My Take: This division boasts two of the top teams in the NL with Syracuse coming out on top the last couple seasons as they've now won the NL East for five straight seasons. As you can see below, the Tar Heels made some significant moves to bolster the top of their lineup to try to get more scoring opportunities for the middle of their order. The Orange made some slight tweaks, but nothing earth shattering. Why fix what isn't broken? Louisville looks to finish third in the division, but they weren't too far away from earning the second wild card spot and if things break right, they could do so. Buffalo continues with their rebuilding project.
1. Syracuse Orange
2. Charlotte Tar Heels
3. Louisville Cardinals
4. Buffalo Bulls
Charlotte Tar Heels
Expectations: Our main goals this season are to finally take the NL East divisional crown away from Syracuse and earn a bye in the playoffs. We were in it until the last game in Season 11 and we are hoping with the acquisitions this season that it will put us over the top. This season will be a disappointment if we do not make the playoffs.
Free Agents Added: Bubbles Haynes as a nice hitter off the bench
Free Agents Lost: Mel Reed back to the Thundering Herd after we traded for him for him at the deadline last season. At least we’ll get a couple draft picks for our trouble.
Players Added Via Trade: Our biggest acquisition is Ronnie Hamill who has absolutely torn it up in his career with New York in the AL. We were in desperate need for a top flight lineup guy which allows us to move some of our bigger bats back in the order. He is also great with the glove and will be able to take over 2B as Rich Perry moves to 3B and Moe Hermansen to RF which will make one of the top defenses in NCAA even better. Travis Hermansen and Eric Jacquez were both brought back in from Huntington to shore up the pitching staff. We also brought back Alex Lopez who will strengthen our end of the game options.
Players Lost Via Trade: Buddy Daniels has been a Heel his whole career, but with the our pitching staff getting younger, we decided to market Daniels and were able to secure a nice, young SP prospect from Iowa City in Hank Waltman. We wish the best of luck to Daniels. Scot Hunt has been a solid defensive replacement the last few seasons, but we have a couple younger guys we wanted to give that spot to so we moved him to Huntington. Also lost Javier Sanchez in the Hamill deal and our starting CFer, Felipe Rincon the past two seasons to Huntingon as we needed to shore up our pitching staff.
Rookies Promoted: Bobby Reese will take over Scot Hunt’s defensive replacement duties. Fausto Mercardo, who was claimed off the waiver wire at the end of last season, was promoted to be a defensive replacement, pinch runner, who also has a decent contact bat. He also went to Charlotte GM’s alma mater, Johns Hopkins.
Possible Rookie Promotion: As of now, there are no plans to promote anyone, but injuries or other circumstances could change that.
Syracuse Orange
‘Losses’ (No Key loses) only loses are pitchers Joe Creek and Rafael Osuna
‘Additions’ (No Key Additions) only addition is reliever Bernard Rucker.
The Syracuse Orange are playing this season with nearly the same class that they had in season 11. They’re expecting to contend again for the tough NL East crown.
As mentioned above, there are no key additions to the team. Mitchell Spencer appears fully healed from his game World Series Game five injury. Lead off platoon youngsters Raymond Nixon and Gustavo Sivilla look ready to take another step forward.
In the last four seasons we’ve
4 ago) Won the Wild Card Series
3 ago) Won the Divisonal Series
2 ago) Won 1 World Series Game
Last) Won 2 World Series Games.
Hopefully the trend will continue!
Louisville Cardinals
Key Players Added: Alex Franco via Trade to shore up the bullpen
Key Players Lost: Raymond Snow 3B and Will Cook 1B via Free Agency
Key Callups: Pedro Aviles, Stewart George and Santos Siqueiros
Outlook: Truthfully, our division looks like it will be a two horse race between the Heels and the Orange. We hope to finish above .500 again and take a wildcard spot.
Whatever happens, we are positioned now to improve year after year.
Buffalo Bulls
Key Players Added
Shawn Walker (L) LF
Vladimir Polonia (L) SP
Key Players Lost
None
Possible Rookie Call ups
We will hope a big surprise at spring training camp.
