Rookie Debuts

[PaulC]

AAA stats 2.55 ERA 16 BB 117 K 1.08 WHIP

[Sharkn20]

SP - Tommy Driggs


After Orton sprained his ankle all the alarms went off in Dallas, the Sharks didn´t have any veteran to seal the bottom of the Rotation, then Arce strained his back and only 3 healthy SPs were available during the last 14 days.

We decided to bring Driggs up after his excellent season in AAA posting a 3.1 ERA, 124 Ks against 30 BBs and only 9 HRs allowed in 144.1 innings.

Driggs has appeared in 3 games already pitching 17.2 innings and with a 0.2 ERA already, he´s keeping his K/9 vs BB/9 averages from AAA and a nice 2.55 ERA. Tommy got his first W this week against Los Dinos on the road with a really nice 7 shotout innings with 6 Hits, 2 Base on balls and 7 Ks.

Tommy has 3 A- pitches and 1 graded C, his fastball tops 94 mph on the gun and has induced 22 GBs against 12 FBs. We expect good things from Tommy, he was undrafted in 2011, if he keeps his performance and keeps jumping ratings he would be one of the sweetest histories of the BLB...

[Matt]

Any this year?

[Sharkn20]

RHP C.J. Arsenault
After racked up 67 Ks and 28 saves in 2016 while he was closing for the now extinct Chicago Lions, Arsenault helped the team to get the final AAA Crown of the Sharks´s filial franchise. C.J. had a fantastic 11.2 K/9 ratio and a 1.5 WAR working almost exclusively as a closer.
He got his September call up in 2016 and had a 1.93 ERA in 4.2 IP with a 11.6 K/9 ratio.
Now this year will be his official debut, Arsenault did play well during the pre-season and made an space for himself in the open day roster, learning behind 3 seasoned veterans (Jimenez, Flores, Mendoza) C.J. is projected to be our setup guy (hopefully closer) for years to come once Jimenez and Mendoza hang them up.


Catcher Johnny Smith
Signed in 2014 as an undrafted FA after winning a College world series with the Seminoles, Smith got the fast train from Peoria (now extinct) to Frisco (extinct as well) and had always played well above replacement, batting over .250 for average. Combined with a notable D# and arm strength Johnny still have a steep learning curve ahead of him in how to hit against the pitchers at the BLB level, however Franco was 31 and Smith have a better projection ahead of him, therefore we have to be loyal to our phylosophy and Smith will be our backup Catcher this year.

[Ryan]

1B John Cardona

John is an interesting player for us. A third round pick way back in 2010, John was incredibly raw coming out of High School. After spending the first six seasons of his professional career in Single A, John was finally promoted to Double A midway through the 2015 season. Since then, he's made the jump to the BLB, proving worthy after a strong Spring Training, and an otherworldly start at Triple A this season.

After his first six BLB games, he's slashing a cool .333/.391.524, notching his first homer in the process.

[mike]

LF Jamie Lacks
6'5 230 LBS
Hazel Park, MI

Jamie Lacks was not a good college hitter. In his draft year he hit an appalling .215/.325/.326 but was still selected 167th overall in the 7th round of the 2014 draft. He showed some flashes of a talented hitter his draft year in A ball but took a step back in 2015.

Something happened in the offseason of 2015 into 2016.

In 2016 while with Reading he smashed to a tune of .305/.377/.495/.867...Earning him a late season call up to AA Harrisburg where he finished out a strong campaign finishing AA with a .872 OPS.

This season in AAA he's been equally strong, crushing the ball at a .299/.374/.520/.894 clip.

The reason he's getting a call up now is because he's one of the most locked in hitters in all of the baseball world this June. Of his 10 HR on the season, he's hit 7 HR in his last 9 games, and for the month is hitting an other worldly .351/.415/1.027/1.442... which doesn't even include his 2-4 game as a starter in the All Star game.

He gets the call to join the Millers on Monday in New Orleans, and will get plenty of at bats this upcoming week. When Lacks takes the field on Monday for his MLB debut, he will be lineup up in LF next to Jamie O'Hearn and RF Amadeu Cleto. All three of the players were selected in the 2014 BLB Amateur Draft.

[Delandis]

Rookie Debuts

D.J. LaRossa (3B)

We promote our second "D.J." in as many years with the call up of 21 year old, D.J. LaRossa.



Selected in the 7th round of the 2013 draft, LaRossa was a integral part of the Masconomet Chieftans' 2012 High School Championship. However in D.J.'s senior season, he began hanging with the wrong crowd, skipping practices and showed no desire to put in the work necessary to help the team repeat.



