#20 Wilfredo
Izturis Cleveland Laredos -
NL 27-yr old Center
Fielder
About Wilfredo Izturis, I first need to state that by the
time you read this, his primary position may have been changed to something
other than a center-fielder. While he
has the glove to play the position and his arm strength and arm accuracy are
well above the standard for a ML center fielder his range is well below the
standard for that position and urbanjman, the owner of the Cleveland franchise
is advertising and seeking in trade, a true ML center fielder. Urbanjman is a first season new owner in
Regular Joe’s world and this season he has moved the franchise from its
long-standing base of Syracuse to Cleveland.
Cleveland is a fairly neutral hitting ballpark.
But enough about Wilfredo’s defensive shortcoming, let’s
discuss where he excels.
Izturis was originally obtained by the Syracuse Syrian
Cereal Killers in season 20 from the International Free Agent pool using a $12M
bonus to outbid the other franchises for the then 20yr old “shortstop.”
He now has seven professional seasons under his belt; four
at the big league level. He spent three
seasons in the minors, exclusively at High A, then jumped directly to the major
leagues to start his 4th professional season, Regular Joe’s 24th
season. At High A, he made two All-Star
teams and was National league High A MVP in season 22. He played predominantly either 2B or SS in
High A and in 126 games at SS he had 25 plus plays. Overall, he had a .316 batting average at
High A, hitting as many as 36 HR’s in a full season at that level.
As I write this, his profile says that he has never started
a ML game in CF, and has only played nine games in reserve at that position in
the 557 major league games he’s played so far in his career. He’s been used at right-field 94% of his
playing time in the major leagues, winning a Gold Glove as a NL right fielder
in season 24. He’s made 29 plus
defensive plays as opposed to only one negative defensive play in his career
while playing rightfield and has a superlative .988 fielding percentage
there. He could realistically excel at 2nd
base of 3rd base in the ML’s (not to mention LF or 1B), if the need were to
arise.
Offensively he’s been a lifetime .277 ML hitter, averaging
22 HR’s and 70 rbi’s per season, while most likely being used at the top of the
batting order in the past. He has
averaged 23 stolen bases and 90 runs scored per ML season. He has two NL All Star berths and two World
Series rings to his credit in his four ML seasons.
He has excellent speed and decent base-running stills. Though he is a right-handed hitter, he tends
to grade as a better hitter against right handers rather than left handed
pitchers.
His health and durability are very good but not outstanding
and he’s never been on the disabled list at any level. He has a decent batting eye and makes good
contact, but he tends to strike-out about twice as often as he walks.
In season 26, the prior owner changed the team’s site from
Syracuse to Jacksonville in season 26 and Izturis did not take too well to the change,
having the worst offensive season in his career, hitting only .248. His HR’s declined 20% though his doubles
improved 50%. I’m sure the Cleveland
owner is hoping the change in scenery helps Itzuris get back to form.
#19 Matt
Clark Arizona Anachondas- AL West 33-yr old Starting Pitcher
Matt Clark is about to start his 12th major
league season. He was originally drafted
by the Helena franchise as the 2nd pick in the first round, season
12. He was sent to High A for his 1st
professionally season, then promoted to AA for his 2nd and to AAA
for his 3rd. In the minors he
had a won/lost record of 26 & 26 in 75 starts.
Promoted to the ML in season 15, he had a rather subpar
rookie season, showing 9-wins and 13-losses with an ERA of 4.42 and an WHIP of
1.29 and striking out an average of 6.7 batters for every nine inning that he
pitched. That is the only season in his
ML record, where Clark had a losing season.
As his career progressed, he got stronger and his strikeout ration
ramped up while his ERA and WHIP diminished.
He pitched 10 full ML seasons for Helena, never starting
less than 31 games and winning over 15 games in six of those 10 seasons. To start season 25, he was traded to Boise,
where he started 12 games, going 4 & 4 before being traded to Dover. With Dover to finish season 25, he went a
strong 12 & 4. However, Dover let
him go to free agency to start season 26, and Arizona won a bidding war to
obtain his, finally offering a $72.5M, 5-year contract. For Arizona in season 26, he won 15-games and
lost only 5 contests with an ERA of 3.35 and a WHIP of 1.18.
