June 26th, 2034: Livermore, CA
'Let the kids play' is not a rhetoric that owner Bernardo Francisco Antollini is looking forward to having to push in New Jersey. Made harder by the fact that his Hitmen are on a fantastic run in the WIL and on their way to a hopeful return to the Championship series. Despite all of the success of the team and solid rotation built for the future, the team will more than likely be in for a rude awakening when rejoining the ranks of PEBA in the 2035 season. Not only will the current roster be put to the test against a historically strong IL, Antollini will need to work with GM Czosnyka to fill 5 minor league squads.
That doesn't mean everything has to be scary or negative, as we should see the return of some of New Jersey's beloved affiliate teams such as the Camden Consigliere, the Cliffton Dons, and the Hoboken Crooners. More will come on that as we approach the offseason. For now, let's take a quick look at what the future holds for the Hitmen's lineup.
Catcher:
Claudio Ferreira & Davey Short both are likely to see a return next season. Both are sound defensive options that work well with the current pitching staff, however both leave much to be desired as far as their contribution at the plate. Expect the team to consider exploring options for an upgrade at catcher to start off the 2035 season.
1st Base:
With the trade of José Canseco leaving in the Masaaki 'Toyotomi' Ishida deal, this has left the position solely in the hands of youngster Alfredo 'The Sauce' Martínez. Alfredo, or as teammates have started jokingly calling him, "The Sauce", after showing some fancy glove work the past 2 seasons at 1st, has already been the go to starter since 2032. He can now rest easy with a lack of competition to worry about. Alfredo has done well for himself to the tune of a 162 game average of 25 HR and 105 RBI, while hitting .276/.354/.449. While his showboating glove work at 1st has produced more errors than would be liked by the staff (25 Errors/Year average), he is still a solid defender at the bag. Look for the team to look beyond utility players like Quentin Shenton and Bernardo Sandoval for some additional depth at 1st next season.
2nd Base:
No one can argue that Hai-liang Choe is the team's current solution, but internal discussions are ongoing whether Choe is the immediate future as well. While signed to a friendly 1 year deal and hitting a respectable .337/.370/.498 with 42 RBI and 23 doubles, the organization is looking into whether a longer term investment is warranted. Choe is said to be looking for a 4 year extension, however at 35 years old that may be a tall ask of the squad looking to make a splash in their return to PEBA. Especially when the Hitmen moved additional prospects to land Hisamitsu Kamimura, a former 6th overall pick to hopefully inherit 2B in the coming years. Kamimura will do well to get additional looks once the Hitmen are able to take advantage of the expanded minor league system. So the big question is, will Choe accept a shorter term extension? Or will New Jersey explore other options?
3rd Base:
3B is set for the time being unless the Hitmen get creative in the offseason. 3B Ken'ichi Yamasaki has emerged since his transition from PEBA to the WIL and New Jersey, putting together the best two years of his career. This earned him a 5 year extension in the 2033 offseason. While he struggled in his limited action at the PEBA level before, there is hopes Yamasaki can continue to hold down 3B until youngster Masaaki 'Toyotomi' Ishida is ready to take over. The 20 year old righty has Hitting Coach Ralph Gustafson salivating at the kid's potential as he believes "Toyotomi" is ideally built for Mercer County Waterfront Park. Nicknamed after the famous Samurai who unified Japan, Ishida led his little league team to multiple championships behind the mighty swing of his whiffle bat. Not only does "Toyotomi" swing a big stick and have a great eye for hitting, he has been working diligently on his defense as well. One only hopes he can take advantage of the right field line in Mercer County in the future.
Shortstop:
SS Leon "Smooth" Brunelle had a nice little career in PEBA, where he was known for the long ball and being a respectable defender. But at 36 years of age and forgotten in PEBA, he was not done with baseball just yet. With the rise of the WIL, "Smooth" continued to make a name for himself by putting up career high numbers despite getting older. Now at 41 years old, Brunelle has begun to feel the bite of old age as some elbow tendinitis has kept him out 6+ weeks this season, which has all but guaranteed he will not make his vesting option this season for a return next year. But that should not worry anyone as for better or worse, Marvin 'Horror Show' Gorrie is slated to take over next season in a swap from old to new. A Horror movie buff who wanted to be known for something other than growing up in Flint, Michigan; don't let "Horror Show" and his plethora of tattoos scare you as the 'Gory One' is as kind as they come and he is quick to help out his community and the less fortunate. The organization is high on Gorrie's skill set and believe he can be a mainstay at the position for years to come. Some back up for the youngster will be warranted however.
Outfield:
Led by a motley crew of veterans, the outfield is mostly set for the immediate future, but has a lot of potential to see some change. Veterans such as Stephen Hooper and Gary Faris both have seen more success in the WIL than they did at the PEBA level, but hope to take their leadership back to the big leagues, where we all hope to see the continued growth of last year's Rookie of the Year winner, Gelana Naybet. With pieces in the International Complex such as Ramón Colón and low cost/high reward signings such as Johnny 'Sarge' Jennings, the team can get away with mixing and matching in the interim, but some long term prospects would do wonders to build around for the future.
There is hope in the near future to make an impressive start in their return to the bigs, however this is no small task and management is not ignorant to the fact that a long and slow grind back to relevance may be the most realistic approach going forward. The coming offseason will be extremely critical for the Hitmen and will be the deciding factor for the long term direction of the once prominent Hitmen. At least for now, they can ride the high trying to go out with a bang in their final WIL season.
- @alleatherKohler
