On a Higher Plane 2035.09 Kouda first ever Wichita player

[felipe]

Twenty-five year old Japanese infielder, Kaoru Kouda, was selected second overall in the 2035 BBA expansion draft late last night. Kouda was plucked from the Las Vegas Hustlers where he played shortstop in 2033, and played second base in 2034.


"Kouda was the player that we identified early on in the expansion process, as who we would select with our first pick," grinned the Genius," Shortstops are hard to find, period. To find one with a career .750 OPS, who can play a plus defense, who is under salary control for the next four seasons...you didn't have to be a Genius to make this pick."

"You just can't find a guy like this in free agency...believe me I looked...certainly not without paying well over $10 million a season."

"Not only is Kouda a plus player, but he's a plus person. He's a natural born leader, who is already very popular with the fans of the BBA. A young star like this, a young captain like this, you'd better believe he'll be front and center in much of our team marketing for the next few seasons."

"Kouda will be instrumental in the clubhouse too. He will be setting the 'Aviator' standard to the rest of our players. He is the newer, shinier, version of the player that our manager Ben Forga was, when he first came to me as a player in Louisville. That shit is invaluable."

"Starting shortstop, check; Team leader, check. Face of the franchise, check."

"And the best part? We stole him from our divisional rivals. Those assholes in Vegas."

The Aviators selected one other Vegas property, lefty reliever Maxim Makin, later in the draft.

"Makin intrigues me," grinned the Genius," He doesn't fit comfortably in any box. A little more stamina and he'd be a starter; a little more movement and he'd be a very good starter."

"But he's got five good pitches, and he's a lefty. He's young and he's cost controlled. He's just the sort of odd duck that I like. I think he'll do well here."

[bcslouck]

I like it. Good picks.

[Ted]

I still am annoyed I cut Kouda. How dare he bump his contact two points.

[agrudez]

Kouda looks great - a worthy 1st pick. Maxin would be a great RP conversion as well.

[Ted]

Kouda looks great - a worthy 1st pick. Maxin would be a great RP conversion as well.

Maxin has 3 stamina. He already is an RP. A stupid, stupid, 6 pitch RP.

[agrudez]

Oh yeah - always forget about that.

[RonCo]

As a 3 stamina guy, Maxine has averaged about 5 and 2/3 innings per start. So he can be ok there.