2031 saw the California Crusaders miss the playoffs for just the second time in the last nine years, a pretty nice run. But before you start talking about the Crusaders demise lets not forget who runs this freak show and I am sure that GM Ted Schmidt is holed up in some secret lab somewhere concocting a plan to return to playoff contention.
Additions: SP Robert Ramos
Losses: 3B John Galt, C David Bruno, RF Doug Kendall
Offense:
C Chip Saunders - Saunders returns for his 3rd season in Northern California and what has to be the best defensive Catcher in the league broke out with a career offensive performance in 2031. A .267 BA, .315 OBP with 43 Runs and 40 RBI's has atapilted "Sarge" into a solid all around contributor. I don't see Saunders bettering those numbers, but if he just repeats 2031 the Crusaders will be ecstatic.
1B Newman Watson - Is young pup Christian Moreno ready to supplant the grizzled veteran Newman? Probably not completely, but he gives Cali a great opportunity to start giving Watson some more chances to rest his body during the season and is holding his own this spring with a .276 BA. Watson is starting to show his age and saw his numbers take an across the board drop. But it's hard to say that a guy is in decline when he gives you 19 HR's, 75 RBI's and a .281 BA. That's how good Watson has been. At 35 yrs old, a continued decline is probably in the cards but he should continue to be a dangerous asset for Cali and will probably hit his Vesting Option for 2033.
2B Chris Workman - Mr Steady continues to do his thing fromthe top of the order heading into his 4th season with the Crusaders. 11 HR's, 50 RBI's, 77 Runs and 41 SB's make him a danger every time he gets on base and should be very close to those numbers again.
3B Hunter Eisenhower - Big stick Eisenhower will bring his 29 HR's and 91 RBI's back to the heart of the Crusaders lineup in 2032, with only his health in the way. Eisenhower missed 10 days last year with various minor ailments, but at 34 yrs old is this a harbinger of things to come. If "Boogie" can stay healthy he will remain a threat every time he comes to the plate and continue to drive the fortunes of California. There has been a lot of talk about rookie phenom Bryan Robson, who is plying his trade in AAA but it is obvious that he needs some more seasoning. His first jump to AAA was met with mixed results and he was inconsistent with England during the WCB.
SS Claudio Defazio - Another speed merchant at the top of the Crusaders order is Defazio. Defazio finished 2031 with 71 Stolen Bases and has swiped an average of 61 over the last 3 years. He also shows surprising power putting 15 balls out of the park and driving in 62 RBI's. If Eisenhower is the engine then Dafazio is the wheels for the Crusaders machine. Rookie SS Brian Sullivan has a shot at breaking camp with the big club as a utility guy but it's a little early in the race.
LF Dave Brunskill - The next great player for Cali is LF Brunskill. This will be Brunskill's 3rd season on the big club and the 23 yr old has been everything he was advertised to be. ++ Power and a solid eye has Brunskill becoming one of the better Frick League hitters. He hit 23 HR's in 2031 after hitting 24 in 2030, He drove in 71 RBI's and scored 82. his .281 BA is solid and gives Cali a 3.9 WAR. He will only get better.
CF Jose Sanchez/Trdat Kazatov - Sanchez is back for another season but he may be asked to shoulder the load in CF after being more of a platoon guy the last couple of years He put up a .274 BA, 31 Runs and 10 RBI's in only 190 AB's. Does he have the ability to transfer this production over the course of a season? If he doesn't 22 Yr old Trdat Kazarov is pushing for playing time. Trdat is making the brass sit up and take notice so far this spring with a .265 BA and 6 RBI's early on.
RF John Cochran - With Doug Kendall now gone, California will be looking for John Cochran to step up his game and take control of Right Field. He has definitely looked more comfortable this spring and just may make the Crusader fans forget Kendal was ever on the team. A prediction of a .275 BA with 15 HR's and 50 RBI's should be enough for Cochran to hold onto the RF job for the entire season.
DH Cris Vasquez - This guy should be nicknamed "The Beast' because he terrorizes the opposing pitchers. a massive power threat, Cris has not hit less than 34 HR's in the last 7 years, and has drivin in over 100 RBI's per year in that same time span. He will be his awesome self again in 2032
Rotation
Roberto Ramos - The Crusaders went into the off season with the determination to go get a #1 starter no matter what, and they did just that by scooping stud "Chappy" Ramos in free agency. With the offense behind him in Cali he will again be in the double digit Wins column, and probalby closer to his 17 Wins in 2030.
here is where things get hairy
Chris Brown - Brown looks to be working under the assumption that he has a spot in the rotation in 2032. Brown bounced around between the rotation and the pen in 2031 and it really affected his numbers. he ended with a 6-12 record but also had an unsightly 5.62 ERA. MUCH better will be needed from Brown for the Crusaders to make any sort of run at the playoffs.
Ricardo Jaramillo - Jaramillo was a late call up from AAA and he struggled in his brief audition. in 4 starts he went 1-2, and in his 6 relief appearances he accumulated 1 Save. Add this to his 5.30 ERA and 1.46 WHIP and you can see where the 23 year old was like a deer in headlights. Jaramillo has the raw stuff to succeed at the ML level but he is more of a 5th starter at this point in his career. I can see him getting his ERA below the 5.00 mark, just barely, and maybe squeaking out 8 or 9 Wins.
Manuel Pena - On the flip side, 20 yr old Pena looked quote comfortable with his call up from AAA. He gave the Crusaders 11 starts and ended with a 7-3 record and a respectable 4.42 ERA. He should see a rise in his level of play unless the sophomore curse hits him.
There is a battle for the 5th spot in the rotation between Reggie Gascoigne, Miguel Ramos, Ernie Kenney and Jamie Mercado. All of these guys are still wet behind the ears and it is truly a toss up. Miguel Ramos is the most highly decorated of the bunch but his control issues will keep him in AAA for at least another season.
Bullpen
Francisco Ocampo returns as the Closer and brings his 38 Saves from 2031 with him. Not your typical slam the door type reliever, he gets by with great stuff and smarts.
The rest of the pen could be a number of names; Cesar Ramos, Roberto Muniz, George House, Mike Manning, Miguel Ramirez, Ray Boswell, etc.....
2032 Outlook
The Offense will be as potent as ever, but unless there is some pitchers still playing in the WCB that I do not know about there will be some serious obstacles for the Crusaders to overcome to make it back to the playoffs. As it is, I do not see this pitching staff having enough quality arms after Roberto Ramos to really strike fear into the hearts of the other teams in their division.
Prediction: 78-84, 4th in the FL Pacific.
