[toanstrom]

CATCHERS:

Dustin Boone: (41st pick in the Expansion Draft)
Dustin is a solid hitter who will hit against left handed pitchers and has a strong thowing arm. Even though he hit just .216 last year and has very little power the Hogs think he will make a solid platoon player.

Norris Howard: (7th pick in the Expansion Draft)
Howard will be the starting catcher for the Hogs against righthanded pitchers. A durable catcher and natural leader he has been the backup catcher for the Pittsburgh Vulcans. He had his career year in 1985 hitting .286 with a .347 obp 3 homers and 23 doubles. The Hogs hope he can rebound from his trobles the last two years and that regular playing time will make him a good starter.

Marcos Pardo: (43rd pick in the Expansion Draft)
Pardo is 35 and has only seen 250 at bats in the show but he destroyed Palm Beach (Miami's AAA club) last year hitting 20 homers with a .382 obp in just 242 at bats. The veteran Pardo brings a great clutch hitter and even though an attempted switch to third base failed during Spring Training failed the Hogs would like to use him as a part time catcher, 1st baseman and pinch hitter.

INFIELDERS:

Lee Paulin: (9th pick in the Expansion Draft)
Paulin can play a little third but mostly first where he will start for the Hogs. A major dissapointment for a first round pick he struggled at first for the Emperors last year but the Hogs hope he can emerge as power theat at 31. It may be asking too much of a player with 19 homers in 674 at bats. He also swatted 15 homers in 176 at bats at AAA.

David Straley: (Free Agent Signing)
A 34-year old first baseman with a .181 lifetime batting average Straley will fight for at bats on this team. He is a better defensive 1b than than Paulin and hits righties for a higher average than Paulin which should find him sometime. He raised eyebrows with a .375obp and a .463 slugging percentage at AAA last year.

Todd Anderson: (5th pick in the Expansion Draft)
27 year old Todd cant play 2nd well enough to be a regular there an attempt to switch him to left failed in Spring training. That being said Todd has proven he can hit. Okay he has been unsuccesful in 500 major league at bats but has dominated AAA pitching. The Hogs will look to Todd to be there top pinch hitter and if he can get hot early he might see sometime at first base.

Edward Stiles: (Free Agent Signing)
Stiles Plays a great second base, will walk and steal bases in bunches for the Hogs. Probably their best offensive player he is penciled into the leadoff spot against righties and the four hole against lefties. Stiles could be the real deal, he could also be a big dissapointment.

Antonio Rivas: (Free Agent Signing)
Origionally signed to play short the Hogs have decided to move Rivas to third primarily. A good hitter without much power Rivas has great patience and has some solid doubles totals. He isnt expected to steal as much as he had because while racking up good totals he has always had a poor percentage.

Barry Antonucci: (23rd Pick in the Expansion Draft)
Another guy who hasnt hit at the major league level, Barry is a seems to be a slightly below average hitter who plays a solid short, third and second. It still isnt settled as to whether he or Rivas will play third. The other will play short. Barry will see a lot of time regardless. Right now he is penciled as the starting shortstop against righthanded pitching.

Donald Ullman: (57th pick in the Expansion Draft)
Has virtually no range at short or second but a solid hitter who can really hit lefthanded pitching Ullman will be high on pinch hitters list assuming he doesnt start against lefties.

OUTFIELDERS:

Ron Elamin: (35th pick in the Expansion Draft)
Can play a little bit of left and right and even second in an emergency. The 33yr old has only seen 78 major league at bats but has consistently hit major league pitching with authority. Has good power and average control of the strike zone but may not hit over .220. Also has some speed left in his wheels.

Domingo Lamas: (Signed off waivers)
Yet another player who hasnt hit in the majors but has in the minors. The 34 year Lamas has two major pluses, the ability to steal bases and play a good center field. He is below average with the bat.

Thad Weir: (29th pick in the Expansion Draft)
The everyday centerfielder for Arizona last year Weir wasnt terrible but didnt wow anyone either. Actually he was pretty bad. He's very inconsistent so the Hogs have to hope they can ride his hot streaks. Has 30 steal speed and plays all three outfield positions well. Should start in center.

Brad Loose: (11th pick in the Expansion Draft)
The 26 year old Loose has a grand total of 8abs in 5 games in the bigs. He's also been a consistent .285-300 hitter in the minors and has shown some solid doubles power. Could be a contributor for the Hogs. Needs to walk more.

Jeffery Pennington: (33rd pick in the expansion draft)
The last man added to the roster Pennington isnt expected to provide much. He can play all three outfield positions and has performed well at triple A. The scouts arent wild about him but the GM didnt have many other options. Will have to hit to stay on the roster.

PITCHERS:

Freeman Evers: (3rd in the expansion draft)
The team has high hopes for the 27yr old Evers who will join the rotation right away as the fifh starter. Evers is a total workhorse should provide a lot of quality innings now and in the year to come. Pitched just 17 major league innings last year and looked sharp in all of them winning once and losing once. His minor league numbers were workman like.

George Fulkerson: (15th pick in the expansion draft)
The 32 year old Fulkerson doesnt have much in the way of stuff but he gets the ball over the plate can fool hitters with good movement. He hasnt fooled any major league hitters yet with a 6.68 lifetime era but has pitched well in the minors.

Alen Kerley: (17th pick in the expansion draft)
A solid reliver for the Atlanta Generals the Hogs hope to turn Kerley into a starter. If the move works he will be a lynchpin in this rotation. If not he will still be an anchor in the pen.

Austin Koon: (27th pick in the expansion draft)
Koon has been an average AAA starter and a repectable major league middle reliver for the Kansas City Cavalry. Koon is supposed to fill the swingman role for the Hogs.

Davor Resendiz: (1st pick in the expansion draft)
Davor is the real deal. He went 9-12 with a semi-respectable 4.27 era. The year before he blew away AAA hitters. He is the unqualified ace of this staff and the team is depending on him this year to win at least 12 games if they want to do anything.

Danny Salazar: (Free Agent Signing)
It seems like an age ago that Salazar won 18 games, really it was just 1985. Time has not been kind to the 38 year old and Carolina was able to pick him up for 900 grand. He was ineffective in 37 relief apperences with St. Louis and Cleveland last year. The Hogs hope that a move back to the rotation might revitalize his career. Danny is the only Hog to have appeared in an All-Star game.

Bill Apagar: (Picked up off waivers)
Apagar should be the top set up man this year. He has good stuff and is above average with his control and his pitches movement. The 15th round pick has had to fight for all of the 29.1 innings he's pitched in the show. Just turning 30 the Hogs think he is just hitting his peak and should be an excellent set up man.

Lawrence McKinnon: (13th pick in the Expansion Draft)
Lawrence didnt get the job done last year posting a 5.25 era but his pinpoint control should keep give him a lot of innings. The fact that he's a lefty wont hurt.

Christian Miller: (31st pick in the Expansion Draft)
The 32 year old righty is one of many Hogs who can start in a pinch. He didnt do much to impress at any level last year. The Hogs scouts like his game and he is just one year removed from a 3.54 era with St. Louis and San Diego.