27 June 2061
Boise, Idaho
**********************************
by Stubby Bardenwerper
Taylor Trending UpBoise went into the 2059 draft not expecting a drastic impact. They were picking 14th which, in BBA amateur drafts, puts you well below the cutoff for "great" players and in a sea of "1B"/DH. But GM Ben Teague did his normal due diligence and landed 18yo college product DH Perry Taylor. Taylor, currently Boise's top prospect, went to Short-A Hot Springs after signing with the squad and appeared in 25 games slashing .352/.417/.476 with 10 2B, 1 HR, and 11 RBI. That got Teague's attention and he gave him some games with Class A Tulsa. He would return to start the year in Tulsa this season, at age 20, and in 34 games he posted a .810 OPS with 6 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI. That got him a shot in Class AA Weymouth. All he did there was put up a .971 OPS in 23 games with 6 2B, 5 HR, 19 HR. Well, what else could Teague do but give him some swings at AAA Salt Lake City? In SLC, Taylor is rewarding Teague's wisdom. In just 12 games, he has 2 doubles, 3 HR, 8 RBI and has slashed .333/.404/.549. With the Spuds record he might get some ML at bats, but that DH pool is pretty deep up top.
Coffee is for Closers! Spuds Must be Selling
The latest look at the standings is stomach churning for GM Ben Teague. Boise is 34-46, 23 games out of the Division lead and 6 behind the Wild Card pack. They are at the tail end of a 8-16 June which will be their 2nd-straight losing month. Even though two key pieces of the 2060 rotation are sitting on the IL for virtually all season, squads are expected to weather those storms. Beyond that, the Spuds entered 2061 with the 4th highest player payroll only $500k below the new $115M threshold. Boise projects to be $2M over the $110M cap set for 2062. GM Ben Teague was trying to get some vets in the door for a quick window of competing before likely having a selloff. All this makes it no surprise that Teague is already selling behind the scenes. With 2060 Nebraska Award candidate SP Robert Hanson and rotation lock SP Marvin 'Groucho' Winston both on the IL for virtually the entire remainder of the year, the biggest piece in a selloff becomes 34 yo SP Mahad 'Furball' Einan.
The remainder of the roster remains for sale, including all-everything CF Lou Bayou, but Furball is the economic indicator, so to speak. It is possible, if Einan doesn't move, for the Spuds to go into 2062 with a top 3 SPs of Furball, Hanson, and Groucho. That's not shabby. Between options and arbitration, they also have more flexibility than the accounting books would say. Not only is it somewhat necessary for Furball to go, he will set the market having been a fringe Nebraska candidate himself in 2060. It's virtually impossible to imagine what a deal for Bayou would look like, but it would be clearer after a deal for Furball. Let's not overlook the fact that dealing Bayou first becomes problematic as everyone else on the roster, including Einan, now go for pennies on the dollar because there's absolutely no reason to keep anyone. It will be an interesting deadline for Boise this season.