NL WEST PREVIEW!!!!1111

Salt Lake City The Salt
The most redundant team name appears to be quite apt after the experience gained during last years impressive playoff run. Taking over after the previous went GM AWOL, rds_lsu righted the ship and turned in the franchises' first 100 win season. Not to rest on his laurels and coast his previous success acquired 28 year old ace Tom Booker. Booker will be the centerpiece of a well rounded rotation that features Anthony Stanley and Carlos Oliva with no starters over the age of 30. Their bullpen offers quality depth in case of injury with Doug Caruso at the backend as the anchor. Injuries seem to be a concern for rds_lsu as the Salt are inexplicably carrying 14 pitchers on the roster.

The Salt's positional players offer the most concern. While Moises Bravo and Ewell Coles have plenty of pop and phenom Craig James is a potential all-star, they lack depth both bench-wise and organizationally. With no real advanced prospects, an injury or two could spell disaster for the Salt. Having traded uber-prospect Damon Hampton to get Tom Booker might have to rely on in house options or waiver wire scraps to fill any potential gaps.

97-65, NL West Champs

San Fransico Steriod Sluggers
The Steriod Sluggers finished one win behind the Salt and because of it faced a tougher road in the playoffs and ended up watching their division rivals win the NL Pennant. GM Grecianfox's offseason was met with firestorm of criticism from the SF area sportswriters after trading for Midre DeJesus and his albatross contract and allowing FA 3B Alan Sisco to sign for a mere 4.4 million over two years with Honolulu rather than being resigned. Sisco's departure leaves a big hole at the hot corner and in the middle of the lineup. Grecianfox used the money saved by signing perennial Gold Glove CF Shannon Lemon to patrol the vast AT&T outfield and is a considerable offensive upgrade to the position. He adds to a young offensive core of Freddie Gray, Dee Riley, and Luis Santiago. Their defense looks to be top notch with DeJesus moving to LF, Lemon, and SS Phillip Benson.

The staff is anchored by Randy Edwards who continues to nearly unhittable. The rotation behind is solid if unspectacular and their bullpen doesn't really have a weak link. The Sluggers' pitching and defense were the big reason they outperformed their pythag by nearly .040 points, the question will be whether they can score enough runs this season to catch the Salt.

Prediction: 94-68, 2nd place NL West, NL Wildcard

Vancouver Mounties
The NL West's 3rd 90 win team found themselves on the outside looking in as they missed the last wild card spot by 3 wins. With Tony Soriano and Wilson Krause leaving for free agency, GM Jerico picked up Matty Tatis via trade and promoted young prospect Julio Gil fill their spots. They don't expect to be much of an upgrade, but they should fill their respective voids. Last season Thurman Liverman proved his rookie campaign was no fluke and Richard Truman will look to do the same this year. The Mounties offense is fairly young and could improve upon their 846 runs scored last year.

The Mounties pitching staff will be their main concern. With Soriano's departure, they lack any solid RH starting pitching. With Jalal Priest and Jumbo Abercrombie swapping jobs in the bullpen, expect Abercrombie and Sam Allen to be asked to come in and shut down right-handed batters in the middle innings. The Mounties lack of quality backend starters is going to hurt their playoff chase and really seperates them from San Fran and Salt Lake City. Vancouver might need to make a mid season move to improve the rotation or else they may be watching the playoffs on tv from home once again.

Prediction: 85-77, 3rd Place NL West

Tacoma Chicken Dance
Last season GM Moustachee cut payroll and saw his wins drop below 80 for the first time. Through a flurry of moves, some savvy, other questionable, Moustachee is looking to get the Chicken Dance back into contention in the NL West. Allowing Patrick Rigby, Alvin McKay, and CF Shannon Lemon to leave and cutting P Benji Dykhoff cleared the way to trade for CFs Andrew Fox and Sid Nelson and signed upgrades Kyle Adkins, Jesse Garcia, Ronn Gagne, and RF Dean Walsh. Adkins, Gagne, and Garcia all look to be good compliments to Ben Duncan and Rey Van Hekken which is important because Tacoma is relying on their pitching staff to give up as little as possible since their offense has the second worst OPS in the NL last season.

Part of the problem for the offense was Tacoma's spacious Cheney Stadium, the other part was their dreadful production from COF (Mariano Mercedes - OPS .786 and Lonny Martin - OPS .678) and with two of their top OPS producers in Lemon and Francisco Alvarez gone, look for the Chicken Dance to continue to struggle to score runs and win ball games.

Prediction: 71-91, 4th place NL West

AL South Predictions

1st place: Monterey Jacks. Their incredible power hitting lineup coupled with solid starting pitching and a nice bullpen makes the Jacks the team to beat.

2nd place: St. Louis Crazy Horses look to go from 4th to 2nd and perhaps compete for a wild card spot in season 12. An improved young lineup, great young relievers, and a solid corp of starting pitchers will put Monterey on notice. They are one elite SP away from really making a run at the division.

3rd place: Atlanta Shockers, a team with a very solid lineup, lacks the pitching to truly compete this season.

4th place: San Jose Elephant Seals, has a great young bullpen, but needs to rebuild significantly and should start dealing vets to restock and reload for seasons 13 and beyond.

