January 1, 2061
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
1. CF Alfonso Gonzáles: Seemingly stuck in the mud here, Gonzles keeps working on his plate discipline, but still cannot keep himself from swinging freely. Sure, most of the balls he swings at still end up as hard hits, but the goal is draw more walks and wait for better pitches to drive in the gap or over the wall. FRUSTRATED
2. RF Ra’id Usamah: Still not signs of improvement for Usamah and the Bluebirds may need to look for a more impactful bat to replace Rivera. Regardless, expect a lot of production lost in the middle of the Bluebirds lineup this season. FRUSTRATED
3. CF Zee-loo Tsao: The #1 prospect in baseball continues to struggle in the development lab. This may be one of the most disappointing busts in recent history. STRUGGLING
4. SP Bin-ying ‘Bye Bye’ Yen: After seeing some progress last month, Yen continues to work off those victories and hit the corners for strikes. All his pitches are catching the edges or just off, inducing weak contact or freezing hitters all together. Huge gains and we hope it continues. EXCELLING ^
5. CF Adolf Dragota: No progress has been noted by Dragota. The lab may not be enough to help the kid anyway. Hopefully another season in Single A proves more useful. FRUSTRATED
6. SS Luke Cage: After a week of regressing, Cage is back in the cages and tracking balls much better. He is calling out the pitches and actually laying off the bad balls this time. Don’t sign off on this one quite yet, but this is good news. ON TRACK ^
7. SP Brent ‘Black Jack’ Chappel: Still crushing his development. His breaking balls have so much more bite than last season. He’s now just polishing up and looking forward to a season at Single A. EXCELLING
8. CF Carter ‘Fortnite’ Cramer: A trick used by his own mother when he was a kid, Nason has now hidden all the controllers from Cramer and turned off the WiFi for the room he stays in during the offseason. It hasn’t helped. Cramer is still struggling to hit for power. FRUSTRATED
9. SP Harry Spurlock: It looks like Spurlock may be losing a little heat to fatigue. He’s still throwing harder than last year, but not as hard as last month. Maybe a break will do him some good. He’s deserved it. ON TRACK v
10. SP Javier ‘Pops’ Basanta: The few days off seem to have helped Pops. While he’s not making any progress, he’s no longer throwing slower than previously. Maybe he’s destined for the bullpen. FRUSTRATED ^
