AL South Season 15 Preview

ML AL South (Season 15 Projected Standing)

Texas Tornadoes mowbs69 93-69 Should be able to build off last season's success and continue to climb the win column
Montgomery Scott noel19 84-78 Only 17 men on the opening day roster expect some additions and subtractions to fill the roster.
Louisville Loud Mouths rdorrian 82-80 Small improvements but to many holes to be much better than .500
St. Louis Rustlers PeteInHall 55-107 There are some AAA teams that might beat the Rustlers consistently.

St. Louis Rustlers
48.3M Estimated Opening Day Payroll
Offense: solid offense is far and few between in St Louis. Perez can hit, but isn't the type of player you build a team around, Dreifort is the all-star but to expect him to be the feature player and hit more than .280 might be too much for him with little around him in the offense. Catcher Kevin Martin sat out last season and should step in and get a good amount of at bats in s15. That should tell you where this team is in the scope of things.Defense: The Rustlers will struggle in the field. Capable defenders are in short order and will not be able to cover the field without large holes somewhere. How the Rustlers configure their defense will be of interest during Spring training.Rotation: Newhouser, Forbes, Maxwell or solid long relievers but lack the stamina to be an effective starter unless you move to tandem options. The only decent classic starter St Louis has called home is Palacio. On a solid team he would be a #3 guy at best.Bullpen: Underperforming bullpen is the best description for the Rustlers relief. On paper the guys all look like they should be able to pitch well enough to control games, in reality, the pen struggles with almost every outing. If the bullpen is used appropriately and not overworked they should be team strength. Orlando Frias is capable of being an all—star every season in the pen.

Montgomery Scott
89.8M Estimated Opening Day Payroll

Offense: Montgomery is loaded with crushers. Shave, DuBois, Edwards and Leon would be cleanup guys almost anywhere. The team can slug top to bottom. And they will need everyone one of those runs if they expect to win. Defense: The Scott are playing a number of guys in new positions to fill out a lineup card, Dubois and Shave will find their new positions a challenge, pray the ball isn't hit their way a lot . Rotation: The Rotation is solid with 4 fine starters, but Charlton is well overpaid at 20M a season and it is his contract that cripples the organization. If they could move him the team would be able to address a lot of holes although they lose their ace. Bullpen: Luis Camacho is Major Leagues Ricky Vaughn in Ryan. Wild Thing can smoke one by you or miss the plate by 10 feet depending on the breeze. The bullpen is very thin currently and with no budget look for the Scotts to have to deal some players to add the needed depth.

Texas Tornadoes
76.4M Estimated Opening Day Payroll

Offense: Aurelio Espada is a superstar; he has a lot of specialists around him in the lineup. Expect him to be the feature guy who teams will look to bat around. Expect increased opportunity for Mondesi, Lee and Mouton who should be able to take advantage of weak pitching. Defense: Solid defensive core, the Tornadoes won't steal away a lot of hits, but they should make teams earn the runs they get. The Bench might be a little lighter than Texas wants it but they are better off than some teams. Rotation: The Rotation is set going into the season with solid contributors and quality inning eaters in Johnson and Millard. The wildcard might be how the team chooses to use Ronnie Leach who could be a capable starter if handled correctly and watched. Bullpen: Rijo, Coronado, and Cortez all have proven they can be dependable relievers, they should continue to play an important role this season. Late innings should be a strong point for Texas.

Louisville Loud Mouths
65.2M Estimated Opening Day Payroll
Offense: When the Loudmouths hit they will do well, against strong pitching they might be silenced and have long droughts, but against vulnerable pitching they should be swinging for the fences every time. Defense: Average to below average fielders, the Loud Mouth will struggle at times in the field and this deficiency might cost Louisville a few games in the stretch. Rotation: Middle of the road rotation with good upside, Fonville has always found great success without being a lights out pitcher. The rotation has good upside and should keep things close for Louisville.Bullpen: Jim Small is crazy good allow with a solid cast of relievers the Loud Mouths will be able to maintain leads deep into games

AL WEST Season 15 Preview

ML AL West (Season 15 Projected Standing)
Wichita Sizzlers zsiegri 112-50 Hands down favorite to win the World Series each year this will be no exception
Kansas City McCoys raucous * 88-74 Big bats are paid a ton to hit, but unless they prove they can pitch it's all for null
Salt Lake City Assault cocobudda 75-87 Improving but next year well be the year they break .500 not this one without adding a solid starting pitcher.

