Another Milestone for Bryant; 200+ Hits in 5 Straight Seasons

Even though Jersey fell out of the playoff race earlier this month and will finish with the worst record in 7 years, there still are a few bright spots for the team.  One, of course, being 2-time MVP Mike Bryant.  While this season didn't match the previous two in which he was voted most valuable player, he did slug 40+ HR for the 3rd straight year, and finish in the Top 5, and possibly Top 3 in all Triple Crown categories.  

While Bryant doesn't walk and get on base as much as Jorge Martinez, no one can deny the talent Bryant has with the bat.  With his recent run of multi-hit games, Bryant's hit total stands at 206 with 4 games left to play this season for the D-Bags.  This marks the 5th straight year he has surpassed the 200 hit mark, making him the first player in BSA history to do so.  The only other player in the history of the league with five 200+ hit season is BSA great John Crowe.  Since Bryant's god awful April he has hit .350/.410/.630.  Not too shabby.  Bryant is also on pace to lead the BSA in total bases for the 4th time in 5 years.  There's no doubt he is the heart and soul of this offense.  At age 30, which seems to be the point of no return for hitters in the BSA, Bryant showed no point in slowing down. Jersey brass hopes he can kick that trend and remain one of the most feared hitters in the game into his mid 30's, but only time will tell on that front.

GO D-BAGS

GO

John Warner Named CL Player of Month for August

After trading Superstar Matt Doyle in the off season it opened a huge hole at 1B and in the middle of the lineup.  Alberto Perez has a glove at 1st base and while he isn't a slouch with the bat, he isn't a threat either.  Plans to replace his power came from rookie Fransisco Ibarra who showed he can hit in AAA, but all intents and purposes had no BSA experience.  Before the start of the season Jersey dealt big time power prospect Fransisco Calderon to the LA Bruins for vet John Warner.

Warner had his glory days back in the 2012-2013 season while playing for the Knights of New York before being signed by the Bruins.  After having arguably the worst season of his  career last year, Jersey hoped bringing him into a hitter's park like the Ballpark by the Shore would help his numbers and help the whole created in the lineup.  About being shuffled about the lineup getting over 30 AB hitting 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th during the season, Warner's numbers were consistent April-July, but nothing to write home about.  That's until August rolled around. 

During August Warner was one of 3 players to hit 11 HR during the month, and that also tied 2 others for the most HR for a month in 2018.  It included a 3-game HR stretch vs STL and SCS 8/7-8/9 and his 2nd mutli-HR game of the season in a 11-6 win @TOR on 8/22.  Surprisingly this is the first time in his career that he has been crowned Player of the Month in the BSA.  During the month he raised his slugging percentage 52 points and as of 9/12 sits tied for 6th in the CL in HR with 31. It's the first time he has reached the 30 HR mark since the 2014 season.  

By the end of the season Dave Dodd and Warren Goyer should join Warner and Mike Bryant with 30 HR.  This would mark the 2nd straight season and only the 2nd time in team history that 4 players hit the 30 HR mark.  With the up and coming Fransisco Ibarra, maybe next year we might see the 1st time a Jersey club has featured five members of the 30 HR club.  

For now as 2018 winds down and Jersey is looking towards missing the playoffs for the first time since 2014, we can still hope for a good finish.  Mikey Bryant is looking for his 5th straight 200 hit season, rookie Sergio Martinez has really come on late to show he might be the next big thing and Dave Dodd needs 3 doubles to break the all time Jersey record for doubles in a season.  Just a few things to watch for as the season winds down.

GO D-BAGS

The Maturation of Dave "Diamond" Dodd

Before the season I made a lofty goal for Jersey outfielder Dave Dodd.  I predicted he would build on his 30 HR, 105 RBI season of a year ago and increase that to 42 HR and 135 RBI.  Lofty projections.  Now that we sit mid way through August starting down at the last 6 weeks of the season, it's finally time to start looking at some of these projections.  

While the super power that I had projected hasn't quite come around yet, Dodd is a on projected pace to hit 32 HR this year.  Yes, that would only be 2 more than he hit last year but the encouraging numbers come in his extra base hits.  In only 440 AB this season Dodd has doubled 39 times, which is 9 more times than last year in 170 less AB, and the most in the CL this season.  He also has 6 triples compared to the 5 he totaled all of last season. That puts him on pace for 53 doubles, 8 triples and 32 HR and on pace for 325 total bases which ranks him 6th in the CL.

At only 24 years old I think it's possible to expect we haven't see his full potential yet.  In his 2nd season Dodd took a step back in slugging and OPS, even though his batting average and OBP both rose.  In his 3rd season we have seen improvement in all of these areas.  Batting average is up 11 points at .277, where he he .266 a year.  OBP is up 25 points and Dodd is on pace to walk 15 more times than last year.  With all the added extra base hits his slugging percentage has shot up to .557, which is 78 points higher than last year, and with the additions across the board the OPS is over .900 at .912, over 100 point increase.  

After setting the BSA record for strikeouts in a season with 204, Dodd's contact rate has gone up, and while the strikeouts are still very much there, he is on pace to K 180 times.  That would be 24 times and 12% less than a season ago.  Even his work in the field has increased.  His ZR in RF for all of last season was +6.5, which is respectable, but this season in 46 less games he has upped that number to +10.7.

While Dodd narrowly missed out on making the CL All-Star team this year, we see All-Star nods in his future.   If he can keep improving, which we believe he can, he could be a very special player.  I may have predicted the 40 HR season a season too soon, we very well could see some of those doubles turn into HR, but right now with a line of .277/.355/.557, which RH starter out there wants to face he and Bryant in the same inning?

GO D-BAGS

Can Bryant Make Case For 3rd Straight MVP?

Before Jorge Martinez went down this past week he was all but a shoe in to take home this year's CL MVP award and end our very own Mike Bryant's 2-run at being voted the most valuable player in the league. Martinez was on pace to put up one of the best season's WAR wise that the BSA has ever seen.  With him being injured at that play at the plate, the doctors put him on a 5 week timeline, which means he would miss close to 20% of the Pikes games this year.  Is this enough for Bryant and others to gain ground and pass the Martinez? Or will it not be enough?

It's been well documented that Bryant had a terrible start to this season.  As we have covered in a past blog his April numbers were this: His April numbers ended like this: .173/.214/.373.  1 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 19 RBI and 24K in 110 AB.  Not numbers you expect to see with a player as consistent has him and with his track record.  Since then he has taken major strides.  He won the CL Batter of the Month award in May, was voted into the AS Game and has hit over 330 in every month of the season since April.  What really has put him back in the race is his last 15 games though.  

