In preparation for the final cuts, the Valencia front office has put together a series of Spring TrainING (STING) Reports.
This edition is focusing on the corner outfielders. Out of the 50 players on the roster during the last week of Spring Training, 6 of those players were being evaluated for either left field or right field (7 if you count Santiago Dieguez who is being moved out of centerfield for all intents and purposes).
Last year's incumbent in left field was Bill Nesbitt and in right field was Ed Bush. Nesbitt had a decent season in 2063 with 18 homers and a .254 average but the scouts seem to think he has lost a little bit over the off-season although they won't say where. Maybe Bill was caught fraternizing with one of the scout's daughters or something. Anyways, Bill hit for a .245 average and a .339 on-base percentage while adding a couple of homers. In the other corner, Bush had a much better off-season with the scouts claiming that he has better contact, power and plate discipline. The spring stats seem to reflect that assessment as the 23 year old lefty hit for a .346 average with a pair of homers. Coupled with his solid 2063 performance of 24 homers and a .272 average, it is safe to say that one of the spots in the lineup is his.
Two spring callups from last season's AAA roster were Ralph O'Neill and Ryan Cason. Ralph hit to the tune of a .292 average with a pair of home runs while former Rule 5 pick Ryan Cason did not get a hit in his 6 at bats during the spring. O'Neill was sent back to the AAA farm club in Mars while Cason has been placed on waivers.
The next two players really made things interesting for the Valencia front office on cut day. Left fielder Julio Sanchez may have had the best overall spring out of all the Stars' outfielders hitting .321/.400 while piling on six homers. That performance definitely moved Julio from being on the bubble to being solidly on the opening day roster. Meanwhile the other AAA outfielder was Luis Vela. The scouts are high on this 23 year old as well as he hit .289/.333 with 4 homers.
Look for Luis Vela to be penciled into the DH spot since he is the weakest glove of the bunch (although not by much). The trio of Ed Bush, Julio Sanchez and Santiago Dieguez will be rotating in the two outfield corner slots with Bill Nesbitt filling in as needed.
The snapshot of the Spring Training stats for these players are shown below: