The 2010 Omaha Barnstormers

[nverhoev]

In 2009:

Last years Barnstormers went 71-91 to finish in fourth Place in Johnson League Midwest Division. They scored 797 runs which was good for fifth in the JL. They were 10th in the JL in Runs against with 869.

Key Offseason Moves:

You can’t blame a fourth place team for shaking things up in the offseason and the Barnstormers certainly did a lot of tinkering. Key additions are Kenji Masaki, Will Simmons and Brendan Meyer. Vicente Martinez is the only big loss from last year’s team. There were a pile of other more minor moves but unless they surprise are more depth type players.

Pitching Overview:

Probable starters-

Zach Brown- The 100 million dollar man is the... man... in Omaha. Brown is coming off a season in which he threw 247(!) innings and put up a 3.82 ERA and 15-9 record. He will be counted on to provide a similar season in 2010.

Allan Howse- Howse is on his fourth team already which seems a lot for a 28 year old with his pitching makeup. He has great control and with only 195 innings so far in the MBWBA looks like a pretty good bet for a ‘breakout’ type season. I think a 15-10 record and 3.8ish ERA would be a good outcome for him and the team but I could see him being even better than that if he fills out his potential a bit more.

Luis Luna- Luna is another 28 year old pitcher who has been around the league a bit early in his career. 2010 is his third year in Omaha and he has been pretty solid for the team. Luna looks like a solid three pitcher and should log 200+ innings and 4ish WAR for the third year in a row.

Allen Kennedy- One of the good young pitchers in the game the 24 year old hurler may begin his big league career in 2010. Kennedy has some development left so it will be risk to throw him to the Wolves (literally, Puckett and Kengos are in this division). He should be a good one in time but will probably struggle at times in his first season.

Coy Davis / Charles Brannigan – I lumped them together because they have similar skill sets, although Davis is a righty and Brannigan a lefty. If anything their electric stuff and movement is magnified by their complete lack of control. Batters will literally fear these two every time they step in the box. They will be streaky but are both good enough to be decent options in the fourth/fifth spot in the rotation.

Bullpen-

Brenda Meyer came over in a trade from Greenville and has been as consistently good closing as anyone in the league. Youngster Javier Alomar is the other headliner of this group. Overall a fairly decent bullpen should do the job for Omaha.

Lineup:

The offense looks good. Omaha is focusing on players with high OBP’s. There is a nice mix of youth and experience as well as average, power, and a big emphasis on on-base percentage.

LF Will Simmons – This lefty outfielder boasts a career .420 OBP. Perfect stat for the top of the lineup.

RF Roland Carroll – Carroll is not the player he used to be but will still see more than his fair share of pitches and take free passes whenever he can. His defense isn’t what it used to be but he will still do admirably in a corner outfield spot.

2B Bernard Maselli – Coming off an all-star appearance in 2009 Maselli is the focus of the Omaha attack. Anything less than a .300/.400/.450 type year would probably be a disappointment.

DH Allen Stephens – Stephens will bat clean up for the Barnstormers. Not known for his patience at the plate Stephens will probably hit 30 plus home runs and with some good OBP guys ahead of him should easily eclipse the 100 RBI mark in 2010.

C Tobias Kelly – The long-time Omaha catcher returns for his 10th season behind the plate. He had a bit of a down year in 2009 so eyes will be on him in 2010. Kelly is a good all-around guy who does everything well.

1B Miguel Toro – The 27 year old slugger looks to make an impact in 2010. Toro has a big bat and has the makeup to improve on his career .820 OPS. In two years full time with Omaha he has appeared in 322 of 324 games. That’s a reliable player!

2B Alfredo Mendez – Mendez probably isn’t in the long term Barnstormers Master plan but will be a reliable player in 2010. He can move around the infield if required which is always helpful in a long season.

SS Kenji Masaki– After a 700 odd at bat stint in Carolina Masaki returns to Omaha where he has amassed about 7500 at bats. With good defense and a lifetime .302 average he fits the short stop position nicely and as a fan favourite was a nice pickup by the team.

CF Eric Rouse – Also entering his tenth season in Omaha Rouse is an under the radar solid big leaguer. He never quite lived up to his early potential but will be a solid defender and lower part of the order bat.

Conclusion:

I like the balance of the team. The starting pitching, bullpen, offence, and defence are all solid. It’s hard to predict a playoff appearance with a consistently good Madison team and an up and coming Chicago team. The OOTP prediction page has them at 73-89 which I think is on the low end for this team. With some good fortune I think this team can get to .500 and possibly stay in the wild card picture. Time will tell in Omaha in 2010.

[Cliche]

I liked their Meyer addition. Not having a good closer stinks.

[agrudez]

Thanks bud, it was a good read. It seems you echoed alot of my own thoughts about players individually so it was interesting that we had a slight dissonance with overall projection - will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I liked their Meyer addition. Not having a good closer stinks.

Yes it does, though Alomar was a decent enough one in his own right. My pitching staff (especially the 'pen) took a huge hit from a subpar defense last year (Maselli played some games at SS, Stephens played all year in LF, etc.) which is something that I subtly corrected for the upcoming year that could pay big dividends (Masaki at SS, Carroll+Simmons in the corners, etc.).