Season 49 NL East Preview
Jacksonville Men Of A Certain Age
topoftheworl
Season 32: 77-85
Season 32 In A Nutshell
Season 33 Preview
Dover Rabid Dogs
kdfan35
Season 32: 78-84
Season 32 In A Nutshell
Season 33 Preview
Trenton Thrashers
wrecks
Season 32: 65-97
Season 32 In A Nutshell
Season 33 Preview
Syracuse Lake Monsters
colton_72
Season 32: 91-71, won Division, lost in Round 2 to San Francisco
Season 32 In A Nutshell
Season 33 Preview
Huntington lapped the field in last year's regular season (115 wins) only to fall to the red-hot Desperados in the playoffs. Undeterred, steelforge doubled-down on his formula of big righty bats and high-STA, high-DUR lefty relievers. Yes, they do have to show they can beat Vegas in the playoffs, but they have to be the early favorite to be the AL WS rep.
Offense
The idea of the Fire Blitz offense is to never give you a moment to breathe...every hitter in the lineup from 1 to 9 is dangerous. Last year's trade for LF Kelvim Hasegawa replaced one of the last weak spots in their lineup. Hasegawa has been threatening to go 80-80 (80 extra basehits and 80 steals) since he broke in with New Orleans in Season 28...with Eble Park's friendly dimensions for doubles, triples and homers, this could be the year he does it. The just-completed deal for Olmedo Lee (CF), moves Bobby Michaels to 3B full-time and plugs the LAST relatively weak lineup spot. Usually, SS is the weakest bat in the lineup...their SS Eric Porter was 2nd on the team with 27 HR's last year. THAT's how complete their lineup is. They scored 1013 runs last year - more than 100 more than #2 Las Vegas. They may well score more this year. But even if they fall off some, they'll probably lead the AL in scoring by a wide margin again.
The only minor quibble with the offense is it's lack of lefty hitters. Only C Joaquin Escobar in their primary lineup bats lefty (switch). It didn't matter last year and it probably won't this year...unless they run into some red-hot RH SP's in the playoffs.
Pitching
Huntington uses an unconventional pitching staff setup to great effect. They only have 2 real "starting pitchers" on the roster - Shane Phillips and Vladimir Andujar (it helps that they're both very good). They also use 2 of their aforementioned "Big STA & DUR" relievers - Mark Martin and Roger Harvey - as starters. Those 4 all got between 32 and 39 starts last year and all were incredibly effective. They then follow the starters - who go from 3 to 6 innings, with their horde of RP's who can go 2-3 innings two out of three games. They have so many innings in those relievers that they can carry only 10 pitchers. Jerry Ball replaces the ever-promising and ever-disappointing Jim Hinchliffe in the relief lineup (if he can stay healthy). Roger Harvey posted a .596 OPS-against last year...far and away the best of his career (and amazingly, .593 at home and .581 against righthanded hitters). If I had to say 1 individual performance is a "sure thing" this year, it's that Harvey won't be that good again (not that he isn't a good pitcher...it's that his last season was so extraordinary).
Defense
The defense was superb last year. They led the AL with a .990 fielding %, had the most good plays with 109 and tied for the fewest bad plays with 11. Nothing about the offseason moves should change that much. Lee probably won't be as proficient in CF as Oswaldo Seguignol was last year, but he'll be plenty good enough. They only had 1 Gold Glover last year (Alfonzo at 2B), mostly because they moved a lot of players around in different positions. Hasegawa (LF). Welsh (1B), Michaels (3B) and Gilkey (RF) could all conceivably join that club. Because they carry so few pitchers, they have 3 defensive specialists they can bring off the bench for even tighter late-inning D.
Kansas City Jayhawks
dakar
Season 30: 92-70, won Division, reached ALDS & lost to Huntington
Season 30 In A Nutshell: Slow start, then the charge, then the disheartening injury to Ortiz, then the close playoff loss to Huntington
Who's Out?
FA: SS Stan Judd, SS Bob Fogg, C Del Camacho, SP Jason Haywood, OF Jorge Lunar, P Eliezer Rodriguez, P Edgardo Diaz
Trade: OF P.T. Feliz, SP Louis Wilson, SP Santos Eovaldi, CF Miguel Frieri, RP Bud Waner
Who's In?
