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English be one messed up language, yo. That's why I turn to TED Education to ask all the strange questions about our language and all its inconsistencies. In this instance, learn why there is a silent b in the word "doubt." And if you want MOAR information, because that wasn't enough, get the full lesson right over here.

Caligula: Heart of Rome #1- You have to appreciate a book that pretty much lets you know what you are in for within the first page. Fans of extreme bloody violence, sadomasochism, torture, sexual deviancy, and lots and lots of stabbing need look no further. With all of that in mind, Lapham and Nobile created an intriguing world of historical demonic intrigue with their last run and it looks like they are set to do the same again. Granted you have to be in the mood to see people ripped to shreds to make abstract artwork or evil horses raping people during an orgy, but similar to what we see in nature this series wears it’s bright warning colors like a venomous snake right at the get-go. Like most Avatar books you can safely assume it’s mature reader only, so you can’t say you haven’t been warned. It’s twenty-two pages of disturbing entertainment with no ads for $3.99, so it really just depends on if you are squeamish or easily put off by decapitations. B+

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Avengers Arena #1-Another new entry from Dennis Hopeless, and I am finding that I am really impressed by his scripting and overall storytelling. The book quickly deals with and admits that yes, this is a Battle Royale/Hunger Games rip off. Once it acknowledges that then it’s easier to swallow the pill and accept that Arcade is doing this out of the sheer joy of reading those books and wanting to do it to superheroes. I loved Kev Walker’s artwork on Thunderbolts and I think he’s the perfect match for the series. My only complaint is sort of not a complaint. Mostly, the book shows it means business when the first casualty is actually a fairly established character from Avengers Academy. While it certainly shows that they mean business and you can’t predict what will happen next (both very good things), it showcases a brutality that does sort of bug me because if you were following Avengers Academy it really really sucks. There are many characters presented here who mean less to the overall history of Marvel, so again, it is impressive that they didn’t knock one of them off first. What’s also amusing/disturbing is that there are some oddball characters thrown into the mix like the kid from that Sentinel series from way back who fixed a Sentinel and became friends with him via the Iron Giant. The fact that I don’t remember the character’s name means he’s fairly disposable, but still…..brutal. A-

Here is a little bonus stat that I call "the spread."

It's ISO - K%.  ISO, as you probably know, is SLG - BA.  So what we're really getting at here is the ability to hit the ball on the screws without missing a lot.

It's kind of a handy way to get an "at-a-glance" sense of how well a guy can use the bat.  Fangraphs makes it easy, by putting the two stats in columns right next to each other.  So, for example, one can quickly see, in the case of Carlos Peguero, that, except for rookie ball and High Desert, his "spread" has never been close to positive.

Or, for Dustin Ackley, one can see that his positive spread in the minors has reversed course in the majors.

Or, for Vladimir Guerrero, you can see him blasting the spread out of the water year after year after year.  So much so, that I am nicknaming the stat "Vlad-itude."

And, as you can see below, nephew Gaby is right on track with the gene pool.

Here are the guys who showed a positive "spread" in the Mariners system in 2012:

1. Mike Zunino (21): .155
2. Gabriel Guerrero (18): .110
3. Leon Landry (22): .107
4. Stefen Romero (23): .107
5. Jack Marder (22): .086
6. Rich Poythress (24): .066
7. Daniel Paolini (22): .061
8. Taylor Ard (22): .051
9. Timothy Lopes (18): .046
10. Mike McGee (23): .029
11. John Hicks (22): .024
12. Jabari Henry (21): .024
13. Julio Morban (20): .023
14. Steven Proscia (22): .023
15. Brad Miller (22): .015
16. Chris Taylor (21): .009
17. Mario Martinez (22): .006
18. Dario Pizzano (21): .005

More of the Spectometer stats.

