Slugger Shavings 2061.1 - Ethan Bricknell and the New Bohemians

[RT60]

When the infamous trade of Amphibian Johnson happened, most Sluggers fans took solace in the bountiful return. Aside from the $11.5M, there were four prospects that came over to Louisville. Arguably the most heralded was starting pitcher Ethan Bricknell. He was the #24 prospect in the BBA and had already had a brief taste of primetime the season before. He was poised to have a solid rookie season. But alas, we are talking about Louisville.

Bricknell had what many would call a decent rookie outing in 2060, going 3-8 with a 5.64 ERA in 18 starts. Fine, thought the team brass, get that first year out of the way in order to improve the next year and hopefully the next. Unfortunately for Sluggers fans, Bricknell seemed to suffer from the same disease as all other recent top Louisville pitching prospects. Scouts immediately noticed that the guy simply did not have the ceiling he was originally touted to have. He was basically going to never be more than what he is now. Sure enough, in his sophomore season in 2061, Bricknell went 9-15 with the exact same 5.64 ERA and otherwise comparable stats.

The team hopes that perhaps there is room for Bricknell to improve his stuff slightly, and maybe that will help. But another season like before will only increase the disappointment, even though such a performance would still make Bricknell one of the team's better starters. That simply shows you how woeful the rotation has been recently for the Sluggers.

[trmmilwwi]

I see what you did there!

[BaseClogger]

His current control going from 7 at the time of the trade to 5 now is rough. He's probably a high 5 and could bounce back to being a 6 but that's still a disappointment with everything else considered. But his FIPs have been ok and he's still a BBA starting pitcher (with some upside on his pitch ratings), just bottom of the rotation.