Your All-Time Jersey Shore Team

I thought this seemed like a fun idea.  To find the best team I could from former Jersey Shore teams.  Rules: You can only use a player once, regardless if he played another position.  Some decisions were tough, some were easy, but here you have it:  

SP: 2019 Jose Ramos.  23-6, 2.76 ERA, 2.88 FIP, 1.05 WHIP, 8.2 WAR

SP: 2014 Dan Macias. 20-8, 2.82 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 1.16 WHIP, 8.9 WAR

SP: 2015 Art Ellis. 13-8, 2.94 ERA, 3.73 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, 5.0 WAR

SP: 2019 Sergio Martinez. 17-3, 3.08 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 4.5 WAR

SP: 2017 Greg Schaefer. 18-3, 3.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 3.9 WAR

MR: 2016 Jose Gomes. 10-1, 4 saves. 1.31 ERA, 2.05 FIP, 1.02 WHIP, 3.6 WAR

MR: 2014 Daniel Morris. 6-5, 31 saves.  1.52 ERA, 1.94 FIP, 1.03 WHIP, 2.0 WAR

MR: 2013 Lucio Tapia. 8-1, 2 saves.  2.19 ERA, 1.77 FIP, 1.21 WHIP, 3.0 WAR

MR: 2019 Jose Ruiz.  6-3, 40 saves. 2.83 ERA, 2.92 FIP, 1.09 WHIP, 1.3 WAR

MR: 2013 Ciro Roghi. 1-0, 0 saves. 1.95 ERA, 2.15 FIP, 1.30 WHIP, 1.2 WAR

CL: 2017 Jaime Saenz. 8-2, 49 saves.  1.94 ERA, 1.96 FIP,  0.99 WHIP, 2.8 WAR

C: 2013 Jorge Lozano. .303/.388/.511.  36 2B, 24 HR, 107 RBI, 5.1 WAR

C: 2017 Warren Goyer. .257/.329/.541. 20 2B, 42 HR, 116 RBI, 3.4 WAR

1B: 2015 Matt Doyle. .302/.386/.572.  25 2B, 44 HR, 147 RBI, 5.7 WAR

1B: 2021 Tadahisa Kisuki.  .366/.424/.560.  32 2B, 18 HR, 57 RBI, 5.7 WAR

2B: 2016 Mike Bryant.  .347/.407/.618.  48 2B, 40 HR, 158 RBI, 9.6 WAR

3B: 2015 Adam Morrow. .282/.402/.360.  31 2B, 4 HR, 61 RBI, 3.9 WAR

3B: 2012 Parker Morrow. .313/.390/.418.  29 2B, 10 HR, 62 RBI. 3.6 WAR

SS: 2020 Lawrence Schroeder.  .306/.341/.542.  27 2B, 19 HR, 74 RBI, 4.7 WAR

SS: 2011 Jerome Lindsey.  .343/.427/.480.  23 2B, 9 HR, 56 RBI, 4.2 WAR

UTIL: 2020 Fabrice Brodeur.  .325/.365/.465.  29 2B, 10 HR, 61 RBI, 3.4 WAR

OF: 2021 Dave Dodd.  .388/.455/.799.  46 HR, 119 RBI, 9.7 WAR

OF: 2011 Mason Bonniface. .328/.433/.556.  23 HR, 78 RBI, 6.1 WAR

OF: 2010 William Hinson.  .308/.404/.538.  23 HR, 91 RBI, 4.3 WAR

OF: 2013 Leon Foster.  .272/.338/.567.  33 HR, 105 RBI, 3.7 WAR

Starting Lineup:

SP: 2014 Dan Macias. 20-8, 2.82 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 1.16 WHIP, 8.9 WAR

1.  SS 2011 Jerome Lindsey

2. DH 2021 Tadahisa Kisuki

3. 2B 2016 Mike Bryant

4. RF 2021 Dave Dodd

5. 1B 2015 Matt Doyle

6. C 2013 Jorge Lozano

7. LF 2011 Mason Bonniface

8. CF 2013 Leon Foster

9. 3B 2015 Adam Morrow

How does your team stack up?

GO D-BAGS

2020 Season Overview; The Jersey Offense

After an exciting back and forth season full of good performances and ending with a division title, comeback playoff series wins and disappointing showing in the World Series the 2020 season as a whole can only be called a success.  Yes, the ultimate goal to bring the first championship to the Jersey Shore didn't happen, but the D-Bags did win the CL Crown for the 2nd time in 11 years and the CL East crown for the 3rd time.

Instead of breaking down the games and playoff series, we will look at the roster as a whole.  The first segment we will break down the offense.

With the addition of some young players, a FA acquisition and big time stars Jersey put up an offensive show for the ages in 2020.  With a combined slugging percentage of .486, this Jersey Shore team slugged higher than anytime in the history of the BSA and it's 244 HR were 2nd only to the 2018 Greenville 84's.  They lead the CL in batting average, OPS, hits, extra base hits and runs to go with the HR.  In a league and especially in a division that is known for it's hitting Jersey bested them all.  The team had 9 players in double digit HR's and 5 of them slugged 20 or more this season.  The team also boasted 7 players who hit 29 or more doubles, a category in which they lead the CL with 327.  

