D-Bag Players Chase Awards

In another up and down season the Jersey Shore D-Bags sit 6 games out of the Wild Card spot with 33 games left to play.  While we have learned in baseball that nothing is impossible, the recent slump the Bags have been on say nothing to let us know that a comeback is on track. While the playoffs might be a long shot at this point, there are 3 D-Bags thick in the running for some presigious awards. We break them down here.

Cy Young
Could this season really have gone any better for picking up SP Dan Macias?  While GM Swain was praised for picking up an ace type starter, the question of age and contract were second guessed many times this offseason after the deal went down.  Macias has simply gone out and been one of the best pitchers in the CL, if not the entire league.

Coming off of his first complete game shutout of the year Macias stands with a record of 15-8.  Those 15 wins ties him for the lead league in wins, he is first in IP, 7th in ERA with 2.90, 3rd in K's, 5th in K's/BB, 1st in fIP and 1st in pitching WAR with 7.0. If the season ended today his WAR would be 11th all time since the 2010 BSA take over.

Other strong candidates include John Crowder, Carlos Clemente and Jim Corrigan.



MVP
Before a slumping August this would have been a hotter arguement, but even with the recent slump there is still a possibility here for 2B Mike Bryant to have a shot at the MVP award.  Bryant the 2nd year player playing in his first full season is having a monster.  .335/.384/.609 triple slash line combined with 37 2B, 31 HR, 99 RBI and 16 SB rank him in the Top 5 of almost every major category.  His batting average is good for 5th, HR is good for th 5th and sits 2nd in the league in RBI.  He leads the entire CL in XBH and TB and is 2nd in SLG, 2nd in OPS and 1st in hits with 171.  This coming from a 2nd baseman.  If he heats up in the last week in August and September, this race could be fun.

Other strong candidates include front-runner Felix Morales, Adrian Figueroa and Cade Delaney.



ROY
What player has played 3 months in the big leagues and won 3 straight Rookie of the Month awards?  What rookie leads the CL in almost every statistical category.  Otherwise known as The Doyle, that player is 1B Matt Doyle.  After crushing AAA pitching for the month of April, Doyle was called up May 1st and didn't skip a beat.  He has crushed BSA pitching all season long to the tune of: .339/.403/.583.  Not to mention 24 HR and 81 RBI.  He leads all CL rookies in BA, OBP, SLG, OPS, wOBA, HR, RBI, BB and ISO.  He is 2nd in WAR, hits, runs and TB. He would probably be leading every category if he had played in the month of April. 

Other candidates in include the man known as LuGo, Luis Gonzalez of Toronto.



Regarldess of any one of these players win any award it would be a 1st for the D-Bags franchise who have never had a player win a major award.  It at least gives the last month of the season something to look forward to if indeed Jersey falls out of the rac.e

GO D-BAGS

Jersey Shore's 2014 Amateur Draft

The 2014 was an exciting one for Jersey Shore having compensation picks for free agents they totaled 9 picks in the first 4 rounds and 14 picks total.  As the draft wound down bats filled the draft board, taking 12 of 14 position players.

Their first pick came with the 28th overall pick.  The Bags selected 22 year old SS Lawrence Schroeder out of the U of Virginia.  Schroeder is a rangy SS who hits with good contact and for average power with a decent eye.  He hit .340, had an OBP of .453 and hit 45 HR's in his college career.  He will be sent to AA Gainesville where he should play right away and should have one of the quicker paths to the big leagues of any player in the draft.

With their 2nd pick in the draft, and 34th overall (former pick of the Toronto Titans and compensation for SP Jose Brito) the D-Bags selected 22 year old OF Armando Gonzales out of the University of Florida.  Gonzales played mainly CF in college but projects as a corner OF with good contact and great eye potential, scouts see him as an ideal #2 hitter.  He finished his college career witha .323 BA, and a .481 OBP and will also report to AA Gainesville.

