Honolulu, Hawaii-
Review of Position Players-
C- The catchers were led by rookie Jeff Appleton with veteran Frank McMillan as his backup. Appleton made 124 starts and slashed .239/.312/.376 in 444 at bats. He hit 15 HR with 51 RBI and scored 50 runs. He posted a 2.5 WAR but had a low wRC+ at 87. Frank McMillan played his final season in Hawaii putting up a 1.2 WAR mostly from defense. He hit 8 homers and drove in 19 in 141 at bats.
1B-John Harris made 131 starts at first and led the team with 22 homer and 91 RBI while slashing .289/.327/.472. He had a 110 2RC+ with 1.9 WAR while playing good defense.
2B- Second was split between Luis Estrada, Na’il bin Hakim and Julian Rivera. Rivera began the season at second but had two IL stints during the season forcing the light hitting Hakim and an aging Estrada into the lineup. Playing Estrada was a huge mistake as his offense couldn’t make up for his defensive deficiencies. Hakim was better defensively but his hitting fell off late in the season. Rivera was moved to short and paired with Hakim to move Mitch Wareham back to third. Rivera still doesn’t tear the cover off the ball but played short well enough to stick there for now.
SS- Mitch Wareham started 118 games at short before being moved back to third. He was comfortable defensively at third, but his hitting struggled throughout the season. He slashed .236/.321/.389 with 14 homers and 64 RBI.
3B- Carlos Antunez played third making 125 starts for the Tropics. He slashed .250/.334/.352 with 11 homers and 44 RBI while playing nice defense at third. The Trops will probably move him to first to backup Harris while backing up Wareham.
OF- The outfield was where the Tropics shined in 2061. In left, Vincente Mendez made 94 starts with Jose Ordonez and rookie Eric Owens btaking up the rest. Mendez made 127 starts slashing .268/.288/.408 with 10 homers and 67 RBI. He played solid defense and put up a 0.7 WAR. Owens is the future for Hawaii in left if he can stay on the field. He made 49 starts and had 190 at bats slashing .311/.357/.711 with 20 homers and 49 RBI while posting a 2.6 WAR. Jose Ordonez stunk on the mound but excelled at the plate slashing .272/.343/.403 with 5 homers and 48 RBI while posting 1.5 WAR.
Angelo Lucchesi owned center making 145 starts slashing .253/.315/.366 with 7 homers and 64 RBI while posting a 2.6 WAR. He played incredible defense in center, but his offense has been declining the last three seasons.
“He’s camp has been asking for $10+ million for 5 years from us. He would need to drink from the fountain of youth to get a contract like that.”, commented Jim Walker.
RF Carlos Sanchez had his off year this season which bodes for a really good 2062. He put up 4.2 WAR last season and 1.9 two seasons ago. He put up 1.1 this season while slashing .237/.283/.362 with 11 homers and 48 RBI. He played great defense in right and will move to center in 2062.
“Sanchez can handle playing center. We have to live with the ups and downs.”, said Hawaii Manager Rich Kerr.
DH- Yodo “Fungo’ Sato played mostly at DH abut had a poor season. He was out of the lineup at the end of the season as he fell out of favor with Tropics brass. He hit 12 homers and drove in 44 runs.
Jake Diamond is also on the chopping block as he just took up roster space after player below his low ratings.
The Tropics will lose Topan Adjeng, Barney Lindsey, Angelo Lucchesi, Troy Reynolds, Luis Estrada and Frank McMillan to free agency. Yodo Sato has a player option for 2062 but is angry enough with management that he may decline. Here’s to good decisions for us.
Depending on non-tenders, Hawaii have between $74-83.5 million towards the cap leaving $25 million to spend on free agents.
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