2055 New Orleans Crawdads Preview

[neugey]

New Orleans Crawdads
Manager: Jim Roberts
2054 Record: 79-83 (missed playoffs)

Key Losses:
- 3B Mal Fountain (FA/LOU)
- SP Zak Johnson (FA/LV)
- 1B Carlos Fernandez (FA/???)
- SS Wagaw Fakihi (FA/YS9)
- SP Cristian Burgos (FA/???)
- RF Matthew Reilly (FA/MTL)

Key Additions:
- 2B Bing-de Zhao (FA/BOI)
- RF Norihisa Yokoyama (FA/JAX)
- 1B Brad Parkinson (FA/BOI)

2055 Outlook:
The Crawdads have struggled to sustain their excellence following the 2051 championship win. And now a more pieces from that title squad, 3B Mal Fountain and SP Cristian Burgos, have left the team. With Charm City and Montreal now doing well in the division, the fans are realizing that it might take a while for the team to catch up to them and make another deep playoff run.

The ’Dads at least secured a legitimate cleanup hitter in 2B Bing-de Zhao to replace Fountain. While not as consistent as his successor, Zhao has the experience and ability to fill the role respectably. In the outfield, RF Norihisa Yokoyama will need to fill the chasm left by RF Matthew Reilly. It won’t be easy because at age 36 Yokoyama is not quite the slugger he used to be. But they at least added journeyman 1B Brad Parkinson to supply the power, and he’s a big improvement over predecessor 1B Carlos Fernandez.

The New Orleans offense sputtered somewhat and finished in the middle of the Johnson pack. Part of that was due to injuries to star RF Juan Donestevez. When healthy he crushes right-handed pitchers with the best of them. Keeping him healthy and getting SS Luis Estrada’s average back to his 2052 prime will be important for the Crawdads.

23-year-old John Lucas had his first year as a full-time starter and needs more time to acclimate. But if he catches on in his sophomore year, him and lefty Billy Kelly could form an impressive duo. CL Frank Benitez has talent but needs to be sharper. His 4.75 ERA and 6 blown saves in 2054 are worrisome and others could take his spot.

But the prime concern for this team is not the pitching, it’s the lineup and depth. A lot of free agents left this offseason and there are some untested hitters who may end up populating this roster. The bottom of this lineup may not be able to compete compared with their counterparts on other teams.

If the ‘Dads struggle, this team could be sellers as the trade deadline looms. Some of their most talented stars - including Zhao, Donestevez, Yokoyama and Kelly - are in contract years. 2056 could be a total reboot of New Orleans. But that is getting ahead of ourselves; let’s watch the first few months and see if the Crawdads can step up and contend before writing them off.