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Well, this unit looks completely different after a fairly stable rotation the last couple of seasons. Gone are the best pitcher in franchise history and a tough veteran who logged a club record 233.0 IP at the age of 34. Between Aurillo and Nathan we have 443.2 innings to replace. We anticipate employing a 6-man rotation to begin the year because we’ll be plugging a couple of young arms into the rotation and we want to limit their innings.
The most important of those young arms belongs to Doug “Light” Miles. Currently listed as the #12 prospect by BA, Miles will be given the opportunity to make the team in ST. Should he fail to do so, the 6-man rotation may not come to fruition.
We had one of the top pitching staffs in the league last year and can’t possibly hope to repeat that effort considering the player movement we initiated this offseason. We think this staff can compete and keep us in games, but a league leading ERA is probably not in the cards.
Starting Rotation
Joe Arredondo - Age: 33 - Topped 200 IP for the second time in his career. The first time he did that was in 1985 and he suffered an injury in ’86 that cost him 6 weeks. The only bright side? It wasn’t an arm injury that cost him time that year. It was an oblique strain. Still, at the age of 33, we’ll try to limit his innings with the 6-man rotation.
Ben Irvin - Age: 32 - Topped 200 IP for the second time in his career. The first time he did that was in 1986 and he suffered an injury in ’87 that cost him 2+ months. That one was actually a shoulder injury, so we are a bit concerned about his innings this year. Again, the 6-man rotation should hopefully limit his innings.
Joe Ponte - Age: 33 - This guy produces 200+ IP seasons like a 6 year old Chinese kid makes Nike’s. He’s done it in 10 out of the 11 BLB seasons. He’s the all-time league leader in GS, taking the hill 365 times to this point. We think his high ground-ball % will play well with our revamped infield defense.
Mark Melanson - Age: 35 - Brought in to soak up some innings and get groundballs. The groundballs we think we’ll get, the innings = TBD.
Cristian Correa - Age: 24 - He thinks he belongs in the rotation. Our scout thinks he belongs in the rotation. We’re not convinced he belongs in the rotation, but he will get his shot. He’s been a staple of our bullpen the last two years but a couple of additions to that unit give us the opportunity to test drive him as a SP.
Doug “Light” Miles - Age: 21 - The most important player in our entire organization. If he reaches his potential he will anchor our rotation for the next 8-10 years. If he doesn’t? I’ll trade him for a package that includes a ham sandwich. We don’t expect him to come in and dominate BLB hitters. That’s unlikely to happen, but we do want him to get experience against the best hitters to prepare him for a season or two down the road. He’ll be on a strict pitch count and we’ll look to limit his innings.
Bullpen
Calvin James - Age: 33 - FA acquisition that will compete for the CL role vacated by Joe Alveraz. He’s had an up-and-down career to this point, mixing in a couple of good seasons with a couple of bad seasons. Last year was pretty good, so we’re hoping for the second half of that pattern this year.
Chad Mullen - Age: 26 - Another new face in the pen, brought over in the Alveraz deal. We like his makeup and our scouting department thinks he may have enough to be a starter. We’ll use him in the pen this year and he might also compete for the CL role.
Trevor Broomfield - Age: 29 - Our 3rd candidate for the CL role. He has been rock steady the last two seasons, getting off to great 1st halves and really anchoring the bullpen from a setup perspective. He wouldn’t be a prototypical CL because he doesn’t K enough people, but in a closer by committee scenario he will get his chances.
Ray Minnoz - Age: 27 - Swing starter who can provide innings in a pinch. Has produced double digit win totals the last two years (10 and 11).
Chet Clark - Age: 25 - His minor league numbers suggest he could be a useful arm out of the pen, but there’s a decent chance he turns out to be a AAAA player for his career. Needs to get off to a good start or he’ll be quickly dispatched to AAA once again and called upon in the event of an injury.
Adam Starks - Age: 23 - He was just ok in his rookie season. He’ll be expected to fill the same role he had last year, LHP middle relief to bridge the gap between the starter and the back of the pen on nights when our top MR guys aren’t able to go.
Jesus Taborga - Age: 27 - Same as Starks, he’ll be expected to fill the LHP middle relief role on days we need a lefty arm.
Stay by the Phone - Minor Leaguers
Sadao Yoshino - Age : 24 - Probably not ready yet for the big time, but if an injury occurs he may be one of the first call-ups made. His K/9 rate has been solid in the upper minors, so there’s a chance he could compete at the BLB level out of the pen if need be.
Nate Taylor - Age: 25 - Needs his control to improve to at least a passable level before he can have a chance at the BLB level. He’s got the stuff (3 straight years with 10+ k/9) and might get a call if we need a bullpen arm or a spot starter.
Joe Avila - Age: 21 - He’s never jumped off the page at me when reading scouting reports, but last season he jumped up several notches in our eyes. His scouting report still isn’t anything to write home about, but his K/9 rate basically doubled last season (from 4.2+ to 8.3+) and he throws groundballs (60%+) and throws hard (94-96mph). If he repeats his ’88 performance he may see time in the Freedom pen before the season is over.
1989 Outlook
What do we expect? That’s somewhat difficult to say. Overall we are placing a lot of responsibility on some young players to produce in meaningful ways. If most of the young guys come through and hold their own, we’ll probably be ok. If a majority of those young guys falter, our season will falter along with them.
