OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Vancouver Whitecaps: Expanding to the Rockies

MacIsaacM · 06-20-2012, 02:02 PM

The Expansion Draft

The Vancouver Whitecaps picked first overall ahead of the Tennessee Stars, and it was clear from the get-go that both GMs had different strategies. After Vancovuer hired elite scouting director Dayton Moore throughout 2015 and stealing Joe Torre from retirement to manage the big league club, GM Michael MacIsaac was clearly geared towards the future. While Tennessee seemed to take more of a “win now” attitude, drafting the likes of Joe Blanton, Jeff Francoeur, Travis Hafner, and Casey Kotchman to name a few, Vancouver opted for more prospects, selecting names such as catcher Jorge Alfaro (1/4.5), starter Cody Buckel (3.5/5), outfielder Jaff Decker (4.5/5), shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (2.5/5), and reliever Kevin Herrera (4/4.5). Vancouver did manage to draft the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka after Boston seemingly gave up on the former Japanese star. Although all but Hechavarria have since been demoted to AAA and AA after poor big league showings, with Hechavarria mostly holding on to his starting role only due to the team’s lack of depth at shortstop, the objective was to look to the future.

Free Agent Frenzy

The pre-season predictions put a start into Vancouver. While Tennessee was pegged to do amazingly well in the AL Central at 84-78 and a 3rd place finish, Vancouver was predicted to set a new MLB standard for futility: 39-123, dead-last in the AL West. Both teams then rushed to bolster their new line-ups with free agents, and both teams had the money to make some serious impact. Tennessee left with Asdrubal Cabrera, Derek Lowe, and Billy Butler. Vancouver, along with a slew of potential star rookies that are now littered throughout their minor league system, managed to sign Alex Gordon (currently on the DL after an off-the-field incident), Brad Emaus, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos Santana, Brian Barton, Josh Tomlin, and Justin Masterson. Although most have been disappointments so far – Emaus and Cunningham have all but played themselves out of the starting line-up, and Josh Tomlin has 11 losses notwithstanding some relatively strong stats – Vancouver managed to create for themselves the 5th best minor league system according to Baseball America.

Starting Out

Both teams lived up to their pre-season predictions early. Vancouver got swept in their opening series in Texas, winning their first-ever game in San Francisco, 3-1. Matt Antonelli (2.5/4, 2B) recorded Vancouver’s first franchise home run, Matt Long (2/5, RF) stole their first base and recorded their first hit, and reliever Michael Schwimer (4.5/5) recorded their first win and Justin Grimm (4.5/5) the first save. Vancouver’s first home win didn’t come until their 10th try against the Angels, and the Whitecaps wrapped up the month of April with a 5-20 record, and a slew of demotions to the minor leagues. Tennessee, meanwhile, posted a record of 10-14, including a 5 game winning streak, and hovered around the middle of the AL Central.

Moving On

Things got no better for Vancouver. While the month of May treated Tennessee relatively calmly at 13-14, Vancouver stumbled throughout the month and ended up at 5-23, highlighted by an 8 game losing streak and a 12 game losing streak. Nothing was working: line-ups were adjusted, back-ups signed from free agency (most notably Jason Kendall and Brooks Conrad), and much of the starting rotation who began the year in Vancouver (Andrew Cashner, 2/3 and Michael Fiers, 4.5/5, most notably) found themselves in the minor leagues. One highly touted prospect fell completely off the map, with Victor Rios eventually falling to Rookie ball and posting a 66.93 ERA with a 9.87 WHIP in 3 starts. Unbelievable.

The owner was already calling for the GM’s head, but the fans remained loyal, and seemed to understand the trials of tribulations of an expansion team, notwithstanding the fact that Tennessee was fairing much better. The salt in the wounds was that Tennessee’s minor league system remained just one rank behind that of Vancouver according to Baseball America.

The Draft

By the time the draft rolled around, there was only one thing on everyone’s mind: Steve “The Mechanical Man” Chapman.

Easily the most touted prospect of the draft by far, and already being pegged by some for a Hall of Fame career, this 17 year old high school phenom was high-risk, high-reward. Vancouver held the number one overall pick, and the MLB introducing draft-pick trading in time for the 2012 season, Vancouver had a very important decision to make as they continued to try to sell fans on the “Patience Train.” Draft the man pegged at 9 million dollars even though he had little desire to play in Vancouver and risk wasting the number one overall pick, or trade it away for an instant impact superstar. In the end, Steve Chapman became the 11 million dollar man, and in a major boost for the Whitecaps franchise, signed with the team and is now playing Rookie ball in Lubbock. Vancouver also managed to draft and sign right fielder Salvador Figueroa (1/5), center fielder Albert Almora (1/5), closer Octavio Vargas (2/5), starting pitcher Colm O’Day (0.5/5), starter Mark Taylor (0.5/5), and shortstop Rafael Cortez (1/4.5). [/CENTER]

As Things Stand Now

June has been a (very) marginal improvement for the Whitecaps. With Dice-K back from injury, save Alex Gordon, the line-up almost looks like the front office had intended. Highlighted by a mid-month sweep of Arizona at home, Vancouver has gone 9-13, a record that represents more of what should be expected of a regular expansion team. In fact, they have an identical record to Tennessee thus far.

How will the team continue to develop? Can they rebound from their current record, 19-56, for a .253 winning percentage that would rank as the 7th worst all-time if the season ended today? How much patience will the new owners in Vancouver have? Only time can tell.

Team Stats

Pitching Staff

Batting Order

Pitching Stats

Batting Stats

MLB Standings

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From here on out, I'll post regular team and league updates!

