(2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
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(2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
Harold Nothard, RP
Hometown: Melbourne, Australia
BBA debut: Apr 3, 2053
The story of Harold Nothard is one of “always the bridesmaid, never the bride,” until he was the most beautiful bride the BBA had ever seen. If that bride could throw a 100 MPH fastball.
At age 16, Nothard was traded by Twin Cities to San Fernando for star third baseman Alex Ramírez. He was not the centerpiece of that trade, but a throw-in, alongside stud catching prospect Davenport Hinkle and a few other flyers.
At the time, scouts rated his stuff a ‘2’ on a scale from one to ten. There was some future potential, sure, but he was still a long shot to ever crack a BBA staff. That trade was more about stocking San Fernando’s minor league system with guys who could fill roles.
A year later, San Fernando proceeded to trade Nothard to Montreal, in exchange for now-veteran starting pitcher Jorge Moreno. Once again, he was a throw-in: the main “get” in the trade for Montreal was outfield prospect Ulvi Basgil, who is still on their major-league roster.
Nothard’s stuff was rated a ‘3’ at the time. I hope you’re keeping track of this, because we’re going somewhere with it.
Six years later, he graduated out of Montreal’s minor league system without even a consideration of extending his contract. He never came close to cracking the majors, topping out at Double-A at age 22, where he posted an ERA above 8. That was supposed to be it — he wasn’t good enough, so he was done.
But Boise snapped him up a week into his free agency. They liked his raw potential — despite his awful minor-league numbers, he could still throw over 100, with four quality pitches, including a wipeout changeup that was rated among the best in the league. His stuff at the time was rated an ‘8’, so he had developed nicely while in Montreal’s system, but that was supposed to be his ceiling.
In 2052, something clicked, and Nothard immediately began pitching like an elite reliever. He posted a 1.22 ERA between Double- and Triple-A, striking out nearly 13 batters per nine innings. The season earned him a rating as the BBA’s #51 prospect — probably a bit high, since the OSA still wanted him to be a starter — but it didn’t matter, the point is that the league was starting to notice this kid from Australia whom many had written off.
This year, he showed up to Spring Training with dramatically improved stuff, rated a ’22’ on the scale, which, it must be reiterated, is still out of ten. A strong spring finally earned him his long-awaited promotion to the big leagues, where Boise installed him as their closer for the 2053 season. Since then, he has struck out 15.2 batters per nine innings, a rate which leads the entire BBA by a wide margin.
Nothard’s ERA (3.86) is slightly inflated due to some bad luck with balls in play, but his FIP (1.95) tells more of the real story, that he should considered among the Association’s elite relievers. His FIP- of 43 also leads the entire BBA (minimum 10 IP).
It’s not often that we use this column to hype up our players for Gillstrom Award consideration, but Nothard should win it outright, period. And why stop there? How about an Egan to go with it? Name another reliever in the league who has dominated BBA hitters the way Nothard has.
The future is bright, as Boise can pencil Nothard in as the closer for at least the next five years. One can imagine him anchoring the bullpen for the next great Spuds team.
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
Really interesting history that heavily involved the Bears. Great post!
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
i regret nothing lol, moreno was a solid pitcher for me for a number of years on a pretty cheap contract.
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
Love these type of players. Hope OOTP 23 doesn’t screw him up.
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
I mean OOTP 23 basically made him, right?
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
It must have been backloaded, right? He turned to poop for a couple years there as I took over and I remember him being fairly expensive. His career arc reminds me of Aníbal Sánchez—it turned to crap for a couple years before a mid 30s renaissance.usnspecialist wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:44 ami regret nothing lol, moreno was a solid pitcher for me for a number of years on a pretty cheap contract.
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
I don't do backloaded deals, I either front load or have random balloon or valley years tossed in there. If I remember right, he was 7m/year across the board, which was pretty good for what he gave me for most of that.BaseClogger wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 2:16 pmIt must have been backloaded, right? He turned to poop for a couple years there as I took over and I remember him being fairly expensive. His career arc reminds me of Aníbal Sánchez—it turned to crap for a couple years before a mid 30s renaissance.usnspecialist wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:44 ami regret nothing lol, moreno was a solid pitcher for me for a number of years on a pretty cheap contract.
Randy Weigand
Havana Sugar Kings/San Fernando Bears: 32-50 (1608-1481)
Des Moines Kernels: 52-
League Champion- 34
JL Champion- 34
FL Champion- 36, 37
JL Southern- 34
FL Pacific- 37, 39
Wild Card- 33, 35, 36, 40, 43
Havana Sugar Kings/San Fernando Bears: 32-50 (1608-1481)
Des Moines Kernels: 52-
League Champion- 34
JL Champion- 34
FL Champion- 36, 37
JL Southern- 34
FL Pacific- 37, 39
Wild Card- 33, 35, 36, 40, 43
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
Good point.
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
That’s right. A great deal for sure.usnspecialist wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 2:59 pmI don't do backloaded deals, I either front load or have random balloon or valley years tossed in there. If I remember right, he was 7m/year across the board, which was pretty good for what he gave me for most of that.BaseClogger wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 2:16 pmIt must have been backloaded, right? He turned to poop for a couple years there as I took over and I remember him being fairly expensive. His career arc reminds me of Aníbal Sánchez—it turned to crap for a couple years before a mid 30s renaissance.usnspecialist wrote: ↑Sun Jan 08, 2023 8:44 ami regret nothing lol, moreno was a solid pitcher for me for a number of years on a pretty cheap contract.
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Re: (2053.04) Rookie Profile: Harold Nothard
A (1) defensive rating? Trash.
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