2040 San Fernando Bears Preview

[StormZ_23]

2039 Review:
My new division rival had quite the season last year. After a disappointing 2038 campaign, the Bears bounced back and finished first in the Pacific with a 90-72 record. What happened? Well, Dusty Rhodes decided to make history and you pair that with great seasons from Juan Mendoza, Ángel Garcia, Luis Maldonado, and Tai hoi Wie, you get a great hitting core. However, apart from Knud Zeitler and Sergei Hopkins, the pitching was subpar, which ultimately let the team down in the playoffs as they lost in 7 games to Calgary in the Doubleday Series.

2040 Projected Lineup (vs. RHP):
1. SS Jared Gillstrom
2. 1B Tai hoi Wie
3. 3B Juan Mendoza
4. RF Luis Maldonado
5. LF Cris Martínez
6. 2B Ángel Garcia
7. DH Pedro Garza
8. C Bin Okorafor
9. CF Grant Lee

2040 Projected Starting Rotation:
1. Sergei Hopkins
2. Knud Zeitler
3. Jon Reed
4. Kidanu Cherono
5. Sixto Hernández

Both of these were given to me by the GM Randy Weigand himself, so I would say this is pretty credible information. He did make some changes to the outfield for the last set of spring training games, but I'll just stick with what he gave me. However, this would make my job too easy. So, I'll try to predict the 27 man roster instead. I prefer doing that anyway.

Catchers:
Bin Okorafor
Miguel Valéncia

There are only two catchers on the 40 man roster, so it's a safe bet to say that these two will be the two catchers on the opening day roster. Okorafor is entering his second big league season after a decent rookie campaign. He hits for power, plays solid defense, but strikes out way too much. Valéncia is not a good backup catcher. He has some pop in his bat and has a decent eye at the plate, but he cannot play defense. That's the purpose of a backup catcher, someone who can fill defensively if something happens to the starter. Don't be surprised if San Fernando is currently searching for another backup catcher.

Infield:
1B Tai hoi Wie
1B Kan Ishihara
2B Ángel Garcia
3B Juan Mendoza
SS Jared Gillstrom
SS Jesús Flores
SS Tony Loftis

This may be the best infield in the league. Wie is a fantastic first baseman who can hit for batting titles and play above average defense. Garcia had his best season yet last year and will be looking to increase his stock for free agency this off-season. Mendoza just signed a 6 year deal worth over $100 million. He has made his money but don't expect him to slow down in production anytime soon. Gillstrom has bounced around the league the past few seasons, but he still one of the league's best players. It will be interesting to see him at shortstop if Weigand continues down that path. Ishihara is solid backup first baseman who could probably start on a different team. Flores seems to be the utility man for this infield. He can play any position in the middle infield with ease. Loftis is nice player to have on the bench too. His speed makes him a threat as a pinch runner late in games. I am extremely jealous of this infield.

Outfield:
LF Cris Martínez
LF/DH Pedro Garza
LF Donald Cox
LF Jesús López
CF Grant Lee
RF Luis Maldonado

There are some great players here, but there is a glaring weakness on the defensive side. Martínez looks like a rising star in this league. He will be entering his rookie season with high expectations. He should meet those expectations at the plate, but mostly likely not in the outfield. Grant Lee is the best defender in this outfield and it's good to hear that your best outfield defender is your center fielder. He may never repeat his 2037 season, but he is still capable at the plate. Maldonado is one of the best defensive right fielders in the league and is great at the plate. He doesn't strike out too much, walks at a good rate, and hits for power. Now here comes the problem for this outfield group, the backups do not play good defense. Cox has the arm but not the range. López just flat out can't play defense. The other outfielder on the spring training roster, Reynaldo Ávila, is a good left fielder but is not ready for big league play. Weigand is going to have to start looking soon for some backup outfielders.

Starting Pitchers:
1. Sergei Hopkins
2. Knud Zeitler
3. Jon Reed
4. Kidanu Cherono
5. Sixto Hernández

The Bears had a busy off-season. Along with the signings of Gillstrom and Mendoza, the team shipped off injury prone ace Feliciano Rafael to Long Beach. He didn't play much for the Bears last season and he wasn't amazing when he played. How will this rotation fare this season? Well, it's very top heavy. Hopkins can definitely fill the role that Rafael left behind. Zeitler is a solid mid rotation starter, but him at the #2 position may be a stretch. Podcast favorite Jon Reed will continue to strikeout lots of guys as well as walk a lot of guys. Then we have the back of the rotation. Cherono is not a bad pitcher, but him at the #4 spot could cause fans to worry. Hernández is a rule 5 pick but because of the lack of rotation arms, I don't expect him to be sent back to Twin Cities any time soon. Could he be Jon Reed 2.0? He certainly has some solid pitches, but we will have to wait and see. If injuries plague this rotation, it will either lead to the downfall of the team or the GM will make a desperation trade mid-season.

Bullpen:
Miroslav Tomanek
Carlos Padilla
Carlos Ocumpos
Alfonso Rincón
Kyle Wright
José Espinoza
Mitchell Swanson

This group of guys have a theme. Each of them are good at one, maybe two aspects of pitching, but are terrible at the other aspects. For example, Ocumpos has great stuff but no control. Rincón can paint the corners of the strike zone, but his stuff is no good. That is the story for the majority of these pitchers. Tomanek, the projected closer, and Padilla are solid pitchers. It's a shame that one of the team's better relievers, Miguel Corona, will be missing most of the season with a torn flexor tendon. Weigand needs to find relievers fast.

Prediction:
The offense is going to carry this team, no doubt about that. The x factor for this team will be its pitching. Will the starting rotation overachieve or will injuries ruin them? Can the GM find diamonds in the rough for the bullpen? I don't think this team misses the playoffs, but a couple bad injuries would make the end of the season very interesting. I'm predicting an 86-76 record and a wild card birth.

[ae37jr]

Is Gillstrom really going to be the everyday SS?

[jleddy]

Is Gillstrom really going to be the everyday SS?

I would think he would be at 2B with Garcia at SS?

[crobillard]

Yeah, I'd go Garcia at short.

[usnspecialist]

I am torn on what to do with the MIF pairing because there are a lot of lefty hitters in this league, which would probably lead more grounders to the 2B side (at least in theory). In a perfect world gillstrom is at 3B (and he will play there if there is any injury which will push Mendoza to DH). The only ST change I made was playing Maldonado in CF in an effort to get some rudimentary cross training in.

Pretty good preview overall, im definitely very top heavy and I know this.

[StormZ_23]

Just thought I would say that my prediction was 100% correct

[RonCo]

Wow...