Expectations
No big expectation for this season. By the fact that the other teams are very strong. Don't finishing last in our division will be a good achievement.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Season 12 - NL South Divisional Preview
My Take: Well I was way off last season as I predicted the Spiders would finish third in the division and they ended up winning it and that Huntington would battle for the wild card and they had a hugely disappointing season which led them to make wholesale changes for the second season in a row. Just to mimic exactly what I wrote last season, I have no idea what is going to happen with this division. Richmond and Texas made minor changes to their Season 11 playoff teams while Huntington made huge changes, but I believe they did a much better job this season than they did last season. I think Huntington will be better this season, but will it be enough to overtake Richmond and Texas? I think this race will go down to the wire with Memphis bringing up the rear as they continue their rebuild job. I do believe that this division will once again produce two wild card teams and both the divisional crown and wild card could come down to tiebreakers.
1. Texas Mustangs
2. Richmond Spiders
3. Huntington Thundering Herd
4. Memphis Tigers
Huntington Thundering Herd
Key Additions
Free Agency: P Mel Reed, P Terry Simmons, P Allen Guerrero, P Pinky Matheson, P David Cox, P Enrique Guzman, 3B Bernie Ortiz, LF Roger Valentin
Trades: CF Felipe Rincon, SS Scot Hunt, 1B Jung-Lee Woo, P Artie Hinch, OF/IF Craig Henley, OF Lonny Offerman, 1B/C Paul Evans, P Billy North,
Key Losses
Free Agency: P Timo Brinkley, P Edgard Melendez, P J.J. Burns, P Haywood Thomson, P Juan Almanza, P Aramis Marichal, 2B Mel Brock, LF Tracy Nen, CF Joshua Becker, 1B Rex Allen
Trades: P Travis Hermansen, IF/OF Derrek Cashman, RF Billy Rivers, LF Marcus Perez, P Nate Forster
Summary:
The Thundering Herd had budget room to throw around, and throw it around they did. Signing a total of 10 free agents and adding up to 8 big-league players via trade, this management team is out to prove that last season was a fluke. Gone are some key contributors who were shipped out in order to provide an upgrade in talent for the farm system or other positions. The hope is that this team, as it is presently constructed, can provide consistently great offense and allow its pitching staff to be good, but not great. The pitching staff was upgraded significantly, with 3 new starters and 4 new relievers toeing the rubber. This should be the best staff in the history of the franchise.
Richmond Spiders
It was a quiet offseason in Richmond for multiple reasons:
1. We liked our team from last season and didn't see immdeiate areas that needed upgrades. The primary emphasis was keeping the team intact by re-signing our own free agents.
2. We didn't have the prospects available to make impact trades and really need to spend the next few seasons restocking talent rather than dealing it away. As such, we also did not consider any Type A free agents this season.
3. The GM scheduled a vacation during the offseason and time/access was limited.
As such, most of the team remains intact. Pete Young was added to the bullpen to replace a departing Willie Sabathia, which we think is a slight upgrade. The primary upgrades though are a full season from Andrea Nelson (acquired mid-season last year) and the signing of Clinton Carr, who is still recovering from a major injury. When he returns later in the season, he should really upgrade the starting rotation.
I think the offense actually underperformed last season despite decent results, and we should be pretty strong there. The pitching should be solid even though we lack the true stud present on many of the other contenders.
We won the division last season via tie-breaker and made a good run in the playoffs. I expect to compete for the top spot in the division once again.
Memphis Tigers
Key Players Added: Octavio Rivera SP, Gary McBride RP
Key Players Lost: None
Key Transactions: Signed Paul Richard to a 4yr/$35M contract
Rookies to watch for: Phil Rapp SP, Hugh Bell 1B/OF
Outlook: Tigers Management shelled out big bucks this offseason in an effort to upgrade their pitching staff. After missing out on several top pitchers the past few seasons, Memphis signed Octavio Rivera to a hefty 4yr/$57M contract to anchor the rotation. Gary McBride (2yr/$9.6M) joins a bullpen that is arguably the Tigers biggest Achilles heel in effort to help keep late game leads. Rookie Hugh Bell looks to be the opening day leftfielder, while Phil Rapp projects to earn the #2 spot in the rotation.
