Trade announcement

Santurce trades Jeff Baker and T.J. Bohn to Rochester for Dustin Pedroia and José Coronado.



Santurce needed infield help while Rochester needed OFers.

Baker is an astounding hitter who will platoon in Colorado with Hawpe in RF. Bohn is on the 40 men roster with the Braves, and could be a fixture in the OF next year, he was voted best defensive outfielder in the M's minor league system in 2005.



Pedroia could become the second basemen in the future for the Red Sox and Coronado a utility player in the future.



I believe the best player in the group is Jeff Baker for sure, but Cangrejeros have Carlos Gonzalez and Balentien in RF for the future, and right now the position has an All Star in Lance Berkman, so Baker has no opening.

Minor Leaguers for 2007

Saturce is going to have many interesting minor leaguer pitchers for 2007.



The rotation includes strong arms like:



1. Nick Adenhart

2. Matt Garza

3. Franklin Morales

4. Jeremy Hellickson

5. Angel Guzman

6. Ryan Feiereband

7. Scott Elbert

8. Bobby Livingston

9. Cha Seu Baek

10. Thomas Fairchild



All of these pitchers have an opportunity of making the big leagues as starters, with Angel Guzman, Matt Garza, Baek, Livingston very close to the majors.



The Cangrejeros have a rotation of:

1. Peavy

2. Derek Lowe

3. Kazmir

4. Bonderman

5. Felix Hernandez



These rookies will have a tough time making the ballclub looking at the rotation right now, but Lowe's contract may allow Guzman or Garza to take that spot in the rotation next year.



There are some rumors that some owners are interested in Guzman, but owner Vega is waiting on the trade, looking at what Angel does in Winter League before pulling the trigger. So far, 4 innings, no runs, 2 hits pitching for Magallanes.
Owner Vega says "Guzman struggled last year so is not the right moment to trade a talent like him, but he has the stuff to become a number 2 or 3 starter in the majors as proved with the K ratio to innings. Only way he is going to be traded is if other owner gives talent to get talent."

Rookies for the Cangrejeros

So far, after only 1 week of play in the Majors, Cangrejeros are happy with some of the rookies for the 2007 campaign.
Playing first base, Connor Jackson. So far, in 4 games he is hitting .455 with an impressive .667 OBP. In 4 games, already 7 walks.
Playing SS, Hanley Ramirez. So far, in 4 games a .471 average, .500 OBP and an impressive .647 slugging percentage. Ramirez is a big SS that is hitting to all fields and is continuing doing what he did in Spring Training.
Starting Pitching, Felix Hernandez. In his first start, he pitched 5 innings, 2 hits, 1 run, 4 walks and 4 strikeouts. He pitched a very good game, he was wild but lets not forget that he did not pitch at the end of ST so control was going to be an issue.
Now, the 2 biggest surprises are in the bullpen. First, Jon Papelbon who has 2 saves already (both 1 run saves on the road). So far, 3 innings, 0 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks and 4 strikeouts.
The other one is Sendy Rleal, reliever for the Orioles. Rleal is a rookie that throws 92 miles per hour with a nice slider. So far in 3 games, 3.1 innings, 3 hits, o runs, 3 walks and 4 strikeouts. Rleal struggled for the first time last night when he walked 2 batters but got David Ortiz to hit a fly ball to left field.
Fernando Cabrera struggled big time in his first game of the year under tough weather conditions. His second game was really good but still, numbers are bad with 2 innings, 2 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks and 2 strikeouts.

So far the Cangrejeros are happy with the first week of their 6 rookies in their rosters.

The playing of Conor Jackson means the Cangrejeros will not re-sign Mike Sweeney to play first base.

25 men Roster for the Cangrejeros

1. Jack Peavy
2. Ben Sheets
3. Derek Lowe
4. Jeremy Bonderman
5. Scott Kazmir
6. Bob Wickman
7. Justin Speier
8. Will Ohman
9. Mike MacDougal
10. Heath Bell
11. Luis Gonzalez
12. Bengie Molina
13. Javier Valentín
14. Mike Sweeney
15. Conor Jackson
16. Marcus Giles
17. Neifi Perez
18. Bobby Crosby
19. Garret Atkins
20. Donnie Murphy
21. Raul Ibañez
22. Laynce Nix
23. Lance Berkman
24. Gabe Kapler
25. Jacob Cruz

Santurce selects Jeremy Hellickson in the 5th round

Santurce selects RHP Jeremy Hellickson in the 5th round. This pitcher was drafted in the 4th round by Tampa Bay. He dropped to fourth because clubs worried about his commitment to pitch in College for Louisiana State. Hellickson is only 19 years old and brings comparisons to a young pitcher from Missisippi, Roy Oswalt. His fastball goes from 91-95 MPH with plus movement. Has a power curveball that goes 74-78 MPH and can throw the change up.
GM Vega believes that Hellickson is a round 1 talent taken in the 5th round.

Santurce selects Waldis Joaquin in the 4th Round

Waldis Joaquin was drafted in 2004 by the SAn Francisco Giants.
Joaquin is a RHP, only 19 years old who throws in the mid 90's and touches 98 MPH and a nasty slider. His change up is a pitch that needs work and if able to improve it could become a number 2 pitcher in the majors, worse case scenario, a closer like Brad Lidge. This is a young pitcher with very good command of his pitches.
GM Vega was excited to be able to grab a pitcher like Joaquin in the 4th round.

Santurce selects Mike Costanzo in the Third Round

Constanzo was selected in the second round in 2005 as the top draft pick for the Phillies. Before signing he was named Big South Conference athlete of the year. He led the division I in walks while hitting 16 homers and saving 14 games. Bewteen College and Pro Baseball Constanzo hit 27 homers.
This left handed hitter plays third base and has a great arm (he was a pitcher in College).
The scouting says he has a lot of power with a very good eye for the strike zone.
He should play in High A next year and hopefully will start at 3b in 2007-08 for the Cangrejeros.

Santurce selects Nick Adenhart in the second round

Nick Adenhart is a 19 year old RHP from the LA Angels organization.
He was drafted in the 15th round in 2004 because he was coming from Tommy John surgery and did not pitched in 2004.
In 2005 the gamble paid off and pitched 14 games, 50 innings, 42 hits allowed, 24 walks, 59 K's and a 3.24 ERA in the Rookie League.
This pitcher is projected to become a number 2 pitcher in the majors, has a very good fastball that can raise to 94 mph, a very good curve ball and a good slider. The Cangrejeros expects Adenhart to pitch for Santurce in 2009.
GM Vega is excited about acquiring this young pitcher, he sees a lot of upside on this young hurler.