SP - Mike Hamilton

Last week before the winter meetings Sioux Falls brought in ace pitcher Ramon Cruz. This week as the winter meetings close the Uber Giraffes unload some more depth to fill in some voids at starting pitcher. The Sioux Falls outfielders all knew that their stays in Sioux Falls may be coming to an end soon. Last week it was Bobby Moore packing his bags, this week its Tom Stewart buying plane tickets for a new home.

The front office is still very high on Tom Stewart’s potential, but GM JWay stated, “while we wish Tom the very best of luck in his new home, he was a right handed hitter and it came down between Tapia and Stewart to be our 4th outfielder.  Tapia is left handed and has proven to be a great hitter so far. Tommy had a great year last year as well, but he was expendable for the right starting pitchers and in Mike Hamilton we feel we have someone special.”

Mike Hamilton dominated AAA last season and projects to be a #2 starter in the CBU.  He has potential to be that ace for a team, but his control has yet to come around to be a true shut down starter. If Hamilton learns to control his pitches, his career will be very long and prolific. Vincent Young got a taste of the major leagues as a 20 year old in 2009 for the Burlington Phishheads.  His first 100 innings as a pro did not go so well with an inflated batting average on balls hit into play. However as a 21 year old in AAA Young pitched pretty well and did a great job of keeping the ball in the ballpark.  His control issues are also a potential fatal flaw, but he projects as a back end starter in the future.

Also sent in the deal were relief pitcher Brian Rose and catching prospect Juan Vazquez.  Brian Rose got a raise this off-season in arbitration that the team was not willing to allocate cap space for and knew he was on his way out. Vazquez projects to be a good defensive catcher in the future, and has potential to not kill the line up with his bat either. Sioux Falls paid a price for two very raw young talented starting pitchers, as Tom Stewart looks extremely promising, however Sioux Falls’s projected rotation is something to get excited for now.

If you are curious of how it projects take a look here:

1. Ramon Cruz — The ace acquired from New Orleans
2. Kun Kwan — The front office is still very high on him despite a poor showing again last year.
3. Matt Kearns — Over matched last season, got his confidence built back up in AAA.
4. Mike Hamilton — If he performs well in spring training, expect him to get the innings he deserves.
5. Jake Coffey, Miguel Ramos, Conrad Jennings, Vincent Young, Mike Thomas — Sioux Falls went from having no depth, to lots of depth in one week. Mike Thomas expects to go back to a relief role, Young and Ramos figure to spend the year at AAA, and Coffey and Jennings will likely be battling for the 5th spot vs long reliever positions.  Spring training and time will tell!