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!   

2012 2013 2015

     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 Predictions

 

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.    

The Shredder

     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.       

2016 Milestones

     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 Jersey Damage Inc

Team Report

Jersey Damage Inc.
Owner Rob Capizzano
2015 Record 111-51 (1st place)
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 Los Angeles Halos

Team Report

Los Angeles Halos
Owner Greg W.
2015 Record 95-67 (2nd place)
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 Houston Oil Barons

Team Report

Houston Oil Barons
Owner Scott Felt
2015 Record 89-73 (4th place)
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 Capital City Capitals

Team Report

Capital City Capitals
Owner Jason Eaton
2015 Record 64-98 (5th place)
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

San Carlos Aces
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 Springfield Isotopes

Team Report

Springfield Isotopes
Owner John Eaton
2015 Record 47-115 (6th place)
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 Michigan Whitecaps

Team Report

Michigan Whitecaps
Owner Jake Drake
2015 Record 45-117 (6th place)
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

Gotham CityHawks
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 Lincoln Tunnel Rats

Team Report

Lincoln Tunnel Rats
Owner Robert Woertz
2015 Record 82-80 (2nd place)
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 San Antonio Saints

Team Report

San Antonio Saints
Owner Alan Lehmann
2015 Record 116-46 (1st Place)
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 Philadelphia Smackdown

Team Report

Philadelphia Smackdown
Owner Noel Langlois
2015 Record 77-85 (3rd Place)
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 Colorado Gladiators

Team Report

Colorado Gladiators
Owner Casey Siller
2015 Record 77-85 (4th place)
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 Marietta Fightin Phils

Team Report

Marietta Fightin Phils
Owner Dennis Schwarz
2015 Record 76-86 (4th place)
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 Stn Mtn Confederates

Team Report

Stone Mountain Confederates
Owner Joe Anglin
2015 Record 93-69 (2nd place)
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

Glenview Flyers
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 California Convicts

Team Report

Corona Convicts
Owner Chris McKay
2015 Record 87-75 (3rd place)
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 Kansas City Barons

Team Report

Kansas City Barons
Owner Mike Boling
2015 Record 55-107 (6th place)
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 West Orange Panthers

Team Report

West Orange Panthers
Owner Craig Morancie
2015 Record 95-67 (1st place)
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 Mad City Paddlers

Team Report

Owner Scott Lewis
2015 Record 106-56 (1st place)
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 Rock River Ravens

Team Report

  Rock River Ravens
Owner Jeff Otteson
2015 Record 65-97 (6th place)
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 Emerald City Bombers

Team Report

Emerald City Bombers
Owner Mark Jones
2015 Record 72-90 (5th place)
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 Beartooth Bitteroots

Team Report

Beartooth Bitteroots
Owner Mike Bush
2015 Record 89-73 (3rd place)
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 Protect Your Nuts

Team Report

Protect Your Nuts
Owner Scott Paris
2015 Record 90-72 (2nd place)
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

Fort Wayne Komets

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.