Vicente Lamb, Stars Reporter
February 4, 2052
In King, Valencia looks to have landed a crafty left-handed pitcher and a steady presence that might be able to, at least in some measure, settle things down in the Stars rotation. It's a rotation that has struggled with consistency of late, and its 4.72 ERA in 2051 ranked 10th in the Frick.
King has not struggled with consistency. He has, since recovering from shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff, posted an ERA of 3.39 and 16.8 pitcher WAR over the course of four plus seasons. He was a key part of the Pioneers' march to the playoffs last year, and finished third in JL Nebraska voting last season.
Club general manager Alejandro Suárez, on hand to introduce King to the local media, noted that “Brian was on our radar well before the end of the season. We knew he was on an expiring contract and likely to enter the [free agency] market. We had him rated very highly and are extremely pleased to have him here with us.”
King is known to be an unassuming clubhouse presence and a man of few words. Definitely not the rah-rah team leader type who's going to fire up the squad. Many in the game praise his quiet intensity and tireless work ethic. One Frontier rival had this to say about King: “I know some people call him the Sheriff or whatever, but we called him Hypertension, because he's the silent killer. Good to see him in the Frick, man.”
