43.4 HOFers working together on pitching

[crobillard]

Edmonton announced today that current Hall of Fame starting pitcher Nelson Ramirez and probable future Hall of Fame starting pitcher Atsumori Maeda will be working together in AAA Winnipeg on developing the next rotation for the Jackrabbits. The recent announcement has fans speculating whether Amos Swallows and recently acquired Itze Woertgen will be seen make the jump from Single A Charlebourg to Winnipeg to work with the renown BBA pitchers.

Robillard commented on the rumors today, "We haven't made a decision on the promotions or demotions of any player in our minor league system yet. It's really just too early for that. We will be meeting during Spring Training with all of our coaches as we do every season to discuss each player in our organization, how they fit, how they've improved over the previous year and the next steps to enhance their experience in the Edmonton Jackrabbits organization. Coach Maeda and Coach Ramirez will be an integral part of that decision making."

Both Swallows and Woertgen saw decent seasons in Single A last season. In 17 starts, Swallows pitched in 81.1 innings with a 1.52 WHIP on a 4.43 ERA. Control is something the 19 year old knuckleballer must work on after allowing 62 walks in 2042. However, his Florida Prospect League performance was more encouraging and it was his best performance in the organization to date. Against arguably stronger competition, Swallows had six starts amassing 46.1 IP with a 3.88 ERA, limiting to just 19 walks for a 1.34 WHIP and striking out 64 batters for a 12.4 K/9. That has fans excited that Swallows has improved his craft greatly.

Woertgen was a lot more balanced in 2042. He collected 105 IP on 17 starts with a 1.31 WHIP and 91 Ks for Portland's Single A affiliate the Wise Heaters. The durable 22 year old Aruban has has a bit of a tumultuous road in the BBA. He was selected in 2038 originally by the Montreal Blazers only to fail to get signed. At that point he joined the U.S. Navy College team and took home two College Conference All Stars Victory Bell awards in 2040 and 2041 with the Midshipmen. In 2040 he won the Fox Mulder Hurler award and he perhaps should have taken it with his incredible performance in 2041 as well. Following his success he was selected in the 2042 amateur draft as the second overall pick by the Portland Lumberjacks. He was able to sign within nine days with the Lumberjacks this time and a month later he won his second Victory Bell with the Midshipmen. Six months later he was traded to the Edmonton Jackrabbits while he was absolutely crushing competition in the Florida Prospect League. For Portland's Coral Gables, Woertgen pitched in 30.1 innings with a 2.08 ERA with a WHIP on only 0.99.

Will their success in the FPL propel them to work with the Hall of Fame duo in AAA Winnipeg? We'll find out in a few months.

[usnspecialist]

I see roughly a zero percent chance that Atsumori Maeda makes the HOF, but interesting pairing there of guys to work with your young guns.

[crobillard]

I see roughly a zero percent chance that Atsumori Maeda makes the HOF, but interesting pairing there of guys to work with your young guns.

Yeah, maybe he was just a solid pitcher in his career. Nothing more than that. You would know better than I would. Doesn't really matter to me in the end. I just liked the title.