2037 San Antonio Outlaws

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2037 San Antonio Outlaws

Post by ae37jr » Wed Dec 05, 2018 4:49 pm

2037 Outlaws

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Changing the Culture

Let's play a game of word recognition. When I say the name San Antonio Outlaws, give me a word or phrase that comes to mind? Through modern technology I can actually hear what you are saying...."Snake bitten", "injuries", "poor John Wick", "rebuilding", "under achieving", "lost potential". A lot of words and phrases that you do not want associated with your baseball club. As a proud GM that he is, Mike Calvaruso was set out to change the culture of the franchise and get the stink out that has plagued the franchise for the past four seasons.

All in all, the Outlaws spent over $400 million to sign the likes of Chang-hyeok Chang (9/8/4/4/9 Talents), Jesus Gonzales (7/6/7/5/6 Talents), and Angel De Castillo (8/7/8/6/8 Talents). A trio of high risk moves that will prove themselves to be right or wrong over the course of time. As a whole.... I like the moves. We are in a league in which contending teams trade away star players at the trade deadline and wonder why they lose in the playoffs. Other teams let star player after star player leave via free agency to collect draft picks while staring at an empty trophy case. Many teams lack a certain skill needed to be a winner. That skill is bravado. Something the Outlaws are showing a lot of here. They are not afraid of failing by making these moves. It's a high risk, high reward philosophy.

Without further rambling, let's take a look at how the 2037 team shakes out.....

Catcher
Antonio Tobias (6/5/9/8/8 Talents)
Ricardo Arellano (5/5/7/6/5 Talents)

The catcher position may be the most talent starved position in the BBA currently. There are several top end guys that are really awesome. Another level of guys who are pretty good. But there really aren't enough starter caliber players to fill out all 30 teams. So in this scope Tobias is actually a very good catcher. Sure, he has his warts. Defensive proponents will schill him. But like him or not, Tobias has been a solid hitting 2-3 WAR catcher for a half a decade. Something a lot of teams around the league will envy as they cycle through lackluster catchers year after year.

Arellano is ok. He's got some pop but has never really performed. I suspect that Calvaruso was focusing on higher priorities and will look into backup catcher at a later time. Octavio Moreno is a top prospect in the system, but he just hopped the wall and is still years away.

First Base
Albert Carrasco (7/7/8/6/6 Talents)

When signing a bunch of high priced free agents, you need to have a solid base of young talent. Carrasco is the first that we will talk about here. He's a solid player that had a very promising rookie season. He isn't really an all star and probably needs a platoon partner. But a right handed 1B isn't too hard or expensive to find. As of right now, Carrasco is slated to be the everyday 1B so that will hurt his production a little bit. Lineu Aldo is the team's top hitting prospect. Like the catcher, he is still years away. Tony Hernandez (8/8/8/5/8 Talents) or Manuel Nunez (7/7/8/4/7 Talents) could step in soon, but they are also lefty bats.

Infield
Angel De Castillo (8/7/8/6/8 Talents)
Jesus Gonzales (7/6/7/5/6 Talents)
Pedro Suarez (6/6/5/3/8 Talents)
Dan Norman (5/6/9/8/4 Talents)

This is where the biggest part of the overhaul came. My first impression is that I'm glad San Antonio is keeping Suarez as their main short stop. De Castillo and Gonzales are both very capable of playing SS. The outlaws could of kept Norman at third and have one of the others slot to short. But by keeping the Suarez, who in my opionion is the best defensive shortstop in the league, it keeps De Castillo as an amazing 2B and Gonzales great at 3B. Defensively, this may be the slickist fielding starting unit in the league.

Offensively De Castillo and Gonzales are as solid as they come. You could argue that they are both coming off career years. But both have been consistantly solid enough to dispute any claims that they had fluke seasons. These two stabilize the offense and are capableof filling out middle of the order spots.


Outfield/DH
Chang-hyeok Chang (9/8/4/4/9 Talents)
Mark White (8/7/8/6/8 Talents)
Paul Warren (8/7/3/5/9 Talents)
Andy Seekins (7/8/9/5/5 Talents)
Cipriano Martinez (7/9/7/5/7 Talents)
George Claussen (7/7/8/7/6 Talents)
Nathan Naylor (6/7/7/6/6 Talents)
Fernando Colon (6/6/3/6/6 Talents)


There are some extra names here because I'm not sure how things will play out. Chang and his large contract will almost certainy be starting in left. I've already criticized the trade a bit. I'm not killing it and now, after seeing how the Outlaws were intent on bringing in 3 solid bats and changing the culture, I see the reasoning a bit more. And I do really like the player.

Mark White (8/7/8/6/8 Talents) in right could be one of the next break out stars in the league. Drafted as a 6th round pick back in 2032, Mark has been slowly bumping himself up the ranks. Looking at him now, he does everything well. I mean everything. Contact, gap, power, eye, avoid k, range, errors, arm, speed, running and even sac bunting are all average or better for a BBA player. He's not going to league the league in anything and will likely be a mutiple all star game snub. But when you watch him day to day you'll appreciate all the little things he does well.