The Stars

The offense was led by the team's best player two-time MVP Mike Bryant.  At age 32 he showed small signs of slowing down but still led the team with 40 HR and 133 RBI.  It was the first year in his career that he failed to secure 200 hits and hit .300, but still managed 64.1 VORP and 6 WAR.  Not to be out shined, but a slow first half "slowed" down up and coming superstar Dave Dodd hit 39 doubles, 37 HR and knocked in 117 runs to finish a little behind last year which was his best season in the pros.  His 6.7 WAR was a team best and reduced his strikeouts for the 4th year in a row.

The Career Year

When you have an offense that helps break records you have to have career years as well.  Jersey got just that from their 28 year old SS Lawrence Schroeder playing in his 4th full season as a starter.  He had a career year across the board posting a .306/.341/.542 line with a career best 132 OPS+ and 4.7 WAR.  His 50 doubles was a career high and good for the 2nd in the league and he hadn't missed a month during the year his HR and RBI totals would have been a career high as well.  2nd year starter 

The Breakout Year

In his 2nd year as a full time starter, former 1st round pick, Fabrice Brodeur had that breakout year for the team.  Starting mainly at 3B he played above average defense while posting a line of .325/.365/.465 and finishing the season with 155 hits and 52 extra base hits mainly hitting towards the bottom of the order.  If he would have gotten just 18 more plate appearances he would have been eligible for the batting title and would have finished 5th in the CL in hitting.

The Rookie

What's a successful offense without a hot hitting rookie?  For Jersey it was 1B Tadahisa Kisuki.  After mashing in AAA over a span of 3 seasons he got the call and started from day 1.  His 30 HR and 105 RBI both ranked 2nd on the team and he led the team with 189 hits.  At only 24 years old he looks like he could be a force in the league for a long time.  With his 30 2B and 30 HR, he becomes on the 4th player in franchise history to hit the 30-30 mark behind Bryant, Dodd and Matt Doyle

The Acquisition

After hitting 38 HR in 2019 it was a little surprising that D-Bags signed 31 year catcher Fernando Ramos formerly of the Boston Rebels.  GM Swain must have seen something we didn't.  While they split time very evenly behind the plate, Ramos had a career year while only getting 305 AB.  He posted a line of .298/.396/.577 hitting 24 HR.  A full season of that he is posting 6.5 WAR and hitting nearly 50 HR.  With Goyer being a pending free agent, all signs point at Ramos being a full time starter next season.

GO D-BAGS

Early Jersey Trade Bock

Though we have just hit June 1st and the trade deadline sits just less than 2 months away we have already seen a handful of BSA trades where veterans have been swapped for prospects.  Contending teams starting early before the frenzy of the July comes.  With that being said, here is an early Jersey Shore Trade Block:

One of Jersey's strong points is the bullpen.  Their 3.30 ERA sits 2nd in the CL and they have a slew of talent in AAA as well.

LHP Phillip Moran - The 32 year old is enjoying a much better year in his 2nd year in Jersey, carrying a 3.06 ERA in 35 innings pitched.  His K/9 is over 10 while posting an ERA+ of 140.  He has a team option of $4 million next season, but with the emergence of Gerald Johnson and the comeback after 14 months after a nasty injury to Hyo-chin Kim, this lefty is available.

C Warren Goyer - The signing of Fernando Ramos in the offseason had Jersey fans thinking Goyer's days might be numbered and after seeing Ramos severely out-hit Goyer in the first 2 months of the season, things are looking that way.  At age 31, Goyer is coming off of a 38 HR season and is in the last year of 4-year deal given to him by Jersey after acquiring him from Cleveland in 2016.  He still has elite power and rumors have it he is looking for a very modest extension.

1B/3B Alberto Perez - A D-Bag for life, Perez lost his starting position at 1B when rookie Kisuki was called up before the season.  The 32 year old has a career slash line of .293/.341/.422.  He still plays an above average 3B and has a slick glove at 1B.  He is in the last year of his contract and is also looking for a short term extension for any team that is interested in acquiring him.

LF/RF Jose Ortiz - A 4th or 5th option a crowded Jersey OF over the years, Ortiz has above average contact, a knack for hitting the ball to the gap and rarely strikes out.  Currently making only $1.25M this season, he will become a free agent at the end of the year.  With Berroa and Mendoza knocking on the door from AAA, Ortiz is very much a trade-able asset.

Now we will also accept offers on other players, but these are very much the most available.  Feel free to make offers on other relievers as there is a long list of quality arms in the majors and AAA who can help many teams out.

With all the slew of talent, we are looking to restock the farm system.  Just letting that be known before offers start being made.  

