Welcome to the third part of the 2018 regional preview from what is quite possibly the most ambitious site in Swedish baseball. The series will consist of four parts: pitchers, outfielders, infielders and the opposition. When going through position players, some in the Sharks organization are versatile and will have logged innings all over the place. They will be included where they have played the most innings.

Disclaimer: This series of previews is the opinion of one person and does not necessarily reflect the organization’s views or anyone else’s for that matter.
Additional note: No Elitserien stats are included in hitters statistics.

Mokhlad al-Ghanimi

The speedy leadoff man progressed at the plate in 2017. While he did this, he also had less at bats and went homer-less all season long.

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2016	68	45	23	10	.222	1	1	1	.355	.485	.840	20	15	0	10
2017	53	46	13	17	.369	1	2	0	.478	.433	.912	6	9	0	1

Maturity comes in to play when you look at the progression of the former Iraqi national team player. al-Ghanimi had a better approach to each at bat during last year’s campaign and reaped the results. Good quality at bats, fewer swings and misses, and better pitch recognition were the keys to al-Ghanimi’s success last season. He did this while also missing a lot more practices. Just imagine his numbers otherwise?

Defensively, he was a bit more erratic than 2016 but also made some of that up by his blistering speed and range that no one in this league can match. He moved around more this year and saw time at first, second and short, plus even a few innings in the outfield. While he certainly has the arm and the range to excel at shortstop, his sometimes stressed and erratic throws might have Coach Edgren looking for other solutions. The base running was maybe the area where he showed the most progress as he committed fewer base running gaffes and still swiped plenty of bags.

Jonny Edgren

Skip cut down on his own playing time in 2017 but was still very effective when he did play. More often than not, he seemed to see himself as a pinch hitter.

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2012	8	7	1	3	.428	0	0	0	.428	.500	.928	0	1	0	3
2013	14	13	1	2	.153	0	0	0	.153	.214	.368	1	2	0	0
2013	9	7	0	1	.142	0	0	0	.142	.333	.476	1	4	0	0
2015	13	12	5	8	.666	3	0	0	.916	.666	.1583	0	0	0	3
2016	29	22	11	8	.363	4	0	0	.545	.517	.1062	3	3	0	4
2017	17	12	4	5	.416	2	0	0	.583	.588	.1171	3	3	0	3

The only thing that is really stopping Coach Edgren from becoming a true force in the regional league is his own coaching. His stats speak for themselves–the old man can hit. And the only thing one can really complain about with that slash line is that he doesn’t come to the plate often enough.

And on the other hand, Edgren mostly filled in at first but also did duty at second base and in right field. While he did commit one catching error while playing first, no one can really say that he didn’t get the job done on the whole. To sum it up, Edgren is not really needed out there. It’s better to have younger guys getting most of the innings, but he could probably still hold his own in the Elitserien.

Niclas Ekström

Ekström’s could not really match his breakout season in 2016, but put up pretty solid numbers despite being seriously limited by a nagging foot injury. Word is, that injury almost is healed and he’ll be back in somewhat full force this time around.

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2011	7	5	0	0	.000	0	0	0	.000	.285	.285	2	1	0	1
2012	20	16	3	4	.250	0	0	0	.250	.400	.650	4	1	0	1
2013	21	16	1	4	.250	0	0	0	.250	.400	.650	2	2	0	1
2014	31	27	5	8	.296	2	0	0	.370	.387	.757	1	8	0	7
2015	16	11	5	2	.181	0	0	0	.181	.437	.619	2	5	0	2
2016	41	20	9	5	.250	2	0	0	.350	.634	.984	18	5	0	4
2017	23	18	5	3	.166	1	0	0	.222	.347	.570	4	6	0	4

The true master of getting hit by pitches was not hit as many times during the 2017 campaign, thus having a negative impact on his OBP, but there was more to it than that. First of all, the foot injury that he suffered against Skövde was hampering him all year. He would often come out of games early, and it was apparent he could not, or would not trust his left foot while at bat. But enough of that. Surely the first person to not be satisfied with his performance is Nic himself. He’s got some revenge to take out on the regional league pitchers this season and will, as always, do his best to make that happen. A sign of that was Ekström’s performance in the playoffs at the end of last year. Nic went 3-5 with a double and two ribbies against the top pitchers in the league. Hopefully, that was a sign of him healing up and getting back to his game.

