2053 Vancouver Mounties Preview
GM Brett Schroeder (2010-2034, 2048-Present)
Mr. Schroeder has been a BBA GM on and off (mostly on) since his first job as GM of the 1995 California Crusaders. He spent 11 seasons with them before moving to Vancouver, with brief stops in Las Vegas and Boise. Across all franchises, Brett has led his teams to 13 playoff appearances, 3 Brewster Series Finals, and 2 championships.
Fun Fact: Vancouver is one of just six of the original 24 franchises that have had neither a name nor location change in their history.
Franchise Facts:
Playoff Appearances: 25
Monty Brewster Memorial Series Appearances: 4
Monty Brewster Memorial Series Wins: 2
2052 Results
91-71 1st FLP
Offseason Summary
Key Losses
(WAR from 2052)
Daniel Pepper, 2B, 8.0 WAR, Free Agency
José Ordóñez, RP, 1.9 WAR, Free Agency
Key Additions
(WAR from 2052)
Zak Johnson (8/8/8 Ratings), SP, 4.5 WAR, Free Agent (1/$10.2M)
Armando Rodríguez (9/10/6 Ratings), SP, 2.7 WAR (GBC), Free Agent (5/$27.5M)
Blaine Tyler (7/8/9/6/5 Ratings), 3B, 1.4 WAR, Free Agent (3/$26.4)
Quick Hit
Vancouver ended up at the top of a tight race for the Frick League Pacific in 2052, finishing two games ahead of the Valencia Stars. Perhaps not coincidentally, the Mounties’ biggest loss in free agency, Daniel Pepper, has become the Stars’ biggest gain. Does Vancouver have enough left to defend their FLP title in 2053? Or will the loss of Pepper open the door for Valencia or another Pacific foe to steal the flag?
2053 Predicted Starters
Catcher
Davenport Hinkle will surely be given the opportunity to bounce back from a down season in ’52 and return to the success he had in ’51 behind the dish. His excellent defense ensured that he was a positive WAR contributor despite a down year at the plate (56 wRC+)
First Base
César Feliciana remains under contract and will see the bulk of the playing time at first base in 2053. With a nice total of 69 HR over the last two seasons, the power hitting lefty has been a reliable if not outstanding contributor in Vancouver since his acquisition from Edmonton in 2050. We should note that he’s an excellent defender at first, which will probably be a theme here throughout the lineup.
Second Base/Shortstop
Yikes. Honestly I’m surprised here, and this could end up being a difference make for the team this season. Up the middle in the infield, it would appear to be Quentin Favre (2B) and José Gonzáles (SS). Lefty hitting Gonzáles should be the mainstay at shortstop this season, and while he’s not much with the bat, he’s an excellent defender (+15.1 ZR last season). His 81 OPS+ is likely a bit of an overachievement for his 5/6/3/6/5 ratings but unless he forgets how to defend, he’ll be a plus WAR contributor.
At the keystone, we have…a Gonzáles clone? Sophomore switch hitter Quentin Favre is the frontrunner to be the starter this year. With a 66 OPS+ in 118 at bats last year, he’s another glove-first guy, but with no clear leader for second base on the spring training roster, we’re calling this one for Favre as he’s the best defender of the group.
Third Base
Free Agent acquisition Blaine Tyler should be written in as the starter at the hot corner throughout 2053 season. The 33 year old has been a reliable all-around player since his debut with Yellow Springs in 2042. Generally good for 30+ HR in a full season, he hit just 6 in 2052 when he started just 68 games for the Charlotte Cougars. Schroeder will be hoping that Blaine has the kind of success that he had in 48 games with Vancouver in 2050, where he hit .252/.341/.509 with 11 HR in 45 starts.
Outfield Corners
Ángel González (8/10/7/4/9 Ratings)
Andrew Wright (7/9/10/6/5 Ratings)
Other guys, probably, idk, you can look, Schroeder has 12 outfielders on the ST roster.
