AL SOUTH/ AL WEST S10 PREVIEW

AL SOUTH

 

TEAM Charlotte Winstons PAYROLL $82,100,532

 

LAST YEARS RECORD: 84-78

 

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Jeff McKnight	P	36		Torey Samuel	P	32
Vic Toca	P	33		Jin Jung	P	33
				William Alexander	P	25
				Johnny Brower	P	32
				Charles Paquette	CF	30

 

SUMMARY: McKnight and Toca solidify the team's biggest weakness going into the new season, the bullpen. Outfield play is the team's only remaining weakness, but with Cyr and Chiasson swing bats that might be well compensated. Pitching is already established and should hold its own in S10

 

HOLES TO ADDRESS: Weak on the corners, could look to free agency for an upgrade. Overall this is a good young unit

 

VEGAS ODDS: 15-1

 

 

 

TEAM Monterrey Acero PAYROLL $91,135,351

 

LAST YEARS RECORD: 84-78

 

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Harry Palacios	P	26		Nomar Durham	SS	34
Cody Post	P	32		Albert Castro	P	29
Fausto Solano	2B	25		Luis Fuentes	LF	29

 

SUMMARY: Hal Taylor and crew will have some challenges ahead to repeat with their same record. They return no true center fielder or Right Fielder. They have exceptional strength at SS and @b and are very young. This just might be a down year in Monterrey. The team also features above average starting pitching led by Rookie Phenom Kiki Arroyo. Who should have a breakout sophomore year?

 

HOLES TO ADDRESS: Monterrey could get away with shuffling his positions and have an above average CF a dominant 3B and solid fielders in the outfield. Until I see the lineup card, I'm not sure how the team will be fielded

 

VEGAS ODDS: 38-1

 

 

TEAM OC Chickens PAYROLL $73,521,616

 

LAST YEARS RECORD: 112-50

 

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
				Ken Gibbs	2B	34
				Gary McRae	P	32
				Al Owens	P	30

 

SUMMARY: a midseason trade to bring Harry Vosberg to the OC made All-star Ken Gibbs expendable. The lineup up in Oklahoma is the most complete in the league. They can run, blast one out of the park, even play small ball when needed. With this lineup a lot of options open up. The pitching staff is anchored by 4 time all-star Greg Arnold and 3 time all-star David Parker. The staff is aging, but still has talent.

 

HOLES TO ADDRESS: With 2 open roster spots the team is capable of bringing up a SP Winston Franco from the minors or looking to FA to strengthen their bench and pen.

 

VEGAS ODDS: 5-2

 

 

 

 

TEAM STL Knights PAYROLL $69,623,400

 

LAST YEARS RECORD: 68-94

 

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Glenallen Bell	P	31		Jin-Chi Hayashi	1B	31
Sal Myette	2B	22		Alex Terrero	P	37
Top of Form Carlos Garza Bottom of Form	SS	23 Bottom of Form		Marvin Fischer	P	28
Top of Form Emmanuel Lewis Bottom of Form	P	24 Bottom of Form		Max Harris	P	28
Freddie Reynolds	2B	28		Karim Martinez	P	34
				Bill Simms	P	33
				Shawn McKnight	2B	33

 

SUMMARY: Interesting that a 68 win team makes a bold move by acquiring 500 homerun club member Freddie Reynolds. Reynolds joins a team who already has a solid 2 bagger in Ivan Spehr. Rule 5'er Garza fills an immediate need at SS and should get plenty of action in s10. The starting pitching does mix a lot of youth with some experience up overall they still need a little fine tuning before they will become dependable. They will give up a lot of runs and expose a below average defense

 

HOLES TO ADDRESS: Defense could be upgraded at SS and in the outfield. Overall the hitting is there but another above average pitcher is needed in St Louis if this is to be their year.

 

 

VEGAS ODDS: 35-1

 

 

 

AL WEST

 

TEAM Anaheim Hitch Hikers PAYROLL $91,342,916

 

LAST YEARS RECORD: 64-98

 

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Steve Smart	SS	29		Andrew Barrett	P	34
Arthur Jacobsen	P	31		Ed Karl	P	31
Clay Etherton	P	26		Jackson Holden	LF	31
Goose King	CF	26		Vladimir Lopez	P	29
Jackson Walters	DH	31		Jose Rojas	P	30
Luis Belliard	C	36		Stephen Allen	SS	29
Phillip Harper	C	30		Banana Kashmir	2B	26
Josias Martin	P	22		Al Marshall	P	34
				C.C. Blake	LF	33
				Marshall Maduro	P	35
				Rex Fryman	P	39

 

 

SUMMARY: Shedded some age, but not payroll. This team will need to perform in a tough division, but the talent really is not up to price. Defensively the team is toward the upper echelons of the league, but batting wise they have only 1 true hitter in Pedro Rodriguez, other than that offensive will be hard to come by. The pitching is not much better. This is a team that stands at a crossroads.

