by Nes Lessman
As soon as I heard the news, I rushed down to Mankato. The Yellow Spring Nine's first round pick in 2063, who pitched lights out at Cat Island and is helping Silver Springs dominate the competition has a shoulder injury.
Described as a mild inflammation, it's going to cause Nine fans to have a different body part react their collective hearts may be broken.
Copley, chosen second overall in place of several other pitchers who looked like potential good fits at the second slot in Juan Evans (playing in AAA for Valencia), Ernesto Marrero (who is in AAA for Louisville), and Ricardo Martinez (who is Copley's peer in A-ball for Long Beach), came out of college, where he excelled for Best Buy. The young man played on a touring team instead of BBA-recognized High School and started his career with the Geek Squad in 2061. He was a career 12-7 with a 4.15 ERA (keeping in mind his 4.66 ERA in 2063 was among the league leaders in an offense-heavy world) in 34 starts.
Upon moving on to the Nine, he started with the Pirates but only required 3 starts there (going 2-1 with a 1.08 ERA) before GM Rob McMonigal moved him up to the Tarpons. With Silver Springs, the young man maintained his groove, going 4-2 with a 2.92 ERA, a .99 WHIP and a 8.3 k/9 rate prior to this injury.
It looked as though he'd be pitching the Tarpons right into the potential for another Championship, but now he's literally on ice.
What went wrong? Was it a scouting mistake? I'm aware from my sources that the Nine were very high on Marrero, and that at least two other Brewer General Managers, both of whom were drafting later in the round, thought that Marrero would be a good fit for the Nine. Did they miss something in Copley's motion that will now haunt them?
"Absolutely not," said GM Rob McMonigal. "We definitely did like Marrero, but in the end felt that Copley being left handed and his better work on splits was a key difference. This is just a freak thing, and it's minor. Very very minor."
The other main question is over-use. Copley has never thrown as many innings as he has this year 154.3 innings, well above his college totals and more than on the travel team. It could just be that he's feeling the strain a bit. Hopefully, managers Angel Cuevas and Martin Flores haven't broken his arm. But it's definitely possible. Will his usage be adjusted for the rest of the year?
"We always look at workload for our pitchers, up and down the organization," said McMonigal. "When he's ready to come back, it is possible he'll pitch out of the bullpen until the Tarpons are in the playoffs. But that will be up to Kevin, the team trainer, and our management team."
"So you're worried about his arm?" I asked.
"I never said that, Ness. Come on, stop trying to make a story where there isn't one."
As my readers know, this award-winning author didn't get to where he is by making up stories. Instead, I find them before they happen. So I present this to you as a cautionary tale you heard it from me first if Copley's shoulder issues get worse.
For his and the Nine's sake, let's hope not.
I like this guy... hope it doesn't lead to more shoulder problems.