2031 Jacksvonille Hurricanes Preview

[7teen]

Fresh off an 87-75 season that saw them finish 3rd in the Johnson League Atlantic Division and back to back wild card spots, the Hurricanes are looking to try and make it further this season than the last two. Two seasons ago they advanced out of the Wild Card round before falling to the eventual Johnson League Champs in Vegas in Round 2. Last season, the Hurricanes took a step back and fell to Atlantic City in the deciding 5th game. Looking to turn it back around, the Hurricanes made some moves this off-season to hopefully dethrone the powers that be in the JL.

Key Additions: SS Orlando Medrano (Trade from Brooklyn), OF Joao Silva (Trade from Hawaii), RP Ron Wilson (Free Agent from Vegas)
Key Losses: P Ricardo Valera (Free Agent), OF Vicente Marin (Free Agent), P Donald Harris (Rule 5), SS Tony Gustafsen (Trade to Brooklyn)

Prospects to Watch: The Hurricanes have several young pitching prospects to keep an eye on. They aren't necessarily top of the rotation guys but could help add depth. A few aren't projected to debut this season (Jerry Coyle, Travis Arnold) but a few of them could make their debut this season (Luis Manuel Torres, Ruben Nunez, Netuno Markert, Antonio Mendoza, Raul Perez


Chicks Dig 'Em
If chicks dig the long ball, then they really love the Hurricanes. The Hurricanes led the Johnson League a year ago with 235 homeruns hit. This didn't lead to an offensive force you may imagine as they only scored 745 runs which was only 7th best in the JL. 25 year old Norris Rutledge made his claim to the one of the league's top players a year ago when he belted 40 homeruns and drove in 99 RBI. It helped that he also played a full season of games at 1B. His defense isn't great, but he makes up for it with his bat. Veteran Emilio Rodriguez
brought an older presence to the locker room last season. Some thought Emilio may be on the decline in Brooklyn but he showed last year he can still play as evidenced by his 39 homeruns and 110 RBI. Sergio Ramos hit 38 homeruns, which would have likely led most teams in the league a year ago. However, the long-time Indy star could only manage to finish 3rd on this slugging hitting offense. Rounding out the slugging quartet of stars in Jacksonville is designated hitter Bertram Hahn. Hahn could ONLY manage 36 long balls last year but drove in 102. I really like Hahn as a slugger because not only does he hit homeruns but he also knows how to draw a walk. All 4 of these guys return to the lineup this year and will help provide fans with plenty of long-ball excitement.

The Other Guys
While homeruns rule the roost in Jacksonville, there are also some fine other players to help round out their lineup. Lloyd Braun has a decent bat. What he lacks in offensive prowess he makes up for with fine defensive work at shortstop. 19 year old David Noboru made his debut last season and looks to take on full-time duties at 3B this season. Don't be surprised joins the 30 homerun club with the other names mentioned this season. BFP continues to play solid ball even at the age of 37. He adds another veteran presence to the lineup and will look to set the table atop the lineup before the boppers come to the plate. Jake Blues will provide solid services behind the plate but will be the forgotten man in the lineup as he won't produce nothing like what the rest of the lineup does.


Give Me Your Best
The Jacksonville rotation is led by guys you may have heard of and who made their name with a previous organization. Tully Crow, he of solid Vancouver fame, won 14 games last season and posted a career low 2.86 earned run average to lead the Hurricanes' staff. He may be on the decline, but find me a contending team that would not take Billy Chapel, Jr in its rotation. Chapel came over in a blockbuster trade from Carolina last season and went on to go 10-5 with the Hurricanes. Jacksonville will get to utilize his services for a full season in 2031. Crow and Chapel provide a solid 1-2 punch atop the rotation which will challenge anyone's best two. Rounding out a 3-headed monster of a rotation is Jesus Tonche who spent most of his prime seasons in California. That is of course you can consider a 28 year old pitcher who already has 8 years experience under his belt as being past his prime. Tonche was only an average 9-9 pitcher a year ago but I would not be surprised to see him have a rebound season in 2031.

The rest of the rotation may be a little bit of a question mark at the moment. They have several options to fill the 4th and 5th spot, including some of the youngsters I mentioned earlier or veterans like Len Caldwell who made 12 starts last season for the 'Canes or V.V. who started 32 games last year despite not having full strength of all his pitches. It didn't seem to bother him too much as he still posted an ERA under 4.00 and helped lead Jacksonville to the 4th fewest runs in the Johnson League.

Prediction
Looking at THIS team on paper, and they have the makeup to be a true championship contender. Three solid starting pitchers, a high powered offense that can score runs in bunches. The one big question mark they seem to have is who closes games for them. No one saved more than 15 games last season and they didn't acquire anyone this off-season that would be assigned as a true closer. It could be a committee type situation in Jacksonville this season to see who can lock down the late innings. With a payroll already over $107 million, the club doesn't have a lot of wiggle room if they want to try and find a closer during the season.