Las Vegas Gamble cjmaxlax 72-90 Prieto might have a new home by the end of the season.

Las Vegas Gamble

70.9M Estimated Opening Day Payroll
Offense: Del Prieto is still the man in Las Vegas, but he not surrounded by a lot of talent. Like the rest of the keys to a winning team Las Vegas is lacking Defense: solid defenders but aging quickly in CF and 2B. A few runs will slip by some of the fielders on occasion, with lower tier pitching this could be an issue. The catching prospects won't help the pitching at all.
Rotation: 2 solid pitchers in Walk Inge and Preston Walker but not a lot of help behind them in the rotation. The Gamble will struggle will the current pitching setup.Bullpen: below average bullpen that lacks a dependable closer Brian Clarke is the closest thing the Gamble have to a consistent reliever. He's not the guy anyone will want to hand the rock to in a critical game.

Kansas City McCoys
110.0M Estimated Opening Day Payroll
Offense: hitting should not be an issue, Freddie Reynolds, David Seanez, and Adrian Cassidy are killers at the plate, KC have the talent in the lineup to hit with anyone, but as they have shown the last 3 seasons this offense alone will not produce a division title Defense: below average in the field, Seanez finally moves out of short but he might find CF just as challenging. Reynolds could be a gold glover in RF.Rotation: SP D'Angelo Guevara, Pedro Barcelo and Jeremy Linden have been consistent for KC every season, but they have also been unable to deliver the wins. Rule 5 guy Pedro Barcelo is a wild card he's too inexperienced to offer much this season but could be solid in the future is KC can bear with him. Bullpen: Jose squared is added to an already strong bullpen. Jose should give O'Connor a run for the closer position, but both should get a lot of innings

Wichita Sizzlers
102.1M Estimated Opening Day Payroll

Offense: All stars up on down the lineup by far the most potent lineup in the league. Most teams have 2 maybe 3 potential all-stars this team could have 9. Defense: should have no issues in the field and might be able to save many a run with this fielded defense. Rotation: 5 very strong starters, 3 of which could be aces on any other AL team. This is one of the reasons the Sizzlers were so dominant in S14. Bullpen: Stan Mason takes over for Sizzlers career save artist Matthews, Mason should love his return to the AL being on the Best AL team. The bullpen is very exceptional, they have the setup guys to make the late evenings tough for the opposing teams.

Salt Lake City Assault
68.1M Estimated Opening Day Payroll
Offense: Added some offensive punch with Roosevelt Hansen and Scott Clarke at 1B and Minnie Coleman at 2B. Add those bats to Crummack and Santiago and the team should be able to produce a few runs. Defense: Quite pedestrian in the field, No one seems to be a superstar or a game changer in the field yet, but they seem to have great young talent at SS and 3B and CF that could change that in the near future. Rotation: good rotation core with 3 solid contributors in Carter, Spencer and Martin, but the starts seem to go down a steep incline after that. The rotation should still not lose the team a lot in the way of runs. Bullpen: Neil Young could be the next superstar closer to enter this league. Setting him up is an assortment of middle of the road relievers who should be able to hold their own in the late innings. Not a bad bullpen by any means.

Milestones for S15

These are the upcoming milestones for players for S15 to watch for

2000 Hits

NAME	CONTRACT STATUS	HITS	Likelihood
Harry Vosberg	FA	1937	Guarantee
Tony Kelly	FA	1935	20%
Yorvit Castillo	NY1	1912	Guarantee
Adrian Cassidy	KC	1865	VERY
Albert Frazier	FA	1847	VERY
David Seanez	KC	1842	VERY
Brent Sheets	CIN	1799	50/50

 

2000 RBI

Freddie Reynolds Kansas City AGE:32 RBI: 1914 VERY LIKELY to SUCCEED

 

 

1500 Runs

 

