Everything isn’t cloudy in Calgary, although it might seem like it some days. The team had several rookies that played important roles this year and are counted on to be big contributors again next season. Let’s look at some of them.
SP Frank Boland - The guy most team’s considered the 2nd best left handed starter in the Calgary system, came out blazing and never stopped. His 14-4, 3.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP season, would normally get a player a significant number of Gillstrom votes. Not this year with the great rookie bats in the JL. It is likely he won’t even finish in the top 5. Boland will likely be the team’s #3 starter next season.
3B Scott Bell - While he played 124 games at 3B, he also played 41 games at 2B and that could be where he ends up next season. Bell hit .271, but that included 44 doubles, 11 triples and 16 home runs. He scored 99 runs, drove in 88 runs and stole 38 bases. Pretty respectable numbers. His weak area was getting caught stealing 21 times, tied for the JL lead. While he probably will never be a star, Bell is shaping up to be a solid starter.
CF Tashfin Modupe - The South African Rule 5 pick surprised a lot of people and the management in Hawaii probably wishes they had protected him. Brought in as a defensive replacement, he won the job in training camp and never disappointed. The left handed part of a platoon, Modupe hit right handed pitching at a .305 clip and had a .413 OBA. Not a speedster, he got caught almost as many times as he succeeded. His glove that won him the job, posted a +1.8, the best CF stats in many years in Calgary.
SS Imazighen Kibasila - Filling Chip Puckett’s shoes wasn’t going to be easy, but Kibasila barely filled one. The team was hoping for a .260 bat and he hit .225 with a horrible .643 OPS. He will need to improve on that next season. The team was hoping he would bring a solid defense to the position and he struggled all year. He finished with a +.6 ZR with 11 errors.
RP Fernando Rangel - Technically a rookie in 2042, Rangel did pitch in 14 games in 2041. One of the bright spots in the bullpen Rangel went 2-2-1, 3.38 ERA in 29 games. His strike outs per 9 was 8.6, but his BB per 9 was 4.3. The team is expecting the walk totals to go down and has Rangel slotted as the number one setup man next season.
SP/RP Arturo Rivera - Also known as “The Experiment”. Rivera was a Rule 5 pickup from New Orleans where he had zero chance to play this year. The team knew his control was going to be a problem, but hoped he would strike out enough players to make up for it. He went 2-6, 5.77 ERA and walked as many as he struck out. He was much more effective out of the bullpen and that is probably where his future will be. He could also go down to AAA next year for some refinement.
So Calgary had 3 positions starters, 2 starting pitchers and a reliever that were rookies this year. That could account for some of the inconsistency that the team experienced. It also should dispel the myth that Calgary is an old team.