Expectations in Tiger Town are still modest this season, but they expect to improve on their 69 win season from a year ago. While some around town may feel management overpaid for Rivera’s services, the team feels Rivera along with McBride should be significant upgrades from last years pitching staff. Also, Memphis expects Rapp , competing in his first full season at the major league level, to continue maturing while providing solid innings on the mound. Offensively, the Tigers will count on Richard and rookie Bell to power an offense that often became stagnant in season 11.
Texas Mustangs
The Mustangs did some roster fine tuning this season, but usually try to avoid the complete roster overhauls that are popular at some of the other schools within the division.
This year it will be a couple of promotions (Mariano Cedeno and Vincente Parra) filling the gaps of Vladamir Polonia and Austin Byrne on the mound.
In the field, two big free agent signings will cause some movement around the diamond. Freddie Upshaw was signed to play SS and Chico Tavarez will move into CF. Houston Hart moved on to a new opportunity at another institution. Wes Thomas was also signed to play in LF and should improve OF defense and add more speed on the base paths.
1. Texas Mustangs
2. Richmond Spiders
3. Huntington Thundering Herd
4. Memphis Tigers
Huntington Thundering Herd
Key Additions
Free Agency: P Mel Reed, P Terry Simmons, P Allen Guerrero, P Pinky Matheson, P David Cox, P Enrique Guzman, 3B Bernie Ortiz, LF Roger Valentin
Trades: CF Felipe Rincon, SS Scot Hunt, 1B Jung-Lee Woo, P Artie Hinch, OF/IF Craig Henley, OF Lonny Offerman, 1B/C Paul Evans, P Billy North,
Key Losses
Free Agency: P Timo Brinkley, P Edgard Melendez, P J.J. Burns, P Haywood Thomson, P Juan Almanza, P Aramis Marichal, 2B Mel Brock, LF Tracy Nen, CF Joshua Becker, 1B Rex Allen
Trades: P Travis Hermansen, IF/OF Derrek Cashman, RF Billy Rivers, LF Marcus Perez, P Nate Forster
Summary:
The Thundering Herd had budget room to throw around, and throw it around they did. Signing a total of 10 free agents and adding up to 8 big-league players via trade, this management team is out to prove that last season was a fluke. Gone are some key contributors who were shipped out in order to provide an upgrade in talent for the farm system or other positions. The hope is that this team, as it is presently constructed, can provide consistently great offense and allow its pitching staff to be good, but not great. The pitching staff was upgraded significantly, with 3 new starters and 4 new relievers toeing the rubber. This should be the best staff in the history of the franchise.
Richmond Spiders
It was a quiet offseason in Richmond for multiple reasons:
1. We liked our team from last season and didn't see immdeiate areas that needed upgrades. The primary emphasis was keeping the team intact by re-signing our own free agents.
2. We didn't have the prospects available to make impact trades and really need to spend the next few seasons restocking talent rather than dealing it away. As such, we also did not consider any Type A free agents this season.
3. The GM scheduled a vacation during the offseason and time/access was limited.
As such, most of the team remains intact. Pete Young was added to the bullpen to replace a departing Willie Sabathia, which we think is a slight upgrade. The primary upgrades though are a full season from Andrea Nelson (acquired mid-season last year) and the signing of Clinton Carr, who is still recovering from a major injury. When he returns later in the season, he should really upgrade the starting rotation.
I think the offense actually underperformed last season despite decent results, and we should be pretty strong there. The pitching should be solid even though we lack the true stud present on many of the other contenders.
We won the division last season via tie-breaker and made a good run in the playoffs. I expect to compete for the top spot in the division once again.
Memphis Tigers
Key Players Added: Octavio Rivera SP, Gary McBride RP
Key Players Lost: None
Key Transactions: Signed Paul Richard to a 4yr/$35M contract
Rookies to watch for: Phil Rapp SP, Hugh Bell 1B/OF
Outlook: Tigers Management shelled out big bucks this offseason in an effort to upgrade their pitching staff. After missing out on several top pitchers the past few seasons, Memphis signed Octavio Rivera to a hefty 4yr/$57M contract to anchor the rotation. Gary McBride (2yr/$9.6M) joins a bullpen that is arguably the Tigers biggest Achilles heel in effort to help keep late game leads. Rookie Hugh Bell looks to be the opening day leftfielder, while Phil Rapp projects to earn the #2 spot in the rotation.
