Original sketch from my sketchbook:
Digitally painted version, 7-17-17
Colwill, Robbie “Hoodoo”
The Roberto Clemente League’s leading hitter is a surprising
young man from England, one Robbie Colwill, known to his mates and fans as
“Hoodoo”, a nickname stemming from a complex word game of banter and pun the
rookie brings to each of his multitude of teams. “Why him, why now?”, many ask,
and one wonders the same from this vantage.
Colwill was signed out of Clay Cross-North Wingfield’s local
cricket squad at seventeen by the Jacksonville Jacks. After graduating from
their International Complex, he was a part-timer, only getting into significant
at bats in his second season where he vaulted through all three minor league
levels. He then stagnated in their system despite some pretty decent years,
never hitting lower than .280. He was never a big power hitter, and the Jacks’
looked for more substance from a corner outfielder, so Robbie was exposed to
the rule 5 draft and went over to Hawaii for seventeen games last season.
Although on the roster long enough to forfeit his rookie status, Hawaii decided
that .212 was not the average they were after and offered him back to
Jacksonville.
San Diego selected him this off-season in the Rule 5, a
fruitful venue for the Hops’ organization (see Dong-Soo Bruce, Addy de Zeeuw,
Tokuhei Taniguchi). At the midway point of the season, nobody could see this
coming: RC league leading .346 average, .379 on base, slugging .491 with an RCL
tops 26 doubles, and second in runs scored, and 31 for 32 in stolen base
attempts. In the field, he has some to learn as yet, but has made only one
error all season.
His feel good story covers some of the pitfalls of the ’32
campaign in the southland. Jean-Claude Petit, Taniguchi, Nadir Rivzi, and Akiro
Kato have all spent significant time on the DL, with the latter trio still
languishing in the trainer’s room. As a result, not only Colwill, but green
youngsters like Manuel Ríos, An-yi Bian, Nori Hatsutori, Mo Hayakawa, Martin
Arias, Felipe de Regt, and pitchers Taylor Longbottom and Yoshi Nakagawa, are on the big league roster,
learning to contribute, rather than on the Winter League Santa Barbara squad
that their age would seem more suited.
PITCHING
Salah bin Atif, 11-5, 3.80, left off the All-Star team, but
the best candidate from SD other than Colwill. The ’32 All-Stars will once
again not have a Hops player on its roster. Atif is supported by some Robinson
Pedercini, a free-agent signee, who has produced a solid 8-7 season, 3.62 ERA,
Jim Phillips who seems to be finally finding his groove in the rotation, 6-7,
4.36, and a rotating cast of back end starters. Juan Vásquez faltered as a
starter, but has taken over the closer spot after the Marés trade, and has
racked up 11 saves. Though not tremendous, the pitching has shown marked
improvement over the disasters of recent years. In fact, the 4.35 team ERA is
the lowest in San Diego’s history if it holds, and a huge boost from the 5.71
ERA of 2031.
HITTING
Colwill leads the way, and once Petit is back (he led the
league for the first three weeks of the season until he got hurt), and if
Butardo and de Zeeuw come back to their norm, things should be okay. The team
average of .272 is typical for the Hops, so this is a good sign. Rivzi and
Taniguchi are both scheduled back in the next month, so by July, the lineup
will once again be more hitterish.
FIELDING
SD is right in the middle of the pack, trending lower given
the youth manager Randy England has to work with on a daily basis. Manuel Ríos
has taken over the shortstop position full-time, and has been acclimating to
the big leagues like a veteran. An-yi Bian has been superb at the hot corner
with a +4.5 zone rating. The outfield of Colwill, Arias and Butardo has been
passably fair, tending to the top middle in all defensive aspects.
FUTURE
San Diego is watching its future play out in the big leagues
rather than the minors, as most of the team is under 30. In fact, only the
venerable Terrence Sepkiechler, 38, in his twilight back in a Hops uniform, and
Tom Cassidy, 35, are over 31 years of age. Seven big league roster members are
23 or younger. If the injured stars come back strong, San Diego could revisit
the .500 mark for the first time since 2026, and might be building a strong
foundation for a playoff run in ’33.
Addendum:
Since this was first written, SD went into a tailspin, but
Colwill regained the batting lead. A 4-3 week has the Hops back on the right
track.
