Mixed in with a whirlwind of deadline trades, the Jersey Shore D-Bags were active and finished deals with both the Baffin Island Beavers and the Chicago Machine. Not that it comes at a surprise, but GM Josh Swain isn't known throughout the BSA community for his wheeling and dealing.
The biggest name brought in is 3 time Gold Glover and and former All Star, Catcher Bryan Sandstrom. The California born and longtime Maui Tropic, comes over from Chicago where he spend the last 3.5 seasons after signing a 5 year deal in the winter of 2019. At 35 years old, Sandstrom doesn't seem to be slowing down and was having the best year he has had at the plate since coming to Chicago, while still posting a positive WAR behind the plate and throwing out near 40% runners trying to steal on him. He definitely adds to the Jersey Shore catching situation which has mainly featured 2nd year player Owen Carter as their starter. As a rookie Carter split time with now departed Fernando Ramos, but now with Ramos gone and Carter given the full time duties his numbers have dropped across the board. Jersey is hoping they can find a medium between Sandstrom and Carter, though both seem to prefer hitting against left-handed pitching. Either way Sandstrom should provide a boost for Jersey on both sides of the ball.
Departing to Chicago is a pair of players, the first most notably is 3B Fabrice Brodeur. Brodeur, a former Jersey Shore 1st round pick, turned 30 years old this past offseason and has another year left on his contract. He did win the Gold Glove at third base last year and where he had primarily played this year as well. What helped make him available was the acquisition of Gerardo Escobedo in the offseason as well as the emergence of rookie Ricardo Gonzalez. Brodeur should slide right into Chicago's lineup. Also going to Chicago is 22 year old CF Adrian Prouse. Prouse was discovered by Jersey scouts in Australia during the 2018 season and is spending his 7th season in the minor leagues. Once heralded a Top 100 prospect, Prouse has speed and plus power and projects as a corner OF. If his 2022 numbers in AA have anything to say about his future, he might be a good one. He finished the season hitting .286/.414/.521 with 29 HR and 89 RBI.
Jersey Shore also shipped off 22 year old AAA starting pitcher Jose Bamuelos to Baffin Island for a trio of players. Bamuelos was originally drafted by San Francisco in 2016 in the 3rd round but failed to sign. Jersey signed him as a free agent after he went undrafted the following season. He spent parts of 4 seasons in A ball, before being promoted in 2022 where he would go 14-10 with a 4.80 ERA last season. This year he is 7-7 in 24 starts while maintaining 10 K/9, but finding control will be make or break for him.
Coming to Jersey were the following 3 players: 2B Orlando Bruno, RF Pat Zimmerman and RF Mark Wells. Bruno was drafted in the supplemental first round and 38th overall by Baffin in 2020 and has played in the majors in every season since. He is a plus contact hitter with above average defense and blazing speed. It's unknown if he will join Jersey or head to Tuscaloosa after struggling with the bat so far this year.
Pat Zimmerman was originally drafted by the Orlando Calrissian in the 6th round of the same 2020 draft and spent 3 years in their minor league system before being traded to Baffin Island just last month in exchange for catcher Yaichiro Sugahara. Zimmerman also has blazing speed with above contact and decent gap power as well as raw power potential. He profiles to be an average fielder at best, but his bat should carry him.
Mark Wells was originally selected by the Calrissian in the 2020 draft but he failed to sign and headed to college where he could play one year at Oklahoma before becoming a 2nd round selection and 50th overall pick by the Madison Bombers in the 2021 draft. He would spend the entire 2022 season playing for Madison's A ball affiliate where he played decent. In a surprise move Wells made the Madison roster this past Spring and has started 79 games for the Bombers this year with less than desired results. His .211/.269/.374 line with 8 HR and 31 RBI to go with a historically bad -24.9 ZR has produced a -3.0 WAR this year. Jersey Shore will send him to AA Gainesville where hopefully he can regain his stroke and improve on his fielding. Overall though, Jersey receives 3 players who all project to have MLB potential for Bamuelos.
Though some blockbuster trades were discussed, not a whole lot will change for Jersey Shore. Look for Sandstrom to be in the Jersey Shore starting lineup this week. Rumors have it that he will wear number 26.
