AL West Preview

Scottsdale Schmohawks (1st, 88-74)

Additions:
SS Gary Stockton (Trade, Arizona)
DH Nick Bonds (FA, Florida)
RF Andre Stanley (FA, Boise)

Departures:
P Vladimir Sosa (FA, New York Knights)
2B Royce Berkman (FA, Trenton)
DH Emil James (FA)

Key Position Players:

DH Nick Bonds - Bonds was brought in to power up Scottsdale's lineup. He's hit over .300 each of the last 3 seasons.

RF Larry Cambridge - Cambridge may be the Schmohawks best all-around player. He hit 30 HR's and had over 100 RBI's with a BA of .311. He also stole 17 bases last year.

Key Pitchers:

RP Morgan Reboulet - Reboulet may be the best closer in the game. He's coming off one of his best seasons where he saved 43 games out of 45 opportunities.

SP Cedrick Lee - Lee needs to have a good season for the Schmohawks to repeat as division champions. He's a solid ace with a killer sinker.

Stock:
Down (A little bit)


Kansas City Monarchs (2nd 72-90)

Additions:
N/A

Departures:
P Al Alicea (FA, Atlanta)
C Pat Rasmussen (FA, Trenton)
1B Larry Owens (FA)

Key Position Players:

3B Erik Forrest - Forrest is coming off a season where he hit .302 with 21 HR's. His biggest problem (as with most of the team) is that he strikes out a lot.

SS Bob Crawford - Crawford led the team in 2B's last season and also stole 29 bases.

Key Pitchers:

SP Cristobal Lucano - Lucano is one of the bright spots of the team coming off a season where he won a career high 17 games.

RP Brandon Stanley - Stanley has been a consistent closer, saving at least 30 games in each of the last 4 seasons.

Stock:
Down


Sacramento Rivercats (3rd, 57-105)

Additions:
P Gabby Patrick (FA, Pittsburgh)
P Terrance Fontenot (FA, Indianapolis)

Departures:
P Kevin Dykhoff (Trade, New York Rockstars)

Key Positon Players:

1B Harpo D'Amico - Harpo was one of the few bright spots of last season. He led the team in 2B's (35), HR's (26), RBI's (99), and SB (40). He needs to have another season like that this year.

RF Clarence Thompson - Thompson hit .353 last year and the Rivercats are counting on him to hit like that again this season.

Key Pitchers:

SP Tim McCartney - McCartney was the only pitcher last season to have an ERA under 5.00. He's going to be the ace this year and will try and set the standard for the pitching staff this year.

Stock:
Steady


Arizona Rattlers (4th, 42-120)

Additions:
LF Buddy Judd (Trade, Buffalo)
3B Al Hamlin (FA, Scranton)
P Bill Forrester (FA, Scranton)
P Alan O'Rourke (FA, Little Rock)

Departures:
SS Gary Stockton (Trade, Scottsdale)
RF Merv Linebrink (Trade, New York Rockstars)
CF Tino Rubel (FA, New Orleans)

Key Position Players:

LF Buddy Judd - The Rattlers made a big deal for a great power hitter in Buddy Judd. They hope he can bring some much needed power to their lineup.

3B Al Hamlin - Hamlin was brought in to bring a veteran presence to Arizona. He may be 36 but he's still playing at a high level. He hit .301 last season.

Key Pitchers:

SP Bill Forrester - The Rattlers took a gamble on Forrester who never seemed to reach his potential with Scranton. They hope the change of scenery will fix that.

SP Alan O'Rourke - O'Rourke was another veteran brought in to try and change this team's fortunes. He's coming off a season in which he had a ERA of 2.86.

Stock:
Up


Prediction:

This division is easily the worst in the AL. Scottsdale seems to still be the favorite despite not making too many moves this offseason. Arizona is aggresively trying to turn their franchise around but it'll probably be a couple years before they're a serious contender.