Monday, May 13, 2013: Omaha, NE – In an early-morning press conference, General Manager Jason Warnke and new owner Grey Davidson III announced the acquisition of 31-year-old starting pitcher Israel Villarreal from the San Antonio Calzones of Laredo.  The southpaw comes to Omaha along with Tempe’s 2013 sixth round amateur draft pick in exchange for the Cyclones’ top-rated pitching prospect, Zheng-xin Tai, and Omaha’s tenth round selection in the draft.

The move was made in an effort to add stability to a so-far rotten rotation.   It is no secret that the starting pitching in Omaha is not responsible for the Cyclone’s early season successes.  At 27-11, Omaha sits atop the entire Planetary Extreme Baseball Alliance.  However, keeping their opponents from crossing home plate has not been the reason for their hot start.  In fact, despite leading the league in winning percentage, the Cyclones are 22^nd in hits allowed and 15^th overall in runs scored against.

At first glance, it would appear that this should be a team in the bottom half of the Sovereign League, at best.  A collective 5.15 ERA among starting pitching lands them in eighth place in the Sovereign League.  Brandon Whaley and León “Long Haul” Rivera, both of whom showed major promise last season, have crawled out to an abysmal start.

Whaley, posted a 3.99 ERA, 1.27 WHIP and 210 strikeouts in 210 innings pitched in 2012.  It was largely thought that the 31-year-old had finally arrived and was ready to dominant hitters with his wicked fastball (clocked in the high 90s deep into games last season) and his deadly cutter.  However, in his first seven starts of this season, Brandon is 2-2 with an atrocious 8.01 ERA and only one quality start under his belt.

For Rivera, the story is not much better.  Despite a solid 4-1 record, Long Haul has allowed 70 hits plus walks in just over 40 innings pitched.  His ERA is a bloated 6.69.  On any other team, Rivera could easily be 0-5.

The story-saver for Omaha is that the Cyclones are leading the league in nearly every offensive category.  Averaging exactly 6.5 runs per game, the Clones are providing their pitchers with the best run support in the entire PEBA.  Jacking 67 home runs in their first 38 games, the team boasts seven players on pace to hit more than 25 home runs and two others who could reach 20.  You read this right: All nine starters could potential crank over 20 home runs per game.  That’s a high-powered offense, folks.

This trade was not made to improve an already potent offense.  Israel Villarreal comes to the Cyclones leading the Imperial League in innings pitched.  In his first eight starts, the Mexican-born lefty has registered six quality starts.  His WHIP is an attractive 1.03 and his ERA leads his old team at 3.23.  The flat 3-3 record can be explained by the company he has had to keep.  The Calzones have admittedly been in rebuilding mode for some time now, and the team has struggled to put runs on the board.

The move was still a gamble by upper management.  Villarreal is largely unproven, pitching only 161.1 innings of mediocre professional baseball in 2012 after being discovered by the Kalamazoo Badgers.  The remainder of his service time as a ballplayer has come as a career minor league and winter ball starter.  While Warnke and Davidson hope that early 2013 is an indicator of what is to come in the future, there are clearly no guarantees.

“We are taking a minor gamble here,” said GM Warnke.  “We have always wanted to try to get a left-handed starter worked into the rotation.  Israel solves that issue.  We also think that, long-term, Whaley and Rivera will work out the kinks.  Villarreal can serve as a stopgap and insurance policy in an effort to bolster our staff.  The good news is we were also able to improve our draft position as a part of this deal, moving up four rounds as compensation for sending a solid prospect to San Antonio.  Worst case, we have ‘rented’ a reasonable 4^th-5^th starter for the remainder of the season.”

Based on their early start, it is evident that this might be a season for Omaha to take a few chances.

It is thought that Whaley will remain in the rotation and Rivera will be available for spot starts and long relief.  Should Brandon continue to struggle, Rivera could also win his spot back in the regular lineup.  Villarreal will likely be plugged in as the fifth anchor of the rotation so that he can continue to pitch on the same amount of rest he is accustomed to.

“I am looking forward to playing for a winning team,” said Israel Villarreal in a morning sports show radio interview.  “[San Antonio] knew that I was not planning on signing a contract extension out there and respected my wishes to be moved to someone I can help.  I know I am still new to the pro level, but I am not that young, either.  I am eager to get on the mound in Omaha.  In fact, if everything goes well, I think I am pitching in two days!”

It actually appears as though Villarreal’s first start in a Cyclones uniform will be tonight in a game against division rival Fargo.  A series win for the Clones would increase the distance between the two ballclubs.  Omaha currently sits five games above the Dinosaurs in the Great Lakes Division.