AL South Season 12 preview

AL SOUTH

Louisville Loud Mouths PAYROLL 51.0M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 74-88
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Roosevelt Hanson	1B	32		Al Owens	P	32
Gerald Ma	RP	30		Ramiro James	RP	27
Calvin O'Donnell	Rp	31		Delino Ordaz	LF	28
Rolando James	C	24		Davey Pettitte	RF	28
				Russell Cook	P	33
				Mark Swift	P	38

Opening Day Lineup
C Yorvit Cortes (R)
1B Roosevelt Hanson (L)
2B Freddie Reynolds (S)
3B
Fausto Guzman (R)
SS Carlos Garza (R)
LF Charles Coles (R)
CF Ivan Spehr (R)
RF Louie Rosario (L)
DH Davey Pettitte (R)
Starting Pitching

: Alex Amaral, Santos Amaral, Jesus Azocar, Andres Amaral, Bucky Anderson
Closer: Willie Feliz
SUMMARY: pitching is still young and developing, but should be better than they were last season. They need 1 more top of the rotation guy to run our every 5 days. The bullpen could also be upgraded beyond Gerald Ma, but it's moving in the right direction. The offense could be the best in the AL. From top to bottom they have potential at the plate. They have a great combination of youth and skill that should carry the offense into the future. Pitching's job will be to keep the other team in check until the offenses gets to work.
HOLES TO ADDRESS bullpen help, starting pitching and a solid SS
VEGAS ODDS: 18-1

San Juan Sixburghs PAYROLL 34.0M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 70-92
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Antonio Lo	RP	30		Rolando Fernandez	RP	35
Jimmie Eusebio	SP	25		Vic Toca	RP	35
Mike Hodges	2B	32		Juan Guerrero	2B	30
Albert Rincon	RP	28		Paul Bell	RP	31
Paulie Duran	RF	30		Hugh Aldridge	RP	31
				Theo Smyth	CF	34
				Hong-Jin Xaio	RP	28
				Corey Hines	RF	29
				Karl Fryman	RP	34
				Tony Jacquez	2B	27

Opening Day Lineup
C Esteban Morales (R)
1B Bum Bryant (R)
2B Mike Hodges (R)
3B Kevin Chiasson (R)
SS Aaron Fox (R)
LF
CF Stubby Cyr (R)
RF Paulie Duran (L)
DH Grant Malone (R)
Starting Pitching: Vin Delgado, Johnny Powell, Ricky Shaw, Max Milliard, Vladimir Rodriguez, Tino Chang
Closer: Albert Rincon
SUMMARY: Team is better than last season's record dictates. Adding Hodges allows the team to move Chasson back to 3B where he makes more sense. San Juan has solid hitters and fielders already in place for their lineup. The infield looks smooth. The only defensive hole is at LF where Grant Malone gets his starts, defensively he would serve best as an occasional 1B and Primary DH. With only 21 roster spots used they have room to go after a solid LF guy. The team is also very right hand centric. This could pose an issue with matchups. A youthful starting rotation with a few options is always nice. The Six burghs have 2 great prospects and no clear weak link in the rotation. New Closer Rincon and setup man Lo is just what the bullpen needed to stabilize the late innings. They still could use 1 more rubber arm to further solidify the late innings, but they have done much to improve already.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: The bullpen could use at least 1 more arm. The bench will need to be filled with quality reserved for SS and the outfield.
VEGAS ODDS: 24-1

Oklahoma City Chickens PAYROLL 60.7M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 98-64
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
				Alex Clark	RP	31
				Bill McGowan	C	30

Opening Day Lineup
C Willie Torrealba (R)
1B Donnie DuBose (L)
2B Harry Vosberg (R)
3B Alex Leon (R)
SS Jose Park (S)
LF Ronald Olson (S)
CF Peter Hunter (S)
RF Matt Shave (L)
DH Slim Edwards (R)
Starting Pitching: Greg Arnold, Winston Franco, Benito Lee, Vince Sheets, Alejandro Maradona
Closer: Mitch Matthews
SUMMARY Hunter right now is not defensively suitable for CF, but his bat probably makes up for some of that. Bringing Arnold make was definitely a luxury. The rotation seemed strong even without his arm, but at the hometown discount why not. Age is starting to show on a number of the fielders, but overall this is one of the most potent offenses around. They should contend for the AL championship again.
HOLES TO ADDRESS not much that needs to be address, the chickens will need at least 1 more arm in the bullpen.
VEGAS ODDS: 5-1

St. Louis Rustlers PAYROLL 68.6M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 63-99
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Calvin O'Donnell	RP	31		Craig Witt	1B	28
Nick Hobbes	1B	28		Dante Skinner	3B	30
Damaso Espinosa	3B	26		Wascar Pineiro	RP	32
Moose Payton	2B	26		Todd Thompson	RP	33
Phil Baek	C	32		Fred Moehler	SP	36
				Rich Lloyd	SP	34
				Rico James	C	31

Opening Day Lineup
C Fernando Vidal (S)
1B Seth Rolle (R)
2B Lance Vernon (S)
3B
SS Albert Frazier (L)
LF Ken Gibbs (S)
CF Albert Sanchez (R)
RF Fausto Solano (S)
DH Dennis Heiserman (L)
Starting Pitching: Don Witte, Kiki Arroyo, Alex Delgado, Harry Palacios B.J. Kipling
Closer: Orlando Frias
SUMMARY: the starting pitching is close to be intact for the upcoming season, The loss of Lloyd is the only real concern, but he price is probably to high for what this team needs right now. Frazier is the team's offensive juggernaut, but he is surrounded my aging ex-stars and 4A players who have landed in St. Louis. The team needs to consider upgrading 3B and CF if they look to stay competitive or trade off Frazier for future stars.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Major upgrades can be found for CF and 3B in Free Agency. The farm is barren for at least 2 more seasons. Depth needs to be added to the bullpen as well
VEGAS ODDS: 44-1