Jersey Shore 2017 Amatuer Draft

July 1st rolled around in this 2017 season and took it's eyes off of the D-Bags league best record and turned to the league's first year player draft, or know as the Rule IV draft. For the first time in a few years Jersey would have no supplemental picks and would have 10 players in 10 rounds of the draft.  Much like last year Jersey drafted a heavy pitching class with 4 of their 5 picks being young arms to add to their farm system.

Round 1
SP Roland Martin - Temiskaming District Secondary School - With the 32nd overall pick the D-Bags were 
ecstatic when Martin fell to them. GM Josh Swain said afterwards they had him in their overall Top 10 and finding a quality High School arm that late was a great start for the ballclub.  Martin pitched 3 seasons at TDSS compiling just a 9-4 record in 25 starts, striking out 185 batters in 149 IP, leaving school with a 4.09 ERA. The D-Bags seem to be more excited about the under the surface statistics.  The 2.37 FIP he carried for his 3 year career and the 11.12 K/9 to go along with the 4.87 K/BB.  Jersey's plan is to help him establish an "out" pitch and continue to add to the pristine control he has shown in High School.  When and if he is signed, he will report to A ball Manhattan.

Round 2
CL John Charles - University of Minnesota - 102nd overall pick, 2nd round.  The Bags again went pitching but this time went the relief route.  Charles had originally been drafted by the Boston Rebels in 2014 draft but they failed to sign him and continued on to UMN to play 3 years. Over the past 3 years he has been one
of the best closers in the college ranks going 6-2 with 41 saves.  He struck out an astonishing 131 batters in just 70 IP while carrying a 2.19 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. This isn't the first time Jersey has drafted out of the UMN.  In 2015 they slected Fabrice Brodeur with their first round pick.  Brodeur currently is playing for Jersey's AAA affiliate in Tuscaloosa.

Round 3
1B Antonio Enriquez - Masconomet High School - 150th overall, Round 3.  Jersey picked their only bat in the first 5 rounds going with switch hitting 1B Enriquez. not your prototypical 1B as he lacks power, but he
does have above average contact and rarely strikes out.  He is more of a station to station type runner with slow speed and lacks much defense but his ability to get on base doesn't go over looked.  In his 4 year HS career he hit .427, had an OBP of .496 and a career OPS of 1.115.  He only amassed 12 HR and 26 2B in 344 AB, but had a better than 1:1 K/BB ratio as well.  It will be interesting to see how he adapts to pitching at higher levels.



Round 4
SP Matt McGinnity - John Jay High School - 187th Overall, Round 4.  Picking in the 4th round, Jersey selected their 2nd HS starter of the draft in McGinnity from Waterville, New York. McGinnity here is an interesting pick seeing his track record over his career and a big let down his final season.  Most teams had
him slated as a MR, but the reason he slipped into the 4th could be because of the changeup he has tried to evolve over the past year.  He throws an above average cutter and slider while hitting the mid-90's.  Even if he doesn't succeed into becoming a professional starter, he may have a future as a reliever.


Round 5
SP Antonio Pereira - University of Cincinnati - 215th overall, Round 5.  Jersey seemed to get a steal here in Round 5 and we are surprised both of their round 3 and 4 picks were taken over Pereira.  He was the ace
of the Bearcats staff last year going 4-2, having a crazy 0.92 ERA, 0.77 WHIP, giving up 1 HR ans striking out 65 batters in 58.2 IP.  Control isn't his best attribute, but improved on it greatly from junior to senior season.  With 3 decent pitchers and a ground-ball percentage of 74%, he certainly has a chance of reaching the next level if he can improve on his control. 

Even in a very deep draft once you get to the bottom the players tend to fall off.  That's what happened in this draft between rounds 6-10.  

