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Spring Training Preview - Baseball's Worst, the Fresno Raisin Bears (1969: 50-112, 5th) February 16th - GLB Daily

With Fresno's first full-squad workout being tomorrow, we're taking the time out to give you a preview of the 1970 Fresno Raisin Bears headed into Spring Training

Starting Rotation: Newly signed pitcher Jonathan Ellis (12-14, 3.32 ERA) will headline the rotation, with returning righties Nick Kain (4-3, 3.06 ERA) and Jose Mora (2-9, 3.63 ERA) following him up. Bobby Long (10-4, 4.39 ERA), a fan-favorite SP Fresno got in the Danny Fuentes trade, will start 4th. Rule-5 pick Luis Tapia (28-28, 2.94 career ERA in the minors) and Fuentes trade-import Alex Martinez (12-2, 1.97 ERA in AAA) will compete for the 5th spot, pitching 5th and 6th in the 6-man Spring Training rotation respectively. This year's rotation is very deep, with Alex Torres, Juan Aguilar, Josh Hartley and Ruben Jaquez all being emergency options out of the bullpen.

Bullpen: Free Agent signing Lupe Salas (4.45 ERA, 2 SVs) will most likely take the stopper role, as manager Dustin Malone has chosen to ditch the use of the closer. If Salas falters during ST, expect to see Gary Jeoffrey (5.97 ERA, 0 SVs) assume the position instead. Alex Torres (3.52 ERA, 0 SVs) and Josh Hartley (7.97 ERA, 0 SVs) will enter the spring as the club's Long Relievers, and are ready to fill in for any injured SPs. Ruben Jaquez (1.69 ERA, 0 SVs) and Blake Cline (3.12 ERA, 0 SVs) are 2 very solid lefty options, while the nasty Juan Aguilar (4.19 ERA, 0 SVs) will be the final middle reliever. This is a bullpen full of talented yet inexperience pitchers. Although Salas is pretty good, he put up the worst pitching season ever in 1965, and nothing he does this year will make people forget that. I guess he fits in well in Fresno.

Catchers: The Raisin Bears rolled out a solid 3-man catcher rotation with Teodoro Ceraolo, Jon Pimentel and Travis McConnell. Michelangelo Martinez (Rookie), the centerpiece of the Danny Fuentes trade, should be the undisputed starter in this position. McConnell (AAA) will back him up, and Ceraolo (.179-9-40) will be the 3rd catcher unless his contract is dumped.

Infield: Fresno revamped their infield over the offseason, adding Ryan Hartman (.263-27-95 in AAA) to start at 3B, Jonathan Gary (.266-4-29 in AAA) to start at 2B and Nate Stone (.214-1-15) to start at SS. They are attempting to teach former OFer Jorge Rivera (.306-20-77 at AAA) first base during ST, and plan to start him there if he's successful. They've also called up top prospect David Lorenzo and will give him some ABs during ST, but say he doesn't have a shot at the majors yet after a terrible showing in AA. Brady Weinstein, John Rosek, Rich Butler, Walter Gold and Mike Coffey will have some playing time as well.

Outfield: The Raisin Bears built on a very intriguing outfield this offseason, adding young gun Juan Sanchez (Rookie). Rob Grabenstein (.187-.253-.286) will start ST in CF, with Ricardo Ramirez (.248-10-42) next to him at RF. If Grabenstein fails to hit well, he'll likely start the year in AAA, letting Sanchez be the starting CFer on Opening Day. If he performs, the team plans to start him in Fresno. New guys Nick Morrison (Rookie), Carlos Herrera (Rookie), Adam Brown (Rookie) will get a good amount of at-bats, as will returning OFers Paul Grengs (.202-0-6) and Mike Wargo (.275-1-8). This should be a productive outfield for years to come if Fresno doesn't ship off Grabenstein, Sanchez or Ramirez.

Top Ranked Player: Ricardo Ramirez (8th ranked RF)
Projected 1970 Finish: 69-93, 5th in Captain's League West Division for 4th year in a row