Season Preview, 2013 South Carolina Bombers
After last season’s debacle and ownership that was more than
irate, GM Gary Altman was given a mandate to improve the franchise up and down,
starting with the ABL flagship, and the finances of the franchise. And that’s exactly what Altman did.
6 Rookies made the 25 man roster out of spring
training. This could be a good sign, or
a bad sign of things to come.
One of the key pieces, that have been reported previously
was the improvement of pitching in the franchise. One move that was barely touched on was the
trade of Joe “Crayon” Frost. Frost was
the first selection in the inaugural draft and while an excellent defender at
2B, a concerted effort was made to convert the gold glove caliber player into a
SS. This transformation was met with
resounding effects, and thus led to his subsequent trade to So Cal for the much
coveted throughout the ABL John “Flipper” Martin. This trade also freed up close to $8 million
in salary which answered one of the owners mandates coming into the 2013
season. More on this trade in a future
article.
This season has started out tremendously positive for the
Bombers so far, and we’ll pick up the preview of this season from 14 games into
the season.
Some news of note so far…
The Bombers, with their opening day win was over 500 for the
first time in their history.
At the end of the first sim, the Bombers found themselves in
1st place (3-4) for the first time as well.
STARTING PITCHING
A rotation that last year featured Cecil Gibbons, Jeremy
Rogers and Dave Nicholson all find themselves developing and honing their craft
in the Bronx (AAA). This year’s rotation
has Ed Bell, Aaron Nelson, Sergio Ramirez, Johnny Ratzlaff and Victor Enriquez.
Ed Bell, 39, is coming off Tommy John Surgery. Last season he was 5-3, with a 4.08 ERA in 14
starts. Bell was in his free agent year,
and just before filing for free agency, came to terms on a 3 year contract with
the Bombers.
Aaron Nelson, 25, and currently a 2*/3.5* has the 2nd
spot in the rotation. Nelson started
last season in the bullpen, and was moved into the starting rotation and while
his numbers were below expectation, he did improve greatly over his reliever
stats. He finished 6-11 5.91. So far this season, Nelson is 0-2, 9.53 ERA
in 3 starts.
Sergio Ramirez, 28 is 1-2 with a 6.62 ERA in 3 games and
starts. He’s averaged almost 6 innings a
start, and needs to improve his control or could find himself back at AAA. Last year, he had good AAA numbers prompting
his call up to the ABL where he struggled with a 1-3 record and an ERA of
11.81.
Johnny Ratzlaff – 24 and another San Francisco cast off has
shown signs of developing as a potential 5th starter down the
road. Last season with SC Ratzlaff was
an abysmal 0-3, 13.71 ERA. So far this
year, 1-2 with a 3.06 ERA, including a stellar performance against the TML’s
best team, Boston, going 6.1 IP, with 3 H and 4 K and 0 runs allowed.
Victor Enriquez, 27, is the 5th SP in the
rotation and went 6-12 with a 5.51 ERA.
So far in 2013, Enriquez is 01- 4.91 ERA in 11 innings with 10 K’s. The Bombers are looking for some consistency
and innings from Enriquez.
The Bullpen is where the biggest transformation took place
in the offseason for the Bombers. Last
year the Bombers were blowing all sorts of games late, and that hurt many
things, moral, attendance and overall record.
The Bomber staff was ranked 11th or 12th overall
in most pitching categories last season.
This had to change, starting with the bullpen.
Carlton Benson, 38, 3*/3*, pitched in 64 games last season
for 98 Inn and had a very respectable WHIP of 1.38 and an ERA of 3.29.
Dorian Dubreuil, 29, 2.5*/2, ROOKIE, was a Rule V pickup. Last year in AAA, Dorian went 4-5, 4 Saves,
2.57 ERA and a WHIP of 1.03. So far
Altman looks like a genius as Dorian has pitched in 4 games, 8.2 IP and has
given up JUST 1 hit, 2 walks and has 5 K’s.
Kevin Rutledge, 26, 2*/4*. ROOKIE. worked his way thru AA and AAA last season to
make the club out of Spring Training.
