February 26, 2016
2016 Season
Preview
The 2015 Thunder Bay
season ended with the San Antonio Saints once again atop the league holding their
3rd League Championship trophy and 4th overall franchise title in the 12 year's
of existence for our league. The World Series went seven long games and
San Antonio came back from a 3 games to 1 deficit en route to beating the Nuts.
In Game 6 with Protect up 6-4 heading into the bottom of the 8th inning,
Alan's group rallied with the first 3 men getting on base followed by a Corey
Spangenberg 2 RBI single to tie the game. With men on the corners, SS Jose
Reyes drove one deep to left and David Peralta tagged up to score the go ahead
run and force a Game 7. One night later, with the score tied at 2 runs
apiece, the Saints struck in the bottom of the 8th inning with a pinch hit
leadoff HR by Lucas Duda. Jonathan Papelbon came on in the 9th and got the
heart of the order out securing the win for the Saints. Alan's (pictured below
in front of his favorite tree) 2015 Championship quest was complete.
Congratulations Alan on a great season!
The American
League is now 9-3 in World Series History (2005 Los Angeles, 2007 Chemung
and 2012 San Antonio are the only NL teams ever to win) and no team
currently in the National League has ever won our championship (due to LAH
and SAS moving to AL).
Starting in 2016, Diamond Mind
has instituted a new policy for leagues which awards one gift certificate in the
amount of the cost of a season database for the winner of the league! The
2016 champion will not only receive the league trophy but will also receive an
award from DMB! Our league has already been approved by Diamond Mind and
is eligible for the award!
This past season marked a year
in which we saw owners leave the league mainly due to over usage issues but our open
teams were filled quickly and we are full with 24 owners. Jake Drake,
Dennis Schwarz, Mike Boling and Chris McKay are the newest owners to the TBBL family and have
jumped right in working to improve their teams for 2016. Three of the owners
have made trades and have gone through their first free agent draft while our
newest member just joined this past week. My hope is that this group of
owners remains stable for a few years as it really seems like the 24 guys are
really committed to the league and are top notch owners.
Law's List |
Team |
11 |
Isotopes |
8 |
Capitals |
7 |
Flyers and CityHawks |
6 |
Bitteroots, Oil Barons and Nuts |
5 |
Halos |
4 |
Paddlers, Convicts and Whitecaps |
3 |
Bombers, Damage, Smackdown, Aces and Saints |
2 |
Fightin Phils, Confederates and Rats |
1 |
Komets, Ravens and Gladiators |
0 |
Panthers and Barons |
The first
four picks of the free agent draft were off disk players with Jake's Whitecaps kicking
things off by selecting Byung-Ho Park but perhaps the steal of round one might
wind up being Springfield's selection of A.J. Reed. Many owners in the league were
targeting this power hitting stud but John Eaton continued to show off his knowledge of MLB's farm systems by taking Reed 2nd overall.
Not to be outdone, brother Jay drafted highly thought of farm hand Lewis Brinson 2 picks later. Keith Law of ESPN recently published
his
Top 100 Prospects list for 2016 and Corey Seager of the Springfield Isotopes
tops his list. The Isotopes, who nabbed that highly touted prospect in
Reed
this past draft has made a habit of stockpiling good young talent in recent
years and John has 11 of Law's Top 100 on his current roster. The team
with the second most is no surprise as brother Jay Eaton has 8 with his crown
jewel being RF Nomar Mazara. Only the Convicts have 2 prospects in the Top
10 (Alex Reyes and Orlando Arcia) and believe it or not there are seven
prospects on Law's list who are not affiliated with a TBBL team. The
Panthers and Barons are the only teams not represented in the Top 100 list.
Drafting younger players has
become the norm in the TBBL in recent years. The table below shows
the Top 5 draft picks over the past six seasons which indicates 13 of
the 30 picks were off disk players (43%). Of the recent # 1
overall picks, only Chris Johnson (.306-.328-.488 14 HR 50 RBI) and
Danny Salazar (3-4 3.20 ERA) appeared in the TBBL the season they were
drafted. The 2016 draft featured a total of 80 off disk draft
choices.
|
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 |
Year |
# |
Player |
Team |
Player |
Team |
Player |
Team |
Player |
Team |
Player |
Team |
Player |
Team |
AAA Picks |
1 |
Chris Johnson |
Capital City |
Trevor aaaBauer |
Jersey |
Carlos aaaCorrea |
Emerald City |
Danny Salazar |
Fort Wayne |
Yasmani aaaThomas |
Capital City |
Byung-Ho aaaPark |
Michigan |
2016 - 80 |
2011 - 63 |
2 |
R.A. Dickey |
Gotham |
Danny aaaHultzen |
Emerald City |
Jose aaaFernandez |
San Carlos |
Masahiro aaaTanaka |
Gotham |
Dellin Betances |
W. Orange |
AJ aaaReed |
Springfield |
2015 - 89 |
2010 - 47 |
3 |
Joaquin Benoit |
Emerald City |
Vance Worley |
Rock River |
Trevor Rosenthal |
Fort Wayne |
Jose aaaAbreu |
Stn Mountain |
Jacob deGrom |
Emerald City |
Kenta aaaMaeda |
Marietta |
2014 - 81 |
2009 - 30 |
4 |
B. aaaBelt |
Jersey |
Eric Thames |
Fort Wayne |
Adam Eaton |
Jersey |
Yan Gomes |
Houston |
Dee Gordon |
Gotham |
Lewis aaaBrinson |
Capital City |
2013 - 65 |
2008 - 29 |
5 |
Chris Narveson |
Kansas City |
Brandon McCarthy |
Glenview |
Wei-Yin Chen |
Gotham |
Andrew Heaney |
Protect |
Yoan aaaMoncada |
Marietta |
Udubel Herrera |
Rock River |
2012 - 59 |
2007 - 33 |
Speaking of top picks, this year's trivia question asks
you to identify which player holds the career stat line below:
Career |
AVG |
OBP |
SLG |
G |
AB |
H |
2B |
3B |
HR |
R |
RBI |
BB |
K |
SB |
Titles |
Totals |
.285 |
.371 |
.523 |
1,572 |
5,568 |
1,588 |
238 |
20 |
349 |
1,058 |
1,052 |
683 |
1,259 |
145 |
0 |
162
Average |
- |
- |
- |
- |
574 |
164 |
25 |
2 |
36 |
109 |
108 |
70 |
130 |
15 |
0 |
Scott Paris is proud owner of Alex
Rodriguez for the 2016 season which almost guarantees he will not win the title
this season! Arod has been on a total of zero Championship teams in
his Thunder Bay career! He came close a few times, but unfortunately he
has never won the big one. Drafting Rodriguez has caused Paris many a
sleepless night and having this hated Yankee on his club has resulted in Fenway
Park officials revoking his season tickets. A GoFundMe Page has been
created to help Scott pay for his Yankee Season Tickets (since he is now
obviously a fan) and any money left
over will be used for his therapy sessions with Dr. Hannibal Lecter whose
office is located on Yawkey Way.
Year |
Trades |
Transactions |
2004 |
15 |
76 |
2005 |
18 |
67 |
2006 |
43 |
66 |
2007 |
53 |
62 |
2008 |
48 |
54 |
2009 |
39 |
44 |
2010 |
49 |
57 |
2011 |
53 |
72 |
2012 |
46 |
89 |
2013 |
25 |
83 |
2014 |
57 |
87 |
2015 |
41 |
90 |
The current open stadiums for
the 2016 season are Citi Field, Citizens Bank Ballpark, Globe Life Park,
Tropicana Field, Great American Park and The Coliseum. If any teams are
looking to change parks please let me know as the deadline is a few days away.
The TBBL witnessed an All Time
High for Transactions in 2015. Utilizing free agent acquisitions is a great way to
avoid over using players and the number of transactions has increased each of
the past 3 seasons. The table to the left shows Trades and
Transactions by Year since the inception of the league. The 2016 season,
which is still in off season mode has seen half the total number of trades (20)
as the entire previous season. Speaking of trades, the TBBL saw the
largest trade in our history back on January 24th. In the deal, the Fort
Wayne Komets and Capital City Capitals swapped 17 players! The center
pieces of the deal were Carlos Rodon, Michael Conforto, Blakew Swihart and Jorge
Soler going from Capital City to Fort Wayne for Danny Salazar, JD Martrinez,
Trevor Rosenthal and Adam Warren.
There is a new trade shark in
the TBBL and it's the Capital City Capitals! No longer can we call Casey
and Jeff the Trading Kings of the league! I looked over some of the
deals Jason has made since entering the league back in the fall of 2013:
Capitals Notable Deals:
- 11/1/2013: Acquired Francisco Lindor from
Bombers for Greg Holland
- 11/8/2013: Acquired Anthony Rizzo from Saints
for Kyle Lohse, Joe Nathan and ISO Rd 2
- 11/11/2013: Acquired Anthony Rendon, Carlos
Rodon and Jorge Soler from Convicts for Anibal Sanchez and Grant Balfour
- 11/11/2013: Acquired Alex Gordon, Nolan
Arenado and Maikel Franco from Bitteroots for Adrian Beltre, Bartolo Colon
and Tim Whilhelmsen
In the matter of 11 days in the fall of 2013, the
Capitals made four deals that make them one of the top teams in the league in
2016. Great job Jay!
Let's look back at a few other notable deals in the TBBL
over the years:
- October 14, 2004: The Asgard Norsemen dealt
Mariano Rivera to the Los Angeles Halos for Moises Alou. Rivera held
down the 9th inning for Los Angeles in 2005 helping the Halos win their only
TBBL championship while Alou at age 38 had his last great season with 36
homers. Mariano continued his dominance for most of the next decade.
- January 29, 2006: The Los Angeles Halos dealt
Nick Johnson, Brad Radke, aaaPetit, aaaYoung and LAH Rd 1 to the Florida
Devils for Alex Rodriguez and a few spare parts. That year Rodriguez
led the Halos to 102 wins while posting a stat line of .326-.397-.648 with
60 HR and 141 RBI.
- January 7, 2012: The California Volcanoes
traded Adrian Gonzalez and Jose Bautista to the San Antonio Saints for
Starlin Castro, Tim Lincecum, Chris Sale, Adam Dunn and Aaron Crowe.
The Saints won an NL best 110 games thanks in part to Joey Bats 31 HR and
110 RBI but Adrian Gonzalez was the key player in the deal for that season. Gonzo hit
.355 and smacked 28 bombs while driving in 128 runs. These two players
won 3 championships in the next 4 years with the Saints.