GO D-BAGS

Titans Use Long Ball to Tie Series at 2; D-Bags Lose Brodeur

The Titans made up for their inefficiencies at the plate in Game 1 by showing off their powerful offense in Game 2.  Toronto pounded out 14 hits, including 5 for extra bases and 4 of them being home runs as they scored in 6 of the first 7 innings to jump out to a 7-0 lead before eventually winning Game 2, 7-3.  2nd year pitcher and 17 game winner Sergio Martinez struggled as the Titans tagged him for 8 hits, 3 of which were home runs, 5 earned runs in only 3.2 IP.  It marked his 2nd shortest start of the year and only game of the year where he gave up 3 home runs.

Not only was the pitching sluggish for the D-Bags the bats weren't much better.  Though they did manage 8 hits and 4 of them for extra bases, 4 of those hits came in the last two innings, including Goyer's 2 run HR in the 9th.  Jersey scored all 3 of their runs in the last two frames.  Not only did Jersey struggle on both sides of the ball, they also lost their 2B/SS/3B Fabrice Brodeur for the foreseeable future.  Brodeur led off the 5th inning with a double down the right field line and came up limping as he got to 2nd.  Adam Morrow would pinch run for him as he was helped off the field with a limp.  He is diagnosed with a strained hamstring and is likely gone for the season.  A blow to Jersey defensively, but also was productive with the bat for the past 2 months.

Tim Harmon, starter for Toronto, had his best month of the season in September, kept it going in Game 2 allowing 4 hits and 3 walks while striking out 6 batters through 6 scoreless innings.  Not bad for his first post season start after spending the the previous 5 years of his career as a member of the New York Knights.

Stars Luis Gonzalez and Kevin Beasley did most of the damage for the Titans, going a combined 6-8 with 3 runs scored, 3 RBI and a walk.  Two of those hits were home runs by Gonzalez.  The other homers for Toronto came from catcher Manuel Gonzalez and SS Eugenio Lucero.

Game 3 will be in Toronto after an off day.  SP Jose Lara will go for Jersey, while 23 year old Jose Gonzales will take the bump for Toronto.

GO D-BAGS

Milestone for Bryant; Smashes HR #250

I'm sure the league has to be sick of hearing the name Mike Bryant by now.  The superstar now in his 6th full season and 7th total season continues to put up eye popping stats year in and year out.  Earlier this season he was selected to his 6th straight All-Star game and after a "slow" month of April Byrant has hit at least 6 HR and 20 RBI in every month, hit above .330 with an OBP of over 400 in every month except for May and is currently having his most productive month with a week still left over.  

On August 12th, 2019, the first game of a 10 day roadtrip, Bryant didn't take much time hitting a towering fly down the RF line into the 2nd deck of Red Box Field in Madison off of 24 year old reliever turned starter Robinson Gonzales for his 250th career bomb.  Bryant became only the 14th batter to reach this milestone behind classic sluggers such as Crowe, Sagar, Yoko, Delaney, Rivas, Fujita, Alston, Torres, Chouda, Newell and most recently Copriviza.  Not a bad group of players to be associated with.

At the current pace he is on with ~5 or so weeks to go in the season, Bryant would reach 37+ HR for the 6th straight year, 208+ hits for the 6th straight year as well as 119+ RBI also for the 6th straight year.  While he seems to have lost a tiny step on defense and on the basepaths there is really no denying his bat is still going strong.  Bryant will turn 32 a few weeks before the 2020 season and all of Jersey Shore is hoping he ages gracefully continuing to be the heart and soul of the powerful offense.  With his current pace, Bryant should hit the magical 1500 hit mark at some point next season and if he continues on his career HR pace, the 300 HR mark could be hit near the end of next season.

With the emergence of Dave Dodd as a bonafide superstar, he and Bryant make for the one of the most dangerous duos in the current BSA.  They lead all duos with a combined 66 HR, 207 RBI, 193 runs scored and 594 total bases.  Throw in catcher Warren Goyer and the trio makes up for 3 of the top 4 HR hitters in the CL this season.  Will this be enough to push Jersey into the post season?  We can only hope so.  With 5 weeks left in the regular season, Greenville is making a charge and sits 5 games behind Jersey.  The D-Bags only hold a slight lead on the current Wild Card team, the Pocatello Bocabellas as well.  It should be a fun 5 weeks in the CL!

GO D-BAGS

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

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

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

Jersey Clinches 1st Division Title; Breaks CL Record for Wins

An improbable season, an improbable break out star, business as usual for the D-Bags.  September 14th, Jersey was on the road in the middle of a 3 game series with the Vista Panthers.  After winning the first game of the series 4-2, Jersey knew that this was the first day they would have a shot at clinching the the CL Eastern division for the first time in their history.  It would take a Jersey win over Vista and a Greenville loss at Reno to clinch on that night, not probable, but what was probable this season?

Both games started at 7:05 MST and were played in the Pacific time zones.  Jersey would get the scoring started in the 2nd inning, when singles by Goyer and Perez would put runners on the corners with one out.  A RBI single by 3B Adam Morrow would score Goyer and back to back wild pitches from Michael Hoffmeyer would bring in Perez making it 2-0 Bags in the 2nd.  Vista would get one back when a Yun-qi Qiao would hit an RBI groundout making it a 2-1 game after 2 innings of play. 

Jersey 2-1. End of 2.

