61.1- Any Rookies Left In Here?

[chicoruiz]

Sergio Lopez, my assistant GM, had been complaining that he didn’t have anything to do. I mean, no assistant GM has anything to do; it’s a Brewster tradition. So I put him in charge of running the fantasy football pool and ordering birthday cakes for the front office staff at the appropriate times. But that didn’t satisfy him either. What was he… some kind of workaholic???

So I told him to do a complete evaluation of our minor league system and report back to me. This made him happy for a few weeks, and now it was time for him to report to me. I strongly doubted that he knew anything about our minor leaguers that I didn’t know, but I didn’t have much else going on, so I was willing to humor him.

“So, Sergio”, I began, “We had a really good year for rookies in 2060, and I know I can’t expect results like that every season, but I hope you’re going to tell me there are at least a little potential help for this year in our system.”

“Oh yeah… there are a few guys who I think can help. Firstly, there’s Antonio Bonia. He’s no superstar, but he’s hit over .300 every season as a pro, and he’s got nothing left to prove in the minors. He’s a lefty hitter, and I think he could be the long half of a platoon, or maybe even a DH, especially if Nisanci got hurt.

‘Then there’s another Antonio; Antonio Terrones. He has the advantage of being a relief pitcher in a season when our bullpen is in kind of a state of flux. Again, he’s no world-beater, but he’s posted pretty good numbers at every level, and while I wouldn’t start him out in any high-leverage situations, you never know…”

“What do you think about the Rule 5 guys we got?”

“Well… I can see why you took Ron Phillips in round one. He can play a hell of a center field, and while he probably won’t hit much this year, I think he can be an asset if we keep his plate appearances to a minimum. At any rate, he’s probably a better gamble than what we used in that spot last year.

“But the guy we took in the second round; Ken Strong? Honestly Chico, I don’t know what you saw in him, He’s a lefty, and a hard worker, but he’s not really that good at anything, and he’s never even pitched in a full-season league. I’d sure hate to put him into a major league game at this point.”

“Yeah… I don’t know what I was thinking either. I wanted another lefthanded bullpen option, and I had a list, and he was like the last name on it. Then the other guys all got taken. Chances are, he’ll be rocketing back to Chicago sooner rather than later.”

“Okay then… That takes care of my minors project. Is there anything else I can do for you/”

“Yeah… I just signed a shitload of bullpen guys. Can you work up some flash cards or something to help me tell them all apart?”