Matt Shave Santa Fe AGE: 31 RUN: 1431 GUARANTEED

 

500 Home Run

 

NAME	CONTRACT STATUS	HR	LIKELYHOOD
Willie Torrealba	SFE	487	Guarantee
Albert Frazier	MAD	477	Guarantee
Vic Gil	FAR	465	50/50

 

 

100 3B

Del Prieto Las Vegas 3B: 97 50/50 shot

 

1000 Stolen Bases

Chris Durbin Cheyenne SB:929 75% chance

 

500 Stolen Bases

NAME	CONTRACT STATUS	SB	LIKELYHOOD
Sam Miller	MONT	481	Guarantee
Dennis Lockwood	PHIL	440	75% likely
Vicente Arias	WIC	432	25% likely
Matthew Hurst	HAR	429	NOT LIKELY

 

3000 hits, who can do it?

As the seasons pass by there are a few players out there in Ryan who near the mystical 3000 hit plateau. I will identify those who I think have the best chance of getting to the magical 3000 hits.

 

1. Trenidad Beltran- WASHINGTON AGE: 38 CURRENT hits: 2611
   

Beltran is the all-time hits leader for Ryan by almost 200 hits. Most likely he will continue to hold this distinction for the next 2 seasons, as long as he plays at least part-time in Washington. Already his best seasons are far behind him and he no longer can be counted on to be the featured hitter. Yet last season he still managed 124 hits batting .274 on the season with limited power. Going into the off season he is a FA. With his declining skills whoever takes him will only be going so to push his hit record forward and not to ask him to guide a team anywhere.

399 hits are too many for Beltran to hope for. Most likely it would take him 4 seasons more to get this goal at his declining pace.

 

1. Casey Kaline- Madison- AGE: 34 Current Hits: 2427
   

Kaline still is averaging more than 500 abs a season and pushing across no less than 160 hits a season. Dips in homeruns probably show he is starting on his decline, but he still hit over .350 last seasons. Count on him performing well in S15 and getting some interest beyond after his contract expires. Playing his whole career for the offensive minded Madison has ensured he is top of this race.

573 hits at his pace would take 4 seasons. That would make Kaline 38 when he hits the milestone. It is very likely barring injury for him to make this milestone.

 

1. Bob Shaw Monterrey Age: 32 Current Hits: 2352
   

2 years younger and less than 100 hits behind Kaline for the race to 3000, but durability issues and questions about his makeup predict he will slide very quietly in his pursuit for 3000. He did sign a Christmas extension for 2 season to stay in Monterrey so he will be given an opportunity to add to his total, but don't look for him to move to far beyond 2800 for his career.

648 hits needed and this is probably an impossible goal for Shaw.

 

1. Freddie Reynolds Kansas City Age: 32 Current Hits: 2309
   

At 32 he has started his decline, but with the right training program and good health Reynolds could make the 300 hit plateaus. As a fulltime starter he has not hit less than 150 hits a season yet and only seems to be getting better. As his power subsides expect his hitting prowess to continue.

691 hits needed. Already Reynolds is the Career Homerun Champ, how much more dominant will his HOF case be when he finishes as the hits career champ as well. He has the potential to break the 3000 hit barrier in 4 seasons if all goes right. Since he is signed through season 18, he will get a good chance to make a move toward that goal.

 

1. Matt Shave Santa Fe Age: 31 Current Hits: 2112
   

Since breaking onto the scene in S3, Shave has been a hitting machine. He has hit over 200 hits 3 times in his career, including a career best 227 in his first full season. He has excellent makeup which should allow his skills to stay intact through his later years. His endurance has been very sketchy and getting a consistent 500 at bats a season might be tough down the stretch. Signed through next season, he might be the premier free agent in S16.

888 hits needed. Still figure on him realizing 300 by season 19.

 

1. Del Prieto Las Vegas Age: 31 Current Hits: 2078
   

Been around since S2, Prieto has been the model of consistency. Never hitting more than 183 hits in a season, but never less than 133, Prieto has never dominated the league or stood out. He offers both power and speed so he fits with most any team in the league. So he should not have too much trouble finding work after his contract expires in S15. He has strong durability and good makeup so he should hold up well enough to get to 3000 hits. His health might be a different story already with the longest injury history of any of the aforementioned; he needs to have a great medical staff for him to hope to climb the 3000 hit mountain

922 hits needed. He could make this goal by S20.