Round 6 - RF Miguel Vallejo - 3rd time he has been drafted.  24 year with little hitting upside. Plays above average defense and has elite speed.
Round 7 - LF Steve Jennings - Speedy OF out of Georgia Tech.  Has tools to be elite defender.  Hit .354 in his senior season, if he improves he could pan out to be a 4th OF type.
Round 8 - RF Josh Boyer - 25 year old. At one point he could have made a decent player, but being drafted 3 other times besides this one and not playing over 3 years has diminished his skills.
Round 9 - Util Todd Ross - 25 year old.  Another 4th time draftee, first time out of the 3rd round.  Plays all IF positions well, elite speed, not much with the bat.  Could stick on for awhile as a defensive specialist.
Round 10 - 1B George Young - 25 year old.  A trend of taking older draftees late in the draft.  Previously drafted by LA, POC and JAK.  Doesn't have much upside in any area besides a slick glove at 1B.

Well there's the class of folks.  A top heavy young class of high school players and a late half of players who should be in AAA right now but never will get a chance. We will see how the first 1-2 round picks go as Jersey has had an excellent track record of drafting BSA quality talent in those rounds.

GO D-BAGS

Prospect Breakdown; Meet Javier Garcia

Meet 20 year old Starting Pitcher Javier Garcia.  The Mexican born "plump" pitcher was signed by the Vista Panthers as a raw 17 year old back in 2014.  He came over the Jersey Shore in the deal that sent Antonio Ruiz out of down and also brought OF Miguel Rosa to Jersey's farm system.  At the time Garcia was just an out of shape kid who threw in the low 90's and had a fairly bleak future.  He was already in his 3rd year of playing A ball in Vista's system and seemed to regress from his first 2.  He was still young at 18, but not a good sign.

That's when the trade happened.  With Jersey promoting kids to fill their IF positions, the struggling Antonio Ruiz. who was once considered a blue chip prospect, was the odd man out.  Garcia was one of the hand picked teenagers by Josh Swain.  He had this to say, "He had great mechanics.  He was a bit sloppy and left the ball out of the plate way too much, but we saw some potential.  Now we didn't see him as a guy we could turn into an Ace, but at age 18, we knew we would have a lot of time to work with him over the years."

He came to Manhattan to started 17 times in 2015 and looked more like his 2014 self than the regressed Garcia we saw in 2015 with Vista.  During the offseason he was put on a muscle training program and worked with Dan Macias at Jersey's Florida complex and the results were more than noticeable.  He came into the 2016 season with a much lively fastball and while before he touched on 93 MPH, he was dialing it back and hitting 97-98 on the radar gun consistently.  He spent most of the 2016 in A ball pitching better than ever before, giving up less hits and considerably less HR while keeping his K rate over 10 K/9.  He was called up to AA Gainesville late in the season in time to get 12 starts where he would struggle, but was to be expected being 19 at a level where most guys are much older.

We turn to the current season.  Just past the half way point and Garcia has gotten 18 starts at AA and scouts have said his fastball is hitting 99 MPH.  His K/BB rate is at it's highest point since his last season in A ball and while his K/9 has slipped under 10, he is walked less than ever.  Swain says  there is no time table for promotion to AAA or the BSA, but he will have to be put on the 40 man roster aher this year to avoid the Rule V draft.  He also stated his main problem is still leaving that ball up over the plate.  Statistically for his career he has also had a groundball rate of under 50% and his propensity to give up the long ball will not suite him well in Jersey, that is the main focal point to work on.  "If we can get him to where he is at his A level of HR giving up at less than 1/2 per 9/IP that would be ideal.  Right now he is at 1, the way the ball flies out in the Ballpark at the Shore, he would get eaten alive in some starts.  That's our goal for Mr. Garcia at this point."

We suggest you keep an eye on Javier Garcia over the next few years.  While he is not a blue chip prospect, he very well could be a valuable addition to the back end of the rotation in the future.