He fell out of favor with the Cheiftans' no non-sense coach, playing well but only in 10 games that season. After D.J. was selected, he showed that same penchant for laziness and spent most of his first professional season on the bench. It wasn't until 2015 that LaRossa showed the level of talent that the scouts swear they saw before he was drafted, hitting .298 in Orlando. Midway through 2015 he was promoted to Camden (AA) and continued to impress, earning a 2nd promotion to Annapolis (AAA) in 2016.



After a strong start to the AAA season this year, D.J. has been promoted to the BLB level and has played well, hitting .309/.378/.504 through his first 84 at-bats. We'll likely see much more of the switching hitting third baseman following the trade of Tom Griffiths to Morgantown.

[Hank]

Ernie Lucas

Ernie Lucas

In 2014, the Morgantown Mohawks used their 43rd overall selection to draft Ernie Lucas out of North Carolina University.
A corner-outfielder during his entire collegiate career, scouts noted his soft hands and quickly moved him to first-base in hopes that he could take over for Hector Feliciano once the legend had retired or moved on.
The Oklahoma native has worked diligently to learn his new position in the minor leagues to become a competent first basemen, posting positive defensive numbers over the past 2 years.

He was added to the Nitro Explosives roster in June, 2014 where he hit .326 over the remainder of the season.
In 2015, Lucas starting the season with the Double-A Dollar Bills in Hundred, West Virginia, and continued his assault at the plate earning a .312 average.
This prompted management to promote Lucas to their Triple-A affiliate in Martinsburg for the 2nd-half of the season where he hit a respectable .258 in his first full season as a pro.

In 2016, Lucas made the Badgers out of Spring Training where he put up some big numbers, hitting .279 with 19 long balls and 77 runs-batted-in.

In 2017, he was expected to make the team out of Spring Training until Ian Ledbetter was acquired from Denver, forcing management to send Lucas back to Triple-A for further seasoning.
In Martinsburg, Lucas made AAA pitching his bitch, hitting .377 with 5 HR’s, 20 RBI and an incredible 1.195 OPS in only 13 games.

When Ledbetter was suspended for 10 games in late-April, for humbling Syracuse Slammer CJ Hitchcock, Lucas was called up and hasn’t looked back.
Hitting .262 with 7 HR’s and 26 RBI, Morgantown management is expecting the former Tarheel to help the Mohawks compete for a pennant and a third straight postseason appearance.

[Pat]

Joey Guess (SP)

Originally the 25th overall pick of Hartford back in 2013, after spending some time in the Maine minor league system and being exposed in the expansion draft, Guess made his BLB debut on 5/23 against the Washington Bats. It's unclear if his six shutout innings were more surprising to the DC batters or the Seattle manager.

Guess stands just 5'10 and weighs 175 pounds, and you wouldn't think professional baseball player by his look or how he talks. He doesn't consider baseball a passion. Originally from Pasadena, California, Guess actually tells people he is a surfer.

"Baseball is just my day job," said Guess as he brushed his long flowing blonde locks out of his face. "I plan to work for probably another 10 years or so, make as much money as I can, then I'm just going to buy a beach house somewhere and surf until the end of my days."

The 24-year-old lefty is armed with a 97 MPH fastball but despite pedestrian scouting reports, continues to flourish wherever he goes. OSA rates him 5-5-3 with just 5-5-4 potential, but his stats would suggest otherwise. In his first four BLB starts, Guess is 3-1, with a 2.91 ERA and 1.02 WHIP.

The Pilots are expected to use him throughout the year at the BLB level but this week are sending him down to Triple-A to continue to develop his control. It's a short flight from SeaTac Airport to Vancouver, BC where the Pilot's Triple-A affiliate plays.

"Doesn't bother me at all. I'm just cruisin' on that BLB salary now."

When asked how he likes living in the Pacific Northwest, Guess' response was predictable to those who know him.

"It's cool. You can catch waves all up and down the coast. The water is pretty frigid but as long as I'm suited up, I can still get in the water. It's pretty far out, man."

Far out, indeed.


Jayden Livingston (OF)

Livingston is a local kid out of Lakewood, WA about 45 minutes south of where the Pilots play. Ironically, he is about 15 minutes away from where Seattle GM Pat McLaughlin grew up.

After three seasons in Texas, Livingston was drafted 47th overall by the Syracuse Slammers in 2013, just 22 picks after Joey Guess (see above). Selected late in the draft by the Pilots was exciting for Livingston and the Livingston family. Despite a Spring Training invite, Livingston didn't make the Opening Day roster but has been up and down ever since.