Going into the game on 7/23 with Madison, Bryant had a stat line of .296/.344/.528.  Respectable, sure, but all below career averages.  In the next 15 games, Bryant would get a hit in 13 of them and all 14 of those would be multi-hit games and 8 of them would be three hit games.  He would hit 5 HR, 16 RBI to go with 11 doubles and one triple.  After the Bags most recent game against St. Louis on 8/7, another 2 hit game for Bryant, his triple slash line stood at: .326/.369/.585.  So 15 games, adding 30 points of batting average, 25 points of OBP and 57 points of SLG.  This puts him Top 5 in batting average, slugging percentage, HR, RBI while he leads the league in hits.  He is on pace to lead the BSA in total bases for the 4th time in 5 years as well.  He is even more valuable to his team this year after the loss of superstar Matt Doyle.  The Bags have no one that will hit his lowest numbers of the past 2 years when he did win the award.  The downside is of course, his defense.  Usually an above average fielder, Bryant has committed more errors this year than any year in the past and his ZR is by far at a career worse -6.2.  This has even caused Jersey to DH him from time to time.  This of course brings down his WAR, which is a big number to use by a lot of voters.  Can he continue on his recent tear and climb up those leaderboards?  Can he power his team past a handful of contenders for a playoff spot?  All this is possible and will be something many people will have their eyes on for the rest of the season.

GO D-BAGS

Jersey Sends 3 to All-Star Game; Jose Ramos Timeline

For the 7th year in a row Jersey Shore has sent multiple people to represent the team in the annual All Star game.  The contest was held earlier this month on the 9th of July.  The CL team behind very strong pitching blanked the NL All-Stars 2-0, in only their 2nd win in the series. Representing Jersey Shore were 2B Mikey Bryant, C Warren Goyer and SP Jerry Burgess.

After a terrible start Bryant and a terrible month of April, Bryant stepped up his game like we have seen him time and time again and won Player of the Month for the CL in the month of May.  Even with his hot May and above average June he was still on the cusp of not making the team due to Jorge Martinez's MVP type season and the continued success of Joe Sanders.  Bryant was rewarded one of the last spots on the team.  This is Bryant's 5th selection to the AS team, putting him in some very good company beside some of the BSA's best players.

Goyer has obviously liked his time he has spent in Jersey.  After becoming the team's starting backstop last year and making his 1st AS team on the way to 40+ HR, he followed that up this season with his 2nd straight AS game nod.  While he isn't on pace to best 40 HR again, he has been quite consistent.  In all 3 months thus far this season he has clubbed 6 HR and between 15-18 RBI.  At his current pace he would hit 36 HR and drive in 96 runs.  

The last of the 3 All Stars took a different road to get there.  After trading for SP Jerry Burgess from El Paso in 2015, Jersey was hoping they were getting a legitimate SP to join Macias and Ellis.  Burgess pitched good enough down the stretch and in the playoffs to earn a 5 year extension that off season, and that's when his well documented struggles started.  2016 was a trying year where his control was almost completely lost.  He only started 22 games and came out of the bullpen 12 times to a ERA of 5.20 plus and Jersey wondered what to do with him.  He cleared waivers before the playoffs last year and started this year in the bullpen with Jersey's plethora of starting pitching.  He entered the bullpen when Jose Ramos went down with injury and hasn't looked back since.  While his control is has not been great, it's better than his career average and he is striking out people at all time high.  He leads all starters in the BSA with 11.39 K/9 and only trails Lebel of Toronto and Haynes of LA in strikeouts this season.  For this Burgess has earned his first career nod to the AS game. 

Speaking of the injury who allowed Burgess another change at the starting rotation, Jose Ramos will start his injury rehab tonight after missing 4 months with a torn labrum in his shoulder.  With Jersey in a very tight 5-team race, it couldn't have come at a better team.  GM Swain said that a timetable for his return isn't known yet, but depends on results we see from Ramos in AAA.  What we know from previous rehab stints is Ramos will not be rushed, and could use the entire 30 day rehab limit on pitchers.   Even if Ramos does use the full 30 days he would return towards the end of August and have 5.5-6 weeks to help his team down the stretch.  Swain has said that this will likely be the teams "trade deadline" move as no other big moves plan on being made.

As of right now, July 25th, Jersey is tied for the WC lead with fellow division rival St. Louis and Vista/Seattle.  They are 1 game up on Toronto and 2 up on Kansas City.  This looks like it might come down to one of the better races we have seen in the BSA thus far.  

GO D-BAGS

8 years, 8 picks; Jersey Shore 1st Round History

We just finished our 8th first round amatuer draft in the BSA since inagural 2010 season.  The people in Jersey don't take drafting lightly and consider it a key piece to building a franchise.  Let's look back at the 1st round picks that Jersey has made, and where they are today:

2010 - 21st overall - 2B Mike Bryant.  The 4 year college player spent just less than 3 seasons in the minors before debuting just before his 25th birthday.  In the 4 full seasons since then he has 4 all-star appearances, finished 2nd in MVP voting twice and won the award the past two seasons.  He currently holds every batting record in the Jersey Shore record book.  His contract will keep him starting at 2B for the D-Bags for at least the next 3 seasons.  It's likely he retires in a Jersey uniform.

2011 - 18th overall - 1B Matt Doyle.  Another 4 year college player out of the Texas.  Doyle debuted for the D-Bags in May of the 2014 season and hasn't looked back since. He finished runner up to Luis Gonzalez of Toronto in back and force race.  He became a force with Bryant in the lineup and led the BSA in HR in his 2nd year with 44.  After four seasons with Jersey, they surprisingly shipped him off to Toronto in the Jose Lara trade.  Doyle is currently tied for the lead in HR in the league and will likely be voted to his 4th all star game later today.

2012 - 22nd overall - CF Ernesto Barzaga.  After going infield for two years, the Bags switched up and went with a rangy and speed CF in Barzaga.  While he didn't have one batting tool that stood out, his contact, gap, power and eye were all average or a tick above average.  He turned out to be a bust.  He struggled mightily in A ball as a 22 and 23 year old in his first two seasons.  As a 24 year he was tried in AA but struggled even more.  At 25 he finally had a successful season in A ball, but by that time his potential had gotten worse and looked like he might turn into a career minor leaguer.  He was eventually dropped by the D-Bags and retired.  A rare early pick miss for Jersey.

2013 - 20th overall - 3B Richard Coker.  Coker was the first HS player Jersey selected in the amateur draft.  After 1 year at Butler HS, he showed his nack for getting on base.  A high average and great eye as well as potential to play an above average 3B made him a 1st round pick.  He spent the last month of 2013 in A ball and less than a month there in 2014 before being promoted to AA.  He struggled a lot his first year in AA, but he was given the starting position.  He picked up ten-fold in 2015 improving that contact but the eye was still behind.  We started to see it come around in 2016 when a week or so before the trade deadline he was sent as the main piece to Cleveland in the trade for C Warren Goyer.  After spending close to a season in the AAA for the Monsters he was recalled.  This season he is having a breakout year and could be looking at an All-Star spot.

