The Brewster

"Moo" hopes to milk the future

With their second-round pick, the Yellow Springs Nine have selected line-drive hitting outfield/infield combo man Ricardo Mendoza. The 17-year-old hails from Mexico, but went to school in Tokyo, Japan. He hit .377 in 180 at bats this season, batting from the left side, and displays the speed to play center field even though most baseball people on the Nine staff suggest the corner is his most likely scenario. “He can play defense out there well enough, and though he needs to work on turning the double play, we can see Ricardo playing second base in the future, too,” said assistant GM Phillip Watson.

Mendoza hit 12 doubles, a couple triples, and 9 homers in what was essentially his senior season in school.

“I’m really excited to be selected so high,” Mendoza said, who his teammates call “moo” because his family are beef ranchers in Mexico, that’s what he does every time he sees a cow. “It’s a real dream of mine to play ball at the highest level, and you can’t get any higher than the BBA.”

Assuming negotiations go as well as expected, there are questions as to whether Mendoza will start in Rookie ball in Alamogordo or be assigned up to Short-A in Guantanamo. “His development stage is a bit of a tweener,” Watson said. “So we’ll see who else we pick up later, and go from there.