Jose Ramos, Roland Martin, Ramon Ruiz, Sergio Martinez and Stephen Puckett. The forceful rotation that was set to lead the Jersey Shore D-Bags to the playoffs and contend for their first BSA title. That's what many of fans and management alike saw heading into Spring Training for the 2026 BSA season. Fast forward to today, just 7 days left in the regular season and the D-Bags have clinched a playoff spot, but the starting rotation wasn't how they got there.
The injuries started on April 27th, when 5th starter and former Vista Panther, Cristobal Santos would leave a home game in the 2nd inning against Chicago with immense pain his shoulder. Jersey trainers were hoping it was a sprain, but news quickly came that he had a partially torn labrum which would require surgery and keep Santos out of action up to 4 months. To the DL goes Santos.
The D-Bags would promote super prospect Stephen Puckett to take his place and hopefully cement his place in the rotation for years to come. Everything was going smoothly especially with Jersey Shore up in 1st place in the CL East until June 6th when Puckett left a contest against the Madison Bombers with discomfort in his elbow. A worst case scenario was soon found out as Puckett would need surgery to remove bone spur from the elbow on his pitching arm. Best case scenario following surgery was a 4-5 month time frame, which would put Puckett out for the rest of the season.
Before the D-Bags had time to re-group, just 4 days later, 15 game winner from 2025 Ramon Ruiz would be pulled after 2 innings against Chicago and not return. Similar results would come back and Ruiz would require surgery to remove bone chips from his pitching elbow and would miss the rest of the season and could possibly push into Spring Training. What now?
With AAA also having a few injuries and the talent level barren, the D-Bags looked outside the organization and quickly sparked up a trade with the Vista Panthers. Jersey would bring in veteran starting pitchers Jesse Green and Jose Zamora looking to patch the rotation. To Vista went promising former 1st round pitching prospect Sloan Sanders, who at the time was dominating single-A pitching. Though neither were world beaters, Green and Zamora slotted into the 4th and 5th rotation slots.
With a strong bullpen and very strong offense, the D-Bags would trudge on through the summer months with the CL East lead in hand. On August 17th, Santos was sent to AAA for rehab and was recalled to the big club on September 7th. He was slotted back into the rotation and Zamora would head to the bullpen, though this wouldn't last long.
Just 10 days later staff ace and one of the team captains, 3 time 20 game winner Jose Ramos would leave a game with the Kings in the 2nd inning. Jersey brass feared the worst and soon received news that Ramos would be on the shelf for 3 months with bad elbow inflammation, effective ending his season. Since then the D-Bags have gone 3-7, coughing up the division lead.
With a week to play, the D-Bags who have clinched a playoff spot, trail their arch rival Greenville 84er's by 2 games and eye the playoffs down their top 2 starters and their ace young gun who they had such high hopes for. If the season ended today Jersey would host division rival St. Louis in the best of 3 Wild Card round with a win pitting them against the best team and a similiar built team in the Springfield Stars. For the D-Bags to advance deep into the playoffs, they must have Roland Martin and Sergio Martinez step up and lead this staff as winning slugfests in the playoffs are not how you win ballgames.
Can the D-Bags do it? Of course. Is the road a tough and very uncertain one? Very much so.
GO D-BAGS
Showing posts with label ruiz. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ruiz. Show all posts
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Friday, January 8, 2016
Meet the 2024 Pitching Staff
2023 saw the Jersey Shore D-Bags take another deep run into the playoffs before eventually falling to the World Champions Greenville 84's. While only losing one piece of the staff in the off-season, the staff remains nearly unchanged.
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
Thursday, May 28, 2015
D-Bags Head to Playoffs; Face Off Against Sheens
After missing the playoffs in 2021, the Jersey Shore D-Bags stormed back in 2022 winning 107 games and claiming the CL Wild Card with a comfortable margin. Those 107 wins are the 2nd best in team history after the 119 they won back in 2017. There were big years across the board as 4 starters won 15+ games, including Ramos and Martinez who both won 20+. Dave Dodd repeated as the CL Batting champion, while adding in 48 dingers and 130 RBI while Mike Bryant put up a very Bryant like line of .332-37 2B-37 HR-115 RBI. 3 others hit 20+ HR and they had a staggering 11 players hit double digit home runs. A great regular season no doubt, but the real season is about to begin and is the BSA playoffs.
In the 1st round the D-Bags will meet the St. Charles Sheens who won the CL West with a franchise best 101-61 season and the franchise's 1st playoff appearance since 2013 when they were located in Denver. The Sheens feature a good core of homegrown talent that includes Ware, Moss and Cantu. A group of players that joined through savvy trades including O'Sullivan, Wheeler, Mendelson, Escobedo, Carter and Rivera. And it's a young team with the only player over the age of 30 multiple All-Star catcher Victor Antelo. A well rounded team, young, hungry team.
With Jersey getting the Wild Card, St. Charles will be the host team and have the home field advantage at 4 games to 3. St. Charles won the season series 5-4 with 5 of those games being decided by only 1 run. Expect these series to be similar and close like the season series was.
Jersey Projected Starting Rotation:
Game 1 - Jose Ramos
Game 2 - Sergio Martinez
Game 3 - Roland Martin
Game 4 - Ramon Ruiz
Projected Starting Lineup Game 1:
LF Ricardo Berroa
1B Tadahisa Kisuki
DH Mike Bryant
RF Dave Dodd
C Fernando Ramos
2B Lawrence Schroeder
CF Fransisco Torres
3B Fabrice Brodeur
SS John Moore
GO D-BAGS
In the 1st round the D-Bags will meet the St. Charles Sheens who won the CL West with a franchise best 101-61 season and the franchise's 1st playoff appearance since 2013 when they were located in Denver. The Sheens feature a good core of homegrown talent that includes Ware, Moss and Cantu. A group of players that joined through savvy trades including O'Sullivan, Wheeler, Mendelson, Escobedo, Carter and Rivera. And it's a young team with the only player over the age of 30 multiple All-Star catcher Victor Antelo. A well rounded team, young, hungry team.
With Jersey getting the Wild Card, St. Charles will be the host team and have the home field advantage at 4 games to 3. St. Charles won the season series 5-4 with 5 of those games being decided by only 1 run. Expect these series to be similar and close like the season series was.
Jersey Projected Starting Rotation:
Game 1 - Jose Ramos
Game 2 - Sergio Martinez
Game 3 - Roland Martin
Game 4 - Ramon Ruiz
Projected Starting Lineup Game 1:
LF Ricardo Berroa
1B Tadahisa Kisuki
DH Mike Bryant
RF Dave Dodd
C Fernando Ramos
2B Lawrence Schroeder
CF Fransisco Torres
3B Fabrice Brodeur
SS John Moore
GO D-BAGS
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
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
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Meet Your 2021 Jersey Shore D-Bags Pitching Staff
A late in season run saw Jersey Shore capture their 3rd CL Eastern Division title in 4 years and their 2nd ever World Series appearance last season. Though they fell to Boston in 5 games, the season was considered a success and saw a lot of young players step in and make big contributions. A year later and a new season are upon us and we have a lot of familiar faces but the staff also has a few changes. Jersey lost 4 fairly big contributors from the past couple years. Those names include SP Art Ellis, SP Greg Schaefer, MR Phillip Moran and MR/CL Jose Ruiz. Who will be taking their spots? Find out below.
Pitching
Art Ellis really showed his age in the past 2 seasons and declining his large option was a no brainer for Jersey. Greg Schaefer on the other hand wasn't the easiest decision. Rumors have it that Jersey was in talks with Schaefer and at least 2 other clubs for a sign and trade, but nothing materialized. Coincidentally both of these players, including MR Jose Ruiz are all with division rival Madison now.
The Rotation
Jersey brings one of the strongest rotations we have seen from them in years. 4 members are under the age of 26 and Jose Ramos is coming off his best season as a pro. If they pitch up to their potential, Jersey should be very much in the hunt to win the East for a 4th time in 5 years.
Jose Ramos - 25 years old, IFA signing 2013 season. Ace of the staff, 41 wins over the last 2 seasons and finished 2nd to Lebel in Cy Young voting last season.
2020 stats: 18-5, 3.09 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 3.27 FIP, 3.45 K/BB
Contract: $7.06M. Signed through 2023 season.
Sergio Martinez - 24 yeras old, IFA signing 2013 season. After great 2019 season he took a step backwards last year. Jersey is hoping it was just a sophomore slump. Highly talented.
