By Tomasz Kamien / NewJerseyHitmen.blogspot.com

March 1^st, 2014: Trenton, NJ – This year’s rotation is ever-changing as it has been in recent years.  Gone from the 2013 campaign are starter Chet “Chopper” Collins, who was released and found a new home with the 2012 champion Knights.  So one spot in the rotation has opened up and contention for the spot will come from within house, as the Hitmen struck out in the offseason on acquiring that big-name arm.  New Jersey was in the mix t for Hancock, Conan, and even Barrón.  Ultimately, they did not want to bet the promising farm on the superstar Hancock and decided to withdraw to fill the other holes in the organization in hopes of scoring one of the two remaining big-named free agents.  Conan and Barrón soon found their way to the competition’s side, as they signed with Charleston and Connecticut, respectively.  When asked, manager Tracy Evans said, “They were asking for too many years for the liking of the higher-ups.  I guess they don’t have faith in their talents lasting throughout the years.”  So let’s look at the current rotation situation.

Starters

• Pedro Ramírez is coming off a team-record 17-9 season in which he helped anchor a very young pitching staff.  The “old man” on the rotation, Pedro stated he does not mind mentoring this youthful staff.

• Jian “Déjà vu” Du is the only other pitcher currently with a locked spot in the rotation.  The 26-year-old veteran is 34-32 since coming up to the bigs straight from Hi-A ball and has a career 3.96 ERA in three seasons.  Like Pedro, Du had a breakout 2013, going a career best 15-8 in 32 starts.  After a shortened 2012 due to a horribly sprained ankle, his most impressive stat was a team-high 20 quality starts (62.5% of his total starts).  One thing he has always managed to do is baffle the hitters, allowing only a .228 batting average in three seasons.

Fighting for Three Spots

• Douglas Bonsink struggled to get the job done in 2013.  Although pitching a respectable 4.18 ERA for the year, he managed just a 7-14 record in 29 starts.  Still only 23, pitching coach Kumanosuke Nii is hoping to chalk up last year as “growing pains”.  Bonsink won’t argue with the perception of his lackluster season, but his poor performance unfortunately has him duking it out with other hopefuls this season for one of three openings.

• Greg White came over to NJ from San Antonio in a trade before the deadline.  He instantly made his mark by throwing his first, the team’s second and only the league’s 12th no-hitter at the time.  The young pitcher was one walk short of a league-first perfect game.  Unfortunately, we would not see much more of White that year; he went down for the season with a torn rotator cuff just a couple games later.  Now out to prove that his perfect 2-0 record since coming over in the trade is not a fluke, he will be battling to get back into the rotation.  Hopefully his arm has healed and he is ready to go.

• Francisco Encarn has had a lot of hope placed on him by fans as well as the NJ coaches.  Drafted 29th overall in 2011, Encarn has blazed through the minor league system, dominating at every stop.  Last season at AAA Jersey City, Encarn managed an impressive 16-7 record with a 3.35 ERA and a .122 WHIP while amassing 210 strikeouts, garnering himself the Appalachian Mountain League Outstanding Pitcher Award.  Team scouts project Encarn as the #1 starter of the future, but the question is how soon before he is ready to take up this mantle?

• Bryant Duncan is throwing an interesting wrench into the equation this year.  Normally one of the league’s most dominant relievers, Duncan has expressed an interest in getting a shot for a starting role on the team.  Duncan has already averaged a very high 76 games and 87 IP a season in relief work.  With closer duties firmly in the hands of Bond, Duncan has been the go-to setup man and was used even more last season, putting up career high marks of 80 games played and 101.1 IP.  He has also managed to keep his streak of 100+ strikeout seasons going, now up to three years straight.  With as much as he is already being used, a transition isn’t completely out of the question.  If he could pull it off and shows promise this spring, the team would not mind having the insane 100 MPH-throwing beast in their rotation.  And if Duncan doesn’t make the rotation, he still will help anchor one of the most shutdown bullpens in the league.