2014 - 28th overall - SS Lawrence Schroeder.  Playing an unprecedented 5 years at Virginia, with his skills with the bat and glove, Jersey was lucky he dropped to them at 28.  He played 81 games at AA, flashing some power but mainly that contact to move up to AAA in the season after he was drafted.  He thrived in a full season in AAA, hitting the gaps and hitting for power. The only thing that bothered Jersey management is the 150+ strikeouts he accumulated.  In 2016 he spent 105 games in AAA, dropping the K rate a little, but raising his batting average 60 points to .347, which earned him a promotion to the big league club.  He played 48 games in a Jersey uniform his rookie year and hit well, very well and earned the starting job.  He struggled in 2017 but did show promise hitting 48 2B, 6 3B, and 14 HR.  This season he started off slow but picked up more recently winning his first POTW award as well as having his first 5-hit game.  He is currently sideline by an injury but should still be in consideration for an All-Star position.

2015 - 25th overall - SS Fabrice Brodeur.  Another 4 year college player who not only had skill at playing SS, but all over the infield.  Above average speed, above average contact, decent gap and above average eye for striking out made him a good pick.  He like many other Jersey players struggled early on to only bust out in his 2nd to 3rd season. The year after he was drafted he crushed AA pitching and earned a promotion to AAA. Now in his 3rd year, 2nd full year in AAA, it seems he has found it. Walks are up, K's are down, and he is hitting near a league best .377.  He is also leading the AAA International League in WAR at the moment.  With the recent injury to Schroeder, Brodeur was recently called and will start his first games in a Jersey uniform for tomorrow's sim.

2016 - 31st overall - SP Gianluigi Ciottone.  A 4 year college starter at Nebraska, Jersey was surprised to find him on the board at 31.  Despite not having a good 3rd pitch, with the depth of SP in their minors Jersey hopped on the chance to grab him. The minors have been puzzling for Ciottone.  He has struggled in both AA and A in what is his now 3rd minor league season.  He is currently 24 year old pitching in A ball, which is never a good sign but it appears things might be headed on the right track.  His K/9 and BB/9 are the best they have ever been and his FIP is 2 runs better than his ERA.  He might be headed towards bust land, but we will give him another year to see if he can turn into anything before putting that label on him.

2017 - 32nd overall - SP Roland Martin.  Martin marked Jersey's 2nd time to select a SP as their first round pick, and the first time they went HS SP as a 1st rounder. Martin made 10 starts and 6 bullpen appearances last season in A ball, struggling, especially with control which was a staple of his in HS.  This season in 18 starts as a 20 year old in A ball, Martin seems to be slightly improving across the board.  Scouts are really impressed that he has picked up 2 MPH on his fastball than was previously seen in his HS games.  He was named the 63rd best prospect by OSA before the season.  His potentials say he should be a mid-rotation guy but with a little work he might some day be a top of the rotation man.  At 20 years old, he has a lot of time to develop and he will be one to watch in the coming years.

Omitting this year's draftees who haven't even signed yet, there are your 8 years of Jersey Shore 1st round picks.  You have the multi MVP winner, two all-stars, two young up and comers, one player just getting to his major league debut, two pitchers still in A ball and one bust out of the league.  Considering Jersey's draft position I would say they have done very well.  If Doyle and Coker will still in Jersey the IF of Doyle-Bryant-Schroeder-Coker would probably be ranked Top 3 in the BSA right now. Hopefully we see good things from the younger draftees.  Don't sleep on the draft, you can build franchises this way, even with late picks!

Go D-Bags 

2018 Jersey Shore Amatuer Draft

The only downside of finishing the 2017 season with BSA's best record (besides being knocked out in the first round) is that Jersey Shore would receive the last pick in the 2018 Rule IV draft held on July 1.  Drafting late in the draft hasn't been a problem so far for the D-Bags who have found some mid-late 1st round gems over the years.  Here we will break down Jersey's 2018 draft.

1st Round, 30th overall (acquired from LA) - 1B/C Owen Carter - When the LA Bruins signed MR Jose Gomes in the off season, the rights to their first round pick become the D-Bags with the type A compensation attached to him.  With LA's pick, GM Swain was very surprised to find Carter still available.  He was the best catcher in the draft and had really started to show his skills after 2 years at University of Arizona.  He was previously drafted in the 2015 draft, 12th overall, by the Kansas City Cougars, but they couldn't come to an agreement, so off to Tuscon he went.   Carter has an overall skill set of average contact, great gap power and above average HR power and eye.  His defense should come out to be average to play at the big league level.  The D-Bags really enjoyed the jump in HR and BB his senior season, hitting 12 HR and walking 47 times in only 48 games.  If everything goes to plan, Carter should be the heir apparent to catcher someday.

1st Round, 32nd overall - 1B/DH Sergio Barron.  Using their own first round pick, and the last in the round, Jersey selected high school 1B/DH Sergio Barron.  Barron who hails from Jefferson-Youngsville High School in Jefferson, NY, isn't your typical 19 year old.  At 6'3" and 250 pounds he is a force on the field.  While he lacks speed, he was drafted for his bat.  He compiled 37 HR, 111 RBI and 69/32 BB/K with a triple slash of .381/.485/.791.  His senior year his .435 average and .519 OBP ranked among the elite in at the HS level.  Jersey power hitters aren't known for their patience and limiting K's so Barron is a difference.  With being so young we might not see him for awhile, but one day this kid could be a force at the plate.

Supplemental Round, 50th overall - SP Michael Manning. Using the 2nd of 2 picks from the Gomes compensation the Bags selected High School pitching Manning out of Madawaska Valley HS. Manning sits 6'1, doesn't have the best stuff and but makes up for it with above average control and movement.  His fastball tops out at 89-90 and his forkball is best of his 4 below average pitches.  With some technique going into one of his pitches he might be able to pick up stuff while in the minors.   He never had a great season in high school on the surface but his 4 year FIP was 2.60, topping out a best 2.06 his senior year.  He carried a 8.29 K/BB ratio while giving up .55 HR/9.  While he doesn't look like front line material, if a little time goes into him he might be a mid to back-end rotation option.