González started his career in Vancouver, and was a Sawyer Silk winner for them in 2041 for his 8.5 WAR season. He’s likely a future hall of famer with 74 career WAR, though Vancouver would love to see the 33 year old strengthen that case over the next few seasons. His return to the PNW last year was a slight disappointment, with his 106 OPS+ being the lowest of his career. He’s also lost a few steps on defense, but won’t be a black hole in RF.
Wright had a breakout 4.9 WAR on the back of a 153 wRC+ in 2052. The left fielder was also +2.8 ZR on defense and at 30 years old should be good for a few more seasons. He’s got a significant negative rating split against LHP, so look for Schroeder to find a platoon partner for him. If he does so, a OPS+ in the 135 range could reasonably be expected.
Center Field
Manuel Torres (6/8/8/6/5 Ratings) returns for his age 27 season, and looks to bounce back from a rough 2052 season. While his 4.7 WAR of 2051 will almost certainly end up as an outlier, but if he bounces back at the plate to a .700 OPS then he’ll be a solid contributor.
DH
Gonna guess that this will be Manny Toledo (7/7/8/9/7 Ratings) and not dig too much deeper. The righty had a reasonably successful transition from the GBC last season, with an OPS+ of 111, matching his 2051 mark with Bueno Aires. He hits slightly better against southpaws, though I don’t see why he couldn’t be at least a league average hitter against righties as well.
Offensive Summary
Daniel Pepper left a huge hole in this lineup, and it doesn’t look like the offseason additions have come even close to replacing him. The offense isn’t bad, but they were ninth in the Frick last season and definitely got worse. They’ll probably drop a few spots and be about twelfth in the league without any significant additions.
Starting Pitchers
Phil Cole (12/10/8 Ratings)
Mahad Einan (11/8/8 Ratings)
Cristo Muñóz (9/9/7 Ratings)
Zak Johnson (8/8/8 Ratings)
Armando Rodríguez (9/10/6 Ratings)
Southern California native Phil Cole will again lead the Mounties rotation. He bounced back from a disappointing 2051 season to post a 3.36 ERA and 4.9 WAR last year. He’s been a workhorse, starting at least 31 games in every season of his career except one. The 28 year old righty will be joined by BBA sophomore Mahad Einan at the top of the rotation. Einan is fresh off of a very successful transition from the GBC, posting a 3.31 ERA, 3.4 WAR, and leading the league in wins in his BBA debut. Muñóz, Johnson, and Rodríguez will likely round out the rotation. The latter two are new to the team, with Johnson joining from New Orleans and Rodríguez another GBC defector. With the core of the rotation being the same that led the league in pitching last year, we see no reason that this won’t be a top-5 staff again this year.
Of note, Frank Walbourne started 23 games for the Mounties last year, and should be ready for a rehab assignment in mid-April. Scouts who have seen him in the bullpen during spring training indicate that he appears to have lost some stuff, so it’s likely that he is relegated to the bullpen for the ’53 season.
Relevant Relief Corps
Luke Jones
Mauro Río
I don’t have the time to link any reliever rated under 50 overall. Look ‘em up in game if you want.
To continue to be candid, this bullpen worries me. Even with the aforementioned Walbourne to supplement, these two guys being the best in the ‘pen isn’t a very solid foundation. Sure, Rodney Barlow will probably have some K’s, Sam Fisher will keep the ball in the yard, and Bob Somers will eat some innings, but it’s uninspiring. The rotation has great stamina, and length from the starters will be necessary to limit the bullpen contributions over the course of the season. I don’t think it’s bad enough to truly cripple them but it’s certainly not a strength of the team.
Pitching Summary
Overall, a strength. The rotation is good, with a couple of aces at the top. It’s enough to overcome a weak bullpen and will be the reason that the team is in another playoff race.
Summary
Brett’s a good GM. I haven’t dug deep in to the rest of the competition in the Frick League, but I think Valencia and Sacramento got better. Portland will be good again, San Fernando less so, and Seattle and Long Beach have some work to do to if they want to be competitive this year.
Prediction
Just like last year, I anticipate close races for the FLP and the FL Wild Card. I don’t think that Vancouver will have enough to win the division again, but they’ll certainly be a wild card team.
88-74, 3rd FLP
