Fargo Team Blog II

Message

#1 Post by **Dinosaurs** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:48 pm

I'm going to take a look at the middle infielder positions in this article, as all indications from the team and its current starting SS and 2B seem to indicate that we'll be seeing two new players in their spots next year. At this point its too early to delve into the potential free agents that may land a spot on the roster, so I'm going to continue my focus on in-house replacements if in fact both 2B Rob Ortiz, and SS Cliff Jones are on their way out the door.

Highly touted SS/2B prospect Miguel Velasco had a very disappointing season between Fargo and AAA Sioux Falls. Hitting .187 in 203 major league at-bats this season was a quick way to demotion. Unfortunately Velasco did not demonstrate much ability in handling the AAA pitching as although he posted a little more respectable batting average (.261), his poor walk numbers and lack of power translated to a meager .638 OPS (OBP+SLG) in 322 AAA at-bats. Velasco will be 26 heading into next season and should start the season in AAA until he can produce some better offensive numbers, particularly his walk rate. It is because of such a disappointing 2007 season, that GM Cristian Shofar will likely have to find help from the free agent market for at least one if not both middle infield spots. Velasco is going to have a make it or break it year next season, as prospects typically have set their bar at his age already. He's either going to get it, or not. If not, Velasco might go down in Fargo history as one of the great "what could have been?"s.

Now the only reason Fargo may avoid having to dip into the free agent market for both middle infield positions, is the AAA performance of 22 yr old SS Dean Jefferson. The young prospect found his way to Sioux Falls following a trade with the New Orleans Trendsetters on June 30th of this year as part of the Hae-Nim Yang trade. Jefferson's power numbers leave room for improvement, 2 homeruns in 504 at-bats, but his ability to get on base is what drew Shofar to target him prior to the trade deadline. Jefferson posted a .349 OBP for the year and his combined numbers between organizations would have led the Sioux Falls team in walks this year. The problem with Jefferson is that he is not currently on Fargo's 40 man roster and some within the organization would like to see him produce a little more in regards to his power numbers before making the jump to the majors. Because of his young age and quick advancement through the minor league levels, leaving him in AAA for another year is a luxury that will likely be used. But, the temptation to see what he can do in The Show might be enough to give this kid a legitimate shot at making the major league club come spring.

-Steve Youngblood
Fargo Gazette

#2 Post by **John** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:35 am

Another great read! Now a tip on posting through the Submit News form on the homepage: it's actually a lot easier to link names there. It doesn't use the same format as the forum does; instead you just highlight the name and click the little chain-link fence icon on the control panel. A window will pop up and you can paste the player link in there and click the "update" button. Voila... you're linked! Very handy, and you can even use the buttons in the interface to post and link pictures as well.

#3 Post by **Dinosaurs** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:38 am

thanks for the tips on linking names on the submit news page, I was a little confused, but yeah it sounds pretty easy.

Duane · #4 Post by **Duane** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:07 am

Actually the way I do it is that I write my article in MS Word, post it to the Front PAge (adding in the links) then copy that to the Forum... I am not so worried about links in the forum because it is geared more towards interaction.

#5 Post by **John** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:15 am

Thoroughbreds wrote:Actually the way I do it is that I write my article in MS Word, post it to the Front PAge (adding in the links) then copy that to the Forum... I am not so worried about links in the forum because it is geared more towards interaction.

That's definitely a good way to do it, yes. And I agree that links in the forums articles aren't as important; here the key is generating a little chatter!

Duane · #6 Post by **Duane** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:21 am

I love the 'chatter' ball player emoticon ... is there a way to put these cool ones in our common choices displayed at the left of our text entry window?

#7 Post by **John** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 10:22 am

Unfortunately I haven't found a way to do that. If anybody knows how, please share with the rest of us!