2015 Predcitions |
Team |
W-L |
2015 Finish |
My Prediction |
Team |
W-L |
2015 Finish |
My Prediction |
x-Damage |
111-51 |
1 |
1 |
x-Saints |
116-46 |
1 |
1 |
x-Halos |
95-67 |
2 |
4 |
x-Rats |
82-80 |
2 |
5 |
x-Crown Royals |
95-67 |
3 |
2 |
Smackdown |
77-85 |
3 |
4 |
x-Oil Barons |
89-73 |
4 |
3 |
Gladiators |
77-85 |
4 |
2 |
Capitals |
64-98 |
5 |
5 |
City Hawks |
74-88 |
5 |
3 |
Isotopes |
47-115 |
6 |
6 |
Nighthawks |
45-117 |
6 |
6 |
Team |
W-L |
2015 Finish |
My Prediction |
Team |
W-L |
2015 Finish |
My Prediction |
x-Panthers |
95-67 |
1 |
3 |
x-Paddlers |
106-56 |
1 |
2 |
x-Confederates |
93-69 |
2 |
2 |
x-Nuts |
90-72 |
2 |
1 |
x-Convicts |
87-75 |
3 |
1 |
x-Bitteroots |
89-73 |
3 |
3 |
Mammoths |
76-86 |
4 |
5 |
Komets |
79-83 |
4 |
4 |
Flyers |
65-97 |
5 |
4 |
Bombers |
72-90 |
5 |
5 |
Sandlappers |
55-107 |
6 |
6 |
Ravens |
65-97 |
6 |
6 |
x- Indicates Playoff Team |
My predictions last
year were a tale of two leagues. In the American League, I nailed
both Division winners and did fairly well overall but over in the
National League it was a different story. I only predicted 50% of
the spots correctly and didn't have either Division winner right.
The Most Valuable Players from
2015 were Victor Martinez (.359-43-138) of Jersey and Jose Abreu (.340-49-138)
of Stone Mountain. Our Cy Young Winners were Clayton Kershaw (17-3, 2.14
ERA) of the Nuts and Felix Hernandez (19-7, 2.21 ERA) of Houston. Shelby
Miller and Tyson Ross of Los Angeles both threw no hitters in 2015 while Mad
City (Quintana and Redmond) and Smith Mills (Skaggs and Manness) threw combined
no hitters. An interesting note from the news desk: Fort Wayne has
the most no-hitters in TBBL history with 4 but is only one of two franchises to
never make a post season appearance! The other franchise is the Kansas
City Barons.
Which TBBL team has the most
Post Season Appearances and how many do they have? The Answer is the San
Antonio/Chemung Franchise who have never missed the Playoffs! 12 TBBL
seasons and 12 TBBL Playoff trips. Which team has the second most
appearances? The answer is inside their team capsule.
For this year's preview, I
decided to utilize the rankings from MLB Network’s “Shredder” which takes into
account a multitude of statistical factors with no human bias. The episodes are
called MLB Networks Top 10 Right Now and have aired since mid January on the
Network. The table below displays each positions Top 10 list and the TBBL
team the player is currently on:
Rank |
Third Basemen |
Team |
Rank |
Shortstops |
Team |
Rank |
Second Basemen |
Team |
Rank |
First Basemen |
Team |
1 |
Josh Donaldson |
SCA |
1 |
Francisco Lindor |
CCC |
1 |
Jose Altuve |
PAD |
1 |
Paul Goldschmidt |
CCC |
2 |
Kris Bryant |
PHS |
2 |
Troy Tulowitzki |
CON |
2 |
Robinson Cano |
JER |
2 |
Joey Votto |
FLY |
3 |
Adrian Beltre |
BEA |
3 |
Carlos Correa |
ISO |
3 |
Joe Panik |
FWK |
3 |
Miguel Cabrera |
PYN |
4 |
Manny Machado |
HOU |
4 |
Brandon Crawford |
COL |
4 |
Ian Kinsler |
CON |
4 |
Anthony Rizzo |
CCC |
5 |
Justin Turner |
KCB |
5 |
Jhonny Peralta |
PAN |
5 |
Josh Harrison |
SCA |
5 |
Edwin Encarnacion |
CON |
6 |
Nolan Arenado |
GOT |
6 |
Xander Bogaerts |
ISO |
6 |
Ben Zobrist |
COL |
6 |
Jose Abreu |
SMC |
7 |
Jung Ho Kang |
GOT |
7 |
Addison Russell |
PYN |
7 |
Neil Walker |
SAS |
7 |
Adrian Gonzalez |
SAS |
8 |
Matt Carpenter |
KCB |
8 |
Marcus Semien |
LAH |
8 |
Dustin Pedroia |
PYN |
8 |
Freddie Freeman |
CON |
9 |
Kyle Seager |
HOU |
9 |
Andrelton Simmons |
SMC |
9 |
Dee Gordon |
GOT |
9 |
Chris Davis |
COL |
10 |
Todd Frazier |
JER |
10 |
Didi Gregorious |
GOT |
10 |
Logan Forsythe |
WHC |
10 |
Brandon Belt |
JER |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank |
Leftfielders |
Team |
Rank |
Centerfielders |
Team |
Rank |
Rightfielders |
Team |
Rank |
Designated Hitters |
Team |
1 |
Michael Brantley |
PAN |
1 |
Mike Trout |
PAD |
1 |
Bryce Harper |
BEA |
1 |
David Ortiz |
JER |
2 |
Starling Marte |
COL |
2 |
AJ Pollock |
SCA |
2 |
Giancarlo Stanton |
SAS |
2 |
Kendrys Morales |
ISO |
3 |
Justin Upton |
HOU |
3 |
Lorenzo Cain |
PAN |
3 |
Jose Bautista |
SAS |
3 |
Prince Fielder |
BEA |
4 |
Yoenis Cespedes |
MFP |
4 |
Andrew McCuthcen |
BEA |
4 |
Mookie Betts |
ISO |
4 |
Victor Martinez |
JER |
5 |
Alex Gordon |
CCC |
5 |
Jason Heyward |
LAH |
5 |
J.D. Martinez |
CCC |
5 |
Alex Rodriguez |
PYN |
6 |
David Peralta |
SAS |
6 |
Adam Eaton |
PAD |
6 |
Nelson Cruz |
JER |
6 |
Evan Gattis |
SMC |
7 |
Christian Yelich |
SCA |
7 |
Kevin Kiermaier |
BOM |
7 |
George Springer |
HOU |
7 |
Adam LaRoche |
FWK |
8 |
Matt Holiday |
LTR |
8 |
Randal Grichuk |
SAS |
8 |
Yasiel Puig |
COL |
8 |
John Jaso |
LTR |
9 |
Corey Dickerson |
FLY |
9 |
Carlos Gomez |
HOU |
9 |
Miguel Sano |
PYN |
9 |
Billy Butler |
MFP |
10 |
Brett Gardner |
LAH |
10 |
Adam Jones |
JER |
10 |
Ryan Braun |
CON |
10 |
Steve Pearce |
KCB |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Rank |
Starters |
Team |
Rank |
Relievers |
Team |
Rank |
Catchers |
Team |
Rank |
Top Teams |
# |
1 |
Clayton Kershaw |
PYN |
1 |
Wade Davis |
HOU |
1 |
Buster Posey |
SAS |
1 |
Jersey |
12 |
2 |
Jake Arrieta |
COL |
2 |
Delin Betances |
PAN |
2 |
Russel Martin |
SCA |
2 |
San Antonio |
9 |
3 |
Zack Grienke |
SCA |
3 |
Aroldys Chapman |
JER |
3 |
Jonathan Lucroy |
PAD |
2 |
San Carlos |
8 |
4 |
David Price |
SAS |
4 |
Andrew Miller |
JER |
4 |
Francisco Cervelli |
LAH |
2 |
Colorado |
8 |
5 |
Chris Sale |
SCA |
5 |
Zach Britton |
SCA |
5 |
Stephen Vogt |
ISO |
5 |
Houston |
7 |
6 |
Max Scherzer |
PAD |
6 |
Mark Melancon |
JER |
6 |
Brian McCann |
SMC |
6 |
Protect |
6 |
7 |
Corey Kluber |
LAH |
7 |
Ken Giles |
JER |
7 |
Yadier Molina |
COL |
6 |
Newark |
6 |
8 |
Dallas Keuchel |
LTR |
8 |
Tony Watson |
PAN |
8 |
Salvador Perez |
JER |
6 |
Gotham |
6 |
9 |
Felix Hernandez |
HOU |
9 |
Darren O'Day |
COL |
9 |
Derek Norris |
GOT |
6 |
Springfield |
6 |
10 |
Adam Wainwright |
JER |
10 |
Craig Kimbrel |
CON |
10 |
Travis d'Arnaud |
ISO |
10 |
4 Tied with |
5 |
2016 MLB Network
Top 10 Right Now Team |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
Trout
|
. |
. |
. |
..294
42 HR 153 RBI. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
z |
M. Brantley |
. |
B. Harper |
a |
.302
13 HR 90 RBI |
. |
.223 11 HR 49 RBI |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
F. Lindor |
Altuve |
. |
. |
DNP in TBBL |
.369 5 HR 148 RS |
. |
. |
Donaldson |
. |
P. Goldschmidt |
DH |
.266 28 HR 86 RBI 261 15 HR 53 RBI |
D. Ortiz |
. |
. |
. |
. |
.242 31 HR |
. |
|
Posey |
|
72 RBI |
Starter |
.313 22 HR 95 RBI |
Closer |
Kershaw |
17-3, 2.14
ERA |
. |
W. Davis |
27 Sv 0.81
ERA |
|
2015 TBBL Stats Displayed |
Jersey leads the list with 12
Top 10 Right Now players (4 of which are pen arms however) while San Carlos has
4 players in the positional Top 3 including 3B Josh Donaldson who is primed for a huge 2016 TBBL season. It will be interesting to see how many of these players are
starters in the 2016 All Star Game which will be held at Petco Park in San
Diego. Let's put the over under number at 3.5 and see! This would be one
heck of a team!
