December 16, 2056
Yellow Springs, OH – The Yellow Springs Nine announce they've added the following two players as part of the Rule 5 Draft:
SP Aytac Rahim. 23 years old, Rahim comes from the Madison organization, where he was ranked by BBA national scouts as the 50th best prospect in all of the BBA. Rahim started 9 games for Madison's AAA team in South Ben in 2056, going 2-3 with a 3.58 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, and 1.2 WAR. He throws five pitches, the best of which is a nasty changeup and the worst is a curveball that's still developing. Rahim has no strong fastball and relies on great stuff, solid movement, and okay control. Originally an international scouting discovery out of Turkey, there's very little wear on his arm (less than 150 professional innings!) and he's probably going to be eased in to BBA play.
"No matter who you are, you can't have enough pitching," said GM Rob McMonigal. We scout the other teams very hard to find who they may be undervaluing, then pounce if an opportunity presents itself. That's been the case the past few years with McGuire and Pak, and we're happy to do it again with Rahim, whom we believe we can develop into a major-league caliber player.
SP Ken Bautista. 22 years old, Bautista is another selection from the San Fernando Bears organization. He spent the past two years with their Anderson Joes, where he was 12-15 in 40 starts with a not as nice as you'd like 4.69. He did have 4.7 WAR and 7.1 k/9 with the Joes. Bautista also throws five pitches, but it's his changeup that isn't strong and he throws no traditional fastball at all. Instead, it's a Slider/Forkball/Cutter combo that he utilizes with excellent movement. Bautista's now on his third organization due to various factors, four if you include his 2051 failed drafting by Nashville.
"Ken's a little more of a project than we typically consider for Rule 5, but despite the fact that he's not quite lived up to his potential, the potential is there. I think we can unlock it, either this coming season with our big league club or perhaps in Indy in 2058. I've already asked Carlos [Valle, AA pitching coach] to contact both Ken and Aytec to work on ways to prepare them for the BBA.
The Yellow Springs Nine also announce they've lost the following player to the Bikini Krill in the Rule 5 Daft:
C Antonio Thomas. Thomas is 24 and was with the Santa Cruz Spartans before being selected by the Krill in the eighth round. He batted .221 in 96 games with 1 home run. The young man was added to the Nine organization in late 2055 and spent one year with the Spartans, where he had extraordinary defensive metrics, which likely attracted former Yellow Springs GM Ron Collins to him, including a Zone Rating of 4.9.
"We're very sad to lose Antonio, especially since he may end up suffering irreparable damage due to having to play on the Atoll on a regular basis. I thought we might make it through without a single selection, but leave it to Ron to find value in the deep minors. That's what he's best at right?"
Rahim will wear #17 for the Nine and Bautista #2. Fans will get their first chance to see them play for the Nine this coming spring.
