2045 Long Beach Preview
Posted: Wed Nov 25, 2020 4:57 pm
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The Long Beach Surfers are coming off a 100-62 season that saw them win the Pacific Division then battle their way to the Landis Memorial Series. The Surfers were a tough out for the eventual Champion San Antonio Outlaws with the series going all seven games.
The Surfers then had to deal with the realities of a BBA off season. Gone are Lee McHone, Lionnel Crepin, Wilson Ford, Jose Torres, Rocky Allen, and Kelile Komen.
Long Beach then signed four players (Julio Velasco, Luis ‘Love Machine’ Costello and Jorge Nevarez). They selected C Felix Anaya in the Rule V Draft out of the Phoenix Talons organization.
The Starters are led by Long Beach Ace Danya Tchekanov. Tchekanov is followed by a guy that has been converted from the ‘pen to a starter in Ernesto Delgado. Delgado could be the #1 guy on some teams. The rotation after that looks a bit murky going into spring training. Jorge Alfaro will probably be the #3 guy followed by Raul Alvarez and one of these two young guns, Mathieu ‘Fingers’ Valette or Del Willis. Willis made the jump from AA but looks like he may succeed in the majors.
Marcel’s Prediction for Danya Tchekanov:
2044 Season Stats-
224.2 IP. 167 Hits allowed 59 ER. 24 HR allowed 32 BB. 211 K. 2.37 ERA 8.5 K/9 1.3 BB/9
1.0 HR/9 0.89 WHIP. 3.14 FIP
2045 Prediction- 191 IP 170 Hits allowed 73 ER. 24 HR allowed 42 BB. 172 K. 3.45 ERA. 8,1 K/9. 2.0 BB/9. 1.1 HR/9. 1.11 WHIP. 3.66 FIP 0.23 Regression
The bullpen will be led by Cornelio Lozano. Lozano was one of the leagues elite relievers making 83 appearances with 1 start. He pitched 150 2/3 innings and posted a 2.03 ERA. He is matched with Luis Manuel Rodriguez as bookend stoppers. Rodriguez made 72 appearances and pitched 126 1/3 innings posting a 2.88 ERA. These two pile up the strikeouts and shorten the game. Add in Francisco Lucero and opponents will have a hard timesharing. Lucero will probably be able to give some big innings after putting up 89 2/3 innings last season with a 2.41 ERA. Look for him to also be over the 100 IP mark in 2045. After this group the talent level drops a bit. These guys will give you some innings but will probably be used in short stints to bridge the gap between the starter and the stoppers.
The offense will be looking for some improvement from Manuel Aguilar, Jr. He will probably be in a platoon with Henry Jones III and come in late in the game as a defensive replacement. They will count on Luis Costello to replace the run production of Lionel Crepin who signed with New Orleans. Centerfield will be a question early on for the Surfers. Will they play Millard Younger there all season or will they make a move to fill it with a guy with better defense?
Gonzalo Martinez will be in his usual spot in the lineup as the DH.
In 2044 he put up 33 hR with 80 RBI, scored 97 runs and slashed .306/.365/.540.
Marcels predicts his stat line in 2045 as:
606 PA. 547 AB. 87 Runs. 165 Hits. 29 Doubles. 6 Triples. 28 HR. 41 walks 95 K
5 SB. .302/.341/.532. 0.13 Regression
The Surfers have elite pitching and an offense that can put some runs up on the board. They will be in the running this season for the division championship unless injuries derail the season. In every season the Pacific Division has a team that comes out of no where and shocks the division. If this happens, it will make it difficult for teams to dethrone the Surfers.
Prediction- 92-70
