OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Avoiding the Ashes: The 1994+ Toronto Blue Jays

Daletiel · 06-25-2016, 10:30 PM

April 3, 1994 – Opening Day!

On the job a couple of days, and there hasn't been a whole lot going on. After my introductory press conference, I got some face time with my boss and the owner of the Jays, Jody Paul, so we could go over his expectations for me going forward. Considering where the club is coming from (4 playoff berths in 5 seasons and back-to-back World Series titles), it's not all that surprising: Win the Championship and Build a Dynasty. His final, more mundane request is to upgrade at 3B. Considering what I have to work with, I'm not terribly surprised. Mr. Paul made it clear that his priority is winning, and that he intends to be pretty hands-off and let me do my job. I get the impression he's a pretty lenient man, and he may be charitable with the purse strings if I approach him about any budget-related matters.

I've started by filling a couple of front office holes stemming from my predecessor's departure, bringing in Ken Concialdi to be my Assistant GM and William Rios to be our incumbent manager Cito Gaston's Bench Coach.

Concialdi's been in the business 26 years, and has the excellent reputation and contacts I'll need going forward. His focus skews towards prospects, and I hear his abilities when it comes to the Rule IV Draft are second to none. We got him for 3 years at $200k/year.

Rios has 13 years of experience and a similarly excellent reputation to Concialdi within industry circles. He's a pretty conventional bench boss, and seems to already have a good relationship with a good portion of our 25-man roster. He should be a solid compliment to Gaston's more easygoing personality. He signed on for 2 years at $150k/year.

The pickings are pretty slim overall in available personnel, so I made the decision to play the year out and evaluate how everyone does. The majority of my staff throughout the minors are unproven and their contracts expire after this year, so their results will be looked at and extensions offered on a case-by-case basis. I would have liked to part ways with incumbent Scouting Director Ryan Haggerty, whose abilities I don't think are to the level I want in a head scout, but there just isn't anyone better on the market.

After my talk with Mr. Paul I felt comfortable with pouring some additional money into our long-term plans, bumping up our total scouting budget to $10M and our player development budget to $5M.

***

Now that the front office is taken care of, time to shift focus to the guys taking the field, starting with the starting rotation.

#66, RHP Juan Guzman (27 y/o) – went 14-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 221 IP, good for a 3.9 WAR season with a 105 ERA+. He's a groundball pitcher, and having a solid defensive pair up the middle as we do should lead to some success. Cito has him slotted in as the Opening Day starter; long-term, he's probably more of a solid #2 or high-end #3, but the flashes he's shown in the last two post-seasons make me dream he could be more. He's arbitration eligible at the end of the season, and is going to be due for a pretty solid raise.

#41, RHP Pat Hentgen (25 y/o) – went 19-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 216.1 IP, putting up a 1.5 WAR season with a 108 ERA+. He came up a bit short in the playoffs last year, but OSA and my scouting department are both in agreement that he has the potential to be a top of the rotation arm for years to come. He's also arbitration eligible.

#28, LHP Al Leiter (28 y/o) – went 9-6 with a 4.11 ERA and 2 saves in 105 IP, putting up 0.8 WAR with a 101 ERA+ as a swingman. His control needs a bit of work, but OSA and our scouts feel like he'll develop into a solid mid-to-top of the rotation arm. He's signed through 1996 at $1.22M/year.

#30, RHP Todd Stottlemyre (28 y/o) – went 11-12 with a 4.84 ERA in 176.2 IP, putting up 2.9 ERA with an 86 ERA+. He's definitely got some room for improvement, with a K/BB ratio (1.42) that leaves much to be desired, but his FIP of 3.90 seems to indicate he was the victim of a bit of bad luck. I'm hopeful he'll be able to develop into a solid middle of the rotation arm. He's making $375k and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

#34, RHP Dave Stewart (37 y/o) – went 12-8 with a 4.44 ERA in 162 IP, putting up a 0.3 ERA with a 94 ERA+. He's definitely on his last legs these days, hovering just below replacement level for a couple of years now. He'll probably be okay to eat some innings at the back of the rotation, but not much other than that. He's making $762k and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

***

While the rotation is looking pretty good, the bullpen… maybe not so much.

