A+ Errors by Position

Check out my AAA errors by position and AA errors by position posts for more numbers and information. Those higher levels are straightforward: all thirty major league teams have one affiliate in one league at each level. Thus each level has thirty teams split between two leagues (in AAA) or three leagues (in AA). Teams in AAA play around 144 games per season while AA teams play around 140 games. Once you get to A ball, however, things get more complicated.

There are seven different leagues in Class A ball. The playing level of these leagues are not all equal, though, so the class is broken up into three separate sub-classes. First is A+, or High A+, or Advanced A ball. This consists of the California League, the Carolina League, and the Florida State League. All thirty major league teams have an affiliate at this level. These teams play 140 games per season.

There's also good, old-fashioned, regular A ball. Only two leagues, the Midwest League and South Atlantic League, occupy this level. The two leagues contain thirty teams, one for each major league club. All of these teams play the standard 140 games per season.

Finally, there is A-, or Low A, baseball. This level consists of only two leagues: the New York-Penn league and the Northwest League. Only twenty-two major league teams have affiliates at this level. What's more, these leagues play abbreviated schedules running from June until September. The fact that each team plays around 75 games leads to these being called short-season leagues. Usually these leagues are home to recent draftees and other young minor leaguers. Many times a young player spends April until June on a major league team's regular A ball affiliate before being assigned to a short-season affiliate to get regular playing time.

As you can guess by the title, today I am looking at errors committed at each position in A+ ball. The format is going to stay the same as that in my previous two posts. Since teams play roughly the same number as games as teams in AA and AAA, there shouldn't need to be changes to the minimum total chances for the fielding percentage leaderboards.

A+ Pitchers

A+ Pitchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Eric Niesen	St. Lucie	NYM	31	7	.774
Anthony Varvaro	High Desert	SEA	30	6	.800
R.J. Rodriguez	Lake Elsinore	SDP	28	6	.786
Esmil Rogers	Modesto	COL	33	5	.848
Jesse English	San Jose	SFG	26	5	.808
Kyle Schmidt	Frederick	BAL	14	5	.643
11 tied with				4

A+ Pitchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 20 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Eric Niesen	St. Lucie	NYM	31	7	.774
R.J. Rodriguez	Lake Elsinore	SDP	28	6	.786
Anthony Varvaro	High Desert	SEA	30	6	.800
Jesse English	San Jose	SFG	26	5	.808
Ernesto Frieri	Lake Elsinore	SDP	22	4	.818
Rafael Gonzalez	Sarasota	CIN	22	4	.818
James Heuser	Stockton	OAK	22	4	.818
Esmil Rogers	Modesto	COL	33	5	.848
Brandon Durden	Modesto	COL	20	3	.850
Ryan Ouellette	Frederick	BAL	20	3	.850
CAL Pitchers			2684	171	.936
CAR Pitchers			2131	141	.934
FSL Pitchers			2903	164	.944
A+ Pitchers			7718	476	.938

The Florida State League had the most total chances, as expected of the league with the most teams (12, against the California League's 10 and the Carolina League's 8). Part of it may be having the fewest teams, but the Carolina League only had one representative on the lowest fielding percentage board (Ouellette in tenth place). That's interesting considering the league as a whole had the worst fielding percentage for pitchers. The Carolina League's leaders in pitcher errors had four. There were three hurlers tied for that honor.

A+ Catchers

A+ Catchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Carlos Santana	2 Teams	2Tm	850	19	.978
Tyler Flowers	Myrtle Beach	ATL	769	12	.984
Ed Easley	Visalia	ARI	757	12	.984
Michael McKenry	Modesto	COL	775	11	.986
Eddy Rodriguez	Sarasota	CIN	542	11	.980
Jackson Williams	San Jose	SFG	435	11	.975
Travis Scott	High Desert	SEA	566	10	.982
Alan Robbins	Clearwater	PHI	280	10	.964
5 tied with				9