Trade: RP Andrew Lane, SS Raul Machi, 1B Adys Bethancourt, P Ernest Carey, P Khalil McKenry, P Willam Mather, 2B/CF Matt Buddie, P Dave Waters
FA: OF Ubaldo Reyes, P Danny Edwards, SS Nathan Sierra
Promoted: LF Fernando Bonilla (Sea 27 IFA), P Damion Helms (Sea 27, Round 18, DITR...note to C: don't call those last 3 pitches very often), P Pascual Cordero (Sea 27 #33)
Rule V: P F.P. Clayton (Sea 26, 3rd Round)
Season 31 Preview
Well, here's your most-changed team during the offseason. dakar got a little lax about re-signing some free agents last season, and this year they all bolted on him, starting an epic exodus. The thing is, it's not unimaginable that they could contend THIS year. The front 3 of the rotation are Mather (2.98 ERA in 187 innings last year), Carey (2.74 ERA in 124 innings) and McKenry (3.66 ERA in 179 innings). Not a ton of innings, but lots of quality. They'll absolutely need some surprise help from the rest of the staff. If they do there just MIGHT be enough oomph from what's left of the lineup to keep things interesting: C Jackson Parris OPS'd .780, 1B Gary Torres got to .800, 3B Miguel Ramirez .837, DH Hugh Pierre .890. They'll score a decent number of runs.
Do I really think they'll beat Philadelphia? No. But they just might flirt with a Wild Card.
Last Year's Preview:______________________________________________________________
"Breakthrough" Means: Winning it all. Anything less is just another great but underachieving season. Unfortunately for the 'Hawks, that window is now closing rather than opening. Still, plenty of teams have done it on the downside of the curve of opportunity, and there is still plenty of talent here.
To Do That They Have To: Stop imploding in the playoffs. Year after year, KC makes the playoffs as a top seed, and then gets sent home by a lower ranked opponent.
This Team Is Built On: Starting pitching primarily, but really on balance. In terms of offense, the team was in the top 4 in the AL in most important categories, and basically the second best offense (Runs scored and OBP) to the hitting machine that is Las Vegas. Led by solid power hitters DH Hugh Pierre, OF P.T. Feliz, LF/1B Jorge Lunar and C Del Camacho bolstered by newcomers Ramirez and Guerrero, this team should at least duplicate their 864 runs scored.
Defensively, the team led the AL with a .990 fielding percentage and was plus 44 on +/- plays, but did rank last in SB prevention. With the trade of Rosado, outstanding fielding catcher Jackson Parris is likely to be brought up from AAA sooner rather than later.
Pitching is sort of a mixed bag. The starting rotation is still excellent, despite the loss of FA Juan Veras. Santos Eovaldi, Louis Wilson, Jason Haywood and Carlos Tavarez anchor the rotation with Hairston and Rodriguez competing for the 5th spot. Relief may be a sore spot for KC though. Closer Diaz was retained and was very good last year, but at 39 will be on a short leash. If he falters, Hipolito Alvarado or Bud Waner would be the likely replacements. Still the staff combined to have the best ERA and was just edged by SD for best WHIP, so this is a real strength overall.
Player to Watch: Several players could be mentioned here, but the obvious one is Eovaldi. He needs to bounce back from a mediocre season and pitch more like a four time Cy Young winner.
Trades
Free Agent Signings
SP Eliezer Rodriguez, SP Walt Hairston, 3B Wilkin Guerrero, RP Edgardo Diaz
Vancouver Voodoo
hatesong
Season 30: 79-83
Season 30 In A Nutshell: Not a lot different than Season 29, but the dip below .500 has to be considered disappointing. The big seasons from Carlos Tatis (.301/21/72) and Olmedo Lee (.276/25/86) ended up being their sendoffs from Vancouver.
Who's Out?
FA: SP Jay Denham
Released: P Charley Zeile
Traded: 2B Olmedo Lee, SP Sadie Miller, RP Rob Phelps, DH Carlos Tatis
Who's In?
