2054 Yellow Springs Nine Preview

[RT60]

Rob M, the Yellow Springs’ GM, must feel like Ted Striker from the movie Airplane, trying to gently land a heavy airplane that lost its crew midair after many hours of carefree flight, while hijinks ensue back in the cabin. Prior to 2052, the Nine had made the playoffs 24 of 26 seasons with 13 of those seasons witnessing the Nine win the most competitive division in the BBA. The 2052 season saw an abrupt 23 game drop to just 75 wins as the Nine experienced turbulence at the top with the departure of its famous long-time GM, akin to when Captain Oveur and First Officer Roger Murdock started to feel the effects of the bad fish dinner and collapsed, plunging the jet downward. The 2053 season saw the Nine drop further to 69 wins to finish 7th in the Heartland. Will Rob M be able to level it out in 2054, will he crash and burn, or will he shock the world and climb? Let’s find out.

Infield

At 1B, fan favorite Burhan Tahir returns for his fourth full season with YS9. It looks like the 12M spent a decade ago to get him out of Egypt was worth it as Tahir had another great season. Amazingly consistent, Tahir again hit over .300 and provided superb defense. Not only do the fans love him, but also his teammates. Look for Tahir to again hit over .300 with potentially 80-90 RBI.

At 2B, the one and only Dong-po Thum returns. The YS9 all-time hits leader still has a lot in the tank, having had his best season in five years in 2053 at age 35, hitting over .300 with a 116 OPS+ and getting an all-star nod. He remains a defensive genius and the most popular YS9 player. He will be in the penultimate year of his 30M/year contract. Will he earn that money? I would say yes, even if he doesn’t quite produce as well offensively which I expect will happen. Even Thum can’t reverse the aging process.

At SS, new free agent acquisition Russell Sharp will likely be penciled in for most starts. Sharp appears to be a nice find for YS9. Cast off to the GBC for the last few years following a marginal BBA career, including a humiliating 2052 season in the Jerusalem farm system, Sharp had a great season for Buenos Aires leading to a life-changing 3M one-year deal with YS9. I think everyone is rooting for the 35-year-old Sharp to do well and perhaps win the comeback player of the year award. Don’t expect game-changing offensive prowess, but do expect the SS position to be locked down defensively.

At 3B, Jeremy Pickens returns hoping to repeat his all-star performance from last season. Pickens must have eaten his Wheaties because he had a remarkable uptick in power at age 32, hitting .283/28/91. He also continued his defensive wizardry winning another Diamond Glove award. Look for Pickens’ bat to have less pop, but he should still be a strong offensive contributor in other ways.

At C, two-time all-star and long-time Niner Jesus Rodriguez returns behind the plate. Everyone praises Jesus’ leadership and it is clear the entire team would follow him anywhere. A former first-round pick of YS9, he has met and exceeded the club’s expectations in his long career. At 34, it would not be surprising to see him dip offensively or even miss extended time due to injury, but expect him to remain a decent offensive contributor to go along with his stalwart defense and command of the team.

Outfield

In LF, where did Kondo go? After eight seasons with the Nine, Natsume Kondo decided he wanted out and chose to exercise his option to terminate his contract. He is now in Long Beach. That leaves an interesting question as to who will get the bulk of starts in LF in 2054. Will it be off-season free agent signing Miguel Cortez who had a revival with Portland last year in limited play? Will it be Eric Grant, YS9’s first round pick in 2050, who split time in LF with Kondo last season? Or perhaps Arnold Campos, YS9’s first round pick in 2048, will finally get his big break. Either way, surely YS9 fans wish they had a better option, but are hoping one of these players can provide a nice surprise and break out.

