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GM_CheatSheets · 01-08-2017, 11:35 PM

The Expos finished spring training with a 12-16 record. Not exactly confidence inspiring, but not too ominous a sign.

Pitching-wise Kaprielian received a boost in his overall rating (to 72 out of 80) making him the clear-cut ace of my staff going into the season. Luke Jackson, 31, was the best spring training performer but was one of the last cuts and will start as depth in AAA. Tanaka did not make the rotation so he was put on waivers and designated for assignment. To be fair to him, he wasn't given much of a chance to start.

Batting-wise, Lewis led the team in HR and Drury put in a solid performance. Connor Justus was the biggest surprise at SS by getting the majority of playing time over Mountcastle and leading the team in AVG and OPS, though this was achieved with an unsustainable .450 BABIP. The wonders of spring training small sample size "stars."

Getting my opening day roster down to 25 was tougher than I expected, though mostly with pitching. I feel that my pitching depth is much better than hitting. This is in part because I have a lot of pitchers that fit a borderline starter, better in relief mold. I ended up having to place five pitchers on waivers as they are out of options. Hopefully they will pass through and I'll be able to keep my depth at AAA rather than lose them to other teams.

Before providing a position by position preview of my team, my owner contacted me to share his expectations are to "stay respectable on the field." And the OOTP preseason predictions are for my team to finish 77-85, good enough for second place in the NL East. This projection places my team around the bottom 1/3 in MLB. I do not have any players projected to finish as a top ten hitter or pitcher in the National League.

The New York Mets are projected to win the NL East with 91 wins. The Los Angeles Dodgers are projected to pace MLB with 114 wins. The Las Vegas expansion team is projected for only 66 wins.

Below is a preview of my team. Overall and potential is rated 20-80. All other ratings are on the 1-20 scale.

Catcher - Christian Vazquez will be my main catcher and is the easiest to project as he is a low offense, great defense player. He rates as a 20 catcher with 15 C Ability and 20 C Arm. I hope that his high leadership and very high work ethic will have a positive effect on the team. Mitch Trees ended up making the team as the backup. Thomas Dillard will gain some AAA experience and is the catcher in waiting. All three of these catchers are great defensively. Dillard is the only one with potential offensive upside.

First Base - This is the weakest spot on my team right now. Gui Yuan Xu will start and should post solid defensive numbers. He has average batting ratings across the board but lacks a track record. This may be the first place I look to upgrade either via trade, waivers, or position change.

Second Base - Drury is the clear-cut starter here. His defense is average across the board and my hope is that he can post a WAR of at least 3 for the fourth season in a row. I have Nick Shumpert in AAA even though he is probably ready for the majors. There are a few scenarios that could play out here. If Drury is injured, Shumpert becomes the 2B. I will be playing Shumpert at SS in AAA so he could earn a promotion at SS. The third option is to move Drury to 1B if the rest of my infield is playing well to open a spot for Shumpert at 2B as Shumpert would represent a defensive upgrade.

Third Base - This will be an interesting position to watch as there are three similar players on my roster competing for time at third. My manager has given Jose Vizcaino Jr. the opening day start, though he is my third preference. He is average to slightly above average across the board offensively and just average defensively. Drew Mendoza, the only lefty of the three, has similar offensive ratings with less track record, but he is great defensively. The third option is Matt Chapman who also has similar offensive ratings and the best defensive ratings. I hope one of the three will play well enough to distinguish themselves.

Shortstop - In a surprise move (at least to me) the opening day SS will be Connor Justus instead of Ryan Mountcastle. Both player's overall ratings are in the low 20's and are average defensively. Perhaps Justus is the more attractive option as he is slightly above average in four of the five batting categories (his power is poor). Mountcastle is average in all five categories. Unfortunately both bat from the right side of the plate so there isn't a platoon possibility here. As mentioned in the 2B section, I am trying to develop Shumpert as a SS to see if he can be a better defensive option here.

Left Field - Left field goes to Eddy Vizcaino, a young, speedy, defensive-minded player. He has the potential to be a high average/on-base percentage player but has a limited MLB track record. Ceciliani will start the season on the DL (the only casualty of the spring) and could play his way into a starting role or serve as a high-use fourth outfielder.

