Peter Ramsey
Professional baseball is like that. It is a business. What was going through Ramsey's head as he winged his way to North Carolina to join the Hustlers?
"I grew up in Texas. I got drafted out of high school when I was 18. I spent six years in the minors with the Twin Cities organization but at 24 I was unemployed. I got picked up by Des Moines and put in four years with them. Then I spent two years with San Fernando.
"Baseball is all I know, but by then I was beginning to wonder if it was worth it. I was almost 30 when my agent called me like a week before Christmas and told me I'd been selected in the Rule 5 draft by Montreal. Talk about a Christmas present!
"When I reported to spring training with Montreal with the other pitchers and the catchers, it was a dream come true. Compared to the other rookies, I was ancient. But our staff had a number of veterans who took me under their wings. They helped me have confidence when I faced household names whom I'd only seen on TV.
"Especially Nelly Thompson, a southpaw like me who'd had a similar long and winding road that culminated with him breaking in with Montreal at age 33. That really helped me understand that this was an organization that valued fellows who had learned how to pitch and not just throw hard. The pitching coaches worked with each of us to understand our strengths and how we could use them to succeed. I feel so fortunate to have been given the opportunity of a lifetime by the Montreal organization and I will be forever grateful.
"Now to join another legendary franchise like Las Vegas, it's like my own personal fairy tale continues. I'm one of the old veterans on this staff. Every day I wake up smiling."
This season, Ramsey was 6-6 with a 4.44 ERA with Montreal. In two starts with Las Vegas, he is 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA. He is a soft-tossing southpaw with a five-pitch repertoire. His fastball sits around 93-95 mph, with plus-plus movement that limits home runs.
Montreal received two prospects for the rights to Ramsey. They are outfielder Mario Ledezma and first baseman Ishaq bin Ubadah.
Mario Ledezma
Ledezma, 23, is a left-handed outfielder with outstanding range that allows him to play all three outfield positions. He projects with plus power into the gaps and decent contact and batting eye. He has plus-plus speed and base running instincts. This season in AA, he has hit .279/.373/.395 against right-handed pitching and stolen twelve bases in 18 attempts while accruing a zone rating of over ten in center field. He was originally selected out of high school by Las Vegas in the thirteenth round of the 2057 amateur draft.
Ishaq bin Ubadah
Bin Ubadah, 20, is a right-handed first baseman signed out of Israel by the Hustlers in 2059. This season is his first exposure to professional baseball, having spent the last three seasons in the Las Vegas international complex. He projects with decent contact, gap power, and batting eye combined with plus speed and baserunning savvy, but lacks home run power.
