Down the Rabbit Hole (35.08): Rabbits Set Opening Day Roster

[bpbrooksy]

With a six-game homestand set to open the 2035 season on Monday, the Edmonton Jackrabbits have officially announced the 27 men breaking camp with the big club and heading up to Alberta to take on Frontier division rival, the Vancouver Mounties.

The Starting Rotation

LHP Bobby Lynch (10/6/9 Ratings)
RHP Johnny Morin (7/7/7 Ratings)
LHP Taisuke Suzuki (8/6/6 Ratings)
RHP Chet Parrish (8/7/7 Ratings)
RHP Maxime Manceau (8/8/7 Ratings)

There are no new faces in the rotation this year for the Rabbits, but a vague combination of these five hurlers was enough to put together a respectable staff last season, so too much tinkering didn't seem necessary. As the old saying goes, "if it ain't broke, don't break it," or...something like that. Lynch will be the linchpin of the rotation, with Morin and Suzuki looking to build upon development and Parrish and Manceau looking to break out a little bit. Of the five, Suzuki was the only one with a subpar spring, posting a 5.56 ERA in over 20 innings.

The Bullpen

RHP Adam Coughlan (8/5/6 Ratings)

RHP Wen Huang (7/6/6 Ratings)
LHP Justin Sproule (6/6/7 Ratings)
RHP Ed Kenney (9/5/6 Ratings)

RHP Stewart Vale (7/6/7 Ratings)
RHP Jose Gutierrez (7/7/8 Ratings)

RHP Alfredo Martinez (10/3/7 Ratings)

RHP Jonathan Bowen (10/5/9 Ratings)

Let's tackle this from front to back. Coughlan will be our long reliever, as he hasn't quite shown the arsenal of pitches to warrant a spot in the rotation, and saw an uptick in his strikeout numbers when shifted to relief last season. The middle relievers, similarly, are made up of starters -- Kenney had a lot of improved numbers when he made the switch to full-time relief in 2034, while Huang and Sproule are both young guys hoping to break into the rotation in the future. There's plenty of spot starting options in this bullpen right now.

Then there's Vale, also a converted starter (although his stamina was always an indicator that he'd be coming out of the bullpen at the BBA level), and free agent signing Jose Gutierrez (7/7/8 Ratings), who had a 240 ERA+ with Atlantic City last season and will be setting up wins alongside Vale. Alfredo Martinez (10/3/7 Ratings) had a killer spring, and after striking out 238 batters without starting a single game last season, it would be great to see the one-time Frick League All-Star lower his ERA and really dominate this season. Finally, there's Bowen, also a free agent, who looks to continue having success in his mid-30s as he jumps from San Antonio's closer to Edmonton's.

The Starting Lineup

CF Luis Costello (8/7/8/4/8 Ratings)
RF Mitch Dalrymple (9/7/8/4/8 Ratings)
1B Dusty Rhodes (10/3/6/5/10 Ratings)
3B Holden Blackwell (6/5/2/3/9 Ratings)
2B Luis Soto (7/4/7/5/10 Ratings)
LF Malcolm Guesne (5/6/6/4/6 Ratings)
C Eric Fabre (6/7/7/6/5 Ratings)
DH Declan Crauen (8/8/7/5/7 Ratings)
SS Jesus Mejia (5/6/7/6/5 Ratings)

Right off the bat, the big name here is Costello. "Love Machine" will make his major-league debut at the age of 21 after putting up a 4.4-win season at Triple-A Winnipeg last year. The speedy Costello will be expected to hit dingers, swipe bags, and win Zimmers -- but no pressure, kid. He'll be followed by the current face of the lineup in Dalrymple, and if the two of them keep their OBPs up, contact hitter Dusty Rhodes (10/3/6/5/10 Ratings) will have a lot of ribbies in 2035. Rhodes was picked up this offseason in free agency after leading the league in hits for the third time, and winning his third batting title. Sure, his .891 OPS was his best in seven years, but there have been some quality campaigns along the way, and Rhodes should be a good fit for the team.

Then there's Blackwell and Soto, who had good years last season after being the free agent additions the year prior. It's nice that some younger hitters are coming up and they can round out the lineup more than define it, which was largely the case in 2034. Behind them is Guesne, the biggest speed threat, who led the team with 42 steals in 57 tries last season. He's lower in the order this year, but should still get plenty of opportunities to run.

Then there's Fabre, our new catcher, making his big-league debut. Fabre's looked good in the minor leagues, and he's another guy who developed young, so we get to see him for a while in the BBA if he sticks. His coaches have had nothing but great things to say about him as he's come up, so I hope he's able to contribute. Crauen will be our DH for now, and we might see Fawcett against lefties. Finally, Jesus Mejia (5/6/7/6/5 Ratings), another free agency pickup, will slot in at short. He's not worth two million, but we had plenty of room for a one-year deal on the payroll, and needed to get somebody there at shortstop because we don't have any options in the minors.

The Bench

C Miguel Valencia (5/3/8/6/7 Ratings)
1B Jose Gonzalez (7/7/6/4/7 Ratings)
3B Les Fawcett (6/6/7/7/7 Ratings)
OF Folkert Letroit (6/6/4/6/7 Ratings)
UT Manuel Perez (5/5/3/5/5 Ratings)

Valencia beat out Juan de los Santos for the backup catcher job thanks mostly to his offense, as Santos is slightly better in the field. A defensively-minded backup catcher would generally be my preference, but I also can't just punt on lineup production from the catcher spot every time Fabre needs a day off. Gonzalez will be the backup first baseman and likely get some reps at DH; he's not my favorite, but came over with Fabre in the trade, and we'll keep him on the roster for the time being. Fawcett is backing up third and will take some DH duties against left-handers.

Letroit is backing up the corner outfield and will get his first big-league opportunity since 2033, when he played four games between the Sluggers and the Rabbits. Finally, Perez is serving as the super-utility guy, covering pretty much everywhere up the middle and in the outfield, as the team looks for a more clear-cut utility infielder type to share some of the load.

~~~

Is this the year that Edmonton finally turns the corner towards a winning record? With the expansion and realignment, the Rabbits now have a brand-new opponent in Boise to beat up on, but who's to say the Spuds won't make a splash in their inaugural season? While Calgary aims for another division title after winning 98 ballgames last season, Seattle and Vancouver both struggled, which means that with some success, Edmonton might find themselves in second place this season, and perhaps even challenging for the wild card. If the improving offense can catch up to the pitching staff, it could be a fun season for Jackrabbits fans.

[bpbrooksy]

Perhaps the best part of this roster is that we're starting the year with no major-league players on the disabled list.