For their 3rd pick and 48th overall in the supplemental round (compensation for Brito) the Bags took Gonzales teammate at Florida, 22 year old OF Matthieu Vancini.  Vancini follows in a similiar to mold to Gonzales, good contact and low power.  Vancini though has a knack for limiting strikeouts and has more speed.  He will join the first 2 picks in AA.

3 picks later, at 51st overall (compensation for SP Hector Hernandez) Jersey selected their first HS player of the draft in 19 year old 3B Cesar Reyes.  Coming out of Sante Fe HS in New Mexico, Reyes played 2 years of HS ball hitting with a 185 OPS+ both years.  Reyes isn't the most athletic player but projects with plus gap and power potential.

In Round 2, at pick 77, (formally belonging to Jacksonville, compensation for Hernandez) the Bags went back to college and selected 2B Armando Martinez.  Martinez is a Domincan born player who played his college ball at Texas Tech.  He plays every IF positions, but mainly stays on the right side at 1B and 2B.  He is a high contact hitter, but doesn't add too much else.  Hit .355 with a .455 OBP in 518 college AB's.

With their own 2nd round pick, the Bags took an interesting player in college 1B Clay Hawkins out of Arizona.  Hawkins was selected last year by Seattle, but didn't sign.  Hawkins was at UA for 4 years, but only had 4 AB in his first 2 seasons and then bust out.  Back to back 20 HR seasons led Arizona both years.  Sources say he is asking for a large signing bonus, so it could get interesting.

The rest of the draft is as follows:

3rd: 3B Jesse King - 19 year old high contact player out of Washington

4th: C Pedro Ramos - 22 year old college player from Rutgers

5th: P Wayne Barksdale - 19 year old projected MR from Pennsylvania

6th: SS Henry Paul - 19 year old speedy IF from New York

7th: P Tony Gurerrero - 22 year old P from Penn State

8th: RF Ben McKay - 22 year old util player from Pittsburgh

9th: P Sean Shaffner - 22 year old MR from USC

10th: RF Dan Pierce - 19 year old speedy OF from Arizona

This is the most drafted players the Bags have ever brought in one year.  How many of these players are future D-Bags?  Hopefully we will see a lot of them in the future.

GO D-BAGS

D-Bags Make Ripples; Trade for Paquette

The D-Bags announce today that they have sent former stand out Mason Bonniface along with 3 minor leaguers and brought in 36 year old and former Gold Glove winner and All Star 3B David Paquette.  Paquette was playing in his first season for Indianapolis after being traded from Baffin Island where he spent the previous 4 seasons.

Paquette

Though Paquette's numbers are slightly off his career numbers, as a 36 year old he hasn't lost much.  On the season for Indy he has hit .274/.370/.423 with 8 HR and 48 RBI.  He is an upcoming free agent and it isn't known right now if he was brought in as a rental and cash off set for Bonniface or if the team plays on giving him a contract extension.  He is currently making $12 million dollars this season.  Paquette should be penciled in as the starter at 3B and will probably hit 5-6th in the lineup.

Leaving the D-Bags if former All Star who has seemed to fall off the planet Mason Bonniface.  Bonniface who has been in steady decline since 2011 started the year on the Jersey roster but a 6 for 42 start got him jettisoned to AAA where he struggled to find playing time and his contract becoming an albatross.  The move on paper will save Jersey 24 million over the next 2 seasons.

Bonniface

As for the minor leaguers headed off to Indy the highest ranked was SP Daniel Felix who had been in A ball.  Felix came over to Jersey through a traded with Vista last October.  In 16 starts in Manhattan, Felix had a 4-7 record with a 2.65 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP.  Another arm headed out of the Jersey system is 20 year old MR Jose Rivera.  Rivera signed as a ML free agent last season and was in his 2nd season in AA Gainesville.  He has potential, but has struggled with control in his short BSA career.  The 3rd minor leaguer going over was 27 year old OF Claudio Lee.  Lee was drafted in the 72nd round of the inaugural draft in 2010 and slowly worked his way through the Jersey system.  This year was his best statistically where he was hitting .347 in 176 AB's, but had trouble getting many AB's with Jersey's highly stocked OF at the big league and AAA level.

