The Daily Jumper - 2034

[MikeB]

Breakdown of hitters likely to be on Coqui roster opening day:

CATCHER

Dan Collins - Veteran had his best year since coming to the Imperial League (.317 OBP) after developing a good relationship with hitting coach Juichi Matsumoto, who re-joined the team last year. He and Ju-chan Park combined for 41 doubles and 12 home runs last year while providing solid defense.

Ju-Chan Park - The team captain and the best defensive catcher but age 36 now.

Valentin Medrano - Coqui traded for the former LDBI star to add depth and insurance. Medrano hit .300 with a .355 OBP in limited action with Niihami-shi last year and will likely rotate in allowing (hopefully) more pitch hitting and running at the position.


INFIELD

Roberto Salazar (SS) - Although he has troubles staying healthy, Dracula is an all-star caliber top-of-the-order guy when in uniform. Has 418 career steals and a career .353 OBP.

Oscar Wetherby (3B) - Will take over the position full time after proving himself an everyday player last season with a .312 OBP against righties. Crushed lefties, slugging .504 last year. Can also play second and short.

José Gonzales (2B) - Primary platoons versus righties whom he hit .276 against last year. Always a threat to steal. One of the top glove men at his position.

Henry Davis (2B/SS/LF) - Team was very pleased with the Davis signing last year. As a role player had a career high 11 HRs and a .731 OPS vs. lefties while playing stellar defense.

Hae-young Pak (2B/1B) - Free agent signee has a career .452 OBP.

Tracy Young (1B) - Earned an all-star berth with hot start but slumped the second half (.245, 18 HR).

Lee Stone (1B) - Was underwhelming after coming over from West Virginia last year. Has big league power but struggles with contact and strike zone.


OUTFIELD

Wally Glasser - Emerged as a top centerfielder last year, hitting .296 with 28 doubles and 61 stolen bases.

José Aguilera - Successful first year in San Juan hitting .297 with 72 stolen bases.

Kelvin McDonald - Coming off two of his best seasons; .298 with a career high .366 OBP last year. Has had back-to-back 30-30 doubles-steals seasons (40 SB last year).

Jorge Pagán - More of a DH, had his season cut short to injury but is the team's best home run hitter per at bat. Career .255, .320, .459 batter.



ON THE BUBBLE:

Brandon Robertson (1B) - Once promising 2031 rookie suffered a torn labrum in 2032 but seemed to hit stride in AAA last year with a .772 OPS.

Joe Kenny (OF) - Free agent 34-year old brings some leadership and a career .319 OBP.

Bernardo Ríos (OF) - Free agent 31-year old has had a couple poor seasons but could fill a need against right-handed pitching and thrive under San Juan's basestealing tuteledge.

[MikeB]

Breakdown of likely pitchers going into spring training:

STARTERS:

Fernando Castro (R) - Got snubbed by all-star voters last year (with game in his hometown) but proved himself, finishing just as strong at 16-5, 2.95. E.r.a. has improved every year since 2029.

Marcel Osterhaut (R) - Followed up an impressive rookie debut (rookie of the month September 2032) with a 15-9, 2.24 season. Second in the league in quality starts.

Tetsuzan Shimada (R) - Disappointing 11-6, 4.25, year after showing big promise in prior 53 starts. The 25-year old should have no excuses in 2034 with an elite knuckle curve and deadly fastball/change combo.

Jorge Pagán (L) - Elbow chips sidelined him for final three months last season. While there are grumblings his double duty as a DH may have worn on him, management has no plans to hold him back. Pagán was 6-5, 2.61, mostly as a starter last season.

Eli McKnight (R) - The 26-year old should get first crack at the #5 rotation spot. A torn labrum shoulder ended his rookie season just two days before Pagán went down. Was 2-3, 3.43 with four of his seven starts being quality.


SWINGMEN:

Seong-chae Somun (L) - Will have to win back his starting job after hitting the rookie wall late last season. Still was 11-1, 3.15, in 15 starts and the team's best starter for a stretch mid-season.

Jesús Luna (L) - More consistent out of the pen, Luna nonetheless had a .706 QS percentage in 17 starts and filled gaps when the team needed him to. Was 4-5, 3.49 overall.

Masaru Kouki (L) - Streaky veteran capable of being a solid #2 for a month or two when on and a reliable bullpen guy even when not. Was 9-5, 3.64 overall.

SETUP/CLOSER:

José Gómez (L) - Followed up his 2023 Shutdown Reliever performance with career highs in wins (11), saves (44) and e.r.a. (1.17).