2020 stats: 14-10, 4.27 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 3.88 FIP, 1.61 K/BB
Contract: $2.59M. Signed through 2024 season.
Ramon Ruiz - 24 years old, IFA signing 2013 season. Ruiz got his feet wet last year getting 12 starts with mixed reviews. He really burst onto the scene in 2019 winning 21 games in AAA after being thought of as a C type prospect. His only downfall would seem to be his stamina.
2020 stats: 6-2, 4.46 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 3.65 FIP, 3.05 K/BB
Contract: $400K. Should become Arb eligible in 2023.
Jose Lara - 30 years old, acquired via trade with Toronto after the 2017 season. The elder statesman of the rotation, Lara has been a polarizing, up and down starter since coming to Jersey, not what they expected when the trade was made.
2020 stats: 12-10, 5.70 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 5.14 FIP, 2.23 K/BB
Contract: $15M. Signed through 2023 season,
Javier Garcia - 24 years old, acquired via trade with Vista during 2015 season. A strong spring training won the 5th spot for Garcia this year. After 3 straight years of striking out 225+ batters in AAA he got 3 starts last year for Jersey. Probably not a long term option, but can throw heat.
2020 stats: 1-1, 5.12 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 4.18 FIP, 2.75 K/BB
Contract: $400K. Should be arb eligible in 2024.
The Bullpen
The only loss in a fairly inexperienced pen was Ruiz but Jersey had the man power in AAA to replace him internally. Mungo's option was picked up to anchor the bullpen as it should be one of the team's strong points again this season.
Jaime Saenz - 35 years old, re-acquired via trade with Baffin Island during the 2020 season. The 2021 season will be the 10th Saenz will appear in Jersey. One of the better relievers in the game and hardest throwing pitchers.
2020 stats: 6-3, 35 saves. 2.43 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1.99 FIP, 4.95 K/BB.
Contract: $9M. Signed through the 2021 season.
Gerald Johnson - 25 years old, drafted 2015 in 1st compensatory round. Johnson is a closer in the wings, who is said to have one of the better fastballs in the league. Likes to keep the ball on the ground, only flaw is he lacks control at times.
2020 stats: 7-2, 10 saves. 2.45 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 2.76 FIP, 3.45 K/BB.
Contract: $1.04M. Signed through the 2025 season.
Angel Lara - 25 years old, signed as an IFA 2013 season. Hard throwing right hander and 2021 will be his 4th season in the Jersey pen. Like Johnson, groundball pitcher who avoids giving up the long ball.
2020 stats: 5-4, 2 saves. 3.76 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 3.18 FIP, 2.42 K/BB.
Contract: $820K. Signed through the 2022 season.
Hyo-chin Kim - 24 years old, signed a MLC during 2013 season. After tearing his UCL in spring training of the 2019 season and missing the entire year, he came back in 2020 and the best season of his career. This will be his 5th season in the pen and could be a future closer.
2020 stats: 6-1, 2 saves. 2.43 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 2.78 FIP, 5.71 K/BB
Contract: $1.49M. Signed though the 2026 season.
Luis Cortez - 26 years old, received via trade with Vista during the 2014 season. Talented hurler spending his 4th year as part of the Jersey pen, but has never pitched a full year, always bounced between Jersey and AAA. Out of options so it's time to put up numbers.
2020 stats: 0-1, 1 save. 5.14 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 5.63 FIP, 2.00 K/BB
Contract: $400K. Should be arb eligible in 2023.
Claude Pinard - 27 years old, drafted in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft. Pinard is a true rookie after taking a couple extra years to reach the pros. Was great last year as the closer in AAA and impressed in spring training.
2020 stats (AAA): 7-3, 16 saves. 2.45 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.05 FIP, 3.17 K/BB
Contract: $400K. Should become arb eligible in 2024.
Yin-zeng Zong - 30 years old, drafted in the 7th round of the 2013 draft. Zong is the only 7th round pick from 2013 to see major league action. Put up his best numbers as a pro last season and throws very hard.
2020 stats: 3-1. 1.89 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 3.58 FIP, 2.78 K/BB
Contract: $830K. Signed through 2023 season.
There you have it. Your 2021 Jersey Shore pitching staff. The 12 man rotation is a lot for the D-Bags who usually only carry 11 men. There are a few options in AAA including top prospect SP Roland Martin if injuries or poor play arise. Can this staff be one of the best in the CL? Only time will tell.
GO D-BAGS
Pitching
Art Ellis really showed his age in the past 2 seasons and declining his large option was a no brainer for Jersey. Greg Schaefer on the other hand wasn't the easiest decision. Rumors have it that Jersey was in talks with Schaefer and at least 2 other clubs for a sign and trade, but nothing materialized. Coincidentally both of these players, including MR Jose Ruiz are all with division rival Madison now.
The Rotation
Jersey brings one of the strongest rotations we have seen from them in years. 4 members are under the age of 26 and Jose Ramos is coming off his best season as a pro. If they pitch up to their potential, Jersey should be very much in the hunt to win the East for a 4th time in 5 years.
Jose Ramos - 25 years old, IFA signing 2013 season. Ace of the staff, 41 wins over the last 2 seasons and finished 2nd to Lebel in Cy Young voting last season.
2020 stats: 18-5, 3.09 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 3.27 FIP, 3.45 K/BB
Contract: $7.06M. Signed through 2023 season.
Sergio Martinez - 24 yeras old, IFA signing 2013 season. After great 2019 season he took a step backwards last year. Jersey is hoping it was just a sophomore slump. Highly talented.
2020 stats: 14-10, 4.27 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 3.88 FIP, 1.61 K/BB
Contract: $2.59M. Signed through 2024 season.
Ramon Ruiz - 24 years old, IFA signing 2013 season. Ruiz got his feet wet last year getting 12 starts with mixed reviews. He really burst onto the scene in 2019 winning 21 games in AAA after being thought of as a C type prospect. His only downfall would seem to be his stamina.
2020 stats: 6-2, 4.46 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 3.65 FIP, 3.05 K/BB
Contract: $400K. Should become Arb eligible in 2023.
Jose Lara - 30 years old, acquired via trade with Toronto after the 2017 season. The elder statesman of the rotation, Lara has been a polarizing, up and down starter since coming to Jersey, not what they expected when the trade was made.
2020 stats: 12-10, 5.70 ERA, 1.49 WHIP, 5.14 FIP, 2.23 K/BB
Contract: $15M. Signed through 2023 season,
Javier Garcia - 24 years old, acquired via trade with Vista during 2015 season. A strong spring training won the 5th spot for Garcia this year. After 3 straight years of striking out 225+ batters in AAA he got 3 starts last year for Jersey. Probably not a long term option, but can throw heat.
2020 stats: 1-1, 5.12 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 4.18 FIP, 2.75 K/BB
Contract: $400K. Should be arb eligible in 2024.
The Bullpen
The only loss in a fairly inexperienced pen was Ruiz but Jersey had the man power in AAA to replace him internally. Mungo's option was picked up to anchor the bullpen as it should be one of the team's strong points again this season.
Jaime Saenz - 35 years old, re-acquired via trade with Baffin Island during the 2020 season. The 2021 season will be the 10th Saenz will appear in Jersey. One of the better relievers in the game and hardest throwing pitchers.
2020 stats: 6-3, 35 saves. 2.43 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 1.99 FIP, 4.95 K/BB.
Contract: $9M. Signed through the 2021 season.
Gerald Johnson - 25 years old, drafted 2015 in 1st compensatory round. Johnson is a closer in the wings, who is said to have one of the better fastballs in the league. Likes to keep the ball on the ground, only flaw is he lacks control at times.
2020 stats: 7-2, 10 saves. 2.45 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 2.76 FIP, 3.45 K/BB.
Contract: $1.04M. Signed through the 2025 season.
Angel Lara - 25 years old, signed as an IFA 2013 season. Hard throwing right hander and 2021 will be his 4th season in the Jersey pen. Like Johnson, groundball pitcher who avoids giving up the long ball.
2020 stats: 5-4, 2 saves. 3.76 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 3.18 FIP, 2.42 K/BB.
Contract: $820K. Signed through the 2022 season.
Hyo-chin Kim - 24 years old, signed a MLC during 2013 season. After tearing his UCL in spring training of the 2019 season and missing the entire year, he came back in 2020 and the best season of his career. This will be his 5th season in the pen and could be a future closer.
