In an attempt to defend their AKL championship, Kodiak will field a team that is certainly worse than what they had last year, but still impressive. All nine starting position players are solid: catcher
Vincent McGrath (.366/.395/.596 last year as a rookie, age 23), first baseman
Charley Logan (career .308/.413/.452, age 37), second baseman
Mark Navarro (career .289/.360/.437, age 28), third baseman
Bill Seguin (career .247/.294/.405, 327-88 SB-CS, good fielder, age 30), shortstop
Gregg Bolduc (career .266/.310/.454, age 27), left fielder
Mark Oxford (career .288/.351/.396, age 24), center fielder
"Stan the Man" Okawa (career .285/.351/.425, age 28), and right fielder
Michael Samson (career .277/.383/.542, age 26). With Henry and Lockwood gone, the rotation will be led by
Conrad Poor (18-15, 4.40, age 25),
Davis Murdock (39-14, 3.63, age 25), and new signee
Jeremy Henderson (20-27, 4.86, age 26). Closer
Stuart Boutillier (48 saves, 2.65, age 25) is coming into his own.
Prediction: 2nd in the Seward. I think the Pilots will catch them, but I could be wrong.
The once-proud Miners have hardly anyone of league-wide reputation, but newly acquired first baseman
Dave King (.314/.368/.549 in limited playing time last year, still qualified as a rookie, age 26) and longtime center fielder
Bryce Payne (career .288/.345/.430, 304-108 SB-CS, last year's Glove Wizard, age 34) are worth mentioning.
Prediction: 6th in the Denali.
The Nicks have made desultory efforts to improve over the years, and they might just have some fight in them this year. Stars include first baseman
Phil Alder (career .319/.414/.519, age 27), longtime second baseman
John Abston (career .310/.373/.548, 425-105 SB-CS, age 33), third baseman
Bill Randell (career .317/.377/.424, age 25), and closer
Silas Lortie (career 21 saves, 4.21 ERA, age 22).
Prediction: 4th in the Denali.
The Oilers have fallen far fast. They still have second baseman
Zander Sabin (career .271/.359/.439, age 33) and left fielder
Phil Elliott (career .298/.371/.450, age 27), and up-and-coming right fielder
Dwayne Ausenhus (.268/.365/.423 last year in limited playing time, age 23) could be very good. The rotation is getting up there in years, though, and improvement is unlikely.
Prediction: 5th in the Seward.
Indications are that Sitka will finally go through a complete tear down-and-rebuild job. However, they clearly plan on building around their superstars, as they re-signed shortstop
Jack Hussey (career .325/.415/.465, two Glove Wizards, age 27) and right fielder
Phil Botfield (career .326/.380/.556, age 30) and have made third baseman
Bret Turner (.298/.340/.435 as a rookie last year, age 22) untouchable. The rotation is very callow, and the bullpen is downright ramshackle.
Prediction: 5th in the Denali.
Well, Whitehorse has had one of the best minor league systems in the league for a couple of years now. Will they finally break out of the cellar? I'm starting to think so.
They've got few stars, but they're all young: newly signed left fielder
Nelson Lent (career .287/.369/.417 in A-ball, age 24), right fielder
Fred MacGregor (.388/.445/.630 as a rookie last year, age 25), starting pitcher
Tony Gibbon (5-1, 4.06 as a rookie last year, age 24), and closer
John Connors (26 saves, 4.19, age 25). There are some other youngsters to keep an eye on, so this is a team that may improve over the course of a season.
Prediction: 2nd in the Denali. We'll see...