Cruising along in Reno, the Cards would get on the board first when Kent Hall, who is having a very rough year, doubled down the left field line scoring breakout rookie Sugiyama who had earlier tripled.  Reno would lead 1-0 after 3.

Reno 1-0. End of 3.

Back to Vista, it didn't take long for Jersey to get the run they gave Vista in the 2nd as they quickly loaded the bases and Mike Bryant would score on a long fly out sac-fly from Warren Goyer.  A walk from rookie Fransisco Ibarra would re-load the bases for Alberto Perez, whose solid hit line drive would find the outfield and bring home 2 more runs making the Jersey lead 5-1. A 1-2-3 inning on 3 pitches from Greg Schaefer would put Jersey to bat again and MVP candidate Bryant hit a scorching line drive that left the park easy for a 6-1 Jersey lead which would stand through the 4th.

Jersey 6-1. End of 4.

While Jersey was busy scoring in Vista, 1st overall pick in this year's amateur draft Jaime Guzman and and fellow 21 year old rookie Cristobal Santos had a pitchers duel going.  Few men reached base as threw zeros  up on the board which lasted until the bottom half of the 6th inning.  Free agent signing Cade Delaney would hit a fly ball that looked routine which just kept carrying 401 feet for his 34th HR of the year giving Reno a 2-0 lead heading into the 7th inning.

Reno 2-0.  End of 6. 

After getting in a little trouble in the 5th Greg Schaefer switched on cruise control and would walk one and hit one batter over the next 3 innings.  Jersey threatened a couple of times but Vista pitching would skirt out of trouble each time as the score remained the same through 7 innings.

Jersey 6-1. End of 7.

Players like Jaime Guzman are the reasons Reno fans have bright hope for the future.  Guzman would go 7 1/3 before being pulled after a 10-pitch AB resulting in a single from 84's catcher Fransisco Diaz.  It was by far the rookie's best ever outing and left to an ovation from the Reno crowd.  A combination of relievers would take us to the bottom half of the inning where Kent Hall's 2nd RBI double of the game gave Reno a 3-0 heading into the 9th inning.  Closer Didyu Ghosh would be called upon to save the game for the Cards.  He would get Donahue and Hickman easily before a mini scare as former MVP Felix Morales would ruin the shutout with a solo HR into the RF bleachers.  It would take only 3 pitches to get promising youngster Enzo Diaz to groundout and secure the win for the Cards.

Reno 3-1. FINAL 9:32 MST.

The final score was posted on the scoreboard in Vista and cheers came from the Jersey dugout and sparingly throughout the crowd.  Schaefer would be pulled after 7 1/3 finishing his night on his 6th K of night night getting Artie Kelley swinging.  Jose Gomes would take over and finish the 8th and 9th with no more trouble sending the D-Bags running out onto the field as 1B Alberto Perez fielded an unassisted ground-out for the final out of the game.  Smiles could be seen around the crowd and Schaefer received a gatorade bath as this performance improved his record to 17-3 on the season, his previous career high coming in 2015 with 13 wins.

Jersey 6-1. FINAL 10:14 MST.

This win was Jersey's 109th win of the season and later and 4 days later with a walk-off win against Seattle Jersey would break the CL record for wins in a season with 112 which was previously set by the Regina River Sharks (now Austin) in the 2013 season where they would advance to the World Series. At the time of this publication Jersey sat with a 117-42 record with 3 games left to play in the season.  117 wins puts them 3rd all time behind two juggernaut Hendersonville teams of 2015 and 2014. 

Not only did this Jersey team set the record for most wins in the CL, they also clinched the best record in the BSA this season, the 1st time a CL team will ever finish with the most wins in the BSA for a season.  Quite an improbable run from a team who lost their ace in spring training which left big question marks heading into this season.  With 3 games left, GM Swain plans on playing mainly back ups and saving pitchers to start in the playoffs.

It has been confirmed that Jersey will take on Austin in the 1st round of the playoffs.  Swain has come out and said they plan on throwing Ramos, Schaefer and Ellis in the 1st 3 games as well.   Here's to the boys finishing the season strong and looking forward to this year's playoffs!

GO D-BAGS

Mike Bryant August 2017; The Best Month......Ever?

We have seen a lot out of Mr. Mike Bryant in what is almost a 4.5 year BSA career.  Last year we saw the league's only 2nd Triple Crown.  In 3 full seasons he has finished 2nd, 2nd and 1st in MVP voting.  We have seen him rise to the top of the ranks in almost every category in Jersey Shore history and start climbing the all-time ranks in BSA history.  He has won the Player of the Week award 11 times and Player of the Month Award 6 times and been named to the CL All Star team all 4 seasons now that he has been eligible.  That is a lot of accomplishments, but did we just see the best month a hitter has ever put up in BSA history? Let's break it down.

Bryant has had a lot of stellar months.  You don't win the CL Player of the Month with lousy statistics, something he had done 5 times before his explosion in August.  In fact he won the award in April of this year as well.

April stat line:

.400/.455/.691/1.145   25 G, 110 AB, 44 hits, 9 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 1 SB

Now he came out of the gates hot.  Averaging more than 1 RBI per game and almost getting 2 hits per contest while putting up an amazing 1.145 OPS.  A great month for sure.  