A+ Catchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 400 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Jackson Williams	San Jose	SFG	435	11	.975
Josh Donaldson	Stockton	OAK	402	9	.978
Carlos Santana	2 Teams	2Tm	850	19	.978
Eddy Rodriguez	Sarasota	CIN	542	11	.980
Chris Hatcher	Jupiter	FLA	482	9	.981
Travis Scott	High Desert	SEA	566	10	.982
Jonathan Still	Lancaster	BOS	479	8	.983
Matthew Morizio	Wilmington	KCR	424	7	.983
Koby Clemens	Salem	HOU	488	8	.984
Ed Easley	Visalia	ARI	757	12	.984
Tyler Flowers	Myrtle Beach	ATL	769	12	.984
CAL Catchers			11675	163	.986
CAR Catchers			8852	117	.987
FSL Catchers			12875	168	.987
A+ Catchers			33402	448	.987

Unlike the catchers' errors leaders in AAA and AA, Carlos Santana doesn't show up on top because of his remarkable durability. He caught the second-most innings (880.2) in A+ ball this year, behind Mitch Canham (918.1) of Lake Elsinore. Santana started 101 games against Canham's 104. Santana just happened to be error-prone last year, though he did finish with only the third-lowest fielding percentage among qualifiers. All three leagues wound up pretty even in terms of fielding percentage.

A+ First Basemen

A+ 1B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Ernesto Mejia	Myrtle Beach	ATL	1177	23	.980
Mark Trumbo	Rancho Cucamonga	LAA	1020	20	.980
Matthew Fields	Vero Beach	TBR	1252	17	.986
Kent Sakamoto	Lynchburg	PIT	1114	13	.988
Brandon Allen	Winston-Salem	CHW	850	13	.985
Logan Morrison	Jupiter	FLA	1154	12	.990
Brian Dopirak	Dunedin	TOR	798	11	.986
Brandon Snyder	Frederick	BAL	765	11	.986
Stephen Chapman	Brevard County	MIL	707	11	.984
5 tied with				10

A+ 1B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 500 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Mark Trumbo	Rancho Cucamonga	LAA	1020	20	.980
Ernesto Mejia	Myrtle Beach	ATL	1177	23	.980
Stephen Chapman	Brevard County	MIL	707	11	.984
Brandon Allen	Winston-Salem	CHW	850	13	.985
Johnny Woodard	Fort Myers	MIN	525	8	.985
Brandon Snyder	Frederick	BAL	765	11	.986
Brian Dopirak	Dunedin	TOR	798	11	.986
Jeremy Hunt	Lake Elsinore	SDP	729	10	.986
Andrew Lefave	Potomac	WSN	515	7	.986
Matthew Fields	Vero Beach	TBR	1252	17	.986
CAL 1B			13276	170	.987
CAR 1B			10814	147	.986
FSL 1B			15255	165	.989
A+ 1B			39345	482	.988

A pretty straight forward set of leaderboards. The top two errors guys are also first and second in fielding percentage. Mejia was second in innings played at first base behind Matthew Fields. Despite finishing second in errors, Mark Trumbo was only eleventh in innings played. Besides Fields and Mejia, Logan Morrison and Michael Paulk were the only other A+ first basemen to top 1000 innings played.

A+ Second Basemen

A+ 2B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Travis Jones	Myrtle Beach	ATL	519	19	.963
Angel Gonzalez	Lynchburg	PIT	437	18	.959
Miguel Abreu	Frederick	BAL	547	17	.969
Chih-Hsien Chiang	Lancaster	BOS	301	17	.944
Eric Sogard	Lake Elsinore	SDP	563	15	.973
Ryan Mount	Rancho Cucamonga	LAA	372	13	.965
Daniel Descalso	Palm Beach	STL	497	12	.976
Jose Vallejo	Bakersfield	TEX	371	12	.968
Manuel Ferrer	Visalia	ARI	322	12	.963
Renny Osuna	Bakersfield	TEX	303	12	.960
Damon Sublett	Tampa	NYY	191	12	.937

