Atlantic City has been under the guiding hand of Joshua Biddle for 13 seasons, bow, and has been to the post season three of those years—all in the first seven of them. Then the front office took the Gamblers into a rebuild that saw a bottoming out with 65 wins in 2039. It’s been up hill since, though, with the team winning 78 games last year, their largest total since 2036 when they tallied 90. It all leads pundits to ask: Are the Gamblers really coming out of the cold? Fans are cautiously optimistic.
Part of their optimism may be that even if the Gamblers don’t get better on the flop, the fans still get to watch Juan Rivera play. The kid is just that good. In a forest of young trees, he’s a redwood—dropping a league-topping 9.7 WAR and topping even the great Dennis French to cart home the JL Sawyer Silk award. He’s 23, years old. Oh, to be that kind of young.
Add to this the buzz that surrounds adding a 29-year-old ex-Nebraska winner in Kevin Morales, and you’ve got the makings of a pretty good stew. Morales had a down season on Wichita, sure. But doesn’t everyone? Biddle has shown a lack of fear when it comes to paying for top pitching, and on the whole it’s worked out. Right now there are a lot of eggs in those two baskets, but they are, admittedly, good baskets.
There are more reasons for optimism here, The turn, as it were, and the river are teeming with guys who can augment these two superstars. Veteran infielders Adrian Salazar at first and Keith Dean at second can still play a bit, though Dean’s glove is going questionable. The club is likely looking for an upgrade at shortstop, but saw the (slightly rushed?) arrival of Ernesto Gonzalez at third base last year. At 1.7 WAR, Gonzalez was good enough, but look for him to blossom by the end of this season. He’s got the skills to be elite.
At 22, catcher Randy Bader is also entering his second season. Pitchers love him. The future is always uncertain, but he looks like one of those guys who just quietly goes about his business of winning.
And then there’s Rivera’s outfield, which—when you add 21-year-old Antonio Martinez and 24-year-old Millard Younger to it—may well be one of the top four or five in the game. Millard struggled last season,, and an upgrade may be needed soon, but bounce-back is certainly likely. Martinez (5.3 WAR last year, good enough for the RF Puckett, is another elite quality youngster. The 4th and 5th in this mix are Stewart Illingsworth and John Noble. At 21, Jose Valentine needs to play somewhere. Nuff said.
The coda here is that Atlantic City’s offense was 4th best in the Johnson last year, and with growth of their kids, should be even better in 2042. It would be a fun team to watch, I think. Of course, the pitching was 4th worst in the Johnson, so it would’ve been a frustrating team to watch, too. The powers taketh, the arms giveth away.
So, the question of how much further upstream the river will take the Gamblers falls squarely on the pitching staff to answer. The good news here is that 22-year-old Thiongo Amir proved he can pitch in the league, and 21-year-old [ur=https://statspl.us/brewster/reports/new ... 1930.htmll]Augusto Moran[/url] had moments where he looked the part. There’s also the makings of a pretty okay bullpen, especially if rookie closer Carlos Flores can carry his 0.92 ERA up from AAA. (Aside, if there’s anything more likely to cause anxiety than the term “rookie closer,” I don’t know what it is.)
Regardless, there are some causes for optimism, but enough holes to cause a Debbie Downer to have a field day. Other issues are that when it comes to arms, the minor league cupboards are barren for then next couple years…and that the Atlantic is full of young teams clawing their way up the charts.
What’s going to happen is anyone’s guess. I could see this team getting it together, making a deal or two along the way, and stealing their way into the post season. I could also see the pitching implode again, and the team struggle.
For now, though, I’m going to say the Gamblers will draw five more games this year, and finish at 83-79.