FA: DH Geronimo Marquez, RP Alvin Timlin, RP Dillon Donatello
Trade: C Alcides Santana, P Oswaldo Puig, SS Thomas Hemingway, 2B Stan Marquis, P Ruben Martinez, RP Gene Gibson, P Josmil Romero, P Trey Reid
Promoted: SP Matty Ordonez (Sea 27 IFA)
Season 31 Preview
And we go straight to GM hatesong for the Vancouver preview:
I had two choices this offseason: 1) One last season to go for it all because all my SP will be too old and free agents next season or 2) try to aquire some young SP's. I decided to throw in the towel and start the rebuilding process. Then the Jayhawks started to do the same thing and I wish I would of tried for one last push. I did not get the big prospect I was looking for but I was able to get to trim some payroll and replenish some of the depleted farm system. It's going to be some time until the Voodoo will be a playoff contender again.
Last Year's Preview:______________________________________________________________
"Breakthrough" Means: Winning the division. They have been bridesmaids 4 of the last 5 seasons winning the wildcard. Oh, and A World Series ring would be a nice perk as well.
To Do That They Have To: Just improve a little bit at most everything. This team could almost be KC Lite, in that they are above average in almost every phase of the game, yet just behind the Jayhawks in most areas.
This Team Is Built On: Their all around game. Offensively, they have big bats in 2B Olmedo Lee, C Jung-Lee Wang and DH Carlos Tatis. They could have really used a big bat at 1B, but chose to spend their FA budget on the bullpen. Still, Doyle Evans is serviceable there. One other thing in their favor: last year they were very unlucky in scoring runs relative to their overall offensive production. Expect that to balance out a bit this season.
Anchored by Vicente Prieto and Sadie Miller, the rotation is solid 1 through 5. The bullpen, led by closer Kurt Esposito, was otherwise underwhelming, but should be bolstered greatly by the signings of Phelps and Robertson.
Defensively, they were near the top in all the important categories, and no one has aged enough to expect that to fall off much.
Player to Watch: There were no clear players to expect big improvements from, but several key players such as Lee and Prieto still have room to improve over last year.
Free Agent Signings
RP Rob Phelps, RP Fritz Robertson
Philadelphia Erffdogs
wholck
Season 30: 87-75
Season 30 In A Nutshell: A half-point a run per game improvement in their team ERA and 100 more runs scored sparked an 18-win improvement. 1B Scott Barnes bounced back from a disastrous Season 29 OPS of .698 to post an .882, and DH Dario Stults improved from .731 to .902. Starters Cunningham and Bako had huge improvements from Season 29 and won 28 games between them.
Who's Out?
FA: RP Dillon Donatello
Trade: OF Benji Almanzar
Who's In?
FA: SS Josias Ozuna, RP Tony Escobar
Trade: 3 prospects of mild significance from the Almanzar trade
Season 31 Preview
The Erffdoggs had one of the most dominant runs in Hobbs history from Seasons 16-21, winning 100+ games every year and a World Championship in Season 17. Then then went into a mild but steady decline, and embarked on a "competitive rebuild" from Seasons 25-29. They started accumulating draft picks in those years, and those picks got them 87 wins last year. Season 24's first-rounders Dario Stults and Conor Webber are the starting DH and a backup OF. Season 25 first-rounder Glenn Bako is one of their top SP's. Season 26 first-rounders Lefty Simon and Esmerling Tabaka are the LF and C. Their Season 27 and 28 first-rounders are in AAA and ML-ready. Season 29 and 30's first-rounders are in the lower minors and looking good. 1B Barnes was a Season 23 supplemental pick; 3B Alan Hill was their first-rounder that year. That has to be one of the best draft records anywhere.
With KC and Vancouver starting rebuilds and Boise continuing one, Philly is the odds-on choice to win the North. I don't know if they'll have another dramatic improvement...their starters all seem like the kind of pitchers who have up-and-down careers. But anything can happen in the playoffs, and right now they seem almost certain to be in.
Last Year's Preview:______________________________________________________________
"Breakthrough" Means: A winning season. Philadelphia has been below .500 for 5 straight seasons and that means the fans are getting restless. Check that. In Philly, that means they are getting violent.
