I was checking the Asheville stats this morning and was reminded of the ballpark effect of McCormick Field.
Let’s take a look at Alejandro Nunez. The left handed hitting 20 year old cuban middle infielder/left fielder is currently hitting .292/.369/.422 in 42 games. The previous year, in Fayetteville, in 92 games he hit .256/.341/.367. So what changed? Has something clicked?
No, he is playing at McCormick Field where the dimensions are 326 LF/370 LC/373 CF/320 RC/ 297 RF
Let’s look at Mr. Nunez’s splits for this year:
On the road he is hitting: .245/.291/.383
At home he is hitting: .367/.479/.483
Another few interesting things are he has he has already equaled his HR total from last year (4) but 3 of the 4 have come on the road. He also has struck out 42 times (average 1 per game). 31 have come in 24 road games and just 11 have come in 18 home games. The walk split is even more stark - 12 at home to just 4 on the road. He is clearly seeing the ball better at home. So maybe there is more to his splits than just the dimensions of the park.
Other players info to be aware of:
Last year’s first round pick Walker Janek is likely to be promoted soon. He is hitting .290/.366/.448 with 35Ks and 17 BB in 164 PA/35 G. He has also thrown out 35% of base stealers (19 out of 55).
UDFA Lucas Spence was promoted to Asheville in May. Since joining the team the left handed hitting OFer is hitting .286/450/.377 with 18 walks and 18 strikeouts. He is also 11 of 12 in the SB department. Since his call up in has 13 hits in 15 road games and 21 hits in 18 home games. So the splits are a bit more balanced for him in a very small sample size.