Physical Description and Background

Wes Roemer was born on October 7, 1986 in Glendora, CA. He's listed at 6'0 in height, and weighing 205lb. He throws and bats right handed. He attended Cal State-Fullerton for three years before being selected by the Diamondbacks in supplemental 1st round with 50th overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Barry Enright was born March 30, 1987 in Stockton, Ca. He's listed as 6'3, weighing 220 Lbs. He throws and bats right handed. He attended Pepperdine University for three years before being selected by the Diamondbacks in 2nd round with the 73rd overall pick in the 2007 draft.

Pitch Selection and Stuff

Roemer is a command-and-feel right-hander who fires fastballs in the 89-90 mph range, though he can reach back for 91-92 on occasion. Roemer has excellent command of his slider and can back-door it, making it an excellent out pitch for left-handed hitters. He commands his changeup well, keeping it down in the zone. Roemer is an extremely good competitor and goes right after hitters.

Enright can touch 91 mph, but sits comfortably at 88-89 mph. Enright features a slider at 79-80 mph that has late bite. It's not a plus pitch, but it's enough to keep hitters honest. Enright has a good feel for a changeup. Pitchability is Enright's best tool. He locates his fastball to both sides of the plate. He pounds the zone, down in the zone when he's on, and pitches to contact. Enright is a good competitor who’s not afraid of tough matchups and goes right after hitters.

College Statistics

Unlike my previous article, I won’t go into nearly as much detail on each individual season in college; instead I'll look at their overall statistics.

Wes Roemer pitched very well in college, showing great control. In 389 innings pitched he struck out 344 while walking only 44 batters with a cumulative ERA of 3.40. If you look at just his overall performance, you'll miss his outstanding 2006 season: 13-2 with 2.38 ERA with a .86 WHIP and 145 strikeouts to just seven walks in a career high 155 innings pitched. He had 3 complete games, two of which were shut outs. He had 9 complete games throughout his collegiate career. It's worth noting his increase in strikeouts per nine innings from 7.10 to 8.42 to 9.38.

Barry Enright had 211 strike outs to 62 walks in 352.2 Inning pitched with an era of 3.44 ERA. If you look at just Enright's overall performance in college, you'll over look the clear improvement that he made each year in ERA, WHIP, Inning pitched, BB:K, K per 9, and BB per 9. His last year in college was outstanding: 12-5 with 1.99 ERA with 91 strike outs to 14 walks with a 1.00 WHIP.

Minor League Statistics

Roemer made his professional debut pitching for rookie ball Yakima in the Northwestern league. Although he only appeared in 8 games and pitched 12 innings, his results were kind of mixed. His strike out to walk ratio was excellent: 18 k's to just 2 walks. He gave up 11 hits, one HR, and 6 earned runs. His ERA was 4.50 with a 1.08 WHIP.

Enright made his professional debut with Yakima, pitched eight innings, was promoted to South Bend where he pitched for two innings, and was then promoted again to Visalia where he pitched for 5 innings. Overall he pitched 15 innings, giving up 8 hits, an unearned run, struck out 17 batters while walking 5. His ERA was 0.00, with a .87 WHIP. 

This year both players have been assigned to Hi-A Visalia in the California League.

In 121.2 innings pitched, Roemer has a 4.51 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and has stuck out 87, while walking 28. He's given up 147 hits, 18 HRS, and 64 earned runs. He's also hit 9 batters and  uncorked 3 wild pitches.

In 121.1 innings pitched, Enright has a 4.75 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, and has struck out 103 batters while walking 29. He's given up 146 hits, 11 HRS, and 64 earned runs. He's hit 2 batters and uncorked 6 wild pitches.

The two players aren't that far from each other in innings pitched, ERA, BBs, Hits, and earned runs. However, Roemer has a better ERA, but Enright has more strike outs, a better K:BB ratio, and has given up fewer home runs.

Once you look at Batting Average On Ball In Play (BABIP) and Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), you get the whole picture. Enright has a FIP of 3.38 and a .364 BABIP which indicates that his ERA has largely been the result of bad luck and poor defense. Roemer's 4.68 FIP and .289 BABIP suggest that he's actually pitched worse than his ERA would suggest, and that he's been a bit lucky.

Wrap Up

Obviously the results aren't as exciting as the team's front office would have hoped, but you do have to take in account that the California League is a hitter's league with some of the most hitter friendly parks in all of baseball. Neither player has logged a lot of time in the minors yet, nor has either pitched at the higher levels.  It'll be interesting to see how they do in the much more pitching friendly environment of AA Mobile in the Southern league.

If I had to pick which pitcher I think is more likely to succeed, it'd be a rather tough call. If we were to judge the two players based on their performance in college, Wes Roemer would be the obvious choice. He struck nearly twice as many batters as Enright did in college. Outside of Enright's fabulous 2007 year in college, Wes Roemer out pitched Enright by every statistical measure.

Once you look at actual minor league performance, Enright is clearly the winner. This year he has a lower walk rate, higher strike out rate, better K:BB ratio, and has given up home runs at a lower rate. In addition, he throws harder and has a bigger frame. With Roemer's success in college, I wouldn't be surprised if he turns things around. But as of now, Enright is the better pitcher.

Not much to add here, but I would like to thank Emily once again for proof reading. I'd also just like to thank you for reading. I'll be back again on Wednesdays and Saturdays with my scouting reports statistical analysis reports on the players in the Arizona Farm System.

-Wesley "Zephon" Baier

Sources: (all links open in new window)

Wes Roemer @ BB-REF

Barry Enright @ BB-REF

Wes Roemer @ Thebaseballcube

Barry Enright @ Thebaseballcube

Wes Roemer @ Fangraphs

Barry Enright @ Fangraphs