Season 47 saw the Richmond
High Rollers take the division with 90 wins despite being outscored, the
Florida Poison Dart Frogs finished a distant 2nd despite a .522
expected win percentage, the Montgomery Scotts 5 year run atop the division
came to a sudden end and New Orleans continued their rebuild by snagging the 2nd
pick in this year’s draft.
The Lineup: Led by former #1 overall
pick Alexander Picket and his 38 HRs 105 RBIs, on base machine Ezdra Rodriguez
.408 OBP 75 SBs 118 R and consistently solid David Andujar 32 HRs 121 RBIs the Poison
Dart Frogs finished 20th in the league in runs scored. Free Agents Glendon Sheffield brings a career
.730 OPS with him and 35-year-old Willie Germen will try and return to the
majors this season after spending last season in AAA. His career .530 SLG should help this lineup
hit more than the 200 HRs they did last season.
The Staff: After last seasons Team ERA of 3.93 placed them
11th overall the team seemingly blew up the rotation. Back as the only returning starting pitcher
is Matt Owen and his 3-17 record. Rene
Jenkins moves over from Philadelphia and 4 solid but unspectacular middle
relievers in Kurt Menses, Erick Duncan, B.C. Martinez & Tony Ramsay join
the squad that looks to piece together innings possibly using tandem rotations. Vets Chaz Ross and Marcell Calixte will continue
to anchor the bullpen and are coming off very solid seasons. There is talent on this staff but juggling it
could either pay off big or explode in an unpleasant way. This will be an interesting situation to watch.
The Leather: Hack Palmer and his noodle arm was a liability
behind the plate for the Frogs who had the 23rd best fielding
percentage last season. In the field Noel
Cruz, Wayne Diaz and Archie Klein are all capable of being excellent defenders
though Klein’s arm can be erratic.
Sheffield and Abraham Tropeano can also be plus defenders depending on where
they play.
The Poison Dart Frogs went 12-29 in one run games last season which contributed to their underperforming record. There is talent in the minors, but my guess is they will look to bounce back using the patchwork staff they have assembled and compete in this very mediocre division.
The Lineup: The Voodoo were more like Doodoo at the plate
last season finishing 30th in runs scored with a lack luster .698
team OPS. They were not good on the basepaths
and they did not hit many homeruns but… they started bringing in talent with
trades for Peaches Eierman (who loved Bourbon Street and raked a 1.041 OPS after
arriving) and Harry Diaz. This offseason
they added more offense with DH Tim Jeter 28 HRs 101 RBIs, Ervin Payton 395 career
HRs and Dillon Mateo career .355 OBP. These
additions and the possible call ups of Santiago Pujols & Andres Pizzaro
have the future looking brighter in the Big Easy!
The Staff: Again, season 47 was Doodo! 31st overall in team ERA at
5.06. That will not be the story this
season. Nori Zhang and Bud Benson will
begin the season 1 & 2 in the rotation but if phenom Saul Santana gets the
call he will be the true ace this staff is looking for. Eugene Blake and a cast of veteran arms round
out the staff that will look to make a leap forward after a seven year rebuild.
There is talent in the minors (Jed Sweeney, Daniel Hanrahan) that may be
another year away but could help now. Tough decisions ahead for the Voodoo.
The Leather: Keeping with their Season 47 theme the Voodoo
stunk up the field with a .984 team fielding percentage which was good for 26th
overall. Brad Tomberlin has shelves full
of minor league Gold Gloves as a centerfielder but cannot stay in the lineup in
the Bigs. Humberto Almora, Harry Diaz
& Enerio Guerrero can all provide plus defense depending on where they
play. Pujols & Pizzaro also have the look of good players in the
field. Like their offense and the pitching,
the Voodoo look to be a much-improved team in the field this year.
Is the long wait finally over in New Orleans? The organization is dripping with talent at
the plate and on the mound. They have
talent in the big leagues, talent ready to get called up and more talent to
make trades to fill in the blanks if they need to. In a division ripe for the taking will this
be the year for New Orleans?
The Lineup: Despite playing in a hitter friendly ballpark
the Scotts finished 22nd in runs scored. Former #1 overall draft pick Ryan Norman
acquired in last seasons blockbuster trade had a respectable .829 OPS and
figures to be a fixture in the lineup going forward. William Magee paced the team with 34 HRs
& 116 RBIs and at 27 is another reason for hope in Montgomery. If this offense has a strength, it is that the
Scotts did steal 241 bases good for 2nd overall but that did not
translate into scoring. The rest of the lineup looks like you would expect from
a team in the middle of a rebuild.
The Staff: Matt Baker, Kenneth Ward & Keith Court
return to the rotation for a team that finished 20th in Team ERA
last season. Garrett Hoover is a solid long reliever who had an outstanding
Season 47 and will look to build on that.
Veteran Mark Pettitte returns after a bulldog year for the Scotts. Not a lot of exciting players on the Big-League
staff as the “process” rolls along.
The Leather: Unlike the offense and pitching the Scotts
excelled in the field last season finishing 6th overall in fielding
percentage and making 104 plus plays.
Glen Lawrence & former Gold Glove SS Bartolo Lee are both great defensive players
who can play all over the diamond and shine with glove and arm! William Magee won a gold glove in LF and Addison
Lopez, Gabe Huff and Ryan Norman are plus defenders in their own right. The Defense will remain a strength this
season.
The rebuild is in full swing this season. There is plenty of in the minors, but we doubt much of it will see the big leagues this season. It could be a long season in Montgomery but with social distancing the fans can simply tune into a different game
The Lineup: They finished 13th in the league in runs scored. B.J. Kirby 31 HRs 100 RBIs & Nelson Malone 35 HRs 99 RBIs carried the middle of the order while Turner Fletcher & Destin Williamson scored 89 runs apiece. Late season call ups Chili Antonelli, Erik Barden & Garabez Flores appear serviceable and Rookie Wolf Tolleson looks like an on base machine that will set the table in Richmond for years to come. The offense looks to be slightly improved over last season especially if Haywood Brinson and his plus bat gets the call to the show this season.
The Staff: Finished last season 21st in overall ERA at 4.28. They have no “Ace” but plenty of quality arms in the starting rotation led by Shigetoshi Bond, Benji Franco and 2nd year player Midre Miro they look to be solid but unspectacular again this season. The bullpen is led by stellar middle reliever Thomas Miranda who looks to be coming into his own after winning Rookie of the Year. With another year of growth, much like the offense, this staff looks to be slightly improved.
The Leather: A .987 team fielding percentage placed them 12th
overall in season 47. Damaso Vazquez is
a plus defender at SS while Pedro Mujica and Turner Fletcher both exhibit good
range and excellent gloves. Zephyr Burke
is a plus with his pitch calling but his arm is only serviceable.
The High Rollers were anything but that during
the offseason. They signed no Major
League free agents and instead built from within. All in all, this is an improved squad that will
be in the fight to win this very winnable division this season.
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