2006 BLB Debut Thread

[Andrew]

Cleveland will be fielding a young team this year with 7 players making their BLB debut on opening day.

Gil 'Yoyo' Brummett - I held him back at the end of last season but he is clearly ready for the next level. Yoyo will start the season as the #2 starter.

Ethan 'Mule' Costa - Mule has actually played in the BLB as a utility outfielder but will be making his debut in 2006 as Cleveland's #5 starter. When I took over the team he was listed as an OF and I didn't realize he was originally drafted as a pitching prospect (Thanks to funclown for pointing this out). I dropped him down to AAA last year for a full season as a starter. At 27 I'm hoping to salvage his career as a pitcher.

Ian Strachan - Regularly appeared on the top prospects list until he turned 26. He has lights out stuff but still needs to improve his control. He had 110 K's in 57 IP in AAA last season.

Tony Lopez - Rule 5 pick from New York. My scout likes him but not really sure what to expect.

Edgar Castillo - Top 10 prospect but hasn't really developed as well as I hoped. He just turned 26 so I'll be giving him a shot in the BLB and hopefully kick start him.

Oscar Garcia - Utility infielder that I overpaid as a minor league free agent a few years ago. My scout likes him but based on his numbers in AAA last year, my scout is wrong. He will start the season as a backup infielder and pinch runner.

Shaun Hauge - Another top 100 prospect who will be a starter in Cleveland this year. Has good power potential and I'll be happy if he can put up the type of numbers he did last year in AAA.

[Matt]

I literally just posted this exact thread...I deleted mine.

SP Joey Bertin

Picked #7 overall in the 2002 draft Bertin was a top five prospect before injuring his back and missing most of last season in AAA. At 25 years old we figured it's time to bring him up and see what he can do. He will be the last man in the 6-man rotation we are going to open the season with.

[Lintyfresh85]

SP - Willis Cuesta - Picked up in the trade of Travis Fisher to the Guides, Cuesta makes the Opening Day rotation after posting a 2.81 ERA over four starts during Spring Training.

[Spear]

C Javy Moreno #52
Toronto Canadians BLB

http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...ayer_6461.html

Moreno was a 9th round pick by Windy City in 1998 and is finally getting his shot. He's appeared in 336 AAA games batting .266 over that long period. He was banging on the BLB door back in 2004 with a nice season in Des Plaines AAA. My scout shows has him with a 6 contact and average defensive skills. He's batted over .300 in Spring Training and beat out Dave Dunn to take over our back up catcher's role.

[Pat]

Excited to see the new era in Cleveland. Got some good young talent.

[Delandis]

As we change the guard in Baltimore, we'll be debuting a couple of new guys in our rotation and bullpen.


Edwin Uribe (SP)
Drafted 4.17 in 2002 by Los Lunas Javalinas (now Toronto Canadians)

-A relatively late draft selection, Edwin has looked like a real players since the day he set foot in the States. Uribe helped his orginal Single A squads in Socorro (and Vancouver) win back-to-back Single A titles in 2002 and 2003 and even picked up a Pitcher of the Year Award in 2003.

Traded to the Bulldog organization in 2004, Uribe has continued to be impressive, posting a 44.7 VORP last year in Annapolis. In Spring Training, he was called up late but did start two games, giving up just 1 ER in the two starts.



Pat Hickman (SP)
Drafted 1.3 in 2003 Supplemental Draft by New York Knights

-Another pitcher with a winning pedigree, Hickman won the 2002 Cape Cod Championship with the Brewster Whitecaps before being drafted. Hickman should be a good fit in Baltimore with his 68% groundball percentage in the minors and has the potential to have near elite control. Questions are floating around concerning Hickman's stamina and ability to go deep into games, so he will likely begin his BLB career in the bullpen with spot starts throughout the year.

[funclown]

Cleveland will be fielding a young team this year with 7 players making their BLB debut on opening day.

Ethan 'Mule' Costa - Mule has actually played in the BLB as a utility outfielder but will be making his debut in 2006 as Cleveland's #5 starter. When I took over the team he was listed as an OF and I didn't realize he was originally drafted as a pitching prospect (Thanks to funclown for pointing this out). I dropped him down to AAA last year for a full season as a starter. At 27 I'm hoping to salvage his career as a pitcher.

