The departure of Mario Villarreal and Fernando Cruz brought five minor leaguers into the club, here’s the lowdown on them :
P Brandon Carr (AAA Missouri)
22-yr-old Brandon arrived from Des Moines as part of the Villarreal deal. The Kernels signed him out of Australia in September 2029 and he is now in his second year at the Triple-A level. He has had two spells playing in the Florida Prospect League and has also represented Australia in the WBC. In 50 AAA starts he has a record of 16-19 with a 4.13 ERA and a 247/124 K/BB ratio. His best pitch is a wicked slider with a decent cutter & curveball backed up by a passable forkball, he can dial these pitches up to 96-98 mph. A loss in his final start for El Paso snapped a five-game winning streak which he will be keen to restart in Missouri to push his claims for a BBA spot.
P Sean Gardner (AA Alabama)
20-yr-old Sean arrived from Brooklyn as part of the Cruz trade. Drafted in the 2nd round of the 2032 First-year-player draft by Havana, he was traded a year later to Brooklyn. He has appeared in the Florida Prospect League for both Havana & Brooklyn. He is at his second year at Double-A and in 27 starts so far he is 8-7 with a 4.17 ERA and a 96/27 K/BB ratio. He has an above average Fastball, Cutter and Forkball with a developing changeup. He can reach 94-96 mph with his pitches.
P Manuel Ramirez (AA Alabama)
21-yr-old Manuel arrived from Brooklyn in the Cruz deal. A third round pick in the 2031 draft by Brooklyn he has a Spike Nolan (R) Championship Series ring from his second pro year along with a Championship Series MVP trophy. Last year was his first at AA and so far he’s 5-9 from 27 starts with a 4.82 ERA and a 103/51 K/BB ratio. He stopped in at Rookie ball Bowling Green on his arrival in the franchise and in two outings from the ‘pen he posted two saves, no runs surrendered and eight strikeouts in 3.1 IP. He has now made his way to Double-A Alabama where Louisville will try to use him as a starter. He has the stamina, a wicked curveball, an all-star cutter but his third pitch, a circle change, still needs a lot of development if he’s going to go far as a starter. The franchise are confident though that with pitches touching 100 mph he has a BBA career waiting as a bullpen arm if all else fails.
P Douglas Wils (AA Alabama)
20-yr-old Douglas arrived from Yellow Springs as part of the three-way deal for Villarreal. A seventh round pick by Halifax in the 2031 draft he failed to sign and eventually signed with Vancouver as a third rounder in 2033. He was traded to the Nine last year, Wils is a bit more of a gamble shot, he has had quite a few injuries in his career already and he really needs to improve his stuff to make it. The scouts think he has the work effort and intelligence to make that happen and will give him the time needed. In A-ball so far he has started in 34 out of 35 outings posting an 8-10 record, a 5.02 ERA and a 101/32 K/BB ratio. He will start his Louisville career at Double-A Alabama to see how he handles it but will be on a short leash, if he faulters he will soon be on the way back to A ball.
C Sifal Smerdon (AAA Missouri)
23-yr-old Sifal was part of the Cruz to Brooklyn deal. Signed by Havana as an International Amateur free agent in 2028 he has a few miles on the clock already with trades to California in 2032 and Brooklyn in 2034. He has a 2033 Florida Prospect League Elite Cup winners medal on his mantlepiece along with a Warren Cox (AA) All-Star appearance in 2034. This year he has made the step up to AAA and in 87 outings he has been hitting .247/.318/.402 with eight homers & 48 RBI while throwing out 30.6% of all attempted base stealers. You can never have enough solid backup catchers and with Jose Burgos probably needing a year as the AAA #1 catcher to develop, it could be a straight fight between Smerdon and Andrew van Antwerpen as to who will be Sluggers backup catcher next year?