To Do That They Have To: Hope some of the kids are ready to contribute. This is a very young team that has a nice ceiling but right now is closer to the floor. While some FAs were signed to plug some holes, management obviously was willing to get by with bargain priced players, so it is all about developing the kids.
This Team Is Built On: So far, power hitting and good defense. There are some good bats in the lineup such as LF Lefty Simon, DH Dario Stults and 1B Scott Barnes, who fell off dramatically last season after a breakthrough year in '28. Charles Powell is a great fielding power hitting SS who will never threaten for a batting title, but makes a great lower order hitter. Oddly, or perhaps by design, much of the Erffdoggs lineup is made up of very high stamina players, so very few lineup changes should be necessary.
Unfortunately, the pitchers allowed even more homers than the hitters could hit. The pitching was near the bottom of the AL in most categories. Perhaps Richmond and Roberts and a year's experience will help. Among the holdover pitchers, SP Glenn Bako looks to be the staff ace, while Dicky Wang has the best stuff in the pen, despite pitching his way out of the closer's role last year.
Defensively, they are one of the league's better teams. SS Powell, especially standing out as a future gold glover.
Player to Watch: Barnes looks poised to bounce back to his better self, and Bako seems the best bet for upside among pitchers. Also, keep an eye on C Esmerling Tabaka. He should get promoted at some point this year and add a lot of offense.
Free Agent Signings
RF Benji Almanzar, SP Andy Richmond, RP Rick Roberts
Boise Spuds
akresser
Season 30: 66-96
Season 30 In A Nutshell: So far so good in Year 1 of the akresser rebuild...solid 1st-Round picks with P Johnny Gardner, Glenn Brisker and Jolbert Cairo...and a very nice IFA in Dallas Sever.
Who's Out?
FA: SP Enrique Quixote, 1B Corey Drew, SS Josias Ozuna, SP James Huang, C Jerry Nicholson
Released: 3B Harold Parker, CF Chris Holmes, OF Tony Torrealba
Who's In?
FA: P Alex Gabriel, SP Gorkys Rondon, SP Alex Chisenhall, SP Javier Beltre, 2B/CF Trace Federowicz, C Del Camacho, OF Terry Sears, 1B Terrell Young
Rule V: IF Chi Chi Figureoa
Season 31 Preview
Lots of turnover in Boise as they move into Year 2 of the new regime. Another rebuilding year, but with a different flavor at the ML level. Trace Federowicz was the big FA signing - he'll be a defensive stalwart and an average-or-better hitter for a CF'er. C Del Camacho brings a much-needed 2nd power hitter to the attack (after Jordany Ontiveros' 57 HR's last year, #2 on the team had 17. Another way of illustrating the problem is: Ontiveros hit 33% of Boise's HR's last year). Is Ontiveros a productive ML player? He was 6th (among players with more than 200 AB's) on his team (a team that scored 618 runs) last year in rc/27. So the answer is, "In a poor lineup, he's minimally productive if he hits 57 HR's. In a good lineup, no." The lineup will be better, but not by a hue amount.
Hard to say who the rotation will be. Christian Nakamura (4.03 ERA in 219 IP) and Albert Johnson (3.95, 195 IP) were pretty good last year, so they're probably #1 and #2. They'll probably use the early season to sort out the rest of the rotation among the other 9 SP/LR's currently on the roster. Tommy Grey was solid as the closer as a rookie...fingers crossed on a repeat.
Last Year's Preview:______________________________________________________________
"Breakthrough" Means: Approaching .500 this year, but realistically this is the start of a rebuild.
To Do That They Have To: Upgrade the pitching if the goal is anything other than a rebuild. Their offense was good, coming in 6th in OPS at .757 and 7th in runs at 771. They don't have a ton of power, C Carlos Polanco is the returning home run leader with just 18, as they lost their top 2 home run hitters in FA. They do however, have good team speed. 1B Corey Drew, SS Alex Duran and 2B Emmanuel Lee can all run, and several other guys such as their FA SS Ozuna are capable of 20+ steals given the playing time. Their pitching is led by holdovers Christian Nakamura, Vin Gonzalez, James Huang and Padden. Felipe Gonzalez and Vin Gonzalez led the bullpen last year, but Vin would be of more value starting. (Strange fact: Boise has 3 pitchers named 'Gonzalez') Defensively, this was an above average team in all aspects.