Now let's look at August:

.439/.480/.930/1.409   27 G, 114 AB, 50 hits, 3 2B, 4 3B, 15 HR, 41 RBI, 5 SB

Mind boggling numbers.  It's the first time I have noticed a player having 50 hits OR 15 HR in one month, and he did them both. A slugging percentage of of .930.  He had 16 multi-hit games, including 10 with 3 hits or more.  There were 3 multi-HR games and 13 multi-RBI games.  Quite frankly he was near impossible to get out during the month.  

This season there have been 16 players who have recorded double digit HR months.  There have only been 3 that have had at least 13 HR in a month.  Jersey catcher Warren Goyer had 13 in June, almost unnoticed Charles-Antoine Champagne had 14 this past month in August, and Bryant's 15.

There have been 3 players this season to have 45 or more hits in a month this season.  Reno's Seung-Chun Mun and Boston's Rob Whitley both had 46 hits in May, and Bryant's 50 coming in August.

As for OPS, Bryant is the only player this season with more than 75 AB in a month to have over the 1.250 mark for the month......and he finished August at 1.409.

At least in the year of 2017 no one has come close to touching what Bryant has done in this last month.  After writing a monthly write-up for every month for the past couple years, it is the best month from a Jersey player and it isn't really close.  With less than a month left to go, can Bryant keep it up and go on to win his 2nd straight MVP award?  Could he possibly catch his own teammate Goyer and over take him for the HR lead and possibly win his 2nd straight Triple Crown award?  With Jersey Shore all but has already clinched the CL East division title for the first time in their history and BSA's best record, can they keep the passion alive and thrive in the 2017 playoffs?  All we know is Bryant is on pace for his 4th straight 200+ hit, 37+ HR, 130+ RBI. .323+/.379+/.560+ season in a row.  Can he help lead Jersey to a BSA title?  Only time will tell.

GO D-BAGS

BSA Hits Mid-Summer Classic; Bags Send 6 Players

We reached the unofficial halfway point of the 2017 season where the league's stars headed off to Niagara Falls for the 2017 All-Star game.  It comes as no surprise in a season where Jersey has produced the best record in the BSA that they would send more players to the game than they ever had before.  Jersey had set the bar last year sending 5 players but they one upped the 2016 team by sending 6 players this season, including 3 first timers.  

SP Jose Ramos: 8-4, 3.35 ERA.  The young ace of the staff in his first full season in the BSA gets the nod for the first time as an All-Star.  After bursting on the scene last year, Ramos future appears to be very bright.  On the season he also has 3 complete games and his first career shutout coming against Greenville in May.

SP Greg Schaefer: 13-0, 3.07 ERA. It seems it just took Schaefer a little longer to develop than your average BSA player.  Playing in his 6th season in the BSA, Schaefer has gotten better every year reaching his 1st BSA All-Star game at age 27.  At the time of the break he had yet to lose a game, which would eventually be halted after 23 starts, which is the 5th longest streak in BSA history.   

CL Jaime Saenz:  4-1, 29 saves, 1.84 ERA.  In his 2nd year as the Jersey closer, Saenz has been named to his 2nd straight All-Star game.  The flame throwing lefty leads the CL in saves while his 11.83 K/9 is the 2nd best in his career.  He is on pace to shatter his own team saves record of 40 which he set last season.

C Warren Goyer: 26 HR, 73 RBI.  Jersey's starting catcher in his first full season in Jersey after coming over Cleveland in a trade last season is putting up bigger numbers than anyone could have imagined.  His 26 HR put him in a tie atop the CL HR leader-board and puts him in a position to challenge Matt Doyle's team record of 44 which happened in 2015.  Goyer has 4 multi-HR games this season, including a 3-HR game June 26th against Toronto.

2B Mike Bryant:  .311, 19 HR, 68 RBI.  While Bryant isn't re-producing the numbers he put up last season in his triple-crown season, he was still almost a unanimous choice for the starting position at 2B for the CL.  Bryant is in his 4th full season and is making his 4th All-Star appearance.  He is one of 27 players all time to be selected to the Mid-Summer classic 4 or more times.  Bryant passed the 150 HR mark this season and will surpass 1000 hits sometime early next season.  He leads the franchise in both categories.

DH Matt Doyle: .309, 24 HR, 84 RBI.  For the 3rd straight year Doyle will be headed to the All-Star game and first time as a DH.  With Alberto Perez manning 1B for much of the season Doyle has been solely used for his bat, which he doesn't seem to mind.  At the time of the break Doyle was leading the CL in RBI with 84 and on pace for his 4th straight 100 RBI season.  Doyle should hit the 150 HR mark at 500 RBI mark later this season.