A+ 2B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 250 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Chih-Hsien Chiang	Lancaster	BOS	301	17	.944
Angel Gonzalez	Lynchburg	PIT	437	18	.959
Renny Osuna	Bakersfield	TEX	303	12	.960
Manuel Ferrer	Visalia	ARI	322	12	.963
Travis Jones	Myrtle Beach	ATL	519	19	.963
Ryan Mount	Rancho Cucamonga	LAA	372	13	.965
Frank Martinez	Stockton	OAK	297	10	.966
Jose Vallejo	Bakersfield	TEX	371	12	.968
Miguel Abreu	Frederick	BAL	547	17	.969
Scott Sizemore	Lakeland	DET	266	8	.970
CAL 2B			7001	218	.969
CAR 2B			5299	142	.973
FSL 2B			8131	207	.975
A+ 2B			20431	567	.972

The Rangers organization has the unusual distinction of placing two players on the list. Not only did they split time in the field, they split time ineffectively. However, both players had better years with the leather than Chih-Hsien Chiang. Collectively, all three did their part to ensure the California League had a low fielding percentage compared to the other leagues.

A+ Third Basemen

A+ 3B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
John Whittleman	Bakersfield	TEX	308	27	.912
CJ Retherford	Winston-Salem	CHW	356	24	.933
Billy Rowell	Frederick	BAL	295	22	.925
Zak Farkes	Lancaster	BOS	148	22	.851
Jhon Florentino	Salem	HOU	338	21	.938
Cesar Suarez	Vero Beach	TBR	290	21	.928
Jim Negrych	Lynchburg	PIT	239	21	.912
Jesus Gonzalez	Dunedin	TOR	282	19	.933
Jared Goedert	Kinston	CLE	271	19	.930
Taylor Green	Brevard County	MIL	273	18	.934

A+ 3B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 125 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Zak Farkes	Lancaster	BOS	148	22	.851
Leonard Davis	Potomac	WSN	148	14	.905
Jim Negrych	Lynchburg	PIT	239	21	.912
John Whittleman	Bakersfield	TEX	308	27	.912
Leivi Ventura	St. Lucie	NYM	129	11	.915
Jorge Jimenez	Lancaster	BOS	138	11	.920
Austin Gallagher	Inland Empire	LAD	126	10	.921
Michael Bertram	Lakeland	DET	139	11	.921
Joshua Lansford	Daytona	CHC	177	14	.921
Ricardo Sosa	Visalia	ARI	214	16	.925
Billy Rowell	Frederick	BAL	295	22	.925
CAL 3B			3636	286	.921
CAR 3B			3212	236	.927
FSL 3B			4439	304	.932
A+ 3B			11287	826	.927

Alright, I admit that I changed the minimum threshold for the fielding percentage list down from 150 total chances to 125 total chances. I did this because there were relatively few third baseman who reached the former minimum. Changing the number to 125 allowed for the inclusion of the two worst fielders. Like the Texas Rangers in the second baseman list, the Boston Red Sox have the dubious distinction of two players in the fielding percentage leaderboard. Once again the California League lags behind the others in fielding.

A+ Shortstops

A+ SS Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Marcus Lemon	Bakersfield	TEX	532	43	.919
P.J. Phillips	Rancho Cucamonga	LAA	628	37	.941
Ruben Tejada	St. Lucie	NYM	580	30	.948
Fidel Hernandez	Clearwater	PHI	554	30	.946
Daniel Mayora	Modesto	COL	393	30	.924
Chris McConnell	Wilmington	KCR	556	28	.950
Jairo de la Rosa	Vero Beach	TBR	349	28	.920
Carlos Rivero	Kinston	CLE	459	24	.948
Luis Sanchez	Dunedin	TOR	497	23	.954
Greg Paiml	Winston-Salem	CHW	416	22	.947

