Minor League Park Factors Midseason Update

Image credit: Las Vegas Ballpark (Photo by Jeff Speer/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images)

New parks opened this year in Amarillo, Fayetteville and Las Vegas. All three parks have seen a higher rate of run scoring than the full-season minor league average.

The league-by-league park factor tables below will not only help you determine how each individual park plays in the context of its league, but the percentile (Pctile) column places each park in an overall minor league context. From Double-A Jacksonville (6.40 runs per game) to Triple-A Reno (13.31 R/G), each park is assigned a percentile score on a scale of zero to 100 based on how many runs were scored at that park in the first half. The sample includes only the 120 full-season ballparks.

For example, Amarillo (89th percentile) and Las Vegas (98th) have two of the best offensive environments in the minors. Fayetteville (62nd) sits comfortably above the Carolina League average.

The rest of the data is self-explanatory. The Home and Road columns indicate the per-game rates* for runs scored and allowed by each team at its home park and also at parks the team visits on the road. The park factor (PF) is the index score that results from those two rates, where 100 is average. The multiplier (Mult) halves the impact of the park factor to reflect the reality that players play only half their games at home.

* Actually, the rate per 76 plate appearances is used because that is the per-game average for total batters in most leagues.

Caveat: This data should not be considered complete and is subject to change, perhaps dramatically as teams play the rest of their schedules.

Here are the top 5 ballparks in terms of runs per game at home: 

  1. Reno (Pacific Coast)
  2. Albuquerque (Pacific Coast)
  3. Las Vegas (Pacific Coast)
  4. Charlotte (International)
  5. Lancaster (California)

And the bottom five, from fewest runs to most. 

  1. Jacksonville (Southern)
  2. Wilmington (Carolina)
  3. Lakeland (Florida State)
  4. Mississippi (Southern)
  5. Jupiter (Florida State)
International League (AAA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Buffalo TOR 10.20 10.68 95 0.977 79%
Charlotte CWS 12.45 10.42 119 1.097 98%
Columbus CLE 9.93 10.53 94 0.971 73%
Durham TB 10.70 10.77 99 0.997 87%
Gwinnett ATL 10.23 10.34 99 0.995 80%
Indianapolis PIT 9.22 10.03 92 0.960 61%
Lehigh Valley PHI 9.97 10.47 95 0.976 74%
Louisville CIN 11.55 9.53 121 1.106 94%
Norfolk BAL 11.24 10.81 104 1.020 92%
Pawtucket BOS 9.84 10.80 91 0.956 71%
Rochester MIN 10.27 10.92 94 0.970 81%
Scranton/W-B NYY 11.05 10.24 108 1.040 92%
Syracuse NYM 10.97 9.52 115 1.076 88%
Toledo DET 9.38 12.04 78 0.890 63%

 

Pacific Coast League (AAA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Albuquerque COL 13.06 11.35 115 1.076 99%
El Paso SD 12.09 10.98 110 1.051 96%
Fresno WAS 10.98 11.61 95 0.973 90%
Iowa CHC 10.35 9.63 107 1.037 82%
Las Vegas OAK 12.61 11.55 109 1.046 98%
Memphis STL 10.66 10.43 102 1.011 86%
Nashville TEX 10.16 10.94 93 0.964 77%
New Orleans MIA 9.68 10.36 93 0.967 67%
Oklahoma City LAD 11.44 10.00 114 1.072 93%
Omaha KC 10.08 10.11 100 0.999 76%
Reno ARI 13.31 11.98 111 1.056 100%
Round Rock HOU 10.88 12.80 85 0.925 87%
Sacramento SF 10.63 10.08 105 1.027 85%
Salt Lake LAA 11.81 13.11 90 0.950 95%
San Antonio MIL 9.39 9.50 99 0.994 64%
Tacoma SEA 9.92 12.59 79 0.894 72%
Eastern League (AA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Akron CLE 7.39 9.48 78 0.890 8%
Altoona PIT 8.44 8.33 101 1.007 33%
Binghamton NYM 9.21 8.92 103 1.016 57%
Bowie BAL 8.48 7.89 107 1.037 35%
Erie DET 8.87 7.26 122 1.111 45%
Harrisburg WAS 8.53 7.54 113 1.065 36%
Hartford COL 7.84 6.69 117 1.086 15%
New Hampshire TOR 8.14 8.31 98 0.990 20%
Portland BOS 8.24 8.38 98 0.991 23%
Reading PHI 8.71 7.51 116 1.080 40%
Richmond SF 7.63 8.66 88 0.941 12%
Trenton NYY 7.41 9.52 78 0.889 9%

 

Southern League (AA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Biloxi MIL 8.35 8.23 101 1.007 28%
Birmingham CWS 8.69 8.66 100 1.001 38%
Chattanooga CIN 10.05 8.09 124 1.121 75%
Jackson ARI 7.69 8.96 86 0.929 13%
Jacksonville MIA 6.40 7.63 84 0.919 0%
Mississippi ATL 6.79 8.10 84 0.919 3%
Mobile LAA 8.43 7.37 114 1.072 31%
Montgomery TB 7.21 8.51 85 0.923 7%
Pensacola MIN 8.16 8.39 97 0.986 21%
Tennessee CHC 9.86 7.61 130 1.148 71%

