Xbox error message E 74#thismightmakeforalongoffseason

— Brendan Lafferty (@blaff32) November 23, 2011

But today, it got even more hellish as the 6′ 4″ lefty was torn away from the Kansas City Royals organization at the age of 26 to start his career as a Philadelphia Phillie.

Lafferty, not the award-winning DJ and pianist seen here, is a scrappily-facial hair’d gent whose minor league tenure has seen him scrape as high as double-A Northwest Arkansas.  Over 265.1 career innings, he he has allowed 112 earned runs, landing him a not-shabby 3.80 ERA.  His 0.8, 3.5, and 8.4 HR/9, BB/9, and SO/9 ratings, respectively, are in the right places, though the walks are approaching troublesome.  It was the high-A/double-A level that got him tangled up a bit, sending his ERA up from mid-3′s to darker 4.00 territory.

But these are minor league numbers in the Rule 5 Draft; they are there to generate interest and indicate potential, not represent a player’s crystal clear capacity to perform.

He left UCLA in ’09 with the third-most pitching appearances in their baseball teams history, and later went to the Royals in the 18th round of the draft.  He was a history major.

So, it remains to be seen if the Phillies, whose one minor league strength lies in a wealth of future 4-5 rotational starters or middle relievers, are truly interested in harvesting Lafferty into an effective Phillie or just know that they could dangle in front of somebody else in exchange for some highly-touted 36-year-old infielder that no one wants.

No one is expecting that, just because Shane Victorino was also a CF taken in the Rule 5 Draft by the Phillies.  But we do want it.

The Phillies plucked the 22-year-old outfielder from the bowels of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ farm system in the Rule 5 Draft this morning, sending personnel to drag him sobbing from his family and teammates within hours. His numbers:

• Low-A Midwest League (2010-12):  902 AB, 235 H, 44 doubles, 17 triples, 3 HR, 75 RBI, 49 SB, 23 CS, 92 BB, 125 SO, .260/.328/.365
• High-A California League (2012): 248 AB, 79 H, 12 doubles, 5 triples, 1 HR, 17 RBI, 28 SB, 8 CS, 22 BB, 32 SO, .319/.377/.419
• Venezuelan Winter League:  80 AB, 18 H, 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 RBI, .225/.284/.288

Inciarte has some speed, playing center and stealing bases somewhat successfully.  He also manages to hit, like, one home run a year, in a weirdly consistent way.    That batting average has been sneaking upward since his entry into the Low-A, from .225 to .293 just before his promotion.

Hailing from Maracaibo in Venezuela’s northwestern sector, Inciarte was drafted in 2008 by the Snakes and, after some normal struggles due to acclimating with a new culture, host family, and English lessons, adjusted well.  His native region is a known hotbed for simmering baseball talent, as his older brother won the Little League World Series with Maracaibo’s team in 2000.

“My agent called me at [midnight] and said ‘Ender, can I see you tomorrow? You’re going to sign a contract with the Diamondbacks.  I was like, ‘What? Are you serious?’ I’ll never forget that day.”

–Ender Inciarte

Lastly, here is the first image released from the upcoming sci fi film, Ender’s Game.