10 June 2062
Boise, Idaho
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by Stubby Bardenwerper
The JL All-Stars were announced today and the Spuds will be represented by two players. Both have put up the numbers to earn the nod this year, but how they got here is surprising. And fans can only hope 2062 is indicative of future output.JL All-Star: DH
31yo 1B Pedro Hozven
81 G, 278 AB, 22 2B, 1 3B, 16 HR, 53 RBI, .306/.372/.565, .937 OPS, +1.9 WAR
Hozven rose as high as #49 on the BBA list of Top 100 Prospects before moving to the bigs. In 2053, at the age of 22, he made his debut with Jacksonville. There were promising signs of potential from there as he put up a .842 OPS the following year and a .950 OPS, +3.1 WAR in 2056. But his OPS would not reach .800 again until 2058 when he also posted his first WAR of 1.0 or better since that 2056 campaign. So dim had his light become that Jacksonville placed him on waivers in August when Boise claimed him. His first full season with the Spuds was ugly with him posting a +0.7 WAR and slashing .233/.313/.465, though he did log 27 HR.
The 2060 season, however, Hozven exploded with a .979 OPS, 35 HR, 117 RBI, and +3.7 WAR. GM Ben Teague thought he had grabbed his starting first baseman for quite a few years. He was so confident he signed the lefty to a 4-year, $21.5m extension. His 2061 campaign was solid even if not matching the previous season as Hozven put up a .858 OPS with 28 doubles, 27 HR, 76 RBI, and +1.5 WAR. He settled into a platoon at 1B with 27yo righty Tracy Allison.
Two things happened this season. Allison started to settle in against RHP putting up a .867 OPS and 2.3 WAR with 44 SB by the end of June. That surely earned him more plate appearances. But what to do Hozven? The lefty slid over to DH where Teague expected him to enter another platoon. But the 2060 Pedro Hozven resurfaced. He earned his first All-Star nod with a slash of .306/.372/.565, .937 OPS, 22 2B, 16 HR, 53 RBI, and +1.9 WAR. Next step? Consistency, please.
JL All-Star: C
23yo C Tadanobu Otani
78 G, 282 AB, 15 2B, 1 3B, 19 HR, 57 RBI, .270/.327/.532, .859 OPS, +2.3 WAR
Otani bloomed this season as well, but he is doing so as a youngster in his sophomore campaign. After a +0.3 WAR in 2061, Otani has posted .270/.327/.532, .859 OPS, 15 2B, 1 3B, 19 HR, 57 RBI, +2.3 WAR. With solid defensive numbers, Spuds fans may be looking at the starting catcher for many years to come.