[Sundance]

5/5/2034

White Sox outfielder Ted Rodriguez has reached hit #2000! The 37 year old went 1-4 today, but his team dropped the game 3-1 to the Rangers. Rodriguez has struggled so far his season, but lifetime he is a .321 hitter with 183 HR and 891 RBI.

5/7/2034

This year’s draft pool has been announced! The top 10 prospects appear to be:

RHP Alex Black – OSA has him pegged as a mid-rotation guy, but I could see him as a front end starter. He projects to have good stuff, movement, and control. Everything that he throws has a wrinkle in it – a mid 90s sinker, a curve, a slider, and a change that he’ll need to work on.

OF Brad Richard – He’ll be a borderline talent straight out of college. He projects to be a line drive hitter that’ll hit for average. He’s got a superb approach at the plate and isn’t afraid to take a walk. Great defender with one of the strongest arms around. He’ll probably be the fastest guy in the league when he eventually makes it to the pros.

SS Ron Franks – The game comes naturally to Franks, and you can tell that he is the sort of player that’s never truly had to push himself. He’s got all the talent in the world, but his work ethic and mental fortitude is incredibly questionable. If he can get to his potential, he’ll be an incredibly well-rounded batter, but he’s a risk with his current attitude.

1B Jim Taylor – Projects to be a .300+ batter that can give you 20 doubles and 20 HR a season. He won’t work the count as well as you’d like, but he’s not going to swing and miss a whole lot either. He’s ok out in the field. He’s got a sure glove on anything within reach, but if he has to move for a ball he’s in trouble. No speed to speak of, but he’s not going to kill you out on the bases either.

RHP Joey Foster – Looks like a mid-rotation starter. Average stuff with above average movement and control with his pitches. He can regularly touch 99 MPH with his fastball, and his arm holds up surprisingly well – he’s a workhorse. Should develop a nasty slider, but will need to really work on his changeup if he wants to be a starter.

RHP Ron Jones – Another mid-rotation guy. Average stuff, above average movement on his pitches, and he’s got good control. Throws a cutter in the low to mid 90s and has a changeup that should be extra nasty. He also throws a forkball and a slider which he’ll need to improve. He’s also got a surprisingly deceptive pickoff move for a righty.

RHP Ben Smith – Projects to be a mid-rotation starter. Similar to Jones, he’s got average stuff, above average movement, and good control. He’s got three big league ready pitches in a fastball that hits 99 MPH, a cutter, and a curveball that has a lot of potential. Should develop a decent fourth pitch.

RHP Ed Hembrow – Did all of these guys just come out of a machine? This is another mid-rotation prospect that should develop average stuff, above average movement, and good control. He hits 99 MPH with his fastball, has a good forkball, a changeup that is improving, and a curve that’ll need a lot of work. He’s a workhorse that should rack up the innings.

OF Jim Goodall – Looks like a future bench player to me. Slightly below average offensive prospect. He’s got ok speed, but he’s a heads up runner – picks his spots to steal or advance well. Solid glove in the outfield with a plus arm.

LHP Steve Johnston – Should develop into a closer. Only thing holding him back right now is his control. Once that develops, he should have some nasty stuff that he can regularly spot. Throws a cutter in the mid to high 90s and keeps hitters off balanced with a changeup. Biggest drawback for this guy is that he’s injury prone.

5/29/2034

Padres third baseman Brendan Rodgers will be spending some time on the bench after straining his oblique during today’s game against the Rockies. The 36 year old is expected to miss at least one week as he recovers. So far this season Rodgers is hitting just .239 with 8 HR, 16 RBI, and 30 R.

5/30/2034

More bad news for the Padres – right fielder Edouard Kieffer is expected to miss the next five weeks after straining his hamstring during today’s game against the Cardinals. Kieffer has struggled so far this season, hitting just .224 with 5 HR and 21 RBI. No word yet on who will be called up to replace him on the roster.

Monthly Review

May was an average month for the club. We went 14-14, bringing our overall record to 28-24. We’ve fallen to 3rd place, but we’re just 2 games behind the Giants, and just 1 game behind the 2nd place Dodgers. The offense is still performing well – we now rank in the top 4 in every category except for HR, where we rank 7th. Our pitching on the other hand has struggled a bit. We’re 1st in starter’s ERA, 2nd in K, and 2nd in opponent’s batting average, but our walks, runs allowed, and bullpen ERA have all gone up.

Hot

LF Jorge Alvarado - .359/.384/.530, 3 HR, 11 doubles, 12 RBI, 9 SB
CF Jorge Delgado - .327/.393/.510, 1 HR, 8 doubles, 4 triples, 15 RBI, 7 SB
OF Jose Santos - .304/.304/.435
SP Antonio Mendoza – 3-2, 2.38 ERA, 1.20 WHIP
RP Cristo Gutierrez – 2.08 ERA, 0.75 WHIP
RP Kevin Lee – 2.30 ERA, 1.15 WHIP

Not

2B Jim DeWitt - .213/.259/.287, 26 K
2B Bob McKee - .158/.200/.211
3B Brendan Rodgers - .226/.317/.387, 21 K
RF Edouard Kieffer - .183/.260/.330, 48 K
SP Bob Jone – 2-2, 6.15 ERA, 1.97 WHIP
RP Edwin Harvey – 7.50 ERA, 1.92 WHIP, 5.3 BB/9
CL David Gonzalez – 0-2, 5 SV, 3.68 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9

Down on the Farm

LHP Vic Rheaume (AA) – 3-6, 6.12 ERA, 57 K
OF Luis Cortez (A) - .327, 1 HR, 8 RBI
LHP Antonio Garcia (A) – 5-4, 2.78 ERA, 47 K
SS Artie Hall (AA) - .228, 2 HR, 10 RBI
RHP Romaric Jouve (AAA) – 5-3, 2.57 ERA, 41 K
1B Ron Lambright (A) - .377, 4 HR, 28 RBI
LHP Jared Best (SA) – N/A
1B Antonio Sanchez (A) – .269, 4 HR, 21 RBI
C Dan Martin (AAA) - .267, 13 HR, 34 RBI
RHP Jin-Oong Kang (A) – 5-2, 2.98 ERA, 58 K

Monthly Awards

AL:

Top Batter – David Vela (.390 BA, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 18 R), Falcons
Top Pitcher – Grayson Yarrigle (7 SV, 1.06 ERA, 21 K), Yankees
Rookie – Luis de Jesus (.253 BA, 6 HR, 17 RBI, 16 R), Royals

NL:

Top Batter – Bobby Crawford (.387 BA, 9 HR, 20 RBI, 14 R), Rockies
Top Pitcher – Hector Rodriguez (6-0, 2.20 ERA, 44 K), Cardinals
Rookie – Luis Manuel Ramos (.435 BA, 4 HR, 16 RBI, 11 R), Giants