2020 stats: 6-1, 2 saves. 2.43 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 2.78 FIP, 5.71 K/BB
Contract: $1.49M. Signed though the 2026 season.
Luis Cortez - 26 years old, received via trade with Vista during the 2014 season. Talented hurler spending his 4th year as part of the Jersey pen, but has never pitched a full year, always bounced between Jersey and AAA. Out of options so it's time to put up numbers.
2020 stats: 0-1, 1 save. 5.14 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 5.63 FIP, 2.00 K/BB
Contract: $400K. Should be arb eligible in 2023.
Claude Pinard - 27 years old, drafted in the 2nd round of the 2016 draft. Pinard is a true rookie after taking a couple extra years to reach the pros. Was great last year as the closer in AAA and impressed in spring training.
2020 stats (AAA): 7-3, 16 saves. 2.45 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.05 FIP, 3.17 K/BB
Contract: $400K. Should become arb eligible in 2024.
Yin-zeng Zong - 30 years old, drafted in the 7th round of the 2013 draft. Zong is the only 7th round pick from 2013 to see major league action. Put up his best numbers as a pro last season and throws very hard.
2020 stats: 3-1. 1.89 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 3.58 FIP, 2.78 K/BB
Contract: $830K. Signed through 2023 season.
There you have it. Your 2021 Jersey Shore pitching staff. The 12 man rotation is a lot for the D-Bags who usually only carry 11 men. There are a few options in AAA including top prospect SP Roland Martin if injuries or poor play arise. Can this staff be one of the best in the CL? Only time will tell.
GO D-BAGS
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Superstar in the Making?;Meet Rookie Ricardo Berroa
Not really too surprising but in his 2+ months in the big leagues, rookie Ricardo Berroa is excelling and adding another dangerous bat into an already potent offense in Jersey Shore. He was called up June 21st to play mainly against right handed pitching and hasn't looked back since. He started his career with a 16 game hit streak and through 49 games played and 194 plate appearances, Berroa has a line of .324/.387/.497 to go along with 13 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs and 6 stolen bases.
Berroa was discovered by scouts early in the 2016 season in Cuba and began his ascent through the Jersey Shore farm system. He came out of the gates a raw but talented 19 year old and was named the #22 prospect in all the BSA by the OSA scouting department prior to the 2017 season. That season he would go on to have a monster season in A ball putting up a 5.9 WAR and rightfully earned promotion to AA the following year.
As a 21 year old in AA, he would top his monster year in A ball by posting a 6.1 WAR to go with his .562 slugging percentage and 49 doubles. Jersey knew they had something special in Berroa. He was kept in AA the first month and a half of the 2019 season before being promoted to AAA Tuscaloosa. He would struggle adjusting to AAA pitching at first, but ended the 2019 season with a .273/.398/.528 in 66 games.
With a crowded outfield in Jersey Shore which included Vancini, Dodd, Torres, and Ibarra, Jersey chose not to invite Berroa to spring training and named him the starting LF in Tuscaloosa. The first 2.5 months of this season showed Jersey management they had no choice but to promote him. Berroa was hitting a career high .351 to go with an outstanding .466 on base percentage and an OPS of 1.207 when he got the call to the big league club. It was also the first time in his career where his walks would out number his strikeouts.
Combined with Jersey's 24 year old rookie starting 1B Tadahisa Kisuki and their trio of young starting pitchers in Jose Ramos, Sergio Martinez and Ramon Ruiz the future is bright for the D-Bags. Though it seems like he has been on the team forever as well, Dave Dodd is just 26 and on pace for another 5.5+ WAR season. So while the days of the solid core of Bryant/Perez/Morrow/Ellis get older this new group of core players look to help Jersey remain competitive well beyond the foreseeable future and hopefully for the next decade.
GO D-BAGS
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Jersey Pitching Sizzles in July; Ramos Takes Home Award
It was a great month for the Jersey Shore D-Bags, whom at the end of July saw themselves with a 3 game lead over slumping St. Louis in the CL East. While the bats continue to lead the league in most offensive categories, it was the pitching that came through to drive Jersey Shore to an 18-5, easily their best of the season. The starters combined to go 16-4 with 15 quality starts, 3 complete games and 1 personal shutout to go with another team shutout.
Ace Jose Ramos led the way, being named the Pitcher of the Month for the CL, the 4th time in his career he has been donned with that honor. He won all 5 starts he had in July, getting a quality start for every one of them and averaging a little over 8 innings per start. His final numbers for the month: 5 starts, 5-0, 41.2 IP, 1.51 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 21 K's to go along with just 5 BB. With a 13-4 record and league leading 2.34 ERA he might have a chance to catch up with Toronto phenom Albert Lebel in the Cy Young race who is out for the next 2-3 weeks.
Not only was Ramos perfect for Jersey, but we saw glimpses of the Jose Lara of old as he went 6-0 for the month, winning everyone of his starts as well, including a 109 piece masterpiece on 7/7 against Chicago. Lara threw his first shutout since 2014 and it was the 14th complete game of his career. His final numbers for the month: 6 starts, 6-0, 40.1 IP, 3.12 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 34 K's. Before the month began Lara was 2-6 with a nasty high ERA of 7.20. Through his 6 starts in July he lowered that to 5.64. While Lara is still only a fraction of the Lara we saw in Boston, stretches like this give Jersey fans hope that he can make some meaningful starts down the stretch and help lead Jersey back to the playoffs.
Is Art Ellis's job in trouble? After bouncing back somewhat from a horrible 2019 campaign, veteran Art Ellis had a good April and May before slipping in June and having a fairly terrible July. In his last 4 starts, though he is only responsible for a 0-1 record, he hasn't gotten out of the 5th inning and twice hasn't even gotten out of the 3rd. The almost 35 year old is making $12.25 million this year and has a team option for $14.75 million next year. At this point that option being picked up has to have a very slim chance of happening. 24 year old Ramon Ruiz who has ripped up AAA pitching this year, but struggled through 4 big league starts is slated to come off the DL this week and with a couple more bad Ellis starts.....could a change be made? If Jersey remains in a tight race down the stretch can they really send a struggling Ellis who has obviously lost a step and several MPH off of that fastball? As much as we would hate to see him go out on a low note....Ellis's days in Jersey might be limited.
GO D-BAGS
Ace Jose Ramos led the way, being named the Pitcher of the Month for the CL, the 4th time in his career he has been donned with that honor. He won all 5 starts he had in July, getting a quality start for every one of them and averaging a little over 8 innings per start. His final numbers for the month: 5 starts, 5-0, 41.2 IP, 1.51 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, and 21 K's to go along with just 5 BB. With a 13-4 record and league leading 2.34 ERA he might have a chance to catch up with Toronto phenom Albert Lebel in the Cy Young race who is out for the next 2-3 weeks.
Not only was Ramos perfect for Jersey, but we saw glimpses of the Jose Lara of old as he went 6-0 for the month, winning everyone of his starts as well, including a 109 piece masterpiece on 7/7 against Chicago. Lara threw his first shutout since 2014 and it was the 14th complete game of his career. His final numbers for the month: 6 starts, 6-0, 40.1 IP, 3.12 ERA, 1.21 WHIP and 34 K's. Before the month began Lara was 2-6 with a nasty high ERA of 7.20. Through his 6 starts in July he lowered that to 5.64. While Lara is still only a fraction of the Lara we saw in Boston, stretches like this give Jersey fans hope that he can make some meaningful starts down the stretch and help lead Jersey back to the playoffs.
Is Art Ellis's job in trouble? After bouncing back somewhat from a horrible 2019 campaign, veteran Art Ellis had a good April and May before slipping in June and having a fairly terrible July. In his last 4 starts, though he is only responsible for a 0-1 record, he hasn't gotten out of the 5th inning and twice hasn't even gotten out of the 3rd. The almost 35 year old is making $12.25 million this year and has a team option for $14.75 million next year. At this point that option being picked up has to have a very slim chance of happening. 24 year old Ramon Ruiz who has ripped up AAA pitching this year, but struggled through 4 big league starts is slated to come off the DL this week and with a couple more bad Ellis starts.....could a change be made? If Jersey remains in a tight race down the stretch can they really send a struggling Ellis who has obviously lost a step and several MPH off of that fastball? As much as we would hate to see him go out on a low note....Ellis's days in Jersey might be limited.
