Catching
Brad Ausmus will have have the task of getting the most he can
out of the rotation as well as having to field a knuckleball every 5th
day or so. Ausmus is a solid catcher, at 31 he is mature enough to
call a good game and handle some of the younger arms of the
Valley staff. He's an above average hitter who can lay down the
sacrifice, run decently, but doesn't posess much power to either
field. His great arm should cut down on the amount of steal
attempts made by the opposition.
Having Dan Wilson as the backup provides a good veteran
approach to catching. Wilson can hit for some power but being in
Kauffman Stadium, primarily known as more of a pitchers park
may limit the amount of long balls off of his bat. Dan has worked
on his defense and has always had an under rated throwing arm.
Wilson and Ausmus makes a very good 1-2 punch behind the
plate. Both will have the job of helping Rod Barajas mature
along. Like most young catchers, the raw talent is there but it is
most definately raw. He should be 1-2 years away from making
any impact with the big club.
Grade: B
Infield
When you look at the Famrington Valley infield two things
strike you, great defense, and a glaring weakness at third base.
The infield is an all over 30 affair except for their 25 year old
shortstop Neifi Perez. he brings a valuable glove at SS without
sacrificing the team on the offensive side of the plate. The
Holsteins would like him to use his speed a little more, and
increase his stolen base numbers. Perez is also an excellent
bunter and in the 2 spot will be asked to move alot of runners.
Many GSBL teams would love a guy like Perez, plus he is
young and learning as much as he can while he plays
everyday never hurts.
Looking at the right side of the infield Fernando Vina will
play a solid 2nd base. His good combination of defense and
his ability to get on base gives the Holsteins a great lead-off
man. Vina has been plagued by injuries throughout his career,
and the Holsteins need him to be healthy to keep up the
defense up the middle. Like Perez, Fernando is hoping he
can increase his stolen base numbers and cut down on the
amount of times he gets caught (32 times in 83 attempts over
the last 5 years).
Tino Martinez is the every day 1st baseman for the Valley.
Tino brings a solid glove to first base and combined with the
type of middle infield, he should be scooping a few balls out
of the dirt to help turn the double play. His bat isn't a heavy
one but can easily bring you the .275 25 HR and 90+ RBI
season we have become familiar with. At 33 the Valley must
start to consider weening in a younger player to take over the
1B duties and could perhaps cause Tino to become a
full-time DH.
The HOT CORNER like on alot of GSBL squads is of
concern. By the looks of things it will be a three man platoon
at 3rd base with Billy Spiers, Craig Pacquette and flashes of
Lou Merloni thrown in here and there. merloni will be used
as a late inning defensive replacement as he has the best
glove and arm combination of the three. Paquette and Spiers
are flexible enough to play other positionsother than 3B,
which means they may see some time in late innings of a
game as a pinch hitter. Spiers puts the ball in play while
Paquette likes to swing for the fences, who gets the start may
depend on the quality of the opposing pitching. John
Valentin could be an option at 3B but not this year as he is
coming off of knee surgery. He could be a factor next season
but at 33 we think the Valley should inject some youth here
if possible.
The Farmington Farm team (say that 3 times fast), has
some youth that could step up and compete for a starting role
next season. Most notably are Julio Zuleta and Alex
Hernandez who could fight for Tino's spot in 2002 or 2003.
Zuleta has the inside track and his stats can be easily found
at the very end of any player register. The Valley needs to
shop for a full-time 1B and let Paquette and Spiers be the
utility type players that they have become.
Grade: B-
Outfield
The outfield situation is where the Valley has made some
strides in bringing in the youth movement. The starting
outfield should be Ron Gant in left, Mark Kotsay in center,
and the best player nobody knows about in right, Magglio
Ordonez. There is some depth in the OF but not enough to
merit a trade to upgrade another position.
Kotsay is due to have a breakout year. The Valley told
him early this off season that CF in Kauffman Stadium is his
to patrol all season. He should flourish with the kind of
confidence management is showing in him. Possessing a
great arm, great range combined with a solid glove Valley
pitchers should reap the benefit from having him everyday in
CF. The best part of Kotsay's game is that he can hit for
power to all fields without sacrificing his eye at the plate. At
24 he has great plate discipline which makes him dangerous
during every plate appearance.
Mr. Invisible in RF is Magglio Ordonez, he is poised for a
30 HR and 30 SB season. He's out there to prove that his
performance from last season was no joke and he's for real.
Putting up huge numbers is what the Holsteins expect out of
him and hope that having him bat clean up won't hinder his
base stealing numbers. Magglio is a great clean up hitter as
he will drive in runs any which way he can. He can hit for
average, to all gaps, and he can "jack it" out of the park
when he gets his pitch.
The outfields weakness appears to be in left. Ron Gant
was onced a feared batter, The one time only pumped up
guy in the majors seems to no longer be an every day
threat. He still has some speed, and he still has some
power, but he will never be the 40-40 guy he was once
touted to be. Expect 2/3rds of the LF duties to be manned
by gant, the other 1/3rd will have the much younger Alex
Ramirez. The 25 year old still hasn't blossomed into what
scouts thought he could be. Plate discipline is a problem
and at times his defense can be suspect.
Designated Hitter duties will be mostly taken care of by
Cliff Floyd. Floyd isn't your typical DH as he can RUN. He
may get the start in LF if Gant appear on the DL (IF? The
real question is WHEN?). Floyd is no stranger to the
disabled list, and his knees tend to cause him to land on
it at least once a season.
The Valley has thought about the future of the outfield
and have some youth like Scarborough Green, Brady Clark
(not so young at 27), and Eric Byrnes. The latter is not to
make a big splash with the club until 2002, but Green is
more than capable of providing some needed at bats if
needed.
Overall the outfield is pretty solid. Left field could be
considered above average as you may never be sure who
will step out of the dugout to play it. The youth is there
and it sems that Kotsay and Ordonez would be a great
combo for many years to come. Plus, we all know some
LF situations in the GSBL are much worse than the one
present in the Valley.
Grade: B+
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Can Jimenez take
the constant
pressure of getting
saves in order to
keep his team in
the pennant race?
Brad Ausmus is
the type of guy
every team
would love.
Calls a great
game and can
gun runners
down.
Vina has speed
and is a good
pivot man in a
DP combo. He
just needs to
keep his head
up on the base
paths to avoid
a DL stint.
PRESSURE PLAYER
Ordonez is poised
to become part
of the GSBL's
elite. If he posts
a 30-30 season
he may come
out of the
infamous
Mr. Invisable
shell.
Kotsay at age
25 needs to
prove that CF
can be his to
patrol for years
to come.
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