[jamus23]

New Centerfielder in Denver
2/8/2081
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

Denver GM John Mounts announced today that the Broncos have signed former Sacramento CF Russell Thomas to a 4 year contract worth $9,000,000 per season. The two time batting champion(2076 and 2079) is coming off of a season in which he hit .373 and finished 3rd in the NL batting race. Mounts said that while previous CF Javier Segarra, since allowed to leave as a free agent, was an adequate player, the chance to acquire a player of Thomas' caliber had to be taken advantage of. "Thomas is an excellent hitter, a smart baserunner, and covers alot of ground in CF. He'll be a great fit at the top of the order for us."

When asked if the signing was related at all to getting no-hit in the playoffs a year ago, Mounts said, "I won't deny that what happened last season has made us reconsider certain aspects of the team, but we would have gone after Thomas regardless of whether we had gotten no-hit last year. Thomas is simply a great player, period."

Thomas was excited to join his new team. "One thing I like about Denver is that they like to be a little more active on the basepaths than Sacramento. I know I'm not the fastest guy in the world, but I think I'm pretty good at picking my spots, and if they let me run, I know I can steal a good number of bases."




Opening Day Outlook: The Hitters
3/31/2078
Al Vincent
Staff Writer

To kick off the new season, let's take a look at how the Denver roster is shaping up.

Behind the plate, sweet-swinging Lee Chappel is the best all around hitter in the Denver lineup. The 30 year old, left-handed catcher does everything you want at the plate: hit for average, hit for power, draw walks, and make good contact. He enters the year with a career batting line of .314/.418/.575 and a .992 OPS. He moves well behind the plate to block pitches, but has only an average arm.

Backing him up is 31 year old Eric Fudge. Fudge is probably good enough to at least compete for a starting spot on many teams. A switch hitter with line drive power, Fudge also has very good plate awareness. He has a career line of .285/.371/.450 with an .821 OPS. In a pinch, Fudge can also play 3rd base. Behind the plate, Fudge offers an average arm.

At 1B, the 32 year old Ellis Bolling has more pure power than almost anyone else in the game. He enters the year with a .274/.349/.605 line, a .953 OPS, and 415 career homeruns. The two time Silver Slugger winner(2074 and 2076) also has a fantastic glove at 1B, with tremendous range and incredibly sure hands.

Secondbase is manned by a platoon of Tomas Sato and John McQuillen. Sato, a 31 year old left-handed hitter is an excellent hitter for average and is very difficult to strike out. He has posted a .328/.388/.449 line with an .837 OPS. He has only an average glove at second.

The right-handed hitting McQuillen is 27 years old and doesn't have a huge amount of experience. An average hitter, his best skill is drawing walks. He has an average glove. So far in his career, he has hit .257/.350/.426 with a .777 OPS.

Third-baseman Joseph Swayze offers only one above average skill: Home Runs. The 32 year old Swayze plays lots of positions, but none of them particularly well. A right-handed hitter, he has hit .266/.299/.506 in his career with an .806 OPS.

Like Swayze, short-stop Javier Cordero is fairly one dimensional. In Cordero's case, however, it is his glove. As a hitter, the 30 year old infielder offers very little, except the occasional double or walk. His career batting line is a meager .215/.291/.355 and a paltry .646 OPS. His range at short, however, is among the best in the league, and he is very sure-handed. He is also a very good defensive second-baseman.

31 year old Patrick Chason fills the utility infielder spot. Chason makes good contact, and can hit the occasional double. He has a good glove at third, an average one at second, and a below average one at shortstop. His batting line stands at an unappealing .234/.301/.329 with a .630 OPS.

Asbel Fuentez mans left-field. The 33 year old is a natural leadoff hitter, but will likely hit around the 5 or 6 spot, functioning as a "second leadoff man" while new acquisition Russell Thomas hits leadoff. The left-handed hitting Fuentez is an excellent hitter for average, will hit plenty of doubles and triples, and the occasional homer. He draws a good number of walks and is very difficult to fan. He has excellent speed, and has great base-stealing instincts. He isn't the best fielder, but does have a strong arm. In his career, he has hit .311/.380/.456 with an .836 OPS and 561 career stolen bases.

Free agent Russell Thomas will man CF. The 30 year old is a great hitter for average and has excellent plate discipline, but has very little power. He has only average speed, but great instincts. In the outfield, he covers plenty of ground, but has only an average arm. A two time batting champion, Thomas has a career line of .351/.406/.444 and an .850 OPS. Despite his ability to steal bases, he has only compiled 100 in his career so far.

32 year old Alexis Vazquez handles right field. Vazquez has proven himself a capable hitter for average with above average power and good contact skills. He is fairly slow, but is smart on the basepaths. In the outfield, he has little range, but a very strong arm. Vazquez is a career .312/.356/.499 hitter with an .856 OPS.

Zankuro Maresuke fills one of the reserve OF spots. A 28 year old switch hitter, Maresuke has a little pop and can draw the occasional walk. His best defensive position is RF, and he has a strong arm. In his career so far, he has managed a .269/.336/.455 line and a .792 OPS.

The other reserve OF spot belongs to Michael Stennis. 32 years old, Stennis offers a little power off of the bench, and a decent glove in LF. He also has a strong arm, and can play 1B in a pinch. His career line is .225/.290/.467 with a .756 OPS.

Filling out the lineup at designated hitter is 36 year old Mark Bakke. Never known for his glove at 3B or SS, Bakke moved to DH in 2080 after John Dear retired. At this point in his career, Bakke offers a decent batting average and solid contact ability. His days as a 40 HR hitter are likely long gone, though he might still manage 15 or 20 with the aid of Denver's very friendly home ballpark. Bakke remains one of the most efficient base-stealers in the league despite his average speed, having stolen 373 in his career with only 98 caught stealing. Bakke's career batting line sits at .308/.369/.514 with an .883 OPS.