2018 Yellow Springs Nine
GM: Tim Meseck, 14th Season (Win-Loss Record 931-1014)
Last 3 Seasons
2017 : 80-82, 4th Place, 15 GB (.266 AVG, 4.09 ERA, .300 BABIP)
2016 : 98-64, 1st Place, Lost in Cartwright Series (.272 AVG, 3.55 ERA, .286 BABIP)
2015 : 66-96, 4th Place, 29 GB (.258 AVG, 4.53 ERA, .296 BABIP)
2017 – Quick Review
After winning the Johnson League Midwest Division in 2016, the Nine faltered in 2017, finishing 15 GB of the Madison Wolves. From first glance, the pitching was the main culprit as the Yellow Springs pitching staff’s ERA jumped over half a run in 2017. The defense also is to blame, as their BABIP increased. Runs were down (-56 in 2017) and runs allowed were way up (+95). This from a team with the highest payroll in the Johnson League ($137 million).
Key Losses/Additions
None that I can see. Losing almost $43 million last season crippled any offseason moves the Nine could make.
Position Players
Catcher – Is this the year Bob Burke breaks out? Or will Dennis Smart continue to get most of the AB’s? Both are excellent behind the plate. Smart is the better runner of the two but Burke’s upside tells me he should be the man behind the plate for the foreseeable future despite his struggles early in his career (.226 AVG in 380 AB’s in his short career).
Firstbase – No worries here. Bo Jordan is a monster in the lineup. Count on 40+ HR’s and 120+ RBI’s as this guy is just hitting his peak in the league.
Secondbase – Blair Gentry rebounded nicely from a dismal season at the plate average wise in 2016 (.219) to hit .264 in 2017. This guy can find the gap with the best of them, chalking up 135 double the past 3 seasons. But Blair’s real value is his glove. He’s as versatile as they come, playing mostly SS for the Nine last season. But his real value seems to be as a 2B (posted a +9.1 ZR in 2016).
Thirdbase – Luis Martinez. Not your prototype 3B as Luis has no power whatsoever. In fact, Luis has played more OF for Yellow Springs than 3B. This may change in 2018 but who knows. Martinez has good contact ratings and hit .276 in his rookie campaign last season.
Shortstop – Oliver Queen. Another guy playing a different position than I would have thought. Oliver spent the 2017 season manning the hot corner for the Nine. His defense is second to none (+13.7 ZR at third) but he could be better at SS. Queen wont do much with the bat but he wont hurt you either. He’s a career .264 hitter but does not find the gaps like Blair does.
Leftfield – This looks to be a platoon situation. Versus the righties, Clarence Diamond will see most of the action. In his short history, he has hit and hit well. Clarence has hit .351 in 379 career at-bats. Mostly a slap hitter with little power. Versus the lefties look for Jeremy Gray to get the at-bats. Another slap type hitter, Gray is more seasoned than Diamond. He has hit over .300 the past 2 season although he took a significant cut to his playing time in 2017.
Centerfield – Benjamin Franklin Pierce. Ben is a great fielding CF (+12.4 ZR in 2017) that has enormous potential at the plate. He’s not quite the slugger that Bo Jordan is. However, Pierce has all the tools to be solid ML hitter to go along with his outstanding glove. He hasn’t hit much in his first 2 seasons (.258) but his totals have increased since his rookie season…and he still has room to get better!
Rightfield – Im guessing Jeremy Gray will be here. Didn’t see much else
Starting Pitching
Mingo Boone – 25 year old "ace" of the staff. His first 2 season have been good (28-19 overall, 3.84 ERA). Solid numbers for you first 2 seasons and I expect them to be even better in 2018.
Moses Tallchief – Went 12-4 with the Nine in 2016 to help their playoff push. Slipped a little last season but still picked up 13 wins. Yellow Springs will be looking for more of the 2106 Tallchief in 2018!
Leon Magdayao – This guy was a stud his first 2 seasons. 16-11 in 2015 and then 20-7 in 2016. He fell off the cliff last season, going just 11-9 but posting an ERA of 4.54. That’s 2 runs higher than a season before. Leon will need a bounce back type of season or his future in Yellow Springs may be done.
Jeremy Gaze – Another guy that had a great 2016 and then a lousy 2017. Jeremy’s ERA jumped up a run last season (3.77 in 2016, 4.78 in 2017). Worse than that is Gaze only managed to win 5 games a season ago, while losing 14. Is this a sign of things to come or just a fluke?
The fifth starter is a toss up. Could be a couple of guys. Emilio Nabo seems to have the ratings for it but the results the past 2 seasons have not been impressive. Elijah Stuart might be the guy. The 26 year old has already started 76 games in his career with fairly good success. Chris Wallace is also a candidate after starting 29 games with Brussels in 2016.
Bullpen
Pedro Espin is the anchor and a damn good closer. Espin saved 35 games last season and posted a 2.0 WAR…pretty good for a reliever. From there the waters are a little murky though. Top returning relievers include Marc Jutras, Gustavo Lopez, Mark Steward, Billy Smith, Wally Glover and Uriah Colon. This seems to be an area that the Nine could improve on greatly. This group, outside of Espin and maybe Jutras, seems to need and upgrade!
Prediction
Being completely new to the league, this is very hard for me to say. I haven’t seen any games yet. I barely have a feel for my own team. Do I see the Nine bouncing back to their 2016 form? No I do not. The starting 5, while good, isn’t good enough to save them from that bullpen. Unless Im missing something (Im doing this from work using the site ) if the starters don’t hand the ball directly to Espin, they are going to have problems. With all that said I still thing Yellow Springs will win half their games. So my bold prediction is 81-81.
