March 12th, 2014: Trenton, NJ – Let’s move on to the infield next. There is currently little contention for any spot in the infield as the roster has been pretty much set after the acquisition of a few big names and the return of another. Originally 22-year-old second baseman Nick Rose was going to be taking balls at first base in hopes to gain some experience as he would have potentially been the starting first baseman this season. Although the return of a free agent changed that quickly, so let’s get right into it.

Starting Infielders

C – Manuel González came over in an off season blockbuster deal with the Omaha Cyclones. The big deal sent two pitchers and two outfielders as well as draft picks and $8,000,000 cash to Omaha in hopes that the recent thunder ManGo has been providing them would translate over in New Jersey. During the press conference to introduce Mango, we mentioned that he last played with the Hitmen back in 2008 and had a very lack luster year as far as his career averages speak. The past two seasons in Omaha have been spectacular and ManGo has commented that this is the product he is bringing to New Jersey. He is off to a solid spring already and hopefully will have a big season. The reason why the Hitmen decided to pay so much for him is that they want to win now, coming off a surprising 94 win season, the team is only getting better so there is high hopes that they can be the first team in PEBA history to win a 2nd Planetary Extreme Championship. The other reason ManGo was pursued was because young catcher Jesús Téllez is just not ready yet as was hoped.

1B – Pablo Souza was a free agent acquisition last year a couple weeks into the season. He decided to once again test the free agent waters at the end of the year but ended up taking a hefty pay raise to come back to NJ one more time. And you can’t complain with the decision. Souza put up impressive numbers last season going .294 at the plate with a .347 OBP and he also contributed 18 home runs and 92 RBI. Originally he started out at third last season, although not a natural third baseman he soon moved to first with the arrival of Mario Tessier to the lineup from AAA. A much more sound career .997 fielding percentage for Souza at first, we probably will not see the 17 errors again this year that he produced while playing third. The return of Souza is also the reason that the youngster Rose will be out of a starting role one more season as he will get more time to mature as a flexible back up after a lackluster season last year.

2B – Lawrence ‘Man of Steal’ Jones was the 8th overall pick in a deep 2011 draft year. He is also another part of a very young and talented NJ infield. What the team has always liked about the kid is his great athletic skills which allow him to play any of the infield positions if necessary. This type of flexibility is crucial over a long season where injuries can take some of your top talent away from you for long periods of time. He also brings a sound bat to the box and knows how to hit the ball although he lacks power, though what he lacks in power he makes up for in sheer speed. The kid is lightning fast and this is why Jersey City manager, Luis Rodríguez, gave him the nickname ‘Man of Steal’ after former MLB great Ricky Henderson. “The kid is incredible, one second he is on the bag, then before the pitcher is through his motion Lawrence is already three-quarters of the way to second. It’s a sight to see if you can!” In 94 games in AAA last season, Jones stole 54 bases and was leading the league before being called up to the bigs. In just 59 games for NJ he stole another 29 bags. It will be fun to see what he can do in a full season. Although early reports out of spring are that Jones may have torn a hamstring and will miss the whole of the spring hopefully returning just in time for the season to begin.

3B – Mario Tessier has been playing beyond everyone’s expectations except his own. Drafted 69th overall in 2011 out of Washington State, Mario always considered himself to be a big ticket hitter and is putting in the effort to prove to everyone that he is the next big thing in PEBA. Nearly a career .400 hitter in college, Tessier started off his pro-debut in SS-A Hilo slowly in 2011. 2012 was a whole different story though as he decimated the competition at Hi-A and AA levels. It did not take him long last year before management could just no longer say no to his big numbers and a timely team injury allowed for him to come up early last season to help the Hitmen to their first playoff appearance since 2009. At just 24-years-old, the Canadian born hitter has locked down the job at third base and will be the starter for the first time this coming season. There are high hopes riding on this young man.

SS – Lee Kohler has continued to show maturity and growth at the young age of 23. Already a two-time winner of the All-Leather Award at shortstop, Kohler will be entering his third season as the full time shortstop. Like Jones, Kohler has the athletic talents to play the whole infield if necessary and the two combine to give the Hitmen a lot of flexibility, not to forget a great combo up the middle. The team finally acknowledge his talents this off season with a hefty extension that will have him averaging $8.5 million over three seasons. Although it was not an easy process to extend Kohler as talks started at the beginning of the off season and the team and Lee’s agent went back and forth only to sign near the end of December. Some feared that an extension might not get done as the dollar amount between the two could not be agreed upon. Now with the contract talks behind him, Kohler will focus on improving his game yet again and work to win a third straight All-Leather Award.

Infield Depth

The Hitmen are fortunate to have some depth to work with in their infield that helps them to not skip a beat when that pesky injury comes around. This year there are three talented defensive minded catchers fighting for that big league spot and four infielders looking to give the Hitmen that utility option and depth they need.

C – Manuel Silva was last season’s back up to catcher Rafael Gonzáles and although he did not get much playing time, he did hold down the fort and was a favorite amongst the pitching staff. This year Silva has some competition with Jesús Méndez and José Rosário for that back up role. Of the three, Méndez is the most sound defensively while Rosário is probably the best offensive option. Silva brings the most familiarity to the picture and knows his pitching staff well. So far in the spring, all three men are pretty neck and neck, this position could foreseeably go to any of the three.

