2063 San Fernando Bears Preview

[chicoruiz]

Many of the smarter general managers in the Brewster universe follow a policy of defense above everything else, and it seems to work for them. Kurt Imber is one of those smart GMs, and you can see that philosophy in his 2063 team Let's take a deeper dive:

INFIELD: Yuu Suzuki is listed as a third baseman, and he'd be okay there, but chances are he'll find himself at first, due to there being other options at the hot corner. Wherever Yuu plays, he's a star bordering on superstardom; 14.7 WAR in the last two seasons and still under 30. Assuming he plays first, young Jose Reyes will man third; he had an .867 OPS in a full-time role last year, and there's no reason to expect anything but further growth. The Bears hope for a step forward at the plate from 24-year-old glove wizard Jason Steward; the other options there aren't inspiring. Second base is where things get a bit hinky. The team's press handouts list Qutuz Mahdi as the starter, but he's 36 and his hitting stats have been declining every year for the last few. I wouldn't be surprised to see Reyes move to second, and prize rookie Jose Mendoza step in at third.

OUTFIELD: Rafael Marquis laid claim to the left field spot with a hot half-season in San Fernando. Another young player, Miguel Lussier, may spell him against tough lefties, at least at the beginning of the season. Center fielder Sonny Bigelow is another representative of the defense-first philosophy; he's an extraordinary fielder who struggles to keep his batting average above .200. Tommy Harrison is an above-average right fielder who's coming off his first .300 season. An injury to Bigelow might send him to center, since most of the depth options are limited to a corner spot, including Keith Tims, who slots in best as a DH.

CATCHER: Manny Trujillo brings a .300-ish bat and solid defensive chops to the catching position. It would be nice if he could draw the occasional walk, but you can't have everything. Augusto Annis is penciled in as the backup right now, and he's an elite framer, but you probably can't play him if he's going to OPS .571 the way he did last year. Defense is wonderful, but an inning where the Bears have Mahdi, Steward, Annis and Bigelow due up to bat is going to make a lot of San Fernando fans think it's a good time to visit the concession stand.

STARTING PITCHING: Unlike most teams, the Bears seem to be going into 2063 with their rotation pretty much set. That doesn't mean they necessarily love where it currently stands, but they're willing to go with it for a while at least. Alexander Swanson is the bell cow of the group coming off a 15-win season and earning 3.0 points of WAR. Ielemia Faletose took a step backwards in 2062, but even at 2062 level he's a viable #2 starter. Junkball specialist Morris Chapa went 13-7. 3.63 last year. Jerry Richards and Rick Marriott are in line for back-of-the-rotation spots, but both need to rebound from a nasty 2062. Want a sleeper? Dhrtatman Seshadri has started in the past and has the arsenal and the stamina to do so again; with several of the current starters rated "fragile" he may get his chance.

BULLPEN: Is a mere teenager up for the challenge of closing games in the big leagues? If anyone is, it's Carlos Williams; his curve and cutter are both elite. Steve Fuller will be the lefty setup man again. Ben Weaver has a six-pitch arsenal and pitched better in the majors last year than he had in AAA. Filippio Ioriatti comes over from Phoenix, and Seshadri figures in here if he's not needed in the rotation.

PREDICTION: It all comes down to whether you trust the GM to find the right balance of offense and defense in his lineups. I do; the Bears won 88 last season; I expect a similar win total in 2063, and I expect them to be in the hunt for a playoff spot in the Pacific.

[BaseClogger]

This is fantastic! Thanks for previewing da bears.

Astute observation on Mendoza. I can do a lot of mixing and matching on the infield thanks to their versatility.

Good line about going to the concessions haha.

Minor leaguer Jim Sitton is the clear backup for Bigalow. He’s just about ready.

I’m worried I’ll forget about seshadri being an option for starts. That’s the value of an outside perspective.

88 wins feels like 65th percentile or so for us. I’m expecting more like 84. We just don’t have the starting pitching to get it done.