This Team Is Built On: To be brutally honest, this team is best described as being built to be competitive while they start working on the future of baseball in Boise.
Player to Watch: Drew is a good bet to bounce back from his big drop in home runs last year, but the most interesting player is Lefty Hubbard, a DH who would make an interesting leadoff hitter
Free Agent Signings
SS Josias Ozuna, SP Lawrence Padden, SP Albert Johnson, SP Albert Gonzalez, SP Vin Castilla
Las Vegas Desperados
mongoose_22
Season 30: 96-66, won Division, reached WS and defeated Dover
Season 30 In A Nutshell: Not quite as dominant, as Itou "only" OPS'd .996 and didn't win the AL MVP (after winning 7 straight). But they caught fire in the playoffs and rolled to their 2nd straight World Championship. Lew Ellis was the key addition - 19-6, 3.39 ERA in 218 innings.
Who's Out?
FA: RP Brian Roberts, RP Vern Stone, 3B Fausto Rivera, RP
Trade: RP Alex Almanzar
Who's In?
FA: SS Michael Keisler, P Alejandro Sosa, SP Shawn McIntyre
Trade: 3B Ruben Mantalban
Promotion: SP Glenallen Thomson
Season 31 Preview
Itou the best hitter in Hobbs. Jumbo Sanchez might be #2. How scary is it that Vegas won the WS last year when both had the worst seasons of their careers? The Davis/Martinez C platoon and the O'Malley/Beltran DH platoon are both capable of 40 homers, while 2B Pujols and 3B Mantalban will be the on-base/table-setters. 900-950 runs easy.
Mariano Delgado, Ellis and Ruben Maradona form the front 3 of the rotation. Yes, they're getting a little gray, but they were lights-out in the post-season. They'll audition a few guys for the #4 and 5 spots, with the rest getting all the long and middle relief work. Right now, Sean Kennedy is the only proven short reliever on the roster (another guy who was money in the post-season). They won't lead the league in team ERA, but with their lineup they won't have to. The big question here is whether the 38-yo Delgado and the 40-yo Maradona can hold up for another full season and duplicate last year's playoff heroics. They'll win the Division handily.
Last Year's Preview:______________________________________________________________
Breakthrough" Means: Hmmm, 10 straight AL West titles, 2 World Championships in that stretch...I think they're well beyond breakthrough, although 2 straight World Series wins would be a big deal.
To Do That They Have To: Keep doing what they're doing, which is scoring 100 more runs than any other AL team. Better pitching wouldn't hurt, although their mid-pack 4.09 ERA was plenty good enough. Their biggest offseason move was a $60 million commitment to SP Lew Ellis, now a year removed from a devastating shoulder injury. Ellis had a monster year (14-8, 2.86) as recently as Season 27...if he can return to anything like that form, watch out, AL.
This Team Is Built On: Jin-Chi Itou and his sidekicks-who-would-be-the-best-players-on-most-teams, Jumbo Sanchez and 1B Dayan Franco. Itou just won his 7th straight MVP, Sanchez has a career OBP of .409, and Franco hit .299/39/188 as a sophomore. Totally overshadowed: a pair of DH's (Robinzon Beltran and Fred O'Malley) who both hit over .310 and combined for 46 HR and 130 RBI (OK, O'Malley caught 122 innings and Beltran daydreamed in RF for 100).
Player to Watch: Itou, of course, en route to his 8th MVP.
Free Agent Signings
RP Brian Roberts, SP Lew Ellis, SP Ruben Mardona, RP Tony Escobar, RP Vern Stone, RP Einar Mercedes, SP Ruben Maradona
Cheyenne Huckleberries
nicbase2
Season 30: 58-104
Season 30 In A Nutshell: It just fell apart, somewhat by design, as the players of the Seasons 20-28 winners got old and/or left in free agency. Nicky Cooke's 159-game, .322/23/93 was a bright spot in a long Summer.
Who's Out?
FA: none- they re-signed their 3 FA's
Rule V: oops...6 losses, including the first 5 picks
Who's In?