2nd Round, 93rd overall - SP Jonathon Phillips.  For the 3rd time in 4 picks, Jersey reached for a high school player, selecting Phillips out of Butler HS. There's no easy way to say this, but Phillips was a beast his senior year.  He won the league's Outstanding Pitcher Award while finishing 8-0 in 8 starts, compiling a 1.87 ERA to go with a 0.79 WHIP and struck out 85 hitters in just 53 innings.  That included a 17-strikeout No-Hitter on May the 11th.  The downside for Phillips, is depsite his overwhelming velocity and fastball and his nasty slider, he lacks a 3rd pitch.  He does look a little wild, but got away with it HS with kids flailing away at pitches.  He will probably start in the minor leagues but I doubt he ever sees anytime in the bigs as a starter.  He could turn out to be a decent reliever though.

3rd Round, 128th overall - 1B Ryan McBride. McBride is an unathletic 1B who does have some skills as a hitter especially contact.  He won't hit for a ton of power, despite hitting 14 HR his senior year for the Iowa State Hawkeyes. If he can gain some power he could be a legit prospect, but if he pans out like his potential stacks up, he might start one day a team looking for a cheap 1B or DH option, but more than likely is a guy who puts up good-great numbers in AAA.

4th Round, 157th overall - LF David Murphy. Murphy is another high schooler who has speed and power.....and not much else.  In his 1 high school year he did hit over 300 with 13 HR, but he is a boom or bust player.  The type of player you find in the around the 150th pick in a draft.  Someone with a above average skill you could hope turns elite in his time in the minors.

There was nothing of note in the last 6 players and I would guess would be surprised if more than 2-3 of them made any roster.    Overall I give this draft a B.  It yielded a very nice looking player at a premium position, a potential above average power bat, and two pitchers who could pitch at the major league level one day.  Not great, but in an overall weak draft position picking at the end of every round, gems are hard to come by.  It will be fun watching Carter and Barron to see if they live up to those 1st round expectations that Jersey fans are accustomed to seeing.

GO D-BAGS

Apparently Jersey Baseball Starts in June

As May ended, Jersey sat 6 games under 500, trailed the Greenville 84's by 14 games and trailed the St. Louis Browns by 11.5 games and though some hitting had started to come around, the pitching continued to be all but awful.  They finished the month with a 14-14 record, which was much better than the 11-17 record they put up in April, but playing .500 ball doesn't get you back in the race.  

The team must have taken a sweep by Reno pretty tough.  Dropping the last game of a 3 game set on April 28th at home against Reno 7-4, The Bags had an off day before place Austin came to town for their first meeting since the Riversharks knocked Jersey out of the playoffs last season.  The series would feature 3 straight quality starts from Lara, Schaefer and Ellis. Something he hadn't seen all season.  Three tight games with Jersey coming on top in each one: 3-2, 3-2 and 4-1.  Jersey would stay at home and welcome St. Louis, the team they are chasing in the Wild Card race, for a 4 game set.  Jersey would take games 1 and 3 but drop 2 and 4 resulting in no movement in the division.

The next 14 games would be the best stretch of the season thus far for Jersey Shore.  They traveled to Boston and took 2/3.  Defending champions Hendersonville would come town to and Jersey would take 2/3 from them as well.  A day off and a flight to St. Charles for a 3 game series would feature Art Ellis pitching a masterful 8 innings, giving up 1 hit and striking out 10.  Jersey would take the first two games before dropping the 3rd and final matchup.  A trip back home to face slumping Kansas City would result in one of Jersey's few sweeps of the season, outscoring KC 23-13 for the series.  The most recent game saw Chicago come to town and Jerry Burgess picking up his 3rd win of the season allowing 1 run over 7 innings picking up 10 K's.  

Jersey is 10-3 over their last 13 and 14-5 for the month.  Greenville has posted the same monthly record and Jersey still trails them by a gigantic 14 games.  Just 19 games ago they trailed St. Louis by 11.5 games for the wildcard.  They have chopped 6.5 games off of that lead and now only sit 5 games behind the Browns. After this most current sim, it's the first time all season we can say that the Jersey Shore sits above .500 with a 39-36 record.  

Top performers for June thus far:

Art Ellis:          4GS, 3-0, 29.2IP, 18H, 1HR, 3BB, 28K, 2.12 ERA
Jerry Burgess:  4GS, 1-0, 21.1IP, 16H, 2HR, 10BB, 30K, 2.95 ERA
Jose Lara:       3GS, 2-0, 17.0IP, 14H,  2HR, 10BB, 16K, 3.18 ERA

Fransisco Ibarra: .327/.431/.577 3HR, 13RBI, 11R, 10BB
Mikey Bryant:     .311/.370/.541 4 HR, 15 RBI, 14R, 7BB
Warren Goyer:    .333/.400/.729  6 HR, 15 RBI, 9R, 4BB

Jersey isn't out of the woods by any means and it still looks like it would be a hot race down the stretch to see if this team can make the playoffs for the 4th straight year.  It's looking much more manageable now than just 3 weeks ago though.

GO D-BAGS

Bryant Reaches Milestone; 1000 Hits

We celebrated for his 100th career HR, and on May 10th in St. Louis, Mikey Bryant celebrated his 2nd major milestone with his 1000th career hit.  It came in his 747th game at Gateway Stadium in St. Louis and was the 3rd hit in his 5th career 5 hit game.  It's also the game that got him started after a 5 week cold spell to start the season.  He becomes the 86th player in BSA history to reach the 1000 hit plateau and the first player ever to do it in a Jersey uniform.  He also becomes the first player to make his debut in 2013 or later to reach the 1000 hit mark.

Sitting at 996 hits before the game started, Bryant would need a big day to reach the mark.  On the mound was young "Beanpole" Gonzales who up until this time was posting a shiny 4.12 ERA to go with a 3-2 W/L record.  In the first Bryant would get an infield single, which Jersey would end up scoring 3 runs in.  Bryant would single the very next inning scoring a runner from 3rd, two batters before teammate Dave Dodd would hit a Grand Slam to completely break the game open at 9-0.  Bryant wouldn't have to wait long to get his 3rd chance.  In the 3rd inning he would come up with runners on a 2-2 count line a pitch between 1st and 2nd for his 3rd single of the day and his 2nd RBI.  3 innings, 3 AB, 3 hits.  He would actually have to wait an extra inning to get his shot at grand 1000 hit.  With Peter Larson standing on 1st base and MR Seung-Woo Yun on the mound, Bryant would foul off a 1-0 pitch before Yun left a 98 MPH fastball up in the zone.  A pitch like that Bryant usually doesn't miss, and he sure as wouldn't today.  The ball wouldn't clear the short CF wall by much, but 413 feet later, Bryant was 4-4 and his 1000th hit was a HR, which really shouldn't be that surprising.  Nearly 20% of Bryant's hits in his career have landed as souvenirs.  Bryant would double in the 7th for his 5th hit, giving him 5 RBI on the day.  He had a chance to join former 2-time MVP Jeff Cole as the only other BSA players to have 6 hits in a regulation 9 inning game, but lined out into Left-Center leading off the 9th inning.