A+ SS Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 250 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Marcus Lemon	Bakersfield	TEX	532	43	.919
Jairo de la Rosa	Vero Beach	TBR	349	28	.920
Daniel Mayora	Modesto	COL	393	30	.924
Carlos Triunfel	High Desert	SEA	337	21	.938
Brent Brewer	Brevard County	MIL	322	19	.941
P.J. Phillips	Rancho Cucamonga	LAA	628	37	.941
Fidel Hernandez	Clearwater	PHI	554	30	.946
Greg Paiml	Winston-Salem	CHW	416	22	.947
Carlos Rivero	Kinston	CLE	459	24	.948
Ruben Tejada	St. Lucie	NYM	580	30	.948
Seth Bynum	Potomac	WSN	252	13	.948
CAL SS			6575	342	.948
CAR SS			5296	254	.952
FSL SS			7735	381	.951
A+ SS			19606	977	.950

A Rangers prospect committed the most errors in AA as well. This time, Marcus Lemon and P.J. Phillips are almost stunningly head and shoulders above the rest of the league. Then again, looking at the fielding percentage table shows that he would have had company in the 40+ errors club if not for a lack of playing time given to other players. The California League still has the lowest fielding percentage of the three, but it's back to being pretty close to the other two leagues.

A+ Outfielders

A+ OF Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Carlos Peguero	High Desert	SEA	125	12	.904
Michael McBryde	San Jose	SFG	269	11	.959
Jason Place	Lancaster	BOS	250	10	.960
Javis Diaz	Lake Elsinore	SDP	148	10	.932
Jermaine Mitchell	Stockton	OAK	214	9	.958
Cory Patton	Dunedin	TOR	191	9	.953
6 tied with				8

A+ OF Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 200 total chances
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Jermaine Mitchell	Stockton	OAK	214	9	.958
Michael McBryde	San Jose	SFG	269	11	.959
Jason Place	Lancaster	BOS	250	10	.960
Anthony Norman	Rancho Cucamonga	LAA	222	8	.964
James McOwen	High Desert	SEA	224	8	.964
Salvador Sanchez	Winston-Salem	CHW	210	7	.967
Ezequiel Carrera	St. Lucie	NYM	245	8	.967
Paulo Orlando	Wilmington	KCR	260	8	.969
Peter Clifford	Visalia	ARI	210	6	.971
Charlie Fermaint	Brevard County	MIL	221	6	.973
Truan Mehl	Bakersfield	TEX	259	7	.973
CAL OF			8655	267	.969
CAR OF			6597	152	.977
FSL OF			10114	226	.978
A+ OF			25366	645	.975

Carlos Peguero had such an iron glove that he managed to lead the entire level in errors without amassing enough total chances to appear on my fielding percentage leaderboard. He didn't spend much time in the field in 2007, so this probably isn't a fluky year. Javis Diaz also appeared on the errors board without qualifying for the fielding percentage board. Without looking up an inch to get the answer, take a wild guess at which league had the lowest outfield fielding percentage. I know offense is skewed by the altitude of some California League parks. I wonder how much those conditions affect defense for those teams.

Contract Incentives and Games Finished

Every year, some free agents sign contracts containing both a base salary and some sort of incentives based on the player's performance over the course of the deal. Those bonuses generally are related to playing time, whether it's games played or plate appearances for hitters or appearances or starts for pitchers. The reason incentives are related to such mundane things like games played is because pretty much everything else is off-limits.

As Major League Rule 3(b)(5) says: "No Major League Uniform Player's Contract or Minor League Uniform Player Contract shall be approved if it contains a bonus for playing, pitching or batting skill or if it provides for the payment of a bonus contingent on the standing of the signing Club at the end of the championship season."

The point of the first part of the rule is to prevent players from putting personal contract incentives over team success. For example, imagine a player gets a nice bonus for reaching 30 homers in a season and he's stuck on 29. So, in pursuit of his bonus, the player swings for the fences and strikes out rather than advancing his teammates along the basepaths. Say a pitcher gets a bonus for reaching a certain strikeout total and rather he tries to blow a batter away rather than seeking to induce an inning-ending double play. Unfortunately it doesn't work and the pitch is deposited 400 feet beyond the pitcher's mound. Sound far-fetched and outdated? Maybe, but that's baseball.