Once again, a recap of the ground rules:

• Ages 26 and over are considered "post-prospect" (for hitters), and are not counted (sorry Luis Rodriguez for plate skills and Joseph Dunigan for slugging).
• A season needs at least 100 plate appearances to count.  Seasons between 50 and 99 PAs I will look at, and might note, but they won't go on the leaderboard.
• Seasons that are entirely in foreign leagues don't count.  Mixed seasons with some foreign and some domestic stats I will count (but note with a caveat).  Good news for Gaby Guerrero fans (of which I am one).
• The normal age-arc I use is Rookie/Short Season: 19 ... Low-A: 20 ... High-A: 21 ... AA: 22 ... AAA: 23.  A guy who is younger than age-arc is noted in green.   One year older than normal age-arc is not noted, but two years or more older earns an "age caveat" and is noted in blue.
• Ages are from baseball-reference.com "age season" (age as of midnight on June 30 of the season).

***

Stat:  Strikeout Rate (K%)

Formula: K/PA (expressed as a percent)

Interpretive rule of thumb:  As a general rule, a lower strikeout rate is better than a higher one, since it creates more balls-in-play (and thus a better chance of converting them to random-y singles).  But a low K% in-and-of-itself doesn't prove a lot.  That being said, hitters who are not sluggers rarely succeed in the majors if their K% in the minors is consistently higher than 20%.

All hitters:
 

1. Rich Poythress (24): 9.5%
2. Chris Taylor (21): 10.1%
3. Michael Faulkner (21): 10.1%
4. Michael Dowd (22): 10.3%
5. Jesus Sucre (24): 11.2%
6. Timmy Lopes (18): 11.7%
7. Jamodrick McGruder (20): 12.4%
8. Martin Peguero (18): 12.5%
9. Jamal Austin (21): 13.3%
10. Ketel Marte (18): 13.3%
11. Daniel Paolini (22): 13.3%
12. Gabriel Guerrero (18): 13.4%
13. Leon Landry (22): 13.6%
14. John Hicks (22): 13.6%
15. Jack Marder (22): 13.8%

***
Below age-arc hitters:

1. Timmy Lopes (18): 11.7%
2. Martin Peguero (18): 12.5%
3. Ketel Marte (18): 13.3%
4. Gabriel Guerrero (18): 13.4%
5. Carlos Triunfel (22): 16.4%

***
Glove-position hitters:

1. Chris Taylor -- SS (21): 10.1%
2. Michael Dowd -- C (22): 10.3%
3. Jesus Sucre -- C (24): 11.2%
4. Timmy Lopes -- 2b (18): 11.7%
5. Martin Peguero -- 2b/SS (18): 12.5%

***
 

All hitters with age-caveat (older than age-arc level) hitters excluded:

1. Chris Taylor (21): 10.1%
2. Timmy Lopes (18): 11.7%
3. Jamodrick McGruder (20): 12.4%
4. Martin Peguero (18): 12.5%
5. Jamal Austin (21): 13.3%
6. Ketel Marte (18): 13.3%
7. Gabriel Guerrero (18): 13.4%
8. Leon Landry (22): 13.6%
9. John Hicks (22): 13.6%
10. Jack Marder (22): 13.8%
11. Stefen Romero (23): 14.0%
12. Jean Acevedo (21): 15.0%
13. Brad Miller (22): 16.3%
14. Carlos Triunfel (22): 16.4%
15. Filipe Burin (20): 16.7%

Of note: Gabrial Franca (18): 17.0%; Vinnie Catricala (23): 17.4%; Mike Zunino (21): 17.4%; Ji-Man Choi (21): 18.7%

And of note on the ugly end: Kristian Brito (17): 32.2%; Carlos Peguero (25): 32.0%; Nate Tenbrink (25): 29.6%: Patrick Kivlehan (21): 29.4%; Guillermo Pimentel (19): 28.9%; Marcus Littlewood (20): 27.8%; Phillips Castillo (18): 26.7%; Isaiah Yates (18): 23.7%.

***

Thoughts:
 

• Many of the crop of new teens (the Teen Titans) are really good at not striking out. Even Martin Peguero and Ketel Marte join the party in this category.  (The prior crop -- Castillo, Pimentel … not so much.)
• Gaby Guerrero is a chip off the old block of Uncle Vlad.  Big power, tiny K%.
• And the guys that get you very intrigued until you see the K%: Marcus Littlewood, Isaiah Yates … even the attempted rebound of Nate Tenbrink.