Monterrey Jacks

The Jacks have made the playoffs 5 times and have won the division two consecutive years. The Jacks play in a slight hitters park.

The Jacks are loaded with solid sluggers, including former first round pick and left handed slgger Julius Moreno, who has elite power, a great eye, nice splits, and makes good contact. In 3 and a half MLB seasons, Moreno has collected 139 HRs, including 40+ the past two seasons. Batting average has not been a strong suite, particularly last year, when he hit only .256. Moreno should be good for 40 HRs most every year, and will likely have a 50 HR campaign at some point.

3B Andrew Jones is the veteran slugger for the Jacks. The five time all star has collected 285 HRs and over 1000 RBI in a ten year big league career. Only 32, Jones could join the 500 HR club if health permits. Jones should be good for 25 HRs and 80 RBI this season, while playing a solid 3B. Meanwhile, LF Jimmie Richardson brings great range and a nice glove to the defensive end, while offensively he is an incredible lead-off hitter, with great splits, an awesome eye, and a great contact rate. Richardson should be able to improve on his average and OBP in years to come, which have been a disappointing .274/.349. Richardson has the skill set to win a batting title some day.

2B Enrique Ozuna is a good fielding solid all-around hitter, with an excellent eye and decent power. Over the past four seasons in the majors, Ozuna has 90 HRs and has hit .272. 2B Frank Mauer should also garner some playing time. Despite poor plate discipline, Mauer makes excellent contact and is particularly dangerous against LHP. A rookie in season 12, Mauer is lightening fast, with over 400 minor league SBs. SS Quinton Cust has a great arm with accuracy, but his range and glove are a bit underwhelming for a SS. Cust is an above average offensive player for a SS, but has no one special skill at the plate.

Jerry Torres has elite power and passable hitting skills across the board. Over 7 seasons, Torres has averaged almost 50 HRs per year, and has 800 career RBI, with a .259 BAVG. He should continue to hit for 40 or more HRs with regular playing time. Melvin Lilly is another great power hitter on the Jacks, with nearly 170 HRs in just four full-time big league seasons. 

1B Red O'Donnell has elite power and crushes LHP while holding his own against righties. He also makes good contact and has a good eye. O'Donnell hit 41 HR and had a batting average over .270 during last season's rookie campaign, earning AL Rookie of the Year honors. O'Donnell figures to be a core of the Jacks lineup for years to come.

Rigo Osuna is a very nice defensive SS who has decent power. He is a solid defensive replacement, spot starter, and pinch hitter against RHers. Even though he is a switch hitter, he has a lot of trouble vs. LHP.

Benny Iglesias was a nice pickup as a free agent CFer. An excellent defender who is injury prone, Iglesias has very good contact skills and splits, but no power. A career .310 hitter, Iglesias will be a nice contributor if he can stay healthy.

C Donnie Leskanic struggles with pitch calling, but is an excellent hitter, with awesome splits and solid skills as a hitter. He should improve his offensive numbers in the coming years.

Staff ace Ernie Wood provides great control, nice splits, and four good pitches, including an excellent slider. In three plus ML seasons, Wood has a 48-31 record, with over 500 K's and an ERA just over 4.00. Season 11 was probably his best season, as Wood sported a 16-8 record and made the all star team. Wood's broken arm in season 8 stunted his growth and prevented Wood from being the Cy Young quality pitcher many had projected, but Wood is still a serviceable #1 or #2 starter.

Young RHP Chris McDill is a very solid #2 SP, with great control, is tough on RHers, and has two good pitches. His lack of a dominant pitch holds him back, but he will still be a solid contributor for many seasons. In two big league seasons, McDill has a 28-18 record, and an ERA under 4. He should be good for 12-15 wins again this season. Meanwhile, Carlos Guardado offers great durability, stamina, and controlto go with three plus pitches, but has weak splits. The lefty has particular problems with RHers. He struggled last season during his rookie campaign, with an ERA well over 5, to go along with 17 losses. Still Guardado projects to be a very nice SP for years to come.

#4 SP Frank Kuo has a nice four seam FB and decent skills across the board, suitable for a back end of the rotation guy. Nothing special here, but he is serviceable.

Rick "Superfreak" James is a decent 5th starter/long reliever, with good control, decent splits, and two ML pitches. Johnnie Bennett is another long reliever with excellent control but sub-standard splits. Bennett does have a great 4-seamer and is an extreme ground ball pitcher, making up for his deficiencies somewhat. Bret Ross is yet another long reliever, with decent control, a great sinker, and the ability to keep the ball on the ground. His splits are decent bit not great.

Benito Olivo, in addition to having a cool sounding name, is a very nice short reliever, with good control, very good splits, and two nice pitches. Steve Duran is a RH set up man, with great control, good splits, and a lights out 4-Seam FB. Buck is a passable short reliever with average control & mediocre splits, but with a great 4-Seam FB, great velocity, and the ability to keep the ball on the ground. William Stockton is another nice reliever in a talented Jacks bullpen, with good control, splits, and quality pitches.

Tom Reed is the closer, sporting excellent control, solid splits, and two good pitches. The HR ball might be a problem, but he anchors a very good bullpen with lots of good arms.

Monterrey has a nice lineup, some good pitching, and a very good bullpen. They should be in the mix for the division.