 

Power rankings Week 6

1. Wichita (1) – Division is Cinched looking to lock up the #1 Seed in the AL Next
   
2. Madison (2) – Magic Number is 4 for a playoff Berth
   
3. New York (NL) (3) – Magic number to clinch the division is 6
   
4. Toledo (4) – 6 out of their nine starters have 20+ homerun pretty great consistency in the lineup
   
5. Colorado Springs (5) 3B Pedro Cela is going to be a Monster for the next 8 years.
   
6. Philadelphia (7) – Dennis Lockwood is the only Nl Player with over 100 runs so far this season.
   
7. Memphis (6) – Rookie RF Rafael Bolivar ha a great shot at NL ROY as he is poised to get a 20/20 in his 1^st season.
   
8. Oklahoma City (8) – 3B Ray Bell has had a stellar career for a player whose hitting running and fielding are all just barely above average.
   
9. Iowa City (11) – 2B Edgardo Almanzar is having a down year, which is bad for him as it's his contract year.
   
10. San Diego (12) – The Surf need another big bat badly to compliment Thomas Campbell, without it they might be easy picking come playoff time.
    
11. Columbus (9) - CL Ellis Watson deserves a Cy Young. He has finished so many times in 2^nd and 3^rd for Madison. This could be his season.
    
12. Burlington (10) – CL R.A. Bellinger has my vote for Fireman of the year he is the only real all-star Burlington has in the pitching corp. and look where they are in the standings.
    
13. New York (AL) (13) -. RF Bill Sheehan (.215) has just fallen apart this season; batting more than 60 points lower than his career average. NY needs him to turn it back on if they want to succeed.
    
14. Washington D.C. (15) - Losing P Sticky Rapp has been tough on Washington, he is far from an All-star, but he was a consistent force in the Washington locker-room
    
15. Las Vegas (14) – There record is impressive once you realize they have the lowest ranked starting lineup in the league.
    
16. Kansas City (18) – SP Willie Tavarez is in a sophomore slump struggling with an ERA over 6.
    
17. Santa Fe (16) - Mat Shave has the best chance at the 1^st AL Triple Crown in Ryan History Currently he is 2^nd in Hr, RBI, and AVG.
    
18. Cincinnati (20) - Threatening to be the 1^st season since his rookie year SP Clarence Patrick does not get 10 wins
    
19. Louisville (22) – P Bucky Anderson has progressively performed worse each season he's been in the ML, The Loudmouths need to look to replace him with a better option, and this should not be too hard.
    
20. Baltimore (17) – CL Hong-Jin Xaio has been quite effective in save situations 30/34 and an ERA under 3.00, but not so effective in non save situations over a 12.00 ERA.
    
21. Monterrey(25)- RF Mo Torrealba has more SO (127) than hits (111)
    
22. Fargo (19) - As a team they have hurled 4 shutouts, 2^nd in the league, not bad for a team 15 games under .500
    
23. Florida (23) - Footsie Long already has amassed 54 Errors at SS
    
24. Colorado (24) – Already having a career year in hits at 173; Clarence Thompson could reach for the stars and get to 200 by season's end.
    
25. Durham (26) – with around 17M to spend for internationals look for the next big bopper to go to Durham
    
26. Pittsburgh (21) – Rating wise they field the worst starting pitching in the league
    
27. Vancouver (30) – Jacob Kwon leads the league in caught stealing percentage on his way to a personal best(39) in throw outs, he stands at 37
    
28. Cheyenne (29) - top 2 Hr hitters in the NL Sam Eldred(37), Edgardo Lima(34)
    
29. Milwaukee (27) - team OBP is just over .300 , tough to compete when no one gets on base
    
30. Atlanta Braves (28) - AAA Salary accounts for over 22M this season. Scary when you consider the shape of the team.
    
31. Hartford (32) – 1^st team eliminated from the Playoffs for s14
    
32. St. Louis (31) - 1 game from playoff Elimination
    

POWER RANKING ALL STAR EDITION

1. Wichita (1) – leads the league with 9 complete games, better than 4 teams who have yet to get to 1 complete game
   
2. Madison (2) – Madison was forced to pick up a 3^rd catcher as the result of C Carter Lowe suffering through an injury prone season and Backup Chris Bush's exhaustion thinking about squatting to take a crap let alone catch a full game
   
3. New York (NL) (3) – There is but one weakness in the NY pitching staff, his name is Lonny Mendoza. You might recognize his by his 13.03 ERA and 2.9 WHIP. Don't count on those numbers to last long, or if they do for him to last much longer.
   