To avoid such situations, contract incentives are pretty much limited to those mundane playing time conditions. For relievers, bonuses are often linked to total appearances or games finished. Usually a games finished incentive is considered only at risk of being triggered if the reliever in question is used as a closer. For all the closers who get such incentives (see Matt Capps: $50,000 for 50, 55, and 60 GF next year), there are also some middle relievers who get them as well. A look at Bobby Howry's 2009 contract with the Giants shows this: he gets bonuses for 45, 50, 55, and 60 games finished next year.

The Giants already have a closer, so it's unlikely Howry comes close to triggering those bonuses. Only eighteen pitchers reached 45 games finished last year and all of those guys were closers. So that makes me curious: what is the upper limit on games finished in a season for a non-closer?

First, the actual definition of "games finished." It should be obvious: the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game (win or loss) is credited with a game finished. The only exception is a starter who throws a complete game. Obviously, it takes no special talent to get them. You just have to be the guy your manager selects to finish a loss, a closer, or the guy picked for recording the final outs of a blowout victory.

So which non-closers racked up games finished in 2008? That depends on who you consider a closer. Consider pitchers like Jon Rauch and Joel Hanrahan. Rauch was the closer for Washington before a mid-season trade sent him to Arizona. He finished the year as a setup man for the Diamondbacks. He wound up with 51 games finished last season, but only ten came in his 26 appearances for Arizona. The other 41 came in his 48 games pitched for Washington. It should be obvious his games finished numbers are fueled by his time spent as a closer. Joel Hanrahan was the guy who took Rauch's place as the Nationals' closer. Hanrahan appeared in 69 games last season, 48 before taking over the closer's role and 21 after. He wound up saving nine games as the Nationals closer, but got a game finished in 17 of those 21 appearances as a closer. Compare that to 17 games finished in his previous 48 games.

Since I'm interested in games finished numbers for non-closers, perhaps the best way is to limit the number of saves a player can get before being considered a closer. The problem then is determining the limit. If Hanrahan can be considered a closer with only nine saves in two months in the role, the limit has to be lower. On the other hand, setting it too low could cut out some relievers who weren't closers but still managed to pick up some saves. To keep things simple, I'm going to use a limit of five saves.

Using that limit, here are the leaders among non-closers in games finished last season:

1. Clay Condrey, PHI, 30
2. Bobby Howry, CHC, 27
   
3. Matt Lindstrom, FLA, 27
4. Mike Timlin, BOS, 26
5. Jesus Colome, WSN, 25
6. Aaron Heilman, NYM, 23
7. Manny Acosta, ATL, 22
8. Jason Hammel, TBR, 21
9. Doug Brocail, HOU, 21
10. Cory Wade, LAD, 21
11. Jason Frasor, TOR, 21

So, as I mentioned, it's very unlikely Howry will trigger his contract incentives next year without becoming the Giants closer. But hey, what can you really learn from only one season? It's easy enough to look up numbers for more than one season, so let's look at the last decade. It turns out Condrey places fifth on that list:

1. Justin Speier, 2005 TOR, 36
2. David Riske, 2005 CLE, 33
3. Salomon Torres, 2005 PIT, 32
4. Mike Trombley, 2000 BAL, 32
5. Clay Condrey, 2008 PHI, 30
6. Luis Vizcaino, 2002 MIL, 30
7. Brian Moehler, 2007 HOU, 29
8. Ken Ray, 2006 ATL, 29
9. Jose Mesa, 2000 SEA, 29
10. Tim Worrell, 2000 BAL/CHC, 29

I don't know why 2005 would dominate the top of the list. The three pitchers ran the gamut of teams from good (Cleveland) to middling (Toronto) to bad (Pittsburgh). I think it's safe to say that any team giving out games finished contract incentives to middle relievers doesn't have to worry about paying them out as long as they make the lowest bonus kick in at 35 GF or higher. Going as high as 45 before they kick in is just icing on the non-paying cake.

Here's the all-time list of non-closers who reached 35 games finished in a season. Remember that reliever usage has changed drastically over time. Case in point: this list is dominated by players from the 1980's.

