2006 BLB Debut Thread

[umd]

Really liked Martin when I dealt him. Never cared for Adams, though my scout continues to love him. Glad I made that trade though, Watts has been great.

[BradZ]

Really liked Martin when I dealt him. Never cared for Adams, though my scout continues to love him. Glad I made that trade though, Watts has been great.

Adams had a really good spring (.348|.392|.478|.870). . . . .which means he's going to be a bust this season.

[Delandis]

Terumoto Chiba (1B)

Drafted 1.10 in 2003 by the New York Knights

-Although Chiba never played a game as a freshman at LSU, it must have been obvious that he would be amazing since the day he stepped foot on campus. With excellent bat speed and deceptive power, Chiba was considered one of the best batting prospects that LSU had ever recruited. As a sophmore he managed to tie the LSU single season record for batting average at .415 with 21 home runs and earned the NCAA Oustanding Hitter Award in 2001.

With those kinds of accolades as just a sophomore, it didn't seem likely that he'd be able to top that but as a junior, Chiba managed to hit JUST .358 and added a 44 game hit streak (NCAA record) and a 20 game hit streak in 2002. As a senior, Chiba's OPS was a blistering 1.173, bringing his NCAA career OPS to 1.166, 110 VORP in just 3 years of play, and an amazing college career batting average of .379.

Chiba has continued to swing the bat well as professional player and even won another Oustanding Hitter Award, this time in 2005 with Lexington Quakes (AA). Chiba is hitting over .350 in the first two weeks of the minor league season and with a little more coaching on his power, Chiba has all of the tools to be a star in Baltimore for years to come.

[Delandis]

Kunihiro Inoye (OF)

Drafted 3.8 in 2002 by the New York Knights

-Inoye will join his long time teammate, Terumoto Chiba as he will also get his first taste of BLB action this week. A native of Japan, Inoye joined Yarmouth-Dennis in the Cape Cod League at the end of the 1998 season. When he did get limited at-bats in 1999, Inoye seemed to relish the opportunity, hitting over .400 for the year.

In his 2nd year with the Red Sox, Inoye strained a ligament in his knee just one day after his 18th birthday and had to miss a good part of the season. However, he still managed to hit .310 with six home runs. After that injury, Kunihiro didn't look exactly the same and struggled in his 3rd and 4th years with the Red Sox, never again hitting above .240. On the other hand, Inoye did win consecutive Cape Cod Gold Glove Awards (CF) in 2001 and 2002, so his defense didn't seem to suffer after the injury at all.

Since being drafted by the Knights organization in 2002, Inoye hasn't won another Gold Glove but the switch hitting outfielder did have a 20 game hit streak in 2003 and was selected for the 2005 Lautering Union (AA) All-Star game. Inyoue will begin his BLB career as our 4th outfielder and may even get start against any left-handed pitchers we may face this week.

[Ryan]

Sang-yeon Bark Bark made his BLB debut this sim, going 5-15 with two doubles, three RBI, and a stolen bag. Bark's been interesting to me since we drafted him in the third round in 2002, but he's dropped in and out of favor with our various scouts over the years. Looking forward to seeing how he does in the next couple weeks due to some injuries.

[Z]

Ray "Voodoo" Davila will take over the catching job for Maine this week.

[Carlos]

The day is almost here.

[Sully]

The day is almost here.

RIP Verba and McPherson?

[Carlos]

RIP Verba and McPherson?

Soon.


Sent from my mobile device.

[funclown]

Soon.


Sent from my mobile device.

Yeah bring them up. Let's start wining some games over there.

[Carlos]

They're here. A write up soon.

[Delandis]

A new chapter in Denver.





Finally.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Carlos]

Welcome everyone. I know there's been some buzz across the league regarding the two top hitting prospects in the minors. I'll assure you the buzz is deafening in Denver.

When we set out to really sit down and begin a hard rebuild, we knew it would come with a lot of painful seasons. We knew we would lose fans. We also knew we would become a joke around the league. This hasn't been easy for any of us.

At times I wanted to throw caution aside, lose focus and make a move that could add some wins to our win total. I know the free agent acquisitions of Sonny Marshburn, Hector Duarte and Wessin Ramirez appeared to give that impression.

