NL South S12 Preview

NL SOUTH

Florida Sting Rays PAYROLL $44.9M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 67-95
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Victor Rios	LF	25		Anthony Mahay	SS	31
Candy Zoltan	CF	21		Reid Nixon	LF	28
Brian Buford	C	30		Jesus Uribe	RP	30
Gill Hong	RP	23		Peter Murray	RP	28
Vic Coronado	Rp	27		Sam Hawkins	RP	34

Current Opening Day Lineup
C Torey Cairo (R)
1B Mitchell Evans (R)
2B Jumbo Tavarez (R)
3B Ray Bell (S)
SS
LF Victor Rios (S)
CF Candy Zoltan (L)
RF Tony Lopez (L)
Starting Pitching Jimmy Day, Albert Mauer, Justin Harding, Clint Gonzales, Theo Gibson
Closer: Stan Mason
SUMMARY: New name, but is this a new team? Florida is looking for an answer or at least a clue of what worked in their wild run in S9. The bullpen seems to be in good shape which is a plus and Lopez is still young enough to be a centerpiece to the lineup. Add Zoltan and Rio and the OF is set for the next few seasons. The team also has good speed, but still needs 1or 2 complimentary bats and a load of starting pitching to compete in the pitching rich NL.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Starting SS, 1 starting pitchers would balance out the team, but they already have 25 men on the roster for S12 check your locker for pink slips boys someone isn't going north without at SS.
VEGAS ODDS: 35-1

San Antonio Alamos PAYROLL $ 23.0M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 77-85
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Wilson Martin	2B	26		D.T. Hutch	SS	28
Jolbert Cruz	2b	22		Tyler Sele	2B	29
Benjamin Medina	ss	24		Graham Green	SP	34

Current Opening Day Lineup
C Charlie Marion (R)
1B Oswaldo Amaral (S)
2B Jolbert Cruz (R)
3B Aaron Holt (R)
SS Rod Sierra (R)
LF Chris Dwyer (L)
CF Midre Jordan(L)
RF Bill Sodowsky (L)
Starting Pitching Corey Webb, John Cho, Efrain Haung, Eduardo Mercado, John Perkins
Closer: Rafael Otanez
SUMMARY: Moving Holt to 2B would allow the team to find a power bat at 3B, Holts arm is not what it needs to be to run the hot corner, but with the signing of Martin and Cruz it looks like that's where he will stay. Sierra is a weak choice for SS and should not be the final option. They can do so much better on the farm with Brent Sheffield.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: starting pitching and a solid Power hitter would be nice
VEGAS ODDS: 28-1

Richmond Revolution PAYROLL $ 27.7M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 65-97
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Steve Smart	SS	31		Sean Washington	SP	34
Al Soriano	C	25		Brutus Rowan	RP	33
				Louis Medina	SP	38
				Tony Gil	3B	29
				Alfonso Julio	3B	27
				Bum Sanders	C	27

Current Opening Day Lineup
C Aaron Stone (S)
1B Rudy Harris (L)
2B Robert Schultz (R)
3B
SS Marino Pizzaro (R)
LF Nipsey Diaz (R)
CF Virgil Parque (R)
RF Douglas Payton (R)
Starting Pitching Jamie Martin, Mike Fitzgerald, Elvis Borland, Wascar Martin
Closer: Walter Gentry

SUMMARY: Pitching issues are going away with 4 solid to top starter in place. They need to shore up the bullpen some but this team should show a lot of improvement this season.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Should be competing for a starting catcher this off season. Need a solid bat at 1B as well
VEGAS ODDS:

Santa Fe Blaze PAYROLL $ 50.8
LAST YEARS RECORD: 91-71
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Nick Hobbes	1B	28		Raymond Murray	C	32
				Trevor Garcia	SS	31
				Damian Lemon	LF	35
				Erubiel Lecuona	LF	29
				Todd Thompson	RP	33
				Wascar Pineiro	RP	32
				Craig Witt	1B	28
				Dante Skinner	3B	30

Current Opening Day Lineup
C Al Mesa (R)
1B Bob Shaw (R)
2B Ray Stanley (L)
3B Sam Miller (R)
SS D'Angelo Martin (R)
LF

CFDamion Eldred (S)
RF Pedro Roque (R)
Starting Pitching Gary Whiteside, Lyle Becker, Pedro Seguignol, Brandon Roosevelt, Ismael Ortiz
Closer: Matt O'Malley
SUMMARY: pitching will guide Santa Fe as it has done in the past, but the offense has some serious holes. The team looks to take major hits in the offseason. They need a starting Catcher and should be in the market to spend for one to keep this team competing. They also need to look at cheap upgrades at 1B and 2B which they should find at the end of Free Agency. This team will have to fight to keep a 500 record let alone win the division again if they don't make some changes.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: need a quality catcher and 1 more bat in the outfield and upgrades on the offense galore.
VEGAS ODDS: 33-1