19 June 2062
Boise, Idaho
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by Stubby Bardenwerper
22yo SP Felipe Ledesma
Spuds fans and GM Ben Teague (and us) are keeping an eye out for the debut of some future starters as the squad languishes far back in the JL Wild Card chase. Ledesma is probably the most anticipated given the sorry state of Spuds pitching this year. The main question facing the lefty is whether he is ready for a starting role at the ML level. His clock is already ticking having to avoid the Rule 5 draft this past offseason. He is putting up very solid numbers in AAA with 13 G, 13 GS, 8-3, 3.12 ERA, 86.2 IP, 3.8 K/BB, 1.27 WHIP, +2.3 WAR. Those look like ticket-punching stats but GM Ben Teague has been keeping an eye on the development of his pitches, especially his cutter. His stuff is also dragging a bit in the context of ML hitters.
One thing that has been floated is to promote Ledesma in a relief role to better manage his appearances, but Teague has ruled that out categorically. "We don't want Ledesma getting used to pitching in a relief role. When he comes up, he comes to start. So the first, and biggest question, is viewing him in a vacuum and say 'Would I want this guy for my rotation RIGHT NOW if he were a free agent or trade target?'"
As far as being blocked in the ML rotation he looks to be a target to displace lefty 35yo Muneer 'Very Scary' bin Khairy who, in 14 starts, has posted a 6-6 record, 4.57 ERA, 82.2 IP, 1.9 K/BB, 1.45 WHIP, +0.7 WAR. This is a change from earlier in the season when the plan seemed to be let lefty 36yo Juan Guzmán, who fills a bullpen role excellently, slide over to the pen. But Guzmán is 5-2 in 7 starts (he has 19 overall appearances) with a 1.79 ERA, 40.1 IP, 1.4 K/BB. "Obviously it's not really a matter of the team competing this year, but that both of those lefties are moving on after this year allows the youngster to mature just that last little bit in a role where he remains a fixture in the rotation."
He'll certainly be with the ML squad when rosters expand. The question is whether he can handle taking the mound every 5 days against ML hitting.