In this post, I will make the case that you should sign Slawomir. He won't sign with me in London. Slaw's got his sights set on the BBA.
Background -- Who Is Slawomir Trcinski?
29 year old Slawomir Trcinski was born in 2026 in Zielona Góra, in Poland's western region. His baseball career began in Copenhagan, where he pitched for 2 seasons. He was regarded as a non-prospect at the time, boasting a humble set of pitch ratings in 2044.
Despite his relatively humble ratings at the time of his senior year in Copenhagan, Slawomir's college career is suprisingly gaudy -- In 16 career starts, he pitched to a 2.17 ERA in 78.2 IP with a strong 1.04 WHIP. Getting 3 WAR and an eye-popping 205 ERA+. Despite his impressive line, Slawomir went undrafted in 2044. I'm not sure what the state of the league was in 2044, but the competition for draft picks must've been strong if every GM passed him up in the draft, either that or his stats were ignored due to the noisy nature of collegiate stats. His ratings didn't project him to be much of an impact player in the BBA.Stuff: 4 (5); Movement: 4 (6); Control: 3 (7).
However, the Polish native would not remain on the market for long.
Enter Yellow Springs
On 21-May-44, Trcinski signed with YS9 to the tune of $1,500,007. He'd spend 3 years in A-ball, posting an ERA+ of 121 in a relief role, getting called up to AA in 2047, his age 20 season. During this time, Slawomir's stock rose -- his stuff rating saw drastic improvement. See his scouting report below from 1-Jan-47
An improvement in all marks from his Copenhagen days. Slawomir's AA days would be among his strongest in the minors. In 2 seasons, over 101 games, he'd toss 229 1/3 IP with a 2.24 ERA and a WHIP of 0.97, good for an ERA+ of 183. Most impressive was his strikeout numbers, notching 296 K's in those 2 seasons, more than his 3 seasons in A-ball. Slawomir was revving up. He finished 3rd in 2047 AA reliever of the year voting. It wouldn't take long for Trcinski to skip AA and make YS9's opening day roster in 2049 at the tender age of 22.OSA scouting updated ratings (potential): Stuff: 9 (9); Movement: 6 (6); Control: 7 (8).
Slawomir's rookie campaign would be his strongest in Yellow Springs, posting a career best 0.93 WHIP over 103 IP with 20 saves. A 164 ERA+ indicates Slawomir was ready for the big time. He'd win a rookie of the month award and finish 2nd in reliever of the year voting at the age of 22.
Here were his scout ratings going into his sophomore campaign in 2050
Clearly YS9 has some fantastic development staff, Slawomir put in the work, or scouts in Copenhagan were plain wrong about his potential. While he was a bit prone to the HR ball, Slawomir was looking increasingly like a stud.OSA scouting updated ratings (potential): Stuff: 12 (12); Movement: 6 (6); Control: 8 (8).
However, Slaw would scuttle in subsequent seasons, never replicating his rookie success. He'd post a mix of sub-par and above average seasons in relief, but never be quite as dominant during his 5 year run in YS.
Slaw sent to Rocky Mountain
Trcinski's Yellow Springs tenure would end unceremoniously in a 2054 trade to Rocky Mountain for RP Eisa Kutaiba and RP Juan Blanco. Kutaiba's yet to make his BBA debut, and Blanco's played in an up-and-down role the past 2 seasons, notching 28.2 IP and a 103 ERA+ over that span.
Trcinski's Rocky Mountain tenure would be short-lived, in less than a month and 5 IP, the Oysters would release him, presumably to make room for other relievers. 2 weeks later he'd sign with San Fernando.
2055 -- A Renaissance Year
Slawomir would quickly pitch himself into a key role in San Fernando's bullpen in 2055. After posting a career worst 5.51 ERA in 65.1 IP in 2054, Trcinski bounced back in a big way, throwing 94.1 IP and posting a 3.34 ERA, good for a 131 ERA+. He'd earn 17 saves for San Fernando. His 1.9 WAR indicates he was returning to form.
Clearly, Kurt in San Fernando felt the same, giving ol' Slaw a call out as the relief pitcher of the year on his team.
See below from this thread .
What's next for Trcinski?Relief Pitcher of the Year - RP Slawomir Trzcinski
Slaw Dawg had the best season I can remember a reliever having in San Fernando since I took the helm. The lefty threw 94.1 innings with a 3.34 ERA--good enough for 1.9 WAR from the relief pitcher Trzcinski notched 78 Ks, 25 BBs, and 9 HRs allowed. After a few midseason trades he became the Bears' stopper and also saved 17 games.
Despite these honors and his bounceback performance, the now 29-year-old sits alone in free agency. Trcinski's getting shown as a 50 OVR/POT reliever and has quite a few things going in his favor.
* He's a lefty
* He's popular nationally
* He's known for his sense of humor, getting the "prankster" tag.
* He's an iron man
* He's asking for not much more than $1 million
Frankly, I was stunned to see Trcinski available at this point in the season. He's currently 11/5/8 with 9 stamina and a 7 hold runners. The biggest knock against him is his movement rating, which likely makes him a liability in high leverage spots in some stadiums. However, despite his up and down career, he's still under 30 and posted a solid season in relief a season ago.
Is there something I am missing? Why is "Slaw Dawg" still on the market?
