[BelgianBomber]

SP1: Cole Hamels, throws left, age 29, 88million/2016 (round2, 46th overall)
The 3-time All-Star will anchor our rotation. Over the past couple of seasons Hamels has shown that he is one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game. He should be good for 200+ innings with an ERA around 3.00 with a strikeout per inning. Hamels does a decent job of limiting walks and he can hold his own when it counts the most. He will make 88million on his current 4 year contract, but Hamels should be well worth every penny.

SP2: Max Scherzer, throws right, age 28, 5.3million/eligible for arbitration (round 4, 106th overall)
Scherzer should make a great right-handed compliment to our staff ace, Cole Hamels. Scherzer is a strikeout machine, getting 231 K’s in 187.2 innings last season. Many believe that Scherzer has room for growth and that this next season could very well be the one that gets him into the conversation of the best pitchers in the game. Max should be able to give us around 200 innings with a 3.50 ERA and over 200 strikeouts. If he starts out strong, we should look into giving him an extension.

SP3: Jeremy Guthrie, throws right, age 33, 3.5million/2013 (round 12, 346th overall)
Guthrie has had some nice seasons during his career. He isn’t a lights-out type of pitcher, but he should be able to give his team some quality innings, especially as a middle-of-the-rotation starter. He lacks the stuff to be a true strikeout pitcher, but he has good control and gets solid movement on his pitches. I’m hoping to get 200 innings of sub 4.00 ball from him.

SP4: Patrick Corbin, throws left, age 23, 490k/not yeteligible for arbitration (round 8, 226th overall)
Corbin gives us a second left-handed starter. The youngster had his struggles in his first taste of the big leagues last season, but he has all the potential and talent to become a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter. Corbin is more of a finesse pitcher, as his fastball tops out at around 90-92mph. He does however have solid control of his pitches and regularly gets good movement on them. I’m hoping for a season of 180+ innings with a sub 4.00 ERA and 125+ strikeouts.

SP5: Joe Kelly, throws right, age 24, 490k/not yet eligible for arbitration (round 14, 406th overall)
Kelly got his first taste of the MLB last season and he showed he can hold his own. He should make a solid fifth starter for us and if he can put it all together, he could even become more. If we can get around 175 innings of 4.00 ball and 150 strikeouts it will be a success. Kelly does get a good amount of groundballs, so playing with a good defense behind him should really help him out.

CL: Craig Kimbrel, throws right, age 24, 539k/possibly eligible for arbitration after the season (round 13, 375th overall)
Can’t go wrong with the best closer in the game being your 9th inning guy. Kimbrel has been as dominant as one can be since entering the league 2 years ago. He will look to build on his performance to establish himself as the true elite closer in the MLB. Craig should be able to put up a sub 2.00 era with 100+ K’s over the course of a season. We should feel confident when we hand him the ball as he should close out the game pretty much all the time.

SUR: Jason Grilli, throws right, age 36, 4.4million/2013(round 45, 1335th overall)
Grilli has been a quality reliever for most of his career. Especially his last 2 seasons, with the Pirates, were of a high standard. As with most relievers, Grilli has excellent stuff and knows how to strike someone out. As evidenced by his 90 K’s in 58.2 innings last season. If he can limit the number of walks and keep the ball in the park, Grilli could post another season of sub 3.00 ball to go with a good K-rate.

SUL: Jeremy Affeldt, throws left, age 33, 10.64million/2014(round 46, 1366th overall)
Affeldt has been one of the better left-handed relievers in baseball for the past couple of years. The two-time World Series winner is used to pitching under pressure and he should do well in a late inning role for our team. We should see him pitch around 60 innings with a sub 3.00 ERA and a strikeout per inning.

MR: Carter Capps, throws right, age 22, 490k/not yeteligible for arbitration (round 35, 1035th overall)
Capps is one of the best bullpen prospects in the game. He made the jump from AA to the MLB last season (only 1.1 innings of AAA-ball) and he showed he belongs at the highest level. We are going to put him in lower pressure situations to ease him along, but he should be a future closer or setup man. Capps should pitch upwards of 50 innings for us this year with an ERA in the mid 3’s. He has the makeup to strike out a batter per inning.

MR: Cody Eppley, throws right, age 27, 490k/not yet eligible for arbitration (round 48, 1426th overall)
Eppley should be a solid to good middle reliever for us. He was a strong piece of the Yankees’ bullpen last season and we are hoping he can duplicate that this year. Eppley is a groundball pitcher who keeps the ball down and does a solid job of limiting walks. He should throw around 50 innings, while his ERA should top out around 3.60.

MR: Josh Edgin, throws left, age 26, 490k/not yet eligible for arbitration (round 38, 1126th overall)
Edgin saw his first action in the majors last season. He did a pretty nice job and he shows a lot of potential. He should be an effective lefty for our bullpen, who can give us a good number of quality innings. If he continues to mature, he could become a solid setup-man. Edgin should get around 40-50 innings this season. His ERA should be around 4.00, while getting a good number of strikeouts.

MR/LR: Jerome Williams, throws right, age 31, 900k/eligible for arbitration (round 66, 1966th overall)
Williams has been used in the role of reliever/spotstarter/longreliever for the past 2 seasons. While he might not be the most flashy guy around, he did a good job in that role. If he can build on his performance from the past season, he could play a very important role for our team. Jerome is a groundball pitcher who uses movement and control to be successfull.


I’m pretty happy with the way our staff looks to enter the season. Hamels and Scherzer headline our rotation and are one of the best lefty-righty combinations in the league. Corbin and Kelly are the youngsters in our rotation and I feel like both of them have the potential to be solid MLB starters and they will be given the chance to prove their worth.

Our bullpen, especially in the late innings, should be one of the best in the league. Kimbrel is, in my opinion, the best closer in the game, while Grilli and Affeldt should be a solid bridge between the starters and Kimbrel.