Rockville: 2058

[RonCo]

Let’s talk about Rockville, shall we? It’s a team in a bit of a bind. They’ve had a quiet off-season, which, really they needed to have a louder one. But when the resources are tight, there’s only so much you can do. The Pikeman’s budget sits at $120M. Their payroll at $106M. Add roughly $8M for signing draft picks, and maybe $6M? for staff, and that puts expenses right up to budget. As far as I can tell, the cash on hand is not so “on hand.”

To make matters “worse” (as in more restrictive), $51M of that payroll is tied up in three players, all of them having player options at the end of this season that would allow them to keep getting paid Rockville gravy for 2059.

Those three are Face of the Franchise Socrates Kazantziakis (SS, 31, 2.4 WAR in 2057, $24M), Eric Wagner (LF, 30, 1.6 WAR, $15M), and Nathaniel Davis (SP, 33, .9 WAR, $12M). All three of these guys are coming off seasons where they should have done better, but each probably represent a moderately large over-pay.

So what’cha gonna do, right?

Mostly it seems, you’re gonna play then as they fall.

The club lost Brian Dixon to Free Agency, and beyond a Rule 5 thing, haven’t really done anything to mix things up. So, I guess you dance with the horse that brung ya.

In this case, the horses look to be:

POSITION PLAYERS
CATCHER: John McMuttray, a bat first option making $8.2M. He hasn’t turned more than 1 WAR since 2053, but he’s making the big money and the scouts like his bat a lot more than other options. Bob Aucion, at 23 is probably the heir apparent. He’ll be cheaper, but probably not as good?

FIRST BASE/DH: Manuel Salinas/Cam Whitten. The big question on everyone’s mind in Rockville has been weather prospect Masahiko Harada’s time was officially here. He’s having a big spring, and the temptation to pull the trigger is probably there. But Harada’s hit tool isn’t completely here, and with Salinas’ clock already started, it seems more likely for the club to break camp with Salinas at 1B, and Harada assigned to a level higher than the A-ball level he was at last season. Rational minds can disagree, though. Whitten is a solid enough hitter from both sides of the plate. The team could probably swap Salinas and Whitten between the positions just to give each a little rest?

SECOND BASE: Richard Vernon, a 22-year-old who seemed to come to his own last year. He played a little short when Socrates got dinged up, but is really a much better fit at 2B where his glove is probably a touch over league average. Good contact with a little speed to burn. The fact that he’s a switchie who can manage both sides of the plate is a big benefit.

SHORTSTOP: Socrates. You don’t pay a guy $24M to sit the bench even if he’s lost a half-step on the range. Regardless, Kazantziakis is a solid player who, if he can stay healthy, should really post 3+ WAR. The team will need him to.

THIRD BASE: Insiders say Cesar Rodrigues will be back in the role. With Dixon’s departure, the Pikemen don’t have a lot of other options right now. He played 77 games in the hot corner last year, and carried his weight defensively. He’s slow getting into his development, though. 29, and scouts still say they’d like to see more discipline and more from the hit tool. F he gets it, the results would be a lot more fun to watch than the 1 WAR he did last year.

LEFT FIELD: Victor Tuncay has been playing left in the early part of the spring. AT least he’d bring a center fielder’s glove to the role. Eventually this will be home to Fida bin Kaseem, but “eventually” is still a long way away.

CENTER FIELD: Paul Strickland will return. At 26, he’s been with the team for a couple seasons, neither of which has been good (-.7 WAR in 2057). The options are slim, though. So Strickland it would seem to be.

RIGHT FIELD: Look for LHB Eric Wagner to handle left in a platoon with someone. That someone could be the aforementioned Salinas.

OFFENSE OVERVIEW The Pikemen have a few guys who can hit a little, but no one that the opposing staff looks at with much terror. The Pikeman offense was last in the league at creating runs, and with 2058 looking like a “run in place” season, I don’t see it getting any better. I think it’s going to be a tough offense to watch.
ROTATION Luis Conzalez will be back as the team’s ace. At 27 he’s looking to rebound from what might have been the worst season of his career. I expect he’ll manage it. He throws 99 with a nice 4-pitch arsenal, and as an iron man with great stamina the idea of taking the ball every time his number is called is a good thing. That said, he’d look better as a #2 or a #3. Such is the life of the ace of a struggling ballclub.

At 38, Danny Leach is back to anchor the staff. Poor guy. He’s a remnant to the Glory Days in Rockville. His 5-12, 5.76 result last year is hard on the eye, but the fact is that his defense behind carries a lot of that burden. His 2057 registered 87 on the FIP- register, pretty much in line with his performance essentially forever.

The rest of the rotation may well be interesting in the same vein as the old Chinese proverb written around living in interesting times. Perhaps the most intriguing option is 20-year-old Jorge Ramirez, who’s spring has made him look ready, but who would be jumping from AA ball. Is now the time? Joe MacIndoe has been with the team four seasons now, and has yet to throw a better than league average FIP-. He’ll probably be in the mix, though. And 25-year-old Dabir Nawfal is just kind of a weird bird. Scouts say his stuff should be off the charts, but he throws 93. I guess it’s that ++ curve they’re focused on. Regardless, he started 26 games last year and did a 5.26 ERA. Perhaps he’ll grow a bit.

BULLPEN David Wade saved 24 games for the team last year. That’s good. He has a sore elbow right now. Hopefully it will get better. At 29, Christian Walker is maybe the most reliable thing that Rockville has going. He threw 75 innings last year. One wonders if they wouldn’t mind seeing 100+ this time out. Youngsters Aaron Bridges and Roberto Rosario look like they might eventually get a few guys out. And Earl Cox looks like he can keep the ball in the park, though he got beat around in a cup of coffee last season.
PITCHING OVERVIEW I don’t know. Unlike the hitters, the Pikemen’s pitching wasn’t the worst in the league last year, and the fact is that they have a few guys who can throw the ball by you. But like the hitters, I don’t see a lot of improvement on the way for 2058. The young relievers are interesting, though. They could surprise. There’s no real top dog here, though, and that makes the going tough. Pitching staff by committee is always dangerous.

OVERALL The team won 59 games last year. As best I can tell, it’s bringing back the same crew. The (incorrectly?) stated rule of insanity seems to apply. When doing the same thing, expect the same result. So ‘ll go with that.

[BaseClogger]

Would like to see Jim really shake things up with this club. At least give some younger guys with higher ceilings the chance to play on the offensive side.

[Dington]

Should see some improvement in 2060, at least.

[JimSlade]

I agree with this assessment - and don't think I wouldn't like to shake it up and work in more guys from Vernon's class. The difficulty is moving anyone. I badly miscalculated on some signings a few seasons ago. No one's banging down the door for any of my serviceable veterans. (Try me, but if there's not a financial benefit, I won't be motivated to move an affordable guy who at least gives me some joy, like my boy Whitten, for the sake of opening space for a kid who needs another half season in the minors.) I hope these go down as my "penance years," because lord knows I sinned. Who knows, maybe the Baseball Gods convince one of my high-priced guys to opt out after this season.

Small victories this offseason? I give myself a pat on the back for letting Barajas and Dixon walk. I liked those guys, but the former was cooked and the latter was blocking space for some moves I might consider as this season gets underway.

If you need a sign that I, perhaps, still haven't learned my lesson, I didn't simply let my long reliever Miyauchi walk. He's eating up a chunk of budget for a thankless job that any kid could have taken on for a third of the salary. However, I'm pretty conservative with throwing kids to the wolves. I figure there will be many innings for my pen to eat this season. Miyauchi is a trash-time vulture.

[CTBrewCrew]

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