Tweet
Death Valley Scorpions
91-71
2nd in Stout; IL WC
Lost in ILDS
What’s New?
In
CL Jamie Gruell
MR Jamie Nourse
Out
SP Travis Neal (FA)
MR Pat Knight (FA)
CF BJ Mulcahy (FA)
SP Laurent Boutin (Trade)
LF TJ DiMaggio (Trade)
SS DJ Boatner (Trade)
1B Fuji Yamamoto (Trade)
With a bloated payroll and more talent than a 25-man roster can hold the Scorpions elected to let three players walk in Free-Agency and traded four other players, getting two players in return. The loss of Neal, Knight and Boutin would devastate most BLB teams. However, the switch to Gruell and Nourse actually should improve the bullpen and the open rotation slot will be going to 23-year-old Dave Honea. A very impressive off-season for a club with their backs against the wall.
Strengths?
Per usual, the Scorpions rotation should rank up there with the very best in the BLB. The trio of Gil Brummett, Robby English and Adrian Pulido can single-handedly win a three-game series. The depth behind them isn’t too bad either. The big improvement from last year however should be the bullpen. In 2010 they ranked 6th in IL RP ERA but this year CL RJ Manning and setup men LH Tom Bell and RH Jamie Gruell, could form the most deadly late game trio in the BLB. The lineup will be lead by veterans C Danny Salcedo and 3B Edgar Castillo. Last year the two combined for 53 HRs and 174 RBI, .922 and .825 OPS, respectively. The single highest by any other player in those categories were 14 HRs, 62 RBI and .768 OPS, by three separate players.
Weakness?
As just mentioned, this team doesn’t have great depth throughout the lineup as they finished 6th in the IL in runs scored According to the Positional Strength report, DVS is ranked 14th at 1B, 11th at 2B, 17th at SS, 22nd in LF and 11th in RF. The other weakness lies in the lack of flexibility. UMD has proven to be a very creative GM finding ways to return value in trades while unloading salary. However, the combined salaries of Salcedo, Colin Cash, Manning, Brummett, Castillo and English are over $70M alone.
Players to keep an eye on?
RF Travis Anthony, 1B/LF Masao Nara and 2B Damian Dowling are youngsters but for this team to take the next step they have to grow as hitters. As currently positioned, this trio will man the leadoff, #2 and #5 spots in the lineup. They all have the potential to be great but will it be this year? A lot of that pressure will fall on hitting coach Seitaro Hayashida. The 52-year-old is regarded was one of the very best in the BLB and in his 13-year-run with the club, he has a knack for getting surprise seasons out of players.
Prediction:
2nd in Stout 94-68; Wild Card
MVP: Salcedo – He has a $22M team option next year. He turns 33 this season with poor work ethic and high greed. You can bet he is going to gear it up this year to cash in: .280/.375/.525 – 40 2B, 30 HR, 100 RBI
Comment