Every year, when we do these previews, there are teams that immediately get the “must see” label. Those are the clubs many of you are likely to be skipping down to read first in the daily Minor Lines posts that will be rolling out soon. That’s almost certainly going to be the San Jose club this year, with Richmond and Sacramento having solid “Second City” status.
But every year, too, there is a “sad step-sibling” of the farm system — a club that just doesn’t have the sizzle on their roster. Oh, there are plenty of interesting sleeper types sitting around, and, who knows, maybe there’s a hidden Cinderella waiting to blossom that we aren’t seeing just yet. But regardless, there’s always one club that makes us hit the “Snooze” button when rosters are announced.
It’s likely a poor writing strategy for me to say right up front that this year, the forgotten child (at the beginning of the season at least) is this very Eugene club — wait, don’t go! There’s still fun stuff to see here today. I promise! (If nothing else, you won’t want to miss the excitement from Sacramento’s opening weekend of action).
Maybe it’s just Eugene’s turn on the wheel of fortune. After all, in 2021, the Emeralds opened the season with the the Giants’ previous two 1st round picks (Hunter Bishop and Patrick Bailey), another 1st round pick the club had traded for (Will Wilson) and the top pitching prospect in the system (Seth Corry). And even that paled in comparison to the following season’s opening roster, which included pretty much the entire top tier of the Giants’ prospect core: Marco Luciano, Kyle Harrison, Luis Matos, AND Bailey and Bishop returning for a second season. Those two clubs swept their way to the NWL’s first two full-season championships. Even last year, the Grant McCray and Aeverson Arteaga duo gave the team a solid prospect interest.
Now I certainly don’t want to insult any of the talented and hard-working players who we’re going to look at this year, but, let’s face it….this roster is not those rosters. But let’s dive in and check out the assembled talent that does appear headed for the north west this spring, and hopes to put the Emeralds back on top in the NWL.
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