2062-5 Cervantes, The Secret Weapon

[indiansfan]

Cervantes, The Secret Weapon

It has been over 20 years since Calgary had a shortstop with a good glove and a respectable bat. You have to go all the way back to Chip Puckett in 2040 and his 8.5 ZR and .262 batting average. Henri Charriere had an 11.3 ZR in 2058, but that matched up with his .232 bat.

For most of two decades Calgary has been filling the SS spot with players that were really meant to play 2B. Jose German, the starter in 2061, had a miserable -11 ZR. Playing 2B in AAA this season he posted a 12.7 ZR. A 2B playing SS in the BBA is not pleasant to watch and most of those that can wield the leather hit with a wiffle bat.

Jose Cervantes wasn't even the team's top SS prospect. That would be 2060 1st round pick Kurt Oakes. At AAA this year he hit .280 and had a superb 17.5 ZR. Or Mazur Khokhar this year's first round pick.

The 24 year old Cervantes has been stuck in Calgary's minor league system for 7 years. He seemed to be forgotten after he was drafted in 2055, stuck in Rookie ball and Short A for 5 seasons. In 2060 he moved up to Quebec (A) and got the chance to start at SS. He hit .327 with a 17.7 ZR. He moved through AA and AAA in 2061 and earned a spring call up in Calgary.

This year the team threw a wide net seeking an upgrade at SS. Cervantes got noticed with his glove and the team gave him a chance. Soon he was making waves with his bat too as he hit 4 HR in May. Even with Oakes tearing up AAA, Cervantes continued to hold the Calgary job and would go on to start 153 games at SS with a 15.3 ZR and a .255 batting average along with 10 HR.

The pitching staff took notice and several of the hurlers have cited Cervantes as being one of the keys to their success. The switch from German to Cervantes was a net gain of 26.3 ZR. Oakes will push him for time next season, but that is a problem Calgary is finally happy to have.