António Ávila (R) - Was great in his lone start and even better in his 25 relief appearances. Junkballer rookie went 6-2, 1.43, in 44 innings pitched.

Ray Medrano (R) - Took awhile to recover from his 2032 shoulder injury but by season's end his e.r.a. had dropped to 3.10. Still a far cry from his 2031 rookie season.

SITUATIONAL:

Otis Pearson (R) - The 33-year old team leader has been an every other year type of pitcher and last year was an off one with a 4.06 e.r.a. Still was reliable more often than his numbers would suggest, occasionally getting hurt by big innings. Team leader keeps his roster spot safe.

Juan Ortiz (R) - Little left to prove in AAA (62 saves, 1.26 in 150 innings), but has failed to impress in the PEBA yet. Ttrying to throw too hard so far with 29 Ks in 24 innings but uncharactistically struggling with control. Just turned 25 in November.

Keith Dupree (R) - Oft-injured hurler missed 12 more weeks last year but team is happy to take what it can from former first rounder while not counting on him.

[MikeB]

Puerto Rico; Carribean Well Represented in SJ Organization

Other than players from the U.S., Puerto Ricans make up the largest national contingent in the San Juan organization with 16 players.

While 50 from the U.S. are currently under contract, the Carribean is slightly more prodiminant with 15 Dominicans, 13 Cubans and one Arruban among islanders and 10 more among mainland nations that border the sea.

The remainder: Japan (10), British Isles (10); Mexico and other Central and South America countries (10); Asia mainland (10, 7 Korean), Europe (5), Canada (4), Australia (3).


Puerto Ricans in San Juan organization:

SS Roberto Salazar
LF Rodger Guzmán
RP José Gómez
RP Juan Gonzáles

1B Nick Bocanegra
RP Barry Rodriguez
SP Bobby Flores
RP Ismael Morales
CF David Alejo

C Chris Fish
C Francisco Dávila
LF Arturo Rodriguez

SP Víctor García
RP Ramón Lozano
1B Billy Evenson
2B Karl Shaw

[MikeB]

Is Shimada Good or Just Tricky?

Most of those watching Tetsuzan Shimada confuse Havana batters had to wonder wether why a guy with this good stuff can't put it together consistently.

On April 18, the 26-year old pitched 8 1/3 innings of a 6-0 shutout, most of his seven strikeouts coming on pitches that were south of 80 mph. Being able to mix those changeups with a 97 mph fastball and one of the league's top knucklecurves, Shimada should be among the league's elite by now.

Granted 32-23, 3.26, for his career is nothing to scoff at. He did after all win 15 games in 2032. But last year he regressed, his e.r.a. balooning to 4.25. The team is hoping the Havana performance was a harbinger of things to come but his efforts this season including spring training suggested good some days and pretty bad others.

What is holding him back may be his control. Through college and the minors it had never been an issue but PEBA umpires have not been as kind (except in 2032 when his walk totals were a perfectly acceptable 2.2 BB/9IP). Three of the seven runs he has given up this season reached base by walk and another pushed a runner over who eventually scored.

But there might be another issue. Havana hitters were confused enough to swing at a lot of bad pitches. The question is whether he is capable of getting players out throwing strikes or whether he has to rely on tricking the less patient going forward.

Last year was frustrating for the Coqui because Shimada had been on a meteoric rise. After completing a 17-5 college career at Oxford, including a 2-0, 0.72 postseason performance leading the school to the ICBA title his senior year, Shimada spent just one full season in the minors before establishing himself in the rotation in 2031.

[MikeB]

April Notes

Ríos Hits Way Into Lineup

April's most pleasant surprise was free agent signee Bernardo Ríos, who hit .321 for the month with five doubles, two triples and three home runs. Picked up mainly as an option against right handed pitching, Rios has shown the ability to be an every day player (in fact, the lefty has hit better vs. lefties in his career).

The 31-year old hit between .271 and .284 for four seasons for Amsterdam but was let go after his numbers dwindled the past two years.

Davis Surprise Call Up
Outfielder Todd Davis was a surprise call-up as the team headed for the Netherlands for the biggest series of the season so far. With Dan Collins (.354 OBP) and Ju-chan Park (.315 avg) hitting well the team's three-catcher experiment ended for the moment with former LDBI star Valentin Medrano sent down.

According to inside sources, the 27-year old Davis, who will make his PEBA debut, got the nod because he hit well in the minors versus two Lion young hurlers - Manual Canales and Shane Perales - that the team hasn't seen much of. Davis is 8-for-22 total against both with a home run off each. He also swung the bat well in limted spring training action.