4. Toledo (5) – a strong week by Stubby Cyr's and he could get his 1500^th RBI this week.
   
5. Colorado Springs (4) Pedro Cela is only 25 and looking to join the 200 Career stolen base club this season.
   
6. Memphis (8) – Aubrey Kell on his 4^th team in 5 seasons (including 2 separate stints with CSP) has proven valuable this season dropping in 18 hr and 71 rbi to earn his 3 year commitment in Memphis.
   
7. Philadelphia (9) – Dennis Lockwood has been a real blessing batting 20 points over his career average while providing more offensive production
   
8. Oklahoma City (10) – Pitching staff has limited hitters to 78 Hr to lead the league
   
9. Columbus (6) - 13-4 versus the division, but as a team they have started to slide. Playing Yankee ball in Columbus is starting to backfire.
   
10. Burlington (11) – close to wrapping up their 1^st division title under
    tbarden
    
    
11. Iowa City (13) – Damion Eldred Stole his 200^th bag this week
    
12. San Diego (14) – Thomas Campbell is 10 hits shy of 2100 for his career. 5^th all time
    
13. New York (AL) (7) - Bombers need to decide if they are playing for this season for next. They teeter on the cusp either way right now. They still have the potential to win it all if they slip into the playoffs.
    
14. 
    Las Vegas (17) –. 24/40 in save situations, the bullpen just isn't doing the job. They need to work better for them to get the last playoff spot locked up.
    
15. Washington D.C. (12) - Last few weeks have shown Washington that they are improved, but might not be on par with the other AL Teams; they need to pick up a few more stabilizing forces to retake the division.
    
16. Santa Fe (15) - Donnie Dubose's injury might have derailed his shot at 1500 hits this season. He stands at 1462
    
17. Baltimore (20) - LF Charles Coles could be the most underrated guy in the NL, never on a great team yet is in the top100 in all-time hits, RBI, and Runs. Not too shabby for a guy whose made 1 all-star team in Season 6?
    
18. Kansas City (16) – Scandal casts a dark cloud over David Seanez's return this week as KC management has been linked to the sex trade industry.
    
19. Fargo (18) - has had 2 players with over 20 game hitting streaks. Nicky Stewart
    (25), Paul Murata (22)
    
20. Cincinnati (21) - grounds into 3 times the double plays as the best team. Root of the offensive whoa?
    
21. Pittsburgh (19) – Julian Bonilla has cost the steelmakers 17 minus plays. Time for him at the hot corner is gone
    
22. Louisville (24) – SP Jim Small's injury might be a blessing in disguise as he could spend the rest of his rule 5 season stashed away on the DL and have a chance to develop for next season.
    
23. Florida (22) - RP Santiago Frias is the most pressured reliever this season inheriting 47 runners already this year.
    
24. Colorado (26) - leading the league in IBB, not sure what is so fearsome about this lineup of speed, but OKAY.
    
25. Monterrey(23)- Sam miller stand 20 SB from the magical 500 SB plateau
    
26. Durham (27) - Richie Cormier stands 25 RBI Short of 1000, hope for a hot streak or maybe next season.
    
27. Milwaukee (29) - Matt Mathews playing like a SS at 3^rd base with 22 errors, probably not his best position, you think?
    
28. Atlanta Braves (30) - scoring ½ the runs of the #2 team in the league. Jonny Power has yet to commit an error in RF
    
29. Cheyenne (25) - Expected Winning % is almost 50 points higher than they are doing, shows they should turn things around some, but not enough to better
    
30. Vancouver (28) – 110 errors to lead the league, bad fielding kills you every time
    
31. St. Louis (31) - Albert Sanchez 300 stolen bases, seems to be all the fans were looking for attendance has fallen this week.
    
