Twin Cities Year in Review
There’s no way to sugar coat it, 2031 was a miserable season for the River Monsters. Here's a quick overview of the good and the bad from the last year.
The Good
- SS Mark Wareham – It was a break out season for the 23 year old shortstop who hit .290 and racked up 36 SB. He’s a magician at SS with a great glove and excellent arm.
- LF Ray Cooper – The young 22 yr old Left Fielder has grown into a well-rounded player this season. Doesn't have the power to make for a true clean up hitter, but could be a nice three hole batter for several seasons. Much is riding on his shoulders in the coming years, but he has a great head on his shoulders and could be a leader on the team going forward.
The Spud - Josh Brown- Prospect SP Josh Brown (A - Billings) – Emerging from the plebeian ranks in the minors, Spudder is starting to gain velocity and his future potential has been upgraded over the last couple of years from 3 to 4.5 stars. He looks to eventually have great stuff with three strong pitches highlighted by a killer change up. He finished the season at Single A with 12 wins and a 3.42 ERA. Look for him to move up to AA next season as he continues to improve.
- Closer Juan Suarez – In a troubled pitching staff, Juan was a shining star in the closer position. With a top tier 100mph+ fastball and a devastating knuckle curve with great stuff, Juan converted 21 saves on a last place team this season. Not an easy task. Twin Cities would love to see him return with the same intensity next season.
- SP Jesse Stewart – Jesse has evolved into a work horse by pitching 435 innings (~ 4.0 ERA) over the last two seasons. On a better team with more run support, Jesse could easily have added 5 or 6 wins to his 10 win total this year.
The Bad
- 1B Jorge Caballero (League Rank 28th at 1B) – Teammates have always given Caballero a hard time for his lackadaisical attitude and lazy play at first base, but the league has finally seemed to left the 34 year old Jorge behind. A 2 time Golden Bat award winner (2023/2024), All Star (2026) and former HR/RBI champion, Jorge only had a .239 average, but with a respectable 29 HR. Jorge has always infuriated hitting coaches. Even with excellent power and a good eye, he never would put in the effort to become truly elite. The journeyman has bounced around 8 teams in his career and with his 1 year contract expiring, he may be searching for a job once again next year.
- RP Jerry Coyle – A young pitcher with a ton of unrealized potential, Jerry Coyle was acquired from the Hurricanes mid-season and thrown into a struggling bullpen. It was apparent he wasn’t quite ready for big leagues as he got roughed up and will probably need to return to Duluth (AAA) to continue to develop into the 5 star pitcher management is hoping he is. And everyone knows how elusive that can be.
- Juan Jose Mayorga – Signed to a free agent contract for 6 years and $60 Million in 2030, Juan Jose has seen a severe drop in his pitching ability since that time. Mayorga had a miserable campaign in 2031 with an ERA of 6.46 which put him the owner's hit list. GM Piccoli is hoping Mayorga can turn his career around as he is only 28 years old and is very popular with the fans and is a great leader in the clubhouse. (Plus the club owes him a ton of money).
The Ugly
- The Starting Lineup – Overall, the River Monsters was in the bottom 25% of most all team categories – Batting Average, Runs, ERA, etc… Though not the worst in any specific category, the combined effect of being bad in general overall lead to a last place finish this season.
Alphonse - The Team Crab- Team Chemistry – Unsurprisingly, the locker room was a mess by the end of the year. However, the surprise is that the instigator of most of the drama came from one of the better players Alphonse Salvarani, who finished the year with a sterling 1.77 ERA in limited use out of the bullpen. The problem was that he was berating players on their subpar play and in general being a cynical, sarcastic jerk. The mouthy Italian had been claimed off waivers from Omaha (probably gratefully), where he had earned a similar rebel rouser tag there for his poor attitude and terrible work ethic. The team needs to decide what to do with Alphonse in the off season. He’s obviously very talented but for a team who needs to develop young talent, Alphonse may not be the right fit. However, on an established winning team with strong team leadership to keep Alphonse inline, he could have a very successful career.
As the saying goes, it can only go up from here.
