Starting Pitching - Bags bring back the Big 4 with a new face
SP Jose Ramos - Coming off a 24 win season and 2nd in the Cy Young voting, this is the first year in his $163M contract. Ace.
SP Roland Martin - 2022 Rookie of the Year and 17 game winner last season, Martin is a budding star. With a devastating change-up, he and Ramos make a mean 1-2 punch.
SP Ramon Ruiz - Hard throwing lefty who struggled last season after 2 good years. Control will always be his issue, but has the stuff to strikeout 10/9 and be a great 3.
SP Sergio Martinez - Martinez has won at least 14 starts in 5 straight years now and rounds out a very good 1-4 staff. He is in a contract year and it will be interesting to see if this is his last year in Jersey.
SP Li-Xue Si-ma - With SP Gianluigi Ciotton being selected in the expansion draft to Nassau, the D-Bags looked to free agency to fill their #5 spot. Si-ma has previously won 14 games on 2 occasions in Maui and came over on a cheap 2 year deal. He walks a lot but does keep the ball in the ballpark.
The Bullpen
MR Angel Lara - Had an awful 2023 but won the job in ST. Hits 99 with his fastball but needs to improve on his K/BB which was less than 2.
MR John Hall - Groundball pitcher with a good fastball. Had his best season as a pro last year and will work middle relief.
MR Luis Cortez - 29 year old righty coming off 3 straight solid years. Won't overpower many hitters, but does have a tricky curveball in his arsenal, will also work the middle innings.
MR Claude Pinard - Left handed power arm who had 129 K's in 105 innings last year. Historically has been tougher on righties than lefties. His sinker is his out pitch and home runs off of him is a rarity.
MR Hyo-chin Kim - At 27, Kim is probably one of the best non-closers in the BSA. Career 3.03 ERA in 424 appearances and is only 27 years old. Coming off two sub-1.80 ERA years and will act as the set-up man.
CL Gerald Johnson - With back-to-back All Star appearances, Johnson is becoming one of the premier closers in baseball. He led the league with 42 saves last season while striking out more than 13 batters per 9.
In the Wings
SP Stephen Puckett - Former 2nd round pick out of High School, Puckett had a full year of AAA last season with decent results. He may not be ready now, but could be an injury fill in and possibly a staple in the rotation as soon as next year.
MR Gil Dickson - Dickson looked good and improved in what very little time he got after missing most of all 2023 to injury. If he can limit walks he should be an average reliever down the road.
MR Jonathan Phillips - Very hard throwing 25 year old right hander who can hit triple digits. He struck out 171 batters in 108 innings last year in AAA, but managed to walk 81 as well. Don't be surprised if he is the first reliever up this season.
MR Alfonso Martinez - 23 year old junk ball pitcher who survives with a great change-up. Struggled in AAA last year after walking more than 6 per 9 innings. He is still young, but the jury is still out.
GO D-BAGS
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