Boise Spuds 2047 Preview

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niles08
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Boise Spuds 2047 Preview

Post by niles08 » Thu May 27, 2021 1:25 pm

Image Last season review: Boise finished under .500 last season for the 3rd time in 4 years after a short playoff run in 2041 and 2042. They finished with 79 wins and 83 losses in 2046, however their star outfielder Felix Roman did win the Sawyer award for the second consecutive season.


Key Losses:

1B Bartolo Ortiz(1.0 WAR)

Key Additions:

None

Offense:

The Boise offense has been known as the French Roman offense for as long as I can remember. Last season was no different as the two combined for 15 WAR, with Roman having 2/3rd of that in his best season as a pro and allowing him to take home a consecutive Sawyer Silk Slugger trophy.

After those two, it gets less exciting with Ricardo Ruiz being traded last season and Pepe Madrid the next best “big bat” in the lineup. The club would likely lean on the quick hitting of shortstop Yamashita, however he is now sidelined through at least early July thanks to a torn back muscle.

Cesar Torres is going to have to be the guy to step up now. He showcased his ability briefly in Boise last season through 98 at bats, where he had a 123 OPS+. Can he put that together for a full season to offset the loss of Ruiz in the outfield?

After those guys, there isn’t much more to look at other than guys to maybe squint at. Mario Pereira is likely going to get a chance in LF full time since Jude Carter in left would need a platoon mate. Pereira has been about league average at the plate in his first 500 at bats, with his glove being about the same.

Pat Alexander is likely behind the plate thanks to his defense more than any other part of his skill level.

Phil Hundley is going to have to step in at short until Yamashita returns, and if last season was any indication, Boise is in trouble here. Huntley had a 50 OPS+ last season in 181 at bats.

Other guys to maybe watch:

Yasutoki Sato should get at bats at 3B, possibly splitting time with Kinfu Lugono, but Sato looks like the better fit to make an impact.

Pitching:

Pitching wise, Gerardo Lopez is likely to get the nod this year to start opening day. He tossed 192 innings last year with a 4.55 ERA but his FIP is concerning as it still hung out in the mid 5’s.

Manuel Barrera is another young Boise pitcher who I actually think is better than Lopez. He had a 4.3 ERA last season in 167 innings and his FIP improved year over year to 4.82 last season and although still higher than the average pitcher, I believe Barrera has grown.

Longtime Boise pitcher Robin Cooper is back this year after a 211 inning campaign in 2046. He had a 4.50 FIP, around the league average, and started 35 games over the course of the season humming to a 4.44 ERA.

After those 3, it looks like it will likely be Eugenio Asseldonk and Kent Montoya. It seems that Bob Woodger might be better off waiting a season based on his age and the current state of the team. Asseldonk had a 3.84 ERA last season in 96 innings, after a 4.14 ERA the prior year. Asseldonk is a guy who looks like he has outpitched his ratings, but now has done it over the course of 3 seasons, likely thanks in part to his ability to take care of left-handed hitters. Send him out there again, maybe he’ll give you another 3 WAR seasons.

Kent Montoya on the other hand took a pretty big step back last season at the age of 25. He had a 5.96 ERA in 27 total games and finished with a negative WAR for the first time since 2043, even spending some of last season in AAA. Montoya is likely not going to rebound this season, however if he does, he is a cheap left-handed pitcher who might be able to allow you to acquire a few pieces for the future.

In the pen, Mitch Freeman and Dave Houston both return locked and loaded to shut down games at the end. Louis Martinez & Ramon Camacho might be better off waiting in the wings until these two are sent out of town and I recon even with the team control remaining for Freeman and Houston, that Boise should consider just that.

Overall:

I wish I could predict 90 wins for Boise, but I feel that would be reckless. The offense just isn’t there besides a few people, and there are obvious question marks in the rotation. If I were in charge of Boise, I would be posting a pretty large track block attempting to acquire some key pieces for the future. I know that he was dangled out there years ago, but Dennis French only has 2 seasons remaining on his current contract. At age 29, now might be the time to acquire your next franchise cornerstone.

I’m predicting this offense struggles pretty bad outside of French/Roman once again. I am expecting French/Roman to have a combined 12 WAR this season, 3 off the pace of the 2046 season, and the other 7 starters/bench players to combine for just 4 WAR for a total batting WAR of 16.

On the pitching side, I honestly have no clue. Last year the pitching staff had a 2.4 combined WAR throughout the season, meaning this team won basically 70 games along just because of their offense. This season, I am expecting a trio of Cooper/Barrera/Asseldonk to accumulate around 6.5 WAR together. Freeman and Houston could put together an additional respectable 3 WAR combined. The rest of the staff is just a big question mark. Let’s say were at 9.5 right now, and were going to get to 12.

I think Boise is in a spot where they either have to acquire some starting pitching and offense or sell off what they do have.

Prediction: 75-87
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Re: Boise Spuds 2047 Preview

Post by recte44 » Thu May 27, 2021 1:29 pm

Key Loss: @jleddy

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Re: Boise Spuds 2047 Preview

Post by CTBrewCrew » Thu May 27, 2021 10:27 pm

We have another Asseldonk sighting! 😄
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Re: Boise Spuds 2047 Preview

Post by woods » Fri May 28, 2021 12:56 am

This was pretty much the state of the team when I inherited it. I did sneak in one FA signing of catcher Randy Bader (he was probably still in DFA when you did this write up), but you're absolutely correct in your assessment, the pitching needs help or we're not going anywhere.
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Re: Boise Spuds 2047 Preview

Post by 7teen » Sun May 30, 2021 2:33 pm

recte44 wrote:
Thu May 27, 2021 1:29 pm
Key Loss: @jleddy
The frontier GM changes made doing the previews for the media guide so tricky this year.
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Re: Boise Spuds 2047 Preview

Post by recte44 » Sun May 30, 2021 2:46 pm

Key addition: @woods

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