St.Kitts Sandgnats
Owner: Ryan Rutherford
(3rd Season)
Park: The Ballpark in
Arlington
AKA:
Projected Line-Up
Rotation
1. E. Milton
2. A. Sele
3. J. Suppan
4. S. Estes
5. B. Stein/
G. Stephenson/
B. Cooper
Closer
J. Franco
Line-Up
1. J. Kendall C
2. C. Allen RF
3. E. Alfonzo 2B
4. K. Griffey Jr. CF
5. R. Ventura 3B
6. R. Brogna 1B
7. D. Erstad LF
8. A. Gonzalez (Fla) SS
Eric Milton is slowly
developing into the
ace he was touted to
be. Will he continue
to move forward in
2000 or will he take
a step back?
"No SUPPAN for You!!"
Jeff needs to increase
his K's and lower his
HR's in 2000. But at
24 he is still a pitcher
with a promising future.
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St. Kitts was the comeback team of the year in '99.
Increasing their win total from 59 wins the previous season
to 97 wins in '99. The Gnats posess a young team with
veterans in the right places. The offseason acquisition of
Ken Griffey Jr. was a shoch to the league as well as Schilling
who was a fan favorite in St.Kitts. Can the young rotation
handle the pressure of being in the divisional and wild card
race? We will have to play the season to find out.
Rotation
The Gnats boast a promising future in the starting
rotation, with future stars Eric Milton, Jeff Suppan, and
Shawn Estes. Blake Stein and Brian Cooper round out a nicely
developing staff. Still, the key word here is: developing.
All have a decent outlook this year, but none have reached
their expected level of achievement. This is both good and
bad, of course (most things are), but with the Potatoes to
contend with, the future is also now. For that reason, the
Gnats will depend on Aaron Sele to provide veteran leadership
to this relatively inexperienced staff. Curt Schilling, who
was sent to Osaka in the offseason (for Griffey) will be
missed, although Schilling's lingering injury troubles will
likely make this deal look very good for St Kitts in the
future.
This team showed serious character last season, and if
Sele fills the leadership void left by the departure of
Schilling, look for this staff to keep the Gnats close enough
for the bullpen and offense to carry the ball.
Grade: B+
Bullpen
There are no flashy names here, but the job should get
done more often than not. John Franco will handle most of
the closing duties. The aging Dan Plesac and young Travis
Miller can handle the lefty-lefty situations. TJ Mathews is
a solid set-up man but there are some questions about his
health (coming off of off-season surgery). Paul Quantrill
will be the workhorse of the bullpen, expected to be a jack
of all trades (close, setup, and middle relief). Mike Maddux
will handle some middle relief but be used mostly in blow-
outs or mop-up situations. Expect youngsters Strickland,
Molina, and Pena to see duty in limited roles. The Gnats
have been rumoured to be seraching for a closer. Stay tuned.
Grade: C+
Catching
St Kitts will run a two-man platoon this season, as
Jason Kendall is eased into the fulltime role again.
Eusebio will handle nearly all duty versus lefties plus
1/3 of games against righties, while Kendall will squat
about 2/3 of the time against righties. This is a fine
platoon as well, as Kendall murders righties, while
Eusebio eats southpaws for lunch. This should result in
better than average production overall from the catcher
slot. There's no tradeoff defensively either, as Kendall
has superior defensive skills behind the plate, and both
platoon mates sport strong guns. Opposing teams will be
reluctant to run against this pair. St Kitts also has two
defensive backups, Pierczynski and Prince, each with a
strong arm of his own. Pierczynski, who should develop
into a strong catcher over time, may provide eventual
trade bait for St Kitts.
Grade: A-
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