Center Field - Kyle Lewis is the clear-cut option for CF. He should offer at least average defense and be among the team leaders in HR. He could play himself into a trade as he is likely one of the more attractive assets I have right now.

Right Field - Kyle Tucker will start in right field for me and I have pretty high expectations for him as his batting and fielding ratings look much better than his 33 overall rating suggests.

Starting Rotation - My rotation is all right handed and is led by James Kaprielian. He has great control and a four pitch mix in which all but the slider are above average offerings. Bryce Montes De Oca is next and he has great stuff as his three pitches rate 19,17, and 14. His control is only average at best, though. Damien Magnifico has a great fastball, cutter combo with plus velocity, but a middling slider, changeup, and control. Ariel Jurado and Jose E. De Leon fill out my rotation. Both have three pitches that are average or better. Jurado specializes more in control while De Leon has better stuff. None of these pitchers have much of a track record as they have primarily been used as relievers at the MLB level so far.

Closer - Felipe Rivero, a lefty, will be my closer. His stuff, movement, and control are all 15 and he has three pitches rated 14 or better. I will be surprised if there are any issues with his performance.

Set Up - Zach Burdi and Dillion Tate, both righties, will set up for Rivero. Burdi has the profile of a future closer (20 stuff, 15 control, 19 fastball, 18 slider). Tate is very similar (19 stuff, 14 control, 16 fastball, 19 curveball) though with his better stamina, I hope he develops his changeup enough to eventually slot in the rotation.

Middle Relief - The bullpen is filled out with two high stuff and velocity but low control pitchers: Chris Medina (R) and Oddanier Mosqueda (L). And two above average to great control pitchers with deeper repertoires: Shawn Tolleson (R) and Kolby Allard (L).

Though this wasn't necessarily my intention, my overall approach seems to be throwing a bunch of players who are average across the board at each position and hoping someone gets hot or the sum proves to be greater than each of the parts.

Next I will watch opening day and then see how the first month of the season plays out...