St. Louis Crazy Horses

St. Louis Crazy Horses

Just two playoff appearances for the franchise, St. Louis toils in a park that leans slightly in favor of the pitcher.

Lineup:

CF J. Cedeno

2B D. Hall

3B T. Tatum

RF M. Koloff

1B P. Spiers

DH R. Meyers

LF E. Walker/T. Broome

SS H. Harris

C  M. Adams

 

Rotation:

Arias

Stoops

Baker

Price

Davis

 

STL is paced by veteran Tris Tatum on offense, though Tatum has been on the trade block recently. In 9 full seasons, Tatum has demonstrated average power, with a season high of 23 HRs and three seasons of 100+ RBI. An all star twice in his early 20s, Tatum has never lived up to his full potential. A good defender with a .281 lifetime batting average, 31-year-old Tatum is solid, but not special, as a veteran 3B. The Crazy Horses acquired RF Matthew Koloff last season, and he offers a great RH hitting power bat in the middle of the order. The former #7 overall pick has averaged 27 HR and 95 RBI in two seasons at the big league level, while hitting nearly .280.

25-year-old 2B Damian Hall was the AL rookie of the year in season 10, when he also was an all star and silver slugger winner thanks to a .350 batting average and an OBP of well over .400. Hi second season was not nearly as productive, and Hall was traded from Arizona to STL late in the year. Hall has the fielding tools to garner multiple gold gloves at either 2B or CF. His great eye, contact rate, and ability to hit lefties are tempered by his relative struggles against RH’s and a lack of elite power. Still, along with Tatum and Koloff, Hall is an excellent offensive weapon.

1B Phillip Spiers offers excellent hitting skills, accented by a great eye and nice power, as well as good splits. He crushed pitching last year as a September call-up, hitting .391 with 4 HRs in only 46 ABs. The 22 year old former first round pick has a bright future in the middle of the STL lineup. Meyers, another 22 year old rookie, will play DH with a bit of 1B mixed in this season.  He has great power, excellent splits, and above average contact skills and eye.

LF Ed Walker also provides nice power and hitting skills against LHP. The former supplemental first rounder has logged four full big league seasons, averaging 25 HR and 80 RBI while hitting .271. Not an elite hitter, Walker is a nice contributor. Theodore Broome provides a nice platoon hitter against righties who is best suited for LF. He is an excellent contact hitter with mediocre power who has stolent double digit bases as a platoon guy in each of the last two seasons.

Injury prone CF Jorge Cedeno is a very nice defensive player with excellent speed, great contact, decent splits, and absolutely no power. A career .290 hitter with over 250 career SBs, 8 DL trips in his career have slowed Cedeno down. Still Cedeno has two silver slugger awards as a CF, including one for last season when he had his best season, hitting over .350 with 61 SBs, 211 hits, and an OBP well over .400.

SS Horace Harris is a gem defensively, and had a respectable rookie season last year hitting .260 with 12 HR, but his OBP of .315 will have to improve. Harris lacks elite hitting skills, hitting lefties better than righties, but he has trouble making contact. Still, his glove compensates for this end of the order contributor.

Catcher Mark Adams is a good defensive hitter who is passable offensively, but mediocre on a good day, though he did it .270 with 16 HRs last season. Meanwhile, backup catcher Max Jacquez offers a far superior bat, but poor pitch calling. Jacquez has great power, crushes RHers, and should see significant playing time at DH and as a pinch hitter, along with a few games behind the plate.

 Odalis Suarez, a season 5 second round pick out of Liberal, Kansas (who knew there was a liberal Kansas?), offers some nice depth around the diamond at the corners, second base, and the corner OF positions. Suarez is particularly effective against LHP, and is an average hitter across the board otherwise, except for a poor batting eye. Suarez should be a regular against lefties and a nice PH and defensive replacement. Ken Russell is a nice hitter off the bench who can play the corner IF and OF positions. He hits lefties really well, and holds his own against righties, with decent power, contact, and eye. Russell is a nice pinch hitter and bench player.

PITCHING

#1 SP Julio Arias is a wily veteran with great stamina, control, and splits, though he is susceptible to the fly ball and lacks a dominant pitch. In 11 seasons, Arias, a 3-time all star, has gone 137-114 with over 1700 K’s, a 1.33 WHIP and an ERA of 4.21. At age 35, Arias shows no signs of collapse, and should have another nice campaign in St. Louis, though he is not quite ace material. #2 SP Gus Stoops is a very nice young pitcher, with great control, passable splits, and a very nice 4 seem FB, as well as a good slurve, whatever that is!  The nineteenth overall pick in the season 7 draft, this Colorado State University product went 11-9 with an ERA of 3.65 in his first full big league season last year.  

Veteran hurler Stump Baker offers great control and effectiveness vs. RHers along with three decent pitches to compensate for his difficulties against LHers. The 33 year old has amassed an 87-97 record over the years, accented by all star appearances in seasons 8 and 9. The 33 year old should be a passable middle of the rotation starter. Harry Davis is the LHP counterpart to Baker, with excellent control and decent splits, but lacking any plus pitches. Davis’s once promising career has been riddled with serious injuries.

