2052 Summary
94-68 Record
87-75 Pythag
804 Runs Scored (8th)
743 Runs Against (5th)
2053 Kurtcast
87-75 Record (Wild Card)
Season in a Sentence: If their core group of early 30 year-old superstars play to their potential, there is enough supporting talent for Atlantic City to once again reach the postseason.
Batting
No reason to expect the Atlantic City Gamblers core trio of LF Juan Rivera, C Octavio Moreno, and RF Jose Romero to slow down now. Expect them to continue to be all-stars, with at least one of them competing for the MVP.
The next tier of contributors is lead by recent trade acuquisition Pete Brace. I'd rather have Cinema Jones myself, but the Gamblers naturaly value the payflex. And Pete Brace is an above-average player. Long-time Gambler Ernesto Gonalez had a strong 2052 season, but is now a 33 year-old recovering from UCL surgery. It also includes high POT players like 2B Carlos Benitez (60), 3B Don Perez (55), and CF John Oliver (55) who round out the roster. None of those three have statistical reason to forecast production... but I wouldn't be surprised if one of them breaks out and is a good player while two stink.
The weakest position players in the ATC dugout:
- SS Asher Chung (45 OVR) - relies on incredible defense to overcome insulting offensive production to even be useful, and he's entering his 30s.
- RF Jean-Francois Hamon (50 OVR) - 33 years old, coming off an injury, hasn't been good in the BBA in years.
- RF Damodaragoun Neela (45 OVR) - is he going to play 1B? He's 27, oozes tools, and should hit a bit. But after almost four years he hasn't, and his defense hasn't registered positive anywhere. First base is where I would try to improve ATC.
Blake McCoy was an efficient backup catcher last season, rarely called upon but still worth more than 1 WAR. In the minor leagues, CF Norm Peterson (45 POT), LF Shane Webb (45 POT), and especially LF Jeff Erickson (50 POT) are all 23 years old and capable of spiking and replacing one of the 45 POT veteran reserves I skipped covering because they're largely replacement level.
Pitching
The top of the team's rotation has a bona fide ace in SP Carlos Flores (75 OVR), as well as his future successor, SP Jimmy Huggins (65 POT). I really like those two. The bullpen also boasts lockdown CL Steven Flannery (70 OVR). In those roles, The Gamblers can matchup with anybody.
They fill out the rest of the rotation with 45 POT starting pitchers in their prime years. Kevin Shepard is the misfit, having averaged ~3.5 WAR a season despite a poor pitch mix in both the game's and my estimation. I think he is the key to the Gamblers success in 2053. Topan Adjeng will struggle against lefties but is the youngest of the bunch. Jayden Nicolls was given a minor league contract despite similar platoon problems and doesn't have a track record of success in MLB since he was 22.
The bullpen also features RP Cheuk-yan Liu (75 OVR), who had a 5.57 FIP in 2052. My favorite is RP Roger Koch (50 OVR) who doesn't have splits, has great control for his stuff, and offers plenty of stamina. There is an adequate batch of interesting stuff-oriented arms to staff an ok pen.
