May 30, 2061
by Banjo Jackson
Nashville, TN
The Bluebirds planned on relying on young prospects to fill their starting rotation needs this season and have found great success thus far in Armando Ortíz. However, Bob Loblaw and Phil Cole struggled to get batters out and the Bluebirds were suddenly in need of another arm. Enter Jim Ploughman, an unknown pitcher prior to his GM’s praise in the media just days prior.
“Well, it kinda started as a joke,” said Nashville GM Chad Nason. “Loserville isn’t allowed to have prized assets in the Heartland– they all belong to Nashville. After reading about Ploughman’s success, I was enamored with his name more so than his stats, which are great in their own right. I ringed Pinnell dangling some attractive fruit expecting to be rejected. I just wanted to have Mr. Plow! It was to my surprise when Pinnell didn’t churn my advances, but engaged in trade talks. We talked for a bit exchanging a few names and settled on a couple of players that fit his timeline.”
The players headed back to Louisville are 2B Ming Cheng and 3B Franky Piljswaard. Cheng is a promising player in his third season in Rookie ball. While he hasn’t shown much success to date, scouts love his bat to ball skills and loved that he was able to improve his defense in the development lab over the offseason Piljswaard was signed as an international free agent earlier this year for $3.2 million plus penalties and shows promise as an all-around hitter with a great arm at the hot corner, though extremely raw.
Ploughman sported a 5.23 ERA in 6 GS for the Sluggers before being traded to Nashville, but advanced metrics showed he was more of a victim to bad luck and defense that anything. He enjoyed success in the minor leagues over the past two seasons, but seemed to have taken his game to the next level in 2061 with improvements to his stuff, movement, and control.
LHP Jim Ploughman
The left-hander will immediately take hold of a rotation spot this season and the rookie hopes to be in Nashville for several years.
“Wow,” exclaimed Ploughman upon hearing the news of the trade. “First thing I did after getting notified was buying a lotto ticket. I thought this must be my lucky day. Going from this dump to the champs is a dream. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I was grateful to play in the BBA, but being sought after by the champs is another thing entirely. I didn’t see any championships in my horizon last year, but excited to help win one this year!”
