Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Season Preview Year 9

For this year's season preview we'll be going division by division looking at what each team has done during the offseason and what we might expect from the season. We'll be starting with the AL North.

Trenton Undertakers (1st, 95-67)

Additions:
2B Royce Berkman (FA, Scottsdale)
P Felipe Brogna (FA, Atlanta)
C Pat Rasmussen (FA, Kansas City)

Departures:
OF Sammy Perez (FA, Los Angeles)
C Fernando Pena (FA)
SS John Terry (FA)

Key Position Players:

OF Neifi Hernandez - Last year he led the team in HR with 45. Defensively he'll probably be moving to LF with the departure of Sammy Perez.

DH Santos Osuna - Osuna is coming off a season in which he had a career high BA of .367 but also a career low HR total with just 29.

Key Pitchers:

SP Gerardo Torres - Last season he won the AL Rookie of the Year with a record of 18-8 and a 3.23 ERA.

SP Coco Garcia - Led the team with a 2.62 ERA last season.

Stock:
Steady


Scranton Office (2nd, 92-70)

Additions:
3B Matthew Franco (FA, Durham)
P Ismael Prieto (Trade, New York Knights)
2B Lew Thompson (Trade, Buffalo)

Departures:
P Kordell Moss (Retirement)
3B Al Hamlin (FA, Arizona)
CF Julian Jimenez (FA, Tampa Bay)

Key Position Players:

2B Lew Thompson - In one of the big trades of the offseason, the Office acquired dynamic 2B Thompson from Buffalo. He's a 2 time All Star and has won 3 Silver Slugger awards, and he's just 26 years old.

3B Matthew Franco - Another offseason acquisition that should have a big impact this season. Coming off a year where he had a .314 BA and hit 20 HR's.

Key Pitchers:

RP Ivan Romano - Romano is one of the best closers in the game and is coming off a season where he won the Cy Young and saved 54 games.

SP Ismael Prieto - Prieto has had a sub-4.0 ERA each of the last six seasons but fell short of 10 wins the last two years. He hopes to have a career year with his new team.

Stock:
Up


Detroit Wolverines (3rd, 82-80)

Additions:
P Aubrey Wilhelm (FA, Little Rock)
P Lenny McClellan (FA, Kansas City)

Departures:
P William Evans (FA, Buffalo)
3B Guy Baker (FA, New Orleans)
P Shaggy Hill (FA, Buffalo)

Key Position Players:

1B Teddy Kiner - He hit .356 last season with 29 HR's. However he's 34 and his power numbers have been dropping over the last couple of seasons.

LF James Hinchcliffe - He led the team last season with a .385 OBP.

Key Pitchers:

SP Marvin Millwood - Millwood is coming off an All Star year where he posted a 2.37 ERA. Millwood will need another season like that to move the Wolverines up in the division.

SP Britt O'Brien - Britt led the team with 16 wins last season and is looking to have an even better year this season.

Stock:
Steady



Portland Sea Dawgs (4th, 35-127)

Additions:
P Floyd Hill (Trade, New Orleans)
1B O.T. Valentine (Trade, New Orleans)
3B Rob Milliard (Trade, New Orleans)

Departures:
P Stretch Hausmann (FA)
RF Donaldo Cruz (FA)
P Omar Marquez (FA)

Key Position Players:

1B Shawn Sosa - Impressive young hitter that played in every game last season and posted the the team's best BA (.282)

SS Joaquin Diaz - Good defensive player that can also hit for power. Led the team last season with 28 HR's.

Key Pitchers:

RP Floyd Hill - The only veteran addition the Sea Dawgs added to what was a horrible pitching staff last season. They hope he can be a big help for the bullpen.

SP Matt Guerrero - Matt was selected in this season's Rule 5 draft. He's a former Supplemental 1st Round pick and he'll be making his ML debut for the Sea Dawgs this season.

Stock:
Steady


My prediction for the league is that Scranton will edge out Trenton for the pennant in a close battle. Both teams will have a good chance of making the playoffs again. Detroit will hover around .500 again, while Portland will be a non-factor again this season.

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