Jersey Shore May 2017 In Review

Jersey enjoyed it's 2nd hot month of the season coming into May with a BSA best 20-6 and May with a BSA best 40-15.  The club's 2nd 20 win month is a first for them, never had they won 20+ games more than once in a season.  A mixture of stars and youngsters led to this record which puts Jersey up 7 games in the CL East after just 2 months of play.  

Players of the Month

SP Jose Ramos: 5 GS, 4-1, 1.91 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 20K, 6 BB, 42.1 IP.  The stud, the phenom, the future of the Jersey Shore pitching staff.  Ramos came off his week injury to dominate in the month of May.  Maybe most was his performance against Jersey rival Greenville, where Ramos pitched his first complete game shutout, holding the 84's to just 3 hits and 2 walks while striking out 8.  Plan to see Ramos on POTM many more times before his career is over.

SP Greg Schaefer: 6 GS, 6-0, 3.12 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 35K, 40.1 IP.  If you picked Schaefer to lead the league in wins after 2 months, raise your hand.  At 10-0 he has 1/4 of the D-Bags wins this year and continues to impress.  Schaefer was also named the CL Pitcher of the Month for month of May, his first such accolade. Though his fip of 4.24 isn't THAT impressive, it would be his best season in the BSA.

MR Jose Gomes: 1-0, 1 save, 23.0 IP, 1.17 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 34K.  Gomes demonstrated why he is one of the best set up men in the league and runner up for the CL Reliever of the Year last year.  He absolutely dominated in May, appearing in 17 of the teams 26 games.  2 of the 3 ER he allowed all season were allowed on the last game he pitched in May as well. 

LF Fransisco Torres: .337/.462/.495.  2 HR, 14 RBI, 19 BB, 4 SB.  Torres is going from rookie to staple in the Jersey lineup.  The speedy 22 year old had his second straight great month hitting the ball over all the yard and putting him squarely in ROY consideration.  For his outstanding play, he was named the CL Rookie of the Month for May.

SS Lawrence Schroeder: .307/.363/.430.  The 2nd year player and former 1st round pick is finally getting comfortable in his sophmore season after a breakout rookie season a year ago.  While the power he displayed last year hasn't come into play yet, the rest of his play has.  He led the BSA in doubles with 12, while scoring 17 times and knocking in 11 runs out of the 2 hole in the Jersey lineup.

C Warren Goyer: .301/.377/.602.  7 HR, 22 RBI.  Who led the D-Bags in HR and RBI in May? Bryant? Doyle? Dodd?  Nope, it was Mr. Goyer.  After struggling with the stick in April to the tune of a .195 average, he lit up May.  His feats include HR in 3 straight games during the middle of the month and his first multi-HR game coming on the last day in May where he drove in 5 runs in a 10-4 drubbing of the Browns.

Question, Concerns and Answers

For what it's worth May was a quiet month for roster moves for Jersey.  Ramos was activated on the 11th and rookie Yin-Zhen Zong was sent down, getting just 4.1 IP for the Bags.  Backup backstop Albert Lopez was given a  2 year extension which pretty much says he will remain the team's backup through his 31st birthday.  With no viable catchers in the minor leagues close to getting to Jersey this come as no surprise.

A couple of players continue to dominate down in AAA, but until the ship turns for Jersey or we see injuries (knock on wood) nothing seems imminent at this point.  

Minor Leaguers of the Month 

Pitcher

CL Angel Lara (AAA): 16.1 IP, 1-0, 9 saves.  5 BB, 21 K.  Lara, who many think is the closer of the future for the D-Bags certainly pitched like he wants the future job.  Not only did he only allow 2 ER all month long, he was also named the ITL Pitcher of the Month for May.  It marks the first time Jersey has had players at 2 different levels win Pitcher of the Month in same month.  Lara is surely a guy we might see in Jersey at some point this season.

