Take this preview with a grain of salt...I predicted Charm City as a potential wild card team last season and we know how that ended up.
Anyways...Here goes....
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Huntsville 2035 Team Preview
What has the past looked like?
Huntsville peaked in 2028 with 101 wins and finishing the season holding the Landis trophy high above their heads. Since then, they have won less games than the previous season every single year.
2029- 100-62
2030- 97-65
2031- 86-76
2032-73-89
2033-60-102
That is until last year.
2033 at a glance
Record: 64-98 (6th in Division)
Hitting: 4.2 runs per game. .260 batting average (highest in 3 years),
Pitching: 5.17 runs per game allowed, 4.88 ERA
Huntsville won 64 games last season, which some are marking down as a victory just to show some improvement over the prior year. Some can argue, championships are sometimes won in the off-season, however I would argue that Huntsville set itself up to win championships just before the trade deadline last season when Kyle “agrudez” Stever was given the keys to the organization. Stever, was the head of the club during that 2028 season and departed after 2030 and as mentioned above, this club has struggled since.
Stever worked quickly when he came in making a flurry of moves knowing that he had 5 veteran players winding down their BBA careers who were the previous regime had committed over $64,000,000 in payroll to.
Stever made 6 deals in the matter of days, shaking Huntsville upside down and at the same time getting it on the road to being consistently competitive each season moving forward.
With that being said, the offense still has several fan favorites returning including shortstop Gerardo Guzman (8/7/2/6/9 Ratings, .340/.405/.501, 8 HR, 61 RBI) who led the team in nearly every batting category last season other than home runs and RBI’s. That honor belonged to David Hall (6/7/8/6/6 Ratings, .234/.309/.455, 34 HR, 109 RBI) who will also be returning to the team to follow up his rookie season in which he hit 34 home runs and drove in 109 RBI’s. It’s worth noting that Guzman will actually transition over to 2nd base this coming season as the team is planning to play Brian Sullivan at shortstop.
The pitching staff is going to be led by 23 year old Heinrich Peithner (9/7/7 Ratings, 6 - 13, 4.24 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 150 K), who started 31 games last season for Huntsville. Behind him the only recognizable player in the rotation will be Juan Nicto (8/8/6 Ratings, 8 - 16, 4.65 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 114 K) who was acquired last season near the trade deadline.
Offseason Arrivals
RP Cesar Sandoval (6/7/9 Ratings, 4 - 5, 3.61 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 57 K)
RP Carlos Sanchez
3B Barney Verhart
RP Ricardo Baez (9/6/6 Ratings, 3 - 2, 4.54 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 30 K)
Francisco Vega (4/5/5 Ratings)
SS Brian SullivanRF Leon Sandcastle (8/6/7/8/5 Ratings, .284/.394/.457, 18 HR, 53 RBI)
LF Adam Parrish (7/7/6/6/5 Ratings, .276/.366/.419, 6 HR, 30 RBI)
SS Brieuc Becker (5/7/2/4/7 Ratings, .265/.327/.380, 5 HR, 39 RBI)
SP Phil Spencer (6/5/6 Ratings) (Rule 5)
RP Dusty McPetrie (8/6/4 Ratings) (Rule 5)
RP Billy Stuble (7/4/6 Ratings) (Rule 5)
CF Prazeres Condeizeira (Rule 5)
SP Anastasio Quintana
C Sam Adams (5/5/9/6/3 Ratings, .196/.261/.412, 5 HR, 15 RBI)
RP Jose Gutierrez
Wowzers. Was any team more active this off-season than Huntsville? That is 16 players signed if you include the 4 players drafted in the Rule 5 Draft. The biggest signing being Leon Sandcastle (8/6/7/8/5 Ratings, .284/.394/.457, 18 HR, 53 RBI). The 39 year old ageless wonder and sure fire hall of famer has been playing the BBA since 2017 and has 407 career home runs along with a career 305 batting average. He will surely cross over into the 100 Career WAR range this season as he will be expected to man center field for the majority of games.