I think the over/under for this team is somewhere in the 84 wins range. Not enough to win the division (or even a wildcard for that matter), but we expect to play meaningful games in August and September. If we can overachieve just a little, we may have another playoff run in us yet.
LINK
The most important of those young arms belongs to Doug “Light” Miles. Currently listed as the #12 prospect by BA, Miles will be given the opportunity to make the team in ST. Should he fail to do so, the 6-man rotation may not come to fruition.
We had one of the top pitching staffs in the league last year and can’t possibly hope to repeat that effort considering the player movement we initiated this offseason. We think this staff can compete and keep us in games, but a league leading ERA is probably not in the cards.
Starting Rotation
Joe Arredondo - Age: 33 - Topped 200 IP for the second time in his career. The first time he did that was in 1985 and he suffered an injury in ’86 that cost him 6 weeks. The only bright side? It wasn’t an arm injury that cost him time that year. It was an oblique strain. Still, at the age of 33, we’ll try to limit his innings with the 6-man rotation.
Ben Irvin - Age: 32 - Topped 200 IP for the second time in his career. The first time he did that was in 1986 and he suffered an injury in ’87 that cost him 2+ months. That one was actually a shoulder injury, so we are a bit concerned about his innings this year. Again, the 6-man rotation should hopefully limit his innings.
Joe Ponte - Age: 33 - This guy produces 200+ IP seasons like a 6 year old Chinese kid makes Nike’s. He’s done it in 10 out of the 11 BLB seasons. He’s the all-time league leader in GS, taking the hill 365 times to this point. We think his high ground-ball % will play well with our revamped infield defense.
Mark Melanson - Age: 35 - Brought in to soak up some innings and get groundballs. The groundballs we think we’ll get, the innings = TBD.
Cristian Correa - Age: 24 - He thinks he belongs in the rotation. Our scout thinks he belongs in the rotation. We’re not convinced he belongs in the rotation, but he will get his shot. He’s been a staple of our bullpen the last two years but a couple of additions to that unit give us the opportunity to test drive him as a SP.
Doug “Light” Miles - Age: 21 - The most important player in our entire organization. If he reaches his potential he will anchor our rotation for the next 8-10 years. If he doesn’t? I’ll trade him for a package that includes a ham sandwich. We don’t expect him to come in and dominate BLB hitters. That’s unlikely to happen, but we do want him to get experience against the best hitters to prepare him for a season or two down the road. He’ll be on a strict pitch count and we’ll look to limit his innings.
Bullpen
Calvin James - Age: 33 - FA acquisition that will compete for the CL role vacated by Joe Alveraz. He’s had an up-and-down career to this point, mixing in a couple of good seasons with a couple of bad seasons. Last year was pretty good, so we’re hoping for the second half of that pattern this year.
Chad Mullen - Age: 26 - Another new face in the pen, brought over in the Alveraz deal. We like his makeup and our scouting department thinks he may have enough to be a starter. We’ll use him in the pen this year and he might also compete for the CL role.
Trevor Broomfield - Age: 29 - Our 3rd candidate for the CL role. He has been rock steady the last two seasons, getting off to great 1st halves and really anchoring the bullpen from a setup perspective. He wouldn’t be a prototypical CL because he doesn’t K enough people, but in a closer by committee scenario he will get his chances.
Ray Minnoz - Age: 27 - Swing starter who can provide innings in a pinch. Has produced double digit win totals the last two years (10 and 11).
Chet Clark - Age: 25 - His minor league numbers suggest he could be a useful arm out of the pen, but there’s a decent chance he turns out to be a AAAA player for his career. Needs to get off to a good start or he’ll be quickly dispatched to AAA once again and called upon in the event of an injury.
Adam Starks - Age: 23 - He was just ok in his rookie season. He’ll be expected to fill the same role he had last year, LHP middle relief to bridge the gap between the starter and the back of the pen on nights when our top MR guys aren’t able to go.
Jesus Taborga - Age: 27 - Same as Starks, he’ll be expected to fill the LHP middle relief role on days we need a lefty arm.
Stay by the Phone - Minor Leaguers
Sadao Yoshino - Age : 24 - Probably not ready yet for the big time, but if an injury occurs he may be one of the first call-ups made. His K/9 rate has been solid in the upper minors, so there’s a chance he could compete at the BLB level out of the pen if need be.
Nate Taylor - Age: 25 - Needs his control to improve to at least a passable level before he can have a chance at the BLB level. He’s got the stuff (3 straight years with 10+ k/9) and might get a call if we need a bullpen arm or a spot starter.
Joe Avila - Age: 21 - He’s never jumped off the page at me when reading scouting reports, but last season he jumped up several notches in our eyes. His scouting report still isn’t anything to write home about, but his K/9 rate basically doubled last season (from 4.2+ to 8.3+) and he throws groundballs (60%+) and throws hard (94-96mph). If he repeats his ’88 performance he may see time in the Freedom pen before the season is over.
1989 Outlook
What do we expect? That’s somewhat difficult to say. Overall we are placing a lot of responsibility on some young players to produce in meaningful ways. If most of the young guys come through and hold their own, we’ll probably be ok. If a majority of those young guys falter, our season will falter along with them.
I think the over/under for this team is somewhere in the 84 wins range. Not enough to win the division (or even a wildcard for that matter), but we expect to play meaningful games in August and September. If we can overachieve just a little, we may have another playoff run in us yet.
LINK
Me! Me! Me! I do!
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