32. Hartford (32) – Winning record in the past 15 games. Team is going to start to climb the standings pretty soon

POWER RANKING Ryan Week 4

1. Wichita (1) – How good is
   Vicente Arias, only a 30/30 potential with an almost 500 OBP. Scary good
   
2. Madison (2) - P David Hernandez is a preliminary all-star. Who says you need to get it over the plate to have success.
   
3. New York (NL) (3) – SS Luis Matos is having a down year so far, if he recovers and starts hitting this team could be the team to beat on the rankings
   
4. Colorado Springs (4) LF Jesse Walton's career year has kept CSP in the position to look down on the competition.
   
5. Toledo (9) – LF Aaron Holt is lost for the season, so goes their leadoff hitter, yet they still climb the ladder
   
6. Columbus (6)- CL Ellis Watson is almost unhittable in the late innings 19/21 in saves with a .86 ERA
   
7. New York(AL) (10)- Max Mills is hitting well below his skills, he should wake up soon and start dominating soon enough
   
8. Memphis (7) – tied as the best fielding team in the league with Wichita, could be one reason they are doing so well
   
9. Philadelphia (12) - #2 in the league in strike outs not to shabby.
   
10. Oklahoma City (13) – Swept through New York and Toledo and took their series against Madison. This team is showing its grit. Also leads the league in least amount of HR allowed.
    
11. Burlington (14) – SP Ivan Hoiles's brief Ml Stay came to an end this week after an 0-3 record in 5 games with a 7.50 ERA
    
12. Washington D.C. (15) - 25-11 at home 16-20 on the road welcome Jekyll and Hyde.
    
13. Iowa City (5) – The adjustment period has began after a tough series with Washington they are dropping back down to Earth
    
14. San Diego (8) - struggling against right handed pitching where they are batting just under .250 against lefties they seem to have less issues batting near .280.
    
15. Santa Fe (11) - Matt Shave eats babies, the ownership has checkup as of 11/10 imagine how good they would be if someone was at the wheel.
    
16. Kansas City (17) – the dark cloud of having no David Seanez is starting to lift and the team apparently will survive might even retake 2^nd in the division this week
    
17. Las Vegas (16) – 29 1 run games and 10 extra inning games, they love to keep it close.
    
18. Fargo (21) - expected Win % is almost .550 that tells you how good they could be at times. A strong week and they could jump at least 3 spots
    
19. Pittsburgh (20) – Don Perry has stepped in front of 13 pitches so far this season, a painful way for the old man to get on base.
    
20. Baltimore (25) - pitching is struggling against right handers to the tune of a .290 OBA. Almost 25 point hirer than against lefties
    
21. Cincinnati (24)-Return of Kmeuller has given the Cinci squad a 9-6 record. A vast improvement
    
22. Florida (19) - currently leads the league in triples at 22
    
23. Monterrey(26)- 3B Mo Torrealba's 79 strike outs tie a career high
    
24. Louisville (18) - CL Walter Gentry is about the only working in the pitching staff.
    
25. Cheyenne (22) - throwing out almost 32% of runner to lead the league in caught stealing
    
26. Colorado(23)- twice the league average in Wild Pitches thrown (15/8)
    
27. Durham (30) - The Bulls lost confidence in RP Geronimo Rosado and demoted him in the past week. He wasn't entirely poor so we should see him again at call ups
    
28. Vancouver (27) - LF Rafael Molina is playing like the minor leaguer he is. All speed and no bat.
    
29. Milwaukee (28) - 8-2 in their past 10 and yet they get no respect in the ranking and fall 1 slot. Something about a team that struggles to hit that gets no respect in my formula
    
30. Atlanta Braves- .020 percentage points below the next closest team in team batting average, The side of the barn seems to be a challenge in Atlanta
    
31. St. Louis (31) - almost as bad as Hartford and they actually have an owner who checks in
    
32. Hartford (32) - New owner same results, until pitching returns this will be a hard few weeks in Hartford.