2061 Brooklyn Robins Preview

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Krathan
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2061 Brooklyn Robins Preview

Post by Krathan » Fri Nov 01, 2024 4:34 pm

2061 Brooklyn Robins Preview

Brooklyn last made the playoffs in 2045. In the 15 seasons since, the Robins have finished in 8th place 12 times, 7th place twice, and 6th place once. The team has won more than 64 games just twice during that stretch. After losing 223 games combined in 2058 and 2059, GM Ben Heuring, decided it was time to shake things up. And, boy, did he shake things up. Heuring made a trade that sent shockwaves through the league forums. That trade, and other moves, helped Heuring achieve his goal of setting the Robins on a path to becoming a winning franchise.

Three notable things happened in the 2060 season.

1. Brooklyn won 74 games, an impressive 21 win improvement over the previous season.
2. The Robins were still mathematically in the playoff hunt into September.
3. The GM changed his signature in the forums, seemingly indicating that he no longer views his team as a rebuilding franchise, but as a team on the rise.

The 2060 Robins were a solid offensive team. It was pitching and defense that often let them down. Heuring focused on improving those areas heading into 2061. I’m going to take a look at what we can expect from the Robins in the upcoming season.

The 2060 Robins were a solid offensive team. It was pitching and defense that often let them down. Heuring focused on improving those areas heading into 2061.

The most newsworthy additions to the Robins this year are in the starting rotation.

Umar Dogar signed a 6 year contract, worth $90 Million to join the Brooklyn Rotation. Dogar has been labeled as an extreme injury risk despite not spending much time on the injured list since recovering from a torn rotator cuff over a decade ago. Dogar has never pitched at the BBA level, having spent his entire career up to this point in the GBC, playing for Tokyo. He has been a very good pitcher for the Pearls, and is coming off a year in which he had a FIP- of 77. If Dogar can continue to stay healthy, I believe he will be successful in the BBA.

The arrival of Jose Torres has been discussed since he was taken with the number 1 overall pick in the 2059 draft. Torres first pro season was at the A level, where he was 10-4 with a 1.75 ERA. In 2060, he made the jump to AAA and dominated once again, finishing 16-5 with a 2.29 ERA. Torres should be very good at the big league level as well. His biggest knock is stamina, where scouts rate him as 3 out of 10. However, he threw 188.2 innings in 228 AAA starts, and was clearly highly effective.

The only member of last year’s starting rotation who is not returning for 2061 is Steven Clulow Jr.. That means that the Robins have options and depth in their starting rotation. I think it’s likely that Brooklyn starts the year with Todd Jones (13-12, 4.89), Tony Bernard (6-10, 4.08), and Steven Anderton (14-9, 5.05) behind Dogar and Torres. With the new additions and an improved defense behind them, the rotation should be much better than a year ago.

Anchored by Steven Northard (4.06 ERA), Ryan Harmon (3.34 ERA), and Frank Benitez (16 saves), the eventual return of Ommar bin Ayyub, and rookie Relix Feliz, the bullpen should also be better with an improved defense.

On the position player side of the game, most members of last season’s quality offense have returned. There have been a couple of notable changes. I will discuss the offense in their probable batting order.

Alfredo “Cookie Monster” Trujillo had a strong rookie campaign in 2059 but more than doubled his WAR output in his sophomore campaign. His defense is lacking, but he is an offensive force.

Lawrence Miranda returns as the DH. He has been a serviceable hitter for Brooklyn since first appearing with the big league club as a 20 year old in 2056. His career wRC+ of 109 would play better if he was also providing defensive value, but as a DH, Brooklyn will hope he returns to the way he played in 2057, when he put up 3.5 WAR and a wRC+ of 131.

Emilio Morales Jr. is an outstanding hitter who is coming off of his best season. He hit .317 with 44 home runs, 150 wRC+, and 4.5 WAR in 2060.

Jorge Cano hit 25 home runs and drove in 70 in his first year with the Robins. That was good for 1.9 WAR. Brooklyn will hope that he is better in 2061, but will take similar production if that is his new normal.

Pablo Lara is new to Brooklyn this year. He spent most of 2060 injured, got traded from Jacksonville to Phoenix, and then released. He is a good defensive LF who has often hit 15 or more home runs and stolen 10 or more bases. He has a career wRC+ of 105 and put up 2 WAR in his last full season. He replaces Don Moore who had an impressively bad defensive showing with -20.3 ZR and a Def Eff of .919 last season.

Wilson Prieto is back in CF again after a year in which he hit 31 home runs. His CF defense was not good in 2060, but he worked hard in the team’s dev lab to improve that area of the game this offseason.

Francisco Garcia was brought in to help the team defensively. He is a much better defender at SS than what the team had last year. He was not brought in for his bat. Garcia has a career batting average of .201 and career wRC+ of 45.

Chai Yuan showed tremendous improvement from his rookie year in 2059 to last year. He improved from -2.0 WAR to 2.1 WAR. Yuan is another player who successfully improved his defense in the team’s dev lab this offseason, which is a good thing, because he was bad in RF last year. Yuan will look to build on an offensive performance that was above league average, with a wRC+ of 109.

Felipe Delgado will be behind the plate for the Robins this year. Last year’s starter Aurelio Gonzales is still with the club as well. The change seems to be based on Delgado’s offensive track record being better than Gonzales’s, and perhaps Delgado being a little better pitch framer. Delgado has a below average arm, with Gonzales being a little better there. This could be a position in flux during the 2061 season.

OVERALL OUTLOOK:


This is a team that has improved on their main areas of weakness from a year ago.I believe they are a better team, with some holes. The bottom third of their lineup is not likely to produce much offense. Their defense has improved, but there are still some deficiencies in that area. Their starting rotation has a lot of talent, but it drops off after the top two. If Dogar starts to live up to his injury rating, then the rotation is much less intimidating. The bullpen needs a couple of guys to bounce back from down years in order to really be a group that can be relied on consistently.

The other factor to consider here is that a lot of the rest of the Atlantic has also improved. Getting better might not be enough to finish higher in the standings. I do think that Brooklyn will win a few more games this year, but in a tough Atlantic Division, I don’t think it will be a lot more. I am projecting a record of 82-80, giving them their first winning season since 2045.
Krathan (Nathan)
Cairo Pharaos GM 2055 (2055 GBC Champion)
Charlotte Cougars/Flyers GM Sept. 2055-??? (2058, 2059, 2060 JL Wildcard, 2062 Atlantic Division Champion, and 2060 and 2062 JL Pennant)

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Re: 2061 Brooklyn Robins Preview

Post by lordtoffee » Fri Nov 01, 2024 6:04 pm

You pretty much nailed this preview, Nathan. I feel really good about this roster, but certainly have some questions. If I get 85 wins, that would be a successful season.
President of Baseball Operations - Sacramento Mad Popes

Former GM of the Brooklyn Robins

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