GO D-BAGS
Showing posts with label chicago. Show all posts
Showing posts with label chicago. Show all posts
Friday, October 2, 2015
Saturday, April 11, 2015
Jersey Rallies From 5 Down & Wins in Extras; Seattle Butt hurt in Process
The Seattle Pikes visited Jersey earlier this month for a 3-game set which the D-Bags would eventually sweep. The middle game of the series was the game of the year for Jersey Shore and one of the biggest comebacks in team history. Down 5 going into the bottom of the 9th, there was little hope for the home town team. Especially considering a comment GM Kevin Carter made just days earlier on Twitter about "the great pen" Seattle is suppose to have. The best part about the comeback is All-Star Jim Nelson retired Kisuki and Bryant back to back to start the inning with 2 outs. Then all hell broke loose.
A single from Dodd gave an extra batter and the next man up was Francisco Torres would would take a 1-2 pitch and deposit it the Right-Center bleachers for a 2-run HR. Still, the Bags would still trail by 3. Seattle would go to the pen and bring in wonderkid Christian Escobar and his 99 MPH fastball. Rookie Own Carter would leg out an infield single that "King" Martinez couldn't make a play in time with. 3B Fabrice Brodeur would then walk on 5 pitches to put the tying run at the plate, another rookie, 2B John Moore. Moore would fight off 3, 1-2 pitches, fouling them all back before slicing a double down the left field line. Both Carter and Broduer would score, making it a 1 run game. Seattle would opt to leave Escobar in the game to pitch to SS Lawrence Schroeder, which would turn out to be a bad decision. Schroeder would take a 2-2 pitch and knock it up the middle scoring Broduer. The game almost ended when Moore, who was off with the pitch, came sliding home only be to be tagged out at the last second to send the game the extras.
Both bullpens would match each other until the 14th inning when Ricardo Berroa would walk, take 3rd on a single from Brodeur and score on an errant throw when he was sliding into 3rd base. It was a walk off win but there was more talk about the HBP from Jersey closer Gerald Johnson that broke Seattle's DH Luka Lagerweij's hand in the 13th inning.
Seattle GM Kevin Carter came out in the post game press conference and blamed the Jersey staff for intentionally hitting and hurting Lagerweij. GM Swain had this rebuttle. "I completely respect Lagerweij's game. I actually feel bad for the guy. He has supreme power and he plays his home games in one of the hardest parks to hit a HR for a left-handed hitter. One thing I don't respect though is showing up pitchers. In the 1st inning he hit a 3-run HR. Yes, our pitcher Garcia made a mistake and he capitalized on it, but you don't stand and admire your work, plus it was a 349 foot shot. He acted like he hit 500 feet. Our catcher Carter noticed he kept creeping closer and closer jamming the plate and our Manager Negrete told Johnson to brush him off the plate. The ball tailed a little bit and got him on the hand. No negligence. Part of the game. We hope for a speedy recovery and this conversation is over."
Through Saturday May 28th, Jersey Shore sits with a 35-16 record which is the best in the CL, and that's after a current 4-game losing streak. With 3 games left in May, the D-Bags need to win 2/3 for a 20 win month. They finish a quick 2-game tilt with Vista before finishing the month with 2 @ division rival Chicago.
A single from Dodd gave an extra batter and the next man up was Francisco Torres would would take a 1-2 pitch and deposit it the Right-Center bleachers for a 2-run HR. Still, the Bags would still trail by 3. Seattle would go to the pen and bring in wonderkid Christian Escobar and his 99 MPH fastball. Rookie Own Carter would leg out an infield single that "King" Martinez couldn't make a play in time with. 3B Fabrice Brodeur would then walk on 5 pitches to put the tying run at the plate, another rookie, 2B John Moore. Moore would fight off 3, 1-2 pitches, fouling them all back before slicing a double down the left field line. Both Carter and Broduer would score, making it a 1 run game. Seattle would opt to leave Escobar in the game to pitch to SS Lawrence Schroeder, which would turn out to be a bad decision. Schroeder would take a 2-2 pitch and knock it up the middle scoring Broduer. The game almost ended when Moore, who was off with the pitch, came sliding home only be to be tagged out at the last second to send the game the extras.
Both bullpens would match each other until the 14th inning when Ricardo Berroa would walk, take 3rd on a single from Brodeur and score on an errant throw when he was sliding into 3rd base. It was a walk off win but there was more talk about the HBP from Jersey closer Gerald Johnson that broke Seattle's DH Luka Lagerweij's hand in the 13th inning.
