2056-9 Dempsey Got Lost in the Shadows

[indiansfan]

Dempsey Got Lost in the Shadows

With everything being written about his teammates, both the blockbuster duo and the rookie, Pioneers right fielder Brodie Dempsey is the forgotten man. Imagine being 5th in the league in home runs and outside of your home park nobody knows your name. Of course Dempsey is used to being overlooked.

Dempsey was signed in 2051 as an international free agent out of New Zealand. While some of the IFAs were getting 8 figure deals, Dempsey signed for only $2.8 million. While Calgary has signed some great hitters in the international market, Dempsey’s signing was barely noticed. The only thing he had going for him was his power potential.

He had an ordinary year in 2052 in Rookie League and started the next season there as well, before being moved out to Short A. He turned some heads hitting 20 homers in 70 games that year, but he wasn’t making anybody’s top prospect list. He wasn’t even one of the top 2 outfielders in Calgary’s system.

Everything changed in 2054. He started at A ball, hitting 18 homers in 51 games, which got him the call to move up to AA Duluth. An 1.039 OPS and 11 more homers got him a plane ticket to AAA St. Paul where he capped off his season with 17 more homers and an 1.065 OPS. Between his 3 combine stops he hit 46 home runs which got the attention of the big league club.

Still uncertain on if he was ready for Calgary, he played a quarter of the 2055 season at AAA, but he forced his way up to Calgary by hitting .344 with great power numbers again. Playing mainly in a platoon role he managed to hit .273 with 22 HR and 42 RBIs in 51 starts with the Pioneers and he was named the JL player of the month for September.

There was no questions that he would be starting in right field this season. The team even kept him in the lineup against left handed pitching although his .212 average that way may lead to changed next year. For the season he hit .263, .868 OPS, 41 HR and 94 RBIs. Many years those home run totals would have been top for the team, but this year while 5th in the JL they were only 3rd on Calgary.

At only 23 years old how bright is the future for this kid? He certainly has some maturing to do and he will probably sit against lefties, but he will also benefit from having another power hitting outfielder in left when the team brings up Michael Little for good. There might even be more homers flying in Calgary next season than in this one.

[trmmilwwi]

The other 14 batters in the lineup combined to hit only 46 homers. Crazy swings with those top 3!

[Trebro]

great write-up!