GO D-BAGS

June In Review; D-Bags Coast to Best Month in Team History

After two 20- win months to start the season people were ready for the "new season" shine to wear off.  Waiting for Jersey Shore to fall back with the pack.  The team apparently wasn't ready for that.  For the 3rd straight month the team won 20 games and in the end it turned into the best month in team history.  The Bags compiled a 24-4 record, which included a team record 18-game win streak and on July 1st puts Jersey up 9 games even on 2nd place Greenville not only for the division but also the best record in the BSA.  The team continues to click on all cylinders, Top 2 in batting average, runs scored, ERA, runs allowed and defesive efficiency.

Players of the Month

1B/DH Matt Doyle: .384/.465/.705  10 HR 35 RBI  43 H  26 R.  Why not start out with the BSA CL Player of the Month as one of our players of the month?  After struggling through April, Doyle showed us why he is.....Matt Doyle.  He had 14 multi-hit games, including back to back multi-HR games against Toronto, the 2nd being his 2nd 5 hit game of his career.  He also hit 2 HR and knocked in 6 runs in that contest.  Surprisingly this was the first time Doyle has been awarded the CL award for Batter of the Month in his short, but great, 4 year career.

C Warren Goyer: .280/.333/.731  13 HR  33 RBI 20 R.  If a player not named Doyle was going to win Batter of the Month, it probably would have been Goyer.  He played in 24 games and hit 13 HR, which as far as I can tell is a Jersey record, breaking the previous record of 12 set on several different occasions.  Goyer was named Player of the Week in the CL for the first week of June, which was the first honor of it's kind for Goyer in his career.  His best game of the month came against Toronto where he had his first career 3 HR game, had 4 hits, scored 4 runs and knocked in 7.

MR Jose Ruiz: 4-0, 1.20 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 15IP, 20K.  The 24 year old Ruiz keeps getting better.  Not only this season but in his career as well.  He posted his best month of 2017 while his stats across the board are the best in his career.  Those numbers include ERA, WHIP, K/9, BB/9, K/BB, H/9 and HR/9.  He seems to be on track to be another great reliever in the Jersey system.

MR Lucio Tapia: 3-0, 0.60 ERA, 0.93 ERA, 15IP, 13K.  If anyone in the middle innings was better in June than Ruiz, it was Tapia.  Allowing only 8 hits and 1 ER in 15 innings helped bridged the gap in a month where starting pitching wasn't THAT good. Tapia in his 7th year in the Jersey bullpen is currently posting the 2nd lowest ERA in his career and lowest WHIP.  This is the 5th season where he has won at least 6 games. For his Jersey Shore career he posts a 36-11  record.

CL Jaime Saenz: 3-0, 9 saves, 0.48 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 30 K.  Why not save the best for last?  Saenz won the CL Pitcher of the Month for June and well deserved.  He as virtually unhittable.  After a blip against Madison early in the month he went on a streak of 15 shutout innings giving up 9 hits and walking 3 in those innings.  His 25 saves as of July 1st lead the CL.  After having the lowest K/9 rate in his career last year, he has come back this year with a bang averaging a career high 12.49 K/9.

Questions, Answers and Concerns:
We asked this question last month, but what else is there to say?  How many concerns can you have when the team is playing at such a high level?  Towards the middle of the month leadoff man Peter Larson sprained a hamstring playing the outfield and missed the rest of the month.  After rehab we expect him back towards the end of July.  It's not the first time in his career he has been injured, but he has been relatively healthy over the last 2 seasons.  Towards the end of the month of the 27th the outfield took another blow as Jose Ortiz strained his oblique making a sliding catch in the gap against the Titans.  At first he seemed to be fine but was taken out of the game.  He is expected to miss about 5 more weeks which will put him back on the team sometime in August.  Expect to see Al Ryan and/or Taro Kino in the coming weeks.  Ryan has been up since Larson got injured and has played well in his absence.

I would say this is a perfect chance for Top Prospect Fransisco Ibarra to make his debut but he is also shelved on the DL with tendinitis in his right knee.  Updating the injury front, SP Art Ellis still remains 7 or so weeks out until he will start a throwing program and head for rehab.

The Bags made a trade that went on with little publicity trading for the often troubled SP Drew "Onion" Schaefer formally of the Niagara Falls Frenzy.  Scouts still see him as having very talented but at age 26 time is running out for him to perform.  Before coming to Jersey he posted a 2-11 record with a 7.69 ERA in 18 starts and having a WHIP above 2.  In his only Jersey start for the month he was crushed by Toronto, being pulled in the 4th inning giving up 7 ER on 6 hits and 7 BB.  With such a big lead Jersey may be able to be patient with him and see if he can mature and learn something playing with many veterans on the Jersey staff.

Even though Schaefer was struggling doesn't mean he was cheap.  Jersey gave up promising 20 year old OF Guillermo Sanchez who Jersey's scout has rated 4* and learning CF for the past 2 seasons.  Also leaving Jersey was 21 year old MR Ruben Rojas who was having a good year at A ball Manhattan.  Rojas has an explosive arm and can hit 100 MPH on a good day, but with Jersey's MR depth he was far down on the list.    Also leaving was 22 year old Jesus Herrera.  Hererra isn't the most naturally gifted player, but with top speed and above average contact he had been a terror in AAA this season, hitting over .400 with Tuscaloosa and winning May's Minor League Player of the Month for Jersey.  He project's as a 3rd-4th OF.