Bert Price is a power pitcher who induces a lot of groundballs. A steal late in the second round of the season 5 draft, Price had a nice rookie campaign last season, going 7-10 with a 4.35 ERA. To reach his full potential, Price needs to improve the next couple of years, but even with modest improvement and a good fielding infield behind him, Price could post several 12-15 win seasons. His average splits and decent but not overwhelming pitches are not ideal, but that groundball/power combo could be very nice in the right environment. 

Mark Lindsey offers very effective long relief for STL. A Rule 5 draftee, Lindsey has great control, nice splits, and three decent pitches along with a nice groundball frequency. He can step in and spot start if need be. With a career ERA of 3.63 and WHIP of 1.25, Lindsey always offers quality innings. 

Closer Clayton Philips has great skills across the board, including awesome control, nice splits, and a great sinker that induces a lot of ground balls. Though he was roughed up in the first game of the season, Philips headlines a sensational group of young arms in the STL bullpen. LH set up man Lonny Arroyo offers a relatively high stamina bullpen arm with great control, passable splits, and two awesome pitches. He struggled at the ML level in his rookie season last year, but this former first round pick has the skills to do well. Meanwhile, RH set up man C.J. Riggs offers great control, is dominant against RHers, and is an extreme groundball pitcher with two nice pitches. Riggs has the tools to be a future closer, though is not quite at Philips level.

Long reliever Julio James will eat up a lot of garbage innings for STL, but offers little else of value to STL. Marvin Belinda has similar skills (or lack thereof) and will serve as a mop-up guy for STL. J.R. Swann rounds out the bullpen with great control and three good pitches, but low stamina and average splits. 

STL has a great young lineup and great young relievers, but lacks a dominant SP. Still, the team should have a solid season. Add a top of the line SP, and this team will be a legit playoff contender.

Atlanta Shockers

Atanta Shockers 

History: Have made the playoffs in 8 of 11 seasons, and one back-to-back championships in seasons 2-3 while in Charlotte. Atlanta plays in a fairly neutral ballpark.

Opening day Lineup:

 2B            Fernando Garces

CF            Benji Taveras/Bernard Gunderson

1B            Jose Lee

C            Orlando Ordaz

DH            Vic Morales

RF            Juan Zapata

3B            Artie Cox/Julian Aguilera

LF            Rickey Milton

SS             Julian Aguilera/Bernard Gunderson

 

Bench: Stuart Stevens

Rotation:

Mendoza

Duran

Rollins

Paquette

Crow/Tavarez

C: Slugger Orlando Ordaz is a 33 year old whose catching skills are regressing quickly.  A hamstring injury in season 11 really slowed Ordaz down. Despite his slide, Ordaz remains a great power hitter, particularly against LHP. He is sub-par against RHP, but will continue to contribute as a DH and catcher in season 12. In 10 ML seasons, Ordaz has averaged around 35 HR’s and 80 RBI with a .275 BAVG. Ordaz should surpass 400 HRs if he can hang on a few more years. C Flash Michaels is a good defensive catcher who hits RHes fairly well despite a lack of power. Michaels should contribute decently in a platoon/backup role this season.

 1B Jose Lee is an excellent slugger, with great contact and an awesome eye along with solid power. The RH hitter holds his own against lefties and righties. In two full major league seasons, Lee has averaged 27 HRs, 95 RBI, and has a career .299 average and an OBP of .406. Lee has some 30 HR seasons in him, and should continue to flourish at the heart of the Shockers line-up.

2B: Fernando Garces is a good defender with nice speed and an excellent all-around hitter, especially for a middle infielder. A seven year vet, the 29 year old has hit over 150 career HR’s with a .297 bavg, and a solid OPS of .890.  Garces had his worst season in a long while last year, netting only 329 Abs with his lowest HR total as a major leaguer with his lowest batting average at any level (.264). Getting out of Columbus/Cleveland via trade and moving to Atlanta should be a career booster for Garces, who has all the skills that resulted in 20+ HRs and a .300 average prior to last year.

SS: 23 year old Julian Aguilera looks like he will be a fixture in the Shockers lineup for years to come. While his defense needs to develop a bit to be fully ready to play a solid Major League SS, he has solid hitting skills across the board. In his rookie campaign at only 22 years of age, Aguilera hitt .254 with 15 HRs and 12 SBs in 489 ABs while logging games at 2B, 3B, SS, and RF. Aguilera will only get better at the bat and on the field. Atlanta signed FA Bernard Gunderson, who qualifies as the best defensive player on the team. He is a plus defender at SS, and has logged some ST games at CF. The 31 year old has been a major league starter for 8 seasons, hitting a solid .290 with an average of 10 HRs per season. Gunderson may step in at SS for Atlanta, allowing Aguilera to play some 3B and fill in all over the diamond. A solid hitter, Gunderson is limited only by a low durability which will limit him to 120 or 130 games per year, but this was a great signing to solidify the defense.

3B: Artie Cox is a 26 year old switch hitter who is very effective against LH pitching. He makes good contact but has a below average eye, with decent power. He holds his own against RHP as well. Cox is a career .291 batter over parts of four seasons, and has collected 55 HRs.

