Santa Clarita Valley Journal | Organizational Awards: Mars (55.23)

[mragland]

Santa Clarita Valley Journal
Vicente Lamb, Stars Reporter
September 22, 2055

VALENCIA – It's only been six consecutive losing seasons for the Martians, who did not finish in last place in their division (they finished next to last). Both position players and pitchers posted positive collective WAR scores as a group. The players of the year for this team are a guy Stars fans have already gotten to know pretty well, and a guy Stars fan may soon get to know.

Position Player of the Year: Outfielder, Zhi-jun Xin
Acquired: Trade with Vancouver, 2050
Born: Nanjing, China
.311/.359/.399, .758 OPS, 107 wRC+, 2.1 WAR
Signature Moment: Went 3 for 4, with 2 doubles and a walk, scoring 2 runs, on July 5 against the Death Valley Scorpions

2055 wasn't even Xin's best year in Mars, but it was nevertheless the year he got his shot at the big leagues. In his age-26 season, Xin had decent production at the plate, but was by no means a superstar. A sure-handed outfielder with a very good arm, but who isn't particularly rangy, Xin added some value with the glove. He has put up remarkably similar numbers for the Stars, and looks to have a pretty good chance of sticking with the parent club in 2056, though he lacks the power associated with a prototypical corner outfielder. Given that he was assigned uniform number '3' when he came up, somebody in Valencia must agree. The BBA scouting service has judged his present and future value to be a 45, making him a bit of a fringe player.

Pitcher of the Year: Lucas Rose
Acquired: 2050 Draft, 17th Pick in Round 3 (94th Overall)
Born: North Atlanta, Georgia
3.83 ERA, 175 K, 50 BB, 144 HA, 23 HRA, 155 IP, 99 FIP-, 2.1 WAR
Signature Moment: Struck out 11, walked none, allowed 2 hits, and 1 earned run in 7.2 innings against the Salt Lake City Alpines on August 18

Eventually, the Stars are going to have to figure out exactly what it is they've got in Lucas Rose. In 2055, the Stars had a pitcher in AA who had some promise, but just couldn't figure things out. The club decided a change of scenery might be in order, and promoted Rose to AAA Mars, where things seemed to instantly get better for him. Rose clicked with pitching coach Lynn Kucharski and suddenly the game made sense again. When Rose was good, he was very good, and when he scuffled, it looked like he was pitching BP, but he was good more often than not. The BBA scouting service has pegged his future value as a starter at 55, however, many have serious reservations that he will ever be a consistent enough performer at the big league level to be useful in any capacity. The variance for future projections varies wildly for Rose.