Minor League Players of the Month
Pitcher
SP Victor Rivera (A): 4-0, 1.60 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 33.2 IP, 47 K.  At 19, Rivera is starting to show up on scout's radars.  He is hitting 99-100 MPH with his fastball, something we have never seen before. His 12.05 K/9 is 4th in the Midwest league for SP and the only pitchers ahead of him are 29, 30 and 30 years old.  He posts a record of 8-4 and is coming off a 15 K game, which was only the 5th of it's kind in Midwest League history.  Don't be shocked to see him get moved up to AA in the coming weeks.


Hitter
OF Fransisco Calderon (AAA):  .407/.490/.889.  10 HR, 32 RBI, 33 H, 24 R.  Calderon, just 22 years old, has always had that power, well....according to scouts.  Before last season the highest amount of HR he
had hit in a season was 7.  Between AA and AAA last year he hit 20.  Through 3 months in 2017 he already has 19.  The plus speed OF from Cuban was originally discovered by Greenville.  He spent a month with the LA organization before being released in Feb 2013 before signing with Jersey.  With his new found power, top speed and above average OF skills we might just see him in Jersey  in the coming  months.

July is a month where Jersey plays 16 of their 25 games at home, but will see teams Vista, Greenville, Austin, Chicago and Orlando.  Not the easiest schedule.  If the Bags can hold their lead on the 84er's through the month the Bags could be on their way to their first division title in the franchise's history.  We hate to be to optomistic but with a lead of almost 20 games over the first WC team, we have good inclination that the Bags will reach the playoffs for the 3rd straight year.

GO D-BAGS

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. 

Jersey Slides to 12-14 July Record

A theme is occurring this season in Jersey and it isn't a position one.  We just finished the 4th month of the season and each month in succession has gotten worse than the last.  The most recent was an up and down  with a lot of struggling finishing with their first under .500 month of the season with a record at 12-14.  It included losing 3 of 4 at home to division mate Madison, being swept on the road at rival Greenvilleand losing 4 of their final 6 games of the month to Maui and Niagara Falls.  The only constant was the play of The Machine, Mikey Bryant, who put the team on his back.

Players of the Month
2B Mike Bryant: .364/.405/.673  8 HR, 29 RBI, 10 2B.  Bryant kept his onslaught of the league posting huge numbers on his way to his 2nd Player of the Month award for the CL this year.  In fact, Bryant loves hitting in July.  It is the 3rd year in a row he has won the July player of the month for the CL, that has to be a record.  He continues his record pace where he still has has his eyes set on setting league records for hits, RBI, total bases, WAR and VORP.


3B Alberto Perez: .337/.432/.459  33 hits, 12 2B, 18 BB.  Perez continues to be a solid contributor this season, most coming from the 2 hole in the Jersey lineup.  His 33 hits gives him 30+ hits in 3 of the 4 months this season and his average puts him top 5 in the CL in batting.  Not only that, he also knocked in the game winning run in this month's all star game. 

MR Jose Gomes: 3-1, 1 Sv, 1.02 ERA, 25K in 17.2 IP.  What a year or resurgence for Dog Pound.  He has given up 2 ER in his last 55 IP and is posting the best season of his career.  On pace for career highs in IP, W, and K Gomes was also selected to this year's all star game, the first of his career.

CL Jaime Saenz:  3 saves, 0.93 ERA, 9 K in 9.2IP.  Lack of wins kept his save numbers down but he was all business as usual giving up 1 run in his 9.2 IP for the month.  With Saenz and Gomes anchoring the back end of the pen, not many games slide out of Jersey's hands.  This marks the 6th year the two remained bullpen mates in the Jersey pen

Questions, Concerns, and Answers
The real question is, can it get worse?  If the trend follows August should be Jersey's worst month of the season, but let's hope that doesn't happen. As of August 1st, Jersey sits 2.5 games behind the Chicago Machine for the CL Wild Card lead.  A familiar position for Jersey, who has seemingly been in the hunt every year as of late.

Jersey fans got a nice surprise when super prospect and No. 1 prospect on OSA's Top 100 list, Jose Ramos was called up to start the game before the All Star game.  Ramos ended getting a no decision but baffled Madison hitters only giving up 4 hits in 8 IP, including 3 ER as well as striking out 3.  In 3 other starts Ramos would dazzle against Pocatello and Chicago, giving up 1 ER in 16 innings against the 2 before getting lit up against Niagara Falls for 6 ER in 5.1 IP.  If his stuff so far is any indication, he is here to stay.

While speaking of pitching, what is going on with Jerry Burgess?  In 4 starts in July he failed to get out of the 6th inning and twice not even able to finish 5 innings.  In those starts he had a combined 17 K to 16 BB.  He has never been known for his control, but it's never been this bad.  If this continues, and Ramos stays up, it might mean a bullpen assignment or a demotion to AAA for Burgess.

