Introduction to POrca+

Welcome to POrca+, the brainchild of Brian Labude (@Polar_Bear_Ball) and myself (Daniel Labude, @OrcaBaseball). We set out to create something that would make sifting through the untold amounts of data for minor leaguers easier. A more efficient way to find prospects that are popping up, standing out, or having stellar seasons. The fruit of our labor is a scoring system that lets you see how prospects are doing in-season and how that compares to the average minor leaguer, other prospects, both between levels, and at a specific level. 

In the simplest terms, POrca+ is an in-season weighted scoring of prospects based on their performance and then adjusted based on prospect age and level. The POrca score is the raw outcome of weighting multiple categories for hitters and a separate set of categories for pitchers. The POrca score is then normalized, so that a score of 100 is equal to the average minor league hitter and pitcher (separately). 

For hitters, the categories and stats we have focused on for weighting are hits (H), singles (1B), doubles (2B), triples (3B), home runs (HR), walks (BB), strikeouts (SO), grounded into double plays (GDP), stolen bases (SB), caught stealing (CS), weighted on-base average (wOBA), weighted runs created (wRC+), line drive percent (LD%), and swinging strike percent (SwStr%). For each category, we have applied a unique weight in order to distinguish it based on how valuable they are to future success and prospect status.

For pitching we have done the same, but using the categories and stats of innings pitched (IP), games started (GS), hits (H), home runs (HR), earned runs (ER), walks (BB), strikeouts (SO), fielding independent pitching (FIP), line drive percent (LD%), swinging strike percent (SwStr%) strike percent (Strike%).

The scores have sections for all MiLB Hitters as a whole, then broken down by each level. For pitching, there is a section for all MiLB Pitchers as a whole and broken down by each level as well. Players who have been promoted can be seen multiple times and on more than one level because each level is its own entity. Currently, the DSL and complex leagues only appear as they`re different leagues and are not incorporated into the MiLB hitters as a whole.

The goal of POrca+ is to be updated frequently, so throughout the season, it can be used to see the changes in players on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Hopefully, it will make an impact on finding prospects who are undervalued, overvalued, popping up, or dropping fast, as well as being easier than sifting through all the data that is out there. 

We look forward to continuing to adjust and making POrca+ better and more accurate to help everyone in their fantasy baseball adventures.

Below you will find the Top 50 leaderboards for AAA, AA, High-A, and Low-A (through 6/17 with parameters of a minimum 60 PA for hitters and a minimum 20 IP for pitchers). As a member of TDG Discord, you will have full access to the complete lists for each level here and as an added bonus you can get complete access to the leaderboards for Rookie Ball and the Dominican Summer League.