The Russelville Rockets finished their Rookie Club regular season with a 45-23 record. That record was good enough for the second-most wins in the Spike Nolan League and to claim the Big Country Division crown five games ahead second place Charlottesville. Unfortunately the Rockets lost the series in 7 games.
With that being said this edition of the season in review will focus on the outfielders.
There were nine outfielders on the roster at the close of the 2063 season. Four of these players were acquired via the Firesale trades last season.
Gideon Shone 167 AB .269/.362 15 HR 47 RBI 7 SB 1.4 WAR
Gideon was acquired last year from San Antonio in a trade for Jonathan Bryant. The 20 year-old played most of his games in right field this past season where he displayed a solid glove. After an abysmal 2062 where he his .201 with 8 homers, Gideon has improved on those numbers this season in 40 fewer at bats. Gideon is still trying to fill out his ratings at this point, but he should be moved up to the Short Season a squad next year.
Eduardo Rodriguez 101 AB .307/.407 2 HR 10 RBI 1 SB 0.6 WAR
Eduardo was also acquired via trade last year with the Montreal Blazers that involved Luis Gonzalez, Koray Kapkin and Vincente Rivera. At 21 years old Eduardo does not have the glove that Gideon has but he did managed to handle all 53 balls that were hit in his direction without an error. Eduardo's numbers also improved over that of his first season with the Rookie club. With a potential contact rating of 7 and better performance this year, do not be surprised if he moves to Short Season A next year as well.
Blair Gallard 105 AB .295/.345 8 HR 21 RBI 2 SB 0.2 WAR
Bones, as he is known to the locals, arrived to the Valencia fold from Vancouver last season as part of a deal for Juan Garcia and Tyler Conkin. While the 20 year-old's batting average rose 50 points over the previous year, it is doubtful that this will be enough production to move him up a level next season. The Valencia brass is still hoping against hope that he can fill out his potential power rating but going from a 2 to a 9 on that scale does not feel overly likely.
Raul Chavarria 185 AB .276/.416 15 HR 40 RBI 0 SB 1.1 WAR
Raul come to Valencia from Montreal in the same trade that brought over Eduardo Rodriguez. Another 20 year-old that is in the mix only hitting .276 but he did show patience at the plate getting 38 walks in his 231 plate appearances. With the speed of a snail crawling on molasses, Raul did not even attempt to steal a base this past season. Raul has a decent shot of playing in Short Season A ball next year.
Two more players were added via the 2063 draft
Vern Tinnin 67 AB .403/.506 6 HR 19 RBI 0 SB 1.1 WAR
The 17 year-old straight out of high school made the most out of his 67 at-bats. The sixth-round's pick below average speed and below average defense may hold him back at the rookie level another year, but getting on base every other at-bat has its advantages when looking at who to promote the next season.
Juan Cabrera 79 AB .380/.457 3 HR 19 RBI 1 SB 0.9 WAR
Juan is trying to continue the trend of successful 12th-round picks for Valencia over the past drafts, but he is going to half to fill out on a lot of his potential ratings to have much of a chance. However, his production this season was pretty solid. Chances are that he will be playing with the Rockets again next season.
The other three were added via IFA/Scouting Discoveries.
Quentin Belgrove 223 AB .368/.443 7 HR 25 RBI 35 SB 3.0 WAR
In his third season after receiving a $2M signing bonus via the IFA process, the 20 year-old showed his first signs of promise this season. Hitting .368/.443 from the leadoff position is definitely more of what the Valencia front office was hoping for as he hit for an average of 120 points higher than the previous season. Quentin will be in the lead for moving to the Short Season A club next year among the outfielders listed in this summary. His ratings will need to improve to advance much further though.
Sharif bin Faris 56 AB .286/.437 2 HR 6 RBI 0 SB 0.3 WAR
Added during a scouting discovery in 2059, Sharif just completed his third season in Russelville. Sharif's numbers declined compared to his 2062 season.
Gamali bin Mu'tazz 108 AB .278/.344 5 HR 25 RBI 1 SB -0.2 WAR
Added during a scouting discovery in 2061, the 18 year-old did better than his first season with Russelville last year but still has a ways to go. Gamali will likely be with the Rockets again next year.