In twelve full major league seasons, he’s won 185 major
league games, while losing only 97. His
record shows a lifetime 3.25 ERA and 1.15 WHIP, with opponent batters hitting
only .231 against him. His strikeout
to walk ratio has been nearly 3-to-1.
His control is one of his best properties, helping to keep base-runners
down.
In the course of his ML career, Clark has averaged nearly
seven innings per start, allowed 8.7 hits per nine innings, but only 2.9 walks
and 0.75 HR’s over the same time frame.
He has superior control, very good velocity and is equally
strong against right and left handers.
He has a very good sinker and an above average curve in his four-pitch
tool-box and has superior stamina.
However, his durability is below average for a starting ML pitcher and
so, he needs an occasional extra day rest between starts.
In the major leagues, he’s made seven All-Star teams, a Gold
Glove and two Cy Young awards.
#18 Cory
Rivera Tacoma
Public Square – AL West 32-yr
old Shortstop
Cory Rivera was originally obtained via the Amateur draft in
round 1, pick #4, in season 13 by the Helena franchise owned and managed by
tdfactory and signed with a $3.72M bonus.
He played for the Helena franchise every season through his 13th
season of professional ball until leaving the Helena franchise via free agency
to start season 26. He moved to the Tacoma
franchise who won a bidding war for his services, finally providing Rivera with
a $63.2M, 5-year contract.
Rivera’s primary position is shown as shortstop. His defensive ratings suggest that he might
have limitations for that position and he has played 479 major league games at
shortstop but has a less than adequate .949 fielding average when playing
there, with only one plus play and 37 negative plays. He’s a more comfortable 3rd-baseman
and that is where he’s played most of his ML games. In 1,069 ML games at 3rd base,
Rivera has a .973 fielding percentage with 119 plus plays and only 1 negative
play! For Tacoma last season Cory played
162 games, all of which were played at shortstop, making 14 negative plays and
having a fielding percentage of .952. He’s
a defensive asset everywhere except perhaps CF and SS.
He played three seasons in the minors, one at Rookie ball,
one in AA and one in AAA, hitting a total of .283 with an OPS of .912 and
averaging 24 HR’s and 87 rbi’s per season.
In season 16 he was promoted to the big leagues and in 11 total ML
seasons, has hit .267 while averaging almost 39 HR’s and 112 rbi’s per
season. In season 18, he hit 51 HR’s and
had 138 rbi’s. He’s never hit less than
30 HR’s in a major league season. He has
enough speed to generate an average of 23 stolen bases per season and averages
over 100 runs scored per season. I’d
take that production.
He is closing in on 2,000 lifetime hits and has 425 HR’s,
which suggests he’s likely to finish his career with more than 500 and may
perhaps approach 600.
In his last two seasons, Rivera has played in every game on
the schedule and throughout his career he’s shown admirable durability, missing
less than 100 total games in his 11-year career. He’s never, ever been on the disabled list.
Rivera is a power hitter as shown by production. His hit ratings suggest that to be probable,
but they also suggest that he’s likely to be one that doesn’t hit for an overly
high average, and his statistics prove that to be true as well. He has walked an average of 55 times per
season, while striking out about 110 times per. He is a better hitter than the ratings that I
see would suggest. I try to always trust
the production above the ratings, and this guy is productive offensively.
For awards, Cory has won eight Silver Slugger Awards, three
as a shortstop and five as a 3rd baseman. He’s been on eight major league All-Star
Teams and won the All-Star game MVP in season 22.
#17 Eliezer
Cela Baltimore Blue
Crabs – NL East 33-yr old
Starting Pitcher
33-yr old Eliezer Cela was originally obtained by a franchise
when it was the Milwaukee Thunder franchise owned by a johnmut. He was signed out of the season 12, International
Free Agent pool, pried from other bidders with a $18.1M bonus which was the 2nd
highest bonus given to any IFA in that season.
Cela played for that franchise when it was initially
Milwaukee through season 20. Then the
franchise was moved to Pawtucket for seasons 21 & 22; moved again to
Montreal for season 23; moved again to Detroit for season 25.
