TOPEKA THUNDERBEARS (Single-A)
2042 Preview, Part.2 - The Batting
The Infield
| Player | Age | POS | Bats | 2041 Level | G | AB | Slash Line | OPS | HR | RBI | SB | WAR | RNG (PB) | ZR (RTO%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Best | 21 | C | S | A | 83 | 306 | .268/.284/.497 | .781 | 16 | 48 | 1 | 0.1 | (6) | (28.9) |
| Bartolo Ruiz | 21 | C | R | A | 49 | 175 | .286/.304/.531 | .835 | 11 | 28 | 3 | 1.6 | (4) | (27.6) |
| Stephen Chavez | 22 | 1B | L | A | 113 | 430 | .247/.300/.495 | .796 | 29 | 57 | 0 | 2.1 | 10.06 | 4.8 |
| Bernardo Gomez | 22 | 1B | R | SA | 73 | 267 | .258/.350/.487 | .836 | 16 | 38 | 0 | 1.8 | 8.86 | 2.4 |
| Charlie Lamont | 22 | 2B | S | A | 114 | 422 | .232/.270/.386 | .657 | 11 | 48 | 10 | 0.2 | 4.95 | -0.2 |
| Francisco Espinoza | 21 | 2B | R | SA | 45 | 160 | .250/.339/.431 | .770 | 7 | 19 | 6 | 1.0 | 5.84 | 1.4 |
| Vicente Valencia | 25 | 2B | R | AA | 12 | 20 | .100/.100/.150 | .250 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.3 | 6.00 | 0.2 * |
| Manny Hernandez | 23 | 3B | L | A | 23 | 83 | .277/.303/.349 | .653 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0.3 | 2.98 | 0.7 ** |
| Walton Gomez | 23 | SS | S | A | 107 | 364 | .291/.332/.420 | .752 | 2 | 30 | 14 | 3.3 | 5.13 | 7.5 |
| Jose Flores | 21 | SS | R | A | 23 | 34 | .206/.263/.353 | .616 | 1 | 4 | 0 | -0.0 | 4.50 | -0.5 |
| Matt Chambers | 21 | DH | L | AA | 113 | 390 | .274/.333/.556 | .889 | 25 | 66 | 0 | 2.0 | 2.00 | -0.4 *** |
** 2041 in the New Orleans organisation.
*** Defensive stats in right field.
Some of the boys have good pop in their bat and know how to find the ball when it’s hit to the infield, it could be a good year in Topeka. Brian Best & Matt Chambers are currently in Wichita’s spring camp as non-roster invitees but are expected to return to Topeka for the regular season.
Fun Fact : Walton & Bernardo Gomez are half-brothers and their older brother Juan has just been signed by the franchise and will probably spend the year in Triple-A Albuquerque.
The Outfield
| Player | Age | POS | Bats | 2041 Level | G | AB | Slash Line | OPS | HR | RBI | SB | WAR | RNG | ZR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Darryl McCann | 22 | LF | L | SA | 2 | 6 | .667/.6671.667 | 2.333 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0.3 | 2.08 | -0.3 | * |
| Tony Johnston | 24 | LF | L | A | 113 | 450 | .258/.290/.340 | .630 | 1 | 28 | 5 | 0.9 | 1.93 | 9.3 ** | |
| Valentinius Mirumian | 23 | CF | R | AA | 20 | 37 | .270/.270/.351 | .622 | 0 | 4 | 1 | -0.0 | 2.44 | 1.0 *** | |
| Elmer Lomond | 20 | CF | L | A | 117 | 407 | .216/.242/.364 | .605 | 10 | 44 | 10 | 0.5 | 3.06 | 2.3 | |
| Alejandro Jaquez | 21 | CF | R | AA | 38 | 137 | .190/.282/.336 | .618 | 3 | 16 | 1 | -0.2 | 2.86 | -0.1 | |
| Hector Garza | 20 | RF | L | SA | 74 | 286 | .238/.300/.395 | .695 | 10 | 30 | 2 | 0.1 | 2.29 | -4.0 |
** 2041 stats in Vancouver organisation.
*** 2041 stats in Bucharest organisation.
Three new to the franchise and Elmer is down in Topeka to master right field. He has solid defence in left and centre but would be much more useful if he could play all three outfield positions. Also needs to use his intelligence and work ethic to sharpen up his bat skills, hoping his off season in Palm Bay would have made a start on that task.