Hitter

CF Fransisco Ibarra (AAA):  108 AB, 38 hits, 13 HR, 48 RBI, 22 BB, .361/.466/.796.  I think Ibarra felt robbed when we gave his team Martel the POTM for May.  He absolutely CRUSHED the ball in May.  13 HR and 48 RBI in just 27 games.  He is certainly the CF of the future for the D-Bags but how long can GM Josh Swain ignore what he is producing in AAA? In 53 games through May 31st he has 18 HR and 77 RBI, ridiculous. 

Dan Macias Hits Milestone; Wins 150th

It was a windy night in Indianapolis and even though he wasn't nearly as sharp as the 8 shutout innings he threw in Seattle 5 days prior for win #149, Dan Macias lasted into the 7th inning and was backed by 12 runs from the Jersey offense to win for the 150th time in his career.  The gutsy 36 year old veteran became only the 5th pitcher in BSA history to reach that mark.  He joins Alfredo Aicon as the 2nd hurler to hit the 150 mark this season.

Macias pitching in his 4th season in Jersey, won his 52nd game in  D-Bags uniform which puts him 2nd all time for the franchise in wins.  Jersey is Macias's 4th team in his 11 year career which dates back to 2007 before the modern BSA times.  He has won double digit games 9 times, topping out at 20 wins in 2014, his first season with Jersey.  Macias has publicly stated he would like to stay in Jersey and finish his career but management has been leery to give him an extension after seeing his production go down for the 4th straight year.  Macias has obviously lost some velocity but still is a decent option at SP.  This season Macias is 5-3 in 11 starts with a 4.66 ERA and 1.29 WHIP.  He will turn 37 at the tail end of this season.

The pitchers to reach 150 wins ahead of Macias are, Scott Hill (195 wins), Jean-Thomas Francoeur (158), Ricky Bolden (157) and Alfredo Aicon (156).  The next 3 pitchers to more than likely reach the milestone are John Garrett (140), Earl Harper (137) and Fransisco Rivera (133). 

Macias's career line is 150-96 in 322 career starts.  He has a 3.58 ERA to go with a 1.20 WHIP and has struck out 1879 batters in his career.  If he can strike out 121 more batters this season he would be the 5th pitcher to also reach the 2000 K club.   

Updating The Enigma; Jerry Burgess

Though it has only been 4 starts since this blog questioned Jerry Burgess we feel the need to update.  Last season and his first 3 starts had trended towards the worse case scenario for the D-Bags who gave him a large extension just the off season before.  We don't know if our article provided him with incentive to get it going, but since then he has been one of the best pitcher's in baseball.

He has started 4 times, twice at home and twice on the road.  Pitching against Chicago, Baffin, Madison and Reno.  In that time span he is 4-0.  Every start he has gone at least 6.2 IP and walked 3 or less batters in each appearance.  The walks, or lack thereof, are a sign of relief where Burgess has really shined is giving up hits.  He allowed just 2 hits in 3 of those starts with the other being 4 hits to Madison.  

At time of article being written: ERA 5.82, K/BB ratio of 1, WHIP 1.94.

Line of his 4 starts during the last 3+ weeks.  4GS, 4-0, 27.2IP, 10H, 11BB, 28K, 1.32  ERA, 0.77WHIP.

What has changed in Burgess we cannot tell you.  He is not getting hit and he is not walking batters.  For the season his H/9 sits out an extremely low 5.24 which is over 3 hits less per 9 than his career average, and at that current pace he would set the BSA record for fewest hits per 9 over a season.  We don't expect that to continue or his subliminally low 1.32 ERA over the past 4 starts, but after what we had seen out of Burgess over the past 9+ months this is a very welcome sign.

Burgess for the season: 7GS, 6-0, 44.2IP, 44K. 1HR, 3.02 ERA, 1.19 WHIP.  Not too shabby of a guy that many considered as the odd man out of the rotation before the season even started.  We will continue our Burgess watch as the season progresses. 

