2046 Beirut Cedars Preview

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woods
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2046 Beirut Cedars Preview

Post by woods » Tue Feb 16, 2021 12:46 pm

This will be the first of my Burt League previews. I started with Beirut since it looks like their off-season work was the most complete, so please don't pull off any blockbuster trades before Opening Day, thanks.

2045 record: 94-64

2045 recap: First-year GM Brian Hughes worked well with the pieces he was given. The Cedars made it all the way to the Round of Four, where they lost to Manama in a very close series. Starting pitcher David ‘Rebel’ Díaz won the Rookie of the Year award, and knuckleballer Charlie Iron-Knife led the staff with 17 wins. The Cedars’ offense, led by veteran bats including António Baca, José Estrada and Wilton Rivera, won five of the nine Platinum Stick Awards (Manama took home the other four), in part because they mashed an UMEBA-leading 230 home runs.


2046 outlook: The Cedars made a series of trades of their aging superstars, which netted them a few key pieces for the future, but probably hurts them more in the near-term. Gone are Iron-Knife, center fielder Weaver Ripley, and shortstop Rúbem Bordonhos. The biggest impact piece coming back to Beirut was Marco Acheson, a first baseman who excelled in his first big league season with Athens last year, hitting .289/.360/.422 with fourteen home runs. The 24-year-old hasn’t completely found his power stroke yet, but once he does, 30+ homers a year is a real possibility.

The Cedars also picked up a few pieces in free agency, most notably Lionnel Crépin, who gives the lineup a much-needed right-handed bat to balance out the lefty trio of Acheson, Rivera and Rashardo Menne III. The former BBA All-star is a serious power threat, with 398 career home runs to his name.

Some other new faces you’ll see on the roster include Mario Rodríguez, a Diamond Glove winner from the BBA who can play just about every position, and switch-hitting catcher José Barajas, who brings a decent bat and a patient approach at the plate.

Beirut will also enjoy a full season of #25 prospect Jamie Angwin, who made a strong impression in his brief call-up last season, posting a 1.123 OPS in 13 games with the Cedars. The 20-year-old has serious home run power, and is also lightning quick on the basepaths. He still has rookie eligibility, so if you’re betting on the awards, Angwin has a pretty good chance at Rookie of the Year.

Despite the loss of Iron-Knife, Beirut’s pitching is still a strength, as they’ll be relying on the young Liam Dalton, who should continue to improve as long as he can stay healthy. Behind him are Díaz and two more young prospects, Dmitr Zhivlyuk and Alejandro Cruz. Zhivlyuk finished third in Rookie of the Year voting last year, but had a few rough outings. Cruz really impressed in his brief call-up, posting a 2.74 ERA for the Cedars, mostly out of the bullpen. Moving him to the rotation should allow him more opportunities to show off his killer forkball/splitter repertoire.


2046 prediction: 84-78. There is no dispute, Beirut is loaded with young talent. But with youth comes a lot of uncertainty, and one or more of these kids may not pan out. The critical thing for the Cedars will be whether they have the depth to support it, in case one of their young pitchers hits a rough patch and needs to be optioned to the minors for a while. Having a couple more veterans they could count on would be a good thing, but they made it their mission this winter to give everyone over 30 their walking papers. Let’s hope that doesn’t come back to bite them.

It won’t all be smooth sailing for the Cedars, but a wildcard berth might still be feasible.
Woody Donahue
BBA GM
Boise Spuds (2047-2054)
Cairo Pharaohs - UMEBA (2046)

Vic Caleca UMEBA TN of the Year 2046

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Re: 2046 Beirut Cedars Preview

Post by BrianH » Fri Feb 19, 2021 4:24 pm

Thanks Woods for the excellent preview. We hope to make the playoffs again this season but understand it may be very difficult. Thanks again for the awesome read!!

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