The WAR stat continues to be
one of baseballs trendy stat measures and it has helped me shape my predictions the past
few seasons. Unlike WAR, the salaries of players in MLB are bloated and that
translates to the TBBL rosters as well. More and more web sites are popping up
analyzing stats and coming up with new measures and another favorite of mine
is the Baseball Think Factory, a sabermetrically-oriented baseball web site that
features the day's prominent news stories. This site has been around for a
while and is a great read as is the Fangraphs site. For the measures
below, I utilize an Access database with stats
from www.fangraphs.com
and match it up to the TBBL rosters. This database is used throughout the
season on our web site and we will start using charts to better tell the story
of the TBBL in 2016. Below is this year's Salary and WAR
Ranks courtesy of Fangraphs:
TBBL Club |
Batter War |
Pitcher War |
Total WAR |
WAR Rank |
Team Salary |
Salary Rank |
Protect Your Nuts |
25.7 |
33.4 |
59.1 |
2 |
$238,699,000.00 |
1 |
San Antonio Saints |
38.8 |
16.2 |
55 |
4 |
$238,695,000.00 |
2 |
Jersey Damage Inc. |
28 |
24.7 |
52.7 |
6 |
$225,947,000.00 |
3 |
Stn Mountain Confederates |
21.4 |
15.8 |
37.2 |
17 |
$169,381,000.00 |
4 |
Beartooth Bitteroots |
31.9 |
18.8 |
50.7 |
9 |
$168,349,000.00 |
5 |
Rock River Ravens |
17.6 |
14.5 |
32.1 |
20 |
$165,895,000.00 |
6 |
San Carlos Aces |
29.1 |
21.9 |
51 |
8 |
$164,322,000.00 |
7 |
California Convicts |
27.7 |
24.8 |
52.5 |
7 |
$151,024,000.00 |
8 |
Houston Oil Barons |
24.9 |
16.7 |
41.6 |
13 |
$149,159,000.00 |
9 |
Colorado Gladiators |
34.8 |
23.7 |
58.5 |
3 |
$148,140,000.00 |
10 |
Philadelphia Smackdown |
17.9 |
12.7 |
30.6 |
22 |
$131,937,000.00 |
11 |
Kansas City Barons |
13.8 |
17.9 |
31.7 |
21 |
$127,751,000.00 |
12 |
Lincoln Tunnel Rats |
10.8 |
17.2 |
28 |
24 |
$125,729,000.00 |
13 |
Gotham CityHawks |
21.8 |
15.5 |
37.3 |
16 |
$123,440,000.00 |
14 |
Los Angeles Halos |
33.7 |
20.8 |
54.5 |
5 |
$111,322,000.00 |
15 |
Michigan Whitecaps |
20.9 |
12.4 |
33.3 |
19 |
$111,205,000.00 |
16 |
Mad City Paddlers |
35.2 |
24.9 |
60.1 |
1 |
$108,958,000.00 |
17 |
West Orange Panthers |
24.3 |
14.5 |
38.8 |
15 |
$107,084,000.00 |
18 |
Capital City Capitals |
27 |
21.2 |
48.2 |
11 |
$105,771,000.00 |
19 |
Fort Wayne Komets |
19.3 |
8.8 |
28.1 |
23 |
$102,024,000.00 |
20 |
Glenview Flyers |
29.3 |
18.2 |
47.5 |
12 |
$90,451,000.00 |
21 |
Marietta Fightin Phils |
26 |
13.8 |
39.8 |
14 |
$79,055,000.00 |
22 |
Emerald City Bombers |
11.3 |
24.1 |
35.4 |
18 |
$77,228,000.00 |
23 |
Springfield Isotopes |
33.5 |
15.9 |
49.4 |
10 |
$60,220,000.00 |
24 |
The Protect Your Nuts franchise once again sits atop the
salary list for 2016! The team's payrolls is nearly
$239 MILLION DOLLARS and they narrowly beat out last year's champ San
Antonio whose payroll is a measly 4k under the Nuts. Since Scott is the
Big Willy again, he will be buying the first round if the TBBL managers ever
have a get together! The three highest payrolls of all time have been the
Nuts in 2016 ($238,699,000), this years Saints at $238,695,000 and my Damage at
$225,947,000. My team's payroll will certainly drop after David Ortiz
retires and starts his Kona Ice stand in Maui allowing me more money to recruit
future Yankee Bryce Harper! The Isotopes have this years lowest payroll at
just over $60m but have quite a few Top 10 Right Now players making them along
with brother Jay's Capitals the future of the AL East.
The team WAR leader heading
into the season is the Mad City Paddlers who proudly run out Millville, New Jersey's
Mike Trout in CF every day. Trout was 9 wins above a replacement player in
2015 trailing only Bryce Harper of Beartooth (9.6 WAR). Clayton Kershaw of
the Nuts leads the WAR category for pitchers with 8.6 wins above replacement.
Looking towards the 2016
season, the following milestones are in sight for some players and teams.
Career HR - 500 |
Career RBI - 1,500 |
Career Hits - 2,500 |
Career Walks - 1,000 |
Career SB - 500 |
Miguel Cabrera, PYN (450) |
Albert Pujols, GOT (1,439) |
Miguel Cabrera, PYN
(2,305) |
David Ortiz, JER (979)) |
Jimmy Rollins, LTR (444) |
Albert Pujols, GOT (433) |
. |
. |
. |
. |
Career Wins - 150 |
Career App - 600 |
Career Strike Outs - 2,250 |
Team
Wins - 1,300 |
Team
Losses - 1,200 |
Felix Hernandez, HOU (146) |
Joaquin Benoit, SAS (584) |
Felix Hernandez, HOU
(2,015) |
Los Angeles (1,252) |
Capital City (1,171) |
Dan Haren, SAS (145) |
. |
. |
San Antonio (1,210) |
. |
2016
Predictions and Simulation Results |
My predictions for the 2016
season are highlighted in each teams capsule and in many cases I used
owner provided comments to craft the write-up. For the teams who did not
supply comments, we hired a Ghost Writer to contribute to the Preview.
Anyone want to take a guess at who the Ghost Writer was? Now, the moment everyone
has been waiting for ... my prediction as to who will win the 2016 TBBL Championship
is the
Capital City Capitals. I don't believe I have ever predicted the
champion correctly so I am sure Jay might be losing some sleep after reading
this article. The Capitals made out well in the recent deal with Fort
Wayne and will now run out 3 players (Goldschmidt, Rizzo and JD Martinez) with
30+ HR on an every day basis. With Lindor and Schoop up the middle their
defense is really strong as well. Chris Archer leads the staff compiling
252 strike outs in just 212 innings last year and all five starters have ERA's
under 4 runs per game. We are picking the Capitals to win it all but via
the wildcard route as I still feel my Jersey team has enough to win the division
but San Carlos and Los Angeles will be right there as well. I see 4 teams
from the AL East making the post season while the Saints are still the class of
the AL West. San Antonio will have to do some serious managing in the
regular season getting through some injuries to key players like Stanton and
Grichuk but in my view the West is the weaker of the two divisions this year.
The last playoff team should come out of the West and it might come down to a
Colorado and Gotham one game playoff. Colorado has really simmed well and
that was evident by their 105 wins so look for them to take one of the wildcard
spots.
The National League has been
always the harder of the two leagues for me to forecast. The Nuts won last
year's pennant and should be very strong once again in 2016. Having
Clayton Kershaw on your roster along with a healthy Matt Harvey and this team
should win games. The Dark Knight, who sat out last season while filming
Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice came back strong and will be a mainstay
in the rotation for the Nuts going forward. Mad City should be right there again too as Trout is
expected to be a monster again. Add Bumgarner and Scherzer and this team
has a very strong core. I also expect Beartooth to be in the mix for a
division title mainly due to good young pitching in Syndergaard, Severino and
Garcia. Bryce Harper is the teams best hitter and with him and Noah
gracing the cover of Allure magazine for having the best hair in baseball this
team can be head and shoulders above the rest of the division. In the NL
East, the Convicts, Flyers and Panthers have all simmed well and any one of the
three can win the division. California is deep from the right side of the
plate while West Orange and Glenview are more balanced. Craig's Panthers
just seem to find a way to win each year and Glenview might be one year away but
has a chance at a wildcard slot. Anything can happen which is why the 11,287 words I
just wrote probably won't mean a thing in October!
2016 Simulations Standings |
AL
East |
Record |
Pct |
AL
West |
Record |
Pct |
x-Damage |
95-67 |
.586 |
x-Saints |
105-57 |
.648 |
x-Capitals |
94-68 |
.580 |
x-Gladiators |
105-57 |
.648 |
x-Halos |
89-73 |
.549 |
CityHawks |
71-91 |
.438 |
x-Aces |
87-75 |
.537 |
Smackdown |
65-97 |
.401 |
Isotopes |
77-85 |
.475 |
Whitecaps |
62-100 |
.383 |
Oil
Barons |
63-99 |
.389 |
Rats |
59-103 |
.364 |
NL
East |
Record |
Pct |
NL
West |
Record |
Pct |
x-Panthers |
88-74 |
.543 |
x-Bitteroots |
115-47 |
.710 |
x-Convicts |
87-75 |
.537 |
x-Paddlers |
113-49 |
.698 |
x-Flyers |
86-76 |
.531 |
x-Nuts |
89-73 |
.549 |
Phils |
79-83 |
.488 |
Ravens |
72-90 |
.444 |
Confederates |
64-98 |
.395 |
Bombers |
67-95 |
.414 |
Barons |
59-103 |
.364 |
Komets |
53-109 |
.327 |
x- Indicates Playoff Team |
So to recap my predictions, I
see four teams from the AL East and two from the AL West making the postseason
with a Capital City vs. San Antonio LCS. The Nuts and Convicts each win their
division and meet in the NLCS. The World Series will be the Nuts
taking on the Capitals with the Capitals coming out on top in 6 games! You
heard it here first, unless of course I am wrong then I never said it!
On February 26, 2016, the annual season simulation
was run. The table to the right shows the final standings of the sim.
There is a link to your team reports in each grid. The Bitteroots were the
best simulated team and one of 4 teams in the league to win 100 games! The MVP of the sim would have been J.D.
Martinez of the Capital City Capitals who had a stat line of .317-46-153 with 115 runs scored.
Nelson Cruz of
Jersey led the league in homers with 63 and David Peralta of San Antionio was the batting
champion sporting a .344 average. Mike Trout of Mad City filed a grievance
with the Players Association claiming he should have been the MVP with his
.331-55-132 line but that was quickly dismissed as he became the new anchor for
the Weather Channel. On the hill, Jake Arrieta of Colorado was tops with
his 21-8 record and 2.93 ERA. Jake also struck out 252 batters, but the
league leader in K's was Chris Sale with 297 but remarkably his record was only
9-15. Zack Greinke led the league with a 2.41 ERA and chipped in 13
wins. Francisco Rodriguez of Beartooth led the league with 38 saves while
compiling an ERA of 1.30. Perhaps the most interesting stat line of a
pitcher came from Tyson Ross of Los Angeles as he won 12 games with a 4.06 ERA
but had 112 walks along with 233 strike outs. Add 16 hit batters and he
faced 361 men who didn't put the ball in play during the sim.
The following teams contributed
manager profiles for the sim: Beartooth, Emerald City, Capital City,
Colorado, Jersey, California, Glenview, Fort Wayne, Gotham, Houston, Kansas
City, Lincoln, Michigan, Los Angeles, San Antonio, Rock River, San Carlos, Stone
Mountain, Mad City, Philadelphia, Springfield and Marietta. West Orange
and Protect had their manager profiles
computer generated.
Here is the
direct link
for the sim results. The
final simulation DB
is located here for anyone who wants to download it.
