- Greg Shelley
- Feb 7, 2023
- 3 min read
The Spokane Fightin' Fish pulled off the blockbuster deal of the off-season, officially landing Justin Verlander (3/$5) and Aaron Judge (3/$31) from the Mission Viejo Maulers for prospects Termarr Johnson (Minors), George Valera (Minors) and a pair of 1st Round Picks in 2023 (3rd and 13th Overall).
Judge is fresh off a record breaking 2022 season, posting 652.5 points while being named the RDBL Hitter of the Year and American League MVP. He was at his best to finish the year, breaking the RDBL Record for Playoff Points with 177.5 points over his final five weeks.
Verlander had another banner season in his Hall of Fame career with 647.0 points, capturing his third Cy Young Award as he posted a 1.75 ERA over 175 innings. He signed a two-year, $86.66M contract with the New York Mets and will pitch in the National League for the first time in his career at 39 years old.
Keith Law ranked Johnson 18th overall in his recent Top 100, stating "Johnson was the best pure hitter in the high school ranks in the 2022 draft class, although he had some competition from players like Jackson Holliday. Johnson, who went fourth to the Pirates, played against awful competition for his Atlanta high school, often dealing with pitchers who’d pitch around him, but hit when he got the chance while also working like an extra coach, encouraging teammates, giving them tips at the plate while he was on base, and more. It’s one thing to talk about a player having great makeup, but you could see Johnson’s great makeup in tangible ways. He has a small hitch in his swing, but has exceptional hand-eye coordination and great bat speed to overcome it, and in a small sample in pro ball he showed he could hit good velocity and deal with better pitch shapes than he’d ever seen in his life. He has great hands to stay on the dirt, but he’s not a shortstop, and his footwork there makes me think he’ll end up at second base. He’s still growing, and might end up a little bit taller — he’s already a baller — and a lot stronger, with 20 homers within reach given his hit tool."
Valera was ranked 27th by Law who profiled him with "Valera and Brayan Rocchio have been on nearly parallel tracks the last two years, moving up from High A to Double A and then Double A to Triple A within two weeks of each other. Rocchio is the safer bet with the higher floor, but Valera offers more upside, especially with the bat, where he could be a high-OBP, 30-homer guy if he can keep his contact rate intact. Valera works the count extremely well, rarely chasing fastballs out of the zone, and is comfortable hitting with two strikes, only expanding slightly in those counts. He has very easy power to pull and the other way, with 30 homers a realistic projection for him, especially as he continues to learn which pitches to take and which to attack. After barely facing southpaws in 2021, he showed only a small platoon split in 2022, hitting better against right-handers but making almost as much contact against lefties. He’s a “flashy” player, but I say that as a compliment, as I think the game needs more guys who play with flair and energy. With average defense in right, he could be a huge impact bat who has OBPs near .400 with the aforementioned power, as long as he can hold or reduce his strikeout rate (25.6 percent last year) as he moves up the ladder."
The Cloverdale Clovers reportedly made a major push in recent days, offering a package of four picks inside the first four rounds including two 1st Round Picks in addition to prospects Marco Luciano, Taj Bradley and Alek Thomas.
