2055 Hawaii Tropics Season Preview

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Krathan
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2055 Hawaii Tropics Season Preview

Post by Krathan » Fri May 26, 2023 2:12 pm

The Hawaii Tropics are coming off of a year in which they made the playoffs for the first time since 2047. The team’s record improved by 20 games from ‘52 to ‘53 and another 9 games from ‘53-‘54. Will the Tropics see another run like they had from ‘43-‘47 when they made the playoffs four times in five years or was ‘54 an outlier for the club? I tend to think the reality is somewhere in-between.

There has not been much change in the off-season. The core of the team who won 90 games in ‘54 returns. Players like SS Thomas Kramer, LF Ramao Saturino, RF Pedro Huerta, and 1B Mike Campbell, 2B Adhyapahana Mehta and 1B/DH Adam Backhouse all return to the lineup, while pitchers Semih Gurani, Phil Thompson, Troy Reynolds, and Utkan Gocek return to the mound. At some point in the first couple of months of the season, the Tropics expect get Bill Ritz back from injury as well.

The two additions made by Hawaii have been RP Francisco Salgado and Peter Dean. Salgado, who was signed to a two-year contract is a quality lefty addition to the bullpen who should help the Tropics this season and next. Dean is a starting pitcher who put up 17.7 war over the last 9 seasons in Jacksonville. Another player to look out for is young CF Vicente Mendez. The front office has indicated that they feel like it may be time for Mendez to make the jump to the big leagues after producing a combined 4.6 WAR last season between AA and AAA. The youngster also found himself on the Tropics roster briefly last season, making two plate appearances, one a walk, and the other a double.

The Tropics have outstanding defenders at nearly every position. They played well defensively last season and that should again be a strength of the team.

Offensively, this team does not often get on base unless they get a hit. In ‘54, the Tropics walked a Frick League low 404 times on the season. They were one of only three teams to walk fewer than 450 times. The good news for Hawaii is that they do hit the ball often, and generally hit it hard. They were one of only six FL teams to have more than 1,500 hits on the season. While they were only middle of the pack in doubles hit, they were second in the league in triples and one of only five FL teams to hit at least 200 home runs. They don’t strike out at an alarming rate either. This team goes to the plate looking to make contact and drive the ball. With so much of the team returning, it seems likely this will still be the case in 2055.

From a pitching standpoint, the big numbers look pretty solid from last year. The Tropics were 5th in ERA, 4th in FIP, 4th in WAR, walked the 5th fewest batters in the league, allowed the 3rd fewest hits and had the 2nd best WHIP in the FL. They will start the season with three pitchers who contributed at the big league level on the IL, including Michael Kalil who will miss the entire season. However, much of the pitching staff returns, and with Salgado, they will attempt to stay near the top of the FL in those pitching categories. The most concerning statistic to me is that the Tropics starters ended the ‘54 season with only 38 quality starts, the fewest in the FL. That put tremendous pressure on the bullpen. The pen held up in ‘54, but relief pitching is not something that I believe you want to rely on to that degree year in and year out. For the Tropics to find their way back into the postseason, I believe their starters will need to more consistently get deeper into games in 2055.

2055 Outlook:

Reasons for hope:
1. The team has improved dramatically in each of the last two seasons.
2. The core of the team that won 90 games and made the playoffs is still on the team.
3. Hiring a new athletic trainer will hopefully help cut down on the impact of injuries for this year’s team.

Reasons for concern:
1. There has not been much done to improve the team in the off-season.
2. Multiple players are on the IL to start the season.
3. The starting rotation needs to do more to take pressure off of the bullpen.

Looking at the team that seems likely to take the field in 2055, I believe that the Tropics will most likely end up about where they did in 2054. In the hunt for a playoff spot but probably not a division title. Hawaii will be a fun team to watch as they crush home runs and make dazzling defensive plays throughout the campaign.

A look to the future:

Fans of the Tropics should really try to appreciate this current run. The team has had a few stretches of competitive baseball over the years, separated by years/long stretches of frustration. There are four players in the lineup that combined to put up 10.7 WAR last year who are in the final years of their current contracts. (The previously mentioned Kramer, Saturnino, Huerta, and Campbell) As a team that has largely been built around power and defense, how they deal with that situation by either resigning or replacing those players will likely determine when this competitive window ends.
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Re: 2055 Hawaii Tropics Season Preview

Post by Jwalk100 » Fri May 26, 2023 2:18 pm

Great job!
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Re: 2055 Hawaii Tropics Season Preview

Post by Dington » Fri May 26, 2023 2:27 pm

Nice writeup. Hawaii got screwed over late last season. They're on the radar now, though.
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Re: 2055 Hawaii Tropics Season Preview

Post by BaseClogger » Fri May 26, 2023 8:35 pm

Well done.
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Re: 2055 Hawaii Tropics Season Preview

Post by trmmilwwi » Tue May 30, 2023 12:40 pm

Mendez time! Nice player.
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