

“It’s just the environment that we have here,” Hooper said. “We make everybody feel at home, we make them feel comfortable right when they get here and that they are a part of this. That goes for every single guy that puts this uniform on. Once you put the uni on, you’re family.”

The uniform is probably all that is keeping McDonald, Dean and Oldham from being starters. They would likely play more on any other AA team, but with the Wingnuts they’ve settled into, and thrived, in understated roles.

Dean has fit in nicely during his 63 at-bats, hitting .317 with three home runs behind starter Chris McMurray. McDonald can play nearly every position and is batting .279, and Oldham made several starts while the Wingnuts waited on transactions made necessary by injuries and lack of production.

Oldham, who hit .285, may be left off the postseason roster in favor of outfielder David Amberson, who can be a late-inning defensive replacement or pinch-runner.

The reserves may not see much time in the postseason, when Hooper will give all nine innings to most or all of his starters, but they’re part of the reason the Wingnuts made it there.

“I try to get them in that good routine, making sure you’re ready and start stretching in the fifth (inning),” Hooper said. “Whether they’re on the bench or starting that night, you try to prepare them the best you can to be mentally, physically ready for when that time does come. With a 22-man roster, that time does come at some point for everyone.”

This story was originally published September 2, 2014 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Reloading Wingnuts take offensive firepower into American Association playoffs."