Outfield

Juan Zapata  (RF) is a plus hitter with excellent contact and eye and a nice arm if not a great glove. The 30 year old has a career batting average of .293 with over 100 career HRs. He should be ready to contribute another solid season this year. Benji Taveras (CF) is a 25 year old with excellent range but a weak arm and only average glove for the position. A year of regression defensively at age 23 both offensively and defensively may prevent Taveras from being the player he could have been. Still, Taveras couples a great contact ability with incredible speed and base running to be a very nice leadoff man against RHP. His struggles vs. lefties may mean he will do best as a platoon player. In 4 years as a part time player, Taveras has amassed 90 SBs and a .279 average. Rickey Milton (LF) is a 26 year old who makes great contact and has plus power and a good eye. He is best against RHP, and will do well in a platoon role. Last year, in Milton’s rookie campaign, had a great campaign, with 27 HR’s, 101 RBI, a .274 Average, and an OPS of over .800. Milton will do well in the middle of the Shockers lineup. Stuart Stevens is a plus hitter versus RHP, with solid contact, power, and a nice eye. He is best suited for LF, but can play RF in a pinch. Stevens is set to make his ML debut in season 12, but has amassed an impressive 222 minor league HRs and a .327 BAVG and a .949 OPS during his eleven year minor league career. Stevens has the bat to contribute as a part-time player in his rookie campaign.

DH Vic Morales is a very solid hitter, particularly against LHs. His eye is one of the best in the league, and he has nice power. The 26 year old has only gotten 120 big league at bats going into this season, but has 7 HRs to show for those Abs, including 4 in only 41 Abs last season. With regular playing time, Morales could be a nice contributor for the Shockers this season. The former Montgomery Burns farmhand also has the ability to be a back up catcher.

Starting Pitchers:

Tony Mendoza is the ace of the Atlanta staff. Now 34 years old, Mendoza has won 152 games and logged 1997 K’s over 11 big league seasons.  The two-time all star overcomes average control with excellent splits, great velocity, and a great curveball and slider to go along with a nice change up, though his fastball is subpar. Mendoza has been on the trade block, but if he stays in Atlanta, he should have another solid year and should crack the 2000 K plateau in his first start.

 Young Vic Duran is a very nice rotation member for the shockers. Still only 24, Duran has excellent control, a great split vs. RHers, and a solid sinker and slider. In ½ seasons at the ML level in seasons 10 and 11, Duran has done okay, particularly as a 23 year old when he went 5-6 with a 4.46 ERA and 1.43 WHIP. Duran should be ready to be a rotation contributor for a full season this year. 30 year old James Rollins is a nice innings eater at the end of the Atlanta rotation. He has excellent stamina and control, adequate splits, keeps the ball on the ground, and has an excellent 4-seam FB. His secondary pitches hold Rollins back. Still, in six ML seasons, Rollins has averaged 12 wins a year with an ERA just over 4.29. Rollins is unlikely to repeat the success he had in seasons 6 & 8 when he won 15 and 16 games respectively, but will contribute. Manny Paquette is a very solid left handed starting pitcher with excellent control, two plus pitches, and a great split verses lefties. In three full big-league seasons, Paquette has been a solid player, peaking in season 9 with a 14-8 record and a 3.79 ERA for Charlotte. The former first rounder is now 30, and should be in the middle of the Atlanta rotation.

 28 Year Old Yamil Tavarez rounds out the rotation. He has good control, decent splits, and a nice Fastball and a decent slider, but his third and fourth pitches are not ready for prime time. His major  league numbers have been quite poor, so Tavarez may find himself as a long reliever or mop up guy. Gregory Crow will also compete for the fifth starting spot. The two year veteran LHer started 23 games in season 11, with a respectable 8-8 record despite underwhelming skills.  Crow has decent control, but his splits are weak, particularly against RHers. Crow’s fast ball is mediocre, but his plus changeup allows him to be a big-league hurler. His curveball is average.

The Bullpen is headed by only one elite player: Shane Prince, who has been a stellar reliever in this league for 7 seasons. He has mainly pitched in middle relief, but has logged on average over 100 innings a year out of the bullpen, while compiling a 49-37 record with 22 major league saves. He does it with a very strong mix of stamina and durability, impeccable control, and two plus pitches. His lack of a third pitch limits Prince to the bullpen, and his right handed split is a little less than ideal, but overall, Prince has been a very good reliever over the years.

 Larry Brown is a decent reliever with good control, nice stamina, and decent splits. He lacks a dominant pitch, however. Despite this, Brown has had a few very effective seasons as a short reliever. John Shibata is another decent relief pitcher with good control. A lefty, he does particularly well against LH hitters. Like Brown, he lacks any dominant pitches. Unlike Brown, Shibata has struggled at the major league level. Kevin Thompson is a decent long reliever, with good control and great stamina for a reliever. His splits are low and his pitches underwhelming, however. Despite a great WHIP in his rookie year (Season 11), Thompson gave up 10 HRs in only 58 IP, leading to an ERA over 5. Hunter Wendell is a rule 5 draft pick who offers strong stamina, tub has average skills across the board, with his ability to induce ground balls his only plus skill.  Atlanta may regret this Rule 5 pick, who is not ready for the majors, and probably never will be. Turner Christensen is a decent reliever with good control who is effective against righties, and has two plus pitches. Jerry Murphy is a lefty specialist who is only good for 6 to 10 pitches due to dreadfully low stamina.

