After last night’s announcement that Travis Swaggerty was being promoted to West Virginia to help with their playoff run, we learned today that two more draft picks will be joining him. Third round pick Connor Kaiser and 25th round pick Luke Mangieri are both being promoted to the Power.
Kaiser is an interesting promotion because he is a shortstop and Oneil Cruz is the everyday shortstop for the Power. A promotion for Cruz might seem possible, but at this point of the season it would make very little sense. Bradenton’s season ends a day before the Power and the Marauders have no chance of making the playoffs, while the Power are just 1 1/2 games out. Not only would that guarantee him fewer games played, it could be a big difference with playoffs involved. With 2 1/2 weeks left in the season, that would be a very odd move. Kaiser has played two games at third base and you have a DH of course, but one or both of them will be seeing less time at shortstop.
I confirmed that Dylan Busby is there, so the Power will need to make another move to get four players on the roster after three left yesterday (see link above).
Kaiser (pictured above) hit .212/.303/.260 in 31 games at Morgantown. He had seven stolen bases in eight attempts and committed just one error.
Mangieri hit .247/.337/.346 in 44 games. He has nine steals in ten attempts. His numbers have dropped a little recently, but he was the best hitter on the team for the better part of the short season. He’s been at first base full-time, but he can also play corner outfield.
UPDATE: Finally got the fourth move and now the Kaiser move makes more sense. Oneil Cruz has been placed on the disabled list for an unspecified reason. It was made retroactive to yesterday, so the earliest he can return is next Monday.
