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Pawtucket Patriots: A flurry of off-season trades shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows this GM
The man…the myth… the legend… Funclown! After a short hiatus the legendary GM is back in control of Pawtucket, and he’s up to his old tricks.
This off-season the Patriots have traded for Tyler Salzman, Oscar Sanchez, Jimmy Maggio, Seth Harrington, JD Robillard, Seth Burrows and counting… When you include the names that left town, TJ Dunn, Ted Gifford, Johnny Talley, Tom Griffiths and Alejandro Tellez, the team is going to look a lot different in 2016. And that’s just how Funclown likes it.
Without a lot of budget room, and talent headed to FA, it’s rather impressive the roster the Patriots boast at this point in the off-season. The biggest move that raised some eyebrows was sending “Beast of Burden” Talley to Pittsburgh for a package of players. The Patriots
Despite the changes across the board, this team is still loaded with talent. Hitting, pitching, defense. The Patriots have won three of the last six Brewmaster’s and are expected to be a favorite once again.
Around The Horn (5-Star Rankings):
Offense: 5
Defense: 4.5
Starting Rotation: 4.5
Bullpen: 4.5
Alcohol By Volume:
Batting AVG – .271 (1st)
Runs Scored – 783 (2nd)
Home Runs – 230 (1st)
Opponents Batting AVG - .240 (2nd)
ERA – 3.32 (2nd)
Defensive Efficiency - .693 (3rd)
Next Round:
Erik Hudson, 24, UTL - #100
When it comes to Hudson the question is not “if” he will make it or even “when.” The question is more “where.” The 24-year-old is a jack of all trades who is expected to see regular time this season all over the diamond. The speedy right-hander is expected to get reps in Spring Training everywhere besides catcher and pitcher. After hitting .306 with a 152 OPS+, his defense might not even factor into his playing time.
Prediction: 100-62 (1st in Ale)
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Maine Guides: A return home and a return to the Ale has Hernandez and Dunn thinking playoffs.
The Guides entered Free-Agency with more money to spend than anyone in the BLB. No one should be surprised they were very active. However, the names they did bring in might surprise a few people.
Long-time Guide SP Fernando Hernandez decided to test the Free-Agent waters. Despite being considered the best starter on the market, his age (38) lead a lot of teams to look elsewhere for pitching woes. In jumped the Guides, who brought the fan favorite back for another year at $9.5M.
The bigger surprise was 1B TJ Dunn. The 34-year-old entered Free-Agency with some of the highest demands the league has ever seen. Despite being arguably the biggest HR threat in the league, after a few weeks, the slugger remained unsigned. The Guides jumped into the action again locking Dunn up for three-years $60M, with a team option. His return to the Ale means he will face his former club soon and often.
Dunn will join a lineup that features a lot of talent. Catcher Ray "Voodoo" Davila is considered by many to be the best position player in baseball. OF Steve Suarez has battled injuries the past few years but is reporting to Spring Training healthy.
Mainly due to injuries, the Guides finished 76-86...their worst record in franchise history. If you think they won't improve that win total (by a lot) you don't know the Guides.
Around The Horn (5-Star Rankings):
Offense: 4
Defense: 4.5
Starting Rotation: 4
Bullpen: 4
Alcohol By Volume:
Batting AVG – .258 (5th)
Runs Scored – 666 (7th)
Home Runs – 146 (8th)
Opponents Batting AVG - .262 (11th)
ERA – 4.31 (11th)
Defensive Efficiency - .687 (4th)
Next Round:
BJ Ridley, 22, SP - Not Ranked
Some rookies exceed expectations. Some shatter them. Ridley was selected in the 7th round of 2014 after a modest career at Rice University. He got four starts at Single-A to finish out his transition year. In 2015, all he did was get selected to the Double-A All-Star Game, post a .26 ERA in Triple-A and be the winning pitcher in the Horizon League Triple-A Championship. Known as a baseball rat, Ridley should get a serious look for a team getting young in the rotation.