Outlook: Very solid hitting lineup, but Atlanta lacks the pitching depth or the bullpen to go too far this season.

Minors: 1B/LF Red Castillo is a nice hitting prospect. Likewise, Kris Post is a nice hitting 2B prospect who is a year away. CF Al Lee projects to be a nice leadoff hitter down the line. Guillermo Guerrero and Eric Pettitte are very nice starting pitching prospects.

AL South Previews: San Jose

San Jose Elephant Seals

Historically, San Jose has made the playoffs three times, but has not finished above .500 since season 9. The team plays in a park that favors power hitters.

Possible Opening Day Starting Lineup:

2B Alredo Morales

LF Vicente Jose

3B Andy Bell

CF Matthew Sweeney

1B Juan Benavente

DH Tom Henderson

C  J.P. Hernandez/Ryan Brooks

SS Josh Ellis

RF Mark Suzuki

Key subs: Ricardo Johnson, Andres James, Gary Youkilis, Jim Coco

Starting Staff: 

Ed Nunnari

Alex Aoki

Rex Pederson

Damion Shibata

Abraham Diaz

Bullpen:

Marvin Becker

Wes James

Luis Sivilla

Pascual Fernandez

Dee Kershner

Jason Reed

Analysis:

The team is hoping to build around 23 year old CF Matthew Sweeney, who just missed a 20/20 season as a rookie last year. Sweeney should be a great piece to build around over the next several seasons, although his glove may make him a better 2b than CF. 25 Year Old RF Mark Suzuki is an excellent defender who could step in at 3B or even SS if need be. While his contact rate and power are limited, he has averaged about 15 HRs and a .283 average over his three + major league seasons.

30 year old speedster Ricardo Johnson has several seasons of 100 + steals thanks to a great batting eye, an awesome contact swing, great base-running and speed. He might be good trade bait for this team that is trying to rebuild. Alfredo Morales, coming off of a 25 HR season with a .290 average, should be a solid overall hitter who can step in at 2B. 3B ANdy Bell, meanwhile, is coming off a .300 season at the plate. 

23 year old speedster Andres James also seems to have the tools to cause trouble on the basepaths, but has been slowed by substandard OBPs, including a low .313 last season, despite a great eye and good contact. James is perhaps hurt by a total lack of power, allowing pitchers to challenge him without a threat of making them pay. Still, it is way too early to give up on this young future lead off hitter, who could have a very bright future.

Josh Ellis is a very good fielding SS who struggles against RHP and has very limited power. Gary Youkilis, on the other hand, handles RHP well, but lacks the power necessary for a corner outfielder, especially on a team that is in desperate need of power. Newly acquired LF Vicente Jose is an on base machine, with a career OBP over .420, but his power is fading as he ages, and again as a LF he will not provide much in the way of extra base hits. Juan Benevente is a nice hitter in the mode of Sean Casey (a 1B with very limited power-a theme on this squad).

Where is the Power? Jim Coco does provide power, swatting 60+ HRs in his past two minor league seasons, but the Jack Cust clone was in the minors at age 26 for a reason, striking out over 130 times per year. While his average has been decent, his atrocious contact rate and substandard splits make it unlikely Coco can produce an OBP to justify his power at the major league level. The only power hitter who is proven at the major league level is 1B Tom Henderson, who hit a HR in every 10 ABs last season, netting 38 in under 400 ABs. Henderson has a good batting eye, but like Coco is limited by poor splits and a poor contract rate. Henderson may have had his best overall season as a 26 year old rookie.

C JP Hernandez will be an excellent platoon catcher and relief pitcher against LHP. He is dreadful against RH'ers, but young Hernandez should have a long platoon career ahead of him. Brooks offers good power as the other part of the catching platoon, and they both are solid defensively.

The strength of the pitching staff, unfortunately, is the bullpen. 22 year old Luis Sivilla has an excellent arm, and should only get better as a future shut down closer or set up man. Pascual Fernandez is even better, and was one of the better relief pitchers in Plumpy Rules in season 11. Wes James is yet another fine reliever, but he is coming off a poor year in the ERA and WHIP departments. Marvin Becker provides veteran leadership for a bullpen that is among the best in all of Plumpy Rules, and it had better be, because as we will see, they will log a lot of innings to compensate for a very substandard starting staff.

26 year old Alex Aoki is a decent starting pitcher, with excellent control and passable splits, but has only one major league pitch, which limits his effectiveness as a starter. Veteran Daimion Shabata has accumulated over 100 victories, and is a reliable 4th starter. Pederson is very similar, with 114 career victories, but waning skills, but he will be asked to be a #2 or #3 SP on this team. Abraham Diaz, meanwhile, is a passable end of the rotation SP for San Jose. Rule 5 pick Ed Nunnari has some of the best skills of any potential SP for the Seals. He has excellent control, a great first pitch, decent second and third offerings, and he keeps the ball on the ground. His achilles heal is barely passable splits vs. lefties and righties, but on this staff, flame throwing Nunnari appears to be the cream of the crop. 

Jason Reed, meanwhile, is barely passable as a long reliever or mop-up guy. Kershner's control will pose problems for him, and he doesn't have the splits or enough great pitches to compensate. He is more of a mop up guy than anything.

