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The Oakland Telegraph
1 June 2033
A's take relievers Ni and Martinez in draft, Dalton wins rookie of the month
By Mora Relievers, overstocked bullpen correspondent
The A's have selected 21-year-old lefty pitcher Jin-woo Ni and 18-year-old righty Angel Martinez with their first two picks in the 2033 amateur player draft. Martinez was listed as a distinctly mediocre right fielder, but is actually a very talented pitcher. Oakland GM Paulie Beane immediately switched Martinez's position to reliever where he'll join up with the other hurlers in the minor league squad. He could be lethal if he can develop his control over his pitches. Scouts, never known for their pessimistic predictions of a player's future, project both to be five star calibre relief pitchers. College graduate Ni is judged already major league ready. Plausible.
Meanwhile, young A's centre fielder Ray Dalton, promoted to the roster after Juan Torres strained a hamstring a month ago, won American League rookie of the month honours. The 23-year-old switch hitter went .340, with a homer and 9 RBI.
Oakland yesterday lost 5-2 to the Chicago White Sox, and now stand at 31-17 on the season. Sounds pretty good, but they've slipped now to 4 games back from divisional leaders Texas, who have the best record in the whole of baseball and are on a 7 game winning streak. If Texas keep this pace up, Beane's boys will find themselves in the wildcard game. Long time Telegraph readers will know about Beane's pathological loathing of the fixture, even though it's been kind to him in the past. The mere mention of it brings him out in a cold sweat.
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