2060 TOKYO PEARLS
What happened last year?
A decade ago, the Pearls were among the better teams in the GBC. The first half of the 2050's saw 4 playoff appearances in 5 years to go along with two championships. Then, the revolving door started, where management of the team changed hands more times that we can remember. Every so often, a new GM would be announced, only for those plans to fall through and causing control of the team to revert back to a "caretaker". To make things worse, these GM changes usually happened during the offseason, and when the change fell through, long stretches of the offseason were lost, and the "caretaker" GM had to return and pick up the pieces.
Fast forward to 2060, and we see the same situation presenting itself. Although the "caretaker" GM did their best to set up the team at the end of 2059, yet another provisional GM was never fully engaged over the winter, and valuable stretches of the offseason were lost. As one can imagine, it's quite difficult gain any consistency with so many management changes. So here we sit, on April 1st, with another patchwork job to try and keep the Pearls viable. Yes, the club still makes money, but for how long? A sad situation for a team that was once a perennial contender.
Having said all that, here is how the Pearls will look as the GBC season kicks off in earnest.
The Rotation:
A big event last season, again, was the resigning of ace Umar Dogar, who, again, commanded a princely sum to stick around. This time, it was $14 million, over a quarter of the GBC salary cap. But Doger looks to be even better this year, after a successful stint in the Development Complex. He'd be in the starting rotation for literally any BBA team, but for now it's one more year as one of the two best pitchers in the entire GBC.
Following him in the rotation will be Deron Alexander, who will look to bounce back from last season's 1.8 WAR and return to his 2058 form. The same goes for Tommy Boele, who also regressed last season. The back of the roation looks to have two new faces, Abdul-Samad Imad al Din and Jacome Kretzchner. Imad al Din repeatedly impressed coaches this spring, despite shaky secondary pitches; while Kretzchner, the veteran control artist, will look to establish himself after a long career in the BBA minor leagues.
Overall, its the Umar Doger show and his decidedly Not All-Star Band. When the ace leaves for the BBA, this rotation will be left in a shambles.
The Bullpen:
The bullpen was a strength least season, and looks to be similar this year. In fact, a couple of deserving young arms with options remaining were left on the outside looking in (see Farm System, below). The squad is led by Fassil Maundu, the journeyman reliever who suddenly blossomed as a closer last season (2.62 ERA, 16 saves). Middle relief will be handled by Veikko Aravirta and lefty Edward Crutcher, while David Petit makes the relief corps due to a strong spring, despite his underwhelming -0.7 war in 2059.
Last year's success story Lee Broadberry returns, and he can do everything from spot start to serving as the team's primary lefty specialist (vital in today's GBC, with its dearth of left handed pitchers). Long relief will be staffed by the talented but endurance challenged Markuri Siliqi, while Naruhiko Kawano tries to recover from a rough offseason that saw him get demoted from the rotation.
The Infield:
Catching duties will be led by last season's first round draft pick Reko Kelander, who filled out nicely and impressed with a good spring. Backing him up will be Sugimoto Yoshikawa, similar to last season. First base looks to be a platoon situation between Anthony Harrop and the Pearls' top farmhand Najib bin Haroun, who is currently the GBC's #4 prospect and is an elite defender at the position. The rest of the infield is unchanged, with the duo of Quentin Favre and Benjamin Chapman at shortstop, Jimmy Rigg once again at second base after hitting .296 last year, and the reliable Murray Healey (2.5 WAR in 2059) at third.
The Outfield:
Outfield for the Pearls looks to be a dynamic bunch, led by veteran LF Taylor Barfoot. But the real story might be 23 year old Callum McKay, who, after a 3.4 WAR season last year, reportedly wowed everyone with his stint at the Development Complex and looks to take another step forward to stardom. Center field, one of the hardest positions to fill in the GBC, is left to last year's pairing of Matthew Ewing and Eduardo Moran, while DH duties should be nailed down by shrewd signing Matthew Woods, whose combination of power and batting eye will be fascinating to watch as he comes over from Edmonton. Pete Davis, who reportedly signed mere days ago, will use his 9 rated Eye and 12 rated stealing ability to cause havoc on the basepaths.
The Farm System:
With the promotion of top prospects Najib bin Haroun and Reko Kelander to the bigs, the Tokyo farm is looking a little bare. But C Ferid Kelueljang will be up as soon as he works out the kinks in his defense, and pitchers like Asir Suoud and Faheen MacKendrick would have stayed with the big club were it not for the strength of the Tokyo bullpen. Suoud in particular night even get a shot in the rotation if the back end of the staff falters at any point. Other intriguing prospects include LF Peder Stubbe, C Javier Otero, and raw lefty Victor Nunez.
The Pearls have 8 picks in the first three rounds of the upcoming GBC draft, and the cash to sign whomever they select. Let's hope that one of those top potential draftees can fall to #6 due to other team's financial considerations, because the structure of this year's class, though deep, is very pointy at the top end.
Outlook:
The legacy of this once storied team has been full of unstable leadership for a number of years now. The string of would-be GM's and Caretakers have at least kept the team financially viable, even profitable, which is a feat unto itself. But the continued management flux just multiplies the questions for the future and offers the team little direction.
After missing the (admittedly expanded) GBC playoffs with a week to go in 2059, the most that can be expected is another season around .500. Hopefully a new, dedicated management team can be found to restore the Pearls to their former glory.
