2020 @ 1/4

[Pat]

Your Team
Biggest surprise?
Biggest disappointment?
Expectations going forward?

League
Biggest surprise?
Biggest disappointment?
Favorites to win the IL/DL?

[Pat]

Nobody cares this early it seems.

[Andrew]

Your Team
Biggest surprise?
TJ Corbett. I wasn't sure if he was ready to take over as our full time SS but he has done very well. He's cooled off a little bit recently but is still one of our better hitters.

Biggest disappointment?
Dave Dillard. I was hoping he'd come in and hit RHP but he's been a huge disappointment at the plate. Runner up spot goes to Colin Paliotta.

Expectations going forward?
More of the same. We won't be very good this year but are encouraged by the development of our key prospects. Joey Walz will be in the BLB very soon and I think CJ Viger will be up by the end of the season if he can stay healthy.

[Pat]

Your Team
Biggest surprise? - IF Alex Otero - Currently the only hitter on my team with an OPS over .703...and he's at .941! He's on pace for a 4.7 WAR in just 107 starts. He is likely to be dealt unfortunately for us...for him, he probably couldn't be happier.

Biggest disappointment? - 1B Dylan Anthony - This was supposed to be the year that he put it all together. OSA has him 55755 potential but he just can't make enough contact to make the power relevant. He will continue to get most of the ABs for the rest of the year but he has probably already shown that he isn't BLB starting quality. And I really don't have a plan for 1B for the future.

Expectations going forward? - Dead Last in the IL - I do think we will end the season with a better winning percentage than we currently have as we plan to call up a lot of rookies after making some deadline deals. However, Carolina and Davenport were supposed to be our biggest "competition" for the last spot, but they are proving to be much better clubs out of the gate and have a lot of talent soon to be called up. I think we probably finish above a few DL teams by years end but we are the worst in the IL.


League
Biggest surprise? - Hartford, close 2nd/3rd to New York, Syracuse and New Orleans - The Ale is arguably the best division in baseball with Toronto, Maine, Pitt and Wilmington the pre-season favorites to win the division. Hartford however has hung around at 26-18. They have done this before in recent seasons, good 1st half, bad 2nd half, but this time maybe it's different?

Biggest disappointment? - Philadelphia - Four straight 93+ wins seasons and out of the gate they have the 2nd worst record in the IL. They have the talent to turn it around only being 2 back in the Wild Card but I did not see this coming. The pitching+defense motto usually keeps them relevant even when the bats are cold. However, through the 1/4 mark, Philly's pitching has been pretty average.

Favorites to win the IL/DL? - Batavia and Dallas - The Muckdogs are #1 in SP ERA, #2 in runs scored, have the #1 ranked bullpen, the best record in baseball and a 4.5 game lead in the Stout. They also addressed their biggest concern in the off-season with the signing of CF Jamie Urmson.

Dallas has battled injuries all season to some of their better players but still sit in first place in the Lager. New Orleans has put up a good fight so far but in what appears to be a shallow division, the Sharks can probably coast down the stretch, get healthy, and are as deadly as anyone come playoff time.

[PaulC]

Your Team
Biggest surprise?
Biggest disappointment?
Expectations going forward?

League
Biggest surprise?
Biggest disappointment?
Favorites to win the IL/DL?

Biggest Surprise?

C.J. Wilkinson was signed to lock down shortstop for the next few years. He has played below expectations with the glove, but is far exceeding the offensive expectations with a robust 0.341 AVG and an 0.826 OPS out of the leadoff spot.

Biggest Disappointment?

The M and M boys. Although they appear to be having decent seasons, Morla and McGee have failed to deliver numerous times in the clutch which has led to a disappointing 21-23 record.

Expectations going forward?

Morla and McGee round into form and we fight tooth and nail down to the wire for one of the wild card spots.

[Pat]

Since this was such a bust, I am going to step it up a notch for the mid-season review. Stay tuned.