#69, LHP Tony Castillo (31 y/o) – went 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 51 games and a 124 ERA+. We're looking at small sample size syndrome, because that's one good year and Cito has him as the closer. Our scouting director is distinctly less kind to him, so we'll have to see. I'm not optimistic, though. He makes $225k and is up for arbitration.

#8, RHP Woody Williams (27 y/o) – went 3-1 with a 4.38 ERA in 30 games and a 95 ERA+. His FIP is only slightly better (4.09) and he has a K/BB ratio of 1.09, which I'm less than enthused about. Cito has him as our 8th inning arm, and scouting has him projecting to be a pretty solid arm down the road if his control improves. He's making league minimum, and isn't arbitration eligible yet.

#31, RHP Randy St. Claire (33 y/o) – went 6-10 with a 4.05 ERA and 3 saves in 67 games between three different AAA teams. Cito has him penciled in for the 7th, but I don't see him as more than filler. Making league minimum, and isn't arbitration eligible.

#40, RHP Mike Timlin (28 y/o) – went 4-2 with a 4.69 ERA and 1 save in 54 games and an ERA+ of 89. There are conflicting opinions on whether his control will improve enough to be useful, and his peripherals aren't great either. Cito has him as a middle reliever. He's making $135k and is arbitration eligible.

#3, RHP Les Lancaster (31 y/o) – went 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 50 games and an ERA+ of 141. He slightly outperformed his peripherals (3.78 FIP), but scouting doesn't like him for anything other than mop up. Cito doesn't trust him either, pegging him as low leverage long relief. He earns $290k and is a free agent at the end of the year.

#36, RHP Darren Hall (29 y/o) – went 6-7 with a 5.14 ERA and 13 saves in 60 games with Syracuse in AAA, for an ERA+ of 78. He's a warm body, and I don't expect much from him.

#54, RHP Duane Ward (29 y/o) – our ex-closer went 2-3 with a 2.13 ERA and 45 saves in 71 games, with an ERA+ of 195. Unfortunately, he's been suffering from some biceps tendonitis, and I'm not expecting him to be his old self, though I'll be pleasantly surprised if he has. Cito has him penciled in as a righty specialist, possibly in an attempt to shelter him in case his arm improves.

