So what was the offseason like for Mumbai? Were they a flash in the pan or beginning a dynasty.... stay tuned. Here is the breakdown of the 2040 Mumbai Metro Stars
So let's take a look at the preseason predictions, as brought to you by the official ootp prognosticator, it doesn't look good. They are put dead last in the league, with a projected record of 74-88. Frankly, this causes me to completely lose any faith in this prognosticator. While I don't expect them to repeat the fantastic season of a year ago, I think this is a tremendous undersell of the team, as we shall see.
Note that ratings below are in comparison to BBA: generally, UMEBA ratings are almost twice as high for overall, and generally about one point higher for the individual skills. On average:
45: these are your all-star players
40: good, solid everyday players
35: could platoon, start, or play secondary roles on team.
30: replacement level
Starting Pitchers
Player | T | OV/POT | Stuff | Move | Con |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Motoichi Fujita | R | 40/40 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
Aurelio Fernández | R | 40/40 | 7 | 2 | 6 |
Orlando Núñez | R | 40/40 | 5 | 3 | 5 |
Reese Rayner | R | 40/40 | 6 | 3 | 8 |
Juan Rocha | R | 40/40 | 5 | 2 | 6 |
Let's take a look at the pen:
Bullpen
Player | T | role | OV/POT | Stuff | Move | Con |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leonardo Gómez | R | LR | 35/35 | 5 | 4 | 8 |
Kevin Hicken | R | LR | 35/35 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
Lyndon Rosebotham | R | MR | 30/30 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
Hsin-pei 'Doodle' Guo | R | MR | 35/35 | 5 | 4 | 8 |
Irving Espinoza | R | SU | 35/35 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
Stanford Chase | R | SU | 35/35 | 5 | 7 | 4 |
Mike 'Kid Rock' Manning | L | CL | 30/30 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
Overall, I would grade them at B-/C+ for pitching.
Catching
Player | B | OV/POT | Con | Gap | Pow | Eye | Avd K | DEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jose Romero | R | 40/40 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 5 |
Honório Queixada | R | 35/40 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 8 |
Grade: A (it will be an A+ if Quexida reaches his potential during the season).
Infield
Player | Pos | B | OV/POT | Con | Gap | Pow | Eye | Avd K | DEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Juan Parra | 1B | R | 40/40 | 5 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 4 |
Michael McCarthy | 2B | R | 30/35 | 4 | 5 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 7 |
Manny Silva | 3B | R | 30/30 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
Baltasar Fronteiro | SS | R | 30/30 | 4 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 |
Roberto Pérez | 1B | L | 30/30 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 |
Gilbert Hansen | 3B | R | 30/30 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 |
Outfield/DH
Player | Pos | B | OV/POT | Con | Gap | Pow | Eye | Avd K | DEF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jesús Fernández | LF | R | 30/30 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 7 |
Michael MacCrain | CF | R | 30/35 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 |
Robert 'Chancellor' Gowron | RF | R | 40/40 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 5 |
Anthony Williams | DH/LF | L | 35/35 | 5 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 |
José 'Oz' Olivarez | DH/LF | R | 30/35 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
Daniel McDaniel | LF/RF | R | 30/30 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 5 |
Jack Bullock | RF | R | 30/35 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 6 |
The outfield is capable. Gowron is awesome at the plate and adequate on defense (and he has a rocket for an arm). The platoon of Williams and Olivarez at DH is acceptable, but not special. And MacCrain has great range in the outfield --- I suspect the reason that he is projected as a 35 is that he is still training at CF, as his DEF should be a bit better than it is currently showing (maybe an 8 instead of a 7). The weakness is in Left Field. Fernandez has ok defense, but hits more like a middle infielder. If I were managing the team I would really like to get someone with more contact there. Another weakness is that there is nobody except for MacCrain who can play center field. I might suggest moving McDaniel down to the minors and bring up somebody that can backup MacCrain. Overall, I would give this team a C in the outfield.
Bottom Line
So what's the verdict? I think that, based on the way the team is currently constructed, it is pretty average. It has a weak infield, good catching, but average outfield and pitching. However, there is still budget room to get a few more guys. If they can bring in a great closer, improve their middle infield, and backup their Center fielder, they could really make a noise this year. The intangible is that the team is really well tailored to their ballpark, which should give them a slight boost.
Prediction for 2040: 81-81, as currently constructed, finishing in third place in BANC. But with some improvements they could potentially get up to maybe 90 wins, and be a wild card team. But they are unlikely to repeat as champions.