                                              Felix                       Rivera                        Lee

I would guess with the Bags crawling back in the race this will not be the last trade they make before the deadline, but only time will tell. Rumors have it they are looking for another arm.....as usual.

GO D-BAGS

D-Bags turn Paige; Trade for Larson

In an unseen and unprecedented move the Jersey Shore D-Bags have traded 26 year old Starting pitching Jerry Paige to the LA Bruins in exchange for "The Eye" Peter Larson and a handful of quality prospects.  Jersey in it's existence since joining the league in 2010 has had a weakness in the SP category.  Paige was trade for in the 2012 season where Jersey sent highly touted closer Porter Barrette and AAA OF Ricardo Vargas.  At the time Paige was the #1 pitching prospect in the game, while Barrette was a can't miss bullpen arm and Vargas was in the midst of his best season in the pros.  Who would have known that Barrette would become a Top 10 closer and Vargas is coming off an MVP award.


Paige on the other hand, while pitching decent as a starting in AAA, in his 31 starts for the D-Bags has not posted an ERA under 5, despite throwing gems here and there.  There is potential there, who knows if he will reach it or not, but he did turn 27, 2 days after the trade happened.  Where else for him to hone his craft but in the pitching mecca of LA?   LA GM Mike Brouillette coveted Paige and in the end got his man.


Coming to Jersey in the deal were 4 players, headlined by 27 year old OF Peter Larson.  Josh Swain had tried to acquire Larson in 2013 from Madison where he was eventually traded to Greenville.  Larson is not known for his power, defense nor speed, but rather his amazing eye and ability to take a walk as well as his high contact and gap power.  In his 4th year in the BSA Larson has a career OBP of .415. while touting a .287 career batting average.  He has 98 career doubles as well, but his knack has been his ability to get injured.  He has been on the DL, 6 times in the last 26 months, which is a concern for Jersey.  LA needed a SP to fill the void after dealing Declan Parsons to Reno, and had an OF to spare because of the acquisition of Matt Proctor in the same deal.


If Larson can bring his numbers up to his career averages he would serve as an excellent catalyst for a #2 hole hitter Jersey has lacked all season.  With Mike "The Monster" Bryant and Matt "Downhome" Doyle hitting 3 and 4 in the lineup, a 2 hitter who is on base 41% of the time might be nightmares for opposing pitchers.  Bryant and Doyle thus far have been one of the meanest middle of the order 1-2 punches in the game and numbers could be on the upswing not having a revolving carousel of options not producing in front of them.


Coming over with Larson are a couple of prized pieces.  Starting with 25 year old CH Tim Duncan.  Duncan is a former 1st round pick, who was picked 10 picks in front of his teammate Mike Bryant in the 2011 draft.  Duncan is a speedy OF with decent power, decent eye, and great defense.  He is having his best year in AAA this year and will join Tuscaloosa with aspirations to join the big league club later this year.


Also coming over in the trade are a pair of 19 year olds currently in A ball.  The first being Cuban born SP Arturo Cordova.  He is in his 2nd year after being discovered by San Fransisco.  He sits at 6'3" and throws 5 pitches and is currently 7-0 with a 1.34 ERA pitching for LA's A ball affiliate.  Jersey thinks he has the potential to eventually be part of their rotation, even if it is back end.  The 4th player is a player by the name of Hidetada Kichida.  The Japanese born teen was discovered by LA in 2013 and plays multiple positions but is still trying to find a niche at one.  This season he has played every IF positions.  He is a high contact, high speed guy, stealing 15 bases in 18 tries this season.