Jump
to:
AL East
|
AL West |
NL East |
NL West
|
|
Team ERA |
3.48 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.260-.315-.453 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$226m |
3rd |
. |
. |
Jones |
WAR: |
52.7 |
6th |
. |
. |
Ruggiano |
. |
. |
. |
Tucker |
. |
Cruz |
. |
z |
Gutierrez |
. |
Pence |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Desmond |
Cano |
. |
. |
Rodriguez |
Herrera |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Zimmerman |
Frazier |
. |
Belt |
Chapman |
Gray |
. |
. |
Ortiz |
Wainwright |
G. Gonzalez |
. |
. |
Cron |
Miller |
Tilman |
a |
Perez |
. |
Giles |
Porcello |
a |
Corporan |
. |
Strickland |
Butler |
. |
. |
. |
Melancon |
Banuelos |
a |
. |
a |
Ziegler |
|
On the
Farm: |
Purged the San Francisco
Giants farm system by drafting SS prospects Lucius Fox
and Christian Arroyo to add them with Nick Gordon of
Minnesota. Blandino and Ward were late grabs and
Grant Holmes of LA might be the best of the group.
|
Strengths: |
The team is built on power
and pen depth this year. Three players belted 35+
HR and the team total of 299 HR is far and away tops in
the league (SAS at 251 is 2nd). Chapman (33 SV),
Melancon (51 SV), Miller (36 SV) and Giles (15 SV)
combine to make this pen the best in the TBBL.
|
Weaknesses:
|
The rotation took a hit
with the Wainwright injury and is average at best this
season. The acquisition of Sonny Gray is a move
that will pay dividends for many years to come and pair
him with Jordan Zimmermann at the top of the playoff
rotation we like our chances. Middle infield
defense with Desmond and Cano is terrible. Will
Ian Desmond break .200? |
GM Thoughts: |
Coming off our first
Division Title ever last year I see this team atop the
East again in 2016. Our window is narrowing though
so
once again we will be all in to win a Championship in
the TBBL. We are very aware of how good the
Capitals have become and how tough the Aces and Halos are so this will be a very tough division to
win. My sims (before the Season Preview) were all
over the place so who knows which team comes out on top. |
Key Moves: |
Acquired Sonny Gray to lead the rotation and drafted
Franklin Gutierrez and Preston Tucker to fill LF gap
left by Cespedes departure |
Prediction:
|
1st Place -- We have some concerns about
three other clubs in the division but at the end of the day the East
in Jersey's to lose. The window to win a title is
closing however. |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Damage finished 1st in the AL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.43 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.256-.335-.416 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$111m |
15th |
. |
. |
Heyward |
WAR: |
54.5 |
5th |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
Gardner |
. |
Granderson |
. |
z |
Guerrero |
. |
Mahtook |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Semien |
Goins |
. |
. |
Turner |
Difo |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Kluber |
Freese |
. |
Teixeira |
Albers |
Cashner |
. |
. |
C. Santana |
Chafin |
Miller |
. |
. |
. |
Duke |
T. Ross |
a |
Cervelli |
. |
Givens |
Foltynewicz |
a |
Casali |
. |
Hatcher |
Peralta |
. |
. |
. |
Osich |
a |
a |
. |
a |
Hendriks |
|
On the
Farm: |
Prospects have not typically survived in Los Angeles as
historically they have pretty much all ended up in
trades. This season there should be a record 4 players
who will at least spend some time on the ML roster after
being developed in the Halo farm system. They are: (1)
Foltynewicz – who baring a trade for a SP will get at
least 15 starts; (2) Alex Guerrero – will get some time
at 3b; (3) Rob Refsnyder should get a September call-up
along with (4) Trea Turner. None will have an impact in
2016, but the team has high hopes for Trea Turner to
take over a middle infield spot on a more permanent
basis in 2017. Foltynewicz should be an asset in the
bullpen also in 2017. The hold overs on the Farm are
Willy Adames (middle inf), Jorge Alfero (catcher), Jorge
Mateo (SS) and Austin Meadows (OF). All four are still a
couple of years away but should be included on most Top
Prospects lists heading into 2016. This year’s
draft only brought in 2 farm hands and both bring
potential power to the table: Joshua Naylor, 1b and
Renato Nunez, 3b. |
Strengths: |
For the 2nd
season in a row, the team is returning the majority of
its starting pitching staff and this stability is one of
the team’s strength this season. Kluber, Ross, Miller,
Cashner and Peralta should be effective enough when
combined with what should be a very solid pen. Hector
Rondon returns as closer and is supported by a fine cast
of Strop, Hendriks, Givens, Chafin, Hatcher, Albers and
Osich. |
Weaknesses:
|
The Offense for the past several season has been anemic
and it is a concern again in 2016. If Mark Teixeira can
finally stay healthy the team will already be better off
this season. The team also added Carlos Santana to
hopefully add some more pop to the lineup. |
GM Thoughts: |
We
expected to finish around .500 last season and it was
more than a small surprise that the Halo’s finished with
95 wins and won a play-off series. That unexpected
success could unfairly raise expectations for 2016. A
LOT would have to break right for the team to repeat 95
wins as a more realistic number of wins is low 80’s. The
biggest question is how patience management will remain
with the rebuild or will their prospects be dealt to
make a bigger run this season. |
Key Moves: |
Acquired catcher Francisco Cervelli to fill void behind
the plate |
Prediction:
|
4th Place -- We agree with Greg's assessment
of his team and think the Halos will be in the mid 80s
win wise and also fully expect them in the post season. Trivia Answer: The Halos have made the post
season every year since 2005 marking the 2nd most
playoff appearances of any TBBL team! |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Halos finished
3rd in the AL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.78 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.256-.318-.409 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$149m |
9th |
. |
. |
Gomez |
WAR: |
41.6 |
13th |
. |
. |
Buxton |
. |
. |
. |
Upton |
. |
Springer |
. |
z |
Cuddyer |
. |
Souza |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Machado |
Giavotella |
. |
. |
Segura |
- |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Hernandez |
Seager |
. |
Mauer |
Axford |
Lewis |
. |
. |
. |
Baez |
Hughes |
. |
. |
. |
Davis |
Burnett |
a |
Gomes |
. |
Herrera |
Montgomery |
a |
Cruz |
. |
Layne |
Gausmann |
. |
. |
. |
Sipp |
Holland |
a |
. |
a |
Vizcaino |
|
On the
Farm: |
Houston has five pitching prospects in their system, but
none of them stand out the kind of top of the rotation
arm that the team needs to get back to competitiveness.
Springer and Buxton have graduated to the big leagues,
but there are still a handful of outfield prospects
moving up the chain. Again, though, they lack the
ceiling of an elite prospect. The final two players in
the system are shortstops. One is just 18 years old
(Adrian Rondon) and is currently pegged as a potential
league average shortstop, which is always a good thing
to have. The other (Kevin Maitan) is even younger, at
just 15 years old and currently not even signed (though
it is rumored that the Braves have an agreement with
him). Some say he might be the best international
prospect in years. So, although he is ages away from
the major leagues and full of risk, he might be the
shiniest of the prospects in a system loaded with solid
but not top tier talent. |
Strengths: |
The team has
gotten quite thin and will struggle this season. That said,
there are a few bright spots. The right side of the infield
with Kyle Seager and Manny Machado is strong. Going forward,
having Buxton and Springer in the outfield along with veterans
Justin Upton and Carlos Gomez is a strength. Felix Hernandez is
the only stalwart in the rotation and Wade Davis will sadly have
very few opportunities to save games this year. |
Weaknesses:
|
The
main weakness of the team is the rotation. After Felix
there is little to like. Gausman is still promising and
we hope he takes the proverbial step forward this year.
Injuries to Yan Gomes and Carlos Gomez turn former
strengths into weak spots this season. Mauer as a 1b
isn't good, either. |
GM Thoughts: |
After
several years of contending but not ever pushing
through, the Oil Barons will be forced to the bottom of
the standings. Some growth by a few of the promising
young players and some returns to form might pull the
team out of the death spiral. But even if Buxton has a
good year and Springer continues to blossom and Machado
keeps his shortstop eligibility . . . management will be
challenged to support that core with a rotation worthy
of contending again. |
Key Moves: |
Manny Machado's rating at SS allows team to best utilize
Seager and Machado on left side of infield |
Prediction:
|
6th Place -- Most likely on the outside looking in
at the 2016 playoff picture and perhaps at a crossroads
in regards whether to deal Felix. I am sure many
have inquired already! |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Oil Barons finished
6th in the AL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.67 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.273-.341-.446 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$106m |
19th |
. |
. |
Lagares |
WAR: |
48.2 |
11th |
. |
. |
Brito |
. |
. |
. |
Gordon |
. |
JD Martinez |
. |
z |
Ramirez |
. |
- |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Lindor |
Schoop |
. |
. |
- |
Tejeda |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Archer |
Rendon |
. |
Goldschmidt |
Almonte |
Salazar |
Kubitza |
. |
Rizzo |
Hand |
Richards |
. |
. |
. |
Petit |
Volquez |
a |
Conger |
. |
Rosenthal |
E. Ramirez |
a |
Murphy |
. |
Seigrist |
Norris |
. |
. |
. |
Warren |
a |
a |
. |
a |
Houser |
|
On the
Farm: |
Capitals have a full compliment of players down on the
farm. We are particularly excited about Outfield
hopefuls Nomar Mazara and Lewis Brinson. Hoping they
become MLB eligible this season along with Trevor Story
in the middle. The pitching allergic Capitals selected
5 Minor League pitchers in the recent draft. We are
betting on lottery tickets like Amir Garrett, Tyler Jay,
Cody Reed, Luke Weaver and Josh Hader to break through.
Right now we hope that at least one of those guys makes
it into a rotation one day! |
Strengths: |
Offense seems to be our biggest strength right now. We are just
hoping to score enough runs to win games 10-8. At the top we
have Francisco Lindor and Alex Gordon trying to set the table.
That is followed by Anthony Rizzo, Paul Goldschmidt and newly
acquired JD Martinez in the middle. Hopefully they can match
their 100+ real life combined HRs for the Capitals.
Veteran depth is another strength will multiple players at most
positions. We have at least 13 position players with nearly
400+ PAs coming into the season. At some point we will need
to move the depth for more bullpen help.
The starting rotation is finally decent enough to compete.
Counting on big seasons from Chris Archer, Garrett Richards,
Danny Salazar and Edison Volquez. |
Weaknesses:
|
Bullpen!!! While Trevor Rosenthal and Adam Warren
should provide quality innings the rest of the pen will
struggle mightily. We have no depth and no real help
on the horizon. Looking forward to some loooooong
games this season. |
GM Thoughts: |
Entering season number three and now have the team in a
position to be competitive. As stated, offensively we
should score plenty of runs but unfortunately our
bullpen will probably cost us in the long run. Still
looking to make a couple more deals before the start of
the season and hoping we can contend for a playoff spot! |
Key Moves: |
Acquired the Fort Wayne Komets in a multi player deal. |
Prediction:
|
2nd
place.
