2001 BLB Debut Thread

[Pat]

Taylor Wiatr - IF
Drafted 8.16 in 1995

Wiatr was actually supposed to make his Triple-A debut this week but due to a run of infield injuries he will be playing at the BLB level, despite not being on the Spring Training roster.

These are the types of players you can target later in drafts if you don't go on auto. His hitting potential has always been poor. My scout has him 4-5-2-3-4. OSA has him worse. However, he is 8-8-8-8 on infield ratings and 7-7-8 on running. He also has high leadership.

Hopefully he never starts a game for the Bats and will just be used as a late game pinch-runner and defensive replacement.

[Spectre]

Danny Ventura- SP
8th pick in the Sandwich round in 1997

Ventura is a highly regarded prospect, ranked in the Top 100 earlier this year. He has done nothing but produce in his minor league career. In the 2000 campaign, he was one of the best pitchers in the league going 15-4 while striking out 118 with only 23 walks. He fits in nicely into my rotation. He'll be a middle of the rotation workhorse ideally.

[funclown]

Tyler Quinn- LF/RF
1.13 pick 1995 Carolina/ Traded to Pawtucket May, 1999.

We knew Tyler would make his debut eventually this season, but was on the fence with him until the Doug Gill injury. Like to see a bit more development against lefty pitching, but like most rookies probably needs the BLB level to take him the rest of the way.

High Schooler, Tyler needed to be cooked slowly. Some impressive power displayed in 99 with 27 hr's (.512slg), then in 2000 finally made the jump to AAA hitting 13hrs in 94 games played.

Petoria Park is an absolute killer to pull or straight away lefty hitters. Until we fix this issue (lol, i swear next season) Quinn will get limited exposure at home(40 games?) with most of his at bats coming from road games. He's slated to bat behind Jarava at #3 with #4 Gill and #5 Yeandle rounding out the middle of the lineup.

Expecting our offense to uptick a bit this season.

[umd]

SP CJ Nuckles
1995 4.24 Virginia - selected in the 2001 Rule 5 1.14

Nuckles will make his BLB debut this season at the back end of our rotation. His acquisition allows us to keep Dusty Dodd in AAA a bit longer as a starter. More of a young stopgap, we'd be happy if Nuckles can post an ERA in the mid 4's for now. He posted a 4.50 ERA 1.37 WHIP in AAA last season in 23 starts. My scout has him as a 5-5-5 with four average pitches all rated a bit better than what OSA gives him credit for. Hopefully he can stick out the season at the back end of the rotation as another SP or two will probably be traded during the season.

[Lintyfresh85]

Marco Soto
6.5 pick by California in 1997 draft

Bringing Soto north with the club as he earned it with a 0.82 ERA over 10 games, and 15 K's in just 11 games.

[Matt]

MR Danny Magana

Drafted 1.21 in 1999 he is the first Muckdog to debut from the draft which gave us five 1st round picks. He will move into the setup role and our scout expects great things from him.

CL Tyler Earley

Not a true debut since he played in 58 games last season but he's the new closer in Batavia and hopefully makes the fans forget Bayer. Last season in 55.1 IP he recorded a 2.77 ERA and 1.05 WHIP while striking out 45 and walking 14.

C Bill Hardwick

Another debut that happened in September last season Hardwick will be the opening day catcher in Batavia. In 24 games last year he hit .325/.391/.571 and showed he belonged. Then in spring training he really showed he belonged by hitting .347/.515/.735 with 4 HR's and 13 RBI's. He also walked 16 times and only struck out 3 times while stealing 3 bases. The scouts still think he has room to grow and he is a natural leader with a great work ethic.

[Pat]

Only true debuts only, please.

Should be a really good year for that trio, however. Things are looking up in Batavia! Best season since 1997?

[Jistic]

http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...ayer_2518.html
C- Dave Foglesong
Drafted 1997 - 2.18 (Windy City)
Current Ranking - #36 or #67 depending on who you believe

Dave is an "old" rookie at 25. We moved him a long very slowly. Our scout two scouts ago was very high on him. He didn't debut in the top 100 until years after he was drafted.

We've had a pretty good history with catchers in WC. I don't see him as a super star but a solid defensive catcher with a good work ethic and enough power to hit 20+ HR's a year. We'll be thrilled if he turns into anything over a .250 batter at some point. I'm expecting a low BA this year.

[Pat]

Nick Cortes - SP
Signed as UDFA in 1997

I like to run a six man rotation at every level. To open the BLB season there was a break in my week so I had the luxury of only needing to go with a five man. With the scheduling this week, it's six straight games, so time to make a decision on the 6th spot in the rotation.

Cortes pitched seven great innings in Triple-A this week while expected #6 starter Ivan Bojorquez got roughed up. It might only be a one start tryout but this week it goes to Cortes.

A fast riser in the minors, Cortes has been featured often by myself and DelPrez. Let's see what he's got.

[Delandis]

This will probably be the first time in 17 years that the Bulldogs will not debut a rookie.

[funclown]

Todd Boyce - 2B
1.19 -1998 Draft Pawtucket

With the injury to 2B Helespntico Jarava very early in the season, after only one week at AAA Todd Boyce is taking his .379 batting average to big show. Was really, really tough sending him down after posting a .405 spring, but we had Jarava so figure let him brush up his game. If anything should provide for even a better defense.

Drafted in the first round in 98, has a career batting average above .300 at every level he has ever played. Never going to be a power hitter or draw alot of walks, but the kid can bat and play good defense.

Never has been a top 100 prospect(power rating?) and frankly we dont care!!!
He's got 3 weeks to show us he belongs up here to stay.

[Gyrodork]

OF Luther Bennerman
We didn't want to spend our 1997 1.19 pick on a highschooler. We rarely call anyone up before the age of 24. But here we are. At the tender age of 22, King Luther has begun his reign at Javelinas Stadium. He's a free swinger, but if we can set the table for him he's going to knock in a few runs.

[BradZ]

OF Travis Connolly

Pick 3.14 (73rd overall) in 1995 Connolly is serving as the 4th/5th OFer, LH pinch hitting option. His contact ability will probably never be high enough to be an everyday player, but he's got power in spades (20 HR in AAA last year in 305 AB's). It's an incredibly small sample size, but so far he's sporting a 5 to 3 BB:K ratio (after putting up essentially a 1:1 ratio at AAA in 2000). In the first 2 weeks he has picked up his first BLB hit and now his first BLB homer. Welcome to the bigs kid!

[Pat]

Nick Cortes - SP
Signed as UDFA in 1997

I like to run a six man rotation at every level. To open the BLB season there was a break in my week so I had the luxury of only needing to go with a five man. With the scheduling this week, it's six straight games, so time to make a decision on the 6th spot in the rotation.

Cortes pitched seven great innings in Triple-A this week while expected #6 starter Ivan Bojorquez got roughed up. It might only be a one start tryout but this week it goes to Cortes.

A fast riser in the minors, Cortes has been featured often by myself and DelPrez. Let's see what he's got.

Didn't expect that...

8.1 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 ER in a 3-0 W vs. Batavia

[Delandis]

Dave Shell - MR
Drafted 1.11 (SUP) in 1996

Ok, I lied. Looks like I will be debuting a rookie this year.

Picked in the supplemental round in 1996, I was hoping that Shell would get that third pitch to make him a starter. While it looks like that won't happen, at 26 Shell has paid his dues in the minors and will be getting time as a mop-up reliever. Shell is also one of the few pitchers on our roster who can often get a green light on the bases due to his good speed.

We don't expect much out of him and if Lyon continues to struggle, Shell may find himself in the BLB for the rest of the year.