Jersey welcomed back Al Ryan this month, but only played in 2 games.  He should return to his OF position in the lineup against RHP thought.  Leon Foster finally came off the DL after his re-injury and will rehab probably till the 2nd week of August before coming back to the big club.  OF Jose Ortiz came off the DL with his strained back to play 3 games and to strain his oblique which will put him on the shelf for 6 more weeks.  This led to increased AB's for Taro Kino, who had his best 5 game stretch of his career piking up 4 multi hit games, including two 3 hit games, 6 xtra base hits, and 6 RBI.  He cooled down considerably towards the end of the month and was sent back to AAA to make room for Al Ryan.

With the addition of Warren Goyer, Albert Lopez was sent back to AAA where he will be the starter.  With Adam Morrow continuing to struggle and former 1st round pick Lawrence Schroeder still killing AAA pitching, might there be a swap in order this month? Also OF Fransisco Torres, still only 21, is posting an OBP north of .450 at AAA Tuscaloosa, while bringing speed and great defense thus far.  He could be a candidate to be called up as well.  Don't be surprised to see the Bags shake it up a bit to try and turn around the slump.

Minor Leaguers of the Month
So who had it going on in the Bags system for the month of July?  We will recognize 2 new players here or stepped it up.  Last month's winners were SP Jesus Zapata and SS Lawrence Schroeder.

Pitcher
SP Henry Malone (AAA) 4-0, 1.93 ERA, 25K, 1.44 WHIP.  Malone, 29 year old career minor leaguer, put together a great month, starting 3 games and pitching 5 others out of the bullpen.  This marks the 4th straight year he has won over 12 games for Tuscaloosa.  There is still hope for Malone to hold down a 4th or 5th spot in some rotation in the BSA.




Hitter
OF Fransisco Ibarra (AA) .367/.441/.688  10 HR, 41 RBI, 40 hits, 15 SB.  Ibarra, in his 4th year in the D-Bags organization, has also had THAT potential.  Always been ranked Top 5 potential for D-Bag batters, got off to a slow start and struggled in limited AB's in his first 2 seasons.  Last year we finally got a glimpse of the hype when he hit 13 HR in 332 AB, but a .223 batting average kept him off the radar.  This year before the season he was named the 26th best prospect by OSA.  He got off to a promising start before be sidelined with a hamstring strain for 6 months, but after he came back he has been amazing.  His 41 RBI for the month mark a team record (that we could find) at any level, and his 10 HR increased his career HR by almost 33% and put high hope in what "could be" a 1-2 OF punch of Dodd-Ibarra in the Jersey Shore OF. 

GO D-BAGS

Bags Make First Trade in Over a Year; Get Goyer From Cleveland

GM Swain has never been known for his knee jerk reactions or long winded traded talks.  In fact Jersey Shore had not made a trade in over a year, the last coming when they brought Jerry Burgess in from El Paso for a handful of prospects.  On Tuesday the Bags completed their first trade since then.  According to sources talks went swiftly and were very concise which resulted in Catcher Warren Goyer, formerly of Cleveland coming to Jersey for 3 players.  Those players were MR Chris Woodruff, 3B Williams Seppings and former 1st round pick 3B Richard Coker.

Goyer is 27 in his 3rd year in the BSA.  He came up through Reno's system before being traded to Cleveland in 2015 where he got his first extended playing time.  In 429 AB, he hit a paltry .219, but did slug 18 2B, 18 HR and drove in 62 runs.  This season thus far he has seen the bulk of the playing time and in 353 AB, he has matched his totals from last year in doubles and has 17 HR while bring up the average to .238.  He has always had big power potential and Jersey thinks with their hitter friendly park they may have brought in a guy who can start and hit 30 HR.  Not bad for a team which already has the power in their lineup.  Current catcher Luis Antonio Duran who has been in the organization since 2011 and starting catcher for the past 4 is without a contract next season and rumors have it trading for Goyer was to replace Duran.  That will set to be seen, but with Duran looking for a big deal, that could be a possibility.

Leaving Jersey is MR Chris Woodruff who was claimed off of waivers before the season.  He could never get it going and demoted to AAA where he pitched decent.  He is 31 years old and has good pitches, he could put up decent numbers in Cleveland.

The 2nd player traded is 3B William Seppings.  He is 29 and been with the team since the inaugural draft, but hasn't seen much playing time in AAA the last couple years.  He is more or less just organizational filler and was included in the trade because he was on the 40 man roster and had a 400K contract.

The 3rd and last player going was the main piece.  Former 1st round pick, 1B/3B Richard Coker.  We recently did our prospect breakdown on Coker, which can be found: here.  Coker in his 4th year with the team was having his best year in AA and was on pace to be called up soon to AAA.  He was currently hitting .293/.391/.434. He has a high contact rate and hits the ball to the gap.  He lacks power and his walk rate has been going up while his K rate has been going down.  Scouts have compared him to a slightly less version of 3B Alberto Perez, who is on pace for 200 hits and hit the game winning single in the All Star game this season.  We here at the Bag Report will be keeping tabs on Coker and wish him the best in Cleveland.  

Will this be the only trade the Bags make until the deadline later this week?  Nothing is on the hot stove right now, but that could change in an instant.  Stay tuned Bag fans!

GO D-BAGS