2032 Atlantic City Gamblers

[usnspecialist]

OVERVIEW: Following a three-year playoff streak from 2028-2039, Atlantic City took a significant downturn last year with a 71-91 finish. Bound and determined to prove that last year was a blip rather than a more lasting shifting of fortunes, GM Joshua Biddle decided to take a simple approach to the problem and throw money at it. The most obvious problem for this team last year was pitching, and Biddle correctly identified that and gave out matching 6 year/$144 million contracts to 35 year old Eduardo López and 31 year old António Correa to lead the rotation. While the short term impacts should be a boon for the Gamblers, it is not an understatement to say that they may be regretting those contracts in a few years.

INFIELD: The Gamblers infield is fairly evenly split between guys who are great with the glove and guys who are great with the bat, unfortunately they don’t seem to have guys who can do both. On the offensive side of things, young catcher Joaquín Camacho has proven himself over the last few years to be quite the asset, and looks to have that position on lockdown for quite some time if he wants it. 1B Rafael Bido is the elder statesman of the group, but he is still ticking along just fine as he piles up the numbers for the only franchise he has ever known, it is a good bet you will see his number plastered on the outfield wall when his playing days are done in AC, as he has an outside chance of reaching 500 HR by the end of next season. As for the rest of the group, well just say they will be lucky to end up with 500 HR between them by the time their careers are done, and they wont have many more hits than that either. Josh Bauer is an uber-versitile utility man who is currently manning 3B and human vacuum cleaners António Gracía and José 'Grits' Vela patrol the middle of the diamond in remarkable fashion.

OUTFIELD: The Gamblers clearly have a preference when it comes to OF, as they like speed demons who can wreak havoc on the basepaths and catch anything hit their way. The immediate standout in this group is leadoff man Chang-hyeok Chang, who at 21 years old has already established himself as an offensive force in this league and if he ever sorts out his baserunning issues (22 SB in 61 attempts is beyond putrid), has the potential to be one of the best leadoff men in the league. Hitting right behind him is RF Ricardo Hernández, who has a power and speed combination that makes the 30/30 club seem like a yearly possibility, and can potentially even stretch to 40/40. The man in the middle of those 2 is Omar Little, and unfortunately while you better not miss if you come at him, he has yet to master the rather basic element of getting on base. Rounding out the group is DH António Sánchez, another guy whose number is just waiting to be plastered up on the wall thanks to his lifetime of work in AC. He hasn’t played much in the field the last decade, but his bat is ticking along just fine and should continue for another few years.

ROTATION: As mentioned earlier, this was a massive headache for the Gamblers last year, so they went out and massively upgraded. Eduardo López and António Correa give this team a fearsome (and very expensive) 1-2 punch that should serve them nicely if they can get back into the playoffs, and their heavy groundball pattern should play nicely with that infield behind them. #3 man Dan Cannon is no slouch either, as the 23 year old junkballer has 3 plus pitches and 2 more above average that give them the potential to keep hitters up at night if he can put it all together. Finishing out the rotation are Nicholas Sutton and Tony Nelson, two guys who are perfectly fine as the back end of a regular season group, but not exactly who you want starting big games in October.

BULLPEN: The starters had better be good this season for the Gamblers, as between them and reigning reliever of the year Alan Domínguez at closer, there is a whole of “meh” at best, and “o god not him” at worst. The best of the bunch in the middle is likely Francisco Gonzáles, but that is mainly because he hasn’t proven himself to be mediocre at best in the Brewster League yet.

PREDICTION: While being in the division with the defending champions is never a great place to be, the truckloads of money spent on the rotation should have the immediate effect that Biddle is looking for. He might want to have an exit strategy in place for a few years down the road however, as those could get ugly fast. 86-76 is the prediction here, with a 3rd place finish in the division.

[usnspecialist]

well got the placing right, just missed by 5 games. Not terrible in the grand scheme of things (especially for my first preview).

[udlb58]

well got the placing right, just missed by 5 games. Not terrible in the grand scheme of things (especially for my first preview).

You were dead on their PYT record (87-75)

[usnspecialist]

well got the placing right, just missed by 5 games. Not terrible in the grand scheme of things (especially for my first preview).

You were dead on their PYT record (87-75)

I didn't even look at that