For the past 17+ seasons, the center field and left field positions in Omaha have been covered with the last names of Ordonez and Ly. You have to go back to 2038 to find somebody not named Ordonez in center field on opening day for Omaha, and that individual was Jimmy Starks Jr. who was a longtime outfielder for the team prior.
Now with Ordonez and Ly both being off the roster for 2058, the Omaha outfield is going to look completely different. Ordonez, was quietly released from his contract in the middle of last season, with no official word from the team. He retired 2 months later on Sept 25 finishing with a 84.6 career WAR and his name atop most of the Omaha leaderboards.
It appears other than Du Wu, who has been with Omaha since 2051 in the outfield, is going to stay in left field next season. It’s likely the youth shift is upcoming, with 24-year-old Jose Vazquez likely to get the full time starting role in center to start his 3rd full season in Omaha.
As it stands right now, 26-year-old Stephen Futon who has been patiently waiting for a starting role is likely to get the start in right field. Futon is a career 126 OPS+ hitter over his first 923 plate appearances. His best season was in 2056 when he had 526 plate appearances and had a 3.1 WAR with a .315/.361/.509 triple slash.
There are certainly a few differences between Ly & Ordonez compared to Vazquez and Futon. For one, it’s unlikely that Vazquez and Futon are going to win any diamond glove awards. That’s not to say they have poor defense, but they certainly do not cover ground like Ordonez & Ly did.
Second, we likely will see Vazquez and Futon as everyday players, who can actually hit lefties. Ly had some well documented struggles against lefties, which shouldn’t be the case with either of these guys.
Last, both Ly & Ordonez found themselves hitting 30-40 long balls a year minimum. It’s unlikely that Futon nor Vazquez come anywhere close to that mark, as it will be hard for them to hit that number combined.
Regardless, change is here, whether we like or not. All we can do now is embrace it and trust in our system.