He was exclusively a first baseman last season, but the club is well aware that he is solid at all the outfield spots. Perhaps he is the internal solution the club is looking for when trying to upgrade the vast Shark Park outfield. A well healed foot would certainly do good in that aspect. Also, when looking for backups to veteran catcher Khazal, Nic is one of the prime candidates.

Toofan Khazal

The veteran backstop saw an offensive season that was a second coming of sorts. Even though his OBP came down slightly, he had a better approach and frequently had quality at bats.

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2013	4	4	0	1	.250	0	0	0	.250	.250	.500	0	2	0	0
2014	21	16	5	0	.000	0	0	0	.000	.157	.157	3	3	0	0
2015	33	27	3	6	.222	0	0	0	.222	.363	.585	6	6	0	5
2016	62	35	12	6	.171	1	0	0	.200	.524	.724	24	14	0	9
2017	51	35	16	10	.285	0	0	0	.285	.509	.795	15	10	0	2

A shining batting average, like the one Khazal amassed, we don’t care about that do we? No, no we do not. On the other hand, that batting average actually represents something if you saw Khazal bat during the 2017 season. If you did, you saw a player with much more confidence, much more aggressiveness and, as Trolle Brandt would say, a lot more #swag. Sure, he didn’t walk as much, but opposing pitchers had him pinned a lot more as a threat than before and that counts for something.

Behind the plate, no one would argue that he had a better year. He was simply one of the main reasons the 2017 Sharks season was as successful as it was. His game calling is hard to evaluate as it’s kinda hard to see when one is watching from the coach’s box at first or third base (or occasionally the outfield), but since the organization’s pitchers are happy, so am I.

It will be a hard season to top, but Khazal never lacks in ambition. If anyone is working harder to reach higher levels in this organisation, please contact me.

Eric Marquez

The team’s most legitimate Vato Loco saw a decline to his offensive stats but found his place within the team and on the defensive side of the ball.

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2016	21	20	4	7	.350	1	0	0	.400	.380	.780	1	2	0	6
2017	47	41	10	8	.195	0	0	0	.195	.276	.471	5	9	1	3

It was his first full season since coming over from the States and well… it was a disappointment. I’m sure Marquez would be the first one to admit to that. He was however hampered by both a sore knee and shoulder. Fresh out of Rumor Central: those body parts are fresh and ready to go come 2018. Also, new arrangements will make sure that Marquez will attend more practices this season, which will be extremely beneficial. Not only for himself but for the team as a whole.

While he started the season at third base, he ended it at second and really came to life. Together with shortstop phenom José Muñoz, he formed a true keystone combination that had the Shark’s faithful drooling. Give him a full season of practice and there will probably not be a better second baseman in the league.

José Muñoz

Yeah. Okey. Well… that’s a stat line… I guess?

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2017	53	43	21	26	.604	4	0	0	.697	.679	.1376	10	1	0	11

I’m not really sure what to add to this, to be honest. Other than the fact that Muñoz piled up those stats without really showing up for practices. The backside of that is of course team chemistry but as an objective (?) reporter, it’s kind of hard to complain. Those stats are frickin’ video game-like. And there are lots of steals behind them as well, as he lead the league with 32 swiped bags. And of course flashy, consistent and league-leading defensive play at shortstop. Based on raw talent, he might just be one of the very best players in Sweden. Period. Just imagine the impact if he would be able to attend more practices.

Shervin Shakki

The Shervinator is growing in to his own. 2017 marked the fourth season in a row that he improved his stats across the board. Pretty good one might say.