Seattle GM Kevin Carter came out in the post game press conference and blamed the Jersey staff for intentionally hitting and hurting Lagerweij. GM Swain had this rebuttle. "I completely respect Lagerweij's game. I actually feel bad for the guy. He has supreme power and he plays his home games in one of the hardest parks to hit a HR for a left-handed hitter. One thing I don't respect though is showing up pitchers. In the 1st inning he hit a 3-run HR. Yes, our pitcher Garcia made a mistake and he capitalized on it, but you don't stand and admire your work, plus it was a 349 foot shot. He acted like he hit 500 feet. Our catcher Carter noticed he kept creeping closer and closer jamming the plate and our Manager Negrete told Johnson to brush him off the plate. The ball tailed a little bit and got him on the hand. No negligence. Part of the game. We hope for a speedy recovery and this conversation is over."
Through Saturday May 28th, Jersey Shore sits with a 35-16 record which is the best in the CL, and that's after a current 4-game losing streak. With 3 games left in May, the D-Bags need to win 2/3 for a 20 win month. They finish a quick 2-game tilt with Vista before finishing the month with 2 @ division rival Chicago.
Friday, September 6, 2013
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.
"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.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
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.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Jersey Shore August 2012 in Review
In Jersey picked anytime to have their best month so far of the season it was August, especially after the subpar and sub .500 month they had in July. Coming into the month they sat 1.5 games back of Chicago for the CL Wild Card spot and when things were said and done a 19-9 record pushed them to 1/2 up on the Machine. The bats got hot scoring over 8 runs in 11 of their 19 wins and a 21 year old rookie won the CL Pitcher of the Month Award.
Players of the Month
SP Jose Ramos: 5-1, 2.62 ERA, 2CG, 1.12 WHIP. Wow, Ramos went from big time prospect dominating AAA hitters to CL Pitcher of the Month faster than anyone could have expected. With Jerry Burgess struggling, Ramos stepped in at the right time to pick up 7 wins in his first 10 starts and bring another formidable starter to the Jersey rotiation.
SP Art Ellis: 2-1, 1.95 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 37 K in 33.1 IP. After having his worst month as a D-Bag in July, Ellis bounced back in a remarkable way. The lone loss was against Toronto where he surrounded 4 ER, but didn't allow more than 1 in any other start for the rest of the month. He even picked up a no decision against Vista allowing 0 ER. If Jersey is going to find their way back to the playoffs this year, Ellis will be a main cog in getting them there in September.
2B Mike Bryant: .363/.406/.552. 3HR, 29RBI, 42 hits, 9 2B. Familiar face this season. While the power dipped a little bit for Bryant in August, the hits kept on coming. His 4th 40 hit month, 4th month to have more RBI than games played and scored a season high 31 runs for the month. This is the dream season for Bryant, if he can keep it up BSA records will fall.
1B Matt Doyle: .355/.430/.645. 8HR, 30 RBI, 39 hits, 8 2B. Welcome back Matt Doyle! After a summer swoon which saw Doyle hit for .238 and .255 with 6 combined HR for the months of June and July, Doyle found that stroke he had in May and much of his rookie year bashing 16 XBH, his 2nd 30+ RBI month and a glimpse of how devestating the 3-4 holes in the Jersey lineup can be with he and Bryant are both clicking.
Questions, Concerns and Answers
The main concern heading into September is will this team make the playoffs? Both Chicago and Jersey are playoff caliber teams and both could win 95-100 games this year with one being left at home.
Will Jerry Burgess be given his rotation spot back? Since his demotion to the pen, he has only pitched 6.1 IP but only has given up 1 ER in that time span. He also struck out 10, compared to 4 BB. The control has been the issue for him much of this season. While Goodship and Shaefer have not been terrible, they haven't put up numbers bad enough to be replaced in the rotation. Plan on seeing Burgess get a spot start or two, or more if Jersey can take the lead in the WC race.
September is a time for call up but since we have seen Ramos, Schroeder and Torres is there anyone else we might see during the month? I don't think we will be seeing any more rookies, but catcher Duran will be off the DL as well OF Jose Ortiz, plan on seeing both back. We will probably also see OF Duncan and OF Kino come back up to be bats off the bench. There is an outside chance of seeing a rookie pitcher, for depth. If I had to guess MR Zong, Lara or Cortez could be given a couple of September innings.
Minor Leaguers of the Month
Pitcher
MR Bernardo Pacheco (AAA): 1-0, 1 save, 0.63 ERA, 1.12 WHIP. While pitching mainly middle relief and set up for Tuscaloosa, Pacheco was money in his 14.1 IP in August. He allowed 1 ER, which was on a solo HR and tallied 13 K to only 3 BB. Pacheco, 28, is in his 4th year at AAA and each year his ERA has gotten lower. He will be 29 next year, and if he becomes a minor league free agent, he could catch on somewhere and help a bullpen.