Players/Positions to watch
LF David Hall (6/7/8/6/6 Ratings, .234/.309/.455, 34 HR, 109 RBI)
SP Yu-bao Tong (8/7/5 Ratings, 2 - 3, 5.65 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 28 K)
Hall’s bat is no longer a surprise to anybody in the BBA, and at just 22 years old may have some great seasons ahead of him. He does have some fans covering their eyes in fear when a ball is hit his direction in the outfield, however if Hall produces like he does last season there is no way he will be sat down. Hall was a bit underwhelming last season as far as his batting average goes, however I look for him to have a very good year this season potentially pushing his batting average into the .260-.270 range.
Yu-Bao Tong is also 22 year old and will be making his rookie debut more than likely as a member of the Huntsville rotation. Tong struggled a bit in AAA last season if you look at his ERA, but his FIP was actually much better and he suffered a high BABIP of .351 so some defensive woes were to cause for this. Tong may be a sleeper who puts up a ERA south of 4 this season and gives the Phantoms a great 1-2-3-4 punch in the rotation.
Sleepers/Bounce Back Players
Pitcher Juan Cano
I really like Juan Cano. The 23 year old reliever had a rough season last year tossing a 6.01 ERA over 71 games, recording 29 of the teams saves. He had a discouraging 1.76 WHIP and 5.41 FIP to go along with the ERA in his first season in the BBA. However, I think he is going to bounce back this season and regain the form he had in the minors. He skipped AAA so was rushed to the majors and sometimes that takes some time to get used to. He was phenomenal in 2033 in AA with a 2.56 ERA and 42 saves along with a 1.19 WHIP. I am going out on a limb and saying he posts an ERA under 3 this year, and records 40 saves for the BBA club.
Bullpen
Closer: Juan Cano
As mentioned above, I am expecting big things from this guy this season.
Next: Karl Soranzo (6/7/8 Ratings, 4 - 4, 3.27 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 29 K)
Soranzo has spent his entire BBA career in Huntsville and has a career 3.75 ERA so that should tell you all you need to know about him. Soranzo should be the guy pitching the 8th with a lead or pitching the 9th if Cano cannot go.
After that, another longtime Huntsville pitcher Jose Gutierrezreturns to the club after spending last season in New Orleans/Brooklyn/California. Cesar Sandoval (6/7/9 Ratings, 4 - 5, 3.61 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 57 K) & Carlos Sanchez also provide good veteran bullpen pieces for this club. The bullpen will certainly be a strength in Huntsville.
Losses:
Other than the losses due to trade, the following players were on the team when the season came to an end, and are no longer part of the organization.
SP Alberto Snachez
RP Mario Lopez
Essentially. This team lost nothing, except money off their payroll. Both of those players were very poor for Huntsville and so this is really addition by subtraction.
Projected batting order
The team has mentioned they plan to play several platoons this off-season which will certainly effect things, however this is the batting order that I see the club ending up rolling with typically against right handed pitchers
1. 2B Gerardo Guzman (8/7/2/6/9 Ratings, .340/.405/.501, 8 HR, 61 RBI)
2. CF Leon Sandcastle (8/6/7/8/5 Ratings, .284/.394/.457, 18 HR, 53 RBI)
3. 1B Albert Gaona (7/7/9/6/7 Ratings, .238/.332/.446, 33 HR, 87 RBI)
4. DH Chris Klein (7/8/8/6/6 Ratings, .256/.305/.512, 8 HR, 23 RBI)
5. LF David Hall (6/7/8/6/6 Ratings, .234/.309/.455, 34 HR, 109 RBI)
6. 3B Dave Wilfer (8/6/5/6/8 Ratings, .306/.360/.469, 15 HR, 72 RBI)
7. RF Adam Parrish (7/7/6/6/5 Ratings, .276/.366/.419, 6 HR, 30 RBI)
8. SS Brian Sullivan
9. C Juan Guerrero
Projected rotation
Heinrich Peithner (9/7/7 Ratings, 6 - 13, 4.24 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 150 K)
Luis Soto
Juan Nicto (8/8/6 Ratings, 8 - 16, 4.65 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 114 K)
Yu-Bao Tong
Ludwig Charles (6/7/7 Ratings)
Prediction for the upcoming season:
This is quite a turnaround for Huntsville. The moves came fast and furious and this could be one of the fastest turnarounds for a team that the BBA has witnessed. I truly expect that this team is going to be in contention for a wildcard spot when the trade deadline rolls around and a move will be made to bolster that 5th spot in the rotation giving this team 81 wins next season, a .500 record, and a spot in the wildcard round of the playoffs.
