Chasing The Storm 2045-3 What's Gone Wrong So Far-Offense

[njherdfan]

We're a little more than a month into the 2045 season, and Seattle's record is an ugly 11-25. That is certainly not what the Storm's fans were hoping for going into this year. The Storm's run differential also would seem to indicate that this performance has not been a fluke, as the Storm have been outscored by 44 runs so far this season. Let's dive in a bit and take a look at what, exactly, has gone wrong, and whether Seattle has any hopes of a rebound.

Worst Performers: Seattle's offense has been quite bad this season, and if you're looking for some culprits (as we certainly are) it's probably best to start with The Chairman Mao and Abakada Angosisye. Going into this season, Seattle fans knew the team had a number of question marks, but one player they thought they could rely on was Mao. In his 6 full seasons, Mao never had a wRC+ lower than 125. This season, his wRC+ is 75 and he's slugging an abysmal .352. It's certainly tough to have a functional offense when one of your centerpieces has been this bad, but Seattle fans have to hope that Mao will start to return to the form he's always shown in the past.

As a rookie Angosisye had a wRC+ of 107, and Seattle fans were expecting him to take another step forward this season, particularly against right-handed pitching. So far, that has not been the case, to put it mildly. He now has a wRC+ of 56, which has led to a WAR of -0.3. Since it's already appearing that Seattle will struggle to compete for anything this year, it's likely that he will be given some more time, but his struggles have been disconcerting for the Storm, who now must wonder if he can be counted on to be a regular part of Seattle's lineup in the future. Finally, Alejandro Cordova has also been brutal. Going into the season, Seattle expected slightly below-average offense and excellent defense from him. While his defense has been excellent, his offense has absolutely cratered, and his wRC+ of 40 makes him among the worst hitters in the league. If he can't at least get his wRC+ into the 70s, as he has in the past, Seattle will be forced to make some tough decisions about his future in the lineup.