Can't pick the Caps
any lower especially considering the jinx I placed on
them as the team to beat. This team won 88 games
or more in every sim I ran this off season. They
are for real and here to stay. |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Capitals finished
2nd in the AL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
Team |
San Carlos Aces |
Team Report |
|
Owner |
Jeff Thomas |
2015 Record |
95-67 (2nd
place) |
|
Team ERA |
3.53 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.257-.317-.417 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$164m |
7th |
. |
. |
Pollock |
WAR: |
51 |
8th |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
Yelich |
. |
Beltran |
. |
z |
Rasmus |
. |
Suzuki |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Castro |
Harrison |
. |
. |
DeJesus |
Utley |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Grienke |
Donaldson |
. |
Alvarez |
Britton |
Fernandez |
. |
. |
Ruf |
Diaz |
Colon |
. |
. |
. |
Dyson |
Sale |
a |
Martin |
. |
Gregerson |
de la Rosa |
a |
Navarro |
. |
Perkins |
Harang |
. |
. |
. |
Qualls |
a |
a |
. |
a |
a |
|
On the
Farm: |
On
the farm for the Aces are 2 rehabbing SP, Y Darvish and
J Ryu, who should be returning to San Carlos in 2017.
Plus some more help could be on their way in very good
young talents in SS Franklin Barreto #1 prospect of
Oakland and SP Tyler Kolek #1 with Miami. One of the top
Cuban pitching prospects 20 yr old Vladimir Gutierrez is
a few years away. As well as youngster 16 yr old Vlad
Guerrero Jr, rumors have it, has a bat like Sr. Reese
McGuire catcher and Taylor Guerrieri pitcher, who both
could see action in MLB soon, fill out rest of farm
system. |
Strengths: |
Having 2 of
best SP in baseball sure help with Zack Greinke and Chris Sale.
Not to mention slugger Josh Donaldson and AJ Pollock leading the
offense. Christian Yelich and his .300 avg /speed should produce
some runs. At 2b this year will be Josh Harrison and his double
play partner will be Starlin Castro. Providing some thump will
be Carlos Beltran, Colby Rasmus, Pedro Alvarez. Russell Martin
and Geovany Soto will be behind the dish this year. Back end of
pen Britton, Gregerson, Dyson solid group. |
Weaknesses:
|
middle/back of rotation Colon, De la Rosa & Harang will
fill up starts. Jose Fernandez only 11 starts, losing
Darvish and Ryu to injury hurts. Middle relief is ok,
with Diaz, Perkins, Villaneuva. Aging vets in Beltran,
Utley will be getting a lot of Ab. |
GM Thoughts: |
Were
riding the bats of Donaldson, Pollock + arms of Greinke
and Sale. If mid-back of rotation can keep us in some
games and pen can hold teams, our offense could lead the
way to victory. Playoffs maybe as one of the later teams
to get in, expecting around 85 win season I think is
reasonable with this club. Not a powerhouse of years
past, but if we can get into playoffs with Greinke and
Sale, we might surprise. |
Key Moves: |
No
significant off season moves |
Prediction:
|
3rd
place. Having to deal with this clubs pitching on a day in and
day out basis will make teams knees wobbly and they are
one of four in the East who could win this division.
Lock them in for a post season spot. |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Aces finished
4th in the AL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.81 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.262-.332-.429 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$61m |
24th |
. |
. |
Fowler |
WAR: |
49.1 |
10th |
. |
. |
Pederson |
. |
. |
. |
Cahna |
. |
Betts |
. |
z |
Schebler |
. |
- |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Bogaerts |
Odor |
. |
. |
Correa |
Peterson |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Cole |
C. Seager |
. |
Morales |
Jackson |
Karns |
Drury |
. |
Walker |
Jennings |
T. Walker |
. |
. |
. |
Knebel |
DeSclafini |
a |
D'Arnaud |
. |
Lopez |
A. Sanchez |
a |
Voght |
. |
Rea |
Danks |
. |
. |
. |
Velesquaz |
Matz |
a |
. |
a |
R. Hernandez |
|
On the
Farm: |
Isotopes continue to build through prospects. Last year
saw Carlos Correa, Corey Seager, Steven Matz, Mark Canha
and Vincent Velasquez make it to the show. |
Strengths: |
Youth, potential, youth, prospects, and youth. |
Weaknesses:
|
Pitching; everything else |
GM Thoughts: |
It's Year 3 of the Isotopes and it’s time to start
winning a few games. Fans have been incredibly patient
after suffering through back-to-back 110+ loss seasons.
|
Key Moves: |
Drafting of AJ Reed and Victor Robles in the early
rounds deepens one of the best TBBL farm systems |
Prediction:
|
5th
place. 2017 is the year this club makes the post season and
should be there for many years in a row. |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Isotopes finished 5th in the AL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
4.00 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.252-.309-.412 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$111m |
16th |
. |
. |
Pillar |
WAR: |
33.3 |
19th |
. |
. |
- |
. |
. |
. |
R. Davis |
. |
C. Gonzalez |
. |
z |
T. Collins |
. |
Ashe |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Cozart |
Galvis |
. |
. |
Santana |
Baez |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Peavy |
Forsythe |
. |
Wallace |
Allen |
C. Young |
Reynolds |
. |
Howard |
Alvarez |
Pelfrey |
. |
. |
. |
Brach |
Ch. Anderson |
a |
Flowers |
. |
Perez |
Morton |
a |
Grandal |
. |
Street |
Hellickson |
. |
. |
. |
Morgan |
Bailey |
a |
. |
a |
a |
|
On the
Farm: |
Two
Korean League sluggers will be big as far as this club's
near-future, top overall pick and moon-shot-slugger
Byung-Ho Park, and patient, lefty slasher, Hyeon-Soo
KIm. The Caps also have a nice core of young arms,
Robert Stephenson, Brady Aiken, and Braden Shipley in
the pipeline. Clint Frazier is also a potential impact
outfielder.
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Strengths: |
New
GM Jacob Drake took over a 45 win shamble of a club this
winter, but did a bangup job drafting his way out of a
deep usage hole while snapping up some big good-lookin' league
ready talent. Carlos "Cargo" Gonzalez is the franchise
player, and he and Kevin Pillar will be sought
after-deadline trade blue-chips, I'm sure.
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Weaknesses:
|
Some
gnarly usage picks were needed to get through the year,
namely a near-the-end Ryan Howard, 35 year old Rajai
Davis, Charlie Morton, etc., the Caps will likely be
weak on both sides of the ball.
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer
|
GM Thoughts: |
2016
won't be pretty, but it's a rebuilding year. Mr.
Drake will have plenty of young players to watch for
2017, as well as a full slate of top draft picks next
year as well.
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Key Moves: |
Drafting Freddy Galvis solidifies the infield |
Prediction:
|
6th
place. Not expecting much out of the club this
year but one of our new
owners is solid and an improvement on last years 45 wins should
be a slam dunk |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Whitecaps finished
5th in the AL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
Team |
Gotham
CityHawks |
Team Report |
|
Owner |
Chris Longo |
2015 Record |
74-88 (5th
place) |
|
Team ERA |
3.92 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.265-.320.-424 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$123m |
14th |
. |
. |
Maybin |
WAR: |
37.3 |
16th |
. |
. |
Pompey |
. |
. |
. |
Thompson |
. |
Polanco |
. |
z |
Arcia |
. |
Kepler |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Gregorious |
Gordon |
. |
. |
Alcantara |
Alcantara |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Tanaka |
Arenado |
. |
Pujols |
Boxberger |
Gibson |
Kang |
. |
Butler |
Caminero |
Chen |
. |
. |
. |
Hudson |
E. Rodriguez |
a |
Norris |
. |
Montas |
Br. Anderson |
a |
Realmuto |
. |
Nicasio |
Latos |
. |
. |
. |
Osuna |
Hutchinson |
a |
. |
a |
a |
|
On the
Farm: |
Zach
Wheeler provides hope of the type of talent they could
really use next year, as does the super-super intriguing
lefty, Julio Urias. Those are the ones to watch in 2016.
-- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Strengths: |
Gotham features a very nice, young lineup core,
especially in the infield, both on offense and defense.
Arenado is a star at the hot-corner, Gregarious and
Gordon are a flashy yet steady keystone combo, and
Albert Pujols is the veteran anchor of that great
infield. Young right fielder Greg Polanco still has
intriguing athletic ability and potential, and is one to
watch grow.
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Weaknesses:
|
Arm
talent in the rotation. Tanaka's injuries have hurt, as
well have Brett Andersons, and Mat Latos. Wei-Yin Chen
is steady bright spot but this club needs more horses at
the top, and the pen isn't deep either.
-- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
GM Thoughts: |
The
Hawks likely don't have enough pitching to win in 20116,
but this is a talented club, with a lot to look forward
to, maybe very soon.
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Key Moves: |
Drafting Roberto Ozuna at 1.08 gives Hawks a proven
closer for 2016 |
Prediction:
|
3rd
place. Picked to finish 3rd again this year and could be in
the mix for a playoff spot if offense carries the team |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
CityHawks finished
3rd in the AL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.69 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.255-.317-.376 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$129m |
12th |
. |
. |
Gose |
WAR: |
28 |
24th |
. |
. |
Pagan |
. |
. |
. |
Hicks |
. |
A. Garcia |
. |
z |
Holiday |
. |
Robertson |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Holt |
Paredes |
. |
. |
Rollins |
Polanco |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Lester |
Valbuena |
. |
Rogers |
Doolittle |
Weaver |
Escobar |
. |
Rupp |
Finnegan |
Kuechel |
. |
. |
. |
Fister |
Godley |
a |
Rupp |
. |
Roark |
Duffy |
a |
Hanigan |
. |
Rodriguez |
Lamb |
. |
. |
. |
Thornton |
a |
a |
. |
a |
Vincent |
|
|
|
|
|
|
On the
Farm: |
Zach
Godley, Tyler Duffey, and John Lamb are nice looking #3
starter types, and Jorge Polanco has potential as a
solid SS.
-- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Strengths: |
Well, Matt
Holliday is still a good player, and Dallas Kuechel and Jon
Lester are a very nice 1-2 to a staff.
-- by TBBL
Ghost Writer |
Weaknesses:
|
Rough
times for the Rat's bats right now, with little offense
to speak of this year, and little on the way as of now.
-- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
GM Thoughts: |
"Lookin'
lean for 2016" is their slogan, but Bob's Rats will be
back soon. He just has some draftin' to do first. --
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Key Moves: |
No
significant off season moves |
Prediction:
|
5th
place. Lincoln has the LHP in the rotation
that will cause AL owners split worries but we are
looking for them to take a step back this year and miss
the playoffs |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Rats finished
6th in the AL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.78 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.269-.336-.453 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$238.7m |
2nd |
. |
. |
Grichuk |
WAR: |
55 |
4th |
. |
. |
Parker |
. |
. |
. |
Peralta |
. |
Bautista |
. |
z |
Piscotty |
. |
Stanton |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Reyes |
Walker |
. |
. |
Nunez |
Tomlinson |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Price |
Wright |
. |
Gonzalez |
Benoit |
Wacha |
Spangeberg |
. |
Duda |
Papelbon |
Heston |
. |
. |
. |
Rivero |
Haren |
a |
Posey |
. |
Robertson |
Niese |
a |
Ramos |
. |
J. Miller |
Narveson |
. |
. |
. |
Hinojosa |
. |
a |
. |
a |
a |
|
On the
Farm: |
I think we have a strong farm, but a
young one. Bell should help next year. Hoffman and
Fulmer should be a year or two away. Wall, Guerra and
Schwarz are closer to 3 years away, but look to be
solid. |
Strengths: |
I expect this team to hit a lot of homers
and score about 850 runs. I think Peralta and Duda give
us good balance to our right handed bashers like
Bautista and Posey. This team has a nice window and
should be competitive for a while. The rotation is good
and the bully is built for the playoffs |
Weaknesses:
|
Stanton and Wright being injured for so
much of the season will hurt us in the fight for the
division. Garza and Lohse both being sucked into a
black hole at the same time means that our rotation will
be vulnerable in the playoffs against teams that have
multiple aces. Our bully is built for the playoffs,
which means we will be running on fumes by the end of
the regular season. We might need to trade some of our
youth to upgrade the rotation going into the playoffs. |
GM Thoughts: |
I can’t stress how much fun this league
is. Rob C does a phenomenal job of keeping the trains
running on time and that would make him good. But the
reason he is a GREAT commish is that he also keeps the
webpage looking beautiful and his reports always what I
needed before I knew I needed them. I think we will
make the playoffs, though the division looks like it
might be too strong for us to win this time. |
Key Moves: |
Added SP Chris Heston a late round 1 pick |
Prediction:
|
1st
place. Still the class of the AL West (Pitner)
so I see them cruising to another division title in 2016 |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Saints finished 1st in the AL West in the February
26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.69 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.248-.306-.420 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$132m |
11th |
. |
. |
Byrd |
WAR: |
30.6 |
22nd |
. |
. |
- |
. |
. |
. |
Schwarber |
. |
Reddick |
. |
z |
Orlando |
. |
- |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Ramirez |
Valencia |
. |
. |
Beckham |
Urshela |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Strasburg |
Ramirez |
. |
Murphy |
Feliz |
Dickey |
Bryant |
. |
Swisher |
Geltz |
Co. Anderson |
. |
. |
. |
Madson |
Tomlin |
a |
Rivera |
. |
Kontos |
Wright |
a |
McHenry |
. |
Romo |
Stroman |
. |
. |
. |
Uehara |
Cosart |
a |
. |
a |
Worley |
|
On the
Farm: |
The farm team graduated two guys last
year that the team hopes will be cornerstone players for
years to come – Kris Bryant and Kyle Schwarber. The farm
club still has some top talents in Lucas Giolito, Rafael
Devers, and Raul Mondesi, as well as former top prospect
Jurickson Profar. Yadier Alvarez is a lottery ticket and
other guys like Reynaldo Lopez and Hunter Renfroe offer
possibilities as back-end top 100 prospects if things
break right in the future. The team took a shot on Corey
Ray from Louisville, who hopefully will be a top pick in
the 2016 MLB amateur draft. |
Strengths: |
This will be one of the worst Smackdown
teams in the history of Smackdown teams. Hard to
pinpoint a strength, except maybe the youth with the
farm and the recent callups. The offense should score a
decent amount of runs and hit some long balls, but the
team will have a substantial negative run differential
due to the pitching (see weaknesses). |
Weaknesses:
|
Pitching from top to bottom. The team
didn’t head into the draft with many starts, so spent
many picks acquiring starts from guys like Cody
Anderson, Steven Wright, Vance Worley, Jared Cosart, and
Tim Hudson – ugh. Stephen Strasburg is the #1, but he
had an offer year and was injured so can’t contribute a
full number of starts. The bullpen is bad too, with a
lot of the starts spending some time sopping up innings
in the pen as well. It’s likely this group will give up
the most runs in the AL. |
GM Thoughts: |
The Smackdown will follow up last year’s
disappointing season with another losing record. The
goal is to stay out of the cellar and stay healthy in
MLB to start turning things around in the TBBL in 2017.
Marcus Stroman, Strasburg, and Giolito could be a
formidable top 3 if they can get innings. Hopefully
Bryant and Schwarber can hold onto and build on gains
made in their impressive rookie seasons and Profar can
finally start delivering on his promise. The team has
some parts that might be helpful to contenders if the
pitching is as bad as it projects. |
Key Moves: |
No
significant off season moves |
Prediction:
|
4th
place. Not much to hope for this season but
the Cubbie invasion has the club in a good place for the
second half of the decade |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Smackdown finished
4th in the AL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
2.97 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.263-.331-.432 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$148m |
10th |
. |
. |
Marte |
WAR: |
58.5 |
3rd |
. |
. |
Hernandez |
. |
. |
. |
G. Blanco |
. |
Ethier |
. |
z |
Aoki |
. |
Puig |
a |
. |
S. Smith |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Crawford |
Espinosa |
. |
. |
Suarez |
-- |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Arrieta |
Zobrist |
. |
C. Davis |
Bassitt |
Lackey |
A. Blanco |
. |
- |
Blanton |
Iwakuma |
. |
. |
. |
Cecil |
Estrada |
a |
Y. Molina |
. |
Clippard |
R. Iglesias |
a |
Iannetta |
a |
O'Day |
E. Santana |
. |
. |
. |
Schultz |
Estrada |
a |
. |
a |
Garcia |
|
On the
Farm: |
Not
to shabby really, we snagged some youth up the middle in
Dilson Herrera, and Eugenio Suarez, to add to young SS
Ozhaino Albies, added young starters Phil Bickford and
Jacob Faria to NPL future ace Shohei Otani, and also
snagged a decent young C in Austin Barnes during this
draft. Miguel Castro and Silvino Bracho are high upside
relief arms that could pan out in 2016 as well. |
Strengths: |
Pitching anmd defense. We paid through the nose to KC to
bring over ace Jake Arrieta to a veteran club, and he
really makes the pitching staff look a lot better.
Veterands Lackey, Marco Estrada, 2014 ace Hisashi
Iwakuma, and youngh Cuban Raicel Iglesias round out the
rotation. The pen, is a solid but not great group of
real-life set-up men - Y.Garcia, Clippard, Blanton,
Cecil- , with Darren O'Day likely taking over as closer. |
Weaknesses:
|
Offensively, we are built around our slugger Chris
"Crush" Davis, with a bunch of solid vets behind him,
like Yadi Molina, Ethier, Zobrist, and newly acquired SS
Brandon Crawford. Starling Marte is also a cornerstone,
playing CF this year. Offensively, this Colorado team
will go as far as Davis takes us though. |
GM Thoughts: |
A
lost year from Yasiel Puig hurts, but with enough
veterans having good years surrounding huge years from
Davis and Arrieta, we'll give it our best shot in 2016.
This is a solid all-around club. |
Key Moves: |
Acquired Jake Arietta to lead pitching staff into the
pennant race |
Prediction:
|
2nd place. Probably 2nd in the division and
maybe the 5/6 seed in the American League post season
picture; capable of winning in a short series.
Their 105 wins in the sim was the most they had in any
of my previous sims so it may be an outlier. |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Gladiators finished
2nd in the AL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
4.20 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.260-.319-.408 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$79m |
22nd |
. |
. |
Burns |
WAR: |
39.8 |
14th |
. |
. |
- |
. |
. |
. |
Cespedes |
. |
Dyson |
. |
z |
Guyer |
. |
Butler |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Marte |
Johnson |
. |
. |
Ramirez |
- |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Pineda |
Moustakas |
. |
Zimmerman |
Gott |
A.
Wood |
Chisenhall |
. |
Alonso |
Hunter |
Phelps |
. |
. |
. |
Ramos |
J. Kelly |
a |
Ellis |
. |
Shreve |
Simon |
a |
Rosario |
. |
Treinen |
Collmenter |
. |
. |
. |
Webb |
A. Wood |
a |
. |
a |
a |
|
On the
Farm: |
I drafted Kenta Maeda knowing that he
would fit right into the Dodgers starting rotation and
expect him to be a # 4 or # 5 starter. I was fortunate
to get Yoan Moncada and Daniel Robertson from the draft
and have high hopes that Moncada becomes a star. I am
not completely sold on Roberston yet. Aaron Nola, Ketel
Marte have had some immediate success with their limited
expose to the big leagues and Jon Gray has tons of
potential though it is never good having a Rockies
pitcher on your staff. |
Strengths: |
Moustakas & Cespedes lead my offense this season with Burns
adding some speed to the top of the order. |
Weaknesses:
|
My
starting pitching is fair at best with no ace to stop losing streaks.
The bullpen has some decent arms but could be taxed heavily with the
weak starting rotation and I do not have a true closer. My offense is
lacking depth and I could use more power in the lineup. GM lacks
knowledge on foreign & college players. |
GM Thoughts: |
I would say a .500 season would be an accomplishment. I
was unable to draft many future stars this draft because
I needed to field a team first for this season. |
Key Moves: |
Acquired Yoenis Cespeds as a much needed source of power
for the offense |
Prediction:
|
6th
place. 2015 probably not a year to remember
for Marietta. |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Phils finished
4th in the
NL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.83 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.256-.317-.405 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$169m |
4th |
. |
. |
Venable |
WAR: |
37.2 |
17th |
. |
. |
Martin |
. |
. |
. |
Deshields |
. |
Coghlan |
. |
z |
Smolinski |
. |
Hamilton |
a |
. |
Gattis |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Simmons |
Kendrick |
. |
. |
. |
Gosselin |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
McHugh |
Gosselin |
. |
Abreu |
Cishek |
CJ Wilson |
Prado |
. |
T. Shaw |
Edwards Jr. |
Fiers |
. |
. |
. |
Fields |
Liriano |
a |
McCann |
. |
Matusz |
Teheran |
a |
Bethancourt |
. |
Motte |
Erlin |
. |
. |
. |
Quakenbush |
Sabathia |
a |
. |
a |
Medlen |
|
On the
Farm: |
Jose Berrios, Sean Newcomb, Jose Peraza,
Brian Johnson, Austin Riley, Lucas Simms, Chad Pinder,
DJ Peterson. Only three players appear in MLB’s top 100
-Berrios #19, Newcomb #21, Peraza #71. For a team that
is trying to get younger while also attempting to stay
competitive, the lack of highly touted prospects is to
be expected. |
Strengths: |
Team has some power in the
middle of the lineup (Abreu, McCann, Gattis), decent
speed on the base paths (DeShields, Venable, Martin),
and a couple offensive players with solid splits (Somlinski,
Shaw). The pitching rotation is filled with a bunch of a
arms that could best be described as a bunch of #3’s and
4’s (Teheran, McHugh, Wilson, Liriano, Fiers) which is
better than a batch of #5’s.Starting pitching staff
should be able to keep the team in most games. |
Weaknesses:
|
Bullpen is stacked with
unimpressive arms for this year, which is a huge concern
due to a starting rotation that is serviceable, but not
dominant. Therefore, the pen is going to have to
overachieve to keep the club competitive. Risky gamble
to say the least as DMB tends to take no mercy on
bullpen arms that have mediocre numbers. Quite frankly,
this might be the worst bullpen in the history of the
Confederates. At the plate, the OBP may come back to
bite the team. The power in the middle of the lineup
might be neutralized with solo shots. Defensively,
outside of Simmons at SS, there is little to be desired. |
GM Thoughts: |
This team will have to
overachieve to make the playoffs. The bullpen is a
glaring weakness and the GM should be flogged for not
scooping up more relief help in the draft. If the
starting pitching can go deep into games and a trade or
two to shore up the bullpen happens, there is a chance
this team could make the playoffs. The offense should be
able to score a decent amount of runs. Most likely, the
Confederates will be very busy at the trade deadline.
