Atlantic City is the gold standard in the Atlantic Division led by 2041 and 2042 Atlantic Silk winner Juan Rivera. Antonio Martinez is a monster as well and would be the best offensive player on most teams. Ernesto Gonzalez and Stewart Illingworth are solid but have been inconsistent in the first few years of their career. The Gamblers were bolstered with great rookie seasons out of Jose Romero and Cinema Jones. There may not be a better middle-infielder offensively than the Rockville duo of Pepper and Zhao. Julio Barajas and Wilson Alomar provide strong bats out of the corner outfield spots. If Matthew Reilly is really the .980 OPS player he showed as a rookie in 300 at-bats, look out. Juan Donestevas and Raul Fernandez both shined in their sophomore seasons in New Orleans and provide serious pop. Uber-prospects 3B Mal Fountain and 2B Mahine Karetu look ready to go this year and will be both favorites to win the Gillstrom. The Crawdads' offense has huge potential and could very well end up the top unit in the division. Brooklyn leans on (and will continue to do so) studs Felipe Vega and Sawyer Slizz and Art O'Bryan is steady as they come. Young Dick Walton is still a question mark and the Robins have a glaring hole at third base, traditionally an offense-first position. Charm City is a team built around pitching and defense, but shortstop Wilson Andrade is one of the best players in the entire league. Quinton Lara has proven to be one of the top, if not premier, offensive catchers in all of the Brewster. Montreal has Aldo the Awesome and swinging an off-season deal to add backstop Joe Bradshaw was a brilliant move. The questions around the Blazer offense are "Is Eduardo Gonzalez is a bust?" and "Can the outfield be led by rookie Peter Crocker?" Jacksonville will desperately need Pancho Costa to breakout in his second season. Jeremy Pickens fell on his face last year but he is still only 23-years-old. Holden Dickson has nothing else to prove in Triple-A (40 HR last year) but can his game translate to the majors? The 'Canes will need Zuniga to be back to his prior self. When your offense is led by an underdeveloped 22-year-old in DH Andrew Gallagher, what more is there to say about Charlotte and their offense?
PITCHING
New Orleans has a Big Three that are as good as they come in Jim Armstrong, Gilberto Nevarez and Cristian Garcia. The bullpen is strong and deep led by closer Renato Lacerda. Everyone knows how great Arthur Dempster continues to be in his 30s but how much can Rockville get out of Dave Martin and Dan Cannon? Yun Zhang adds some much needed youth to the rotation and there may not be a better bullpen with the likes of reigning Nebraska and Egan Award winner Danny Leach plus Luis Equivel and Jason Hone. With the Rockville trio starting having to start slowing down at some point, Charm City has a chance at having the division's best rotation from top to bottom: Feliciano Rafael, Luis Rojas, Jim Wilkinson, Mauro Rios and Maup Manshert. They'll need 200+ quality innings out of Rafael, a number he hit last year for the first time since 2038. Add in 21-year-old Bill Constable, the #1 prospect in the Brewster, as a potential ace. Nevarez should be a shutdown closer but he’s been a disappointing enigma the last two years. Thiongo Amir is solid but is Atlantic City okay with him as their Opening Day starter? The Gamblers smartly addressed pitching in free agency (starters Pepe Jaramillo and Scotty Pendleton and relievers Jesus Arce and Adam Bernard) and Carlos Flores is one of the most electric closers in the division and the moves made over the winter could make this a very solid staff top to bottom. Brooklyn has workhorse Takeo Aoki to front the rotation and Pierre Legrand was excellent in his first season as a Robin. Relievers Curt Phillips and Ramon Martinez are good, but not great...this is a staff desperately in need of an ace if they want any hope to leapfrog their division stalwarts. Keijo Reini, who Charlotte has been shopping this winter, has all the talent in the world but has yet to find a home. The last two seasons have seen the flamethrower bouncing from the rotation to a multi-inning stopper role…which will it be this year? Ouakili broke out last year and will need to repeat at least 90% of his stat line to help keep Charlotte out of the 100 loss territory. Brazini was strong in his first “full” season but with his injury history, will he ever really have a “full” season? Lance Harrison is solid but after Montreal has made several trades this off-season, he finds himself as the de facto ace. One such move was the addition of In-sung Yi, who may prove to be a bust even transitioning from Omaha's hitter haven to pitcher-friendly Ubisoft Field. Here's a major key for the Blazers: Hey Don Jaramillo, shit or get off the pot. Drafted in the first round back in 2039, he’s yet to make it out of A-ball; a litany of injuries and handling with kid gloves has seemingly his growth and Montreal has been paying for it ever since. Also two-way wonder Carlton Casson didn’t pitch a single inning last year despite having great stuff and a elite-elite slider...he could (and should) step in as the club’s closer. Fireballing Carlos Rodriguez is the top option in for the Jacksonville rotation and he's now 18 months removed from a partially torn UCL. Hurricane fans are going to live and die every five games on Big Time’s shoddy elbow. Closer Fernando Guerrero is strong but the rest of the bullpen is questionable and 2043 first-rounder Scott Davis is far from ready and should not be rushed, no matter how dire Jacksonville's pitching situation gets.
