2010 California Crusaders

[bigmike13]

With the MBBA 2010 season upon us, a quick look into one of the busier offseason teams, the California Crusaders, should help determine if they are better than last year.

Key Additions: 1B Thibaud Lecocq, SS Jean-Marc Fraysse, MR Pavel Eijpe

Key Departures: C Antonio Gonzales

OFFENSE:
C Bill Davis – Davis, a waiver wire pick up from Buffalo last season, split time with Antonio Gonzales in 2009 and is now in line to take over as the starter with the departure of Gonzales in free agency. Davis had somewhat pedestrian stats over 54 games but more than made up for it with his superior receiving skills. Davis did not have any errors in his 54 games behind the dish and gunned down 18 potential base stealers giving him a 51.4% CS rate. Davis should more than hold his own with the majority of playing time in 2010.

1B Armando Rosales/Thibaud Lecocq- Rosales is considered one of the team leaders for the Crusaders both on and off the field. Rosales was consistently among the teams leaders in all major batting categories. It is not sure how the Crusaders will use EBA draftee Thibaud Lecocq, a first baseman by trade, during the upcoming season but look for Cali to find a way to get his bat in the lineup.

2B Dwight Ferris – The talented 32 yr old has struggled to hit and get on base consistently as proven by his .221 batting average and his .296 OBP but when he does hit it is usually crushed. With 22 HR’s and a .391 slugging percentage Dwight is someone who makes things very interesting for his manager when he gets up up the plate.

3B Jean-Marc Fraysse – The Crusaders struck gold with EBA draftee Fraysse, but had to also pay a fortune to get him into uniform. A career EBA player, there was considerable discussion about how his skill set would translate to the move to the MBBA but there is little doubt that Fraysse has a lot of ability. A fantastic defensive Infielder, if he is able to come close to his EBA averages of .316 BA, 109 RBI’s and 28 HR’s this will be a fantastic signing for Cali.

SS Bartolo Esquivel - Esquivel took over as the starter at SS last season for California and did nothing to warrant a change for 2010. A .282 average with 57 RBI’s were excellent contributions from Esquivel. The light hitting SS even tossed in 6 HR’s on the season. He will man the SS position again for Cali but having Fraysse in the fold does give them options in the event of an injury.

LF Carroll Phillip – Phillips bounced around AAA and the bigs for last couple of years but took hold of the LF position last season with a very good .327 AVG, 143 Hits and 53 RBI’s over the course of 437 AB’s. At only 27 years old, Phillips could be manning the OF in California for many years to come.

CF Chris Neal – Journeyman Neal came to California, his third team in three years, in a trade with Chicago and performed adequately enough. Neal gave the Crusaders a .257 AVG, 16 HR’s and 69 RBI’s and even chipped in a career high 26 SB’s. A second season with the same team should see a small spike in Neal’s stats as familiarity makes him more comfortable.

RF Jeffery Johnston/Kuan Liao – The 25 yr old Johnston was the primary RF for California and gave his team a .294 AVG w/51 Runs and 54 RBI’s. Johnston is a young but improving OF who should produce more power as he gets a little older. Liao split time as the backup for both LF and RF and showed off tremendous power as he cranked out 33 HR’s and 104 RBI’s to lead the team in those categories. Look for Liao to continue to move around the OF in order to keep his bat in the lineup.

ROTATION:
Norm Young – A strikeout machine, Young struggled last season with a 5.17 ERA and was not able to crack double digits in wins as he ended up with 8. Young struck out a blistering 227 batters last season but it isn’t hard to find the problem area for Young as he was disastrous on the road with a 2-5 record and a 6.91 ERA. Young will have to get his road troubles under control to become the pitcher that California needs him to be.

Joe Dupree – The 30 year old Lefty struggled after his recall from AAA giving the Crusaders a 4-6 record and a 5.36 ERA. Dupree seemed to lose some velocity last season pitching in the 87-89 MPH range and only getting 54 K’s. Never a huge strikeout guy during his career it remains to be seen if he stays in the Crusader rotation all year.

Arthur Gleeson – Gleeson had the best record of all the Crusader pitchers finishing 11-12 with a 4.41 ERA and pitched well enough to keep Cali in the game during his starts. A 2008 All Star, Gleeson is capable of being a very good pitcher as long as he can stay healthy.

Larry Brew - Brew bounced between the rotation and the pen during the 2009 season and finished the year with a 7-8 record and a decent 4.12 ERA in 38 games The 35 year old could see another season of double duty as the Crusaders pitching situation looks somewhat fluid at this point. Not a long term solution for a successful Crusader season.

Brien Meister – The epitome of a control pitcher, Meister issued only 19 BB’s in 194 innings last season and did an admirable job in his 27 starts. Ending the season with a 7-16 record doesn’t really tell how well Meister pitched last season and is a very adequate 5th starter. Meister does have some injury history and will hopefully give California a solid season again on the mound

BULLPEN:
CL Masatake Hirose – Hirose is firmly entrenched as the Crusaders closer after a season of 28 Saves and a 3.98 ERA. Hirose had an OAVG of .202 and should continue to flourish in the 9th inning roll.

Grady Powers, Jon Judson, Corey Hill, Javier Reyes, Toby Murdoch, Pavel Eijpe and Dale Noble make up the Crusaders relief corp and are expected to have another solid season.

The Crusaders are amassing a fine offensive club, but the pitching staff is by far the Achilles heel of this squad. In a league where pitchers are coveted, it may take a few more season for California to make a serious run into the playoffs, but they do have enough firepower to make things interesting along the way.

Prediction: 72-90, 3rd place JL Pacific

[mrbornac]

I am glad to see that Davis was able to find someplace to play full time - something he never was going to do with Hunter ahead of him and Watts behind him..

[felipe]

Defineltey made some BOLD moves to try to get better; ain't standing still, thats fore shore!

I hope it works out, but not at my expense...preferably at Omaha's...or Chicago's...or Hawaii's...or Washington's...or...