• Joe Berry, 1945 PHA, 40
• Jack Baldschun, 1961 PHI, 39
• Kent Tekulve, 1987 PHI, 38
  Dave Heaverlo, 1980 SEA, 38
• Pete Ladd, 1984 MIL, 37
  Ron Reed, 1979 PHI, 37
• Justin Speier, 2005 TOR, 36
  Jose Mesa, 1998 CLE/SFG, 36
  Mark Williamson, 1987 BAL, 36
  Craig Lefferts, 1986 SDP, 36
  Greg Minton, 1985 SFG, 36
  Dooley Womack, 1968 NYY, 36
  Ted Wilks, 1952 PIT/CLE, 36
• Kent Tekulve, 1988 PHI, 35
  Dave Schmidt, 1985 TEX, 35
  Dave Campbell, 1978 ATL, 35
  Dyar Miller, 1977 BAL/CAL, 35
  

AA Errors by Position

My post on AAA errors by position is here. Today I'm focusing on AA players. Conveniently, fewer players spent time with more than one AA team last season. I assume this has to do with fewer AA players being on the fringes of 40-man rosters and thus prone to being placed on waivers and claimed by other teams.

AA Pitchers

AA Pitchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Brodie Downs	West Tenn	SEA	26	8	.692
Matthew Buschmann	San Antonio	SDP	50	5	.900
Robert Mosebach	Arkansas	LAA	48	5	.896
Garrett Broshuis	Connecticut	SFG	45	5	.889
Brandon Magee	New Hampshire	TOR	38	4	.895
Jess Todd	Springfield	STL	37	4	.892
Phil Coke	Trenton	NYY	30	4	.867
Julio Cesar Pimental	Northwest Arkansas	KCR	26	4	.846
Justin Thomas	West Tenn	SEA	26	4	.846
Jason Berken	Bowie	BAL	22	4	.818
Michael Bowden	Portland	BOS	21	4	.810

League	TC	E	FPct.
Eastern League Pitchers	3017	163	.946
Southern League Pitchers	2681	139	.948
Texas League Pitchers	2076	136	.934
AA Pitchers	7774	438	.944

The fielding percentage table is pretty similar to the errors table so I axed it. The only pitchers that cracked the top ten with fewer than 4 errors in more than 20 total chances were David Huff (.857) of Akron, Frank Herrmann (.870) of Akron, Fernando Rodriguez (.870) of Arkansas, and Blake Johnson (.885) of Northwest Arkansas. Johnson was tenth on the list, so use the pitchers from the first list with lower fielding percentages to round out the leaderboard. Looking at the league numbers, it's strange how the Texas League is so much worse than the others. I don't know why that would be. Only three of my bottom ten qualifying pitchers in fielding percentage played in the Texas League, compared to two in the Southern League and five in the Eastern League, but that's not really strange considering the distribution of teams between the leagues.

AA Catchers

AA Catchers Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Anthony Recker	Midland	OAK	952	13	.986
Brandon Yarbrough	Springfield	STL	542	13	.976
John Jaso	Montgomery	TBR	545	12	.978
Brad Davis	Carolina	FLA	598	11	.982
Lou Marson	Reading	PHI	611	9	.985
Adam Moore	West Tenn	SEA	806	8	.990
Lucas May	Jacksonville	LAD	748	8	.989
Max Ramirez	Frisco	TEX	287	8	.972
7 tied with				7

AA Catchers Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 400 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Brandon Yarbrough	Springfield	STL	542	13	.976
John Jaso	Montgomery	TBR	545	12	.978
Brad Davis	Carolina	FLA	598	11	.982
Ben Johnson	Arkansas	LAA	441	7	.984
Lou Marson	Reading	PHI	611	9	.985
Devin Ivany	Harrisburg	WSN	422	6	.986
John Otness	Portland	BOS	430	6	.986
Anthony Recker	Midland	OAK	952	13	.986
John Hester	Mobile	ARI	579	7	.988
Salomon Manriquez	Binghamton	NYM	593	7	.988
EAS Catchers			12882	132	.990
SOU Catchers			10878	113	.990
TEX Catchers			8846	108	.988
AA Catchers			32606	353	.989

Much like Jason Jaramillo in AAA, Anthony Recker appears on top of the errors list thanks to his durability. He caught just over 100 more innings than the AA runner-up (1014.3 to 914.0). He started 112 of his team's 140 games. Having so many more chances gave him a leg up on the competition to commit the most errors. Brandon Yarbrough tied him in errors despite catching a little over half as many innings. Once again the Texas League lags behind the other two leagues in fielding percentage, but the difference isn't noteworthy this time.