01-08-2017, 11:35 PM	#16
GM_CheatSheets Minors (Double A) Join Date: Dec 2016 Posts: 171	Spring Training & Season Expectations The Expos finished spring training with a 12-16 record. Not exactly confidence inspiring, but not too ominous a sign. Pitching-wise Kaprielian received a boost in his overall rating (to 72 out of 80) making him the clear-cut ace of my staff going into the season. Luke Jackson, 31, was the best spring training performer but was one of the last cuts and will start as depth in AAA. Tanaka did not make the rotation so he was put on waivers and designated for assignment. To be fair to him, he wasn't given much of a chance to start. Batting-wise, Lewis led the team in HR and Drury put in a solid performance. Connor Justus was the biggest surprise at SS by getting the majority of playing time over Mountcastle and leading the team in AVG and OPS, though this was achieved with an unsustainable .450 BABIP. The wonders of spring training small sample size "stars." Getting my opening day roster down to 25 was tougher than I expected, though mostly with pitching. I feel that my pitching depth is much better than hitting. This is in part because I have a lot of pitchers that fit a borderline starter, better in relief mold. I ended up having to place five pitchers on waivers as they are out of options. Hopefully they will pass through and I'll be able to keep my depth at AAA rather than lose them to other teams. Before providing a position by position preview of my team, my owner contacted me to share his expectations are to "stay respectable on the field." And the OOTP preseason predictions are for my team to finish 77-85, good enough for second place in the NL East. This projection places my team around the bottom 1/3 in MLB. I do not have any players projected to finish as a top ten hitter or pitcher in the National League. The New York Mets are projected to win the NL East with 91 wins. The Los Angeles Dodgers are projected to pace MLB with 114 wins. The Las Vegas expansion team is projected for only 66 wins. Below is a preview of my team. Overall and potential is rated 20-80. All other ratings are on the 1-20 scale. Catcher - Christian Vazquez will be my main catcher and is the easiest to project as he is a low offense, great defense player. He rates as a 20 catcher with 15 C Ability and 20 C Arm. I hope that his high leadership and very high work ethic will have a positive effect on the team. Mitch Trees ended up making the team as the backup. Thomas Dillard will gain some AAA experience and is the catcher in waiting. All three of these catchers are great defensively. Dillard is the only one with potential offensive upside. First Base - This is the weakest spot on my team right now. Gui Yuan Xu will start and should post solid defensive numbers. He has average batting ratings across the board but lacks a track record. This may be the first place I look to upgrade either via trade, waivers, or position change. Second Base - Drury is the clear-cut starter here. His defense is average across the board and my hope is that he can post a WAR of at least 3 for the fourth season in a row. I have Nick Shumpert in AAA even though he is probably ready for the majors. There are a few scenarios that could play out here. If Drury is injured, Shumpert becomes the 2B. I will be playing Shumpert at SS in AAA so he could earn a promotion at SS. The third option is to move Drury to 1B if the rest of my infield is playing well to open a spot for Shumpert at 2B as Shumpert would represent a defensive upgrade. Third Base - This will be an interesting position to watch as there are three similar players on my roster competing for time at third. My manager has given Jose Vizcaino Jr. the opening day start, though he is my third preference. He is average to slightly above average across the board offensively and just average defensively. Drew Mendoza, the only lefty of the three, has similar offensive ratings with less track record, but he is great defensively. The third option is Matt Chapman who also has similar offensive ratings and the best defensive ratings. I hope one of the three will play well enough to distinguish themselves. Shortstop - In a surprise move (at least to me) the opening day SS will be Connor Justus instead of Ryan Mountcastle. Both player's overall ratings are in the low 20's and are average defensively. Perhaps Justus is the more attractive option as he is slightly above average in four of the five batting categories (his power is poor). Mountcastle is average in all five categories. Unfortunately both bat from the right side of the plate so there isn't a platoon possibility here. As mentioned in the 2B section, I am trying to develop Shumpert as a SS to see if he can be a better defensive option here. Left Field - Left field goes to Eddy Vizcaino, a young, speedy, defensive-minded player. He has the potential to be a high average/on-base percentage player but has a limited MLB track record. Ceciliani will start the season on the DL (the only casualty of the spring) and could play his way into a starting role or serve as a high-use fourth outfielder. Center Field - Kyle Lewis is the clear-cut option for CF. He should offer at least average defense and be among the team leaders in HR. He could play himself into a trade as he is likely one of the more attractive assets I have right now. Right Field - Kyle Tucker will start in right field for me and I have pretty high expectations for him as his batting and fielding ratings look much better than his 33 overall rating suggests. Starting Rotation - My rotation is all right handed and is led by James Kaprielian. He has great control and a four pitch mix in which all but the slider are above average offerings. Bryce Montes De Oca is next and he has great stuff as his three pitches rate 19,17, and 14. His control is only average at best, though. Damien Magnifico has a great fastball, cutter combo with plus velocity, but a middling slider, changeup, and control. Ariel Jurado and Jose E. De Leon fill out my rotation. Both have three pitches that are average or better. Jurado specializes more in control while De Leon has better stuff. None of these pitchers have much of a track record as they have primarily been used as relievers at the MLB level so far. Closer - Felipe Rivero, a lefty, will be my closer. His stuff, movement, and control are all 15 and he has three pitches rated 14 or better. I will be surprised if there are any issues with his performance. Set Up - Zach Burdi and Dillion Tate, both righties, will set up for Rivero. Burdi has the profile of a future closer (20 stuff, 15 control, 19 fastball, 18 slider). Tate is very similar (19 stuff, 14 control, 16 fastball, 19 curveball) though with his better stamina, I hope he develops his changeup enough to eventually slot in the rotation. Middle Relief - The bullpen is filled out with two high stuff and velocity but low control pitchers: Chris Medina (R) and Oddanier Mosqueda (L). And two above average to great control pitchers with deeper repertoires: Shawn Tolleson (R) and Kolby Allard (L). Though this wasn't necessarily my intention, my overall approach seems to be throwing a bunch of players who are average across the board at each position and hoping someone gets hot or the sum proves to be greater than each of the parts. Next I will watch opening day and then see how the first month of the season plays out...