Pitching
Opponents stacking LHB against Louisville will fare best, as the Sluggers have five RHP in their rotation. Antonion Baldez is the team’s Opening Day starter, likely because Ricardo Rivera is still recovering from TJ surgery. Rivera has been a long-time ace for the Outlaws, but has struggled to stay healthy. GM Brian Pinnell took a chance on the two-time Nebraska winner signing Rivera for this year and two additional years with team options attached. Baldez, on his own, is one of the league’s best young pitchers and Pinnell is hopeful he breaks out this season. Greg Shaw and Yoshii Takuda follow and excellent middle of rotation options. Tim Gibbs expects to be the 5th starter and will be a great option in that spot. Manuel Cruz joins the BBA’s best division (#heartland) after spending the previous 12 seasons in the Johnson League and will be relied upon to close out games. Al Colbert and southpaws Glenn Dennis and Ryan Harmon are also crucial pieces at the end of the game, but the Sluggers could use another viable bullpen piece for added depth.
Infield
Taylor Michaels will be the primary catcher here and while he won’t hit for average, he’s got 20 HRs per season in him to go with his stellar defense. Sandro Rodriguez brings a power/discipline combination to 1B and his on-base skills will be important to the success of the Sluggers offense. Ka’im Khayri is at least pretty good in every aspect of being a 2B except his contact skills. If he got a bump or two in contact skills he would be an all-star. The Sluggers will sub quality ABs for a Diamond Glove winner at SS in Reynante Alvero and should still put up ~2.0 WAR based on his defensive skills alone. The cream of the crop in the Louisville infield, and in the BBA in general, is perennial all-star, Luis Mendoza. It’s a surprise he hasn’t won a Silk yet, but is a contender every year.
Outfield
Mu’ayyad bin Nu’man broke onto the scene with a stellar 2051 first half, earning him a spot in the ASG. He has since leveled out, but remains a solid contributor in LF and doesn’t really do anything bad except maybe a weak throwing arm. Ragheb Burham will patrol CF once again and is another player who doesn’t do anything bad. This could be the year he breaks out and becomes a 3.5-4 WAR player. The longest tenured Slugger is Semei Kwakou and he will look to prove he is worth the $106M he is owed over the next four years. Spoiler alert: he won’t; but in his defense I don’t know if anyone is worth that dough. Regardless, the Sluggers will rely on Kwak to 35+ homers in the middle of the lineup and provide protection for Mendoza.
Designated Hitter
2052 Monty Series hero, Jeffrey Smith, collected his payday with a 6 year deal worth $81.6M, which will pay him through his age 40 season. Yikes! But we aren’t worried about the future – this preview is for this year. Smith has seen a resurgence in his career after a few down years at the end of his Vancouver reign that carried into Portland. If he puts up another 5+ WAR season, the contract will easily be worth the money.
I believe the Sluggers will battle with Twin Cities for runner-up in the #heartland behind Nashville. There are no weak spots on the roster and they still have abut $5M in cap space to bring on another bullpen arm at the trade deadline or in FA. 96-66 is my prediction for Loserville.