Despite all that, they still have the pieces to make a run at it this year. The Stanza injury in Montreal may bring them back to the pack some after winning the division by 13 games last season. Atlantic City still looks solid on paper so it could be a three team race in the Atlantic. I think having Chapel full season and the addition of some youth to the club brings the Hurricanes up as well. Considering the Southern division in the JL also appears to be a 3-team race so I see no reason why the Hurricanes aren't a lock to make the post-season again this year.

My official prediction for Jacksonville is 95 wins and a close race between them and Montreal for the division. The additions in Jax and the injury to Stanza means I'll give the edge to the Hurricanes to capture their second division title in 3 seasons.

[RonCo]

Nice work...interesting team.

[udlb58]

Great stuff Chris. I hope to have Madison's out tonight.

I think you pretty much nailed us, except for Pierce. He'll likely be limited to platoon duty (barring injury) with Ramos/Chavez/Sunshine entrenched in the OF.

The end of the rotation is certainly a question mark. Vasi had a career year last year, and he'll need to match it to keep his spot in the rotation. Caldwell did great in the bullpen, but was below average as the #5. He'll get a shot, but will need to kick it up a notch. I'd say Arnold is the favorite if either of those two falter as Torres can have an age inquiry if he doesn't play in the majors this year. Mendoza and Pringle have outside chances as the 7th option if both Vasi and Caldwell falter. Rob Fuller can start, but he's been a valuable reliever so far. Coyle, Crane, and Markert all lack the stamina to start. So....yeah. Question mark, for sure.

The bullpen....we'll have to rely on some strong L/R combos in the late innings. Probably Alvarado (R) and Wilson/Cantrell (L) working the final inning.

[Ted]

I like this team a lot. I think they're a bit better than last year, but I'm a starting pitching guy, and that's not a rotation I'm so happy with that I'd call them a championship contender.

[7teen]

I like this team a lot. I think they're a bit better than last year, but I'm a starting pitching guy, and that's not a rotation I'm so happy with that I'd call them a championship contender.

I'm not so sure. I believe you can win it if you have 3 starters which Jax has. No one uses a 5th starter in the post-season and if they don't find a 4th one they feel confident in in the post-season, they can use a 3-man rotation if need be. With their offense, and the 3 of Crow, Chapel, and Tonche there is no way they don't make the post-season over the marathon 162 games. Once the post-season rolls around, it's all "random" anyway and I don't see a reason they can't win it. Obviously Vegas stands in everyone's way in the JL but this team has enough parts to knock off anyone I feel.

[Ted]

I like this team a lot. I think they're a bit better than last year, but I'm a starting pitching guy, and that's not a rotation I'm so happy with that I'd call them a championship contender.

I'm not so sure. I believe you can win it if you have 3 starters which Jax has. No one uses a 5th starter in the post-season and if they don't find a 4th one they feel confident in in the post-season, they can use a 3-man rotation if need be. With their offense, and the 3 of Crow, Chapel, and Tonche there is no way they don't make the post-season over the marathon 162 games. Once the post-season rolls around, it's all "random" anyway and I don't see a reason they can't win it. Obviously Vegas stands in everyone's way in the JL but this team has enough parts to knock off anyone I feel.

I don't believe they have three starters. Crow is one. On paper, Tonche and Chapel Jr. are two and three. But I'd be willing to bet between Tonche's inconsistency and Chapel's age, they may only get front of the rotation stuff out of two of those guys.

[udlb58]

I like this team a lot. I think they're a bit better than last year, but I'm a starting pitching guy, and that's not a rotation I'm so happy with that I'd call them a championship contender.

I'm not so sure. I believe you can win it if you have 3 starters which Jax has. No one uses a 5th starter in the post-season and if they don't find a 4th one they feel confident in in the post-season, they can use a 3-man rotation if need be. With their offense, and the 3 of Crow, Chapel, and Tonche there is no way they don't make the post-season over the marathon 162 games. Once the post-season rolls around, it's all "random" anyway and I don't see a reason they can't win it. Obviously Vegas stands in everyone's way in the JL but this team has enough parts to knock off anyone I feel.

I don't believe they have three starters. Crow is one. On paper, Tonche and Chapel Jr. are two and three. But I'd be willing to bet between Tonche's inconsistency and Chapel's age, they may only get front of the rotation stuff out of two of those guys.

I hope Chapel is one of those guys who inexplicably continues to perform for a year or two despite his ratings falling apart, but I'm terribly afraid that I'll have a 6/8/8 starting pitcher come October (he's already gone from 10/9/8 against righties at the beginning of the offseason to 8/8/8 and is dangerously close to dropping 10 mph from April 2030). Tonche is a known quantity now. He's a good #3, a strikeout per inning guy who can put up a mid-upper mid 3s FIP. Hopefully he starts getting a little more luck and his .330 BABIP as a Cane drops.

If Crow stays healthy, if Chapel can be a #2 still, if Tonche's luck turns around, if we find a #4, if a closer emerges...... Lots of 'ifs' there. Still, I feel like this team is at least as good as some that have won the title in the past and both of the series we lost the last two years went the distance (lost to ATC in 5 LY and Vegas in 7 the year before)