• Jerry Jones seems almost forgotten for his contributions recently.  The longest tenured Hitman is the only player, let alone pitcher, still around from the 2007 championship squad.  Always a workhorse ready to take on any load, he has put up solid numbers and pitched tons of innings for the team even after fighting hard to come back from the fractured elbow that cost him the whole 2009 season.  2011 was a career year that netted him a nice extension, though he has been less impressive since.  Although not completely out of the picture, early thoughts are for moving Jones to a long relief role or a main backup in case of struggles by or injuries to other pitchers.

Outside Chance

There is no lack of young talent trying to break into the bigs with the Hitmen this year.  Although not in direct contention for one of the five starting spots, these guys do the hard work, providing the team with depth in case of injuries.  This group includes pitchers Matt Hancock, Rob Lambert, Miguel Ortíz, Javier Pacheco, and Jonathan Peña.  Everyone but Peña has already spent some time with the major league squad in one capacity or another when filling in for injured teammates, so there is still that outside chance someone could impress team management.  Of this group, Pacheco has shown the most promise necessary so far to stick in the bigs this year, whether as a long reliever or an able backup when the time comes.

On the Horizon

The Hitmen have a much deeper system since new management took over in 2011.  There are still some quality pitchers on the horizon that could one day fight for spots in the Hitmen rotation.

• José “Twinkle Toes” Cruz – AAA Jersey City.  Originally thought to be getting his chance this year along with Encarn and Coronado, plans have changed, apparently.  Coronado was part of the González trade and will be getting his shot this season as a starter with the Omaha Cyclones.  However, it looks like Twinkle Toes will have to wait one more year.  The depth of starters fighting for spots this season has left Cruz in AAA for some more seasoning, although after an impressive 14-5 record last season, I would not be surprised to see this fan favorite up in September or earlier.  Evans was quoted as saying, “He’ll make it up here sooner or later, for sure.  We still have high hopes for the kid.”

• Adrian Robinson – AA Bergen City.  Adrian was acquired in a trade with Tempe back in 2011 but has progressed at a slow pace.  Only 22, there is still plenty of time for this prospect to grow, and he has been playing well the past two seasons.  It is not out of the question that he could be fighting for a spot in the rotation in a couple seasons.  Although not a superstar in terms of his tools, he has shown the talents and attitude for becoming a solid 4th or 5th man in the rotation one day.

• Jason Sargent – AA Bergen City.  Much like Duncan, Sargent is a reliever who wants his chance at starting.  He has even been groomed as a starter throughout his entire minor league career despite not being able to last very far into games.  The one concern for Sargent is what affect will his 2013 injury have on him and will it put him back much in his development?  A torn rotator cuff is not something to joke about, and like Greg White, he will have to prove he still has it.  Sargent would be a welcome addition down the line for the Hitmen.  At 23, there is plenty of time for him to get back into the swing of striking out hitters.  I believe that even if he doesn’t end up starting for the team, he will make the team as a shutdown reliever anyway.

• Oliver González – Hi-A Hoboken.  Oliver was drafted out of high school in the 2012 draft.  Having spent two seasons down in short season ball, he will get his chance to take his talents to Hoboken.  His fastball is his strong point but he is refining an arsenal of pitches to get hitters out.  Probably far off from the bigs at only 20, Oliver will continue to work his way up.  Currently, scouts put him as a potential 2017 starter if his growth continues.

• Huibert “Grin” Zwager – Hi-A Hoboken.  The kid has “swagger”, some say.  Zwager was signed in 2012 at the tender age of 17 after scouts found him playing ball in Aruba.  Now 19, the kid has two promising minor league years behind him.  Like Oliver, Zwager is looking at a potential 2017 debut in the bigs, although that is probably a hopeful estimate.  Showing more promise each year, minor league pitching coaches have really taken a liking to the young Aruban and have high hopes for him in the future.