New, And Some Old, Faces Abound
9/1/2081
Al Vincent
Staff Writer
Another September is here, and that means that baseball rosters have expanded. Denver general manager John Mounts has announced what players have been added to the roster, and here is the full list.
First, here are a few faces that have already been seen this season: Catcher Christopher Hosler, who was briefly added to the roster when Lee Chappel was injured. Former starting shortstop Javier Cordero, who lost not only his starting spot, but also his spot on the 25 man roster, when Booker Romero was acquired. Outfielder Micheal Stennis. Starting pitcher Valentine McGurk. Relief pitcher Omar Lopez.
Next, are the new faces:
Gary Kibby, the 30 year old catcher who would have been up when Chappel was injured, but was unluckily injured himself at the time. Kibby has only 2 previous major league at bats. This season, he has split between AA and AAA. At AA, he had a .791 OPS in 399 AB. At AAA, a .623 OPS in 81 AB. Kibby doesn't have much hitting ability, but possesses a strong arm behind the plate and does have good contact ability.
Johnnie Sermons, 33 year old 1B. Despite having shown occasional flashes of ability, Sermons has just a .687 OPS in 1491 career major league at bats. This season, he has posted a .790 OPS in 398 AAA at bats.
Infielder Ronald Matamoros. The 29 year old is a slick fielder at both 2B and 3B, but has mustered only a .679 OPS in 1166 major league at bats. He has hit very well at AAA this season, however, with a .909 OPS in 468 at bats.
3B Paul Powell. Powell, 31 years old, isn't much defensively, and has very little major league experience- only 23 career at bats. He has split this season between AA and AAA, and has, surprisingly, hit better at AAA. At AAA, he has a .743 OPS in 218 AB, but at AA, only a .688 OPS in 255 AB.
SS Efrain Ashlock. The 28 year old Ashlock has only 7 career at bats at the major league level. This year, he posted an .841 OPS in 41 AA at bats. He is very fast and is a great base stealer.
CF Norman Cadet. The 36 year old Cadet has a .684 OPS in 1664 major league at bats. At AAA this season, he has posted a .792 OPS in 503 AB. Cadet is a very good contact hitter, and has a cannon of an arm.
CF Levi Twigg. Twigg is 33 years old and has a .575 OPS in 654 career major league at bats. He posted an .808 OPS in 113 AB at AAA this season. Twigg is a great defensive CF, and is an excellent base stealer.
Starting pitcher James Myatt. The 26 year old left-hander has no major league experience. He split this season between AA and AAA, with a 3.76 ERA in 19 AA starts, and a 2.08 ERA in 4 AAA starts. Myatt is a good strikeout pitcher and has good control.
Relief pitcher David Pasco. Pasco is 36 years old and has a 7.04 career ERA in 283 big league appearances. This season, he has a 4.50 ERA in 7 major league appearances, and a 3.23 ERA in 43 AAA games. Pasco throws hard, and can throw strikes most of the time.
Relief pitcher Lyndon Gwinn. Gwinn is only 23 years old, and is in just his second professional season. Despite that, he has moved rapidly through the Denver system. He started the year at AA, and posted a sparkling 0.69 ERA in 11 appearances. Moved up to AAA, he made 50 appearances with a 2.45 ERA. Gwinn throws very hard, throws lots of strikes, and misses a lot of bats. The only question mark about him so far, is that when he doesn't miss bats, they tend to go a very long way.
When asked about the callups, manager John Wilkerson said the group gave him a lot of extra options. "Micheal [Stennis] adds some pop to the bench. Ronald [Matamoros], Javy [Javier Cordero], and Levi [Twigg] give me some great gloves to use as defensive replacements if needed. Levi and Efrain [Ashlock] can be used a pinch runners. Guys like Chris [Christopher Hosler] and Norm [Norman Cadet] have been around for a long time, so if you're looking for that "veteran presence" these guys can provide it. And it's always a plus to have the extra arms on the staff. I feel like I've had to work a few guys harder than I'd like to at times, and a few more pitchers around here should ease the burden. Also, it's always exciting to have a young, talented kid like Lyndon [Gwinn] around. This kid has a very bright future here. September is fun time to be a manager."