10 Burning Questions on The 2055 Yellow Spring Nine (Team Preview)

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10 Burning Questions on The 2055 Yellow Spring Nine (Team Preview)

Post by niles08 » Thu May 25, 2023 12:08 pm

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What moves did the Yellow Springs Nine make this off season?

Free-agent signings/Rule 5/Waivers:

• SS Wagaw Fakihi(1 yr, $2.3M)
• RP Nawaf Nawfal(waivers)
• RP Maurice Jeffes (waivers)
• SP Cory McGuire (Rule 5)

Trades:
• Acquired LF Devayana Koganti from Twin Cities for RP Bartolo Romero

After finishing with just 60 wins last season (the lowest in over 30 years), Yellow Springs has been fairly quiet this off-season. They are one of only 5 teams currently projected with a positive WAR +/- in the off-season outlook, if you believe in that sort of thing (I don’t, as it doesn’t take prospects and other things into impact).

Yellow Springs has gone through some turmoil the past few seasons as it has adjusted to new leadership. With that being the case, a major overhaul and rebuild was likely needed and appears to be full throttle. It is worth mentioning that Yellow Springs does have another $20M in cap space that they are not currently using, so could still go after a few “big fish” to join the pond. While they were aggressive on the International Free Agency seen, I would have liked to have seen Yellow Springs be a bit more aggressive in the BBA pool focusing specifically on finding a suitable center field upgrade.

Justin Niles off-season grade: C+
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Players to watch

Team MVP?

Dong-Po Thum, 2B: This is, and will always be, Thum as long as he is on this team. He has a great work ethic, which rubs off on others. At age 37, he just signed an extension going through his age 41 season to remain in Yellow Springs, which should give him an even 21 years with the club. A move to third base this season might make sense for Thum with Pickens likely better at second base defensively, and Thum having the arm for third.

Most likely trade candidate?

Hak-Joon Yi, C: With 4 years of major league service time, and with the team unlikely to compete this season, Yi looks like a typical candidate to be dealt away. Besides, it seems like several teams need catcher upgrades once we enter the season. Yi is an above average hitter at the plate, and is better than some behind the plate. Making only $4M this year with arbitration next year seems like a guy who could move.

Most likely to take a step back this season?

SP Alejandro Morin: It took me a bit to find someone that I thought would take a step back but I think Morin is the guy. He led the league in opponent BABIP last year, and his low movement tells me that likely won’t repeat itself. I am not expecting a huge fall off, but still a fall off nonetheless.

Who has the most to lose (or gain) this season?

Devayana Koganti, LF: This was a big trade early in the off-season with seemingly not much going back to Twin Cities. Koganti is going to get the chance immediately it appears to prove himself in left field. Last year he only had 70 plate appearances at the BBA level, but impressed in those chances. By the end of 2055, we’ll know if Koganti is an absolute steal.

Most likely to have a bounce-back season?

Jeremy Pickens, 3B: Pickens struggled at the plate last season after accumulating a 128 OPS+ in 2053, had roughly half that production in 2054 with just a 65 OPS+. This brought his WAR from 4.0 to 0.1. I expect Pickens to rebound well at the plate, and finish with over 2 WAR, possibly 2.5. A good season here, could help Pickens decide if he’d like to test the open market and decline his player option for 2056.

Likeliest to outperform their projection?

Takehide Gertrudes, SP: After a season in which he went 5-15 with a 5.29 ERA, Gertrudes has been written off by many. As a matter of a fact, Yellow Springs tried to trade him throughout last season, with no takers. That’s likely thanks in part to the $49,000,000 remaining on his deal. Well, put me down as a believer. I think Gertrudes is going to greatly exceed expectations this year I have him reverting all the way back to his prior years when he had an era hovering around 4.0. Gertrudes likely will have some contenders asking about his services this season, although Yellow Springs might want to reconsider and just hang onto him.

Rookie most likely to make an impact?

Koganti, LF: Easy one here. Koganti is the name to watch. He should get 550 at bats minimum which is more than enough to make an impact.

Bonus: Cory Mcguire, P: Mcguire was a rule 5 pick, and is the #20 overall prospect in the BBA! He has a chance to make an impact this year simply because he has to be on the big league roster. This was as crafty move by the front office to snag such a high level prospect, and one who can successfully contribute at the minimum, from the pen.
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How good is the The Nine's farm system?

No. 1 prospect: Ken Plante(#91 overall)

I am not counting Mcguire as the team’s #1 prospect (even though he is technically), which brings us to Ken Plante. Plante was acquired a few years ago from Rocky Mountain, and appears to be nearly ready to go. Plante spent all of last year in AA, pitching to a 3.71 ERA and a 4.6 WAR. He likely could spend the full 2055 season in AAA before debuting in 2056.

Organization’s ranking: No. 19

It’s been a slow rebuild over the past 2 years for Yellow Springs, and McGuire has pumped up their organizational ranking after his rule 5 selection, as Plante is their only true top 100 prospect. Overall, they sport 20 of the top 500 prospects in their system, so one may argue that it is looking more like quantity over quality.

What to expect from the Yellow Spring Nine this season?

Justin Niles season projection: 69-93

In no way is this team worse than last season when they seem to hit rock bottom with 60 wins. I actually expect them to perform quite a bit better just from some current players experiencing bad luck in 2054. I have them down as not yet hitting 70 wins, but slowly working back towards that mark. A 4th consecutive season of watching the post-season from home is in the cards.

Bold prediction:

Despite signing a 5 year/$40M extension last year, Dave Lee is dealt at the all-star break for a package that includes a top 100 prospect, accelerating Yellow Springs rebuild.
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Re: 10 Burning Questions on The 2055 Yellow Spring Nine (Team Preview)

Post by Trebro » Thu May 25, 2023 9:18 pm

Great preview and a fair assessment. I do NOT want to lose 100 again, Would love to get to 72-90, internally I'm thinking 67-72 wins.

I would have loved a CF upgrade if the options weren't either people who can't actually play center OR players who are so old I can't see them making it through a season. If I have a failing as a GM, it's a refusal to overpay in free agency. Especially if the player is over 30. And Gertrudes did nothing to change that.

I should have more aggressively rebuilt in 2053, but the combination of "new to BBA need to get a better feel of things" and not wanting to sell too low on a few people (I nearly did on Lee, not going to lie) held things up a bit. And yes, I am doing quantity over quality because I think with the prospects as they are, I'd rather have more options.

And...Lee's not going anywhere. Well, not unless I'm blown away on a deal. Then maybe. But I like career players. A lot.
Rob McMonigal
Yellow Springs Nine Sep 2052 - ????

London Monarchs Aug 2052 - Sep 2052

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Re: 10 Burning Questions on The 2055 Yellow Spring Nine (Team Preview)

Post by trmmilwwi » Tue May 30, 2023 12:32 pm

Nice writeup. It'll be fun to watch the rise through the ranks for this squad over the next few seasons.
trmmilwwi - GM San Antonio Outlaws
MBWBA Manager of the Year FL 2010, JL 2016, JL 2018

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