GO D-BAGS
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Jersey and Baffin Make Deal; Mungo Coming Home
After 8 seasons in Jersey blue, Jamie "Mungo" Saenz became a free agent and eventually signed a 3 year, $19 million dollar deal to switch coasts and pitch for the Seattle Pikes. Jersey was the only team and organization he had ever known after joining the Jersey organization in April 2010. Ownership wanted to keep him but salary restraints and the fact that the D-Bags have a knack for producing a high level of major league quality middle relief pitching, the fans had to watch their closer, 2-time All-Star and 2017 Reliever of the Year leave.
Jose Ruiz stepped in last year, saved 40 games and was elected to the All-Star team. He struggled this season blowing 2 saves and having 4 losses pinned on him before handing the reigns to the young Gerald "Top Dog" Johnson. While Johnson has an electric fastball that can reach 99 on the gun, first time closing duties aren't always a success. Johnson was lights out as the setup man before taking over the closer role. Since he has blown 5 of 14 save chances and left GM Josh Swain with question marks what to do with his closer role. The team's 15 blown saves leads the entire BSA, and in a race as tight as we have this season, losing games in 8th and 9th is not something a team like Jersey can afford to do.
In a casual conversation with Aaron Blank, GM of the Baffin Island Beavers, Blank made a comment on how old his relief pitching had gotten. With Daniel Morris and Saenz at 34, Tapia at 35, J-Rod and James Kelly 33, and Pedro Castillo at 31, the bulk of the relief corps is 33 or over. With the Beavers struggling mightily this year, and at the time were sitting 15+ games under .500, Swain simply asked about Saenz and his large $9M dollar team option for next season. Talks progressed and eventually a deal was in place for Mungo to be sent back to Jersey for a pair of young middle relievers.
Those relievers are Pedro Vega and Antonio Ramos. Vega was discovered as an 18 year old in 2013 and has slowly worked his way up through the Jersey system spending multiple seasons at every level before seeing action in the Jersey bullpen last season as a 24 year old. Now at age 25, Vega throws 2 above average pitches and his fastball reaches the mid-to-upper 90's. His arm isn't nearly as live as Saenz's arm, but at 10 years younger he could be a nice cheap bullpen fixture on a team who will probably have to re-tool their bullpen in the near future.
Ramos actually came from Baffin Island when Jersey traded starting pitcher Dan Macias to the Beavers after the 2017 season. Macias would pitch one year in Baffin before deciding to hang them up. Ramos is also 25 and your typical hard throwing bullpen arm. He has averaged just a shade under 12 K/9 in his minor league career and his knack has been giving up the long ball, but being in Baffin should help that tremendously.
For all intents and purposes this move for Jersey looks like a rental, as Saenz's $9 million dollar option next season seems like a stretch for Jersey to be picked up, but if Saenz keeps up his great numbers he has put up in Seattle and Baffin this year, you never know what will happen. For the season Mungo's stat line looks like: 4-2, 15 saves. 1.93 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and is striking out 11.6 K/9. He will step into the closer's role immediately and being added to the CL's 2nd best bullpen (statistically wise) should make a good pen even better.
"We hope this is a move that helps push us over the hump," GM Swain exclaimed, "If we had only won a third of those 15 blown saves we would be sitting in 1st place with the best record in the CL. The fans are excited to have him back and the veterans are as well." Saenz will go back and wear his #99 jersey that he wore for all 8 seasons in Jersey. Welcome back Jaime!
GO D-BAGS
Jose Ruiz stepped in last year, saved 40 games and was elected to the All-Star team. He struggled this season blowing 2 saves and having 4 losses pinned on him before handing the reigns to the young Gerald "Top Dog" Johnson. While Johnson has an electric fastball that can reach 99 on the gun, first time closing duties aren't always a success. Johnson was lights out as the setup man before taking over the closer role. Since he has blown 5 of 14 save chances and left GM Josh Swain with question marks what to do with his closer role. The team's 15 blown saves leads the entire BSA, and in a race as tight as we have this season, losing games in 8th and 9th is not something a team like Jersey can afford to do.
In a casual conversation with Aaron Blank, GM of the Baffin Island Beavers, Blank made a comment on how old his relief pitching had gotten. With Daniel Morris and Saenz at 34, Tapia at 35, J-Rod and James Kelly 33, and Pedro Castillo at 31, the bulk of the relief corps is 33 or over. With the Beavers struggling mightily this year, and at the time were sitting 15+ games under .500, Swain simply asked about Saenz and his large $9M dollar team option for next season. Talks progressed and eventually a deal was in place for Mungo to be sent back to Jersey for a pair of young middle relievers.
Those relievers are Pedro Vega and Antonio Ramos. Vega was discovered as an 18 year old in 2013 and has slowly worked his way up through the Jersey system spending multiple seasons at every level before seeing action in the Jersey bullpen last season as a 24 year old. Now at age 25, Vega throws 2 above average pitches and his fastball reaches the mid-to-upper 90's. His arm isn't nearly as live as Saenz's arm, but at 10 years younger he could be a nice cheap bullpen fixture on a team who will probably have to re-tool their bullpen in the near future.
Ramos actually came from Baffin Island when Jersey traded starting pitcher Dan Macias to the Beavers after the 2017 season. Macias would pitch one year in Baffin before deciding to hang them up. Ramos is also 25 and your typical hard throwing bullpen arm. He has averaged just a shade under 12 K/9 in his minor league career and his knack has been giving up the long ball, but being in Baffin should help that tremendously.
For all intents and purposes this move for Jersey looks like a rental, as Saenz's $9 million dollar option next season seems like a stretch for Jersey to be picked up, but if Saenz keeps up his great numbers he has put up in Seattle and Baffin this year, you never know what will happen. For the season Mungo's stat line looks like: 4-2, 15 saves. 1.93 ERA, 1.02 WHIP and is striking out 11.6 K/9. He will step into the closer's role immediately and being added to the CL's 2nd best bullpen (statistically wise) should make a good pen even better.
"We hope this is a move that helps push us over the hump," GM Swain exclaimed, "If we had only won a third of those 15 blown saves we would be sitting in 1st place with the best record in the CL. The fans are excited to have him back and the veterans are as well." Saenz will go back and wear his #99 jersey that he wore for all 8 seasons in Jersey. Welcome back Jaime!
GO D-BAGS
Tuesday, July 8, 2014
Interesting Start in Jersey & an Interesting Season for The BSA
23 games into the 2020 season and what is going on? The Frenzy, Bombers, and Stars sit in first place while the Titans, Beavers and 84's all occupy the cellars in their respected divisions. Scott Hill is lost for the season and All-Stars John Doby, Al Mills, Zach Hutchinson and Kyuso Fujita are all hitting under .200. This is The BSA this season.
Meanwhile in Jersey, it has been an up and down 3 weeks to start this season. The top of the rotation has been excellent. Jose Ramos and Sergio Martinez account for half of Jersey's wins though both have been blown up once this season. They have a combined record of 6-3 and includes one of Jose Ramos's better starts in his career when he struck out a career high 13 Pikes in his last start against Seattle. On the other hand the older veterans have been.....terrible and that's putting it lightly. After an injury riddled season which looked like he was getting back on track, Jose Lara has nearly a 9.50 ERA after 4 starts and has given up 5 or more ER in each of his starts. Greg Schaefer finally showed life in his last start going 8 shutout innings, but before that he had only gotten out of the 4th inning once in 4 starts. The good news for the staff is the bullpen leads the CL with a 3.09 ERA, even though they account for 4 losses and 3 blown saves.
Offense has been the tell tale story of the D-Bags season though. Jersey has scored at least 2 runs in every game this season and in 6 of their 11 losses they have scored 4 or more runs. In 11 of their 12 wins they have scored 4 or more runs that that includes scoring 8 runs, 6 or more times. The offense is Top 5 in almost every major offense category, which is a good sign considering Dave Dodd, John Warner and Fransisco Ibarra are all hitting under .220 for the year.
While those 3 have been bad, there have been some very good though. Lawrence Schroeder is out of the gate scorching hot hitting .393/.446/.786 and has 19 extra base hits in 22 games. He has hit safely in 20 of those 22 games and leads the CL in OPS and is 2nd in batting average and batter WAR. After ripping through AAA pitching for 2+ seasons Tadahisa Kisuki is off to a great start to his major league career as well. He is acting a platoon with John Warner at 1B/DH and hitting mostly out of the 2 hole has put up a .309/.350/.443 line while adding 5 doubles, a triple and 2 HR.
