2057 San Fernando Bears Preview

[Krathan]

The San Fernando Bears are coming off of a season in which they went 72-90, finishing in 6th place in the Pacific, 31 games out of 1st place. The Bears were also 18 games out of a playoff spot. The team has been below .500 in 9 of the last 10 seasons. They are 14 years removed from their last playoff appearance and it has been 23 years since they won their only championship. General Manager Kurt Imber is looking to change the fortunes of the club and there have been a number of substantial changes to the club since the end of the 2056 campaign.

KEY DEPARTURES:

2B Marcello Custello (2.2 WAR)
3B Ron Ritchie (2 WAR)
OF Jamie Angwin (1.9 WAR)
OF Hyeon-uk Hong (1.8 WAR]
RP Adam Barber (1.2 WAR)
RP Ernesto Delgado (197 ERA+)


KEY ACQUISITIONS:

2B Felipe Reyna (2.1 WAR)
3B Roberto Rivera (5.2 WAR)
OF Kei-thing Law (0.2 WAR0
SP Arnold Cantrell (5.2 WAR]
RP Francisco Salgado (1.7 WAR)
SS Dick Walton (1.3 WAR in 2055)
SP Richard Bullock (1.3 WAR in 2055)


San Fernando had an impressive off-season, replacing the players they lost with players who should be as effective or more effective than those they are replacing. The lineup, starting rotation, and bullpen should all be improved.

Reyna, Rivera, Law, and Walton will bolster a lineup that includes returning veterans 1B Francisco Martinez, C Joe Zwicker, and DH Don Moore. Impressive youngsters Tommy Harrison, Michael Schultz, and Jose Villa will be relied upon to match or improve upon their strong rookie performances.

This lineup should should score runs.And the defense should also be improved. Imber has put together a solid group of position players who should provide plenty of excitement throughout the 2057 campaign. Walton, Martinez, Reyna, and Rivera all have some history of injury concerns. There is enough depth in the lineup that they should be able to weather potential injury problems should they come up.

On the pitching side, the additions of Cantrell and Bullock should have a positive impact on the squad as well. They strengthen a pitching staff that had a 4.70 ERA in 2056, which was the best the team had since 2052. The starting rotation should be considerably stronger with those two leading it. Cantrell was hurt during Spring Training, but should be back for the start of the season. The addition of Salgado strengthens a bullpen that returns two of their better contributors from last season, Michel Gautier, and Chris Lacey.

The pitching staff should be good enough to improve on the 2056 performance and provide a solid opportunity for the lineup to keep San Fernando on top more often than not.

The Bears’ top prospect, according to OSA, is the #24 BBA prospect Keith Mays. He has struggled to find success in the minors up to this point, but he does have good tools and should eventually get there.

San Francisco has made great moves and should find a lot more success in 2057 than they have the last several years. Imber has gone all in and should be rewarded with a team that contends for a playoff spot. Whether or not they actually reach that goal will depend on a few factors.

1. Will the team stay healthy enough?
2. Will Rivera and Cantrell be the 5 WAR players of a year ago or fall back to the more modest production of previous seasons?
3. Will Harrison and Schultz build on their impressive play as rookies or will they suffer from sophomore slumps?
4. Will Martinez be the 2 WAR player he was last season, or the more impressive version of himself from previous years?

I believe enough will goes right to see San Fernando push for a Wild Card spot to the end of the year. I don’t know if they will earn the last playoff spot or finish just short, but it is possible that bringing in multiple players who played in the postseason last year will help them get over the hump. I predict a record of 90-72, an 18 game improvement from 2056, and the final playoff spot in the Frick League.

[BaseClogger]

I would be ecstatic if this preview came true. Injury risk and pitching will probably hold me back, as you identified as my main challenge.

Great preview, thank you!

[BaseClogger]

90 wins is exactly how many wins I have right now!