Like we said earlier Larson will be inserted into the #2 slot, mainly against RHP, while the void in the rotation will be filled by Greg Schaefer.  Schaef has pitched well in AAA this season, registering an ERA of 3.38, striking out 93 batters in only 74 innings pitched.  What encourages the Jersey brass is Schaefer has given up 0 runs in 3 of his last 5 starts, striking out 8, 9 and 10 batters in those 3 starts.  


Will this be the last move before the deadline?  Only time will tell!  


GO D-BAGS!

Bags Make Deal; Ship Roghi Off to Vista

In 2010 Jersey scouts searching through Europe came across young men on a semi-pro Italian team warming up and saw a big kid who threw hard.  They decided to stay and watch as the 6'3" dark haired Italian kid marvel the opponents with a fastball that touched 97 and devastating, yet a tab uncontrollable sinker.  Not 3 weeks later the Jersey Shore D-Bags had signed the kid and he was pitching in A ball affiliate Gainesville.  His name was Ciro Roghi, a left handed reliever from Rome. It only took 2 years for the kid to find his way to the Jersey Shore and insert himself as a main cog in the Jersey bullpen.  An ERA of 2.90 in his rookie season in 77 innings turned some heads, but it really was the 1.95 ERA and 61 K's in 55 IP that got peoples attention.  

Roghi

This current season, the now 26 year old, had lofty expectations. He struggled out of the gate and never really turned in around.  Through the middle of June he had an ERA of 4.56 and had walked batters at a much higher rate than previously.  The team announced on 6/15 that Roghi had been traded to Vista.

This is when the reports started to come out.  Many players mentioned he had been sluggish in many appearances this year.  Not all there.  Tired.  Words like this being thrown around.  After Jersey personnel looked into this more, they found out why.  On night's after many home games, Roghi was seen jumping into his sports car and racing up the coast, through the Holland Tunnel into Manhatten, NY, then all the way into Little Italy.  Usually staying late and coming home in the wee hours of the morning, even on game days.  

When confronted, Roghi denied at first, but when photos were shown he came clean.  In a quote, "I miss my home cooking!  Jersey food is terrible, I want an Italian meal!!!!"  On Roghi's player card, his weight is listed at 225, which teammates think is laughable.  According to them he comes in AT LEAST 240.  I guess that chicken parm does add weight huh?  Roghi wasn't too pleased with his new destination of Vista, quoting California pizza is the biggest sham out there, but Jersey brass thinks it will work well for them and a Vista team in need of a hard throwing lefty in their pen.

In exchange for Roghi the Bags picked up some quality pieces. The first peice being OF Ken Taylor. Taylor is a 26 year old power hitting left hander with limited time in the big leagues. Last season combined in AA and AAA he hit 40 HR and drove in 98.  He won't hit for average, but loves pounding balls to the gap and over the fence.  This season in 27 games for Vista, he has 8 2B and 4 HR.  GM Josh Swain says he has had his eye on Taylor for awhile, and even acknowledged having conversations about him with GM Travis Hayes in the off season.  He plans to get AB's against RHP for a Jersey OF that has been less than spectacular.

Taylor

Also coming over in the trade is 19 year old MR Luis "Bugs" Cortez.  Cortez was found in Chile last season when scouts noticed a 6'7" kid pound the strike zone over and over.  Ticket to the BSA.  Cortez is a hard worker and was known by his HS coach as a true team leader.  Pitching in Chula Vista this year in 19 games, Cortez has a 1.66 ERA. 0.69 WHIP, only allowing 11 hits in 21+ innings.  Though he is young, he does have a nice upside.  He will report to Gainsville where he should move into the closers spot.  

Cortez

GM Josh Swain wants it to be noted that this trade is in no way "conceding," even though the Bags sit back almost 10 games in the division.  

Here's to Taylor bombing some into the Ocean and Cortez working his way through the system and one day being part of the lethal Jersey bullpen

GO D-BAGS