He’s struggled a little with his 5.87 ERA, but has an excellent WHIP
1.30 in 7.2 IP. He’ll be given an
opportunity to straighten the ship, which is fully expected for this reliever
who can top out at 101 on the radar gun
Mark Thompson, 23, 2*/3.5*, is trying to rebound from last
year’s rookie season. Thompson started
out well last year and then stumbled the second half. This year, he’s started out extremely well, almost
better than expected. He’s 0-1, 1.50 ERA
in 7 games, and 6 IP. A WHIP of 1.17 is
very encouraging at this point in time.
Marvin White, 32, 4*/4* was a waiver pickup last season and
did extremely well with SC, going 3-1, with 3 saves and a 2.86 ERA in 50 games
with the Bombers. So far this season
1-0, 0.00 and a WHIP of 1.09 in 7.1 IP
Geoff Allen, 33, 3.5/3.5, was very good for SC last season,
but he’s even better now. 1-0 with a
3.52 ERA, 0.65 WHIP and 8 K. Allen could
be a major piece of the puzzle bridging the gap between the middle relievers
and the back end of the bullpen and is expected to bring a leadership role to
the pen based on his age.
Stephen Douglas, 25, 3*/3.5*, ROOKIE, is the other Rule V draft pick on the Bomber
roster this season. In AA last season
Douglas went 7-3, 21 Saves in 68 games, compiling a 1.22 ERA. Management’s thinking was that Douglas was
more than ready to not only be in the ABL but make a contribution to the parent
club now. So far, in 7 appearances,
Douglas is 0-0, 4.82 ERA with a WHIP of 1.39.
two bad outings inflated his ERA, but the other key indicators are in
line right now. Altman has toyed with
the idea of moving Douglas into the starting rotation because of his workhorse
stamina (20).
Bob Robinson, 40, 3.5*/3.5*, CLOSER, was picked up last season off waivers from So Cal (our scout apparently lives and works on the west coast...but I digress, pitched great for South Carolina last year going 2-0, 15 Saves, and a 2.02 ERA. This season he's picked right up where he left off as he has 3 saves in 4 games, and an ERA of 0.00 and a WHIP of 1.25. Currently Robinson is on the 14 day DL with a herniated disk, and will resume his closer role upon activation.
CATCHERS
Jayson O’Neill, 26 2*/2*.
Altman thinks that O’Neill is way under rated considering that he had 23
HR and 100 RBI’s last season. O’Neill
was acquired from Kansas City for 1B Prospect Cruz, who was predicted to lead
the league in HR’s. O’Neill started the
season on the DL and upon his return last week is hitting 333 with an OPS of
802, which is where he was with KC (741 with SC). O’Neill is a middle of the order hitter and
will be an important piece of the puzzle for SC to compete for the Division.
Carlos Martinez, 29, 0.5*/1*, won the battle out of spring training for the
role as backup to O’Neill. An average backstop,
where not much is expected. So far this
season Martinez is hitting 318 in 22 AB’s with a 966 OPS.
INFIELD
Fernando Guzman, 25, 2.5*/4.5*, ROOKIE.. Last season Guzman was called up in late
August and initially he struggled to find himself at the plate, giving concern
whether he was ABL ready for 2013. But
then he got hot the last 2 weeks of the season and put up some respectable
numbers (5 HR, 18 RBI, .250 in 29 games).
So far this season, his average hasn’t improved much (.244) but his OB
is 392. He has more walks than
strikeouts (10-8) and has shown a great eye at the plate. His defense is stellar and as long as he can
be consistent at the plate, he shouldn’t see a return to AAA.
Mario Antonio, 34, 1.5*/1.5* was a free agent acquisition during
the offseason. Antonio should provide a
consistent name to be in the lineup (played 122 games last year), and provide
stability to the infield with his veteran presence. He did rack up 40 doubles last season, and in
14 games this year already has 4. The
Bombers would be very pleased with this kind of production from 2B.
Gunner Smart, 28, 2.5*/4*.