In 19 games, he is hitting .263 with a .656 OPS. Ironically he has hit just .154 with a .407 OPS at home, while boasting a .355 and .863 OPS on the road. Some assume he is playing nervous in front of his friends and family. His biggest asset to the team so far is his defensive abilities in RF, which have proven reliable in any ballpark.

[Sharkn20]

I love this Topic :)

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[Sharkn20]

CF Étienne Côté

<table class="data" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="287x"><tbody><tr><td class="data_capt" width="100px">Birthday:</td><td class="wrap" width="187px">01/13/1992</td></tr><tr><td class="data_capt">Born in:</td><td class="wrap">Calgary, AB</td></tr><tr><td class="data_capt">Nationality:</td><td class="wrap">Canadian</td></tr><tr><td class="data_capt">Height:</td><td class="wrap">6' 0"</td></tr><tr><td class="data_capt">Weight:</td><td class="wrap">195 lbs</td></tr></tbody></table>
Étienne has almost 3 years of experience in AAA, he´s an Elite defender with Range, Speed and a soft globe. He has +6.7 ZR and no erros in 547 innings played in Miami this year.
He also has a reliable bat which we believe would do the job in Dallas, this year in Miami he´s having a career best 17 XBH + 5 HRs in 272 ABs with a line of .272 / .308 / .401 / .709 and 1.5 WAR.

Good all around player who could substitute Herrera at the CF sooner than later.

We know Herrera is getting old and will have to be replaced eventually, that combined with the financial situation which might lead Herrera to the FA pool, and the injuries in the OF, a perfect opportunity for Étienne to show Sharkn20 that he´s the next man up.

He will have his share of appareances against 3 powerful teams and despite it won´t be easy the 25 years old OF is anxious to get under the Spotlight!

[liquidcrash]

RP J.P. Lawrence

With their bullpen struggling, the Bats will turn to highly regarded prospect J.P Lawrence. The BLB's #40 rated prospect (3rd in the WAS system) has gotten the call and will join the team in New York.

A second round pick in the 2011 draft, Lawrence has seen his stock rise as he has steadily moved through the Bats' system. He has been expecting the call to the BLB since last season, and Washington's manager finally agrees with him. After starting the season as a starter in AAA, Lawrence has recently shifted back the bullpen in Richmond, and he regained his dominant form pitching in relief.

Lawrence will begin his BLB career pitching in middle relief, though his future may lie as a closer if he reaches his potential.

[Pat]

He's going to be a good one.

[Delandis]

Joey Conroy (OF)

With our outfield hit by another injury, we are looking to our minor league system to fill a gap until we can get healthy.

This time we are promoting 23 year old, North Dakota native, Joey Conroy. As a teammate with current big leaguers like Denver's Robby Syzmanski (OF) and DVS' Dave Calvert (SP), the former fourth round selection helped lead the Pacific Tigers to their first National Championship in 2013.

Known for his leadership on the field and tireless work ethic, Conroy also has top of the scale speed and ability on the base paths and surprising power that often goes unnoticed. Joey played well in Annapolis (AAA) in 2016 and seems to have more power in 2017, but he has been largely unimpressive with his contact in 2017. Hopefully, this promotion gives him a chance to showcase his full capabilities as we wait for Murillo to heal from his injury.

This promotion probably comes about a year earlier than expected, but injuries and failed attempts at trades have forced our hand.

Time to sink or swim, kid.

[funclown]

Joey Conroy (OF)

With our outfield hit by another injury, we are looking to our minor league system to fill a gap until we can get healthy.

This time we are promoting 23 year old, North Dakota native, Joey Conroy. As teammates with current big leaguers like Denver's Robby Syzmanski (OF) and DVS' Dave Calvert (SP), the former fourth round selection helped lead the Pacific Tigers to their first National Championship in 2013.

Known for his leadership on the field and tireless work ethic, Conroy also has top of the scale speed on the base paths and surprising power that often goes unnoticed. Joey played well in Annapolis (AAA) in 2016 and seems to have more power in 2017, but he has been largely unimpressive with his contact in 2017. Hopefully, this promotion gives him a chance to showcase his full capabilities as we wait for Murillo to heal from his injury.

This promotion probably comes about a year earlier than expected, but injuries and failed attempts at trades have forced our hand.

Time to sink or swim, kid.

Well he's 23 so in Baltimore age he's 31. Must of slow cooked.