Fresh Fur: 2B Manuel Ortega (Hoppy Endings, pre Sim 6) [PP:2057.11]

[neugey]

This morning it was all cheers and high-fives in the Edmonton draft war room, as the team selected Gillette Razors standout Manuel Ortega with their 2nd round pick. GM Mike Bauer couldn’t stop gushing about Ortega,

“As the draft transitioned to the second round, Ortega was at the top of our board. And then a catcher selected along with a run on pitchers caused Ortega to fall. We couldn’t be more excited. We see him as a likely everyday second baseman of our future. He is a prototypical second baseman with a good balance between hitting and glovework. He’s very well developed and could even play now in the majors if we chose. But age 19, we’d prefer he take a year or two to ramp up before playing in the frontier.”

The promising Ortega was originally drafted in 2054 by Mexico City out of high school but failed to sign and proceeded to college with Gillette. The Razors coaches did wonders with Ortega, helping him excel as a contact hitter and in 2056 he made the college all-star team with a .340 average and 17 doubles. Earlier this year he did struggle in his final year with Gillette hitting .271 due to low BABIP and hitting luck. Edmonton sees that as an outlier.

“There is a lot of outfield talent in this draft and maybe some hope to acquire in the coming rounds,” continued Bauer. “Conversely, the depth of quality infield prospects is pretty light. Someone else can have the lock down glove type at 2B that hits .200. We’d prefer the player that is decent enough defensively but has the hitting prowess to help us put runs on the board, hitting around .300 and scoring 100 runs.”