Verdict: San Jose simply does not have the starting pitching or the lineup to compete in season 12. They do have a great bullpen and a few very nice young players to build around. Perhaps trading James or Sivilla for emerging prospects could accelerate the rebuilding process.

And help is on the way with slugging DH/C Vin Romero, AAA SS Pedro Campos (who is one of the very best prospects in Plumpy Rules), and pitchers Sherman Fick and A.J. Fassano, who both project to be far better than any of the Starting Pitchers currently laboring at the ML level. With the 8th pick in the upcoming draft, San Jose is sure to add another nice building block to their team.

Chicago Fatties (AL) daweiproject View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Talk about a team on the rise the Cubs have gone from the cellar to the top of the division all because of the hard work and effort of dawei. The team started out strong finishing 2nd but after that first season the team started to fall. After 4 straight seasons of finishing in 3rd they finally finished 2nd and broke trough and finished 1st last season. The one problem that many experts have on their minds is after Oswaldo Escobar retires for the Fatties no longer think his stats and skills warrant a big pay check who will play CF. The team has no true CF on the farm to replace him. But they do have a lot of SS. Here's hoping the team can continue their strong play.


TOP TEN
PROSPECTS
1. Phil Davenport
2. Miguel Lopez
3. Frank Wagner
4. Del Baptist
5. Kris Wood
6. Milt Lidge
7. Jean Kelly
8. John Padden
9. Francisco Candelaria
10. Chris Payton

Top Draft Picks
Of the Decade
Season 2: Enrique Uribe
Season 3: Eric Nance
Season 4: Benito Camacho
Season 5: Mark Latham
Season 6: Frank Bako
Season 7: Gus Stoops
Season 8: Miguel Lopez
Season 9: Frank Wagner
Season 10: Rip Oliver
Season 11: Chris Payton

Best Tools
Best Power Hitter: Lance Phillips
Best Hitter for Average: Philip Gardner
Fasetest Baserunner: Les Sowders
Best Fastball: Francisco Candelaria
Best Curveball: Dwight Henley
Best Control: John Padden
Best Defensive Catcher: Miguel Lopez
Best Infield Arm: Donald Vanguri
Best Outfield Arm: Phil Davenport

Chicago Cubs (NL) kenter16 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Cubs have been pushed around a lot over the years. Sitting in a Division that was dominated by one team for six straight seasons one time finishing as far back as 45 games. Chicago finished last season with their second straight Division title. The Cubs sit at a crossroad with 12 players over the age of 30 and another 4 about to turn 30. The question that has to be on kenters mind is, do we ride the old guys for a couple more seasons or do we initiate a youth movement? The farm system seems kinda barren when it comes to top prospects. However there are a hand full that can and most likely will make an impact in the bigs.


TOP TEN
PREOSPECTS
1. Carmine Lucas
2. Miguel Barrios
3. Ralph Barry
4. Pat Saitou
5. Troy Jones
6. Damaso Ayala
7. Fernando Espinoza
8. Phillip Counsell
9. Phil Nitkowski
10. Oswaldo Alonso


Top Draft Picks
Of the Decade
Season 2: Jeff Hackman
Season 3: Ralph Hines
Season 4: Adam Baez
Season 5: Ken O'Malley
Season 6: Deion Newfield
Season 7: Julian Aguilera
Season 8: Chipper Anderson
Season 9: Hector Pulido
Season 10: Carmine Lucas
Season 11: Oswaldo Alonso

Best Tools

Best Power Hitter: Ralph Barry
Best Hitter for Average: Troy Jones
Fasetest Baserunner: Midre Fernandez
Best Fastball: Orlando Sosa
Best Curveball: Carmine Lucas
Best Control: Miguel Barrios
Best Defensive Catcher: Fernando Espinoza
Best Infield Arm: Nigel Tomberlin
Best Outfield Arm: Andres Park

Atlanta Shockers (AL) taz21 View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Atlanta has had more up than downs having won the World Series twice. They fell to a organization low 54 wins two seasons ago. They got a new owner and GM last season who turned the team around to improve the win total by 26. And made the playoffs as the wild card. With Mota having proven he can hit at the big league level and several others looking ready to make that jump Taz has them heading in the right direction. And I look forward to seeing where they go from here.

TOP TEN
PROSPECTS
1. J.P. Benitez
2. Alex Mota
3. Guillermo Guerrero
4. Eric Pettitte
5. Larry Ross
6. Red Castillo
7. Kris Post
8. Mac Lee
9. Pete Beckham
10. Eric Morgan

Top Draft Pick
Of the Decade
Season 2: James Rollins
season 3: Dave Darwin
season 4: Ed Cannon
season 5: Roger Bradshaw
season 6: Tony Taveras
season 7: Matthew Minor
season 8: Eric Pettitte
season 9: Pete Beckham
season 10: Nigel Bryne
season 11: Guillermo Guerrero

Best Tools

Best Power Hitter: Felix Canseco

Best Hitter for Average: Alex Mota

Fastest Baserunner: Larry Ross

Best Fastball: Matt Holmes

Best Curveball: Matt Holmes

Best Control: Hugh Holliday

Best Defensive Catcher: Kane Pittinger

Best Infield Arm: Darron Hartman

Best Outfield Arm: Alex Mota

Arizona Fighting Armadillo's (AL) 1OldDawg View Hardball Dynasty Profile

The Armadillo's have only missed 2 out of the last 11 playoffs. They have only made it out of the DCS twice and look to have been a team always one step or one move away from greatness. 1OldDawg has done a great job of fielding a great ML level team without giving up his top prospects. Having traded or released only 9 of his picks from the first five rounds from the past 11 seasons. All in all the Armadillo's have a bright future. It looks like they could use a few more pitching prospects on the farm and they will be just fine. John Purcell looks to have a bright future in the Bigs.