Prediction: 92-70 (2nd in Ale)
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Hartford Whalers: After taking the biggest DL leap in 2015, the Whalers are counting on their $17-million-dollar man to keep it going.
Who saw that coming?
The last time the Whalers had a winning season was 2008. They have made the playoffs once in the last seasons. They won just 58 games in 2014.
Enter 2015, the expectations weren't very high to say the least. By June 1st, they were 32-19 with a 5.5 game lead in the Ale. By July 1st, that lead had slipped to just one game but they were still 49-29 with a huge Wild Card lead. By August 1st, they were 58-46, now 2nd by 5.5 games and just a two games Wild Card lead. By September 1st, 69-63. Seasons end 82-80, no playoffs. Despite the poor 2nd half, the Whalers made the biggest jump, +24 wins, than any team in the DL.
Entering the off-season, the Whalers had a major financial decision to make. After bringing in CF Roman Chutz for peanuts from Syracuse, the 28-year-old was headed to arbitration. Management was left with the choice of paying upwards of $17M for a career .763 OPS who hasn't lived up to his hype...or hope to spend that money elsewhere in Free-Agency. The Whalers elected to take a chance on Chutz and the pressure is now on their highest paid player.
Without a ton of help on the horizon (22nd ranked farm system) if the Whalers hope to build on their giant lead in 2015, Chutz will have to perform.
Around The Horn (5-Star Rankings):
Offense: 2.5
Defense: 2
Starting Rotation: 3.5
Bullpen: 3
Alcohol By Volume:
Batting AVG – .252 (7th)
Runs Scored – 679 (6th)
Home Runs – 168 (5th)
Opponents Batting AVG - .260 (10th)
ERA – 3.85 (8th)
Defensive Efficiency - (10th)
Next Round:
Marques Edwards, 22, LF - 70th
It’s pretty rare when a team’s top prospect can slide right into the biggest hole on the team. Edwards fits that rarity by being invited to Spring Training to compete for the starting LF job. The 29th overall pick in 2014 has been on the fast track to the pros after mashing at all three minor-league levels. He will be given every opportunity to keep that up.
Prediction: 74-88 (3rd in Ale)
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New York Knights: With 15 players leaving, they sure look different in the Big Apple
High turnover rate has become customary in New York recently. So has losing. The Knights have posted nine straight losing seasons. The franchise had a 20-year run from 1987-2006 that rivals with the best in the BLB. Is it finally starting to turn around?
The biggest off-season acquisition is catcher Jimmy Scherer. The 34-year-old veteran posted his highest WAR season (3.0) of his career for division rival Hartford. If that doesn't get your hopes up for 2016, maybe Mauricio Salas, Marco Herrera, JJ Caplan, Oscar Gaxiola or Javy Sanchez does?
The franchise will be the first to admit expectations aren't high for 2016. They are on the rebuild with a Top 10 farm system and young talent like OF Dave Robinson. Contention is on the horizon...but how long will these fans have to continue to wait?
Around The Horn (5-Star Rankings):
Offense: 1
Defense: 1.5
Starting Rotation: 2.5
Bullpen: 3.5
Alcohol By Volume:
Batting AVG – .232 (12th)
Runs Scored – 550 (12th)
Home Runs – 126 (10th)
Opponents Batting AVG - .258 (8th)
ERA – 4.06 (10th)
Defensive Efficiency - .679 (9th)
Next Round:
Dave “Frankenstein” Kauffman, 21, SP - 8th
The 2nd overall pick in 2015 has one of the more fitting nicknames in all of minor league baseball. The New Orleans native is known for his height (6’7) and his brain (took four tries to get a qualifying SAT score to attend the University of Arizona.) He is not without controversy like the monster as well; Kauffman is known to slowly absorb instructions and was attached to a major academic schedule that lead to his early departure from the NCAA. Already well known around the league, “Frankenstein” can sure pitch though.
Prediction: 69-93 (4th in the Ale)
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-Thoughts? Agree? Disagree?
-Much more to come!
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