The writing should be on the wall as the summer rolls in
as to sell or buy. As for wins, based on what this team
has right now 72 seems par for the course. However, with
some DMB luck in the late innings, or trades to improve
the pen that number could spring up by 10. |
Key Moves: |
Drafted Sean Newcomb for the future |
Prediction:
|
3rd
place. We see the club as a potential playoff team and expect
Joe will be buying in July as opposed to selling |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Confederates finished
5th in the
NL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
Team |
Glenview Flyers |
Team Report |
|
Owner |
John Lapham |
2015 Record |
65-97 (5th
place) |
|
Team ERA |
3.78 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.262-.330-.412 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$90m |
21st |
. |
. |
Jackson |
WAR: |
47.5 |
12th |
. |
. |
Almonte |
. |
. |
. |
Bradley Jr. |
. |
Rosario |
. |
z |
Dickerson |
. |
Marisnick |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Escobar |
Kipinis |
. |
. |
Romine |
Romine |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Odorizzi |
Headley |
. |
Votto |
Andriese |
Miley |
Herrera |
. |
- |
Chavez |
McCullers |
. |
. |
. |
Fien |
Chavez |
a |
Montero |
. |
Hardy |
Ch. Gonzalez |
a |
Castro |
. |
Jepsen |
Bettis |
. |
. |
. |
Salas |
Milone |
a |
. |
a |
Wilson |
|
On the
Farm: |
The farm system was depleted
following several recent graduations and
disappointments. So the 2016 draft saw the Flyers take
five “aaa” players, bringing the farm back up to its
maximum size. The new arrivals are Jacob Nottingham,
c, Jack Flaherty, sp, Trent Clark, of, KeBryan Hayes,
3b, and James Kaprielian, sp. They join returning “aaa”
players: Francisco Mejia, c, Tim Anderson, ss, Gleyber
Torres, ss, Bobby Bradley, 1b, and Raimel Tapia, of.
This is a solid, if not spectacular, farm system,
lacking superstars but loaded with a number of very good
players. Anderson and Tapia could see some MLB action
by the end of 2016. Barring unexpectedly fast
development, the rest remain years away. |
Strengths: |
Not many. The lineup features players
with decent contact and on-base skills, anchored by the
other-worldly strike-zone control of Joey Votto. SP
Lance McCullers had an impressive debut, suggesting
future ace potential. The defense is solid with a
particularly athletic outfield and fine fielding across
the diamond |
Weaknesses:
|
A glaring lack of power. Only
Joey Votto managed to crack 20 homers in 2015. Still no
ace at the top of the rotation. |
GM Thoughts: |
Injuries once again forced
management to wheel and deal to plug several holes in
the lineup heading into the 2016 season. The rebuilding
started with shipping Adam Jones to Jersey for a slew of
draft picks, many of which were then dealt to solve
problems at C, SS, and in the outfield. The net result
is a decidedly average team, which just might, if it
gets real lucky, sneak into the playoffs as a wildcard.
|
Key Moves: |
Acquired Alcides Escobar as their SS answer for the next
few years |
Prediction:
|
4th
place. Team simmed well at times but we expect
around a .500 season with a shot at the post season but
in the end missing out |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Flyers finished
3rd in the
NL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.55 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.262-.322.425 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$151m |
8th |
. |
. |
Jankowski |
WAR: |
52.5 |
7th |
. |
. |
Hamilton |
. |
. |
. |
K. Davis |
. |
Hosmer |
. |
z |
- |
. |
Braun |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Tulowitzki |
Kinsler |
. |
. |
Mercer |
Gyorko |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Shields |
Castelanos |
. |
Encarnacion |
Kimbrel |
C. Martinez |
. |
. |
Freeman |
Furbush |
Moore |
. |
. |
. |
Manship |
Gallardo |
a |
Castillo |
. |
Pomeranz |
Bucholz |
a |
Pierzynski |
. |
Ramos |
Carrasco |
. |
. |
. |
Hill |
Lyles |
a |
. |
a |
. |
|
On the
Farm: |
Alex Reyes, Blake Snell with Orlando
Arcia form a solid foundation for the future. |
Strengths: |
1B,
SP and 2 Proven Closers |
Weaknesses:
|
Rush
Limbaugh must have built this team, its leans to right with very little
from the left. |
GM Thoughts: |
Excellent core with some youth coming,
could be in the mix for a playoff spot. |
Key Moves: |
Added Blake Snell through the draft |
Prediction:
|
1st
place. The division crown is the Cons to lose although the
Panthers thought differently in the sim. |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Convicts finished
2nd in the
NL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.64 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.246-.304-.384 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$128m |
13th |
. |
. |
Ackley |
WAR: |
31.7 |
21st |
. |
. |
DeJesus |
. |
. |
. |
Cabrera |
. |
Murphy |
. |
z |
Aviles |
. |
Hunter |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Turner |
Carpenter |
. |
. |
Ahmed |
Drew |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Nelson |
Escobar |
. |
Solarte |
Boyer |
Lynn |
Villar |
. |
Moss |
Capps |
Davies |
. |
. |
. |
Grilli |
Owens |
a |
McCann |
. |
Hughes |
Koehler |
a |
Ruiz |
a |
Maness |
Locke |
. |
. |
. |
Tazawa |
|
On the
Farm: |
Coming into this league, I was unfamiliar with the
practice of drafting minor league players. In that
regard, I built the team around existing ballplayers and
didn’t draft any minor leaguers this first go around. I
was able to acquire Henry Owens in the Jake Arrietta
trade, hoping he will turn out to be a gem. This is an
area I will concentrate on more in the future for
certain. |
Strengths: |
Maybe not a
strength per se, but I have an abundance of infielders. Again,
drafting with the thought of making sure I was covered
everywhere, I overdid it. I suppose then that versatility would
be a strength of sorts. Let’s hope so. |
Weaknesses:
|
Outfield depth, and
starting pitching depth at this point I would say as well as the before
mentioned lack of a serious farm system. |
GM Thoughts: |
Being
new to the league, I am impressed at the level of
knowledge and leadership the league offers. I am looking
forward to experiencing my first season and getting to
know everyone better as I go along. Be merciful guys.
My other
league experiences have been in larger leagues too,
28-30 team leagues, so this is a learning experience as
well, working with fewer teams and more talent
available. |
Key Moves: |
Traded Jake Arietta to help the future of the club |
Prediction:
|
5th
place.
Looking at a tough season upcoming so the clubs 55 wins
last year might be the ballpark total for 2016 |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Barons finished
6th in the
NL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.24 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.268-.328-.416 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$107m |
18th |
. |
. |
Cain |
WAR: |
38.8 |
15th |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
Brantley |
. |
Blackmon |
. |
z |
. |
. |
Inciarte |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Peralta |
Dozier |
. |
. |
- |
Uribe |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Kazmir |
Lawrie |
. |
Loney |
Bastardo |
Colome |
- |
. |
Sands |
Betances |
Morrow |
. |
. |
. |
Familia |
Cooney |
a |
Avila |
. |
Frias |
Weber |
a |
Plawecki |
. |
Lincecum |
Duffy |
. |
. |
. |
Vargas |
a |
a |
. |
a |
Verrett |
|
On the
Farm: |
With
many rotation candidates on hand for next year,
farmhands Musgrove, and bounce back candidate Alex Cobb
are ones to watch in an area of need for the Panthers.
Gavin Cecchini is an underrated SS talent for the Mets,
who could blossom into a very solid player.
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Strengths: |
Strange club,
solid offensively, very strong defensively, and with a
devastating bullpen led by Bettances, and Familia, but ...
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Weaknesses:
|
the rotation is a
shambles, and wasn't addressed in the traditional way this winter, or in
the draft. They are running about 35 starts short right now, so moves
will be made.
-- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
GM Thoughts: |
Craig
Morancie's Panthers came out of nowhere last year,
Cinderella style, before falling in the NLCS. How he
deals with the rotation issues on the fly will determine
how good 2016 is. This is otherwise a pretty good
baseball team.
--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Key Moves: |
No
significant off season moves |
Prediction:
|
2nd
place. The Panthers have been a pretty solid
club over the years and we think Craig will get the most
out of the team and push for a division |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Panthers finished
1st in the
NL East in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.49 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.269-.331-.429 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$109m |
17th |
. |
. |
Trout |
WAR: |
60.1 |
1st |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
. |
Eaton |
. |
Calhoun |
. |
z |
Gallo |
. |
Altherr |
a |
. |
Van Slyke |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Iglesias |
Altuve |
. |
. |
Owings |
- |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Bumgarner |
Longoria |
. |
Paulsen |
Araujo |
Quintana |
. |
. |
Napoli |
Jansen |
Scherzer |
. |
. |
. |
Jiminez |
Hahn |
a |
Lucroy |
. |
Liberatore |
M. Perez |
a |
Hundley |
. |
McGee |
Bradley |
. |
. |
. |
Storen |
Wisler |
a |
. |
a |
Tepera |
|
On the
Farm: |
We
have some great AAA talent but they are very young.
