NL NORTH S12 Preview

NL NORTH

Detroit Lucky (NL) PAYROLL 50.3M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 59-103
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Timothy Sutton	RF	21		Harry Chavez	2B	34
				Walter O'Brien	CF	32
				Charlie Patterson	SP	32
				Jimmie Estrada	SP	29
				Orlando Pena	RP	33
				Norm Knight	C	32

Opening Day Lineup
C Jacob Kwon (L)
1B Bo Glanville (R)
2B
3B Matt Matthews (S)
SS Mario Jenkins (R)
LF Timothy Sutton (R)
CF Mac Parkinson (S)
RF William Stewart (L)
Starting Pitching: Bob Hatteberg, Harry Silva, Jung Martin, Cookie Benitez, Arthur Jacobsen
Closer: Joey Dispenza
SUMMARY: Switching Matthews and Sutton would strengthen the Defense a little bit, but the biggest defensive liability they have is at CF. There is a nice young core in Detroit that should do well this year. Glanville, Stewart and Sutton should be a great core to lean on for years to come. The pitching has seen better days with Hatteberg the only dependable starter. The rest are a ragtag bunch of older guys, There is no depth in the farm to lean on for a while either. Dispenza is a middle of the road closer and at over 9M is overpaid for his skills.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: 2B and CF are dire needs; an upgrade in pitching is a luxury.
VEGAS ODDS: 38-1

Milwaukee Blue Stockings (NL) PAYROLL 45.3M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 63-99
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Harvey Carson	Lf	22		Ellis Small	RP
Grant Badilla	CF	22		Garrett Ferguson	RP	39
Everett Ritz	SP	23		Gus Wood	RP	31
Hideo Tamura	SP	22		Chris Leon	3B	29
Daniel Henry	RP	25		Pete Barnes	SS	33
Andre Kolb	SS	31		Rolando James	C	24
Raul Morales	RP	32
Sven Groom	SS	23
Rudy Shouse	C	31

Opening Day Lineup
C Rudy Shouse (R)
1B Lorenzo Estrada (R)
2B Arthur Worthington (R)
3B Elvis Lundquist (R)
SS Andre Kolb (R)
LF Scott Clarke (R)
CF Grant Badilla (S)
RF Tony Campos (L)
Starting Pitching: Keith Junge, Tori Walker, Angel Mateo, Jesus Melendez,
Everett Ritz
Closer: Raul Morales
SUMMARY Upgraded at Catcher should help the pitching in Milwaukee. The Starting staff is young and very talented. They will be able to carry this team at times. The Blues also feature young Studs in Scott Clarke and Lorenzo Estrada. Badilla and Groom should both improve as the year moves on, but might struggle out of the gate. Having Carson and Alanso on the bench gives this team great depth in the outfield OF and at 2B, but they really need to address the lack of a solid everyday 3B. Morales wins the closer role by default.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: 3B and Bullpen Help
VEGAS ODDS: 28-1

Cincinnati Bowties (NL) PAYROLL: 65.9M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 89-73
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
R.J. Polanco	P	34		Tanyon Hartman	P	42
Dennys White	P	34		Brandon Mercedes	CF	30
Hugh Aldridge	RP	31		Bump Loiselle	P	35
				Hades Sedlacek	SS	30
				Bill Hayes	C	36
				Phil Baek	3B	32
				Alex Wang	SP	31

Opening Day Lineup
C Brent Sheets (R)
1B Damon Miller (S)
2B Carlos Hernandez (S)
3B Jerry Robinson (R)
SS Stephen Allen (R)
LF Greg Bush (R)
CF Virgil Stein (R)
RF Jesus De La Vega (L)
Starting Pitching: Clarence Patrick, Ralph Ainsworth, George Jordan, Freddy Hurst, Butch Brush
Closer: Roy Murphy
SUMMARY The Bowties have an offensive powerhouse in Herandez and Brent Sheets, but the players around them are starting to drop off. The loss of Wang is cushioned slightly by the gain of Brush, but the bowties really could only pursue one huge FA this off-season and that was Brent Sheets. The rotation is quite strong as a 3 man tandem. Patrick and Ainsworth could sit on top of most rotations.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: A starting CF would go along way
VEGAS ODDS: 19-1

Philadelphia Balboas (NL) PAYROLL 53.0M
LAST YEARS RECORD: 88-74
KEY ML TRANSACTIONS:

ADDED				SUBTRACTED
NAME	POS	AGE		NAME	POS	AGE
Juan Guerrero	2B	30		Justin Smith	1B	34
Dan Ellis	CF	33		Paulie Duran	CF	30
				Albert Rincon	RP	28

Opening Day Lineup
C T.J. Little (S)
1B Eugene Pryce (L)
2B Wade Prince (R)
3B Javier Martin (R)
SS Arthur Dunn (R)
LF Hunter Wilkerson (S)
CF Walter Lawrence (L)
RF Valerio Guillen (S)
Starting Pitching: Del James, Charlie Johnson, Louie Gutierrez, Miguel Seanez, Jose Astacio
Closer: Babe Rose
SUMMARY An injury to Guillen will have him sitting out the start of the season and will slow the Balboa offense down. The Balboas have a solid offense and great defensive presence and are a truly grinding team. No one guy will beat you, but as a team they will find their way to the top. The rotation is a mixed bag Johnson is an elite starter and james and Gutierrez are good support men, but the rotation takes a drastic turn after that. Rose should get another chance to close this season and he should have better success than in the past.
HOLES TO ADDRESS: Pitching and CF upgrades
VEGAS ODDS: 20-1