55.020 – Mad Pope System: A Look at the Catchers

[RonCo]

Byline: Max Offen Sichtlich

Off Topic

A Different Discussion with the Manager

July 14, 2055


When astute fans of the Sacramento Mad Popes heard that the team had dealt Ziaul-Haq bin Dhul Fiqar to the club down in San Fernando in return for a short-term rental at the big league level, eyebrows raised. bDF, as they had come to know him, was arguably the team’s best catching prospect and had been developing quietly down in AA just fine.

And this new GM of theirs wasn’t known for making that kind of Now-For-Later deal.

So, what gives?

Let’s take a look at the catching situation throughout the structure:


BREWSTER

We have to start at the major league level, where the roster is filled with John Kinsella and Don Hunt, two dependable players—a fact that no-doubt played into the decision to trade a prospect. Kinsella (28) was an All-Star this season, and pairs Zimmer-quality glovework with the ability to hit a little. He’s locked into a deal that will run for five more seasons, so barring catastrophic downturn to his career, the question of who is going to play the bulk of reps for the near term is pretty clear. Hunt can play a little, too. He’s the solid glove that the team needs, and despite languishing a little currently, showed some pop last season. AT 26 years old, he’s got one more season under his rookie contract before he might get to be a little expensive.

LVL	Player Name	Age	B	T	OVR	POT	Con	Con P	Gap	Gap P	Pow	Pow P	Eye	Eye P	AvK	AvK P
1-BBA	John Kinsella	28	R	R	75	75	7	7	6	6	2	2	5	6	7	7
	Source		Ht	Wt	SPD	STE	RUN	CAB	CAR	IFR	IFE	IFA	TDP	OFR	OFE	OFA
	Trade		6'0"	205	1	1	1	10	11	1	1	3	1	1	1	2

LVL	Player Name	Age	B	T	OVR	POT	Con	Con P	Gap	Gap P	Pow	Pow P	Eye	Eye P	AvK	AvK P
1-BBA	Don Hunt	26	R	R	60	60	5	5	9	9	3	3	6	6	5	5
	Source		Ht	Wt	SPD	STE	RUN	CAB	CAR	IFR	IFE	IFA	TDP	OFR	OFE	OFA
	DR47.11		6'3"	200	1	1	4	9	5	1	3	3	1	1	3	3

With some older players to attempt to placate, the team finances are going to be pretty tight over the next couple seasons. So one thinks it’s possible that the team will move him when he gets into arbitration. Hence, that’s the big question: does the team have a player who could step into Hunt’s shoes coming up the chain.

The answer is: Yes.


AAA – Black Hills

LVL	Player Name	Age	B	T	OVR	POT	Con	Con P	Gap	Gap P	Pow	Pow P	Eye	Eye P	AvK	AvK P
2-AAA	Mike Sullivan	22	L	R	45	45	6	6	8	8	4	4	5	5	8	8
	Source		Ht	Wt	SPD	STE	RUN	CAB	CAR	IFR	IFE	IFA	TDP	OFR	OFE	OFA
	DR53.2		6'0"	200	1	3	3	8	6	1	3	4	1	3	4	4

While many league pundits saw bDF as the team’s top prospect, internal conversations suggest that the club’s baseball folks saw it as a neck-and-neck chase with Mike Sullivan, who was a second-round pick back in 2053, and subsequently tore through the minors before hitting a little speedbump in 90 AAA at bats. Scouts say he can handle the defensive part of the game just fine, and his left-handed bat is one of those rare swings that stands a chance to hit LHP at least a little.

As it stand, we’d guess Sullivan is the real answer to why bDF was available.

Because to be fair, beyond that lies a land of fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
Or at least uncertainty and doubt.


AA – Bismark

LVL	Player Name	Age	B	T	OVR	POT	Con	Con P	Gap	Gap P	Pow	Pow P	Eye	Eye P	AvK	AvK P
3-AA	Duqaq Sabir	25	L	R	35	40	5	5	8	8	4	4	5	5	4	5
	Source		Ht	Wt	SPD	STE	RUN	CAB	CAR	IFR	IFE	IFA	TDP	OFR	OFE	OFA
	IFA		6' 1"	200	1	1	1	8	5	2	2	3	2	1	2	3

Sabir will take on the role of supplanting bDF in getting most of the reps in AA. AT 25, it’s getting along the way to where you don’t consider him a prospect anymore. We’re not really expecting much here. No bump in what remains of 2055 means he falls off the list.