Only Rymer Liriano is close. |
Strengths: |
We do have 3 VG starters in
Scherzer, Bumgarner and Quintana. Our offense will be led by
Trout, Altuve and Calhoun. I think we have a shot at the
playoffs and you never know what happens then. |
Weaknesses:
|
We are short on middle relief so I expect
a mid-season trade to address that issue. |
GM Thoughts: |
The Paddlers will have a
hard time matching 2015’s 106 win season. |
Key Moves: |
Added Drew Storen through the Waiver Wire Process along
with the draft of Ben Paulsen for 1B |
Prediction:
|
3rd
place. Club is solid but are in a tough
division and lack of power might haunt them; This is a
playoff team for sure just not as strong as last year |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Paddlers finished
2nd in the
NL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.79 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.264-.317-.385 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$166m |
6th |
. |
. |
Herrera |
WAR: |
32.1 |
20th |
. |
. |
De Aza |
. |
. |
. |
Revere |
. |
Choo |
. |
z |
. |
. |
- |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Aybar |
Phillips |
. |
. |
Saldino |
Gennett |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Buehrle |
Plouffe |
. |
Moreland |
Casilla |
J. Ross |
C. Johnson |
. |
Morrison |
Conley |
Corbin |
. |
. |
. |
Gilmarton |
Jiminez |
a |
Pena |
. |
Hochevar |
J. de la
Rosa |
a |
Suzuki |
a |
Putnam |
Feldman |
. |
. |
. |
Reed |
Cain |
a |
. |
a |
a |
|
On the
Farm: |
There won’t be much help from our AAA for
next season but maybe in two years. |
Strengths: |
Well, it was an interesting draft. Never before
have I gone in and gotten all 3 of the guys I wanted at the top!
It started in round 1 when we were able to nab our center
fielder, Odubel Herrera. Then later in round 1 we grabbed
Patrick Corbin to be a future top of the rotation guy. Finally,
in round 2 we were able to fill our glaring need at first with
Mitch Moreland. Couple this with trades for Trevor Plouffe and
Brandon Phillips and I’d say we had a pretty satisfying off
season. Our starting lineup looks to be solid when you toss in
Aybar, Choo and Revere so I’d say we should be better than I
initially expected. |
Weaknesses:
|
The pitching staff still has some holes but
bringing in Jorge de la Rosa and Corbin should help. Young up
and comer Joe Ross will help as well. The bullpen is a tad rocky
but we are hoping sufficient to pull in a few wins.
|
GM Thoughts: |
All in all, I think the Ravens got much
better and we should prove to be annoying in our
division. I don’t quite see a playoff run but I think
81-81 is possible. Who knows, maybe we will get lucky
and pull out a #5 or 6 seed! |
Key Moves: |
Added Kurt Suzuki and Patrick Corbin (via trade) in the
Cervelli deal with the Halos |
Prediction:
|
5th
place. Sims were consistently in the high 60
win area so we have the Ravens missing out on the
playoffs but Jeff has improved his teams chances and
isn't afraid to make a deal |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Ravens finished
4th the
NL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.56 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.245-.299-.370 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$77m |
23rd |
. |
. |
Kiermaier |
WAR: |
35.4 |
18th |
. |
. |
Upton |
. |
. |
. |
Francouer |
. |
Ozuna |
. |
z |
. |
. |
Santana |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Miller |
LeMahieu |
. |
. |
Hardy |
A. Hill |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
deGrom |
Dietrich |
. |
Lamb |
Dunn |
Hendricks |
- |
. |
. |
Gomez |
Happ |
. |
. |
. |
Kela |
Bauer |
a |
C. Perez |
. |
Maurer |
Jungmann |
a |
Zunino |
. |
Morin |
Eickhoff |
. |
. |
. |
Robles |
Paxton |
a |
. |
a |
Soria |
|
On the
Farm: |
The
farm system and the younger players that just started
getting their first looks last year will hopefully build
upon the short term success and begin to hit their
stride to make the Bombers a more complete team. aaa
players Alex Jackson, Brent Honeywell and Billy McKinney
provide a good base for future talent. And lastly, the
GM is hoping Christian Vazquez comes back from his
season ending surgery stronger and better to be the
anchor behind the plate for years to come. |
Strengths: |
The pitching
staff should be improved again this year with the additions of
Taylor Jungmann and young RP's Keone Kela and Hansel Robles.
Jacob deGrom and Kyle Hendricks will be available for a full
season and will anchor the youngsters. |
Weaknesses:
|
The offense will struggle again, lacking
full-time production throughout the lineup. The young OF's look like a
great crop to make big improvements for 2017, but, won't put too much
fear into opposing pitchers this year. |
GM Thoughts: |
The 2016 season should
hopefully be the tipping point for the Emerald City
club. Overall, the franchise has had six straight
losing seasons, the 4th straight with the current GM.
The 2015 season saw a 25 game improvement, but still
only amounted to 72 wins. The team has set out a goal
of 81 wins this season, bringing hopefully a string of
upcoming winning seasons to bring the fans something to
cheer about. |
Key Moves: |
Drafted Taylor Jungmann in Round 1 |
Prediction:
|
4th
place. Team continues to improve and has
some very talented arms in the rotation; expecting
around 80 wins |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Bombers finished 5th in the
NL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.43 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.258-.332-.434 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$168m |
5th |
. |
. |
McCutcheon |
WAR: |
50.7 |
9th |
. |
. |
Williams |
. |
. |
. |
Bruce |
. |
Harper |
. |
z |
. |
. |
CB Young |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Andrus |
Wong |
. |
. |
Flores |
- |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Cueto |
Beltre |
. |
Fielder |
Cingrani |
Garcia |
- |
. |
Carter |
Avilan |
Syndergaard |
. |
. |
G. Bird |
Badenhop |
Bolsinger |
a |
Salty |
. |
Holland |
Leake |
a |
Phegley |
a |
Morales |
Kennedy |
. |
. |
. |
Wilhelmsen |
Severino |
a |
. |
a |
Lowe |
|
On the
Farm: |
It is
very good. Young arms are making an impact (Syndergaard,
Severino) and on the way (Ortiz, Tate, Bundy etc). A
very nice group of developing, athletic position players
are on the way up as well: J.P. Crawford, Dahl, McMahon,
Judge -- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Strengths: |
Bringin' the lumber! "The Tooths" are sharp this year,
blessed with a fearsome lineup led by phenom Bryce
Harper, and veteran stars Andrew McCutcheon, Prince
Fielder, and Adrian Beltre. Johnny Cueto anchors a solid
starting staff. -- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Weaknesses:
|
Injuries and effectiveness hurt the back end of the
staff and bullpen last year, with Ian Kennedy, Annibal
Sanchez, and Greg Holland all having sub par years that
Beartooth will have to work around. -- by TBBL Ghost
Writer |
GM Thoughts: |
Always
a bridesmaid, never the bride, the longtime NL power
Beartooth have come up short in the playoffs a lot over
the past 5-6 years, but this club has a shot to put an
end to that trend. -- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Key Moves: |
Acquired Jamie Garcia to lend depth to rotation |
Prediction:
|
2nd
place. Beartooth will battle the Nuts for the
division title and can go deep in any post season
series; Syndergaard might be the key down the stretch |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Bitteroots finished
1st in the NL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
Team ERA |
3.36 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.268-.338-.421 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$238.7 |
1st |
. |
. |
Ellsbury |
WAR: |
59.1 |
2nd |
. |
. |
Barnes |
. |
. |
. |
Kemp |
. |
Markakis |
. |
z |
Sano |
. |
- |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Russell |
Pedroia |
. |
. |
Hechevarria |
Russel |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Kershaw |
Franco |
. |
Cabrera |
Cedeno |
Verlander |
AROD |
. |
Lind |
Diekman |
Harvey |
. |
. |
. |
Goeddel |
Hamels |
a |
Weiters |
. |
Harris |
Eovaldi |
a |
Joseph |
. |
Howell |
Samardzija |
. |
. |
. |
Tolleseon |
Ventura |
a |
. |
a |
Heaney |
|
On the
Farm: |
Tyler
Glasnow gives the Nuts another Verlander type arm talent
in the pipeline, and De Leon is a very nice looking
prospect as well. BAndrewenintendi and Margot provide
youthfull future upside to an aging, Nut outfield. --
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Strengths: |
This is a
power-laden veteran lineup, led by veterans MIggy Cabrera, Alex
Rodriguez, Dustin Pedroia, Matt Kemp, and young slugging stars
Miguel "The Beast" Sano, and Maikel Franco. Lots of thunder
here. Oh yeah, I guesss Clayton Kershaw is a strength too, with
Hamels and Harvey forming an enviable top 3 -- by TBBL Ghost
Writer |
Weaknesses:
|
As always, the pen is
the last piece in the puzzle for Scott's Nuts. Besides the fortuitous
Will Harris pickup, the rest of the pen has some question marks. --
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
GM Thoughts: |
The
defending NL champs are locked and loaded once again.
Protect your nuts, National League. -- by TBBL Ghost
Writer |
Key Moves: |
Drafted Alex Rodriguez to put curse on his franchise for
the next 13 years |
Prediction:
|
1st
place. Any team with the SP they have should
cruise to a division title; expect a very good season
again from the Nuts. We were surprised with the 89
wins during the sim though. Arods sim line:
.245-40-129, not too shabby for a Rd 2 pick! |
Simulated Finish:
|
The
Protect Your Nuts team finished
3rd in the
NL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
Team |
Fort Wayne Komets |
Team Report |
|
Owner |
Stan
Shawinski |
2015 Record |
72-90 (5th
place) |
|
Team ERA |
4.66 |
|
Team
Batting: |
.254-.310-.386 |
. |
. |
. |
Salary: |
$102m |
20th |
. |
. |
Span |
WAR: |
28.1 |
23rd |
. |
. |
Bourn |
. |
. |
. |
Conforto |
. |
Parra |
. |
z |
Myers |
. |
Soler |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
. |
. |
. |
a |
. |
Cabrera |
Panik |
. |
. |
Gonzalez |
Flaherty |
. |
Starters |
. |
. |
Pen |
Hammel |
Duffy |
. |
Adams |
Doubront |
Gravemen |
Sogard |
. |
Smoak |
Grimm |
Santiago |
. |
. |
LaRoche |
Lorenzen |
C. Rodon |
a |
Swihart |
. |
Nuno |
Nova |
a |
Susac |
. |
B. Rodon |
Kendrick |
. |
. |
. |
May |
Rusin |
a |
. |
a |
Urena |
|
On the
Farm: |
Boog
Powell is an interesting, potential table setting CF,
and Jake Thompson is just the type of hard throwing,
durable starter that this team could really use more
of.-- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Strengths: |
Potential is here to have a pretty nice youthful core of
position players. Matt Duffy, Michael Conforto, Jorge
Soler, Joe Panik, Blake Swihart and Austin Hedges are
all under 25.-- by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Weaknesses:
|
Not a
strong pitching club for 2016, at all. There are a lot
of starting candidates, but most are fringy or nearing
the end of their careers. An influx of arms is needed.--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
GM Thoughts: |
It has been a lean history
for the Komets, last year's 79 wins was a team record,
but things are looking up in Fort Wayne.--
by TBBL Ghost Writer |
Key Moves: |
Traded his team to the Capitals |
Prediction:
|
6th
place. The massive off season deal may payoff
at some point but 2016 looks to be a struggle for Stans
club |
Simulated Finish:
|
The Komets finished
6th in the
NL West in the February 26 simulation. Click
here for team stats.
|
|
|
|