From: Bill McGuffin, No-I'm-Not-A-Card-Carrying-Member-Of-AARP, Asst. GM
Date: Jan. 26, 2042
About: Shortstops
Listen, I'm not sure you're even allowed to ask if I belong to AARP, which I don't. But even if I did, you can't fire a guy for that. And sure, maybe I had to take a nap because I was up all night researching these briefing papers for you, but even 20-year-old Short Season A guys need sleep once in awhile, right?
Ok. Enough. Here's the deal with shortstops:
Shortstops
| Player | Level | Ovr/Pot | Contact | Gap | HR Power | Eye | Avoid K's | Pos. Rating | Range | Error | Arm | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S. Morales | Majors | 40/40 | 4/4 | 5/5 | 4/4 | 4/5 | 6/6 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 |
| J. Mills | Majors | 45/45 | 4/4 | 4/4 | 3/3 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 9 | 8 |
| J. Lozano | AAA | 35/45 | 4/4 | 5/5 | 4/4 | 6/6 | 4/4 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 11 |
| M. Valdéz | AAA | 40/45 | 5/5 | 5/5 | 1/1 | 6/6 | 6/6 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 10 | 11 |
| S. Morrison | AA | 35/50 | 4/4 | 6/7 | 4/4 | 5/5 | 4/4 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 12 | 11 |
Right now, the plan is to start Morales for his defense and just hold our collective noses over his hitting, which stinks. We're already arguing with manager Julian Negrete, who wants to start Mills there. And while we're delighted to have the "One Man Bench" on board, he doesn't field SS well enough to be our starter. Most of his other positions we could write him in without a second thought, but not here.
We're giving some thought to bringing Valdéz up because his bat is the best of the bunch and his defense is very good. Our hesitancy is two-fold: his range isn't quite what you want there, and he's kind of a dick. We'll give him a look in Spring Training and see what we think, but right now we're leaning towards Morales/Mills.
Next season, Lozano should be ready, and his defense looks outstanding. If his bat develops even a tiny bit, we'll be delirious, but even if it doesn't he looks viable.
Bottom line: this is an area of need, and we don't see anything in free agency or elsewhere that fills it. So, we'll opt for good defense and look for our hitting elsewhere in the lineup.
If you have questions, I most definitely will not be napping. Nope. Not me. Wide awake … zzzzzzzz