Expectations in Tiger Town are still modest this season, but they expect to improve on their 69 win season from a year ago. While some around town may feel management overpaid for Rivera’s services, the team feels Rivera along with McBride should be significant upgrades from last years pitching staff. Also, Memphis expects Rapp , competing in his first full season at the major league level, to continue maturing while providing solid innings on the mound. Offensively, the Tigers will count on Richard and rookie Bell to power an offense that often became stagnant in season 11.
Texas Mustangs
The Mustangs did some roster fine tuning this season, but usually try to avoid the complete roster overhauls that are popular at some of the other schools within the division.
This year it will be a couple of promotions (Mariano Cedeno and Vincente Parra) filling the gaps of Vladamir Polonia and Austin Byrne on the mound.
In the field, two big free agent signings will cause some movement around the diamond. Freddie Upshaw was signed to play SS and Chico Tavarez will move into CF. Houston Hart moved on to a new opportunity at another institution. Wes Thomas was also signed to play in LF and should improve OF defense and add more speed on the base paths.
Monday, January 24, 2011
NCAA Record Changes
We had several records fall, change hands, increase, and decrease now that we have completed Season 11. All of the changes have been updated in the records on the right of the blog. Here is a list of what happened...
Michael Shumpert is the new single season strikeout leader with 252 K's last season. Nick Robinson now is the sole holder of the saves record by saving 51 games last season.
Capitalizing on his triple crown, Michael Seay is now the single season batting average (.363) and hits (239) holder.
Otis Damon, Gene Wise, and Hawk Wagner now share the Career Wins record with 169 apiece.
Enrique Sojo is now the sole holder of the career batting average record at .338 as Ned French falls off.
Dante Thompson is now the career record holder for Hits with 2,027.
Check out the full list of records to the right of the blog!
Michael Shumpert is the new single season strikeout leader with 252 K's last season. Nick Robinson now is the sole holder of the saves record by saving 51 games last season.
Capitalizing on his triple crown, Michael Seay is now the single season batting average (.363) and hits (239) holder.
Otis Damon, Gene Wise, and Hawk Wagner now share the Career Wins record with 169 apiece.
Enrique Sojo is now the sole holder of the career batting average record at .338 as Ned French falls off.
Dante Thompson is now the career record holder for Hits with 2,027.
Check out the full list of records to the right of the blog!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Rule Change
First let me say that a lot of thought was put into this decision. There were many conversations with the committee and then with the rest of the world. I really appreciate everyone who let me know their thoughts. The final result was only 2 people were against teams never being allowed to change cities and I completely understand where they are coming from. There was a groundswell of support for there to be very limited opportunities for an owner to switch a city, but for there to be an increased penalty and limiting it to one move per season. Also there has to be a legitimate reason to wanting to move.
The bottom line is that we DO NOT want people switching cities. In a perfect world, this rule will not have to be used ever except when we need a new owner. When owners stay in their cities it promotes rivalries (I hate Syracuse....it just wouldn't be the same if next season they were in Baltimore and then 3 seasons later in New York, etc) and it is also much better for the "player cards" and history of the world. However, the rule below will provide us with flexibility when needed. Below is the revised rule.
Rule #10 has been changed to this:
"Teams may change their city/stadiums under two circumstances. One, after a current owner (season 11 or prior) has completed 10 seasons as an NCAA member in their current city. Two, a new owner to the world can switch to a new city as long as that city has not changed in the last 5 seasons. Teams wishing to switch must apply for approval and there must be a legitimate reason to switch. Moving forward, a stadium switch is only allowed once per owner whether its a veteran owner moving or a new owner coming in and only one veteran move allowed per season. An owner that petitions the committee to move must wait one full season before the move can be made. The "penalty" which is to be looked at as a "new stadium fee" is 10 million in minor league contracts the first season and 5 million the second season which will mimic the cost involved in building a new stadium. Only owners that have shown great loyalty to NCAA and are willing to fully commit many more seasons will be considered. The competition committee reserves the right to deny a city/stadium switch for any reason."