FA: just the 3 re-signees
Season 31 Preview
Those Rule V losses included a #28, a #24, a #29, a DITR, and IFA's who signed for bonuses of $18.1MM and $9.1MM. "Smalls, you're killin' me here." Not a star in the bunch, but major-leaguers all. And better than what they have in the majors.
It was already going to be another rebuilding year, but perhaps one that started things looking up. They'll be hard-pressed to beat the MWR, although good years from Cooke, DH Marcus Martin, Matt Naulty, Benj Trammel and a few others could get them over.
Last Year's Preview:______________________________________________________________
Breakthrough" Means: speeding up the "Up" parts of their up-down cycles. The 'Berries won 102 games in Season 25, then dropped to 88 and 77. Then they bounced to 99 in Season 28 and lapsed back to 81 last year. One down year followed by a 99-102 win year wouldn't be a bad pattern at all.
To Do That They Have To: Keep taking walks and improve the pitching. Of their 4 best pitchers last year, they re-signed Naulty and Trammel, but Martin and Rivera moved on. FA signees Carlos Guerrero (7.40 career ERA) and Paulie Stone (5.28 career ERA) will have to be better than they've been in the past to make a difference. Could it happen? Yes. Odds? 15%.
I wish I could say rookie Juan Marichal resembled his real-life namesake, skills-wise, but it's not the case. Season 27's #1 pick, Polin Araujo (#28 overall) might be the best bet to help the pitching, but he may spend the year in AAA.
This Team Is Built On: Sharp batting eyes. They led the league with 600 walks last year, an impressive total in this era of waning offenses. They're pretty good up and down the lineup, but DH Marcus Martin is their foremost free pass generator (92). AAA RF Jose Tavarez might get the call this year...he could add some power to the mix.
Player to Watch: Keep an eye on the 2 AAA prospects, Araujo and Tavarez. If Vegas sprints out to a big early lead (a distinct possibility), Cheyenne may sell off some vets and open up playing time for them.
Free Agent Signings
SS Orlando Gil, SP Carlos Guerrero, SP Paulie Stone, CF Kareem Valdivia, RP Benj Trammel
Promoted
SP Juan Marichal, SP Albert Macias
Santa Cruz Sparkies
panolo
Season 30: 80-82
Season 30 In A Nutshell: The Sparkies led early, and put up a surprisingly good fight through midseason before coming back to earth. Felipe Lee was the pitching standout, going 13-11 with a 3.81 ERA in 215 innings, while Sea 27's #7 overall, OF Greg Ward, showed he was ready for primetime with a .265/20/47 line in 309 AB's.
Who's Out?
FA: OF Tom Burnett, P Greg Jacquez, OF Gary Dailey
Trade: IF Dave Bush
Who's In?
Trade: RP Rob Phelps
FA: RP Micah Clevinger, RP Curt Backe, RP Hector Aquino
Season 31 Preview
Like last year, the Sparkies should be competitive, but not contending, while they rebuild. And some of the rebuilding blocks have started arriving: SP Mark Cloud (Sea 26 #5) posted a decent 6-10, 4.18 ERA in his rookie season; and LF Greg Ward (Sea 27 #7) popped 20 HR's in 300 AB's in his first ML action. Vic Guerrieri (Sea 28 #4) could help this year, but might be better off with another year at AAA. And there are more prospects in the pipeline.
Some year, Vegas will get old and fall apart (not this year). When they do, Santa Cruz is the team best-positioned (at least right now) to take over in the AL West.
Last Year's Preview:______________________________________________________________
Breakthrough" Means: OK, since most of their trades were major leaguers for minor leaguers, I'm assuming there's some form of rebuild going here. So I'm saying "breakthrough" for them is collecting enough minor-league talent to pose some kind of threat next year, while still winning 70 this year.
To Do That They Have To: Keep moving minor-league pieces around...they have a lot of minor-league talent but no real stars. They spent high picks on Greg Ward (Sea 27 #7) and Vic Guerrieri (Sea 28 #4) hoping to land the CF of the future, but both look like COF's at this point...Ward a low BA, high-walks, power hitter and Guerrieri kind of a moderate power/speed combo. They can assemble a good team from their farm system but need to make a trade or 2 for a star, or alternately add a star via FA.