Eliezer then left Detroit via free agency, signing with a Baltimore franchise
run by amcarron using a $96.2M, 5-year contract as enticement. He’s one of the highest paid players in our
world and he is currently in the 3rd season of that contract.
He didn’t play at all in the season he was originally
signed; season 12. In season 13, he
began his pro career in High A, where he won 18 games while losing only 5
contests. In total he played two and a
half seasons in the minors racking up an incredible 45 and 17 won/loss record
while dominating opponents with a 2.68 ERA and over a strikeout per inning
He was promoted to the big leagues halfway thru season 15. He had a rather unremarkable rookie season
won/loss wise as he started 17 games and had 6-wins and 5-losses. But his ERA was only 3.07; and his WHIP, a
meager 1.01 as he gave up less than a hit per inning.
Cela is very stingy when it comes to base runners. ML hitters have hit only .231 against him
lifetime, and he’s walked only 2.7 batters per nine innings. In his ML career, Eliezer has won 169 games
and lost only 92, with a career 3.10 ERA and WHIP of only 1.15. He has struck out 2,056 batters in 2,360
innings and has averaged 6.7 innings per start.
His ratings indicate outstanding control is likely and that
he is very difficult to hit by batters on either side of the plate. He throws very hard, keeps the hitters
pounding the ball into the ground most of the time and has an excellent 4-seam
fastball as his 1st pitch in a 5-pitch tool kit. The ratings also suggest that one should
expect him to go about 7 innings in a good start, and take the ball every 5th
game, though maybe occasionally stretching that pace out to keep him strong.
His health rating is high but he’s had one major injury in
his career; a 60-day disabled list stint in season 20 for elbow tendinitis
which ended his season after 12 starts.
That was the only major league season where Cela won less than 13
games. He’s twice won 20-games in a
season. In five of his eleven ML season
he’s had an ERA under 3.00.
Cela has won two Gold Gloves and been an 8-time ML
All-Star. He also won the National
League Cy Young award in season 25 and oddly, he won a Silver Slugger for P/DH in
season 25 when he hit .260 with 20 hits and 6-rbis in 77 at bats.
This guy is a reliable winner when provided with offensive
support.
#16 Sammy
Guillen Huntington
Motorboaters – AL South 25-yr old Starting Pitcher
25-yr old starting pitcher Sammy Guillen was originally
signed by the El Paso Motorboaters as an International free agent in season 22
and he has now played five pro seasons; two at the big league level. The franchise, owned dbreeze, has been moved
to Huntington to start this 27th season. It took El Paso; now Huntington, a $35.0M
signing bonus to obtain him which was the highest IFA bonus given to any player
in that season 22.
Guillen started his pro career in AA. In that 1st pro season, he had a
record of 6-wins and 7-losses, an ERA of 3.15 and WHIP of 109, while striking
out more than a batter inning and only allowing a OBA of .238. He next a full season in AAA, going 12 &
10. In his 3rd pro season; he
started the season in AAA, started 6 games and then was promoted to the major
leagues. As he was promoted after more
than 20 major league games were played, the season didn’t count as a major
league season in terms of service time. For
statistics sake, he’s played approximately 2 & 3/4th seasons in the
major leagues.
What immediately jumps out in Guillen’s major league stats,
is that he’s started 94 games on the mound, and has completed 27 of them! Can you say “stamina?” At the big league level, he’s won 58-games
and lost only 18 contests. If he keeps
up that pace, he’s sure to be a Hall of Famer when his career ends. Lifetime in the majors, he has an ERA of 3.19
and a WHIP of 1.19, with hitters hitting only .233 against him. Last season he won 21-games and lost only 8,
while completing 12 of 34 starts.
Sammy is a 3-pitch starter, with an excellent slider and
curveball, but a mediocre change-up. AS
we’ve told you, is stamina is very high, and his durability suggests an ability
to take the ball every fifth game without concern that he might flare out. He has excellent control, is very tough on
both right-handers and lefties, and throws very hard. I can’t really see anything of serious
concern in his ratings. He’s never been
on the disabled list at any point in his career.
Guillen has been a 2-time American league All-Star and won
the season 25 AL Cy Young. He’s off to a
fast start in his young career.
Next edition:
Players ranked 11 through 15, including the one and only player who made
the top 25 who started season 27 on a AAA roster.
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