Example: In the middle of Season 12 I petition the committee to move to Baltimore. The move is approved. At the beginning of season 13, I sign a low level minor league FA to a one season, 10 million dollar deal. I move my team at rollover of season 14 and then sign another low level minor league FA to a one season, 5 million dollar deal. I can never petition the committee to move again and am willing to commit long term to NCAA.
Arte will be staying in Chicago and moving from Wrigley to Cellular Field while keeping the Blue Demons name. Arte will sign a player for this season at 10 mil and next season at 5 mil to make good on the rule change. Arte's reasoning behind the move is that he has spent the last 11 seasons losing in Wrigley and needed a change. It got to the point where Arte was ready to give up the team in which case a new owner quite possibly would have changed the city anyway. This is Arte's one relocation and has committed long term to NCAA.
The bottom line is that we DO NOT want people switching cities. In a perfect world, this rule will not have to be used ever except when we need a new owner. When owners stay in their cities it promotes rivalries (I hate Syracuse....it just wouldn't be the same if next season they were in Baltimore and then 3 seasons later in New York, etc) and it is also much better for the "player cards" and history of the world. However, the rule below will provide us with flexibility when needed. Below is the revised rule.
Rule #10 has been changed to this:
"Teams may change their city/stadiums under two circumstances. One, after a current owner (season 11 or prior) has completed 10 seasons as an NCAA member in their current city. Two, a new owner to the world can switch to a new city as long as that city has not changed in the last 5 seasons. Teams wishing to switch must apply for approval and there must be a legitimate reason to switch. Moving forward, a stadium switch is only allowed once per owner whether its a veteran owner moving or a new owner coming in and only one veteran move allowed per season. An owner that petitions the committee to move must wait one full season before the move can be made. The "penalty" which is to be looked at as a "new stadium fee" is 10 million in minor league contracts the first season and 5 million the second season which will mimic the cost involved in building a new stadium. Only owners that have shown great loyalty to NCAA and are willing to fully commit many more seasons will be considered. The competition committee reserves the right to deny a city/stadium switch for any reason."
Example: In the middle of Season 12 I petition the committee to move to Baltimore. The move is approved. At the beginning of season 13, I sign a low level minor league FA to a one season, 10 million dollar deal. I move my team at rollover of season 14 and then sign another low level minor league FA to a one season, 5 million dollar deal. I can never petition the committee to move again and am willing to commit long term to NCAA.
Arte will be staying in Chicago and moving from Wrigley to Cellular Field while keeping the Blue Demons name. Arte will sign a player for this season at 10 mil and next season at 5 mil to make good on the rule change. Arte's reasoning behind the move is that he has spent the last 11 seasons losing in Wrigley and needed a change. It got to the point where Arte was ready to give up the team in which case a new owner quite possibly would have changed the city anyway. This is Arte's one relocation and has committed long term to NCAA.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Owner Update
NCAA owners, I wanted to provide a quick owner updated. Meteu40 had over 202 losses the last two seasons and on several occasions lets his minors go into disrepair and did not correct immediately. Therefore he came up for review. He was notified several times throughout the season where he was trending and still missed the mark. I notified him 8 days ago to submit a defense and plan on how he will turn around the franchise to the competition committee. He has not submitted anything in 8 days and it is time for us to move on. I informed meteu40 today that it would be in everyone's best interests to part ways.
Also, an update on the Kansas City franchise. I am hoping that llcc recovers and comes back before rollover. If you missed my world chat post, he is ill and is MIA from WIS. I currently have a classified up to have a replacement in place if needed, but hoping that llcc is ok and comes back.
Please send me a trade chat/sitemail if you have any further questions.
Thanks,
Chris
Also, an update on the Kansas City franchise. I am hoping that llcc recovers and comes back before rollover. If you missed my world chat post, he is ill and is MIA from WIS. I currently have a classified up to have a replacement in place if needed, but hoping that llcc is ok and comes back.