The HR was the 188th in Bryant's career.  As of today, he sits at 1026 hits and 193 HR.  If he continues along his career pace, his 200th career HR will come sometime in late June or early July.  Teammate John Warner currently sits at 198 HR, but you never know with Mikey, 7 HR might not take as long as anyone could guess.  Currently Warner sits with 7 HR on the year and Bryant is 2nd in the CL with 14 HR.  

As Bryant and any other Jersey players climb career leaderboards and gain personal achievements tune in to the Bag Report to read the full breakdown!

GO D-BAGS 

The State of Jersey Pitching; It Must Get Better.....Right?

We are 50 games through the 2018 season, which puts us almost at the 1/3 way point of the season.  Thus far your Jersey D-bags sit with a record of 22-28, 3rd place in the division, 11.5 behind the Greenville 84's and 10.5 behind the Wild Card leading St. Louis Browns.  While April showed struggles with pitching and hitting, May showed a turnaround in the hitting...but the pitching continued and still continues to struggle.  What is happening?  Not only is it the starters, but also the bullpen, which is usually a Jersey strong point.  We will break down the pitching here and try to determine if it can get better and help Jersey climb back into the race, or if it will be the demise of the 2018 team.  Current 2018 CL ranks:  Starter's ERA, 12th, 5.52 ERA.  Bullpen ERA, 8th, 4.01 ERA.

Starters:
It didn't help when Jose Ramos went down which will seemingly keep him out til September.  That still left Jersey with a strong staff though.

Art Ellis: Art missed almost all of last season with an injury.  He had a couple of meaningless starts at the end of last season, but came out strong in Spring Training having 3/4 quality starts.

Career Numbers:  3.85 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2.92 BABIP, 9.41 K/9, 1.20 BB/9, 1.30 HR/9, 4.00 FIP
Last Season:         4.01 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, .244 BABIP, 9.84 K/9, 2.66 BB/9, 1.35 HR/9, 3.96 FIP
This Season:         6.26 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, 2.96 BABIP, 8.23 K/9, 4.11 BB/9, 2.50 HR/9, 6.42 FIP

The problem with Ellis is both his BB/9 and HR/9 is almost double his career average.  He is on pace to break the season record for HR given up in a season at this point, that cannot keep up.This could be a fallout of his injury or his age creeping up there, or just a slow start.  While his K's are down, all signs point to just bad pitching.

Jose Lara: Lara came over from Toronto in the Matt Doyle trade.  Though he did put up career worst numbers in TOR last season, his struggles this season have been monumental in someone Jersey hoped would helped push them over the edge, not further back down the hill.

Career Numbers:   3.80 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, .297 BABIP, 9.43 K/9, 2.83 BB/9, 1.05 HR/9, 3.61 FIP
Last Season:          4.70 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, .319 BABIP, 8.15 K/9, 2.69 BB/9, 1.10 HR/9, 3.91 FIP
Current Season:     6.79 ERA, 1.70 WHIP, .303 BABIP, 6.79 K/9, 4.01 BB/9, 2.61 HR/9, 6.92 FIP

Lara is having the same problems that Ellis has.  Increased walks and HR.  Lara could be attributed to a slight ratings decrease, but he is pitching down right bad.  Also like Ellis is also on pace to break the all time HR allowed record.  Even pitching in Jersey, this cannot keep up.  His hits given up is scary for his low BABIP though, without Lara pitching well, Jersey might be doomed.

Greg Schaefer: After a great 2017, at age 28 Jersey expected Shaef to at least put up similar numbers and through 11 starts, we haven't seen that yet.  While his numbers aren't as trouble as Ellis and Lara, he isn't helping much.

Career Numbers:  4.91 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .308 BABIP, 7.57 K/9, 2.86 BB/9, 1.38 HR/9, 4.53 FIP
Last Season:         3.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .270 BABIP, 8.21 K/9, 2.74 BB/9, 1.09 HR/9. 3.97 FIP
Current Season:    5.34 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, .333 BABIP, 7.53 K/9, 2.04 BB/9, 1.57 HR/9, 4.53 FIP

While Shaefer's numbers aren't far off of his career numbers, he had shown real strides in the past two seasons and thus far has regressed to his 2015 numbers.  Like the other two, his HR numbers are up.  Instead of walk numbers also being up, his hits are way up and K's are down.  While we can only hope last season wasn't an outlier, it will be interesting to see which way he goes from here on out.

Rob Goodship: Longtime Jersey player Goodship has never been ace material, and for that matter #2 material either.  Always a mid rotation type guy. But this year he looks as like a guy who shouldn't be pitching in any rotation.  

Career Numbers:  4.47 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, .304 BABIP, 7.62 K/9, 3.40 BB/9, 1.17 HR/9, 4.42 FIP  
Last Season:         3.61 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, .279 BABIP, 7.01 K/9, 2.71 BB/9, 1.16 HR/9, 4.31 FIP
Current Season:    6.29 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, .331 BABIP, 5.28 K/9, 3.45 BB/9, 1.22 HR/9, 4.87 FIP

Goodship like the other 3 starters has seen a considerable decrease in his K/9 while all other numbers stayed steady except for that BABIP.  With a much lower FIP than his ERA, his defense is not helping him out at all.  That considerably high ERA should come down, but it's still very ugly.

I didn't break down Jerry Burgess because half of his games have come out of the bullpen but is the only starter to be pitching near or above career averages.  While I don't expect all of my big name pitchers to struggle, having all 4 of them  decrease their K/9 and my two aces on pace to give up almost 50 HR this season, there is room for concern.  When 3 veterans in your rotation decide to all have the worst year of their career at the same time, there's not much a team can do. 

Struggles out of the bullpen have magnified things as well.  Usually when a starter struggles the bullpen comes in and keeps us in the game, but with them also giving up runs, wins are harder to come by.  I expect the team ERA to come down, it has to, but if low K numbers, hits and walks continue at this rate, Jersey might be out of the race before we hit September.

How to Turn a Season Around in 13 Games; Mikey Bryant Style.

