2059-011: Talons 2059 Draft Picks Lead Rookie League Traverse City to First Division Title Since 2054

[jiminyhopkins]

Traverse City, MI--

As the Traverse City Talons prepare for the second round of the Spike Nolan League playoffs, it has got to be super encouraging to see this season's first and second round draft picks leading the way.

As is true for all the Talons lower minors, the introduction of age limits has understandably restricted the franchise from loading up on veterans to pad their minor league system. Now, forced to rely on actual Talons prospects (ha!), it's been a rough few seasons for Traverse City, and light years away from the days of .900 winning percentages.

But this season, the Talons top two 2059 draft picks have hit the ground running and exceeded every expectation. First rounder Fransisco Moreno, a 19 year old starting pitcher, impressed many in his 13 starts, going 7-1 with a 1.29 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, and 3.4 WAR in 83 innings. Moreno also recorded, incredibly, only a single walk all season long, for a 69:1 K:BB ratio (nice!). Second rounder Sergio Leon, for his part, spent his 243 at bats slashing .346/.403/.588 with 13 home runs. The 19 year old left fielder was second in the SNL Frontier League with 4.3 WAR.

And not only that, the Talons' 2059 7th round pick also got in on the action, with 20 year old Israel Perez hitting a league-leading .398 with 15 home runs and 38 RBI in 63 games. Meanwhile, 17 year old starting pitcher Charlie Worley, this season's 3rd round pick, had 1.6 WAR of his own while going 8-2 with a 1.75 ERA and 0.81 WHIP in 87 innings.

No matter where the TC Talons end up in this season's playoffs, the performance of Phoenix's 2059 draft class is highly encouraging for a franchise that may finally be getting better at drafting and developing young players.

Go Talons!

[Trebro]

Hey winning in rookie ball and failing elsewhere is MY Schtick.

Stick to only winning in A ball!