The Brewster

Forty out of Forty Seven. That’s a ratio that should stoke fear in any GM’s heart. Forty years out of Forty Seven is how many times the Kernels have missed the playoffs since they came into existence. It isn’t enough that there are horrific things to be uncovered in the corn fields of America’s heartland, now the shadow of another failed season is stalking GM Geoff Webb’s barely-alive corpse.

In recent months, GM Webb has attempted to distract himself from the corn fields by firing Manager Troy Coffman and hiring Jonathan Henry to use his unorthodox approach to winning ball games. This distraction proved short lived as the Kernels rewarded both Webb and Henry with a sub-.500 run into September.

Seeing the writing on the wall and not wanting to lose a chance to sell a SP near the top of his market, GM Webb dealt SP Don Smith to the Phoenix Talons along with 2B Del Castillo and RP Hector Gonzalez. In return, the Kernels added some pop (see what I did there?) to their line up, receiving 2B Yang, 1B Mateo, RF Yokoyama and Minor leaguer SP De Young.

Yokoyama in particular has enjoyed his move over to Des Moines, slashing a solid .273/.366/.554 and adding 10 HRs to his already impressive tally of 20 at Phoenix.

The same can be said of Mateo, who was suffering a sophomore slump with the Talons, slashing a paltry .206/.304/.355. Since trading talons for husks, he’s posted 306/.419/.635.

Even 2B Yang, who still has a while to develop, improved upon his stats line raising his WRC+ from 48 to 67 and adding to his WAR.

The rest of the line up is full of role players like 3b Suzuki, RF Santana and SS Williamson. With many players in their early to mid-twenties the offense looks solid.

Heading into the offseason, Des Moines will need to focus on pitching, both the bullpen and starting rotation need to improve if a climb in the standings is going to happen. The good news is there is money in the bank to make these improvements, but FA market is a fickle beast, almost as bad as the beast behind the rows....

Glad to see the guys hitting better in their new home!