April was a rough month for Jersey.  Pitching, hitting, defense.  The team was among the worst in the CL in every category.  Was it still a hangover from the 119 win season? Maybe.  Among the worst players on the team though was the back-to-back MVP winner Mikey Bryant.  After opening the season with a rough series, he came out of the gate during a 2 game stretch with 3 HR and 7 RBI and everything was looking right again the world.  Leaving that game with triple slash line of .261/.346/.652 would be the best it would get all month long.  Bryant would not hit another HR until 4/18, a 12 game stretch.  That 12 game stretch that only included 6 hits.  Bryant would hit his first and only double of the month of 4/28, this coming from a player who has averaged over 40 a season in his career.  Ending the month in a game in Chicago, Bryant went 0-4 with 2 K's in a 5-3 loss to the Machine.  His April numbers ended like this: .173/.214/.373.  1 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 19 RBI and 24K in 110 AB.  

"The kid is so fluid, has such a great swing and the more he struggled the more he tried to get out of with 1 swing.  He has never struggled in his career, he got in his own head," Manager Kevin Davis remarked, "What was I going to do? Bench him?  It's not an option.  I knew if I let him swing and play through it he would turn it around.  I hoped at least.  April was tough."

Bryant got May started right and went on a 5 game hitting streak which included 2 HR, but it only pushed his average up to .189.  After a home loss to Los Cabos on May 7th, Davis sat Bryant in the last game of the series even though the next day was to be an off day as well.  Was the double off day a recipe for success?  What did Bryant do in those 2 off days?  The next 13 games would be one of the greater stretches we have seen in awhile.

Traveling to St. Louis, who has started the season red hot, Bryant finally found his stroke.  He had his 5th career 5 hit day, including a double, HR and 5 RBI in an 18-6 romp of the Browns.  A hit-less day, which included 2 walks, the next day would be his last in awhile.  The next 8 games Bryant was a hit machine. 8 straight multi-hit games, half of them 3-hit performances.  His total line for those 8: 20-33, 11 runs, 5 doubles, 3 HR, 10 RBI.  Jose Brito would cool him of on 5/20 with an 0-4 performance, before putting in two more mutli-hit games to get where we are today.

A comparison of the two months thus far:

April: .173/.214/.373   10 R, 1 2B, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 5 BB, 24K, 110 AB
May:  .447/.500/.788   21 R, 8 2B, 7 HR, 23 RBI, 7 BB, 11K, 85 AB

In the last 13 games of this month he has raised his average 101 points, OBP 103 points, 157 points and OPS 259 points.

Welcome back MVP, you were missed.

Jose Ramos Tears Labrum; Expected To Miss 4 Months

For the 2nd year in a row, Jersey Shore has taken a major blow to their Starting Rotation.  After losing Art Ellis for the majority of the 2017 season, ace Jose Ramos was taken out in the 4th inning of his 2nd start vs. the St. Charles Sheens.  After giving up a 1st inning run, the Bags spotted Ramos 7 runs in the first 3 innings and he was cruising along. The last batter he faced was Dominique Marquis, whom he struck out on 3 pitches, the last being a beautiful change up which he got Marquis to waive at.  He immediately grabbed his arm and the trainers rushed out.

After trainers took a look at him it had come to light that he partially tore his labrum in his pitching arm.  The doctor's gave the diagnosis and told the media if everything goes right he should be able to pitch again in 4 months.  This means he should return to rehab towards the end of August, possibly into September.  The only good news is if the team is in playoff contention, he could get a few starts in after rehab and possibly in the playoffs if the team makes it that far.

"It really is a blow.  I felt the kid was going to establish himself as one of the league's premier pitchers this year.  We are lucky in a sense that it will not require Tommy John surgery, which you know, would have kept him out 12-14 months.  We are also lucky that we are one of the few organizations who has depth at starting pitching.  Management bringing in Lara over the winter now looks a helleva lot more important than it did at the time," is what GM Josh Swain had to say about the injury.

Jerry Burgess took over the 5th spot in the rotation after being regulated to the bullpen this year and has looked overly dominate in 2 starts since the injury.  In 4 starts since coming over to Jersey this season, Jose Lara has struggled to an ERA of 8.22 which the team expects to even out after some more starts.  Art Ellis has also struggled posting an ERA of 5.59 after 3 starts.  We do not expect these 2 above average pitchers to continue to struggle, and hope we see a turnaround soon.

After 18 games, Jersey has yet to find an offensive rhythm, as they have scored almost a league worst 63 runs, their MVP is hitting under 200, and only 2 regulars have an average of 265 or higher.  The team, after being swept by Greenville recently, fell to 8-10 and sit 5 games out of the division.  They are hoping some home cooking, they play the net 8 games at home, will help even the team back out.  They have played 18 games thus far, 4 at home and 14 on the road.  They are undefeated at home, while going 4-10 on the road.  They say games in April don't matter as much as games late in the season, but in a division that looks better than usual and with Greenville surging and #1 in both offensive and pitching categories, falling too far behind could leave a very tough climb for the rest of the season.

Mike Bryant's Assault and Climb on BSA's Record Books

Just days before the 2018 season started, Mike Bryant turned 30 years old, with only 4.5 years under his belt he is behind most players who played their rookie year before the age of 25.  That hasn't stopped him from being one of the most consistent players in that time span.  Bryant had another huge year in 2017 bringing home his 2nd MVP award and making him only the 3rd player in league history to have 2.  The others are John Crowe and Jeff Cole, not too bad of company to be in.

Bryant has nearly set every record in the Jersey Shore record book for hitters and will only build upon that in the coming years.  As we are a week into the 2018 season, Bryant sits only behind Todd Church on the All Time BSA leader boards for batting average, 2nd to only Jeff Cole in OPS, while sitting firmly atop the Slugging percentage ranks by 31 points over German Rivas.

As for 2nd basemen he already holds the all time lead for HR with 182 and only sits 5 RBI behind Dylan Sinclair for the all-time RBI lead at 2B.  It just goes to show how much of a rarity it is for a powerful 2nd baseman to remain there and produce.

With 3 HR in Jersey's first 5 games, Bryant has a career total of 182 HR which currently puts him tied for 35th on the all-time list.  If he can hit his career average for HR and hit 35 this season, he would be pushed up the list to around the 20th mark, while becoming the 22nd, 23rd or 24th player ever to hit 200 HR in BSA history.

For his career he has knocked in 641 runs, which ranks him 53rd on the all time list.  If he hits career averages and knocks in 140 runs this year, he should end in the neighborhood of 775 or so RBI, which catapult him into the 25-30th range with a large handful of still active players ahead of him on the list.

As for hits Bryant sits lower on the list and just entered the Top 100, sitting at 96th with 974.  He will become around the 90th player in BSA history to have 1000 career hits.  He hasn't missed 200 hits in a full season yet in his career and with another 200 hit season, he should end this year around 1170.

As for runs, he is in the same boat as hits.  He recently entered the Top 100 and sits in 86th place with 547.  His career average for runs is 125, and if he puts up close to that it could catapult him into the top 50.

