Building Through the Draft
9/08/2013: Bakersfield, CA – As the PEBA 2013 season comes to a close, it seems like a good time to make a public declaration. The Reno Tenpinners suck!
I know what you are thinking – tell us something we don’t know. Well, how about we take a few minutes to explain why the Tenpinners suck? First and foremost, this organization sucks from top to bottom. Management is a joke, the players are horrible, even the concession stand workers are bad at their jobs.
All wisecracking aside, the only way this perennial loser is going to right the ship is by drafting and developing quality prospects. You have to crawl before you can walk. For Reno, crawling means formulating minor league teams that can win. Right now, the entire Reno organization is devoid of a single winning team. The major league squad is a whopping 78.5 games behind the division leading Aurora Borealis. The story is similar at every level of the minor leagues. The Glendale Skyelanders are 45.5 games behind the Triple-A division leader. At the Double-A level, the Red Deer Kings trail their division leader by 39.5 games, and the Escondido Stone Brew trail by 21.5 games in Single-A. The Angoon Avalanche are the closest to their division leader, trailing by just 12 games.
As bad as all this looks, the Reno front office is trying to change all this by drafting and signing as many quality prospects as they can. The most recent draft may just be the start of something good for Reno. The Tenpinners signed all but one of their 2013 draft picks. Reno leaned heavily towards pitching during the draft in hopes that they can piece together a big league staff that can win. Some of the young arms that provide the best hope include Jhong-shun “Earthquake” Kong, Ronald Burns, Juan Rodríguez and Matt Moody. Kong was the third overall pick in the draft and appears to have the highest upside amongst the group.
As for the offense, Reno has two young outfielders that might be ready to test their mettle against big league pitching sometime next season. Dale Griffith and António “Trashmaster” Morales were both promoted to Triple-A Glendale recently. Griffith has struggled at all levels this season but the front office thinks that this is just one of those seasons where a young player has to fight through. Morales has performed well at both Double-A and Triple-A and, if he continues to produce early next season, he could see big league action as early as next May. Along with the outfield tandem, Reno also has high hopes for shortstop Leon Brunelle. The twenty year old defensive wizard has had a nice year splitting time between Short Season and Single-A.
The message coming from the Reno front office is that the big league club isn’t likely to win many games next season but, if the some of the Reno draft picks can start to produce at the minor league level, maybe the organization can turn things around. However, it is never easy to change a losing culture. No one is expecting Reno to put a smack down on the Borealis any time soon… some perspective is always necessary and appreciated in these areas. Rather, the Tenpinners front office is preaching a renewal message to yell from the street corners: “Patience is a virtue and brighter days are ahead.” There are some nice additions via the 2013 draft, with more on the way in the years to come. This organization is dedicated to drafting and developing enough young in-house talent to lead Reno to their first ever playoff appearance. Seriously, stop laughing.
9/08/2013: Reno, NV – As the PEBA 2013 season comes to a close, it seems like a good time to make a public declaration. The Reno Tenpinners suck!
I know what you are thinking – tell us something we don’t know. Well, how about we take a few minutes to explain why the Tenpinners suck? First and foremost, this organization sucks from top to bottom. Management is a joke, the players are horrible, even the concession stand workers are bad at their jobs.
All wisecracking aside, the only way this perennial loser is going to right the ship is by drafting and developing quality prospects. You have to crawl before you can walk. For Reno, crawling means formulating minor league teams that can win. Right now, the entire Reno organization is devoid of a single winning team. The major league squad is a whopping 78.5 games behind the division leading Aurora Borealis. The story is similar at every level of the minor leagues. The Glendale Skyelanders are 45.5 games behind the Triple-A division leader. At the Double-A level, the Red Deer Kings trail their division leader by 39.5 games, and the Escondido Stone Brew trail by 21.5 games in Single-A. The Angoon Avalanche are the closest to their division leader, trailing by just 12 games.
As bad as all this looks, the Reno front office is trying to change all this by drafting and signing as many quality prospects as they can. The most recent draft may just be the start of something good for Reno. The Tenpinners signed all but one of their 2013 draft picks. Reno leaned heavily towards pitching during the draft in hopes that they can piece together a big league staff that can win. Some of the young arms that provide the best hope include Jhong-shun “Earthquake” Kong, Ronald Burns, Juan Rodríguez and Matt Moody. Kong was the third overall pick in the draft and appears to have the highest upside amongst the group.
As for the offense, Reno has two young outfielders that might be ready to test their mettle against big league pitching sometime next season. Dale Griffith and António “Trashmaster” Morales were both promoted to Triple-A Glendale recently. Griffith has struggled at all levels this season but the front office thinks that this is just one of those seasons where a young player has to fight through. Morales has performed well at both Double-A and Triple-A and, if he continues to produce early next season, he could see big league action as early as next May. Along with the outfield tandem, Reno also has high hopes for shortstop Leon Brunelle. The twenty year old defensive wizard has had a nice year splitting time between Short Season and Single-A.
The message coming from the Reno front office is that the big league club isn’t likely to win many games next season but, if the some of the Reno draft picks can start to produce at the minor league level, maybe the organization can turn things around. However, it is never easy to change a losing culture. No one is expecting Reno to put a smack down on the Borealis any time soon… some perspective is always necessary and appreciated in these areas. Rather, the Tenpinners front office is preaching a renewal message to yell from the street corners: “Patience is a virtue and brighter days are ahead.” There are some nice additions via the 2013 draft, with more on the way in the years to come. This organization is dedicated to drafting and developing enough young in-house talent to lead Reno to their first ever playoff appearance. Seriously, stop laughing.