Hometown: Brooklyn, NY
BBA debut: April 3, 2051
“What the fuck is Sacramento doing?”
These words have been spoken many times, no doubt, in the long history of the BBA. This instance occurred about one year ago, in April of 2050, in the Boise Spuds’ general manager’s office. Minor league rosters for the entire association had just been released, and GM Woody Donahue was looking through them with Assistant GM, José Bonilla.
The Spuds keep a “shortlist” of players in other teams’ organizations whom they like to follow, in the hopes of one day acquiring those players. Minor-league roster day is an important day on the calendar, because based on minor-league assignments, the Spuds can discern how much teams value those players. Are they getting fast-tracked to the majors? Or are they serving as minor-league filler until their contracts expire?
Ralph SandersThis was the cause of the confusion for Donahue and Bonilla. You see, Boise’s standard practice is to reward a good season by promoting the player, so that he faces more advanced competition and continues to develop.
Sacramento’s demotion of Sanders indicated that they didn’t think very highly of him as a prospect. Which is why, one year later, it was no surprise that they didn’t protect him in the Rule 5 draft, and Boise was able to grab their guy.
Sanders had fared well in his season after the demotion. He gained a couple ticks on his fastball, and learned how to throw his change up more effectively, raising his K/9 to 10.2 (up from 8.1 the year before). He also shot up the prospect lists, rising from #252 to #140.
Still, it was hard to predict how he’d perform in the major leagues, given that he hadn’t ever played above double-A, and had just spent an entire year facing single-A hitters. On top of that, the Spuds were planning to shift him into the bullpen, where they felt his stuff could play better. It would be a lot of new territory for Sanders to adjust to.
Early signs looked promising, after a strong Spring Training where he only allowed one run in 9 relief appearances. But he had a more difficult time when he took the mound for his BBA debut against Edmonton on April 3, allowing 3 runs in 2 innings.
The Spuds believe in Sanders, and understand that a few bumps in the road were inevitable, considering his unusual developmental path. He has settled down a bit since his debut, even earning his first save on April 27 in a wild extra-inning affair in El Paso.
And give credit to Sanders, who has maintained a positive attitude through the whole ordeal. “I don’t overthink it,” he said during Spring Training. “These BBA hitters aren’t too different from the ones in A-ball, so I just gotta go out there and execute the game plan. It was the same thing when I got demoted. The organization clearly felt I needed to do some work, so I didn’t read too much into it. I just went out and did the work.”
The Spuds plan to keep Sanders in the big leagues for the full season, so that he fulfills his Rule 5 roster requirement. After that, the Spuds will gain full control of Sanders, along with his 3 minor-league option years. Could another demotion be in store for him in 2052?
We’re betting he isn’t too worried about that.
