57.04 "Bush League Rotation" Leads League

[Bob Breum]

Monday will be souvenir t-shirt day at Ubisoft Field. The Blazers will be giving away orange t-shirts with a drawing of their five starting pitchers and the caption "Bush League Rotation." After being publicly called out by the team owner who expressed doubts about their ability to compete at the big league level, the motley collection of arms assembled by Erik Breum has silenced their critics (and their team owner) by pitching to a league-leading ERA after five turns through the rotation. At 3.64, the Montreal starting pitchers are ahead of the next best 3.79 ERA of the Aztecs, and almost half a run better than the third best rotation ERA of 4.13 posted by the Pioneers.



Bush League Rotation
Nelson Thompson (4-0) is leading the league in ERA at 1.60, including four quality starts and 1.8 rWAR, which is second only to Charm City's ace, Hector Silva. He has only allowed two home runs in over 33 innings. An unlikely rookie at age 33, he joined the Marines out of high school. After his military service, he was drafted in the 2nd round of the 2045 amateur draft by Montreal. Later he signed as a minor league free agent with Des Moines. More recently, he signed with the Blazers before the 2056 season, where he threw well for AAA New Jersey, posting a 2.68 ERA in 13 starts. His story has resonated with Blazers fans to the point that the team has added his #13 jersey to the offerings in the team store.

Thompson isn't the only rookie in the rotation. The team's fifth starter, Ricardo Negrete, was taken in the 2045 amateur draft in the second round by the Phoenix Talons, six picks ahead of Thompson. He had a cup of coffee with the Black Sox in 2053, but did not exceed the rookie limits. Like Thompson, Erik Breum signed him to a minor league deal ahead of the 2056 season and assigned him to AAA New Jersey. Negrete pitched to a 3.08 ERA last season across 14 starts. This season, he's been hurt by the longball, but has a low 1.13 WHIP that belies his 4.56 ERA in 25 innings pitched. Blazers coaches think that he's been a bit unlucky, and that his ERA should come down as the season progresses.