35.12. After the Dust Has Cleared: Pitching

[agrudez]

After 8 FA signings, 2 trades and 2 Rule 5 pickups (that we plan to keep of the 4 selected), it seems as if Huntsville's offseason is finally done with reports surfacing that indicate the team is content on heaving into the 2035 season with their current roster. As such, let's do a quick preview of what fans might expect from the remodeled rotation and bullpen.

SP #1 - Peithner
His Sophmore season likely didn't go as he had hoped/expected (2.9 WAR after 4.1 this season prior), but its tough to deny that Peithner isn't one of the better young arms in the MBBA today on talent alone. Hopefully with the improved defense behind him, he will be able to realize that potential in 2035.

SP #2 - Soto
Coming back from injuries is never easy and doing it at age 36 is even harder, but the veteran Soto is poised to pull off the improbable as reports indicate that he has fully returned to health without losing any of his talent in the process. Huntsville would no doubt love the 5.4 WAR '31 Soto, but even the back to back 2.6 WAR '32-'33 Soto would be a huge boon to the rotation.

SP #3 - Nicto
Despite being dealt twice in 2034 and having to overcome the challenge of being called up too soon (when his control was still at 66% development), Nicto managed to turn it around and end the season with 1.9 WAR. Now, he's near fully developed, has an infield defense behind him tailor made to his pitching style and is ready to show the MBBA why Huntsville's GM has been so excited about him.

SP #4 - Tong
Tong will be a rookie in '35 and is still incredibly young (22 - though Peithner and Nicto are 24 and 23 respectively, too) so fans might be tempted to temper expectations; however, reports indicate that he has made huge strides this offseason and looks very much ready for The Show. His long term potential as a Southpaw might be enough to supplant Peithner as the team's #1 option one day, but for now he'll no doubt be comfortable in the #4 role.

SP #5 - Quintana or Charles
Though the team has a plethora of options for this role heading into ST, management has seemingly focused in on this pair to battle it out for the start - with the loser heading to the bullpen. For his part, Quintana managed 1 WAR last season in a SP role and, thus, represents the "high floor" option of the two. Charles; however, appears to be the more talented one on paper and represents the "high ceiling" option. Whichever way the team goes, though, they can rest easy knowing that they have depth for when injuries strike.

RP #1 - Cano
Cano had just about as bad of a rookie season as you can have last year, but, nonetheless, he is still our most talented reliever on paper and will likely be given a bulk of the team's workload unless he begins to struggle again.

RP #2 - Soranzo
The longtime Phantom has been a pretty bankable high 3 ERA throughout his career and we expect no less in 2035.

RP #3 - Gutierrez
Management doesn't expect a repeat of the .9 WAR he posted last year, but the former Phantom has been a steady hand in the 'pen for a long, long time and we don't see any reason why that should stop now.

RP #4 - Sandoval
Reuniting with his old manager in Huntsville should no doubt feel good for Sandoval. At this point in his career, he is a fungible reliever, but as good of a fungible reliever as you can hope to get.

RP #5 - Sanchez
He has proven capable of being more than it throughout his career, but in Huntsville we expect him to primarily take on "LOOGY" duties as the team's only Southpaw in the 'pen (unless Charles loses the #5 SP job).

RP #6 - The loser of the SP #5 role (Charles or Quintana)
An easy decision as to who will get this slot - since both pitchers can make quality additions to the 'pen and will be "on call" for rotation injury concerns.

RP #7 - McPetrie
To be honest, we don't like having a 12 man pitching staff and don't plan to let McPetrie see the mound if we can help it. He takes this spot as a Rule 5 stash that we hope can develop to contribute in future seasons.

This setup actually leaves quite a few quality arms packing their bags for AAA. Namely, Contreras, Martinez, Baghina and even the recently acquired Baez. The good news for these youngsters, though, as that most of the bullpen members they are behind are older veterans (injury prone) and on 1 year deals (so there's always next year!).

[RonCo]

A very nice patch up.

[Lane]

I must commend you on your superb selection of Cesar Sandoval. You have exquisite taste, good sir.