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| RHP Zong-yuan Sang |
Hops post-season report
71-91 sounds like a pretty poor record, but anytime a team
can improve by fourteen victories, something is going right. However, the good
news was tempered by the announcement that the infield’s captain, Ken Abbott,
that he will exercise his player option and end his tenure with the Hops after
five great seasons. San Diego hopes to replace him, either with their other
star, outfielder Jejomar Butardo, or in the consolidation draft.
The Hops’ improvement was highlighted by the coming of age
of first-baseman, Tokuhei Taniguchi. Originally a Rule Five pickup in 2026, he
made a big splash his rookie season, hitting .291 with 18 homers, but fell off
dramatically in 2028. This season he was arguably the comeback player of the
year. He played all 162 games, hit .300 and crushed 35 homers with 104 RBIs. He
is under team control for a while, and is only 25 years old.
Shortstop was ably manned in 2029 by Akira Kato. The veteran
was an All-Star for the third time in his career, the first time for San Diego.
His infield partner was another veteran, Don Cameron. At 38, he still hit .271,
but did miss six weeks due to injury. Their backup, San-Pao Chio was one of the
reasons San Diego did not do as well as hoped, appearing in 90 plus games, but
only hit .171 in over 200 at bats.
Waiting in the wings are An-yi Bian and Manny Rios, but both
are only 19. The rest of the minor league infielders are more utility types
than stars.
The outfield was a very mixed bag, with stars in left and
right, and a huge void in centerfield. Tom Cassidy’s slash line, .288/.353/.463
with 27 dingers was tops, while Butardo had a bit of a drop-off,
.246/.319/.373, all numbers down 50 or more percentage points from ’28. Center
was a barren rotating cast, with Julio Ruiz, Andy Sabean, and the since
released, Christian Chevalier all spending major time between Cassidy and
Butardo. Ruiz had the only positive numbers in the field, but hit a mere
.267/.307/.356 with limited speed. At 31, he is not the long-term solution
needed in SD. Ricardo Romo and Clinton Miller were more a platoon option at DH
than an outfield starter.
Shunen Miyazaki, if he continues to improve, could be a
solution as early as 2030. He shot through all three minor league levels,
finishing with an impressive .409 average once called up to AAA. The lefty
hitting speedster is only 23, and though slated to start 2030 in Coronado, he
could end up in the SD outfield in short order. Jason Donovan, also 23, had a
cup of coffee at the end of the ’29 season.
Catcher Hae-nim Kim was given the starting job, and though
he hit only .245, he was a solid upgrade there, but more importantly, behind
the plate. There are a lot of catchers in the system, but none stand out as
offensive stars thus far. Eduardo Rosario was the main backup, but not
distinctive, in ’29.
Pitching continues to be the bane of San Diego hopes. Juan
Vasquez led the team in innings, but led the league in losses with 18. Salah
bin Atif became part of the rotation in the last quarter of the season and did
quite well, finishing 6-6, 4.24. Jim Phillips was asked about by other teams,
and though he only registered one win, he did compile a 3.03 ERA in 65 innings.
Gonzalo Diéguez, Jesus Ramirez, Kendrick Dobson and Mal Tosewell, all fared
around .500 with ERA in the high fours or worse.
The bullpen was not a whole lot better. Closer, Son Mai,
compiled 34 saves, but blew eight on his way to an ERA near five. Ajdir Kasakya
was the best arm out of the pen, averaging 11 K/9 with a miniscule 1.64 ERA. He
and fellow set-up man, Zong-yuan Sang, were excellent together, but getting to
them was often a misadventure from the likes of Jose Ramos, Ernesto Lopez and
“Tangles” Ortiz. Dong-soo Bruce, the Rule 5 pickup, will be better off in the
minors in ’30.
Pitchers in the minors to watch include Yo Watanabe, Naomi
Kobayashi, Yoshino Nakagawa, and Tetsuzan Ono, though all are still in need of
seasoning at the minor league level.
In order for the Hops to take a next step forward, they will
have to make great decisions in the upcoming drafts, particularly the
consolidation, since it will expose seasoned players to the mix. Look for San
Diego to flirt with .500 in 2030, but playoff considerations are still a few
seasons out.