 

HOLES TO ADDRESS: besides short and RF this team could use a few upgrades. Pitching would be a good start. The AAA is equally as barren. The team qualifies as a project team.

 

 

VEGAS ODDS: 100-1

 

 

 

 

TEAM KC McCoys PAYROLL $100,468,499

 

LAST YEARS RECORD: 83-79

 

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
George Harding	3B	34		Hong-Gu Kobayashi	P	39
Carlton Robinson	2B	23		Roscoe Coleman	2B	32
				Stone Ford	P	39
				Jerry Martin	CF	34

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUMMARY: Harding's prime has passed, but he is still capable in the field and at the plate. With the rule 5 acquisition of Robinson the team is beyond set for the next few seasons at the plate. The pitching staff is solid, but as old as the hills. They need to mix in a few younger studs to balance the age or they could be set for a major decline.

 

HOLES TO ADDRESS: SP/LR
Alfredo Velazquez is probable ready in AAA to take on a ML role, Catcher at the Ml level is solid but probable could be considered a weak link for a strong team

 

 

VEGAS ODDS: 18-1

 

 

 

TEAM LAS VEGAS GAMBLE PAYROLL $87,595,100

 

LAST YEARS RECORD: 64-98

 

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

 

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Luis Carrasco	P	28		Ramon Chong	CF	29
Jin Jung	P	33		Alex McNamara	P	35
Kenneth Beirne	C	26		Vicente Toca	LF	33
Brian Clarke	P	30		Taylor Jordan	P	32
Kirk Johnson	LF	30		Nigel Kennedy	P	29
Archie Clinton	P	30		Stan Adams	C	29
Catfish Hermansen	CF	26		Johnny Van Hatten	3B	30
Top of Form Al James Bottom of Form	P	31 Bottom of Form		Miguel Estrella	CF	31
				Chris Sears	P	34
				Artie Hausmann	C	25

 

SUMMARY: The Gamble did little to improve on an average hitting team outside of their starting OF ( Preto,Merrick,Prokopec) they have a powder puff lineup. Should Miguel Lecuona even be in the majors? Let alone making 4M a season? Starting pitching is slightly better but will not carry this team in its back. The Bullpen has been slightly upgraded from S9 overall, but going from Chris Sears or Luis Carraco to close things might be disappointing to the fans.

 

HOLES TO ADDRESS: Most alarming hole is at SS. Both choices are defensive liabilities and should play elsewhere in the field. The farm does have some pitching help on the horizon, and some strong bats, maybe they could convert this into a starting shortstop.

 

 

VEGAS ODDS: 80-1

 

 

 

 

 

TEAM Wichita Sizzlers
PAYROLL $81,782,850

 

LAST YEARS RECORD: 106-56

 

KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Timothy Garcia	P	37		Carter Warden	P	26
Edgard Ortiz	P	26		Cody Post	P	32
Horace Walton	P	22		Stevie Toombs	P	38
Jim Broome	P	25		Pepper McCall	P	37
				Carlos Fuentes	P	33
				Shannon Booker	2B	36
				Clay Ludwick	CF	34
				Tom Zoltan	P	30
				Juan Henriquez	LF	27
				Tommy Dillon	LF	31
				Erubiel Lecuona	LF	27
				Kelvim Sellers	P	30
				Ricky Gant	P	35
				Alejandro Maradona	P	26

 

SUMMARY: Paid big money for the best pitcher in the land. 4 years for a 37 year old might end up hurting in a few seasons, but for now it solidifies the Sizzler starting rotation. Offensively this team is full of weapons at the plate, featuring power and speed this team can stack up runs on opponents very quickly.

 

HOLES TO ADDRESS: The biggest issue for the team will be in middle relief getting from the starters to Matthews might be a challenge on some days and with either older worn veterans or rookies taking the rock, these guys are going to be critical.

 

VEGAS ODDS: 5-1