Go Ahead and Give the Silk Award to Dalrymple (2040.6)

[ThePreyingManta]

Madison was blessed with an easy start to the season with series against expansion team Portland and Des Moines in the first week. The team went 4-1 over the first five games with the offense looking very solid. New acquisition Mitch Dalrymple led the way, hitting .571 with 4 homers and a league-leading 0.8 WAR. Dalrymple is on a definitely sustainable pace for 130 home runs and 25.5 WAR. At this point we might as well go ahead and give him the Sawyer Silk Award for the best offensive player in the league. In all seriousness though, Dalrymple has looked great in a super small sample size and looks like a great fit on a Madison team that shouldn’t struggle to score runs. The 3-time All-Star is coming off of a season where he hit .295 with 30 home runs and 106 RBI. If Dalrymple can keep it up, he should be able to net a nice return for the Wolves if they do decide to trade him or maybe even lead the team to the postseason if a miracle can happen on the pitching side.

Speaking of the pitching, SP Maxim Makin and Juan Trujillo looked great in their first starts of the year, both pitching 6 innings and allowing no runs. This likely speaks more to the lack of offensive talent in Portland than anything else, but it is encouraging for a team that was expected to struggle mightily with pitching. The duo will get another chance to pad their stats next week with starts against the Twin Cities River Monsters. The bullpen, however, has not been good, with an ERA of 6.35. This early performance is likely more true to form than that of the rotation, as the bullpen is expected to be really bad this season.

[RonCo]

Definitely sustainable!

[crobillard]

Dalrymple is so good. I know this year is going to another 5+ WAR season for him. He has diamond glove caliber defense. Free agency is going to command big bucks for him too if he ends up making it there. Chances are his demands dropped after spring, if he’s looking for anywhere around $10 mil/season I think it’s a bargain for him.

[7teen]

Insanely early predictions thread

[crobillard]

Insanely early predictions thread

You will win the lottery.