Galaxy Gas 2063.11 - Rookies in the Outfield
Posted: Tue Jun 17, 2025 9:31 pm
The epicenter of the 'New Look' Valencia team over the course of the rebuild definitely is out in the grass beyond the basepaths. All five of the outfield slots has a new face associated with each position and all five of them are rookies.
The Valencia front office spent a lot of draft capital in this area as those five players include two former first round picks and a second round pick.
So far this season, the starting trio is on pace to produce roughly a 5.5 WAR in their rookie season. Leading the way thus far is centerfielder Santiago Dieguez. Although Santiago is more suited to play one of the corner slots, he has been penciled into centerfield since he has the best rang of the rookies on the squad. Santiago is currently hitting .271/.335 with 15 homers. Santiago's above average glove also contributes to a projected 3.8 WAR for the season.
Playing in left field is 22 year-old Bill Nesbitt. Bill is hitting at a .268/.310 clip including 11 homers. While Bill's defense is not as good as Santiago's, it is still slightly above average. Bill is on pace of getting 20 homers/20 steals over the course of the season on his way to a projected WAR of 2.2.
Rounding out the starters in right field is Ed Bush. Ed has not had as productive of a season thus far from the plate but he has still hit 11 home runs to date. With his average being .234 and his on-base percentage of .263, the Valencia faithful hopes that Bill's average starts aligning with his 6 contact rating.
Rounding out the five players in the outfield are Ismael Ramirez and Jagara Ranjani. Ismael had a stellar 2062 season in AAA hitting .349/.423 with 22 homers. Unfortunately this has not translated into large big-league numbers as he only hit .213/.268 with 5 homers so far this season. Jagara has the best glove and the most speed of the group but he also has the smallest bat as he has hit .250 in a limited number of plate appearances.
//time will tell if the remainder of 2063 aligns with the performance to date.