Please send me a trade chat/sitemail if you have any further questions.
Thanks,
Chris
Saturday, January 8, 2011
TRIPLE CROWN!
Congratulations to the Syracuse Orange and Micheal Seay for winning the Triple Crown with a .363 batting average, 65 HR's and 175 RBI's!
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Sunday, January 2, 2011
Season 11 International Free-Agents ----- The Year of the C - by tk21775
As of this writeup there were 9 international free agents that inked a deal to play ball in NCAA for over $10M. Three of those players will be crouching behind the plate when they get to the bigs, two of them the top money makers. It was such a good year for C that we even had one owner who admitted to having a man crush and not only signed up for his fan club but was thrilled that he would be receiving a signed picture of the C in his jock strap! Enough about man crushes and jock straps though, on to the recap.
The top signer thus far is 18 year old C Ramon Pong who was snatched up by the Charlotte Tar Heels (and the man crush). Pong was signed for $20.3M, the only player to receive over $20M in a signing bonus this season, and immediately sent to rookie ball. In 27 games so far he’s hitting for a .374 avg. with 13 HR and 35 rbi. Pong projects to have great accuracy when throwing players out at the plate with pitch calling but his bat is absolutely amazing. He can hit for contact, power, against lefties, and has an outstanding eye. He has no weakness with his bat at all and has the stamina to play nearly every game. He will be an absolute force when he makes it to the big leagues.
18 year old Carlos Carrasco comes in 2nd on the top paid list with a signing of $17.6M with the Fargo Bison. Carrasco is calling games for the Bison in Rookie league this season where he’s played 37 games, hitting for .318 avg with 3 HR and 25 rbi. He’s not going to hit for power but he will be hard to keep off the bases with his bat and will have the defense to be behind the plate for the Bison.
Luis Martin becomes the 1st non-catcher to get paid the big money, inking a deal for $13.9M with the Dover Figthin Blue Hens. He’s listed as a SS but Dover has him playing CF in Rookie league for them this season where he’s hitting .325 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 29 games. It will interesting to see where they play him in the bigs as he looks to be able to play CF, 2B, or 3B. He’s got a great eye and contact with below avg. splits. He’ll be a guy to watch when he gets called up to see how he performs.
18 year old Bernie Flores becomes the top P prospect on the money list, signing a $13.5M contract with the Salem Beavers. The Beavers have him in Low A where he’s pitched 3.0 innings for a 3.00 era allowing 3 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB and 3 SO in his short time on the mound. Flores will be a setup pitcher with outstanding control.
One of the oldest Int’l to sign this year, 22 year old Pedro Guerrero gets a $12.5M contract from the Louisville Cardinals. He immediately started in AAA where he’s started 10 games for 70.2 innings of work with a 4.46 era. He’s got the stamina to be a SP in the majors with nice splits and above avg. control with 3 solid pitches. Guerrero looks to be a nice addition to the rotation for the Cardinals and a nice bargain at what he was signed for.
Louisville wasn’t done with just Guerrero, also signing 19 year old P Victor Diaz to a $12.1M contract. He gets sent to Low A ball where he’s pitched in 23 games, saving 13 out of 14 opportunities with a 1.84 ERA. He’s control is pinpoint and he’ll be a force against righties with no liability against left-handed batters too much. Add 3 solid pitches and the Cardinals look to have their future closer in their farm system this season.
Pedro James rounds out the C’s signed, inking a $10.8M bonus with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. James begins his future with the Gophers in Low A ball where he’s yet to see any action. He’s got the arm and pitch calling ability to be behind the plate and can definitely hit the long ball. His stamina should have him playing all 162 games when he gets to the majors.
19 year old Edgard Polonia becomes the 2nd highest paid SS on the list, agreeing on a $10.5M bonus with the Helena Grizzlies. Polonia gets sent to Rookie league where he looks to develop more into a 3B possibly. He’s got speed along with a decent bat to be a nice pickup for the Grizzlies. In 5 games he’s hitting .400 with 1 HR and 6 RBI.