Rumors out of Jersey is that we will probably see SP Ramon Ruiz sooner than later. After a very rough Spring Training he has completely dominated AAA in 4 starts to a tune of a 4-0 record, 0.59 ERA, 0.68 ERA while striking out 32 batters and walking 3 in 30.1 IP. Jersey is almost ready to welcome back hard throwing lefty Hyo-Chin Kim who had suffered a torn UCL tear early in last season's spring training and has missed nearly 14 months time. He has been rehabbing in AAA and has looked better and better and would be a much welcome addition to the bullpen.
All things considered, it has been a decent start for Jersey who is more known for stumbling out of the gate than coming out hot. They sit 3 games out of first place and 1 game out of the wild card. The D-Bags would prefer to sit back in the shadows than be up at the top with a target on their backs because we have seen that movie before. Let's hope for a strong close the month and a head of steam going into May.
GO D-BAGS
Meanwhile in Jersey, it has been an up and down 3 weeks to start this season. The top of the rotation has been excellent. Jose Ramos and Sergio Martinez account for half of Jersey's wins though both have been blown up once this season. They have a combined record of 6-3 and includes one of Jose Ramos's better starts in his career when he struck out a career high 13 Pikes in his last start against Seattle. On the other hand the older veterans have been.....terrible and that's putting it lightly. After an injury riddled season which looked like he was getting back on track, Jose Lara has nearly a 9.50 ERA after 4 starts and has given up 5 or more ER in each of his starts. Greg Schaefer finally showed life in his last start going 8 shutout innings, but before that he had only gotten out of the 4th inning once in 4 starts. The good news for the staff is the bullpen leads the CL with a 3.09 ERA, even though they account for 4 losses and 3 blown saves.
Offense has been the tell tale story of the D-Bags season though. Jersey has scored at least 2 runs in every game this season and in 6 of their 11 losses they have scored 4 or more runs. In 11 of their 12 wins they have scored 4 or more runs that that includes scoring 8 runs, 6 or more times. The offense is Top 5 in almost every major offense category, which is a good sign considering Dave Dodd, John Warner and Fransisco Ibarra are all hitting under .220 for the year.
While those 3 have been bad, there have been some very good though. Lawrence Schroeder is out of the gate scorching hot hitting .393/.446/.786 and has 19 extra base hits in 22 games. He has hit safely in 20 of those 22 games and leads the CL in OPS and is 2nd in batting average and batter WAR. After ripping through AAA pitching for 2+ seasons Tadahisa Kisuki is off to a great start to his major league career as well. He is acting a platoon with John Warner at 1B/DH and hitting mostly out of the 2 hole has put up a .309/.350/.443 line while adding 5 doubles, a triple and 2 HR.
Rumors out of Jersey is that we will probably see SP Ramon Ruiz sooner than later. After a very rough Spring Training he has completely dominated AAA in 4 starts to a tune of a 4-0 record, 0.59 ERA, 0.68 ERA while striking out 32 batters and walking 3 in 30.1 IP. Jersey is almost ready to welcome back hard throwing lefty Hyo-Chin Kim who had suffered a torn UCL tear early in last season's spring training and has missed nearly 14 months time. He has been rehabbing in AAA and has looked better and better and would be a much welcome addition to the bullpen.
All things considered, it has been a decent start for Jersey who is more known for stumbling out of the gate than coming out hot. They sit 3 games out of first place and 1 game out of the wild card. The D-Bags would prefer to sit back in the shadows than be up at the top with a target on their backs because we have seen that movie before. Let's hope for a strong close the month and a head of steam going into May.
GO D-BAGS
Thursday, April 3, 2014
D-Bags Send 5 to All-Star Game
During a bounce back season from what we want to forget about 2018, Jersey Shore sent 5 players to the All-Star game this year which was played in Boston. 1 All-Star game staple, 1 2nd year selection and 3 new-comers made up this year's class. Though no one was voted in as a starter, it was the tied for the 2nd most players Jersey has ever sent to the mid-summer classic only trailing 2017 where the D-Bags sent 6 players.
2B Mike Bryant: .318/.400/.533, 17 2B, 17HR, 66 RBI. Bryant's 6th full year in the league and his 6th All-Star game appearance. One of 7 players ever to make 6 or more All-Star games. With Jeff Cole coming over to the CL, the reigning MVP Jorge Martinez playing for Seattle and 2 time batting champ Joe Sanders.....2B is a crowded position this year in the CL. Byrant hasn't dissapointed though, having a very Bryant-like season, despite the HR being slightly down. He is currently 2nd in the CL and hits, total bases and RBI.
SP Jose Ramos: 12-4, 3.42 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.95 fIP. After missing most of the 2018 season with injury, Ramos has found his 2016-2017 form and has come out of the gate strong here in 2019. Ramos leads the league in BB/9 and is 2nd in FIP, wins and WAR. If Jersey is going to stay atop or near the top of the CL East for the rest of the season they will be relying on their ace to keep it up.
SP Sergio Martinez: 11-1, 2.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 4.06 FIP. After being called up at 22 years old for a spot start last season, he won the job and pitched well down the stretch in 11 starts. This year starting the year off in the rotation, Martinez has been very good. Sure he has been a little lucky and bailed out by his defense, but is getting a quality start at over a 70% clip, has hurled one shutout and has won 11 of his 17 starts. At only 23 years of age this could be the first of many All-Star nods for Martinez.
MR/CL Jose Ruiz: 4-1, 23 saves. 2.41 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 2.99 FIP. Being named the closer this off season, Ruiz knew he would have to be good to keep that job with a very talented bullpen. He has been that more so far. Leading the CL in saves with 23, he has converted 23 of 27 saves and is striking out over a batter per inning. In the total of 10 years in the league, this is the 7th time Jersey has had a bullpen arm represented in the ASG.
RF Dave Dodd: .294/.366/.571. 23 2B, 21 HR, 66 RBI. After predicting big things out of Dodd for the 3rd year in a row now, at age 25 it looks like he is finally maturing into a dangerous hitter. He currently leads the CL in total bases, is 2nd in slugging and tied for 3rd in HR and RBI. Maybe most importantly his strikeouts are down again for the 2nd straight year and his numbers across the board are up, including AVG, OBP, SLG and OPS. A good finish and he could finish above Bryant in VORP, which no player has done since 2013, Bryant's rookie season in which he only played in 91 games.
5 All-Stars and a handful of very good candidates to go with a 2 game lead in the East at the break. A very good start for the D-Bags. There are a lot of games to go yet this season, anything can still happen
GO D-BAGS
2B Mike Bryant: .318/.400/.533, 17 2B, 17HR, 66 RBI. Bryant's 6th full year in the league and his 6th All-Star game appearance. One of 7 players ever to make 6 or more All-Star games. With Jeff Cole coming over to the CL, the reigning MVP Jorge Martinez playing for Seattle and 2 time batting champ Joe Sanders.....2B is a crowded position this year in the CL. Byrant hasn't dissapointed though, having a very Bryant-like season, despite the HR being slightly down. He is currently 2nd in the CL and hits, total bases and RBI.
SP Jose Ramos: 12-4, 3.42 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.95 fIP. After missing most of the 2018 season with injury, Ramos has found his 2016-2017 form and has come out of the gate strong here in 2019. Ramos leads the league in BB/9 and is 2nd in FIP, wins and WAR. If Jersey is going to stay atop or near the top of the CL East for the rest of the season they will be relying on their ace to keep it up.
SP Sergio Martinez: 11-1, 2.74 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 4.06 FIP. After being called up at 22 years old for a spot start last season, he won the job and pitched well down the stretch in 11 starts. This year starting the year off in the rotation, Martinez has been very good. Sure he has been a little lucky and bailed out by his defense, but is getting a quality start at over a 70% clip, has hurled one shutout and has won 11 of his 17 starts. At only 23 years of age this could be the first of many All-Star nods for Martinez.
MR/CL Jose Ruiz: 4-1, 23 saves. 2.41 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 2.99 FIP. Being named the closer this off season, Ruiz knew he would have to be good to keep that job with a very talented bullpen. He has been that more so far. Leading the CL in saves with 23, he has converted 23 of 27 saves and is striking out over a batter per inning. In the total of 10 years in the league, this is the 7th time Jersey has had a bullpen arm represented in the ASG.