IF – Dave Morrison is an ex-Warrior getting another shot to show he still has some pop left in his bat. A career .279 hitter for Duluth, the first baseman was not tenured by any ball club in the 2013 season and spent most of his time trying to stay in shape by coaching his nephew’s little league team in Austin, Texas. Now back in the bigs in a potential backup role, Dave isn’t taking anything for granted and calls his opportunity a second shot at the thing he loves most. We wish him luck this year.

IF – Nick Rose was the starter at second base last season for the club. Although at a very young 21-years-old the kid still has a lot of growing up to do. Now 22, management seemingly has decided to give Rose a little more time to grow as they plan to use him in a versatile backup role this season. Rose has shown amazing patience at the plate and has no trouble working the count when he is up. Despite showing the talent and skill to hit the ball as well for great contact, he had trouble translating it to a big league level last season. The return of Souza has put Rose out of starting at first this season, but it is a role that management still plans to hand to the kid. The kid can get on base, that is for sure, but that does not seem to be enough for Evans as Rose will need to bring up his defensive talents as well as start putting wood on the ball to make him happy.

IF – David MacFadden has had a tough luck career. Showing plenty of talent at the AAA level, MacFadden has got many chances to play backup already for the Hitmen. He even had gotten a few chances to actually start for the club. But there always seems to be someone just a little bit better getting that chance ahead of him and he has spent a lot of time bouncing up and down between the bigs and AAA over the years. He will once again be fighting for a bench spot this season and David has been taking his situation with great humility. Although with his options running out I would not be surprised if the team and David will soon be at an uncomfortable crossroads. What this kid needs is an injury in the system to get his shot it seems, which is unfortunate. This blogger has at least taken notice of his hard work.

On the Horizon

C – Jesús Téllez is strongly considered to be the team’s next big league catcher. Téllez is more of an all-around talent than just one thing as his defense is solid and he shows that he has the ability to swing the lumber as well. Téllez like many of his 2011 draft class teammates has been tearing apart the minors at every level although his growth slow downed last season. Management believes one more season in AAA ball will be enough to get he kid ready to take the reigns in the bigs. Although I would not be surprised to see him up earlier in potentially September of this season or sooner if there are any big injuries.

Some additional catchers to keep an eye on as we continue to put together information on them are Rafael Pérez in Hi-A Hoboken as well as Jack Collins and Sean Dymond in SS-A Hilo. Rafael is another 2011 draftee that was off to a slow start in his minor league career but has shown some signs of life recently. Although not spectacular, he is putting his work in and could very well be a lead candidate as backup down the line. Dymond is a young 19-year-old recently scouted down in Aruba that will make his debut in the minors this season and like Rafael first reports are that Dymond is an all around talent that will probably fight for the backup role. Although as hard a worker as Sean has shown himself to be, he could very well be fighting for that starting role as well. Finally we have Collins who was drafted 34th overall in last year’s draft for his bat more than for his defense. Oddly enough in his first season with Hilo, it was his defense that shown and his bat that needed the work. A work in progress at the catcher position, Collins still might be a threat for the starting job when his time comes.

2B – José Mateo was recently acquired in a trade with division rival Manchester that sent the Kung Fu Panda to a home that is willing to start him again. Despite being a solid defender and crushing the ball, new management was not happy with Pablo’s paltry .227 performance in 2012. Mateo was acquired in what was essentially a trade for a hopeful borderline prospect. Mateo has the skills to be a solid backup when he fully matures right now, but there is hope that he might one day amount to more. You could not ask for more in this sensible trade.

Some more borderline talent to keep an eye on are Bergen third basemen Alberto Rodríguez and Hoboken second basemen Hunter Penton. Alberto reminds me a lot of David MacFadden, although he is still young enough that he could avoid the current situation with a full boat in the backup department and still make the squad as a sound backup down the line for the team. Hunter on the other hand is looking like a possible utility infielder when his time comes. He has shown a knack for learning new positions quickly and is currently working on improving at third and at he shortstop position. His one question is his bat and if he can manage to improve it he could very well make the squad in years to come.

Finally down in SS-A we still have the verdict out on these next three prospects. First basemen Kevin Forrest, Jaime Flores, and second basemen David Parrish round out our in depth look today. Forrest is a the seventh round pick for the Hitmen last season and shows some potential with the stick while showing defensive versatility. With his hard work and high baseball IQ, he could become a solid infielder in future years. Flores recently recovered from a broken bone in his elbow that sidelined him for 7 months and will have a long road ahead of himself to prove himself again. The big injury however has not thrown out all hope for the kid. David was a solid hitter in high school and at 19-years-old has plenty of growing time ahead of him, but he very well could one day fight for a spot on the roster as a backup or potentially a starting role. The road for any of these players will not be easy as the current Hitmen roster is filled with a very youthful bunch that seemingly will be around for a long time. It is just good to have those few extra guys working their way through the system to give you depth.