This Team Is Built On: We'll know in 30 games. The power-deficient lineup was decent last year and returns mostly intact. RF Kenny Wolf (.254/29/88) and 3B Willie Martin (.241/34/92) will go deep occasionally, but from there it's mostly dink-and-dunkers. They traded away 2 of last year's SP's and their best reliever...they'll try to fill those gaps with Kevin Hong, Andrew Merrick and Rafael Posada.
Player to Watch: I'm going with their AAA prospect Greg Ward.
He's their best bet to make a splash both this season and down the road.
Trades traded for
traded
traded ML OF Wolf Purcell and MiL RP Aurelio Fernandez for MiL IF Vic Meulens
traded ML RP Fausto Rodriguez for MiL C Ken Jay, MiL 2B Steve Moses, and ML SP Kevin Hong
Free Agent Signings
RP Rafael Posada, SP Andrew Merrick
Promoted
SS Andrew Holmes, IF Josh Gomes,
San Diego Surf Sharks
Iceman67
Season 30: 62-100
Season 30 In A Nutshell: Another team facing a rebuild after a steady decline from their Season 26 peak (95 wins). RF Joe Wilk continued his amazing power display with 42 homers (30 on the road); 29-yo DH Afredo Ozuna (out of the Majors for the previous 2 seasons) might have been even more amazing, leading the team with 18 home dingers (and 40 overall).
Who's Out?
FA: OF Tex Guerrero, CF Luis Hernandez
Released: 2B Oscar Wilkerson
Who's In?
FA: OF Jorge Lunar, CF Hanley Chase
Season 31 Preview
The Sharks set a new (at least recently, maybe all-time) low for offensive futility last season, hitting .225 as a team and scoring 541 runs. So, they had some lineup-rebuilding to do this offseason, and they get a decent grade. Jorge Lunar may prove to be one of this year's best FA signings - he provides a complimentary lefty power bat to Wilk. Young C Moe Morgan adds a bit more lefty pop, and new CF Hanley Chase could add 15-20 HR's (just don't expect much in the on-base department).
When you look at San Diego's pitching, you have to look at their away stats to get a decent picture - 4.18 ERA last year, 6th in the league (3.78 at home). Not bad, so their decision to re-sign most of their FA pitchers looks good. It's a decidedly non-glamorous group - Bernie Gonzalez (11-16, 2.93), Eli Izquierdo (11-14, 3.56), Alex Harrelson (6-18, 3.67) et al - but if they scored some more runs behind these guys those W-L records could get a lot better.
Nobody's going to threaten Vegas in the West this year, but I think this team will be the most improved in the division.
Last Year's Preview:______________________________________________________________
Breakthrough" Means: Getting into the wild-card chase. They've been there a few times, most recently in the big 95-win Season 26 (bad luck that year - Vancouver and Boise both won 99 to take the wild-cards).
To Do That They Have To: Do something to score a few more runs and help out their AL 2nd-best pitching staff (3.56 ERA). OK, the ballpark helps the staff, but they still had a 3.88 ERA on the road (5th), and their lineup still had the league's worst road OPS. RF Joe Wilk has been a bit of a miracle (91 HRs) in his first 2 years...he absolutely MUST keep up the pace. DH Alfredo Ozuna - their only addition to the lineup - has been a decent major-league hitter (.836 OPS) but has been in AAA the last 2 seasons.
This Team Is Built On: Pitching, pitching, pitching. Starters (Luther Roosevelt - 2.95 ERA in 205 IP, Bernie Gonzalez - 3.47 ERA in 228 IP), relievers (Sal Creek - 6 wins, 4 saves, 1.95 ERA, Talmadge Dillard - 3 wins, 2 saves, 3.01 ERA), you name it. Yes, park-aided but plenty good enough to win if they can find some more runs.
Player to Watch: Wilk, and not only because he's the only position player worth watching (utilityman Russ Dye's .714 OPS in 174 AB's was the only other one on the team over .700...yow). His .870 OPS is his first 2 seasons is pretty wondrous in Petco.
Free Agent Signings
SP Elmer Craig, RP Lance Jay, DH Alfredo Ozuna,
