As the season winds down, it’s easy to see that it’s been a great year for rookies across the whole of the Frick League. Several young players have made major impacts in the pennant chases, and will certainly continue to do so in the post season. It makes for entertaining baseball, and also for some fun discussions around the water cooler as far as who should win the coveted award for first-year players.
It’s an interesting mix of guys.
We’ll start with the only pitcher in the mix, California’s
Ernie Kinney (8/7/6 Talents). The 21-year-old lefty was a late first round pick in 2030 and burst on the scene in mid-season with the Crusaders struggling. He’s made only 16 starts but gone 11-2 and posted a 2.48 ERA. He’s a crafty junkballer who throws all that junk hard, and a guy who all the pundits said would find the league catching up to him after one time around. To date, that hasn’t happened. The team is now tied with Long Beach going into the last four games of the season. We call that an impact player.
Calgary’s John Karyabwite, at 20, is the next guy on the slate. The Venezuelan outfielder stepped into the Pioneer’s lineup to the tune of 608 plate appearances and a .339/.369/.486 slash line, good for 12 homers, 76 steals, and 4.1 WAR. Imagine what he would do if he could take a walk? Bottom line, though, Karyabwite’s presence has helped carry Calgary to the precipice of a wild card berth, and could help keep them there for a long time.
Twin Cities 21-year-old catcher
Gerald Gonzalez (6/6/7/7/5 Talents), from Maryville, Missouri, was a mainstay with one of the better feel-good stories of the year. He had an uneventful cup of coffee last year before stepping in and posting a 3.8 WAR effort based on 20 homers, 79 RBI, and a .279/.369/.486 slash line (502 PA). At 21 he’s a solid, if not spectacular defender, throwing out 35% of the runners who attempt to steal on him. Bottom line, Gonzalez is a solid pro, and the kind of quiet performer you find on a lot of post-season teams. He’s a major reason why TC is still in contention for a Wild Card going into the last week of the season.
And, while we’re on catchers, we’ll talk about Yellow Springs’ 22-year-old
Aaron Stone (8/8/9/8/5 Talents), who came from the 8th round of the 2030 draft to drop 25 bombs on Frick pitchers (to go with 79 RBI, and a .305/.366/.562 slash in 480 PA). Stone’s defensive acumen was a mixed bag, consisting of 12 passed balls, but catching 34% of runners attempting to steal. But that bat. Oh, my but it burns. Stone’s arrival is among the primary reasons the Nine are sitting at the top of the Frick League’s offensive registers, and still has an outside chance to take a second straight division title. That quake you just felt was the result of Frick League pitching staffs hearing that scouts say the slugger from Tulsa, Oklahoma isn’t done growing.
Then there’s Louisville’s second baseman Gabriel Telemante. At 24, Telemante is the elder statesman of the rookie field, and he had 120 or so plate appearances in the league last year. Telemante makes his impact in the field, where he has Zimmer talent, and by hitting towering blasts of such prodigious nature that young women have been known to swoon when he swings. His 34 homers this year lead all rookies, and scouts continue to say that he’ll do better than his paltry .227 average (duplicated from last season). If he does that, Telemante will be a fixture at the All-Star game.
Finally we come to Indy’s 23-year-old catcher,
Bob Wagner (8/8/4/5/9 Talents), who arrived out of Leesburg, Florida last season for a moment, but who stuck for good this year. Indy had a nice run of it early in the year before fading. Wagner’s .302/.353/.425 line in 433 PA suggests the team’s catching role is in pretty fair hands for the foreseeable future, and the Grasshopper’s future path is looking rosy
Which of these guys is going to win? It’s a tough call. We like Kinney, Stone, and Karyabwite the best, but rational people can argue this, and the fact is that post-season play could make a difference at the end.
And, the truth is we could add several others into the mix, players like Louisville shortstop
Jaime Ramirez, and Vancouver's
Brett Compton. Omaha's
Scotty Pendleton was solid, if not brilliant at times, and Seattle's
Julio Alicea threw 160 gritty innings in front of a less-than-stellar team. Indy's Jose Reyes tossed 200+ for Indy.
Regardless, it bears repeating: 2032 was a good year for Frick League kids.
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