Pitching
Warren Moore and Marvin Winston should be fighting the Opening Day nod as they both look to repeat their success found in their sophomore seasons with a 3.68 FIP and 3.98 FIP, respectively. Ben Render was beginning to blossom in 2046 before tearing his labrum in August, so the Popes will look to him for a strong return to bolster a solid rotation reinforced by tremendous defense and pitcher-friendly confines. Aging LHP Shawn Huber will be a welcome addition to the bullpen as he enters the twilight stages of his career. He should replace Manuel Andres, who was lost to free agency, and solidify the backend of the bullpen with Manuel Cruz and Big Cheese.
Infield
Anything hit up the middle is prone to finding its way into a black hole created by Henri Charierre and Thomas Kramer. Greek Freak is coming off his sixth consecutive year leading the league in stolen bases and will slide over to the hot corner with Alejandro Ortiz taking over 1B duties. Sacramento fans will be expecting more out of the 1B slugger who was signed as a free agent prior to the 2046 season and only managed to slug .436.
Outfield
Sacramento’s current outfield is merely a placeholder for highly touted prospects, Wasim Ala’, Unem Ploid, and Okyay Nisanci. Don’t expect much offensive contribution outside of Ricardo Mendoza, who returned to his all-star form in 2046. The remaining members of the outfield will be called for their defensive contributions, while trying to make minimal outs at the plate.
Designated Hitter
The biggest free agency splash for Sacramento came off the news of signing former Long Beach Surfers, Gonzalo Martinez, to a 5 year $37M deal to hit baseballs. He should be a nice addition to the middle of the linuep, but even his bat should be muted at The Basilica at Muskrat Sloug.
The Mad Popes should head into 2047 with optimism, as the Pacific is up for grabs with no clear-cut favorite to win the division. Securing a wild card spot away from a Heartland team will be difficult, so winning the division will be their goal. Perhaps if stubborn GM, Doug Olmstead would trade one of those young outfielders for a proven all-star, like Nashville Bluebirds 3B, Tony Frost, they would have a better shot at making the playoffs. I predict a record of 88-74.
