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lionden_56 · 10-14-2017, 06:59 PM

A look to the future – Rising Star League Update

The Rising Star Leauge season is in the books. This league is full of the future stars of the Colonial Premier and Challenger leagues, all of them hoping to be drafted and play Pyramid professionally. The draft is still about 6 months away, but as their season wraps up and the team specific workouts begin, let’s take a look at some of the players who stood out this year and should be high draft picks in the upcoming rookie draft.

The man that turned the most heads this season was Jim Buttar. The Libran native led the league in average, OBP, SLG, OPS, and hits. He will most likely be drafted as a 3rd baseman, but has played shortstop in the past as well. Scouts are high on his potential, and expect him to go high in the draft.

Dusty Hall from Sagittaron is another player that turned quite a few heads this year, and he did it with huge power numbers. The first baseman slugged 17 homers in 50 games, down from his total of 26 last year, but still good enough to lead the league. He also led the league in RBIs with 56. Many thought that Hall was good enough to enter the draft pool last year already, but he decided to play one more year in the Rising Star league, and probably bumped himself up to a first round draft pick by doing so.

Finally, from the hitting perspective, there’s outfielder Jamie Tosh. Tosh hit .344 this season with 13 homers and 38 driven in. He had the third highest average in the league and the fourth highest WAR at 2.5. The Virgon native still has one year of Rising Star eligibility left, but scouts are telling him that he will get drafted this year should he declare.

Moving to the bump, this year’s pitching crop also had some players putting up good numbers, despite Jim Buttar hitting the cover off the ball.

Elton Manners the youngster from Virgon, led the league in ERA, with a mark just over 1.00 in 50 innings pitched. He only allowed 6 earned runs in those 50 innings, with a WHIP under 1.

Ed Trzcinski is an interesting player to watch for in the upcoming draft. The Scorpia native appeared in only 11 games as a reliever this year, with an ERA of 2.75 and a WHIP of 1.2. His numbers aren’t staggering by any means, but scouts project him to fare well at the next level of Pyramid. We’ll see if any big league GMs want to take a flyer on the potential that scouts seem to see, and if so, what round that will come in.

Lastly is closer Matt Kelly also of Virgon. Kelly recorded 15 saves this season, his only one as a closer. He converted 15 of 18 attempts. Scouts praise Kelly’s control and lack of walks, but note that if his curveball doesn’t get over, it tends to get hit hard. Still, Kelly is a three pitch pitcher, which will draw the attention of GMs at the next level.

10-14-2017, 06:59 PM	#19
lionden_56 Minors (Double A) Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 101	A look to the future – Rising Star League Update The Rising Star Leauge season is in the books. This league is full of the future stars of the Colonial Premier and Challenger leagues, all of them hoping to be drafted and play Pyramid professionally. The draft is still about 6 months away, but as their season wraps up and the team specific workouts begin, let’s take a look at some of the players who stood out this year and should be high draft picks in the upcoming rookie draft. The man that turned the most heads this season was Jim Buttar. The Libran native led the league in average, OBP, SLG, OPS, and hits. He will most likely be drafted as a 3rd baseman, but has played shortstop in the past as well. Scouts are high on his potential, and expect him to go high in the draft. Dusty Hall from Sagittaron is another player that turned quite a few heads this year, and he did it with huge power numbers. The first baseman slugged 17 homers in 50 games, down from his total of 26 last year, but still good enough to lead the league. He also led the league in RBIs with 56. Many thought that Hall was good enough to enter the draft pool last year already, but he decided to play one more year in the Rising Star league, and probably bumped himself up to a first round draft pick by doing so. Finally, from the hitting perspective, there’s outfielder Jamie Tosh. Tosh hit .344 this season with 13 homers and 38 driven in. He had the third highest average in the league and the fourth highest WAR at 2.5. The Virgon native still has one year of Rising Star eligibility left, but scouts are telling him that he will get drafted this year should he declare. Moving to the bump, this year’s pitching crop also had some players putting up good numbers, despite Jim Buttar hitting the cover off the ball. Elton Manners the youngster from Virgon, led the league in ERA, with a mark just over 1.00 in 50 innings pitched. He only allowed 6 earned runs in those 50 innings, with a WHIP under 1. Ed Trzcinski is an interesting player to watch for in the upcoming draft. The Scorpia native appeared in only 11 games as a reliever this year, with an ERA of 2.75 and a WHIP of 1.2. His numbers aren’t staggering by any means, but scouts project him to fare well at the next level of Pyramid. We’ll see if any big league GMs want to take a flyer on the potential that scouts seem to see, and if so, what round that will come in. Lastly is closer Matt Kelly also of Virgon. Kelly recorded 15 saves this season, his only one as a closer. He converted 15 of 18 attempts. Scouts praise Kelly’s control and lack of walks, but note that if his curveball doesn’t get over, it tends to get hit hard. Still, Kelly is a three pitch pitcher, which will draw the attention of GMs at the next level.