06-20-2012, 02:02 PM	#2
MacIsaacM Minors (Double A) Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Victoria, BC, Canada Posts: 110	Up to the End of June The Expansion Draft The Vancouver Whitecaps picked first overall ahead of the Tennessee Stars, and it was clear from the get-go that both GMs had different strategies. After Vancovuer hired elite scouting director Dayton Moore throughout 2015 and stealing Joe Torre from retirement to manage the big league club, GM Michael MacIsaac was clearly geared towards the future. While Tennessee seemed to take more of a “win now” attitude, drafting the likes of Joe Blanton, Jeff Francoeur, Travis Hafner, and Casey Kotchman to name a few, Vancouver opted for more prospects, selecting names such as catcher Jorge Alfaro (1/4.5), starter Cody Buckel (3.5/5), outfielder Jaff Decker (4.5/5), shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria (2.5/5), and reliever Kevin Herrera (4/4.5). Vancouver did manage to draft the injured Daisuke Matsuzaka after Boston seemingly gave up on the former Japanese star. Although all but Hechavarria have since been demoted to AAA and AA after poor big league showings, with Hechavarria mostly holding on to his starting role only due to the team’s lack of depth at shortstop, the objective was to look to the future. Free Agent Frenzy The pre-season predictions put a start into Vancouver. While Tennessee was pegged to do amazingly well in the AL Central at 84-78 and a 3rd place finish, Vancouver was predicted to set a new MLB standard for futility: 39-123, dead-last in the AL West. Both teams then rushed to bolster their new line-ups with free agents, and both teams had the money to make some serious impact. Tennessee left with Asdrubal Cabrera, Derek Lowe, and Billy Butler. Vancouver, along with a slew of potential star rookies that are now littered throughout their minor league system, managed to sign Alex Gordon (currently on the DL after an off-the-field incident), Brad Emaus, Aaron Cunningham, Carlos Santana, Brian Barton, Josh Tomlin, and Justin Masterson. Although most have been disappointments so far – Emaus and Cunningham have all but played themselves out of the starting line-up, and Josh Tomlin has 11 losses notwithstanding some relatively strong stats – Vancouver managed to create for themselves the 5th best minor league system according to Baseball America. Starting Out Both teams lived up to their pre-season predictions early. Vancouver got swept in their opening series in Texas, winning their first-ever game in San Francisco, 3-1. Matt Antonelli (2.5/4, 2B) recorded Vancouver’s first franchise home run, Matt Long (2/5, RF) stole their first base and recorded their first hit, and reliever Michael Schwimer (4.5/5) recorded their first win and Justin Grimm (4.5/5) the first save. Vancouver’s first home win didn’t come until their 10th try against the Angels, and the Whitecaps wrapped up the month of April with a 5-20 record, and a slew of demotions to the minor leagues. Tennessee, meanwhile, posted a record of 10-14, including a 5 game winning streak, and hovered around the middle of the AL Central. Moving On Things got no better for Vancouver. While the month of May treated Tennessee relatively calmly at 13-14, Vancouver stumbled throughout the month and ended up at 5-23, highlighted by an 8 game losing streak and a 12 game losing streak. Nothing was working: line-ups were adjusted, back-ups signed from free agency (most notably Jason Kendall and Brooks Conrad), and much of the starting rotation who began the year in Vancouver (Andrew Cashner, 2/3 and Michael Fiers, 4.5/5, most notably) found themselves in the minor leagues. One highly touted prospect fell completely off the map, with Victor Rios eventually falling to Rookie ball and posting a 66.93 ERA with a 9.87 WHIP in 3 starts. Unbelievable. The owner was already calling for the GM’s head, but the fans remained loyal, and seemed to understand the trials of tribulations of an expansion team, notwithstanding the fact that Tennessee was fairing much better. The salt in the wounds was that Tennessee’s minor league system remained just one rank behind that of Vancouver according to Baseball America. The Draft By the time the draft rolled around, there was only one thing on everyone’s mind: Steve “The Mechanical Man” Chapman. Easily the most touted prospect of the draft by far, and already being pegged by some for a Hall of Fame career, this 17 year old high school phenom was high-risk, high-reward. Vancouver held the number one overall pick, and the MLB introducing draft-pick trading in time for the 2012 season, Vancouver had a very important decision to make as they continued to try to sell fans on the “Patience Train.” Draft the man pegged at 9 million dollars even though he had little desire to play in Vancouver and risk wasting the number one overall pick, or trade it away for an instant impact superstar. In the end, Steve Chapman became the 11 million dollar man, and in a major boost for the Whitecaps franchise, signed with the team and is now playing Rookie ball in Lubbock. Vancouver also managed to draft and sign right fielder Salvador Figueroa (1/5), center fielder Albert Almora (1/5), closer Octavio Vargas (2/5), starting pitcher Colm O’Day (0.5/5), starter Mark Taylor (0.5/5), and shortstop Rafael Cortez (1/4.5). [/CENTER] As Things Stand Now June has been a (very) marginal improvement for the Whitecaps. With Dice-K back from injury, save Alex Gordon, the line-up almost looks like the front office had intended. Highlighted by a mid-month sweep of Arizona at home, Vancouver has gone 9-13, a record that represents more of what should be expected of a regular expansion team. In fact, they have an identical record to Tennessee thus far. How will the team continue to develop? Can they rebound from their current record, 19-56, for a .253 winning percentage that would rank as the 7th worst all-time if the season ended today? How much patience will the new owners in Vancouver have? Only time can tell. Team Stats Pitching Staff Batting Order Pitching Stats Batting Stats MLB Standings -- From here on out, I'll post regular team and league updates! Last edited by MacIsaacM; 06-20-2012 at 02:05 PM.