Desperate times call for desperate measures. Portland, who approached the end of the 2057 calendar with just 5 pitchers on the 27-man roster, branched out this past week and nabbed
John Simons in the Rule 5 draft. Simons was taken from the Atlantic City Gamblers.
Simons has quite a history for a 25 year old who has yet to see any big league experience. In 2049, he was drafted in the 1st round with the 26th overall pick by the Rockville Pikemen. The Pikemen were unable or unwilling to sign him after the draft and Simons reported to the Gillette Razors instead. In 2052, he was drafted again in the 1st round, this time with the 13th overall pick by the Omaha Cyclones who promptly gave him a $6 million signing bonus to sign on with the club. He reached as high as the #34 ranked prospect in the BBA but a rash of previous injuries sidelined him. With Gillette, he tore a flexor tendon that forced him to miss over 2 years of experience. After being drafted by Omaha, he tore his labrum and again tore the flexor tendon. He missed another year and half this go around. Omaha gave up on the Simons experiment and traded him to Atlantic City in the
Robert Wilson (oddly enough that's my oldest son's name) deal.
When healthy, Simons has shown some success in the minor leagues. Last year, he posted a 2.4 WAR in AAA with Wilmington that was preceded by a 2.6 WAR in AA Trenton the previous season. Simons enters the 2058 season as the 99th ranked prospect in the BBA and instantly became Portland's #2 ranked pitching prospect.
Portland selected Simons with the 8th overall pick in the Rule 5 draft. The Lumberjacks will have to keep him on their Active roster for the entirety of the 2058 season. With the current state of the Lumberjacks' staff, that shouldn't be an issue!