AA First Basemen

AA 1B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Ryan Roberson	Erie	DET	1045	13	.988
Rhyne Hughes	Montgomery	TBR	769	12	.984
Chris Errecart	Huntsville	MIL	927	11	.988
Kala Kaaihue	Mississippi	ATL	823	11	.987
Jeff Kindel	Tulsa	COL	1303	10	.992
Tonys Gutierrez	Chattanooga	CIN	965	10	.990
Bryan Byrne	Mobile	ARI	936	10	.989
Aaron Bates	Portland	BOS	787	10	.987
Brock Peterson	New Britain	MIN	662	9	.986
Mike Carp	Binghamton	NYM	568	9	.984

League	TC	E	FPct.
Eastern League 1B	15354	154	.990
Southern League 1B	12742	122	.990
Texas League 1B	10752	97	.991
AA 1B	38848	373	.990

Once again you can pretty much construct the fielding percentage leaderboard from the errors list. Only two players appear in the top ten (minimum 500 chances) without having committed at least nine errors. They are Kila Kaaihue (.988) of Northwest Arkansas and Johan Limonta (.985) of West Tenn. Anyone from the first list with a fielding percentage of .989 or lower would show up on the leaderboard. After trailing the other two leagues on the mound and behind the plate, the Texas League finally leads the way at first base.

AA Second Basemen

AA 2B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Mike Bell	Huntsville	MIL	559	23	.959
Christopher Coghlan	Carolina	FLA	555	18	.968
William Rhymes	Erie	DET	562	16	.972
Drew Sutton	Corpus Christi	HOU	500	16	.968
Eric Young	Tulsa	COL	548	14	.974
Nate Sutton	Arkansas	LAA	503	13	.974
Victor Mercedes	Birmingham	CHW	439	13	.970
Emmanuel Garcia	Binghamton	NYM	429	12	.972
Olmo Rosario	Connecticut	SFG	301	12	.960
3 tied with				11

AAA 2B Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 250 total chances)
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Mike Bell	Huntsville	MIL	559	23	.959
Olmo Rosario	Connecticut	SFG	301	12	.960
Jeffrey Dominguez	West Tenn	SEA	336	11	.967
Christopher Coghlan	Carolina	FLA	555	18	.968
William Bergolla	Harrisburg	WSN	309	10	.968
Drew Sutton	Corpus Christi	HOU	500	16	.968
Victor Mercedes	Birmingham	CHW	439	13	.970
William Rhymes	Erie	DET	562	16	.972
Shelby Ford	Altoona	PIT	391	11	.972
Emmanuel Garcia	Binghamton	NYM	429	12	.972
EAS 2B			8540	211	.975
SOU 2B			6837	164	.976
TEX 2B			5748	144	.975
AA 2B			21125	519	.975

Mike Bell appears on top of both lists, joining Brodie Downs as the two players to do that in the positions covered so far. Bell does have the largest gap between his error total and that of the runner-up through the first four positions. If anyone's curious, the two Suttons that appear in the errors list are not related to each other.

