2039 Brooklyn Robins Preview

[StormZ_23]

2038 Review:
The past few seasons in Brooklyn have been interesting to say the least. They have made the playoffs two times in the past 4 seasons, but they did not make much noise when there as Rockville have dominated the JL for the past few seasons. Ultimately, last season was a season to forget for Brooklyn. They finished the season with a 62-100 record, but they will be picking at the #8 spot of the 2039 draft. This team should be top 5 in the draft, but they are not. It will depend how deep this year's draft class is and how good Brooklyn's scouts are so they can find a future star. So, Brooklyn are now in the early stages of a rebuild. They have some great prospects in the minors, but they are all in rookie league or short season A ball. The next few seasons are going to be rough as the team's goal is to maintain high levels of fan interest so they don't lose revenue. It will be a challenge for GM Alan Ehlers to build this team back up. But, it's a new season, so let's look at what Ehlers has built for this rebuilding year.

2039 Projected 27 Man Roster:
Catchers:
Ignacio Marrero
Miguel Ledezma

The team signed Marrero to a one year deal so it's clear he will be the starting catcher on opening day. He is a great defensive catcher with a high work ethic, so hopefully that can rub off on the young players, particularly with rule 5 draft pick Miguel Ledezma. Ledezma was taken in the rule 5 draft from the Atlantic City Gamblers. He should fill the backup catcher spot nicely and could be solid catcher in the future. The team actually took another catcher in the rule 5 draft, León Romo. He is not as developed as Ledezma and I project that he will be sent back to his original team, the Mexico City Aztecs. As for the fourth catcher on the spring training roster, Wyle Tupin, I think it's best he stays in the minors and continues his development for a possible starting spot next season.

Infielders:
1B José Carlos Gallegos
1B Luzvimindo Arbizo
2B José Campos
SS J.J McQuade
SS Arief Alatas
3B Nico Eijpe
3B Clarence Kirkpatrick

The infield seems pretty set when looking at the spring training roster. This group seems to be a bunch of average to below average major leaguers, no real stars here. Gallegos is not a good defender at all, but he can hit the ball pretty well. Arbizo is great defender who can defend multiple positions and can easily steal bases. He's not a great hitter, but he can draw walks. These two first basemen could platoon or Arbizo could be the everyday first baseman and Gallegos can be the DH. Campos is the only second baseman on the roster so he is a lock to be the starting second baseman. He is a great defender and can steal bases. He is similar to Arbizo except Campos does not draw as many walks. J.J. McQuade is an overpaid shortstop, but he is very popular among the fans. His jerseys can be seen all over the stadium. He is not a bad player either. After being traded from Vancouver, McQuade uncharacteristically hit over .260 in Brooklyn. He is a leader in the locker room and has knowledge to give to the young players. Alatas will be the utility guy for this team. He is not a good hitter, but he can cover multiple decisions. Eijpe was traded to Brooklyn last season, but he did opposite of what McQuade did. He hit worse when he joined the Robins. He's never been an amazing hitter, but he definitely has more to give to the Robins lineup. Kirkpatrick is a young third baseman with a cannon arm, but he does not have great range. He is a decent hitter and has the potential to get better. It might be better if he played in AAA so he can play everyday, but he is 26, so this might be the best he gets. To characterize this group of guys, it seems to be defense is the key, while offense is an afterthought. These guys will make some great plays throughout the season, but don't expect them to get on base too much.

Outfield:
LF Leonardo Rincón
LF Albie Racist
CF Juan Sweetworld
RF António Cordero
RF Gualtiero Crisci

Rincón will probably be the starting left fielder. He is not the best hitter, but he can play great defense and has great speed on the basepaths. His lack of contact ability will probably keep him out of the conversation for lead off duties. Albie Racist is an interesting player. He is a capable hitter, but is terrible in left field. However, he can also provide value out of the bullpen as he does have experience as a reliever. So, if the bullpen is completely worn out, Albie will be the guy to save the day. Juan Sweetworld is a decent player who is making too much money for his production level. But, his jersey sells and creates some nice merchandise revenue. So, he is very similar to McQuade. He hit well for Brooklyn last season, so if he hits well again, he could a trade candidate at the deadline, but a lot of money would have to be retained. In right field, we have Cordero and Crisci. Cordero is a young guy as he is only 22. He is a great defender and is quick on the basepaths. However, he can actually hit the ball, unlike his other teammates who are great defenders. The highest level he's played is AA, so I wouldn't be surprised if he started the season in AAA. Crisci continues the theme of great defense and speed with below average hitting. He will start in right field if Cordero is sent down. This is actually a decent group of guys, better than the infielders in my opinion. However, they are still not many good hitters, so the production from this lineup might end up ranking among the worst in the JL, if not the entire league.