06-25-2016, 10:30 PM	#4
Daletiel Minors (Single A) Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 80	1994 Opening Day, Part 1: Front Office Moves, Player Evaluations (Rotation and Bullpen) April 3, 1994 – Opening Day! On the job a couple of days, and there hasn't been a whole lot going on. After my introductory press conference, I got some face time with my boss and the owner of the Jays, Jody Paul, so we could go over his expectations for me going forward. Considering where the club is coming from (4 playoff berths in 5 seasons and back-to-back World Series titles), it's not all that surprising: Win the Championship and Build a Dynasty. His final, more mundane request is to upgrade at 3B. Considering what I have to work with, I'm not terribly surprised. Mr. Paul made it clear that his priority is winning, and that he intends to be pretty hands-off and let me do my job. I get the impression he's a pretty lenient man, and he may be charitable with the purse strings if I approach him about any budget-related matters. I've started by filling a couple of front office holes stemming from my predecessor's departure, bringing in Ken Concialdi to be my Assistant GM and William Rios to be our incumbent manager Cito Gaston's Bench Coach. Concialdi's been in the business 26 years, and has the excellent reputation and contacts I'll need going forward. His focus skews towards prospects, and I hear his abilities when it comes to the Rule IV Draft are second to none. We got him for 3 years at $200k/year. Rios has 13 years of experience and a similarly excellent reputation to Concialdi within industry circles. He's a pretty conventional bench boss, and seems to already have a good relationship with a good portion of our 25-man roster. He should be a solid compliment to Gaston's more easygoing personality. He signed on for 2 years at $150k/year. The pickings are pretty slim overall in available personnel, so I made the decision to play the year out and evaluate how everyone does. The majority of my staff throughout the minors are unproven and their contracts expire after this year, so their results will be looked at and extensions offered on a case-by-case basis. I would have liked to part ways with incumbent Scouting Director Ryan Haggerty, whose abilities I don't think are to the level I want in a head scout, but there just isn't anyone better on the market. After my talk with Mr. Paul I felt comfortable with pouring some additional money into our long-term plans, bumping up our total scouting budget to $10M and our player development budget to $5M. * Now that the front office is taken care of, time to shift focus to the guys taking the field, starting with the starting rotation. #66, RHP Juan Guzman (27 y/o) – went 14-3 with a 3.99 ERA in 221 IP, good for a 3.9 WAR season with a 105 ERA+. He's a groundball pitcher, and having a solid defensive pair up the middle as we do should lead to some success. Cito has him slotted in as the Opening Day starter; long-term, he's probably more of a solid #2 or high-end #3, but the flashes he's shown in the last two post-seasons make me dream he could be more. He's arbitration eligible at the end of the season, and is going to be due for a pretty solid raise. #41, RHP Pat Hentgen (25 y/o) – went 19-9 with a 3.87 ERA in 216.1 IP, putting up a 1.5 WAR season with a 108 ERA+. He came up a bit short in the playoffs last year, but OSA and my scouting department are both in agreement that he has the potential to be a top of the rotation arm for years to come. He's also arbitration eligible. #28, LHP Al Leiter (28 y/o) – went 9-6 with a 4.11 ERA and 2 saves in 105 IP, putting up 0.8 WAR with a 101 ERA+ as a swingman. His control needs a bit of work, but OSA and our scouts feel like he'll develop into a solid mid-to-top of the rotation arm. He's signed through 1996 at $1.22M/year. #30, RHP Todd Stottlemyre (28 y/o) – went 11-12 with a 4.84 ERA in 176.2 IP, putting up 2.9 ERA with an 86 ERA+. He's definitely got some room for improvement, with a K/BB ratio (1.42) that leaves much to be desired, but his FIP of 3.90 seems to indicate he was the victim of a bit of bad luck. I'm hopeful he'll be able to develop into a solid middle of the rotation arm. He's making $375k and will be a free agent at the end of the season. #34, RHP Dave Stewart (37 y/o) – went 12-8 with a 4.44 ERA in 162 IP, putting up a 0.3 ERA with a 94 ERA+. He's definitely on his last legs these days, hovering just below replacement level for a couple of years now. He'll probably be okay to eat some innings at the back of the rotation, but not much other than that. He's making $762k and will be a free agent at the end of the season. * While the rotation is looking pretty good, the bullpen… maybe not so much. #69, LHP Tony Castillo (31 y/o) – went 3-2 with a 3.38 ERA in 51 games and a 124 ERA+. We're looking at small sample size syndrome, because that's one good year and Cito has him as the closer. Our scouting director is distinctly less kind to him, so we'll have to see. I'm not optimistic, though. He makes $225k and is up for arbitration. #8, RHP Woody Williams (27 y/o) – went 3-1 with a 4.38 ERA in 30 games and a 95 ERA+. His FIP is only slightly better (4.09) and he has a K/BB ratio of 1.09, which I'm less than enthused about. Cito has him as our 8th inning arm, and scouting has him projecting to be a pretty solid arm down the road if his control improves. He's making league minimum, and isn't arbitration eligible yet. #31, RHP Randy St. Claire (33 y/o) – went 6-10 with a 4.05 ERA and 3 saves in 67 games between three different AAA teams. Cito has him penciled in for the 7th, but I don't see him as more than filler. Making league minimum, and isn't arbitration eligible. #40, RHP Mike Timlin (28 y/o) – went 4-2 with a 4.69 ERA and 1 save in 54 games and an ERA+ of 89. There are conflicting opinions on whether his control will improve enough to be useful, and his peripherals aren't great either. Cito has him as a middle reliever. He's making $135k and is arbitration eligible. #3, RHP Les Lancaster (31 y/o) – went 4-1 with a 2.93 ERA in 50 games and an ERA+ of 141. He slightly outperformed his peripherals (3.78 FIP), but scouting doesn't like him for anything other than mop up. Cito doesn't trust him either, pegging him as low leverage long relief. He earns $290k and is a free agent at the end of the year. #36, RHP Darren Hall (29 y/o) – went 6-7 with a 5.14 ERA and 13 saves in 60 games with Syracuse in AAA, for an ERA+ of 78. He's a warm body, and I don't expect much from him. #54, RHP Duane Ward (29 y/o) – our ex-closer went 2-3 with a 2.13 ERA and 45 saves in 71 games, with an ERA+ of 195. Unfortunately, he's been suffering from some biceps tendonitis, and I'm not expecting him to be his old self, though I'll be pleasantly surprised if he has. Cito has him penciled in as a righty specialist, possibly in an attempt to shelter him in case his arm improves.