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Author Topic: Meet the 2043 Aviators  (Read 931 times)

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Offline Chappy

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Meet the 2043 Aviators
« on: February 11, 2019, 12:23:17 pm »
Leading off and playing left field...   Choppy Orozco!

The younger cousin of former NC infielder Slappy Orozco had a terrific rookie year, posting a .286 average while hitting 15 HR and stealing 20/28 bases.  We don't know how long this 21-year-old will stay in the leadoff spot because scouts see him as more of a middle-of-the-lineup guy long term, but until his power develops or his speed declines, he'll be at the top of the order.

Batting second and playing third base...  Ahilocana Gopalakrishnan!

The future HOF'er will turn 40 years old this year, and he'll start at 3B as long as he doesn't embarrass himself.  He missed a month and a half last year with an injury, but still managed to hit .272 with 14 doubles in 60 games.  Goppy is currently our team captain.

Playing catcher and batting third...  Flash Rodriguez!

23-year-old Flash Rodriguez (the name is sarcastic, btw, he's among the slowest players in the league) hit .284 with 11 HR and 61 RBI in his sophomore season.  The young lefthanded batter figures to take full advantage of the renovated stadium and should see a dramatic improvement in his batting numbers this season.  He hit .312 with 3 HR this Spring.

Batting cleanup...  Center fielder Turd Newton!

After a terrific year in 2041 (.293-26-73, 61 SB), the Turdster fell off in a major way last year, hitting just .232 with 23 homers and 41 steals.  But Turd is still highly-rated by scouts, and the ballpark renovations should help him too, as he's a lefty.  Turd is just 23, so it would be nice if he didn't turn out to be a bust. 

Batting fifth, the first baseman...  Mei-Shan Lo!

Lo was a bright spot for the Aviators last year.  Claimed off the free agent board, Lo hit .520 with 3 HR in 6 games with AAA Raleigh and was immediately called up to the bigs.  We were struggling defensively last season, and Lo was mainly picked up to be a defensive substitute.  But he hit .294 with 6 HR and 19 RBI in 45 games with us, and now he's the starting first baseman.  He is 31 years old.

Batting sixth, the designated hitter...  Shane Shute!

At 32, Shute is now a grizzled veteran, and is known as one of the league's most patient hitters.  He led the AFBL with 93 walks last season, giving him a team-leading OBP of .386.  He also hit .268 with 15 HR and 27 doubles in 142 starts between 1B and DH.  He's really quite terrible in the field, so the more he DH's, the better we'll be.

Playing right field and batting seventh... David Ruiz!

Ruiz is just 29, but a disturbing trend has developed in his stat lines...  from .297-32-94 in 2040, to .268-22-68 in 2041, to .222-13-51 in 2042.  It's our hope he'll rebound.  After all, the scouts still like him, and he's a LHB, which - as I've mentioned - should give him a distinct advantage in our renovated ballpark. 

Batting 8th, the shortstop... Jose Martinez!

Let's be real, Jose is a defensive SS, and any hits we get from him are just gravy.  He hit just .212 last season, his lowest average since hitting .209 in 2037.  He did manage to rip 29 XBH among his 90 hits, so there's that... and he was successful on 19 of 24 steal attempts.  As long as he doesn't make many errors, and this 2-time Best Defender Award winner doesn't, he'll be fine.

Batting 9th and playing second base...  Eddie Wheeler!

Wheeler, 30, hit .273-16-84 last year and stole 36 bases in 47 tries.  He's a fantastic defender, and can play 2B, SS and 3B quite capably.  He's coming off a career high 3.8 WAR last year, so we'll hope for similar number this year.

And on the mound...  Jesus Ortega!

Ortega, just 9-10 last season with a 3.41 ERA, will be our staff ace.  He had the lowest BB/9 in the AFBL last season at 1.3.  At 32, he's still going strong, but he did miss the end of last season and the playoffs with an injury.  Still, we'll see what he's got come opening day!

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