2050 Charlotte Cougars
The Cougars are in trouble! Nobody, (well, almost) nobody lost more WAR than the Cougars did this offseason. They lost 13 players for a total of 18.6 WAR from their 2048 playoff, team record wins team. Just 5 of those players totaled 16.7 of that WAR. 5 players, 16.7 WAR! What team comes back from that? (Wait, this sounds an awful lot like last season’s preview. I guess since last season they lost 19.6 WAR while losing 9 players, so yeah, it seems the same so far.)
That was the intro to last year's preview. Guess what - Charlotte, again, lost the 2nd most WAR of any team. Following their 2049 2nd round loss in the playoffs, they lost 16.7 WAR in 11 players. Does this make it a trend? Charlotte loses a ton of players that had a decent season but yet they make it back to the playoffs the following season. How do you do that?
This year? 10 players have come to the team to replace those 11 players. Their WAR totals from last season is 6.9. That doesnt bode well for the Cougars. Or does it?
The biggest losses? SP Thomas Turner (4.6 WAR), 2B Francisco Arredondo (4.6 WAR), P Ashton Brooks (3.1 WAR), C Felipe Delgado (1.7 WAR), and P Nicolo Destefeni 1.1 WAR). Just like we mentioned last season, its not as bad as it seems.
Turner....losing him will hurt the most. Arredondo only played 2/3rds of the season in Charlotte. He obviously liked playing in Charlotte but it probably hurts more that he went to New Orleans. Brooks is another loss that might hurt a little. Having a lefty that won the Egan a couple of seasons ago but ended up in the rotation last season could be a valuable commodity.
Charlotte also brought in some talent again this offseason. Anyone heard of 3B Blaine Tyler from the Hustlers? C Kyle Baker is a nice solid veteran presence behind the dish. 3B Brian Dixon was brought in before the trade for Tyler and will most likely spend a lot of time at 1B. SP Emanuele Mercati isnt a world beater but he will most certainly enjoy a resurgence in Charlotte as opposed to pitching in Louisville. The most intriguing acquisition was SP Rubén bin Majid al Din, the main "get" from the Turner trade to Twin Cities. Al Din certainly wont replace Turner but the Cougars gained some needed depth to their minor league pitching as well and al Din should fare a lot better in Charlotte with a much improved defense behind him and a much more supportive offense.
The strength of this Cougar team in their continued playoff-appearance seasons has been their their pitching staff. They wont be as strong without Turner but SP Haravira Chandar is expected to grow a little more after half a season with the big league club last season. SP Kyle Smallwood seems to have loss a little bit of his abilities but is still a pretty strong pitcher.
Offensively, the Cougars are much more improved. Though they remain a team that will constantly get on base and play the small-ball game, they have added quite a bit of power. The Cougars dont strike out. The Cougars still get on base and run but they a more scary team now that they know they have the long-ball in their repertoire as well.
The backstop duo of Baker and Alex Thomas arent necessarily one that other teams will covet but as long as they prove to be solid, the Cougars will be okay. SS Robert Menzies remains one of the best shortstops in the game and hopes to carry his strong spring training into jump starting his season. With Dixon at 1B and Tyler at 3B, most likely we will see super-utility player Carlos Gutierrez at 2B. Offensively and defensively, that is a very strong infield.
In the outfield, Ricardo Ruiz is still a presence to be reckoned with. Arthur Daniel will continue to man CF but will most likely sit against LHP in favor of Lorenzo Bueno. Aires Penharanda had the highest WAR of his career (4.4) in his first season with the Cougars and there is no reason to believe he cant/wont do that again this season. OF/DH Pedro Huerta isnt a slouch either. Huerta will vie for the batting title, put up another 30+ HRs, and steal 30+ bases. And let's not forget about Brad Parkinson and Justin Jackson sitting on the bench.
The prospect cupboard? A couple of pitching prospects that are decent fill-ins for injuries and a few offensive guys that are the same - fill-ins. What they do seem to have in AAA Richmond is a bunch of veterans that could probably provide continued offense while giving up some defense.
Early pre-spring training predictions have the Cougars taking a step up, winning the Atlantic Division under a 96-win campaign. Those predictions came before the additions of Mercati and Parkinson so who knows. While the pitching staff wont be as dominant, the Cougar offense should most definitely be more potent. We foresee them easily reaching the 90-win mark with 100 wins not out of the realm of the possible. An Atlantic Division Championship? They are definitely in the running.