Off Topic
Travelblog of Thom S. Hunter
Editor’s Note: This is a running blog that will cover minor league players in the Yellow Springs organization. We initiated it because this kid reporter was hired without my knowledge and we needed to do something with him. He seems flaky to me. Seems like a waste of good cash. But what do I know? Good luck.
September, 2046: Whereabouts Unknown – Bottom line here, if the Yellow Springs Nine isn’t going to play Rex Foster every day, they aren’t going to do it for anyone. So, look platoon. That’s what my tea leaves say, and since those tea leaves were provided to me by the state as I still sit here waiting to be let free of my wrongful incarceration, how could they be wrong?
If you can’t tell, I’m up to looking at left field.
It’s home to a lot of interesting characters and candidates, but the real question here is to wonder what the Nine are going to do over the long haul with both Rex Foster and Natsume Kondo. Both are young enough to sign long-term, but Foster in particular is going to be asking for many Trucks Full of Money. There's also some question about Bret Powers in the mix. Could one of these guys find a role if Powers moves on. To say this is a waiting game is to say Christmas is in December. (Don't try this kind of word association at home kiddoes, only us pro writers can make that kind of thing work).
(#1)
Fans are already familiar with Martin Herrera, who the team traded for as a guy who could, if needed following Foster’s footsteps. The kid from Puerto Rico has already proven what he can do with a couple month stint with the team when Foster went down. He was productive to the tune of .9 WAR in 159 plate appearances, which extends out to between two and three WAR in a full season. Pretty valuable.
Bottom line, Herrera can hit, though not as well as Foster.
And he can field a bit—considerably better than Foster. At 6’5”, 200, he’s an imposing figure at the plate, and also unlike Foster that body seems to be built to withstand the pressures of 162 games. If Availability is the Best ability, Martin wins hand’s down. So, I pencil him in as the left fielder of the future, and then leave it to Foster and his decision on the opt-in/opt-out to decide if that future is 2047 or 2048.
Either way, I think the team is going to be fine here.
(#2)
Nazeeh Ragheb is a free swinger who hails from Bayji in Iraq. If I don’t look too hard, he reminds me a little of Dong-po Thum as long as he’s hitting right handed pitching. Doesn’t strike out a ton, and will drive it to the gap. Doesn’t have Thum’s power, and he’s a little too daring on the basepaths, and while he’s okay with the glove, he’s not going to be winning any Zimmers. So, maybe not Thum at all. Skewer me later, all right?
Bottom line is that Ragheb should be a pretty useful baseball player if the team can keep him off the field in certain situations.
Scouts found him in the summer of 44, and by nest spring he was hitting baseballs in Alamogordo so well that the club skipped him up to Silver Springs this year, where he proceeded to drop a .315/.370/.397 slash, good for an OPS_ of 112. With an injury to a kid in Santa Cruz, the rumor is that Ragheb will get a quick call up, and therefore see some additional post-season play.
We’ll see how that eye develops, but if it comes in quickly, I could see Ragheb in a Nine uniform by 2048, or late 2049.
(#3)
Julian Aldis was banged up a bit when he was signed as a non-drafted Free Agent, which put a damper on the 2045 season. The team took a chance, though, and skipped him to AA in Santa Clara, where Aldis has blossomed. He’s another Brit, which is beginning to make me wonder if I’m off on another parallel universe, but it is what it is.
As a fan, here’s what you need to know about Julian Aldis: when he hits the ball, you can hear the horsehide scream from a mile away. Then it lands at your feet. The kid hit 29 homers in his first year of pro ball, and while the batting average was only .214, the OBP was .380. Scouts say he’s a lefty masher. They also say he’s not a total zero in the field, though he’s not much more than that, either. Add it all up, and you’ve got a guy who can play a solid platoon role in the outfield—which is exactly what this club needs.
When I do the roster math, it says Aldis is going to pair up with Herrera and/or Ragheb, possibly as early as next year. Some of that depends on Natsume Kondo, who the team got from Phoenix, and who has been having a solid year. Some of that depends on Bret Powers, who is getting to the expensive parts of his lifespan in the Nine system. It’s all good, though. Aldis is 20 years old. Even if he’s “ready” he can probably benefit from another year in the minors.
# I could actually add a couple more guys as “real” prospects, but I get a little angsty doing so. I mean, Doraisvami Vidvan is an interesting hitter who looks better to the eye than his numbers say. He’s got a way to go, though, and his defense reeks of Designated Hitter. The Nine has platooned the DH role for a lot of my lived experience, so it could happen. And Wes Grieve and Ricardo Blanco are “good little players,” with Grieve already having seen a few days in the bigs due to his overall versatility. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either or both play bit parts somewhere, and those are valuable in the end.
There there’s Tsurayuki Ikeda, who just needs to stew a little longer and make just a little more contact to possibly jump to the upper regions of this list. And Edgar Gary, who would benefit from a little more pop or a little more eye.
I like all these guys.
But no, I just couldn’t manage do make myself get so excited about any of them right now to even pretend to get fan’s hopes up. Maybe next year, all right? For now, just consider them dark horses, and then we can all have great joy if or when any of them rise up on this vision quest of theirs.
ORGANIZATIONAL PROSPECT DEPTH CHART
September, 2046: Whereabouts Unknown – Bottom line here, if the Yellow Springs Nine isn’t going to play Rex Foster every day, they aren’t going to do it for anyone. So, look platoon. That’s what my tea leaves say, and since those tea leaves were provided to me by the state as I still sit here waiting to be let free of my wrongful incarceration, how could they be wrong?
