As we start to dive into the farm system for the Valencia Stars, we begin by looking at the outfield. On the big league squad it appears that Santiago Dieguez, Ed Bush and Bill Nesbitt have a lock on three of the spots. Anyone vying for the remaining two spots will most likely be competing against Ismael Ramirez and Jagara Ranjani.
Luis Vela OVR-55 POT-55 CON-7 BABIP-6 AVK-7 POW-7 EYE-6
Luis is the prospect in the lead to take the 4th outfielder slot in 2064. Since the 22 year-old's defense is not as good as the others he would probably be penciled in as DH more often than not. Luis is currently hitting .299/.379 with 12 homers to date on his way to producing a WAR of 2.3 for his first season in AAA after hitting .325/.388 in AA last season. Look for Luis to get a September call-up this season.
Julio Sanchez OVR-50 POT-50 CON-6 BABIP-6 AVK-7 POW-6 EYE-6
Julio has shown that he has the skills to get a shot in the majors as well. The 22 year-old's third season in AAA is currently seeing him with a .299 batting average and a .390 on-base percentage. Julio has hit 11 home runs so far and has slightly better defensive skills than Vela. Look for Julio to join Vela when the September call-ups happen.
Ralph O'Neill OVR-45 POT-45 CON-5 BABIP-5 AVK-5 POW-6 EYE-5
This 21 year-old has the best defensive skills out of three listed so far and can play first base and all three outfield slots but he is best suited for right field according to most scouts. In his first season in AAA he is currently hitting .279/.367 with 11 home runs on track to produce a WAR of 3.7. Ralph is currently on the bubble for getting a September callup this season.
Mariano Diaz OVR-40 POT-40 CON-6 BABIP-6 AVK-7 POW-6 EYE-6
Mariano is older than the others listed thus far but he is still only 23. He can play first or third as well as the corner outfield slots, but his range is only 4 in both the infield and the outfield. Offensively Mariano is getting the job done with a batting average of .321 and an on-base percentage of .354. He has hit 9 homers to date in his first season in AAA but is not a threat to run on the basepaths. Mariano's WAR for the season is projected to be 2.9, but the locals do not look for him to get any big league action in September at this point.
Tony Munyiga OVR-40 POT-40 CON-5 BABIP-5 AVK-5 POW-5 EYE-4
Tony is the oldest (27) and the speediest of the group (9 Speed/11 Stealing). Unfortunately his speed has not translated to much range in the outfield to this point. After a brief BBA stint with Bikini prior to being released, Tony was signed as a minor league free agent before the 2062 season. He has hit .260/.321 with 17 steals in 53 games this season producing about a break-even WAR. Tony's chance to see any BBA time in Valencia is slim unless he is needed as an emergency call-up for an injury replacement.