RF Dave Dodd: .294/.366/.571. 23 2B, 21 HR, 66 RBI. After predicting big things out of Dodd for the 3rd year in a row now, at age 25 it looks like he is finally maturing into a dangerous hitter. He currently leads the CL in total bases, is 2nd in slugging and tied for 3rd in HR and RBI. Maybe most importantly his strikeouts are down again for the 2nd straight year and his numbers across the board are up, including AVG, OBP, SLG and OPS. A good finish and he could finish above Bryant in VORP, which no player has done since 2013, Bryant's rookie season in which he only played in 91 games.
5 All-Stars and a handful of very good candidates to go with a 2 game lead in the East at the break. A very good start for the D-Bags. There are a lot of games to go yet this season, anything can still happen
GO D-BAGS
Friday, March 28, 2014
Meet Your Jersey Shore Bullpen
After a long run of familiar names and faces the longtime strong point of Jersey Shore pitching has finally turned itself over to a new younger and from what we have seen so far......familiar results. Gone are the leaders in most Jersey pitching categories. Jaime Saenz, Jose Gomes, Lucio Tapia and Daniel Morris have all left over the last 4 off seasons testing free agency and chasing big bucks.
Two weeks before the All-Star break the D-bags bullpen stands with a respectable 3.38 ERA, which is good for 5th in a strong CL. While this could be more impressive, remember that this include Hyo-chin Kim missing the entire season with Tommy John Surgery. Kim finished 3rd in bullpen VORP behind Saenz and new closer Jose Ruiz. So where did this group come from and how did they get here? Let's meet them.
Phillip Moran, 31 years old. Acquired in trade with LA Bruins, 12/8/2018. The elder statesmen of the group and the newest member as well. Moran was lost in the shuffle of a strong rotation and strong pen in LA. He almost has as many games and innings as he had in the past 2 seasons as a Bruin. A hard throwing lefty who is usually one of the first men out of the pen.
Yin-zhen Zong, 28 years old. Drafted by Jersey Shore in the 7th round of the 2013 draft. Zong is one of a handful of players drafted past the 5th round of the 2013 draft to see the Major Leagues. He spent 5 years in the minor leagues before becoming a contributing member of the pen last season. He started the years as the set-up man, but with a knack of giving up the long ball, 9 HR in 37.2 IP, he has been regulated to middle relief duty. Like Moran, a very hard thrower, averages nearly 13 K/9.
Junior Mateo, 24 years old. Discovered by Jersey scouts during the 2015 season. Mateo worked his way through the Jersey farm system finding a spot in the bullpen just this season. In fact on the season he has only pitched 11 innings so far. His high movement and high groundball percentage makes me an excellent candidate for a D-Bag pitcher though his control is on the low side. He can hit 101 MPH on a good day.
Pedro Vega, 24 years old. Discovered by Jersey scouts during the 2013 season. Vega was in his 7th season in the minor leagues before being promoted earlier this year due to injuries. He projects as a middle of the road left handed bullpen arm who should succeed if he keeps the ball out of the upper half of the strike zone. Has appeared sparingly this season only seeing 9 innings of action.
Gerald Johnson, 23 years old. Drafted in the 2015 Supplemental Round 1, pick acquired for loss of CL Gordon Brown. Johnson went from A ball to AAA last season and this year is sharing the primary set-up man duties with Angel Lara. Possibly the most talented member of the pen, Johnson throws two nasty pitches in his fastball and change-up while striking batters out at a high rate. The one part of his game which isn't refined is his control. He has walked 21 batters this season.
Angel Lara, 23 years old. Signed as a Minor League free agent in 2013. Lara broke out last season, posting a 2.93 ERA in 55 IP and though his ERA has been higher this year, he has been a much more efficient pitcher. He can hit 99 MPH with his fastball and has a devastating 2nd pitch in his curve-ball and in 85+ IP in his Major League career has only allowed 2 HR.
Jose Ruiz, 26 years old. Discovered by Jersey scouts during the 2010 season. Though it's not 100 percent certain, we think Ruiz was the first player discovered by Jersey Shore in the history of the franchise as a 16 year old. Being in the organization since 2010 puts him on a shortlist of players to be with the franchise since then. He first appeared in the pen during the 2014 season and at age 26, this is his 5th big league season and 1st as a closer. He may not stick in that position but has been great so far. He leads the CL in saves with 22 and has a WHIP under 1.00.
Hopefully a couple of these young guns can plant their places and once be known as a Jaime Saenz or a Jose Gomes. Until then it will be fun to watch them improve and backup a rotation that has rebounded nicely from the disaster that was 2018.
GO D-BAGS
Two weeks before the All-Star break the D-bags bullpen stands with a respectable 3.38 ERA, which is good for 5th in a strong CL. While this could be more impressive, remember that this include Hyo-chin Kim missing the entire season with Tommy John Surgery. Kim finished 3rd in bullpen VORP behind Saenz and new closer Jose Ruiz. So where did this group come from and how did they get here? Let's meet them.
Phillip Moran, 31 years old. Acquired in trade with LA Bruins, 12/8/2018. The elder statesmen of the group and the newest member as well. Moran was lost in the shuffle of a strong rotation and strong pen in LA. He almost has as many games and innings as he had in the past 2 seasons as a Bruin. A hard throwing lefty who is usually one of the first men out of the pen.
Yin-zhen Zong, 28 years old. Drafted by Jersey Shore in the 7th round of the 2013 draft. Zong is one of a handful of players drafted past the 5th round of the 2013 draft to see the Major Leagues. He spent 5 years in the minor leagues before becoming a contributing member of the pen last season. He started the years as the set-up man, but with a knack of giving up the long ball, 9 HR in 37.2 IP, he has been regulated to middle relief duty. Like Moran, a very hard thrower, averages nearly 13 K/9.
Junior Mateo, 24 years old. Discovered by Jersey scouts during the 2015 season. Mateo worked his way through the Jersey farm system finding a spot in the bullpen just this season. In fact on the season he has only pitched 11 innings so far. His high movement and high groundball percentage makes me an excellent candidate for a D-Bag pitcher though his control is on the low side. He can hit 101 MPH on a good day.
Pedro Vega, 24 years old. Discovered by Jersey scouts during the 2013 season. Vega was in his 7th season in the minor leagues before being promoted earlier this year due to injuries. He projects as a middle of the road left handed bullpen arm who should succeed if he keeps the ball out of the upper half of the strike zone. Has appeared sparingly this season only seeing 9 innings of action.
Gerald Johnson, 23 years old. Drafted in the 2015 Supplemental Round 1, pick acquired for loss of CL Gordon Brown. Johnson went from A ball to AAA last season and this year is sharing the primary set-up man duties with Angel Lara. Possibly the most talented member of the pen, Johnson throws two nasty pitches in his fastball and change-up while striking batters out at a high rate. The one part of his game which isn't refined is his control. He has walked 21 batters this season.
Angel Lara, 23 years old. Signed as a Minor League free agent in 2013. Lara broke out last season, posting a 2.93 ERA in 55 IP and though his ERA has been higher this year, he has been a much more efficient pitcher. He can hit 99 MPH with his fastball and has a devastating 2nd pitch in his curve-ball and in 85+ IP in his Major League career has only allowed 2 HR.
Jose Ruiz, 26 years old. Discovered by Jersey scouts during the 2010 season. Though it's not 100 percent certain, we think Ruiz was the first player discovered by Jersey Shore in the history of the franchise as a 16 year old. Being in the organization since 2010 puts him on a shortlist of players to be with the franchise since then. He first appeared in the pen during the 2014 season and at age 26, this is his 5th big league season and 1st as a closer. He may not stick in that position but has been great so far. He leads the CL in saves with 22 and has a WHIP under 1.00.
Hopefully a couple of these young guns can plant their places and once be known as a Jaime Saenz or a Jose Gomes. Until then it will be fun to watch them improve and backup a rotation that has rebounded nicely from the disaster that was 2018.
GO D-BAGS
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Sergio Martinez; Jersey's Next Ace?
Signed as a 16 year old in March of 2013 as a international free agent out of Puerto Rico, Sergio Martinez looked like a kid who possibly had a chance at securing a bullpen job if everything went right and he could stay in the minor leagues. Equipped with 2 above average pitches but little control he was mature beyond his age and was almost immediately put into AA only after 11 innings in A ball. He took his lumps in AA ball and became a staple in the Gainesville rotation......for 5 different seasons.
