Yellow Springs 2057 Preview

[DaveB]

Yellow Springs finished last season on an upwards trend at 80-82 this brings GM Rob McMonigal to a record of 270-378 since he took over a team that was in desperate need of a retool and rebuild. It's thought that a true rebuild can take about 5 years to see the fruits of the rebuild start to bare their fruit. Let's take a look at the Nine.

Take Me To the Farm:

The Nine currently have the 2nd rated BBA farm system according to the BNN talking heads. The system is highlighted by Emílio Navarro and Zee-loo Tsao. Both players were acquired via the international field. With Navarro being an International Free agent signing from 2055 and General Tsao from a scouting discovery in 2054. (Someone give the international scout a raise). Other highlights of this strong farm system are pitchers Hannes 'Say hey' Schwarzacher and Aytaç Rahim. Schwarzacher was taken with the #2 overall selection in 2056, while Rahim was poached from the division rival Madison Wolves in the 2056 Rule V Draft. This is a great base of talent that should excite the Nine fans in the future.

Nine Power:

Catcher Ron Shiplack is arguably the best player on the roster after coming over in a deal from Rocky Mountain last season. Also known as the 3rd best catcher in the league by BNN, Shiplack earned a solid 2.1 WAR in 71 games after the trade. Shiplack will be a nice calming veteran receiver who should be able to help the young Nine pitchers develop as their hone their craft at the big league level. Joining Shiplack as key members of the lineup are Arvin Duggan and Nazeeh Ragheb. Duggan is one of the better offensive centerfielders in the league. Ragheb is a very nice top of the lineup player. I would like to see Yellow Springs add a right handed hitter to compliment Ragheb however because his offensive play vs RHP seems to negated by his lack of ability to hit LHP (career OPS+ Vs RHP 116, 51 vs LHP)

Pitching:

Including Schwarzacher and Rahim, who both look like they are BBA ready the starting rotation is anchored by veteran Brody Picot and Cory 'Mugshot' McGuire. The Nine could possibly have one of the best starting rotations in the league by the end of the year and they are young. This is an exciting group!

Defensively Defensive:

An easy way to hurt your pitchers confidence is with poor defense. The Nine had the 2nd worst zone rating in the Johnson League last year at -28.99. The biggest culprits were right up the middle at second base and short stop (-6.8 and -8.96 respectively) To help fix the issue McMonigal added SS: Tristan Colenutt via trade from Charm City, along with SS: Iván Sosa and 3B Jorge Lugo via minor league free agent contracts with big league options. If Lugo wins the 3B job he should also help solidify the defense as he a career 41 zone rating at the hot corner. I'd like to see the Nine continue to try to improve the defense to help his pitching staff reach their full potential.

Outlook:

Coming off an 80-82 season the team looks like it's ready to turn the corner. I would have liked to see the Nine spend some money to help improve the offense as well as the defense. I think the Nine are going to go as far as the pitching takes them this year. If everything goes well I can see the team winning a max of 85 games while if everything goes wrong they could win around 70. I think the safe bet for Nine is going to be around 77 wins.

[RonCo]

Well done. Interesting team. I'm rooting for them.

[Trebro]

Great write-up Dave, thank you!

I wanted to upgrade my offense more but I am trying to avoid signing older players to more than 1 or 2 year deals so the top remaining elders got snatched up and the remaining options aren't amazing. I did grab a new DH, an annual tradition, it seems.

I think 75 to 78 wins is about right. A Step back while we wait for the cavalry to arrive. What i need to think more about is possibly upping the time table on a few folks. I'm very cautious with my minors.