A – Hollywood


Playing amid the starlets in Tinseltown, however, are Utbah Utbah and Umarah bi Ihsan, a couple of what the team calls “interesting prospects,” which I think means not really worth a shit, but carries a good glove. Perhaps they’ll be traded to Madison?

Bottom line, neither of them can hit much, but scouts say they both carry stellar gloves, call good games, and take care of their pitchers. As long as the team plays in the Basilica, as long as the field remains the beast it is, pitching – and therefore catching defense – will dominate this team at the big-league level. Team scouts give both of these players glowing thumbs ups in that category so far. So, it’s possible we could see one or both make impacts someplace.

It's worth noting that bin Ihsan can run a little, too. Which never hurts.

Beyond that, we’re rooting for Utbah Utbah for name purposes only. I’m dying to hear the crown chanting his name.

LVL	Player Name	Age	B	T	OVR	POT	Con	Con P	Gap	Gap P	Pow	Pow P	Eye	Eye P	AvK	AvK P
4-A	Umarah bin Ihsan	23	R	R	30	35	4	4	5	5	2	3	3	3	6	6
	Source		Ht	Wt	SPD	STE	RUN	CAB	CAR	IFR	IFE	IFA	TDP	OFR	OFE	OFA
	MLC		6' 0"	195	3	8	10	9	5	4	3	3	2	1	6	3

LVL	Player Name	Age	B	T	OVR	POT	Con	Con P	Gap	Gap P	Pow	Pow P	Eye	Eye P	AvK	AvK P
4-A	Utbah Utbah	22	R	R	20	30	4	4	5	5	2	2	3	3	4	5
	Source		Ht	Wt	SPD	STE	RUN	CAB	CAR	IFR	IFE	IFA	TDP	OFR	OFE	OFA
	Trade		6' 2"	200	1	4	2	10	4	2	3	3	1	2	1	3

Short-A – St. Philippsburg & Rookie – Berkeley


This is the land of hopes and dreams and fingers crossed and don’t step on a crack or you break url=https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 49284.html]Your Mother[/url]’s back. That said, there are a couple players of some intriguement here.

First up is:

LVL	Player Name	Age	B	T	OVR	POT	Con	Con P	Gap	Gap P	Pow	Pow P	Eye	Eye P	AvK	AvK P
5-SA	Max Heregger	16	R	R	20	30	3	5	4	5	5	6	5	6	2	4
	Source		Ht	Wt	SPD	STE	RUN	CAB	CAR	IFR	IFE	IFA	TDP	OFR	OFE	OFA
	DR55.10		6' 0"	180	1	2	2	5	7	3	4	4	1	5	6	4

Heregger was the team’s selection from the 10th round this past season. His bat doesn’t really have any holes, and it appears he’ll have a little pop. So you never know. His defense could use some work. That said, he blasted the ball well enough in Rookie ball that, in the musical chairs that rolled through the organization with bDF’s departure, he’s the guy who got the call up to Phillipsburgh. We’ll see if he can make the most of it.

In a similar vein lies Apostolos Vourlis, who we again get to root for simply because I love the name Apostolos. It seems like I should use that somehow. At least I postulate Apostolos could work into TNs in some kind of satisfying way.

LVL	Player Name	Age	B	T	OVR	POT	Con	Con P	Gap	Gap P	Pow	Pow P	Eye	Eye P	AvK	AvK P
6-R	Apostolos Vourlis	18	R	R	20	30	4	5	3	4	2	5	2	5	2	5
	Source		Ht	Wt	SPD	STE	RUN	CAB	CAR	IFR	IFE	IFA	TDP	OFR	OFE	OFA
	IFA55		6'3"	205	2	2	2	6	5	3	2	3	2	3	2	3

He’s even better in that he’s also actually interesting. The team bought him as a cheap International Free Agent and brought him almost straight to Rookie ball. Not a high ceiling at present, but the scouts say he’s got the mental capacity to do well. He’s a catcher, though. Maybe they don’t call them the tools of ignorance for nothing.