TOP TEN
PROSPECTS
1. John Purcell
2. Felipe Arias
3. Wayne Jones
4. Amos Womack
5. Jeremy Cashman
6. Jimmy Bowman
7. John Stevenson
8. Matthew Donovan
9. John Stevenson
10. Delino Romero

Top Draft Pick
Of the Decade
Season 2: Brett Griffith
Season 3: Johnny Pride
Season 4: J.J. Bigbie
Season 5: Damian Hall
Season 6: Danny Priddy
Season 7: Dave Holt
Season 8: John Purcell
Season 9: Jimmy Bowman
Season 10: Pascual Johnson
Season 11: Jeremy Cashman


Best Tools
Best Power Hitter: John Purcell
Best Hitter for Average: John Purcell
Fastest Baserunner: Amos Womack
Best Fastball: Derrek Nixon
Best Curveball: Clyde Gilbert
Best Control: Jimmy Bowman
Best Infield Arm: Wayne Jones
Best Defensive Catcher: Del Davey
Best Outfield Arm: Juan Jacquez

Plumpy Welcomes jjboogie!!!111

Breaking news out of Cleveland. The City of Cleveland announces they have struck a deal to bring the former Columbus Beer Lovers to Cleveland and will be renamed the Cleveland Kosars.

Cleveland stays in the news as the Kosars announce the hiring of jjboogie as the new GM. Mr. Boogie has no experience as a GM but is expected to bring new life to Cleveland.

Rumor Has It...

That Toronto Grizzlies brass have been exploring the option of relocating the team to Flushing, New York home of Shea Stadium. I hear that the deal to relocate the Grizzles to NY is as close to done as something can be.

Also in Grizzlie news, GM rydart was quoted recently saying "Any pitcher on my ML staff can be had."


GM ttjackson of the Montgomery Burns announced in a press conference that he would be embarking on a scouting tip to Israel that could last up to a third of the season. Some GMs however are skeptical. A GM who requested to be remain annonymous said "The guy is a nut case. HE is just going to waste time and money and frankly that franchise is going to be hurting bad as a result."

GM Tjack agreed with the notion that this will be a rough year. And stated "The entire major league roster is on the block except Todd Ford."


Word out of Portland is that Gm Irock is actively searching for a #1 SP. And has already contacted several GMs. Irock also mention that the youth movement which he started when he first came on as GM in Portland will continue this year. "Let me put it to you this way, any one 27 or older is gone this year. No if and s or butts. The guys whos contracts expire this year Paulie Ardoin, Joey Duncan, Joe Nitkowski, and Paul Won will not r=be resigned. Francisco Fernandez and Trot Hughes will be traded and Rich Harrison is going to be released.


Legal issues are swarming around the Vancouver Mounties and top prospects Julio Gil and Rafael Henriquez as they were arrested late last night after allegedly impersonating actual Canadian Mounties. The two players were dressed as Canadian Mounties trying to get into an exclusive art gallery. GM jerico stated that "the players would not be charged, but the team will deal with this in house."


Once again M.A.D.D. have been protesting out side "The Baseball Grounds of JAcksonville" located in Jacksonville, Florida. For the third straight year M.A.D.D has been actively protesting the Jacksonville Alcoholics nickname and have taken the team to court AGAIN. Once again GM frankum said "I dont care what a group of angry single mothers who are just mad because they havent had a real date in 10 years think about my team and out nickname. We will easily win the case for the 3rd straight year." In relation to that story, frankum was ruled out as a suspect in the murder investigation of Mary Stiff the former head of M.A.D.D.'s Jacksonville location.


For now folks that is all the news and rumors we have out of TPT!!!111

Keep your eyes peeled as we will update our rumors and news as soon as we hear it.

"If its whispered, or yelled we will heard it"

GM Of The Year!!!111

Congratulations to rds_lsu GM of the Salt Lake City The Salt for winning the first annual Plumpy GM Of The Year!!!111

Salt Lake City The Salt (NL) rds_lsu View Hardball Dynasty Profile

What did rds_lsu do??

Last Year The Salt Lake franchise went 59-103 an abismal year by all accounts.

Then bringing new life into the franchise rds led the team to 100 wins. A 41 game improvement.

Not only did he lead them to a division title. But The Salt have found their way to the world series.

Key moves:

Trading for Ewell Coles has been the big trade for The Salt. Coles has batted .317 with 34 HRs while in a Salt uniform.

Signing Anthony Stanley as a free agent. Stanley has gone 9-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Including

Rule V drafting of Doug Caruso arguably the best move made by rds_lsu. Caruso has converted 37 of 45 saves and a very nice 3.12 ERA to boot.

Congrats to rds_lsu!