In 2013 he walked more batters than he struck out at a 0.62 K/BB rate, had an ERA north of 5.40 and was the youngest player on the roster. Fast forward to 2017, he struck nearly twice the batters he walked, compiled an ERA of 3.81 and a FIP even lower when he finally got the call to AAA for good. In 26 AAA starts over the next 14 months he would post a FIP of 3.10 on way to 150 strikeouts with 68 walks. A better rate than he posted in an of his full AA years.
It wasn't suppose to happen in 2018. Jersey Shore had a deep staff and Martinez was only 22. Pre-season rankings had him ranked 8th on the depth chart. Injuries to Ramos and Burgess combined with ineffective pitching by Goodship caused a temporary turned permanent call up for Martinez in July. In 11 starts last season, Sergio went 5-3, had an ERA of 3.65, WHIP of 1.35 and was one of the few brights spots on a disastrous season for Jersey Shore.
Martinez began the season as the 6th man in a 6 man rotation but 3 weeks into the season, seasoned veteran Jose Lara went down with a 3+ month injury which assured Martinez a spot for the remained of the season. So far in 2019 Martinez has been stellar and leading the staff in most categories. He is 6-1, an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.37. His promising start has made us look into what the future of Jersey pitching will look like. With Jose Ramos being young and great, he should anchor the staff for years to come. But with Art Ellis showing his age, Jerry Burgess in the last guaranteed year of his contract, Jose Lara's terrible season last year and Greg Schaefer not looking like the pitcher who won 18 games just 2 years go.....Martinez seems heir apparent to the #2 on this staff far earlier than anyone could have expected. With Ramon Ruiz shooting up the prospect rankings inside the Top 100, Jersey looks to have a solid young trio to build around in the next wave of the league.
It's uncertain to how far along Sergio Martinez is to reaching his full potential, but what he has shown us in his short big league career is he very well could be the next star in Jersey.
In 2013 he walked more batters than he struck out at a 0.62 K/BB rate, had an ERA north of 5.40 and was the youngest player on the roster. Fast forward to 2017, he struck nearly twice the batters he walked, compiled an ERA of 3.81 and a FIP even lower when he finally got the call to AAA for good. In 26 AAA starts over the next 14 months he would post a FIP of 3.10 on way to 150 strikeouts with 68 walks. A better rate than he posted in an of his full AA years.
It wasn't suppose to happen in 2018. Jersey Shore had a deep staff and Martinez was only 22. Pre-season rankings had him ranked 8th on the depth chart. Injuries to Ramos and Burgess combined with ineffective pitching by Goodship caused a temporary turned permanent call up for Martinez in July. In 11 starts last season, Sergio went 5-3, had an ERA of 3.65, WHIP of 1.35 and was one of the few brights spots on a disastrous season for Jersey Shore.
Martinez began the season as the 6th man in a 6 man rotation but 3 weeks into the season, seasoned veteran Jose Lara went down with a 3+ month injury which assured Martinez a spot for the remained of the season. So far in 2019 Martinez has been stellar and leading the staff in most categories. He is 6-1, an ERA of 3.00 and a WHIP of 1.37. His promising start has made us look into what the future of Jersey pitching will look like. With Jose Ramos being young and great, he should anchor the staff for years to come. But with Art Ellis showing his age, Jerry Burgess in the last guaranteed year of his contract, Jose Lara's terrible season last year and Greg Schaefer not looking like the pitcher who won 18 games just 2 years go.....Martinez seems heir apparent to the #2 on this staff far earlier than anyone could have expected. With Ramon Ruiz shooting up the prospect rankings inside the Top 100, Jersey looks to have a solid young trio to build around in the next wave of the league.
It's uncertain to how far along Sergio Martinez is to reaching his full potential, but what he has shown us in his short big league career is he very well could be the next star in Jersey.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
July in Review From the Shore
Another All-Star game has come and gone and we just have 2 months left in the 2017 season. A 17-8 record for the month might have been Jersey's worst month statistically of the season, but was good enough to finish with a 10.5 game lead on 2nd place Greenville and leave the Bags with a 81-27 record. One more win to assure themselves their 8th straight winning season and just 50 or so games from their first division title.
3B Adam Morrow: .375/.480/.475. 30H, 17BB, 8 2B, 12R. After a terrible sophomore season which saw Morrow get shipped back and forth between the big league club and AAA, he has seemed to find his stroke again and July was his best month to date. His stats this year are very similar to when he was awarded the CL Rookie of the Year in 2015. Maybe the switch to hitting at the bottom of the order was the trick he needed to be productive at the plate again.
SP Sergio Martinez (AA): 4-1, 1.96 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 29 K, 1 HR allowed, 36.2 IP. Martinez in his 3rd year in AA, is having his best year and is slowly climbing up the prospect charts for the Jersey Shore. While his control is still considered his achilles's heel, if he can get a grasp on that and play to his potentials, some Jersey folk say he slates out to be a 2-3 starter in the rotation. At only 21 years old there is no rush on Martinez and will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
SS Fabrice Brodeur (AAA): .316/.383/.430, 36 hits, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 24R, 4SB. Leading the entire organization in hits in July and scoring in almost every game in July, Brodeur was a key cog in the Tuscaloosa lineup in July. It was his 3rd straight 30+ hit month and he looks on track to reach the big leagues sometime next year. The former 1st round pick plays every infield position and would make a great asset as a backup or a fill in starter and could probably start on many teams on the left side of the infield.
Players of the Month
MR Lucio Tapia: 3-0, 1.46 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 21K in 12.1 IP. With much of the staff having a down month, Tapia under the radar is having his best season since he broke out in 2013. The 32 year old has an ERA just over 2 and has been excellent in the set-up role which he share with Jose "Dog Pound" Gomes. If the starters don't step up down the stretch it will be up to bullpen guys like him to carry the load and keep the Bags in the game.
MR Jose Ruiz: 1 save, 2.25 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 13K. To go along with Tapia, Ruiz had an excellent month out of the middle innings and earned himself a spot on POTM for the 2nd straight month. At just 24 years old, his K/9, BB/9, HR/9, H/9 and K/BB have all improved since his great sophomore year last year and a sign that he will be a staple in the Jersey pen for years to come.
3B Adam Morrow: .375/.480/.475. 30H, 17BB, 8 2B, 12R. After a terrible sophomore season which saw Morrow get shipped back and forth between the big league club and AAA, he has seemed to find his stroke again and July was his best month to date. His stats this year are very similar to when he was awarded the CL Rookie of the Year in 2015. Maybe the switch to hitting at the bottom of the order was the trick he needed to be productive at the plate again.
2B Mike Bryant: .306/.352/.510. 4 HR, 17 RBI, 8 2B, 17 R. Bryant turned things around after a slow June to take some of the pressure off of the other big boppers in the lineup. While the power we have grown to love really wasn't there, the 8 doubles are encouraging as he is still way off the pace he set last season. He may not win any awards this year, he is still on pace for 35-120-.315, just another season in the life of Bryant.
Questions, Concerns and Answers:
Should the fact the team just had it's worst month of the season be concerning? Some say yes, some say no. The schedule was the toughest of the season and August won't get any better, but holding a big lead on Greenville was the key.
On the injury front there was no bad news. No new injuries and with SP Art Ellis on schedule, he should head to rehab sometime this month. This is encouraging news for the Bags. If he stays on schedule he should get 3 starts for the Bags before the playoffs which will really test his availability for the playoffs. Fransisco Ibarra was always taken of the DL and sent back to AAA after missing 5 weeks with an injury. We still think he is a very viable candidate for a September callup.
Jersey successfully signed all 10 of the draft picks from the Amatuer draft on July 1st and all have been assigned to the A or AA minor league affiliates. Also towards the end of the month, Jersey officials announced 2 contract extensions. The first being MR Hyo-chin Kim, which bought out 1 free year and 3 years of arbitration. The 2nd extension was given to up-and-coming SS Lawrence Schroeder. His contract is a 5 year deal, the last being a team option, also bought out his last free year and all 3 years of arbitration.
Minor League Players of the Month
Pitcher
SP Sergio Martinez (AA): 4-1, 1.96 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 29 K, 1 HR allowed, 36.2 IP. Martinez in his 3rd year in AA, is having his best year and is slowly climbing up the prospect charts for the Jersey Shore. While his control is still considered his achilles's heel, if he can get a grasp on that and play to his potentials, some Jersey folk say he slates out to be a 2-3 starter in the rotation. At only 21 years old there is no rush on Martinez and will be interesting to see where he goes from here.