In CF, fans can be comforted by the return of Frederick Brisset who enters the third year of his 5-year 47M contract. Next year might be an issue, as Brisset can opt-out at the end of this season (something he did with his former team Valencia), but for now YS9 can rely upon this position being locked down. Brisset is an excellent overall centerfielder and should be expected to again provide superb defense along with consistent and timely offensive contribution. He exceeded 120 OPS+ each of the last three seasons, and should be expected to do so again while still in his prime at age 33.

In RF, Nazeeh Ragheb returns, fresh off a 5-year extension that will keep him in Yellow Springs through 2059. Ragheb had an excellent season hitting .314 with a .370 OBP. Fans were hoping to see a repeat of his 30 stolen base performance from 2052 but he managed just 12 in 2053. Look for Ragheb to keep getting on base and taking liberties. While not a defensive marvel, YS9 were rely upon him to keep their offensive engine humming.

DH

At DH, the picture is less clear. Will YS9 really use backup catcher Mario Rivera or utility infielder Rich Moore, two players who have seen time in the DH role this Spring? Or will GM Rob M find a diamond in the rough among the free agents still without a team or pull off a stunning trade? What YS9 does here will have a big impact.

Starting Pitching

It will be very interesting to see how much YS9 improves in this area. The team made a big splash signing Takehide Gertrudes to a 6-year 58M deal. If Gertrudes can meet expectations and provide a lot of quality innings, it will be a fantastic signing. It seems like he is poised for a potential career year at age 30, so Heartland foes take note. Last season Sergio Herrera was entrusted to be a starter and he was decent with a 7-8 record and 4.59 ERA. I suspect he may have a breakout season at age 26 now that he is finally out of the bullpen for a second season. Dave Lee will certainly be a lock and will hope to return to his all-star ways. I expect another good year from Lee. Mathis Gerard will also return. His 11-11 record and 4.41 will likely be improved upon. The rest of the rotation is more of a question. Do they go again with Reese Newsome, another lefty that would give them three lefties total in the rotation? Or do they give youngsters like Benjamin Broadbent, Alejandro Morin, or Dave O'Reilly a shot? Overall, I expect YS9’s starting pitching to slightly improve overall, mostly due to strong seasons by Gertrudes and Herrera. Also, I wonder if the brief return last year of team legend Carlos Valle will have positive lasting effects on those pitchers returning this year.

Relief Pitching

YS9 will have a solid bullpen in 2054. Returning are Slawomir Trzcinski, Philippe Dumont, Gerald Rogers, Gunawan Pakpahan, Byron Ratcliffeand David Petit. It is not clear who will be counted on to close out games, but overall the bullpen will do well.

PREDICTION

Overall, the acquisitions of Gertrudes and Sharp along with the likely improvements of many of YS9’s existing players should bring a slight improvement over last season’s 69 wins. If Rob M can bring in a quality DH, then the improvement could be more than slight. The plane will not crash but start a slow climb, resulting in a respectable 77 win season.

[Jwalk100]

Good job!

[trmmilwwi]

Yes, yes, I remember, I had lasagna.

[Dington]

Nice job

[BaseClogger]

Seems like a veteran club, which means a lot will hinge on health.

[Trebro]

Seems like a veteran club, which means a lot will hinge on health.

Yup. I'm not happy about that, but if you've looked at the minors lately, you'll see the only people with a realistic shot for the next few years are pitchers. Worse, they're not pitchers that can bring in an impact bat that I can see. They're a lot of 4/5 starter types and the BBA is loaded with them.

Whether I like it or not, right now I have to keep going to the FA well for the field, and that means aging up. My attempt a younger SS was declined by the player, sadly.

[Trebro]

Really great writeup, you're higher on my team's chances than I am. I would be happy getting to 73-75 wins, but honestly, 62-100 wouldn't shock me because I really needed two solid FA starters and I only had the money for 1 because, well, Thum.

The DH was getting used primarily to add some add bats for players at other positions that I needed to see play, while keeping other swinging. For now, it's Grant's position. But let's just say I have agents on speed dial right now, and it's just a matter of who...and how much they want.