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2014	11	10	0	0	.000	0	0	0	.000	.090	.090	1	8	0	0
2015	25	23	2	3	.130	0	0	0	.130	.200	.330	2	17	1	0
2016	58	42	14	7	.166	0	0	0	.166	.396	.563	16	22	0	2
2017	34	25	8	7	.280	0	0	0	.280	.454	.734	7	12	0	5

Sure, one could ask for a little more slugging but then again, a lot of players have made careers out of simply being very productive. There are of course improvements to hope for when talking about a 18-year old dude, but 2017 was a success for “Swirvin’ Shervin” at the plate. Cutting down on those strikeouts is key but also making harder contact and improving that pitch recognition.

On the other side of the ball, Shakki provided the Sharks with consistent, stable play at second base. Never fancy, never risky. Pretty much a Jeff Kent figure over there (minus the douchie-ness and the homers). There is that issue with his range but as he gets bigger, builds more muscles, he will also become faster and able to cover more ground.

Hannes Wiström

The first full season for the team’s other true young gun was an immense success. Hannes made great improvements at the plate and was mostly battling himself if anyone.

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2016	24	22	5	3	.136	0	0	0	.136	.208	.344	1	9	0	3
2017	47	33	13	10	.303	3	2	0	.515	.500	.1015	11	10	0	10

That .500 OBP is pretty good and he was tied for third in the league in triples (together with, among others, al-Ghanimi). Those triples were also not far from being home runs. Give those legs an extra season of muscles and he’ll hit his first homer. He breathes athleticism, has no trouble stealing bases and can cover a lot of ground wherever he plays. His K/BB ratio is another thing to factor in his progress as his pitch selection became one of his strengths during last season.

Where Wiström fits in defensively is hard to say. It’s easy to say that he can play pretty much anywhere and while he started the season at first, he was mostly seeing play at third during the final stretch of the season. And sure, he could probably catch too if someone taught him, but he might have the most upside in center field. As he moved out there on occasion during the season, he showed off his range, sure hands and proclivity to being at the right place at the right time. Whether he wants to is another thing altogether, but it is basically his own mind that makes up where he fits best.

Johan Weidolf

The veteran provided the Sharks with the winning run in that miracle comeback against Karlskoga but also showed that experience is not everything.

Year	TAB	AB	R	H	AVE	2B	3B	HR	SLG	OBP	OPS	BB	K	GIDP	RBI
2011	8	5	1	0	.000	0	0	0	.000	.375	.375	3	1	0	2
2012	9	8	3	1	.125	1	0	0	.250	.222	.472	1	1	0	0
2013	6	6	0	2	.333	1	0	0	.500	.333	.833	0	1	0	1
2016	9	8	2	4	.500	1	0	0	.625	.555	.1180	1	1	0	2
2017	10	7	1	1	.142	1	0	0	.285	.400	.685	3	2	0	2

Weidolf is important to the Sharks. He has truckloads of experience, hits from the left side of the plate and can still hit doubles (even though his speed is not as blinding as it used to be). Ideally, he would serve as a team dad and slugging pinch hitter but there is also reality to also take into consideration. Weidolf still has the ability to be one of the best hitters in the league but it’s hard when practice time is hard to come by. Hopefully, he’ll have more time this season to get some hacks in BP.

Prediction:

The Sharks infield is loaded, there is no doubt about that. You’re probably tired of hearing me talk about this, but the acquisition of Logan Grossberg is also needs fit in here somewhere. If all these guys show up, it going to be happy problems for the coaching staff to write up the lineup card.

On the whole, there is really only thing that is slowing these guys down and that is chemistry. It’s rare to see the whole infield at the same practice, if it ever happened. Coach Edgren has been tearing the few hairs he has left trying to put together an infield made of guys who actually know each other. One could see that the defensive plays were a lot better as the season came to an end, mainly because the guys had enough games to find each other, showing that practice is a good thing.