 

Texas League (AA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Amarillo SD 10.97 8.72 126 1.129 89%
Arkansas SEA 7.16 9.80 73 0.865 6%
Corpus Christi HOU 9.12 9.73 94 0.969 55%
Frisco TEX 9.22 9.31 99 0.995 59%
Midland OAK 8.93 9.83 91 0.954 47%
NW Arkansas KC 10.30 9.65 107 1.033 82%
Springfield STL 10.55 9.26 114 1.069 84%
Tulsa LAD 9.75 9.84 99 0.995 69%

 

California League (HiA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Inland Empire LAA 7.49 9.53 79 0.893 10%
Lake Elsinore SD 7.21 8.86 81 0.907 8%
Lancaster COL 12.28 8.96 137 1.185 97%
Modesto SEA 8.24 8.90 93 0.963 24%
R. Cucamonga LAD 10.11 8.94 113 1.066 77%
San Jose SF 8.09 8.96 90 0.951 18%
Stockton OAK 8.69 8.53 102 1.009 39%
Visalia ARI 8.68 8.53 102 1.009 37%

 

Carolina League (HiA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Carolina MIL 9.78 8.40 116 1.082 70%
Down East TEX 7.76 7.77 100 1.000 13%
Fayetteville HOU 9.29 8.49 109 1.047 62%
Frederick BAL 9.61 8.00 120 1.101 66%
Lynchburg CLE 8.38 8.40 100 0.999 30%
Myrtle Beach CHC 8.35 9.03 93 0.963 29%
Potomac WAS 8.05 10.73 75 0.875 17%
Salem BOS 9.22 9.76 94 0.972 60%
Wilmington KC 6.52 8.45 77 0.886 1%
Winston-Salem CWS 10.38 8.42 123 1.117 83%
Florida State League (HiA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Bradenton PIT 8.17 8.33 98 0.991 22%
Charlotte, FL TB 8.28 8.31 100 0.998 24%
Clearwater PHI 8.88 7.71 115 1.076 45%
Daytona CIN 8.32 8.23 101 1.005 26%
Dunedin TOR 9.74 6.81 143 1.215 68%
Florida ATL 8.10 8.78 92 0.961 19%
Fort Myers MIN 7.50 8.07 93 0.965 11%
Jupiter MIA 6.94 7.95 87 0.936 3%
Lakeland DET 6.76 9.39 72 0.860 2%
Palm Beach STL 7.15 7.68 93 0.965 5%
St. Lucie NYM 8.95 8.16 110 1.048 49%
Tampa NYY 8.93 8.52 105 1.024 48%

 

Midwest League (LoA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Beloit OAK 8.84 8.51 104 1.019 44%
Bowling Green TB 8.91 8.44 106 1.028 46%
Burlington LAA 8.83 8.11 109 1.044 43%
Cedar Rapids MIN 8.32 9.07 92 0.959 27%
Clinton MIA 7.77 8.70 89 0.947 14%
Dayton CIN 9.08 9.26 98 0.990 53%
Fort Wayne SD 8.95 9.07 99 0.993 50%
Great Lakes LAD 9.06 11.04 82 0.910 52%
Kane County ARI 8.43 8.20 103 1.014 32%
Lake County CLE 9.61 8.69 111 1.053 66%
Lansing TOR 10.17 8.55 119 1.095 78%
Peoria STL 9.43 9.24 102 1.010 65%
Quad Cities HOU 8.14 9.13 89 0.946 19%
South Bend CHC 9.16 8.57 107 1.034 56%
West Michigan DET 8.79 9.73 90 0.952 42%
Wisconsin MIL 9.24 8.80 105 1.025 61%

 

South Atlantic League (LoA)
Team Org Home Road PF Mult Pctile
Asheville COL 11.02 8.76 126 1.129 91%
Augusta SF 8.36 8.60 97 0.986 29%
Charleston NYY 8.30 9.22 90 0.950 25%
Columbia NYM 8.04 9.32 86 0.931 16%
Delmarva BAL 8.79 7.60 116 1.078 41%
Greensboro PIT 8.96 9.89 91 0.953 50%
Greenville BOS 8.75 9.12 96 0.980 40%
Hagerstown WAS 9.13 8.08 113 1.065 56%
Hickory TEX 9.21 8.97 103 1.013 58%
Kannapolis CWS 8.47 8.26 103 1.013 35%
Lakewood PHI 7.06 9.13 77 0.887 4%
Lexington KC 8.45 9.03 94 0.968 34%
Rome ATL 9.00 7.82 115 1.075 51%
West Virginia SEA 9.10 8.94 102 1.009 54%

Comments are closed.

Download our app

Read the newest magazine issue right on your phone