1 Apr 2059
Boise, Idaho
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by Tony Toney
Let's take a look at the situation headed into 2059 in the outfield and at DH:Leftfield
LF Sebastian Fradesso
37yo R Sebastian Fradesso - 2058: 148 G, 23 2B, 34 HR, 103 RBI, .267/.331/.477, 20 SB, +3.1 WAR
AND
26yo L Héctor Holloway - 2058: 115 G, 28 2B, 6 HR, 40 RBI, .272/.367/.395, 1 SB, +1.3 WAR
Fradesso is the unsung hero of the Boise offense. While every eye is glued to centerfield, the aging righty hunts those waters between leadoff and cleanup spots with an excellent mix of power, OBP, and speed. I mention Holloway here because I'll wind up mentioning him again at RF. He'll play both spots and get some at bats as the DH. While he doesn't possess any speed to speak of, his career OBP is .355 and he has put up around 25 2B a year (of course, this will be just his 3rd full year at ML). Being a doubles machine, he almost fills the leadoff-cleanup gap role better than Fradesso, but settles for a backup/utility role in lieu of the latter's power.
Centerfield
CF Lou Bayou
23yo L Lou Bayou - 2058: 151 G, 42 2B, 7 HR, 66 RBI, .331/.376/.435, 61 SB, +5.1 WAR
You pick the superlative word for a centerfielder and it's been used to describe Calgary's Resurrection Santos III, but at 23-years-old (vs Santos' elderly 26) Bayou is a legendary career blooming in the Idaho sun. He doesn't hit for power but he's not deployed in that role for the Spuds. Sparing a few more oomph on his arm, Lou Bayou is a textbook centerfielder. He won't just slap singles, either, he'll bag up the doubles having easily surpassed even Santos' totals in his 3-year career. Last year, the team gave Bayou the green light and he never slowed down nabbing 61 of 75 stolen bases and that being with his SB rate waning in the last couple of months of 2058.
Holloway won't be the backup here as 28yo Bill O'Toole (see 'Bench' below) is nearly the fielder that Bayou is and can fill the corners as well so he could be considered more of the OF utility man than Héctor. Holloway will certainly see more games than O'Toole, knock on wood, because there will be very limited playing time for anyone behind Bayou.
Rightfield
RF Martin Hemming
33yo L Martin Hemming - 2058 (VAN/SFB): 120 G, 23 2B, 14 HR, 47 RBI, .280/.315/.433, +1.8 WAR
Hemming finds his way from Cali to the middle of Idaho (??...sorry), after signing with Boise out of free agency in the offseason, to hopefully be a pest to opponents in the JL Frontier. With him being a lefty, there will be no platoon with Holloway but the latter will provide rest to the vet. Hemming joins Fradesso in the prototype leadoff-cleanup bridge. Fradesso will provide more pop, but Hemming will deliver a higher average and more gap-to-gap power so he may top the leftfielder in RBI.
Bench
CF Bill O'Toole
28yo R Bill O'Toole - 2058: 49 G, 3 2B, 11 RBI, .222/.265/.296, -0.4 WAR
OR
33yo R Eduardo Herrera - 2058: 27 G, 4 2B, 4 RBI, .157/.234/.257, -0.7 WAR
Both O'Toole and Herrera have poor production, with neither being of the caliber of Holloway at the plate, but their defense is unmatched. Boise is well-suited for any stopgap or disaster needed at any outfield position. It's plus to also have these two split between ML and AAA so there's no stepping on toes.
DH
DH Per-Johan Mikkelson
21yo Per-Johan Mikkelson - 2058 (AAA): 27 G, 7 2B, 2 HR, 16 RBI, .384/.435/.556, +0.5 WAR
OR
33yo Alfonso Rúbio - 2058: 146 G, 22 2B, 26 HR, 71 RBI, .232/.284/.427, -0.8 WAR
There is a story brewing in Boise around rookie DH Mikkelson. Aside from his aging frame, the veteran Rúbio takes a seat in Salt Lake City in favor of the youngster. In 2058, Mikkelson bullied his way from Class A Tulsa to AAA Salt Lake City leaving a trail of production in his wake. He slashed .301/.361/.422 at Tulsa in 2057 so it can't be said that he came out of nowhere, but his maturation last year was thrilling and he'll take his spot in The Show with a .333/.350/.436 slash in Spring Training. Critical, and rare, in his role as a DH, Mikkelson hits lefties just as well as righties.