The last to crack the $10M list in 22 year old SS Vic Cruz with the Cincinnati Bearcats. Cruz signed for exactly $10M and gets to start at the High A level. He’s been in 118 games, hitting .299 with 22 HR and 109 RBI. The Bearcats have him playing the SS position where he’s fielding .948 as he develops although his glove might not get to where it needs to be for that position. He’s bat might be enough to make up for him playing there though where he’ll keep hitting them out of the park no matter what league he plays in.
The top signer thus far is 18 year old C Ramon Pong who was snatched up by the Charlotte Tar Heels (and the man crush). Pong was signed for $20.3M, the only player to receive over $20M in a signing bonus this season, and immediately sent to rookie ball. In 27 games so far he’s hitting for a .374 avg. with 13 HR and 35 rbi. Pong projects to have great accuracy when throwing players out at the plate with pitch calling but his bat is absolutely amazing. He can hit for contact, power, against lefties, and has an outstanding eye. He has no weakness with his bat at all and has the stamina to play nearly every game. He will be an absolute force when he makes it to the big leagues.
18 year old Carlos Carrasco comes in 2nd on the top paid list with a signing of $17.6M with the Fargo Bison. Carrasco is calling games for the Bison in Rookie league this season where he’s played 37 games, hitting for .318 avg with 3 HR and 25 rbi. He’s not going to hit for power but he will be hard to keep off the bases with his bat and will have the defense to be behind the plate for the Bison.
Luis Martin becomes the 1st non-catcher to get paid the big money, inking a deal for $13.9M with the Dover Figthin Blue Hens. He’s listed as a SS but Dover has him playing CF in Rookie league for them this season where he’s hitting .325 with 4 HR and 18 RBI in 29 games. It will interesting to see where they play him in the bigs as he looks to be able to play CF, 2B, or 3B. He’s got a great eye and contact with below avg. splits. He’ll be a guy to watch when he gets called up to see how he performs.
18 year old Bernie Flores becomes the top P prospect on the money list, signing a $13.5M contract with the Salem Beavers. The Beavers have him in Low A where he’s pitched 3.0 innings for a 3.00 era allowing 3 hits, 1 ER, 1 BB and 3 SO in his short time on the mound. Flores will be a setup pitcher with outstanding control.
One of the oldest Int’l to sign this year, 22 year old Pedro Guerrero gets a $12.5M contract from the Louisville Cardinals. He immediately started in AAA where he’s started 10 games for 70.2 innings of work with a 4.46 era. He’s got the stamina to be a SP in the majors with nice splits and above avg. control with 3 solid pitches. Guerrero looks to be a nice addition to the rotation for the Cardinals and a nice bargain at what he was signed for.
Louisville wasn’t done with just Guerrero, also signing 19 year old P Victor Diaz to a $12.1M contract. He gets sent to Low A ball where he’s pitched in 23 games, saving 13 out of 14 opportunities with a 1.84 ERA. He’s control is pinpoint and he’ll be a force against righties with no liability against left-handed batters too much. Add 3 solid pitches and the Cardinals look to have their future closer in their farm system this season.
Pedro James rounds out the C’s signed, inking a $10.8M bonus with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. James begins his future with the Gophers in Low A ball where he’s yet to see any action. He’s got the arm and pitch calling ability to be behind the plate and can definitely hit the long ball. His stamina should have him playing all 162 games when he gets to the majors.
19 year old Edgard Polonia becomes the 2nd highest paid SS on the list, agreeing on a $10.5M bonus with the Helena Grizzlies. Polonia gets sent to Rookie league where he looks to develop more into a 3B possibly. He’s got speed along with a decent bat to be a nice pickup for the Grizzlies. In 5 games he’s hitting .400 with 1 HR and 6 RBI.
The last to crack the $10M list in 22 year old SS Vic Cruz with the Cincinnati Bearcats. Cruz signed for exactly $10M and gets to start at the High A level. He’s been in 118 games, hitting .299 with 22 HR and 109 RBI. The Bearcats have him playing the SS position where he’s fielding .948 as he develops although his glove might not get to where it needs to be for that position. He’s bat might be enough to make up for him playing there though where he’ll keep hitting them out of the park no matter what league he plays in.
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