1995 Madison Wolves Preview

[lynchy34]

1995 Madison Wolves Preview

1994 In Review
Record: 68-94, last in Johnson Central
Offense: 5.0 runs/game, 6th in JL
Pitching: 5.8 runs/game, 11th in JL
Best Player: 1B Brock Lee (.299, .357 OBP, 24 HR, 94 RBI, .872 OPS, 16.8 OWS)
Best Pitcher: P Hipolito Pichardo (8-16, 4.21 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 9.8 PWS)
All-Stars: 1 (CF Sawyer Silk)

The Lineup (according to the AI setup)
SS George Bellairs (MBBA rookie)
14/14/10/15/9

RF Tucker York (.296, .357 OBP, 13 HR, 58 RBI, 22 SB, .776 OPS)
16/11/8/16/11

1B Brock Lee (.299, .357 OBP, 24 HR, 94 RBI, .872 OPS)
16/14/17/14/14

2B Amos Moses South (.247, .317 OBP, 26 HR, 103 RBI, .802 OPS)
12/14/18/10/10

C Kirby Imel (.277, .375 OBP, 14 HR, 46 RBI, .871 OPS w/CLG)
12/9/15/12/11

LF Daniel Fabiano (.326, .396 OBP, 13 HR, 67 RBI, 25 SB, .899 OPS)
13/12/12/13/12

3B Bill Stickles (.327, .365 OBP, 8 HR, 34 RBI, .863 OPS)
15/10/10/9/13

CF Sawyer Silk (.260, .326 OBP, 29 HR, 89 RBI, .799 OPS)
11/10/13/12/15

Southpaw Specialist
SS Jonathan Noon (.293, .331 OBP, 7 HR, 74 RBI, .736 OPS)
20/17/11/14/20 v. LHP

The Madison offense was in the top half of the MBBA in terms of runs scored a season ago. Bellairs looks like an exciting young star ready to burst on the scene and is a prototypical leadoff hitter. York is a nice #2 hitter, but the meat is Lee, who is a bona fide young stud. South brings nice power but little else and, outside of Fabiano against righties and Sickles against lefties, this lineup falls off a bunch. Imel and Vansyke are both backup catchers. While it may seem nice to have a Hall of Famer hitting eighth, it's usually because he's on the downside of his career. This offense, while rebuilding, needs help and there is some in AAA. Look for guys like CF Isaac Douglass and 2B Garry Macon to fight for some playing time.

The Rotation (according to the AI setup)
P Hipolito Pichardo (8-16, 4.21 ERA, 1.32 WHIP)
11/18/15

P Rick Cushing (12-9, 4.41 ERA, 1.36 WHIP)
14/13/16

P Robert Walton (11-12, 4.26 ERA, 1.34 WHIP
9/13/17

P Dave Walter (3-1, 4.60 ERA, 1.26 WHIP)
10/13/19

P Kevin Foster (1-3, 4.44 ERA, 1.44 WHIP w/HAK)
12/14/10

Watch Out For
P Lenard Barbosa (rookie, 14/13/12)
P Timothy Hughes (7.88 ERA, 8/15/19)

The rotation lacks a true ace ... but that doesn't mean there isn't talent here. Cushing is a rising star and Barbosa could develop into a beast a little later in his career. Pichardo,Walton and Walter all need a good defense behind them to excel. They're control artists who let hitters put the ball in play. Without a good defense, they will undoubtedly suffer. The good thing is this group is young, but the defense behind them - at least on paper - doesn't look too stellar.

The Bullpen (according to the AI setup)
CL Adan Alva (2-5, 4 SV, 4.35 ERA, 1.45 WHIP w/CLG)
11/16/13

MR Ricardo Barrera (6-3, 18 SV, 4.38 ERA, 1.33 WHIP)
17/12/13

MR Ted Dever (5-10, 15 SV, 5.25 ERA, 1.36 WHIP)
20/15/16

MR Melvin Taylor (6-5, 4.59 ERA, 1.57 WHIP)
14/11/17

I can't see any way Gates doesn't set Ted Dever as the closer. He's young. He's explosive. He's a flat out beast. In his advanced age, Barrera still looks to be a very capable set-up man for him. Alva is miscast as the closer, but would form a nice 1-2 middle relief punch with Taylor. This bullpen is actually pretty solid and there's a little more help nearby in AAA.

The Prediction
It will be interesting to see what Gates does with this group. Madison has one of the best farm systems in the GUBA, but a number of their big time young stars have hit the bigs. With all those great players under the age of 25, do the Wolves start to make some moves and consider this their window to succeed? If so, the Wolves could make a little bit of noise. If not, the Wolves will suffer a bit this season.

80-82, 3rd in JL Central

[elligator]

Nice write-up, Lynchy. Dead on with Douglass and Macon getting a shot. Of course, since this preview, the Wolves made a massive trade, losing three important pitchers. So, I'd have to revise the estimate down to about 74-88 or so. But third place is a pretty good guess.

[lynchy34]

Ha, yeah, I saw the size of that deal and laughed because I had written the preview the day prior. What are you gonna do, you know?

[elligator]

Lose three important pitchers and don't replace them...result? Go 8-3. Maybe if I can shed three more pitchers for this sim, I could 14-0.