Saturday, August 2, 2008

Nashville Season 3 Preview

A day before the S2 Amateur draft, a new ownership group headed by waste disposal tycoon bajoraa, swooped in to purchase the abandoned Nashville Tennesseeans. At the time, the team was bobbing around the dreaded .400 mark and sported league-worst ERA and OPS. With little relief in the minors and a defunct college scouting program unable to provide near-term talent, bajoraa embarked on a series of aggressive trades to bring an infusion of arms to the Music City. Of these, the most notable included dealing fan favorite Duffy Theilman to San Diego for SP Russ Benard and Sammy Escobar, who arguably became the teams two best pitchers in the rotation, along with near ML-ready relief prospect Trevor Rigby. The moves allowed Nashville to play above .500 ball over approximately the last third of the season, pulling to a 72-win total and a game short of third place.

In the off-season leading into S3, bajoraa again pursued starting pitching by signing veteran Orber Sosa. In addition, Nashville also sought to address team needs including question marks surrounding the catcher and shortstop positions. The newly re-named Fruit Jar Drinkers dealt 3 veterans to Montreal for catching prospect Aaron Brooks and acquired slick-fielding SS Gary Martin from the Cherubs. Whether these moves will help build upon Nashville’s late-season success remains to be seen in Season 3.

Top Prospects – Nashville

1. Lyle Kipling
2. Ivan Leon
3. Julio Bonilla
4. Aaron Crane
5. Ronn Morgan
6. John Cameron
7. Barry Carpenter
8. Larry Stovall
9. Branch Kerr
10. Trevor Rigby

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