Starting Pitchers:
Carlos Delgado
Douglas Wils
Jerry Crawford
Takeo Aoki
Felipe Rosado

I have to be honest, this is not a good rotation. The great defense behind the pitchers will save some runs, but this rotation is not going to be good. The ace of this staff will likely end up being Carlos Delgado, who has started only ten games in his entire career. He is being converted into a starter at the age of 34. This experiment will either end up being great or terrible for the Robins. Wils did not play well for the Robins last season and will look to rebound this season. He is a great leader in the clubhouse, so at least he has that going for him. Crawford was not too bad for the Robins last season as he ended the season with a 1.6 WAR. He will also be the only lefty in the rotation, so he will playing a vital role in the rotation despite the fact he should not be heavily relied upon. Aoki has a great work ethic. That's pretty much the only good thing I can say about him. I credit him for working to get better, but he was abysmal for the Robins last season. If he does not stick in this rotation, he may be out of the league within the next 2 to 3 seasons. Rosado is a hard worker and has the stuff to stick in the league. If he can develop his control, he can be a solid pitcher who can actually be relied upon. However, he has been on three different teams within the past two seasons and he has producing worse for each team he joins. This rotation is not good at all, it will be a contender for worst rotation in the league. You have to feel sorry for Brooklyn fans.

Relief Pitchers:
Corey Jackson
Santiago Carranza
José Harrara
Scotts Joe
Jesús Hernández
Bill Carter
Larry Good
Steven Bobovnik

This bullpen has some decent pieces in it. However, let's start with the underwhelming guys. Jackson is basically an AAAA player at this point. He has spent the past few seasons in the minors, playing pretty well. But, when he gets to the majors, he plays terribly. Carranza has not played above A ball so he could be out of his element this season. However, he has solid potential and could even be a starter one day. For now, he will sit in the bullpen and should only come in the game when the game has already been decided. Harrara has shown great potential in the minors and he could be dominant in the future. It's definitely a good idea to give him a shot now. Scotts Joe is another AAAA player who is only there to fill the bullpen. Hernández is not great, but he can get the job done. Bill Carter has electric stuff, but just like many guys with great stuff, he suffers from control issues. He's only 25, so he definitely has time to figure it out. Larry Good will most likely be a setup guy. He is very good. If he ever develops a third pitch, he needs to be sent to the rotation. He is only 22, so he will be a great asset for the Robins. Finally we have the closer Steven Bobovnik. Superstar closer Ryosei Akiyama should have this spot, but he is injured for the next 4 months. When he comes back, the bullpen will be massively upgraded. For now, we have a solid closer in Bobovnik. He was great for Brooklyn last season in the setup role. He should have no problems adjusting to his new role. The bullpen is not great, but it is certainly better than the rotation. Unfortunately, these guys will be heavily used this season because of the rotation so expect some injuries coming from this bullpen. However, there are some guys here that could be traded to contending teams. Ehlers will have to hope some of these guys turn over a new leaf.

Prediction:
This team will not be fun to watch this season. There are not a lot of great hitters and the pitching for the most part is very underwhelming. Great defense and aggressive baserunning might keep fans interested, but this team is in the early phase of a rebuild so don't expect many great things to come out of Brooklyn this season. I hope I'm wrong though. I predict a 61-101 record with a last place finish in the JL Atlantic, but it could be a lot worse.

[ae37jr]

You nailed most of my roster choices and seem about right in predictions.

My roster as a whole lacks any above average players. I'm focusing on financial structure and the minors right now. So my roster decisions are based on popularity, personalities, cross training to maximize tradeability, service time "manipulation", and hoarding rule 5/waiver players. it's a disjointed mess and anyone who wants to win games, should not try this at home. But long term it's the right move.

I'm a little behind in your preview. I'm on vacation next week and have been trying to line up things to do. But I promise to get it done by the weekend.

[RonCo]

Nice work.