Well, there has been a lot of rough going for the Omaha franchise over the past few seasons. One of the few franchises in Plumpy never to make the playoffs, Omaha does seem to be headed in the right direction, and it all flows from a very nice collection of young talent. At the top of the list is season 7 #3 overall pick CF Barry Bowman, who has MVP-type potential. Bowman has had an OPS over 900 the past two seasons, his power is developing nicely, and in season 12 he achieved a rare 30/30 season. 3B Lew Leonard is also an emerging superstar who makes great contact and can drive the ball against LHers and RHers. Recently promoted RF Donn Neal should be another key bat joining sluggers Woody Kennedy and Garrett Wright in a very nice lineup.
The starting staff is paced by legitimate #1 starter Richie Herzer, who is joined by Mark Yoshii, Benny Iglesias, and Peter Kelly, though Kelly and Iglesias lack the necessary splits to be more than #4 or #5 starters. Derrick Van Pelt and AL Duran pace an adequate but thin bullpen.
Omaha is headed for greener pastures due to a great young offense, but they need to find help for Herzer in the rotation to be ready to reach and surpass the 500 mark. With the right moves, they could be a solid playoff contender in season 14, as the Wild Kingdom Offense emerges in the Great Plains.
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