2041 Portland Lumberjacks Preview

[jleddy]

At first glance, the Lumberjacks’ inaugural 2040 season was as disappointing as one would expect from a first-year expansion team. Portland won just 58 games, the second-lowest total in the Brewster, edging out only fellow expansion club Charlotte. However, advanced metrics suggest the 'Jacks had an expected record of 64-98, a six win improvement of their actual record. Additionally, long-time BBA general manager Chris Wilson admittedly felt revitalized by taking over the new club after decades of overseeing the Madison Wolves. Wilson showed his front office prowess over the course of the year, wheeling and dealing at a feverish pace to set up his club down the road. With the 2041 season on the horizon, fan interest remains at a perfect 100, proof that fans are excited to see what Lumberjacks' baseball has in store for them.

Projected Starting Lineup
CF Bing-Zhang Kim
C Hedde Veenman
1B Jon Mick
RF Sadaharu Oh III
DH Facial Engeitado
LF Jorge Lopez
SS Jaime Ramirez
3B Jorge Reyes
2B Nikita Schipper

Quite honestly, what Wilson plans to do with the roster is anyone's guess. The Portland 40-man roster is chockful of interchangeable players, some redundant, some worthy of splitting a platoon role. It's both a blessing and curse, as hot and cold streaks alike will keep Wilson busy juggling his lineup to find the perfect recipe for success. The lineup and bench is full of familiar Brewster names like Mick, Oh III and Fernando Martinez. After struggling for two straight seasons in California, catcher Veenman was scooped up in the expansion draft and had a fine bounce back campaign (2.8 WAR). With the lack of on-base talent on the major league roster, Veenman will again be asked to perform at the top of the line-up to set-up boppers Mick and Oh (33 and 23 HR in '40, respectively.) Up-and-coming prospect Engeitado may be given the spotlight to drop his attempt as a two-way player and instead become a breakout offensive source for Portland. 23-year-old Kim, a defensive whiz in the outfield and terror on the bases, was overmatched at times as a rookie last year but Wilson hope he'll find his stroke in the batter's box this season. The strength of the Lumberjacks will be the defense up the middle, key for even a championship team, let alone a new expansion team looking for an identity. With several options to plug in and out of the lineup to help prevent runs, expect Wilson to maximize what little talent the major league club has.

Projected Starting Rotation
RHP Feliciano Rafael
LHP Ernie Kinney
RHP Bengt de Maza
RHP Manuel Soliz
RHP Ghi-cheng Kum

Projected Bullpen
CL Wen Huang
SU Scotts Joe
SU Hector Diaz
MID Nelson Crtima
MID Crisco Crespo
MID Marcelo Polar
LR Eduardo Reyes
LOOGY Flynn Bernard

In a city that averages 43 inches of rain per year, Wilson could throw out Rafael, the organization's first premier free agent signing this off-season, then pray for four straight days of rain. The rotation is poor, which is understandable for a second-year club in a league starved for pitching talent, but Rafael is the very definition of an ace, save for his oft-injured right shoulder and back. Signed to a whopping $120M deal that will likely keep the 2038 Nebraska Award winner in the Pacific Northwest for the next six years, the Lumberjacks will need the Brazilian righty to make as many starts as his body will allow if they expect to see their win total rise in the coming seasons. The rest of the rotation and bullpen is made up of Brewster cast-offs, has-beens and never-will-bes and one expects Wilson to keep an eye on the waiver wire all season long to see if he can pluck any talent to add to the team.

Best Selling Bobblehead
While Rafael is the team's best player and bonafide superstar, it's Jon Mick that will keep the seats filled at The Trail. The accurately nicknamed Porky is an original Lumberjack and his potentially untradable $20M salary will likely keep him with the team through the rest of his season, and that's just fine with the fans.

Rent, Don't Own
If I'm a Lumberjack, I'd be weary of laying down roots in Stumptown. Given Wilson's heady ways and desire to field a respectable team as soon as possible, pending free agents like Fernando Martinez and Hedde Veenman, and especially pitchers likes Bengt de Meza and Manuel Soliz could be flipped at some point to fill-out the lower minors. They say the key to real estate is location, location, location and for some Portland players, that location may be elsewhere by season's end.

Heavy Lies The Crown
Twenty-year old Jorge Lopez, a speedy LF/CF out of the Dominican Republic, will likely crack the Lumberjacks' Opening Day roster. After putting up a whopping 6.2 WAR in Triple-A last season (.325/.409/.557 with stellar defense in centerfield), the youngster is one of the few bright spots Portland has to offer. Until future first-rounders (Portland holds the #2 overall pick in the 2041 Draft) make their way up the organizational ladder, prospects like Lopez will be asked to perform to their peak to keep the team afloat the standings.

Recap
You can't question Chris Wilson's record as general manager but taking the helm of an expansion club is daunting. Look for Wilson to make incremental improvements in the standings over the next few years, while the majority of improvement happens in their minor league rankings (ranked 32 out of 32 as of the start of spring training) and on the team's financial balance sheet. This year, the Portland season will experience several highs (Rafael's brilliant arm) and lows (Rafael's busted arm) but should improve on last year's record by a few games. PREDICTION: 62-100

[felipe]

Excellent preview;

[7teen]

Nicely done, Joe.

Truth be told I'm not exactly sure what I'm doing offensively just yet. You hit the nail on the head that there are a ton of interchangeable pieces there. Just too bad a lot of them aren't very good. There is a good chance that Wheelz starts in CF which could push Engeitado out for a while to start the season in AAA (even though he's clearly ready for the BBA but I don't have room right now)

The pitching is, yeah bad. Even established teams can't do much to rebuild a rotation right now so an expansion team has little to no hope of getting much other than doing what I did with Rafael and hope!

Portland should also have the 2nd and 3rd overall draft picks this year so, fingers extremely crossed, we have at least 3 top end draftable players.