Tribute to Colin St.John

On march 31 2019, Colin St.John signed a contract with Maple organisation. This put and end to an era in Las Vegas. St.John and Maurice Gould were the first two superstars of the team, players that lead the Jokers to two TML championship. Now there both gone.

St.John, two times batter of the year and 5 times all-star was one of the best hitter in the league during his 7 years stint in Vegas. A discussion with Jokers gm let us believe the team tried to sign St.John before the winter. But his demand were too high, more then 20 millions for 4 years. With all the youngsters in the minors, the organisation was not willing to spend all this money on a 37 years old vet.

The decision make sense in term of performance on the field. But it's clear the management underestimate the quiet leadership he bring to a team.
- St.John always leads by exemple. He was the first one in batting practice and help all of us by his pertinent advice. said Bruce Joyner.

Without St.John, the Jokers struggle a lot. Their record of 11-21 is one of the worst in the league and even if some key players are injuried, it's clear that many young players (Latulippe, Joyner) are not performing well. Maybe it's because they lost their "older" brother, St.John. None of the players make a direct link between the present record of the team and the lost of St.John but they all insist of how appreciate St.John was. The Vegas GM admit: if we could have reach the kind of agrement he finally accept (1 year; 10 millions) at the end of last season, we probably had him back this year in a Jokers uniform.

But the show must go on and right now, it seem that there's a void in leadership in Vegas while maple are  at 17-15... maybe there's a little bit of St.John behind this.

Colin St.John, one of the two true superstars of Las vegas organisation

Playball!

A new season will start tomorrow. What to expect from the Jokers? Fans want nothing less then a playoff appereance but will they be able to realise that? We'll probably need 162 games to know the answer. So what's new for the 2019 season in Vegas?

Starter: Last year, the starter did very well. Lou Latulippe prove he can win Cy Young like Maurice Gould. At only 24 years old, he will probably win some more in a near future. Jose Serrano finish well after a horrible start. He seems to finally master the difficult Lucky 7 ballpark. If he can prove himself like a good number #2, the rotation should be ok. Bob Magee did very well last year but he injured himself in training camp and will miss all 2019 year. It will be a big blow for the teams. With not much depth, the others starters (Scott, Wills and Welch) will need to give a little more then what they offered last year. Buddy Wills is the one with the better upside and showed flash of brillance last year but will he be able to doing it more consistenly, that will be the question

Relief: If there's a position that need to be upgrade, it's the relief. The team loose many games after the 6 first innings. So the GM spend money on two arms: Roy Cole and Peter Klein. Two vets who will have to teach and calm down all the others youngsters. Yamashita finished last year with 33 saves but 7 looses and an era over 4.50  He need to do more to provide a solid closer. At 25, he continue to learn. Lavio, after an excellent stint in 2018, deceived last year. Is it because he was  asked too much? With the arrival of two excellents vets, he will rest more and management wish he could perform like two years ago. Adams, Hoskins and Fernandez complete the bullpen. All of them could dominate time to time but there's still to much inconstancy.

Infield: Pretty much the same infield then last year. Phillip Smith start behind the plate. With a .354 average, he showed the form that made him one of the best catcher in the league three years ago. Mitch Lyon will start on first.  With 43 hr and 139 RBI, we can't ask more from him. At second, the surprise of 2018, Valentin Alverado. We all knows that the kid have many Tools to succeed but with 45 HR and 119 RBI in his rookie season, he surprises everyone. The question now, will he be able to repeat it? Adrian Brown and Veton Zhugli complete the infield. They both offers good defense.

Outfield: Masaki Baba is the better hitter in Vegas. A complete package who can hit for average or power, dépends on the situation. He will be the Anchor of the Vegas powerfull attack. Yamamoto will continu to offer 40HR and more then 130 RBI. Finally, Bruce Joyner will play in CF. He provide average and good defense in this key position.

Finally, will all this be enough to finish ahead of Kansas City? Probably not but if the players can stay away from disable list, the team should compete for the second best.

Roy Cole

Peter Klein