While I know getting a late start in his career will hamper his career numbers and hold him back from any huge milestones, I will use this as a starting piece to track his progress through this year and beyond.

As of 4/6/2018 ranks:

BA 2nd: .3306

OPS 2nd: .9807

SLG: 1st: .5954

VORP 20th: 348.54

Hits: 96th: 974

HR: 35th: 182

RBI: 53rd: 641

WAR: 24th: 35.51

Meet Your 2018 Jersey Shore D-Bags

After a very disappointing end to the 2017, this season couldn't get here soon enough.  From what seemed like an eternity, we are back for 2018!  Spring Training has run it's course and we would like to announce your 2018 Jersey Shore D-Bags Opening lineup!  There are a few changes as Dan Macias, Jose Gomes, Matt Doyle, and Sergio Rodriguez are all gone off last year's team in one of the bigger roster turnovers in one season for Jersey.

The Pitching

Starters - With a breakout year for Greg Schaefer, a healthy Art Ellis and a shiny new Ace in Jose Lara, the D-Bags field their best starting pitching rotation yet.

Jose Ramos - 22 years old.  IFA signing 2013. Improved in every category except oddly H/9, ERA and FIP.  Dominated in playoffs.  We think he is ready to be one of the best in the game
2017 stats: 16-6, 3.47 ERA, 1.12 WHIP.
Contract: $1.82M.  Signed through 2020 season.

Jose Lara - 27 years old.  Came to Jersey in a trade with Toronto in the 2017 off season.  It took fan favorite to bring in Lara, but gives Jersey a mean 1-2 punch.  Former 19 game winner, 3.60 career ERA.
2017 stats(w/TOR): 12-11, 4.70 ERA, 1.35 WHIP.
Contract: $15M.  Signed through 2023 season.

Art Ellis - 32 years old.  Acquired by Jersey via trade with Madison before the 2015 season.  Ellis missed almost all of last season, only starting 3 games and 1 in the playoffs. Can pitch like an ace.
2016 stats: 14-9, 4.01 ERA, 1.23 WHIP.
Contract: $10.7M.  Signed through 2023 season, the last year being a team option.

Greg Schaefer - 28 years old.  Came to Jersey via the Rule V Draft in 2011.  Last year we said we were still waiting for him to live up to his potential, last season he did.  Career numbers across the board.
2017 stats: 18-3, 3.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP.
Contract: $2.54M.  Signed through 2020 season.

Rob Goodship - 31 years old.  Came to Jersey is Edison (Now Boston) as a waiver claim before the 2011 season.  Also posted career highs across the board, only lefty on the staff.
2017 stats: 15-5, 3.61 ERA, 1.25 WHIP
Contract: $3.79M.  Signed through 2020 season.

Jerry Burgess - 31 years old.  Came to Jersey in trade with El Paso (Now Irvine) during 2015 season.  Improved on 2016 season...slightly.  Has major control problems.  Will start season out of pen, but will likely see some starts.  Has electric stuff.
2017 stats: 10-4, 4.92 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 125 in 104.1 IP.
Contract: $9.0M, Signed through the 2020 season with last year being a team option.

Drew Schaefer - 26 years old.  Came to Jersey via trade with Niagara Falls during the 2017 season.  Onion, has potential, but at nearly 27 might never see it.  Will be 6th starter, spot starter, mop up role to see if he can mature at a late age.
2017 stats: 7-12, 7.08 ERA, 1.83 WHIP
Contract: $860K. Signed through the 2020 season.

Worth Noting: Losing Ellis last year left the Bags with 5 starters.  With everyone healthy they have 7....on the roster.  Will be interesting to see what transpires.

The Bullpen - It was a tough decision to let "Dog Pound" Gomes walk.  With his demands and the talent in AAA it made sense.  To remain a Top 3 pen in the CL, new faces will have to step up.

Jose Ruiz - 24 years old.  Was drafted in the inaugural draft by Jersey.  Improved his HR/9, BB/9 and K/9 last season.  Hard thrower. With no Gomes, his work load should increase.
2017 stats: 5-2, 3 saves. 3.34 ERA, 1.17 WHIP. 87K in 72.2 IP.
Contract: $1.19M  Signed through 2020 season.

Angel Lara - 22 years old.  Signed a MLC with Jersey before the 2013 season. Another hard throwing righty. Dominated AAA last season, 42 saves.
2017 stats (AAA): 3-6, 42 saves.  1.98 ERA, 1.05 WHIP.  70K in 59.0IP.
Contract: $400K. Signed through the 2022 season.

Hyo-Chin Kim - 21 years old.  IFA signing 2013.  Only lefty in the pen besides CL Saenz.  Can touch 100 MPH with fastball.  Needs to keep ball down, gave up 12 HR in 91 IP last season.
2017 stats: 6-4, 2 saves.  3.76 ERA, 1.07 WHIP.  68K in 91IP.
Contract: $1.19M.  Signed through the 2021 season.

Lucio Tapia - 33 years old.  Claimed off waivers from Whitewater (St. Louis) during 2010 season.  Great rebound season last year.  Steps into Set Up role with Gomes gone.  Elder statesmen of the bullpen.
2017 stats: 9-2, 1 save.  2.81 ERA, 1.21 WHIP.  87K in 73.2 IP.
Contract: $3.46M.  Free agent at end of the season.

Jaime Saenz - 31 years old.  Drafted by Jersey in inaugural draft.  Dominated in 2nd year as team's closer. Found stuff that was seemingly lost. Devastating curveball to go with 101 MPH fastball.
2017 stats - 8-2, 49 saves.  1.94 ERA, 0.99 WHIP.  118K in 83.2IP.
Contract: $3.61M.  Free agent at end of the season.

Worth Noting: Even with the promotion of Lara, Jersey still has Cortez, Zong and Mateo who seem ready for the big leagues.  Will be interesting to see if Tapia and Saenz get a deal before the season is over.

The Catchers - Same group as last year, Goyer was a huge surprise.

Warren Goyer - 29 years old - Acquired in a trade with Cleveland during the 2016 season.  Huge breakout season for the backstop.  Clubbed 42 HR, drove in 116 RBI in his best season as a pro
2017 stats: .257/.329/.541. 42 HR, 116 RBI.
Contract: $1.79M, Signed through 2020 season.

Albert Lopez - 29 years old.  Signed a MLC during the 2011 season. He just gets it done when he needs to.  2nd straight year with around 100 AB, first year with an OPS north of 100.
2017 stats: .283/.355/.444.  3 HR, 14 RBI.
Contract: 880K, signed through the 2019 season.

Worth Noting:  If either player went down with injury there is no real plan at backup.  Both Carlier and Dowd COULD backup if necessary, but neither should see too much time behind the plate.