First, let's clear the air on those signings. The moves were never made to turn this team around when it came to wins. We had a lot of money at the time and nothing of major value in our minor league system. We could have spent money on development, but who would we be developing? We could have spent money on scouting, but who would we scout after trading away those valuable picks to Davenport a few years back?

Considering our dwindling market value, and the declining attendance figures, we knew we needed marketable players to maintain some breathing room and not go completely barreling down the bottom of the financial page.

In time we were in position to draft in the first round again and we quickly allocated funds to our scouting department to ensure we grabbed the best prospects available.

In Verba we saw a player capable of carrying a team on his back and being a future middle of the order hitter. There were some mixed reviews at the time, but I think most of that subsided once others saw what he brought to the table.

McPherson was an interesting get for us. We immediately saw value in his table setting pedigree: A teammate of Verba on two FSU title teams and a potential centerfielder with good range. Instantly we knew this would be the face of the franchise and we sacrificed a solid second round pick to trade up for his talent.

Again, it was met with a little skepticism or surprise, but McPherson has more than proven his talent at the minor league level and has been rated the top 2nd or 1st prospect in the minors since.

Today we introduce those two players to the Denver family. We know what once had a modest touch of success, with Hall of Famer Pedro Zamarida, has since been ruined over the past decade with poor decisions. We believe those decisions are in the past and we as an organization have learned a lot from them.

Along with Verba and McPherson, we will also be debuting Jamie McInturf, who we hope will be a valuable offensive player in our return to the top of the Pilsner and beyond.


http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...layer_5029.png

Jamie McInturf, 1B/DH
Selected in 2003 (2nd pick, 3rd round)
2006 Tucson (AAA) .271/.327/.438, 8 HR, 35 RBI in 203 AB

McInturf won a 2002 NCAA championship as a member of the Stanford Cardinal. Known for his leadership skills and laid back demeanor, Jamie finished with a career .876 OPS in collegiate play and has demonstrated progress through every minor league level in the Denver system.

Not much of a fielder at all despite catching for most of his four years in Stanford, Denver has begun the process of developing him into a 1B/DH type.

McInturf will need to continue developing as a hitter to hold onto two positions mostly held for decorated power hitters.


http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...layer_4676.png

Pat Verba, LF
Selected in 2004 (2nd pick, 1st round) BNN #4
2006 Tucson (AAA) .322/.422/.721, 20 HR, 58 RBI in 208 AB

Pat Verba is a 2003 and 2004 NCAA champion with the Florida State University Seminoles.

He completed his four years at FSU by launching 44 home runs and driving in 150 runners in only 165 games.

Verba continued to provide a powerful bat in Denver affiliates where he has now hit 40 home runs in 218 minor league games.

Hidden within his power display is a deft base stealer with a patient bat.

Pat Verba is expected to take over the cleanup spot immediately upon his promotion, though he will need to improve defensively to comparatively support his bat.


http://www.simgamingnetwork.com/blb/...layer_4383.png

Jamie McPherson, CF
Selected in 2005 (1st pick, 1st round) BNN #1
2006 Tucson (AAA) .328/.405/.530, 8 HR, 35 RBI in 247 AB

Jamie McPherson is the consensus #1 prospect in the BLB and another member of the 2003 and 2004 FSU championship teams.

Since his arrival, McPherson has been projected as ready to play in the BLB. In short time, he climbed through the minors showcasing pieces of his ability and speed with flashes of potential power.

This season, Jamie has compiled a AAA résumé that has established his readiness to claim a spot in the Top Players list.

Still a developing base stealer with a growing power stroke, McPherson has already used his speed and bat to stretch doubles into triples and take off from first base without conscious.

His defense will need to continue to develop to be called a true centerfielder and expectations are he's going to strike out a ton, but so long as McPherson remains focused, he should be near the top of the lineup for years to come.


Sent from my mobile device.

[umd]

Hey, it's a chapter for a book!


about Denver...

[Matt]

Tyler Earley is gone for the next 10 months...a devastating blow to the Muckdogs as he and Magana anchor the bullpen.

Up though comes the #10 prospect, a hard throwing lefty that Batavia drafted out of Florida State in the 2nd round of 2003. The scouts thought the then 23 year old was ready last year but we let him cook just a little while longer. He wants to play in the majors, the scouts say bring him up, so we're making it so.

MR Jarod Goldberg