Because my TTM output and input slowed to a crawl, I decided to just go all out and wait until the very last month of the year before writing another post.
Received On: 4/25/2022
Bando was originally drafted by the Cleveland Guardians in the second round of the 1978 MLB Player Draft out of Arizona State University. The switch-hitting backstop eventually made it to the big leagues in 1981 and would go on to enjoy a nine year career as a backup catcher. Mostly in Cleveland although he also bounced around to play for the Detroit Tigers and Oakland A's too. After his playing career he went into coaching and was the third base coach and a bench coach for the Milwaukee Brewers. He'd also be a manager in the Brewers and Guardians orgs for nearly a decade. He's still involved with player development today.
Received On: 4/29/2022
Lasko was drafted by the New York Mets in the 30th round of the 2019 MLB Player Draft out of the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Hailing from Stratford, Connecticut, the 6'4" righty is armed with a low 90's fastball, curveball and changeup, in the early going he made most of his appearances in relief before showing the Mets flashes of potential as a starter. In 2021 he made 18 starts (out of 20 appearances total) and showed some promise. In 2022 he's pitched exclusively in relief and the results have been mixed, but there's still time for him to make good on his potential. If nothing else, a 30th rounder making it as far as he has is already an accomplishment in and of itself. Hopefully it continues to even the highest level.
Next up is a return from former Texas Rangers prospect, Yanio Pérez.
Here's a return from Calvin De Haan.
Received On: 5/13/2022
Pérez hails from Havana, Cuba and was signed by the Rangers as a non-drafted international free agent in 2016. The first base prospect had a very promising 2017 which made him seem like he was going to be something to watch, this included a six game performance where he led all of affiliated baseball with 30 bases and a 1.958 OPS (he won player of the week that week). Although he'd continue to be an interesting prospect for the Rangers, the years after were marred by injury which slowed his development. Most of his 2018 season was lost to injury and in 2019 he wasn't quite the same. Throw in the lost COVID year of 2020 and a very short leash in 2021 and Pérez was unfortunately released in mid-2021. But hopefully he can find a home in baseball somewhere soon.
Yanio also holds the distinction for the first note I've received with a TTM in 2022. Sweet.
Received On: 5/21/2022
De Haan was originally drafted by the New York Islanders in the first round (12th overall) of the 2009 NHL Player Draft. The Ontario native defenseman made his NHL debut in the 2011-12 season and would go on to be a mainstay with the Islanders after that until he signed a four year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes before the 2018-19 season. He spent one season with the Canes before an eye injury put him out of play indefinitely. Despite being "pretty much blind" as he himself put it, he fortunately managed to get healthy but before playing for the Canes again he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks with Aleksi Saarela for Gustav Forsling and Anton Forsberg. He still continues to play for the Blackhawks (for now) and honestly after the eye injury I'm just glad he can still do that.
Received On: 8/31/2022
Here are a couple of really nice returns from a rare paid signing appearance by Joely Rodriguez.
Rodriguez hails from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic and was originally signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates as a non-drafted international free agent all the way back in 2009. Although he was never much a big name prospect his rise in the Pirates org was steady enough that other teams had him on their radar, case in point the Philadelphia Phillies who went so far as to trade for Joely Rodriguez in exchange for Antonio Bastardo. Joely eventually made it to the big leagues with the Phillies in 2016 but was later DFA'd and traded to the Texas Rangers who then DFA'd him again. He started 2018 with the Baltimore Orioles as a minor league free agent before being cut in July and signed with the Chunichi Dragons a week later. With the Dragons he made his first mark on the league by recording the fastest pitch thrown by a left-hander in the NPB at 159 km/h (roughly 98.8 mph), which is what the card on the left above commemorates. In 2019 he would go on to lead the Central League in holds and returned to the big leagues as a Texas Ranger in 2020. He was eventually traded to the New York Yankees as part of the Joey Gallo trade in 2021 and had some solid innings before being traded to the New York Mets in exchange for Miguel Castro before the 2022 season started. In 2022 Joely Rodriguez found himself being a part of Mets history by being part of the franchise's first ever combined no-hitter. He's also notable for basically being the only LHP in the Mets bullpen and the results were, less than stellar. Oof. Thanks for the good results as a Dragon and Yankee though Joely.
Received On: 11/09/2022
Here's a return from Colorado Rockies third baseman, Kris Bryant.
Bryant was originally drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the first round (second overall) of the 2013 MLB Player Draft. Bryant's potential was well documented even before turning pro as his tenure and rise in the minors was parallel to the internet reaching a point where prospecting and keeping tabs on the best and brightest stars of tomorrow became easier than ever. Eventually he made his MLB debut in 2015 following a kerfuffle between the Cubs and Bryant's agent regarding the team not putting him on their Opening Day roster in order to delay free agency by one year. The rest is pretty much what a lot of people expected, Bryant would become part of the homegrown Cubs core that led the team to its first World Series title in 108 years. Cubs ownership gave up on winning a little after and Bryant was eventually traded to the San Francisco Giants. He then signed with the Rockies in what was a confusing move for both him and the franchise since Bryant was going to a team with no hope or direction, and the Rockies signing Bryant after trading away Nolan Arenado for nothing the winter before screamed of desperation to entice people to continue buying season tickets for what is essentially a distraction until Broncos/Nuggets/Avalanche pre-season starts. His first year with the Rockies can be summed up with how he never hit a home run in Coors Field. But there's still a lot of hope and optimism that he can rebound and be an elite hitter again next year. Bryant's power in Coors should translate to better offense if he can stay healthy, and it shouldn't take too much for him to emerge as the best bat on a team that for some reason likes to hit for contact (read: they like grounding out to infielders a lot) despite playing in Coors.
And those were my returns these past few months. Big thanks to Mr. Bando, Lasko, Perez, De Haan, Rodriguez and Bryant for the awesome autographs. And as always thank you (the readers) for stopping by. Take care.
2022 TTM Count: 11 (FINAL)
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