1st Basemen - A surprising move sent Doyle to Toronto.  Another move brought in John Warner and a last minute move send Manny Romero through waivers and to AAA.

John Warner - 32 years old.  Acquired via trade with LA before the 2018 season.  Former 39 HR player who struggled with the bat with 2+ season in LA. Hoping a smaller park brings back his offense.  Unlike most D-Bags he keeps the K's down.
2017 stats (w/LA): .249/.324/.360, 6 HR, 32 RBI (289 AB)
Contract: $2.0M.  Signed through 2020 season w/ last year being a team option.

Alberto Perez - 30 years old.  Drafted in the 47th round of the inaugural draft by Jersey.  Listed as a 3B but started all year at 1B while Doyle was DH.  Had a down year but still had 146 hits and 31 doubles.  Will share time with Warner.
2017 stats: .282/.321/.424.  31 2B, 10 HR, 65 RBI.
Contract: $1.97M.  Signed through 2020 season.


Worth noting:  If anything happens Manny Romero will be back ASAP.  Also to note Kisuki in AAA has taken big steps and looks to be the future at 1B.  At only 22 he could be the next big hitter to hit Jersey.

2nd Basemen - Occupied by the back-to-back MVP winner, Mr. Bryant.  He is also the only 2nd basemen listed on the roster.

Mike Bryant - 30 years old.  1st round pick, 2010 season.  After a sluggish first half, he had a MONSTER 2nd half in route to his 2nd straight MVP award.  Career high in HR with 47, missed out on back to back Triple Crowns by 10 AB by Joe Sanders.  What can he do this year?
2017 stats: .335/.396/.631.  47 HR, 146 RBI.
Contract: $5.2M, signed through 2021 season with the last year being a team option.

Worth noting: If Bryant went down there are really no natural replacements for him. A slew of veterans in AAA play 2B, but probably not BSA starting level.  Logically utility man Taylor would take his spot, or Morrow would learn the position on the fly.

Shortstop - Schroeder is the man here.  Morrow was listed here, but has moved to 3B. 

Lawrence Schroeder - 26 years old.  1st round pick, 2014 season.  Great range for a defensive SS.  Came out blazing with a .332 avg and 9 HR in 205 AB in 2016.  Disappointed last year hitting .269 with 14 HR in 657 AB.  Did have a team high 48 doubles though.  I'm looking for a bounce back year from him.
2017 stats: .269/.327/.425. 48 2B, 14 HR, 77 RBI.
Contract: $1.86M.  Signed through the 2022 season w/ the last year being a team option.

Marvin Taylor - 32 years old.  Signed as a FA, April 2011.  Your typical utility man.  Plays every IF position above average with great range and hands.  Has an above average eye and lacks power.  This will be his 8th year with Jersey.
2017 stats: .235/.327/.280.
Contract: $950K.  Signed through 2020 season.

Worth Noting: Frabrice Brodeur another 1st round pick turned 25 in the offseason and had an above avg year last year in AAA, he is the natural replacement for Taylor as he plays every IF position.

3rd Basemen - Morrow is the only one currently listed on the roster with Perez's move to 1B.  If Morrow were to be injured Perez would slide back to 3B, with Warner manning 1B.  No real options in AAA.

Adam Morrow - 29 years old.  2nd round pick, 2010 draft.  A giant sigh of relief after a terrible sophomore year.  He put up almost identical numbers to his ROY season 2 years ago.  Had a +8.0 ZR at 3B last season.
2017 stats: .283/.398/.383. 38 2B, 54 RBI,978 BB.
Contract: $1.480K. Signed through 2020 season.

The Outfield - Instead of breaking this down we just went by all players who can play in the OF. Sergio Rodriquez and Tim Duncan who were on last year's opening day roster are both on teams in the NL.  Jersey will start season with only 5 OF instead of 6.

Fransisco Torres - 22 years old. IFA signing 2013.  Former top prospect.  Above average speed and range, plays a very good LF.  Started 2017 very hot, cooled off considerably.  Hoping a return to his natural position helps his bat, he struggled in CF last season.
2017 stats: .251/.375/.409.   13 HR, 64 RBI, 84 BB in 462 AB.
Contract: $400K.  Signed through the 2022 season.

Dave Dodd - 23 years old.  Signed a MLC during the 2013 season, former 2nd round pick of Reno.  Huge power.  Increased his HR total to 30, improved all over his game.  Also set BSA record for K's in a season, we hope that goes down.  Could this be his breakout year?
2017 stats: .266/.273/.471.  30 2B, 30 HR, 105 RBI, 14 SB.
Contract: $1.94M.  Signed through 2020 season.

Jose Ortiz - 29 years old.  Drafted in the Rule V draft, 2015 via Reno.  Lefty with great gap power, above average contact and hates to K.  Will primarily act as 4th OF, expect most of his AB coming vs. RHP.  Excelled when he got a shot last year.
2017 stats: .309/.406/.407. 9 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI. 123 AB.
Contract: $1.15M.  Signed through the 2020 season.

Peter Larson - 31 years old.  Came to Jersey in the famous Jerry Paige trade in 2014.  One of the best eyes in all of the BSA.  If he could hit lefties at all could make a charge at BB record.  Wil leadoff vs RHP again this year.  Does have an injury history, missed 4+ weeks last year. Rebounded statiscally after 2016 season.
2017 stats: .308/.438/.419.  74 BB, 22 2B, 4 HR, 44 RBI. 308 AB,
Contract: $5.0M.  Signed through 2019 season, the last year being a player option.

Fransisco Ibarra - 22 years old.  Was discovered by Jersey in January of 2013 in Coasta Rica.  Jersey fans are excited about this one.  Natural Centerfielder with power and an eye.  Raked in AAA last season, though struggled in 51 AB for Jersey in September.  Might need to fill some of Doyle's shoes from the right side of the plate.  Could be a star.
2017 stats (AAA): .323/.417/.632, 39 HR, 141 RBI, 28 SB.
Contract: $400K.  Arbitration eligible after the 2021 season.

Worth Noting: When hasn't the OF been deep in Jersey?  Though Duncan, Rodriguez, Kino are all gone they still have Al Ryan, Mattieu Vancini and Armando Gonzales in AAA.  Arguably the best prospect in their system is Ricardo Berroa who was prmoted to AA for the season. The kid could be special in a few years.

Another strong team for Jersey. The rotation should be special.  Questions will be answered about the new faces in the bullpen but I expect good results.  If Goyer can produce anything like last year, Dodd lives up to his immense potential and Ibarra picks up from his AAA numbers this offense could be scary special.  Only time will tell, but I like Jersey's chances at making it back to the playoffs this year.


GO D-BAGS