Smart is a fan favorite in SC and we’re expecting him to take a step
forward this season. He was placed on
the DL the last two weeks of spring training, but was activated in time for
Opening Day. The rust has shown
though. So far he’s hitting .212 with no
walks. However, in 13 games, he does
have 2 HR and 7 RBI’s. Smart needs to improve
upon his 64 extra base hits from last year for the Bombers to make some noise
in the Billy Martin Division.
Michael Green, 24, 0.5*/1*.
A 2B/SS by trade, and the starting SS last season has seen his job
relegated to being a backup. His limited
playing time has also contributed to his .111 batting average.
Dave Collins, 27, .05*/1.5*.
Last year’s starting 2B is this years starting SS. A super defensive player at 6 of 7 positions
makes Collins a very valuable commodity.
His bat needs to get in gear for him to maintain his job as a
starter. He’s hitting a well below
expected .137 thru 51 AB’s.
OUTFIELD
Stephen “Action” Jackson, 26, 4.5*/4.5*. Jackson came into last season as a 3.5* in
actual and potential and bumped up both by a full star when the season was
over. Big things are expected of Jackson
after his .309, 21 HR, 82 RBI performance.
He had a 391 OB and a 499 SLUG for a 890 OPS in his rookie season. As well as more BB than K’s in 593 AB’s! Last year’s performance was parlayed into a 7
year, 27M bargain contract for South Carolina
So far Jackson has started a little slower than expected
(244, 3 HR, 10 RBI) but other numbers are better than expected. Hie’s on pace for 30+HR and over 100
RBI. Jackson, when he matures and fully
develops could very well be an MVP and Triple Crown candidate.
Robert O’Neil, 27 2*/2.5*.
Primarily a LF’er he’s here to be a 4th or 5th OF’er
who can provide some power off the bench in a pinch hitting role. Last season, combined, he hit 22 HR’s in 401
AB (split between AAA and ABL). Being a
left handed hitter, he has the perfect swing for Bomber Ballpark.
Juan Marin, 33, 4*/4*.
Last year Marin’s season was riddled with injuries, limiting him to just
207 AB’s for a player that was expected to be in the middle of the lineup. He hit 319 with 9 HR, 23 RBI’s. He had a 383 OB and a 507 SLUG pct. Multiply those numbers by 3 and you could
imagine that the Bombers season could have been better. It is because of a healthy Marin’s presence
in the 2013 edition of the Bombers makes management believe that this season
should be a vast improvement over last year.
So far, Marin hasn’t found his stride yet, hitting 225, but he does have
a 392 OB. He also has more BB than K’s
(11-7) in 40 AB’s.
Doug Rogers, 25, .5*/1.5*, ROOKIE, Made three stops last
year (AA, AAA, ABL) and with the exception of his 20 ABL Abs did
admirably. Was a call up when Marin the
Bombers had CF injuries and is more than an adequate 4th or 5th
OF’er. So far in 2013, Rogers is hitting
.286, with 1 HR in 32 Abs.
Mike Quinn, 28, 1*/1.5*, ROOKIE. Another rookie on the South
Carolina squad who will serve in a support role. In AAA last season, Quinn hit 287 with a 503
slug in just 143 Abs, with 7 HR. Power
off the bench is never a bad thing, and Quinn is an example of another thumper
waiting in the wings for his shot. So
far Quinn is 1-4 with a double and 2 BB;s on the year.
DESIGNATED HITTER
Orlando Bustamante, 30, 4*/4*. One of the 5 favorite Bomber players and a
notorious slow starter in his first two seasons in Bomber Land. Orlando has improved his defensive prowess,
but still lacks some mobility, which relegates him to the DH spot. Last season, Orlando started off slow, but
his end numbers were outstanding, .312, 360 OB, .521 Slug, 29 HR, 81 RBI. His numbers are a little better to start the
season, and good things are expected of him.
Right now Orlando is hitting .241, with 5 HR and 7 RBI in just 14 games. His RBI total should go up if we can get some
people on base for him.
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