Centerfield is lacking a bit. Incumbant starter Paul Warren (8/7/3/5/9 Talents) is a pretty decent hitter. He really shouldn't be the everyday CF though. Ideally he is a supesub type who gives days off and is a potent bat off the bench. The Outlaws don't really have an answer in CF at the moment. Dax Norris (7/8/8/3/8 Talents) and Roberto Vega (6/8/7/6/5 Talents) look to solidify the position in the future, but both will likely not be a factor in the 2017 season.

The DH spot looks to be some combination of Andy Seekins (7/8/9/5/5 Talents) and Cipriano Martinez (7/9/7/5/7 Talents). Both are right handed power hitters not capable of playing the field. Either one could do a respectable job and I suppose they could sneak in some extra at bats as backup 1B/COF.


Starters
Elliot Buckland (8/7/8 Talents)
Yrrigs Carpenter (10/8/7 Talents)
Mei-shan Ngui (8/6/7 Talents)
Bengt de Meza (9/7/5 Talents)
Fernand Richard (7/5/8 Talents)
Jerry Crawford (7/5/8 Talents)

On paper this staff looks decent. But as of this writing an evil ghost of the past struck the team in spring training. Buckland will miss 4 month with a torn labrum. With that blow to the staff, everyone is going to have to slot up a slot and the rotation doesn't look nearly as good.

Perhaps the most compelling storyline this season will be the inevitable debut of Yrrigs 'The Mad' Carpenter. The 20 year old phenom is expected to take the BBA by storm and could be one of the best young starters in the game today.

Beyond the Mad Carpenter is a bunch of back end pitchers who are pretty decent. Ngui had a bit of a break out season and should be one to watch. de Meza has always been a pitcher that lokksbetter then he really is. While Richard and Crawford are similar lefties who are serviceable, yet uninspiring.

The Outlaws have some decent pitchers on the way. We already talked about Carpenter who should be a lock to start the season with the team. Also Luis Pina (8/8/7 Talents) looks to be a year away. Though the dreaded changeup may force him to the pen. Similarly Ramon Sanchez (9/6/8 Talents) shares the same fate. Ernesto Lopes (8/5/8 Talents) could be decent if his stuff bumps experts predict.

Bullpen
Roberto Lizardo (10/7/6 Talents)
Jose Olivas (10/5/5 Talents)
Xavier Perez (9/6/8 Talents)
Eric Holliday (10/6/5 Talents)
Octavio Vega (10/6/5 Talents)
Roberto Cruz (9/7/5 Talents)
Angelo Delgado (10/5/5 Talents)

Lizardo should develop into being an anchor for this bullpen. Surrounding him are some failed starters and quirky hard throwers with some defiencies. I wouldn't call it a good bullpen, though I'd be scared to call it bad. There is a lot of volatility in these guys. Even though they are not prototypical relief pitchers, I can see some of them succeeding.

Vega is a player in particular that I will presonally keep an eye on. For starters, his nickname is "Horndog". How awesome is that for team news ideas? But moreover he is a lefty with 13 stuff potential and 12 changeup potential. That just seems like it should be a deady combination.

Jose Olivas (10/5/5 Talents) is also intriguing. While listed as a reliever(probably rightfully so).. he could be a starter. I wouldn't be afraid to spot start him against right handed heavy teams that don't walk a lot.

In conclusion, I like the moves made. It just can't stop here. San Antonio plugged a lot of the main holes with major players. It's a great start. Mad' Carpenter coming up gives them another superstar. Other key players such as Buckland, Ngui, White and Lizardo round out a very solid core of building blocks to work with. But there are still holes in the team. They desperately need a CF. Could use a right handed hitting platoon 1B. You can never have too much SP depth. And they could probably use another sure fire RP. It's very rare that a put together free agent team wins right way. It usually takes a season or two to get them to gel and understand how to get the most out of them, then make corresponding moves to supplement them.

The injury to Buckland further backs up my initial thought that San Antonio is probably still not a playoff team in 2037. I think the team is on the right track and will be within striking distance. So a trade or two could easily change my opinion. I also feel that with a solid farm like they have that this team has the ability to be a perennial playoff contender in a year or two. I just don't see it for 2037. My prediction 80-82.
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Re: 2037 San Antonio Outlaws

Post by Spiccoli » Thu Dec 06, 2018 8:49 am

Very nice write up.

It'll be fun to see how the offseason moves play out this year.
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Re: 2037 San Antonio Outlaws

Post by bigmike13 » Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:07 am

Excellent preview. Looking forward to seeing how this circus performs

Thanks
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Birmingham Bandits 2006-2029


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Re: 2037 San Antonio Outlaws

Post by RonCo » Thu Dec 06, 2018 9:43 am

The Sunbelt is going to be a tough division to handicap this year.
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