[Bluellama44]

The day after salary arbitration hearings would've been held for us, Derrough outlined a list of prospects nearing the majors teams may be undervaluing. We wanted to find players who made stints in the majors and failed to perform up to their team's expectations, thus possibly weakening their team's opinions on them. This practice can be a great way to acquire good young players for cheap, but it can also backfire when that player never pans out. This is just a risk we'll have to take when acquiring prospects.

The #1 player on our list was 24 year old Barons 2B Curt Cochet, who disappointed in his rookie year. Baltimore GM John Barger wouldn't talk to me about trading him, which is understandable considering he took him with the 2nd overall pick in 1967. The Senators wouldn't part with Troy Ferdinand, their top hitting prospect, but they did express interest in a trade involving Danny Fuentes on our end and catching prospect Michelangelo Martinez on their end, who fits our mold perfectly. Martinez, who was 23 last year, was called up by Washington in September and hit just .192 in limited time. Despite his struggles, Martinez excels at putting good pitches in play and has excellent discipline. I wouldn't be surprised if he puts up OBPs around .370, which I'm more than happy with paying a premium for at the catcher position. However, before parting with our #1 starter in Fuentes, I'd like to wait until free agents file and extend some offers to pitchers.

Isaac Forbes, San Antonio's #2 hitting prospect, was another player who caught our eye. He possesses all 5 tools, but hit only .211 in his GLB cup of coffee. We love his ability, but the Stallions' asking price of Fuentes, Grabenstein and one of Carbajal, Lorenzo or Sean Jones exceeded what I'm willing to give up. Cleveland CF Juan Sanchez was the final player we looked at, and the only one we decided to pull the trigger on. Although he only hit .195 with Cleveland last year in the GLB, his .302 AAA BA is a very good indicator of the kind of player he is. Sanchez is an excellent hitter against righties, making a ton of solid contact while consistently smashing line drives into the gaps. While he's not an elite base stealer, his great speed translates to his fielding at CF, where he tracks down more balls than your average centerfielder would and uses a strong arm to gun down baserunners.

Fresno and Cleveland Execute Mike De Luca's First Trade The Fresno Bee - November 18th, 1969

It was only a matter of time before the Raisin Bears' new head of operations pulled the strings on his first trade, and this was no minor swap. De Luca dealt 25-year-old CF Tyler Blin, 35-year-old 3B Tony Sistos, 25-year-old 2B Manny Gomez and 23-year-old minor league RHP Carlos Canales to the Buckeyes for 23-year-old CF Juan Sanchez and 19-year-old minor league 2B Ben Bitto.

His career numbers show Sistos is batting .262 with a total of 102 home runs. Juan Sanchez is ranked as the #55 prospect in baseball, while Bitto is unranked. Our 1970 prediction of 60 wins and 102 losses still stands for Fresno, as past trades they've made show that nothing will ever go in this team's favor.

When I realized the Buckeyes weren't going to need Fuentes in this deal, I knew we'd eventually get it done. While losing Blin's speed may hurt a little, unloading Sistos' contract will give us a lot more flexibility heading into free agency. Canales and Manny Gomez are mere throw-ins, as they hardly hold any value to me. Bitto is also a nice acquisition, as he's a slick fielder and already shows great discipline at 19. He's a smart guy and works very hard, which should only propel him towards becoming our 2B of the future. Doing this trade allows us to put Grabenstein in AAA where he can refine his hitting while our newest top prospect plays CF in the majors. I plan to give Sanchez a lot of Spring Training playing time at the corner outfield spots, where he'll play when Grabenstein gets the call. This deal also makes Pedro Carbajal available now that we have a youngster Derrough and I prefer at CF. I'll be on the lookout for young starting pitchers, but before that, it's time to set up Juan's welcome party!