2061.15 Minor Improvements, Part 2?
by Nes Lessman, for the Yellow Springs World
Another month has gone by and the Yellow Springs Nine have been insanely quiet on the major league free agent front. Their only signing was former GBC relief pitcher Baz Badr, who was a top prospect in the independent league and most recently had a five year run of excellence for Buenos Aires. Given GM Rob McMonigal's distaste for signing former GBC players after several failed attempts, I'm even more convinced than ever that he's not around for some reason.
And, with respect to my colleague Edwin, I don't think his theory that McMonigal is either a fugitive from justice or just too ashamed to show his face and is having extensive plastic surgery are correct.
However, they are still picking up minor league free agents. This time around, however, they're players who might actually have a future back in the big leagues. These are older players who didn't get the call to a major league contract, leaving bottom feeder teams free to offer them an opportunity to playing time.
These are the ultimate low-risk, high reward signings. Let's take a look at them, with my ever-award winning commentary.
SP Greg Jackson (minor league contract with a major league option) Jackson will turn 37 in 2061, so he's not a long-term piece. But he has 16 years of BBA experience, almost all with Valencia, which makes him a great backup for when one of the Nine's young pitchers gets hurt or inevitably underperforms GM Rob McMonigal's expectations. His career 1.29 WHIP and FIP- of 100 make him effectively a great option as your fifth pitcher/swingman, to the point that I'm surprised he entered the pre-season with no better offers than one from Yellow Springs. I think he has a shot at breaking camp in April, but McMonigal likely will want his younger guys to fail first. Nes Assessment: Will end up in a Nine uniform in 2061 at some point.
Nes's Assessment: Of all the players I'll talk about today, this is the one I think has the best shot of being useful.
3B Kevin Maze (minor league contract with a major league option) Maze's career path is a labyrinth at this point, with each decision point seeming to lead to a Minotaur not a regular job. He was drafted in the 10th round by the Vancouver Mounties in 2052 and won a gold glove award in 2053, then a player of the week in 2055. An all-star in 2056 came alongside finishing third as the AA Batter of the Year. At that point, he was upgraded to the Charm City organization, where he made it into the AAA All-Star Game, then followed that up the following year by being a part of the Brewster-winning 2058 team. But he only hit .215 for that squad with 14 home runs. 2059 wasn't much better a .249 average was an improvement, but a corner man hitting just 6 home runs in 225 at-bats won't do the trick. So Maze ended up traded to Rocky Mountain, where he hit .218 and only 3 home runs, which is almost criminal in that city's home park. Now he'll get a fresh start with a team that has almost nothing to lose. The only problem is the Nine already have an excellent first baseman in Emilio Navarro and a lower average power hitter at third in Hilel Bahir. So it's going to take making some wings on those batted balls for Maze, I think.
Nes's Assessment: Probably headed for Indianapolis but he's going to get a shot at some point.
SP Bill Williams (minor league contract with a major league option) Williams once got as high as #71 on the national prospect rankings, which are of course not as good as my own. Still, the former 5th round pick from Hawaii looks on paper like the type of player that should do well. He's got a great curveball that mixes with a solid fastball and an above-average change. But he's never been able to get enough movement on the ball and it's led to inconsistency as a starter and reliever. The Tropics finally banished him off the island when he finished with a 5.11 ERA in 2060. He's just 27 and the right pitching coach might get him back on track. That's McMonigal's hope anyway.
Nes's Assessment: If he could put it together, he'd be great. Should probably start in AAA, though.
CF Dwight Hartsock (minor league contract with a $10,000 signing bonus) If you want a long career as a baseball players, do one of two things: Be really, really good or be really, really versatile. Hartsock is the latter, playing everywhere except first base and catcher. He's best as a light-hitting corner outfielder, but being able to jump in and finish a game at shortstop after you use him to pinch hit for the guy who can't hit it out of the infield most nights. There is the problem that he's absolutely stupid (sorry local Columbus school system), but he can hit well and allows you to keep a DH-only type, something the Nine desperately need. He might also draw some friends and family to the park, which can't hurt, either.
Nes's Assessment: I think he makes the team.
SP Vanya Elliott (minor league contract with a $10,000 signing bonus) Elliott has a killer fastball and not a lot else, to be honest. However, there's a lot of good reasons to kick the mound dirt on this guy A former prospects all-star, former second round pick from a good organization (Charm City), highly intelligent, and prior years of BBA experience that were good. The glaring problem is 2060, where Elliot couldn't stick with struggling Chicago, where he had an ERA of 11.12 in 11.2 innings (yikes). A really long shot, but worth monitoring for improvement.
Nes's Assessment: Unlikely to do anything except audition for the GBC.
SP Gannon Steele (minor league contract with a $10,000 signing bonus) Steel's ability to avoid big hits has been anything but his namesake, with a career BBA ERA of 5.88 and nearly 2 home runs per nine innings. He's now on his fifth organization, which is telling in two ways People keep thinking he might be useful and he keeps proving he's not. I don't see much on this one, either.
Nes's Assessment: I wouldn't rush out to buy a #48 jersey.
For a total cost of $30,000, the Nine got players who might be able to help later. That's the ultimate low-risk options, and seems to be their only plan for 2061. It's an interesting strategy, to say the least, and one that might start seeing a mass exodus of fans.
2061.15 Minor Improvements, Part 2?
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2061.15 Minor Improvements, Part 2?
Post by Trebro » Sat Jan 11, 2025 12:55 pm
Rob McMonigal
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