If you can’t tell, I’m up to looking at left field.
It’s home to a lot of interesting characters and candidates, but the real question here is to wonder what the Nine are going to do over the long haul with both Rex Foster and Natsume Kondo. Both are young enough to sign long-term, but Foster in particular is going to be asking for many Trucks Full of Money. There's also some question about Bret Powers in the mix. Could one of these guys find a role if Powers moves on. To say this is a waiting game is to say Christmas is in December. (Don't try this kind of word association at home kiddoes, only us pro writers can make that kind of thing work).
(#1)
Fans are already familiar with Martin Herrera, who the team traded for as a guy who could, if needed following Foster’s footsteps. The kid from Puerto Rico has already proven what he can do with a couple month stint with the team when Foster went down. He was productive to the tune of .9 WAR in 159 plate appearances, which extends out to between two and three WAR in a full season. Pretty valuable.
And he can field a bit—considerably better than Foster. At 6’5”, 200, he’s an imposing figure at the plate, and also unlike Foster that body seems to be built to withstand the pressures of 162 games. If Availability is the Best ability, Martin wins hand’s down. So, I pencil him in as the left fielder of the future, and then leave it to Foster and his decision on the opt-in/opt-out to decide if that future is 2047 or 2048.
Either way, I think the team is going to be fine here.
(#2)
Nazeeh Ragheb is a free swinger who hails from Bayji in Iraq. If I don’t look too hard, he reminds me a little of Dong-po Thum as long as he’s hitting right handed pitching. Doesn’t strike out a ton, and will drive it to the gap. Doesn’t have Thum’s power, and he’s a little too daring on the basepaths, and while he’s okay with the glove, he’s not going to be winning any Zimmers. So, maybe not Thum at all. Skewer me later, all right?
Scouts found him in the summer of 44, and by nest spring he was hitting baseballs in Alamogordo so well that the club skipped him up to Silver Springs this year, where he proceeded to drop a .315/.370/.397 slash, good for an OPS_ of 112. With an injury to a kid in Santa Cruz, the rumor is that Ragheb will get a quick call up, and therefore see some additional post-season play.
We’ll see how that eye develops, but if it comes in quickly, I could see Ragheb in a Nine uniform by 2048, or late 2049.
(#3)
Julian Aldis was banged up a bit when he was signed as a non-drafted Free Agent, which put a damper on the 2045 season. The team took a chance, though, and skipped him to AA in Santa Clara, where Aldis has blossomed. He’s another Brit, which is beginning to make me wonder if I’m off on another parallel universe, but it is what it is.
When I do the roster math, it says Aldis is going to pair up with Herrera and/or Ragheb, possibly as early as next year. Some of that depends on Natsume Kondo, who the team got from Phoenix, and who has been having a solid year. Some of that depends on Bret Powers, who is getting to the expensive parts of his lifespan in the Nine system. It’s all good, though. Aldis is 20 years old. Even if he’s “ready” he can probably benefit from another year in the minors.
# I could actually add a couple more guys as “real” prospects, but I get a little angsty doing so. I mean, Doraisvami Vidvan is an interesting hitter who looks better to the eye than his numbers say. He’s got a way to go, though, and his defense reeks of Designated Hitter. The Nine has platooned the DH role for a lot of my lived experience, so it could happen. And Wes Grieve and Ricardo Blanco are “good little players,” with Grieve already having seen a few days in the bigs due to his overall versatility. I wouldn’t be surprised to see either or both play bit parts somewhere, and those are valuable in the end.
There there’s Tsurayuki Ikeda, who just needs to stew a little longer and make just a little more contact to possibly jump to the upper regions of this list. And Edgar Gary, who would benefit from a little more pop or a little more eye.
I like all these guys.
But no, I just couldn’t manage do make myself get so excited about any of them right now to even pretend to get fan’s hopes up. Maybe next year, all right? For now, just consider them dark horses, and then we can all have great joy if or when any of them rise up on this vision quest of theirs.
ORGANIZATIONAL PROSPECT DEPTH CHART
| Level | Player | Age | B | OVR | HITTING | DEFENSE | Ceiling | Arrival | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Martin Herrera | 23 | L | 50 | 7/10/8/7/7 | 7/7/6 - | 3 WAR | 2047 | Played 2046 |
| A | Nazeeh Ragheb | 19 | L | 35/50 | 10/9/3/6/9 | 6/5/8 - | 3 WAR | 2049 | |
| AA | Julian Aldis | 20 | R | 35/45 | 6/8/9/6/4 | 5/6/6 - | RH Platoon | 2048 | Pray for Bump |
| R | Doraisvami Vivdan | 19 | R | 20/40 | 6/8/8/6/6 | 3/5/8 - | RH Platoon | DH? | |
| AAA | Wes Grieve | 24 | R | 40 | 8/8/2/3/9 | 8/8/7 - | Now | 4th OF/Def Rep | |
| AAA | Ricardo Blanco | 25 | L | 35/40 | 6/6/7/6/5 | 5/7/5 - | Injury Rep | ||
| SA | Edgar Gary | 20 | L | 20/35 | 7/8/4/4/8 | 6/8/8 - | |||
| SA | Tsurayuki Ikeda | 20 | R | 20/40 | 5/7/8/6/4 | 7/9/8 - | |||
| R | Jorge Morales | 20 | S | 20/35 | 4/8/9/6/3 | 3/5/8 - |