SP Mario Espinoza
AA Stats - 8W-0L - 2.71 ERA - .73 WHIP - 1.8 WAR
Drafted in the 19th Round by Madison in 2035, Mario elected to stay play college for a year instead... However, he was deemed not good enough for college was released by the team.
2035 - Talents 5/1/4 OA 20
Espinoza was eventually signed by the Twin Cities organization to a minor league contract. He's spent several years grinding out his time in the minors, even though it appeared that his chances for the BBA were slim to none. Regardless, he pitched well enough each year to hang around no matter where he ended up that season.
However, in 2037, scouts were really down on Espinosa, downgrading his Talents to (5/1/1). However, he continued to pitch well and managed to keep from getting released.
Fast forward to 2041, Mario became eligible this last season for the Rule 5 draft. And suddenly he popped up on the Front Office radar as someone else to pay attention to instead of just roster filler.
2041 - Talents 7/5/7 OA 55
So he he was put on the 40 man roster...
At age 23, it appears there's a decent chance Mario could pitch in the BBA. He's been near perfect in AA so far this season. And since he's already on the 40 Man roster due to the Front Office having to protect from being taken in the Rule 5 draft, it's possible it could be this season. He can't pitch worse than a couple of the starters currently on the River Monster BBA roster.
For the time being, it appears the Front Office is going to let Mario to develop in AA and may move him up to AAA later in the season. Either way it's a nice story of a player who's refused to give up despite being told he'll never be good enough to make to the Big Show.
