9-News: 37.093 – Rodriguez, Camacho Blistering in FPL

[RonCo]

Outfield Duo Has Fans Looking Ahead
While every YS9 fan in the world would prefer to be focused on executing another early exit from the Doubleday round, we are, alas, relegated to looking southward to Florida, where several of the team’s higher profile prospects are busy honing their skills. Perhaps none are honing any better than 2036 first round pick Javier Rodriguez (6/8/9/7/5 Talents) (19) and one-time IFA signing Jose Camacho (7/9/7/6/6 Talents) (20).

Javi-Rod is a highly anticipated hitter from the left side of the plate who finished a promising enough season in A-Fort Worth with a 116 OPS+, but has stomped on FPL pitching to the tune of three homers and a .308/.458/.492 slash in 65 plate appearances. His glove is still suspect, but at 19 the team thinks that it will come along. “He’s got the arm to make it in right field,” said one scout. “And if he can OPS at that .950 level, he’s a winner.”

“He’s a guy a lot of teams have mentioned in trade talks, and you can see why,” said broadcaster Melissa Lester, who joined the team in Gainesville to cover them first hand.

Despite interest in Javi-rod playing right, some YS9 followers suggest that he and the RHB Camacho are destined to be platoon brothers in left field. If so, the preview happening here is interesting in that Camacho (who blitzed A-ball pitching at a 145 OPS+ rate before a promotion to AA, where he continued at a 120 pace) is hitting .333/.444/.467 in the FPL, albeit in only 18 plate appearances.

The issues with the FPL, of course, is that it’s a small sample of games against an uneven collection of players. But it’s hard not to get a little excited when you see a couple of the team’s more interesting prospects making their mark despite their considerably youthful exteriors. And imagination being the better part of the game of being fans, YS9 folks can perhaps be forgiven for wanting to get into their time machines and looking forward to what these two kids might look like in a couple seasons.

[Ted]

I never know what to make of FPL performances either. David Simpson stunk all year despite maybe even being over developed for the level he was at. Now he's raking in FPL. I've just decided to be happy about it.