AA Third Basemen

AA 3B Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Mat Gamel	Huntsville	MIL	364	30	.918
Tony Blanco	Tulsa	COL	192	29	.849
Wes Hodges	Akron	CLE	276	28	.899
Seth Johnston	San Anthonio	SDP	333	27	.919
Neil Sellers	Reading	PHI	296	27	.909
Chris Johnson	Corpus Christi	HOU	253	23	.909
Corey Smith	Arkansas	LAA	274	22	.920
Chris Nowak	Montgomery	TBR	282	19	.933
4 tied with				18

League	TC	E	FPct.
Eastern League 3B	4607	336	.927
Southern League 3B	3788	264	.930
Texas League 3B	3230	232	.928
AA 3B	11625	832	.928

Gamel has a reputation as a good-hit, no-field type prospect. While this does little to suggest that reputation is unwarrented, at least he can take solace in the fact he's not the only AA third baseman who struggled last year. Blanco is a former Rule 5 pick of the Nationals who had his best season as a pro last year, at least with the bat. Despite the abysmal 2008 fielding percentage (.050 below runner-up Hodges), his career fielding percentage at third actually went up. Speaking of Blanco and Hodges, to construct the fielding percentage leaderboard, look at the first list and take out Nowak. Then put in David Maroul (.913) of Connecticut, Jeff Nettles (.924) of Bowie, and Christopher Malec (.926) of Trenton and sort. Voila.

AA Shortstops

AA SS Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Elvis Andrus	Frisco	TEX	574	32	.944
Jose Coronado	Binghamton	NYM	626	30	.952
Robert Valido	Birmingham	CHW	538	27	.950
Javier Guzman	Mississippi	ATL	411	24	.942
Christopher Nelson	Tulsa	COL	345	24	.930
Ian Desmond	Harrisburg	WSN	450	22	.951
Ramiro Pena	Trenton	NYY	463	21	.955
Chris Valaika	Chattanooga	CIN	439	21	.952
Ivan DeJesus	Jacksonville	LAD	407	21	.948
Mark Kiger	West Tenn	SEA	404	21	.948

League	TC	E	FPct.
Eastern League SS	7777	339	.956
Southern League SS	6323	275	.957
Texas League SS	5555	219	.961
AA SS	19655	833	.958

This is another convenient errors table when it comes to determining the lowest fielding percentages. Replace Ramiro Pena with Jason Donald (.949) of Reading and sort and you're done. If anyone thinks Mark Kiger's name is familiar, check out his Baseball-Reference.com page. He was the first player in over a century to make his MLB debut in the playoffs when he took the field during the 2006 ALDS. A rash of injuries left the A's shorthanded in the middle infield, so Kiger was called upon to flesh out the roster. Is it weird that I'm a little disappointed Southern League shortstops couldn't get 343 more chances to bring them up to 6666?

AAA Outfielders

AA OF Sorted By Most Errors
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Ambiorix Concepcion	Binghamton	NYM	258	12	.953
Maurice Gartrell	Birmingham	CHW	187	10	.947
Deik Scram	Erie	DET	301	9	.970
Greg Golson	Reading	PHI	300	8	.973
Steven Murphy	Frisco	TEX	219	8	.963
Mitch Einertson	Corpus Christi	HOU	190	8	.958
10 tied with				7

AA OF Sorted By Lowest FPct. (minimum 200 total chances
Name	Team	Org.	TC	E	FPct.
Ambiorix Concepcion	Binghamton	NYM	258	12	.953
Steven Murphy	Frisco	TEX	219	8	.963
John Raynor	Carolina	FLA	203	7	.966
Jon Zeringue	Midland	OAK	215	7	.967
Deik Scram	Erie	DET	301	9	.970
Jamie Hoffmann	Jacksonville	LAD	245	7	.971
Colin Curtis	Trenton	NYY	222	6	.973
Greg Golson	Reading	PHI	300	8	.973
Antoan Richardson	Connecticut	SFG	277	7	.975
Cole Gillespie	Huntsville	MIL	213	5	.977
EAS OF			10712	225	.979
SOU OF			8654	203	.977
TEX OF			7019	132	.981
AA OF			26385	560	.979

Ambiorix Concepcion struggled in the field this year, but he's not quite at the level of Luis Terrero. Golson and Scram were two of only five AA outfielders to reach 300 total chances this past season, giving them some excuse for showing up on the first list.

So that's the errors situation at each position in AA. Obviously errors and fielding percentage aren't the best or even a particularly good way to measure defense. But when those are the two numbers that get bandied about the most when it comes to prospects and other minor leaguers, it helps to have some context, right?