Hitter
SS Fabrice Brodeur (AAA): .316/.383/.430, 36 hits, 3 HR, 19 RBI, 24R, 4SB. Leading the entire organization in hits in July and scoring in almost every game in July, Brodeur was a key cog in the Tuscaloosa lineup in July. It was his 3rd straight 30+ hit month and he looks on track to reach the big leagues sometime next year. The former 1st round pick plays every infield position and would make a great asset as a backup or a fill in starter and could probably start on many teams on the left side of the infield.
GO D-BAGS
Monday, May 6, 2013
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
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 hehad 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
Sunday, July 15, 2012
D-Bags make 2 trades: Bring in Burgess, Send Ruiz Packing
Burgess Trade
The big piece in the trades was bringing in SP Jerry Burgess from the El Paso Diablos. Now over the past 2 seasons Jersey has brought in Dan Macias, Art Ellis and Jerry Burgess. To get Burgess they had to dip into their deep talent-rich farm system to pull off the deal, but let's talk about Burgess first.
Jerry Burgess is a 28 year old left hander who stands at a statue tall 6'7" and will be calling Jersey his 4th home in just 5 seasons under his belt. Drafted by Madison in the inaugural draft, he played his first 2 professional seasons there in 2011-2012 before being traded to Hendersonville where he would help them win a title in 2013. He would be dealt at the 2014 deadline to El Paso in the Yokoyama deal and pitched a week short of a full season there before landing in Jersey today.
Burgess has a career record of 55-41, 4.20 ERA, and averages over 1K/IP for his career. This year has been the worst so far as a professional, but Jersey brass has confidence that a change of scenery can help him turn it around.
The deal was a 6-1 trade that included: SP Kenny Stanford who was struggling in his 2nd season as a D-Bag and is an impending FA this offseason. 32 year old SP/MR Justin Terry who has been a staple on the AAA staff for years now. OF Harold Robinson, saw brief time last season in Jersey and should be on a ML roster but due to the D-Bags he found himself buried in AAA.
The main real piece of this deal was 20 year old SP Ignacio Colon. The Cuban SP is in his 3rd season of AA and has improved on each one. Scouts say that if he was coming out in the rookie draft this year he would be a Top half of the first round talent. Also from AA OF Jorge Melendez, who has tremendous talent potential, who socked 24 HR in 370 AA AB's last season. The last piece is MR Victor Lopez, 19 year old RHP, who projects to be a solid bullpen arm someday.
A lot of pieces for 1 arm, but a move that Jersey hopes can help push them over the hump this year. A rotation of Macias-Ellis-Burgess-Goodship-Schaefer is one the Jersey ownership claims is Top-5 in the league and should help us to our first playoff berth this season.
Ruiz Swap
IF Antonio Ruiz is one of the only remaining players on the Jersey franchise since the inaugural draft of 2010. He was spending his 4th season in a Jersey uniform and earlier this season signed a very, very team friendly contract of 3 years and 1.98 million dollars. Coming off a season where he hit 20 HR, this came as a surprise to many folks to see him packing his bags, but today Jersey announce they have sent Ruiz to the Vista Panthers in exchange for 2 minor leaguers.
When GM Josh Swain was asked about why, he had this to say: "We have always like Mr. Ruiz in this organization. We thought he signed a great deal for us, but we had some reservations. While it rare to find a SS who can hit for 20+ HR, his batting average and OBP haven't been there over the past 2 seasons, which are two main components. With bringing in Burgess, we now have 5 starters who are considered ground ball pitchers, and while Ruiz can play the MI positions, his strengths lie at 1B and 3B, which are currently occupied by Doyle and Morrow. This combined with the fact we have a very, very good player in Alberto Perez who has been in AAA far too long without getting a shot, led to our decision to trade Antonio."
With Perez being demoted we can expect to see defensive specialist Marvin Taylor see time at SS against RHP and Adam Morrow being shifted to SS against LHP to allow Alberto Perez to play 3B. We are also pretty sure that the play of former 1st round pick Lawrence Schroeder in AAA this year gave some insurance in case of disaster or injury.
In exchange for Ruiz, the D-Bags receive 2 18 year old players. The 1st is SP Javier Garcia, whom Vista discovered and signed out of Mexico in 2013. He is a workhorse who throws 6 pitches, the best being his fastball. His movement is lacking in his game and Jersey plans on looking in and fiddling around with this in the offseason. The other player is 18 year old OF Miguel Rosa whom the Vista Panthers discovered and signed out of Cuba in 2013. Rosa is a speedy left hander who has 50+ SB in the last 2 seasons combined and projects with plus power. He is still very raw with the bat and glove, but at only 18 years old, there is plenty of time to see him progress.
Garcia Rosa
Hopefully these 2 trades will reap the rewards and turn out to be wise decisions for the D-Bags this season and beyond.
GO D-BAGS
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Jersey Shore May 2015 in Review
May 2015 is in the books and your D-bags remain one of the streakiest teams in all of the BSA. This might be the streakiest month though we have ever seen. The D-Bags opened the month with high hopes with a tough schedule coming up and in the next 2 weeks managed to have the worst stretch in the team's history going 2-12. This stretch included 6 1-run losses and bad play all around. Losing much ground in the division and WC race, the Bags finish the month on a 13-1 run, which included closing out May on an 11 game winning streak. What gives? What is going on? Who knows, but here's the month in review.
Players of the Month
SP Rob Goodship 3-0 1.54 ERA 36K's 0.94 WHIP. With Macias and Ellis on the staff who would have picked Goodship to be the best pitcher through the first 2 months? He dominated this month giving up 6 ER total while ending the month with 22 straight scoreless innings.
MR Jaime "Mungo" Saenz 2-0 1.62 ERA 23K/2BB in 16.2 IP. In a month where the bullpen got demolished in the first half of the season Mungo thrived. Averaging almost 1.5K per inning he allowed the opposition to hit at a .182 clip and led the shaky bullpen.
1B Matt Doyle .299/.362/.335 8HR 34RBI 24R. After a relatively slow start in April Doyle busted out in May. Averaging more than a hit and RBI per game he led the offense in hits, HR, RBI and runs. This is what to expect out of your MVP candidate and 2nd year superstar.
2B Mike Bryant .300/.371/.500 4HR 25RBI 22R. When Bryant and Doyle hit the D-Bags thrive. The two combined to knock in 59 runs in 28 games. Bryant also added 8 2B and 3SB for the month. He continues to show that his runner up for MVP last season wasn't a fluke.
3B Adam Morrow .317/.450 33H 25BB 22R. This rookie continued to flourish hitting mainly out of the 2 hole. His OBP of .450 is a godsend for the big boys behind him and had his 2nd straight 30 hit month. The early talks of ROY hold merit, the kid can ball. Won BSA CL Rookie of the Month for May.
RF Peter Larson .300/.463 82B 26BB. Larson has such a good eye that he averaged 1BB shy of 1 per game. When his bat is going an OBP of over 450 is never out of the question. When Larson and Morrow both have a cominbed OBP over 450 is anyone surprised Doyle drove in 34 runs for the month? He is the catalyst of this offense.
Roster Questions, Changes and Answers
Thus far ::knock on wood::: the Bags have been injury free. This creates little room for call ups and ABs for other players. We did see Rule V pick Jose Ortiz return from the DL after his spring training injury and hit 3-14 in limited action. The Bags would like to see him get more AB's against RHP. Super prospect CF Tim Duncan got a call up after the Bags struggled so much against LHP early in the season. Duncan who had been tearing the cover off of the ball in AAA pitching for the past 2 years had little success managing 8 hits in 37 ABs in 9 games getting 1 XBH hits and stealing no bases. The 5th OF position has been a carousel looking for someone to take charge.
OF Taro Kino ripped up in AAA pitching as well with 11 HR hitting .404 with a .500 OBP, look for him to possibly get some BSA AB's this upcoming month. Also we could see 3B Alberto Perez sometime soon, even though I'm not sure Jersey has a spot for him. He had an astonishing 45 hits in just 27 games in AAA and is on pace for a monster season. The 27 year old lost the battle to Adam Morrow in ST, but with the struggles of SS Marvin Taylor and 2B/SS/3B Antonio Ruiz, we could see Perez sooner than later.
As the Bags end the month on an 11 game win streak all we can think is June plans on being another streaky one! Let's hope the Bags can stay close in the division and WC so that elusive first playoff berth hopes will still be alive down the stretch!
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