Hitter
1B Tadahisa Kisuki (AA): .408/.487/.582. 3 HR, 27 RBI, 40 hits. Signed in April 2015 out of the free agent pool, the 20 year old is really picking it up since he his subpar play in A ball last year. He crushed A pitching this year, and August was his best month playing in AA Gainesville. While he doesn't hit for a lot of power, the gap is there totally 37 2B between the two levels while hitting over .350. There's a good chance he will get the promotion to AAA before the year is over. At only 20 years old the kid could see the show before a lot of players his age are even out of college.
Players of the Month
SP Jose Ramos: 5-1, 2.62 ERA, 2CG, 1.12 WHIP. Wow, Ramos went from big time prospect dominating AAA hitters to CL Pitcher of the Month faster than anyone could have expected. With Jerry Burgess struggling, Ramos stepped in at the right time to pick up 7 wins in his first 10 starts and bring another formidable starter to the Jersey rotiation.
SP Art Ellis: 2-1, 1.95 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 37 K in 33.1 IP. After having his worst month as a D-Bag in July, Ellis bounced back in a remarkable way. The lone loss was against Toronto where he surrounded 4 ER, but didn't allow more than 1 in any other start for the rest of the month. He even picked up a no decision against Vista allowing 0 ER. If Jersey is going to find their way back to the playoffs this year, Ellis will be a main cog in getting them there in September.
2B Mike Bryant: .363/.406/.552. 3HR, 29RBI, 42 hits, 9 2B. Familiar face this season. While the power dipped a little bit for Bryant in August, the hits kept on coming. His 4th 40 hit month, 4th month to have more RBI than games played and scored a season high 31 runs for the month. This is the dream season for Bryant, if he can keep it up BSA records will fall.
1B Matt Doyle: .355/.430/.645. 8HR, 30 RBI, 39 hits, 8 2B. Welcome back Matt Doyle! After a summer swoon which saw Doyle hit for .238 and .255 with 6 combined HR for the months of June and July, Doyle found that stroke he had in May and much of his rookie year bashing 16 XBH, his 2nd 30+ RBI month and a glimpse of how devestating the 3-4 holes in the Jersey lineup can be with he and Bryant are both clicking.
Questions, Concerns and Answers
The main concern heading into September is will this team make the playoffs? Both Chicago and Jersey are playoff caliber teams and both could win 95-100 games this year with one being left at home.
Will Jerry Burgess be given his rotation spot back? Since his demotion to the pen, he has only pitched 6.1 IP but only has given up 1 ER in that time span. He also struck out 10, compared to 4 BB. The control has been the issue for him much of this season. While Goodship and Shaefer have not been terrible, they haven't put up numbers bad enough to be replaced in the rotation. Plan on seeing Burgess get a spot start or two, or more if Jersey can take the lead in the WC race.
September is a time for call up but since we have seen Ramos, Schroeder and Torres is there anyone else we might see during the month? I don't think we will be seeing any more rookies, but catcher Duran will be off the DL as well OF Jose Ortiz, plan on seeing both back. We will probably also see OF Duncan and OF Kino come back up to be bats off the bench. There is an outside chance of seeing a rookie pitcher, for depth. If I had to guess MR Zong, Lara or Cortez could be given a couple of September innings.
Minor Leaguers of the Month
Pitcher
MR Bernardo Pacheco (AAA): 1-0, 1 save, 0.63 ERA, 1.12 WHIP. While pitching mainly middle relief and set up for Tuscaloosa, Pacheco was money in his 14.1 IP in August. He allowed 1 ER, which was on a solo HR and tallied 13 K to only 3 BB. Pacheco, 28, is in his 4th year at AAA and each year his ERA has gotten lower. He will be 29 next year, and if he becomes a minor league free agent, he could catch on somewhere and help a bullpen.Hitter
1B Tadahisa Kisuki (AA): .408/.487/.582. 3 HR, 27 RBI, 40 hits. Signed in April 2015 out of the free agent pool, the 20 year old is really picking it up since he his subpar play in A ball last year. He crushed A pitching this year, and August was his best month playing in AA Gainesville. While he doesn't hit for a lot of power, the gap is there totally 37 2B between the two levels while hitting over .350. There's a good chance he will get the promotion to AAA before the year is over. At only 20 years old the kid could see the show before a lot of players his age are even out of college.
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