AL
South
Last
but not
least, the AL South. At one point, the dirty south was rich with talent
and
strong teams. But the division has fallen on hard times. Texas has
ruled this
division for the past five seasons, and has seven consecutive years as
a
playoff team. Only Charlotte has made a playoff appearance during the
Rangers
reign of terror. That doesn’t appear to be changing anytime soon.
The
predicted
standings for this season are:
Texas
Rangers
88-74
(Division Champ)
Tampa Bay
Rays
81-81
Charlotte
Knights 80-82
Kansas City Royals 68-94
Texas
Rangers (akgsports, *22nd season Founding Member)
Last Year: 99-63
Runs Scored/Allowed: 833/655
Players Added: cf – Les Carter (tb),
c – Chili Neal (pit),
1b – Andres Nieves (Mon), cf – Luis Rodriguez (mon), sp – Clint Brocail
Players Lost: cf – Sam Morris (fa),
1b- Trevor Lewis (Tor),
lf – Milt Howard (NYY), sp – Eugene McMillon (LAD), sp – Joe Vaughn
(fa), Cf –
Joe Hoffman (mon)
Preview: Texas has always been a
force under owner AKG. The
owner, who has founding member status being with Kinsella since season
2, has
been one of the more consistent teams in the world and a two time World
Series
champ. The AL South went from one of the tougher divisions to a
wasteland in
recent years with the other three teams struggling to hit .500. Much of
that
has to do with the dominance of Texas and the team they bring to the
ballpark
every day.
The Rangers lost a ton of production
this season. Gone are
Sam Morris (65 rc), Trevor Lewis (94 rc), Milt Howard (62 rc), and Joe
Hoffman
(54 rc). Some players will obviously step up to fill those holes. But
the biggest
is Lewis, but since Lewis really outperformed his scouting someone else
should
be able to step into that role with similar production.
The pitching staff is good, but not
great. And once again,
they lost two key members. Gone are Eugene McMillon and Joe Vaughn have
moved
off leaving holes in the rotation. Clint Brocail was picked up for very
cheap
and should fill the back of the rotation.
Overall: The Rangers don’t look like
much of a sure thing
anymore. They have lost productive key pieces to the offense, and have
to replace
some of their starters. For the first time in years, the Rangers are
vulnerable.
Prediction: 88-74
Tampa
Bay
Rays (dodgersgale, 6th season)
Last Year: 74-88
Runs Scored/Allowed: 650/758
Players Added: 1b – Jolbert Ortiz
(mon), ss – Warren Parker
(ATL), of – Michael Nix (CWS)
Players Lost: sp – Justin Spencer
(fa), sp – Duke Duvall
(fa), sp – Mendy Mathews (CHA), rp – Ramon Wang (fa), Al Soto (fa)
Preview: Every year the Rays say they
are “rebuilding” only
to make a few last minute signings and trades. This year is a little
different.
Payroll was slashed thanks to young players coming into their own, and
the loss
of several overpriced veterans. The team picked up superstar Jolbert
Ortiz from
Montreal, and shortstop Warren Parker from Atlanta. Four former first
round
picks will now be starting for the Rays; pitchers Brett Dixon (season
21, 3rd
pick), Clarence Kirby (season 20, 18th pick),
catcher Dennis Drese
(last year 15th pick), and Harold Spencer
(season 18, 43rd
pick). Add in internationals Al Guerrero and Yunel Park and suddenly
the Rays
have a team built to make a playoff push.
Overall: Young guys always seem to
struggle in their first
year. With so much youth on this team, it’s impossible to say exactly
how they
will perform. Dixon and Kirby are the keys to a pitching staff that
allowed
758. Improved defense at short, and moving Rincoln to right field will
help.
But not enough.
Prediction: 81-81
Kansas
City Royals (somtom, 2nd year)
Last Year: 75-87
Runs Scored/Allowed: 688/818
Players Added: of – Prince Bates
(ruleV, Phi), C – Ronnie Wilkens
(ruleV)
Players Lost: sp – Stewart Daniels
(fa), rp – Carlos Redondo
(fa), rf – Tom Miller (fa), ss – Ralph Lowell (fa)
Preview: At least they didn’t finish
last. It was a tough
year in KC as their offense only produced 688 runs. Owner somtom is
finding his
way in Kinsella, and if there is a division where you could make some
headway it’s
this one, this year.
A lot of young players are coming up
to help out. They have some
TRUE ROYALTY in Prince (Bates), and a King (Bittle). King Bittle is
only 23 and
if he gets playing time he could be quite handy (predicted 75 rc w/500
ab). But
the rest of the group has two things in common 1. Not particularly fast
2. No
power. This is a team that might struggle to improve their offense over
last
season.
Carlos Redondo was a huge loss for
the bullpen. While Al
Saenz and Buddy Caufield are solid, those 89 innings will be hard to
make up.
Overall: The Royals are a team I
really want to like. But
without a masher it all comes down to pitching and defense. The Defense
helps,
but only if you have high FIP pitchers. Which the Royals are lacking.
Prediction: 68-94
Charlotte
Knights (bignr37, 12th season)
Last Year: 78-84
Runs Scored/Allowed: 759/840
Players Added: sp – Mendy Mathews
(TB), rf – JP Cabrera
(t-Oak), rf – Wilt McGehee (aaa), sp – Ajax Wulf (ruleV, min)
Players Lost: sp – Jonathan Plesac
(PIT), rf – Perry Adams
(t-Oak), rf – Sammy Conception (fa), 1b – Jose Lopez (fa)
Preview: Things were a little rough
in the Deep South as the
Knights pitching staff got rocked to the tune of 840 runs. Despite a
poor
pitching staff, they still managed to win 78 games. With a little help
on the
bump, the Knights could make some noise.
The Knights’ first move was to go
after young pitching, and
they got it from Oakland in the form of Alberto Martinez who projects
into a
solid #2 or #3 starter with imminent risk of injury (due to his 58
health
rating). They also dealt away outfielder Perry Adams (647 pa, -0.9 WAR)
and got
JP Cabrera (566 pa, 0.3 war) in return with rookie Wilt McGehee (former
first
round pick) competing for the job.
The pitching and defense are solid.
Omar Bonilla (.279/.365/.576,
6.6 war, 114 rc) is the best hitting catcher in the league. Two time
MVP
Placido Santana returns and looks to build on his amazing season
(.310/.370/.565,
7.0 war, 117 rc). Pedro Santiago might hit 40 or more homeruns. Cory
Fogg (5.4
war) is the quiet leader of this team and a threat to steal 40 more
bases this
year. With all of this star power the Knights should break the 800 run
mark.
Pitching was the Achilles heel. 840
is a lot of runs to give
up. Their best pitcher (Plesac) is replaced by a similar good pitcher
(Mendy
Mathews). But overall, the team struggles in FIP, especially the
innings
eaters.
Overall: The Knights will have to
slug their way out of poor
pitching. But it won’t be enough to fetch a division crown or playoff
spot.
Prediction: 80-82
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