April 2017 in review; Jersey Shore

After a devastating injury left Jersey starting the season without their ace and Opening Day starter Art Ellis, Jersey went into the season with high hopes, just not as high as before the injury.  If there was any hesitation, it didn't show in April.  Jersey finished the month with a BSA best 20-6 record and only their 3rd 20 win month in team history.  Both pitching and hitting led to their great start and exception play by the their captain Mikey Bryant.

Players of the Month

Rob Goodship: 4-0, 36IP, 3.00 ERA, 30 K, 1.03WHIP.  Goodship is the master of deception.  Not only in his delivery but you just never know when he will string together some great starts.  Jersey fans are hoping he finally turned the corner and went from a Good 3-4 to a Good #2 on this staff.  He dominated in his first 4 starts before getting roughed up by Austin his last start of the month for a no decision.

Greg Schaefer: 3-0, 28.1IP, 2.86 ERA, 21K, 1.06 WHIP.  Much like Goodship now is the time for Schaefer to transform himself into a MLB pitcher.  He has trended upwards every season in his career and a career wouldn't surprise Owner Josh Swain, "We have been waiting for it."  Needless to say, going 7-0 out of your 3 and 4 starters is a great way to start the season.

Jaime "Mungo" Saenz: 0-0, 8 saves, 15K, 13.1 IP.  Mungo was almost perfect in April outside of 2 solo homeruns.  He did not blow a save and looks comfortable in his 2nd year starting for the D-Bags.  The back end of the Bags bullpen has always been a specialty and he is the anchor.

Mike Bryant: .400/.455/.691  7 HR 27 RBI  44 hits.  Bryant continued to add on to his Triple Crown season by coming out of the gate hot and another 40 hit month.  Not only did he win the CL Player of the Week Award for the 8th time in career in early April he was also presented with CL Batter of the Month Award for the 5th time in what is his 5th year in the BSA.  

Matt Doyle: .315/.390/.602  7 2B 8 HR  24 RBI.  Doyle worked hard in the off-season to avoid the slow start that plagued him last year and it paid off.  He combined with Bryant to lead an offensive charge that averaged a tick under 7 runs per game in the month of April.  If this duo can continue to click together into this season it could be very scary for the opposition.

Questions. Concerns and Answers
What kind of questions can you have for a team that starts 20-6?  We did see Alberto Perez return from injury and struggle in the 4 games he did play in.  He will be one to watch to see if can elevate his game to last season's performance.  Rookie Francisco Torres is off to a great start for the D-Bags hitting .333/.410/.580 which landed him a permanent starting place in the lineup.  Dan Macias has started slow and Jersey management is hoping this isn't it for the big veteran righty.  His K/9 rate has continued to drop and his velocity seems lower than it has been before in his career.  If Macias continues to struggle and Ellis still being out, Jersey might have to make a move for a Starter.  Other than that we don't see any immediate moves unless an injury pops up.

Minor Leaguers of the Month
We have decided to keep the MLTM going into it's 2nd season here.  This is where we choose who had the best month out of the minor league system for the month of April.


Pitcher
MR Luis "Bugs" Cortez (AAA):  15.0 IP, 16K, 1.15 ERA, 0.93 WHIP.  Cortez came to the Bags in a trade
with Vista back during the 2014 season for the Italian left hander Ciro Roghi. Cortez has always been a highly rated thrower and will find his way into the Jersey bullpen.  At 22 years old he is already starting to mature in his 2nd year year in AAA.

Hitter 
2B William Martel (AAA):  .375/.400/.521.  36 hits, 11 2B, 17 RBI, 5 SB.  Martel signed with the Bags during the 2013 as a free agent from Canada.  He is your prototypical utility man who plays everywhere on the field but Catcher and CF. He has mainly seen time at 2B and 3B this year.  The 22 year old was a great table setter for the dangerous Tuscaloosa lineup using his above average contact and speed to score 25 runs in just 22 games.  At 22 years old he is probably getting close to joining Jersey.


GO D-BAGS