My last scouting report shows he might turn out ok at the back end.

Glad I can help and glad your starting to make your move. Could you imagine what Jimmy Lee could of done for ya?

[umd]

My last scouting report shows he might turn out ok at the back end.

Glad I can help and glad your starting to make your move. Could you imagine what Jimmy Lee could of done for ya?

Could you imagine what he could have done for you?

[Sully]

Could you imagine what he could have done for you?

Ouch.

[funclown]

Could you imagine what he could have done for you?

Judging by his rookie season.....3rd place. Gaston tried to carry use to no avail.

We ended up flipping Gaston for a decent return. It all worked out.

[Jistic]

Both these guys were Sep callups but weren't in the debut thread so in their true rookie years I'm putting them in this one, sue me.



SP - Tyler Kling
http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...ayer_4853.html

Currently at #18 in the top 100 Kling pitched well in limited duty last September going 1-0 in two starts mixed in with bullpen duty. He posted a 2.66 ERA and walked only 2 batters while striking out 21. He's earned a #5 spot on the rotation.



http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...ayer_6125.html
OF - Rogelio Guadamuz

Currently the #23 prospect. Rogelio came over from Batavia before the 2005 season. In 54 AB's last year he only batted .259 but insiders say that the team may believe that he will be starting ahead of Victor Robles in the near future. High praise considering Robles is considered one of the top hitters in the league and netted 2/3 of the triple crown last year. For now he'll be a platoon OF.

[Delandis]

Both these guys were Sep callups but weren't in the debut thread so in their true rookie years I'm putting them in this one, sue me.



SP - Tyler Kling
http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...ayer_4853.html

Currently at #18 in the top 100 Kling pitched well in limited duty last September going 1-0 in two starts mixed in with bullpen duty. He posted a 2.66 ERA and walked only 2 batters while striking out 21. He's earned a #5 spot on the rotation.



http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...ayer_6125.html
OF - Rogelio Guadamuz

Currently the #23 prospect. Rogelio came over from Batavia before the 2005 season. In 54 AB's last year he only batted .259 but insiders say that the team may believe that he will be starting ahead of Victor Robles in the near future. High praise considering Robles is considered one of the top hitters in the league and netted 2/3 of the triple crown last year. For now he'll be a platoon OF.

Kling is a #5? Wow.

[Jistic]

I can't put him ahead of Oshman yet. In time I'm sure he will over take him though.

[BradZ]

Seems like the season of debuts, with a lot of teams fielding multiple youngsters.


SP Julian Vega - INTL FA signed this offseason. He's 23 and my scout shows him a bit better than his OSA 5|5|5 ratings. We have no idea what to expect out of him this season, or in his career, but we needed young rotation depth and felt the gamble was worth it. If he settles in as a #4-5 type guy during his Philly days we'll be happy.


IF Wayne Adams - He's 25 and if (big if) he's ever going to top out at his potential development, he's got to step on the gas. On the first top 100 list of the season he checked in at #57.


SP Todd Martin - Pick 1.17 in the '04 draft, Martin has moved quickly - pitching in A ball in his draft year and then jumping straight to AAA last season where he put up a nice 2.90 ERA | 1.14 WHIP in 26 starts (176.2IP | 156 K). Not technically a debut, per se, since he got 4 September starts last season (that did not go well).


P Troy Martin - Acquired along with Wayne Adams in the Tex Watts deal last season. Big time groundball pitcher, this Martin will start the season in the BP, but long-term he'll be joining the rotation if all goes according to hoyle. He too got a September look last season out of the bullpen. He'll probably be our first option to join the rotation should someone get injured or if a veteran struggles early on (I'm looking at you Soto).



OF Gertrudes Gambino - Prototypical 4th OFer (which we seem to have too many of at all times). LHB, with a little speed, can play CF if needed though RF is his best defensive value spot. Former 2nd rd pick in 2002, he has basically reached the highest level we ever envisioned for him, just by making the roster.

[Sully]

Gertrudes Gambino. Best name ever.