[Bub13]

SPRING TRAINING! came and went with no major problems, thank goodness. We won 17 games (the Mets topped the charts at 25-5), got mostly good play from the youngsters and other newbies, and only suffered two short-term injuries. To the good, my penciled-in #5 starter Mark Phillips threw well, led the spring in strikeouts, and beat out former ace Ken Clark for a spot in the rotation. Kids Mike Hunter, Guillermo Diaz, and Mel Carillo earned spots, but Jesse Henkel flamed out (three HR late, but oh-for-spring until game #25) and will go back to AAA.

Injuries took a slight toll, but one thing I did was to rest my top starting pitchers often so as to minimize their exposure to injury. Hopefully they'll still be ready for the start of the season. I did lose two regular players, in 2B Josh Robertson (2 weeks) and RF Chris Wiggins (one week). Robertson will be replaced by rookie John Martin, a former 10th round pick from 2036. He only hit .222 in the spring, but is my best option right now, and is a good contact hitter who won't strike out. He's not too hot anywhere else, tho. Wiggins will be replaced in right by Travis McArthur, who moves over from left, and I'll split LF between Ernesto Martinez (who will also DH) and rookie Mel Carillo. I'm not sure who will move out when Wiggins comes back, as a week really isn't time to get a handle on a rookie's play.

Probably the biggest news out of ST was that I finally pulled the trigger on moving Ken Clark, sending him to St Louis in a six-player trade. He pitched well in the spring, but I'm just tired of him giving up 2 home runs every game and constantly underperform based on his ratings. My scouts finally admitted they have him rated as an "Extreme Flyball Pitcher," and that was it. We also shipped out 27-year-old SP Angelo Partida, who has nearly made our team three years running, and three average to might-be-good-one-day prospects. In return, we got OF Harry Trinidad, who can run and field at a big league level, but needs serious help at the plate. But the centerpiece for us is SP Mike Messinger, who has great stuff and good movement, but needs to work on his control. Three good pitches, hits 96 MPH, and does have good potential control; he's just not there yet. He becomes our #1 prospect and will start the season in AA. We'll also retain 3.7M of Clark's salary this year and next.

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2039 OPENING DAY ROSTER

No real surprises here; we've kept last year's roster pretty much intact, at least until you get to the bullpen. We were one game away from winning it all last year; I think our window is still wide open and we can get right back to the World Series again this fall. Below is starters first, then the bench, then pitchers. All stats are 2038, obv.

Starters:
C Austin Collins (.299/16/84, 4.0 WAR) Back for his fifth season behind the plate. He's grown into an average catcher, but earns his bread with the bat. His 2038 stats very nearly exactly match his career seasonal averages.
1B Jeremy Dunklee (.323/40/112, 7.9 WAR) One of our two lineup cornerstones. When healthy, he's a perennial all-star and good for 40 HR at least.
2B John Martin (.256/0/28 in A ball) He'll be on the roster for the first two weeks of the season, and I'm not expecting much, to be honest. Decent contact and gap strength, and won't strike out. Defense just so so.
3B Adam Groff (.317/31/100, 6.6 WAR) Started off slowly last year but came on strong over the second half. Is a foundational player, and one I'll be working on signing to a long-term contract this year. (He has three more years of arbitrational control.)
SS Mike Hunter (.331 in AAA, also .286 in 70 AB for Hawaii) Taking over at short from the departed Jim Mullen. He has the potential to hit .300 with 40 doubles and has Gold Glove skills in the field.
LF/DH Ernesto Martinez (.291/26/73 in 368 AB) Really came on strong at the plate after last year's all-star break. Good play this spring solidified his spot in the starting lineup. Not rangy in the field, but decent enough to fill in. Will get a ton of time at DH too.
CF Josh Drayton (.272/36/105, 39 SB, 5.0 WAR) Speedy and a solid fielder, we'll need him to hit at least as well as he did last year (he struggled to .256 the year before). Has led the league in steals in 2036 and '38.
RF Travis McArthur (.287/19/84, 2.6 WAR) Solid, but hasn't played up to his status as a former #1 overall pick. Still, he's an elite fielder who is capable of 30 HR and .300 average. We'll need it.

Bench:
C Guillermo Diaz (.254, 24 HR in AAA) Is a much better catcher behind the plate than Collins, but can't carry his water as a batter. Does bring power and a good eye to the game. If he hits over .230 and brings some pop, I'll be happy.
1B/DH Nate Hullinger (.278, 28 HR in AAA, .333 with 2 HR in 39 AB for Hawaii) Flamed out in 2037, but is back for another bite at the apple. Brings big power and decent contact, not much else.
IF Danny Holguin (.259/2/17 in 112 AB) Outstanding fielder across the infield, and decent enough at the plate should Martin fail in the early going.
OF Ian Hoppmann (.261/.321/.349 with Toronto) Played 47 games down the stretch for us in 2035. Has a nice bat off the bench (no power tho), is a good fielder across the outfield (and at first), but will get the highest marks as the team's captain, something we lacked last year.
Mel Carillo (.242/3/28 in AAA) Still a fairly raw 21-year-old, but looks good enough on paper to be in the bigs. Hasn't hit yet past AA, and hasn't developed much over the last year. My scouts still love him tho, so I'm giving him his first taste of MLB. Best case scenario is he plays well this year, develops a bit more, and takes over in LF by 2040.

Disabled List:
2B Josh Robertson (.292/.344/.363, 22 doubles) Had a good rookie year, but will always be on the bubble since he's not outstanding in any one area. My owner wants a better second baseman anyway....He'll be back in two weeks.
RF Chris Wiggins (.310/20/73, 3.6 WAR) Nice contact and tremendous gap power, somehow also hit 20 HR last year. Decent fielder too. In the last year of his contract ($8.04M).

Rotation:
RHP Leon Casillas (18-10, 2.49, 228 IP, 203 K, 6.9 WAR) Last year's free agent grab came in and established himself as the staff ace, and won the AL Cy Young award to boot. More this year, please.
RHP Rob Hart (10-2, 2.38, 95 IP, 99 K, 1.7 WAR) Was dynamite in 13 starts after his July call-up. Is still just 22 and has a little more room to develop. No sophomore slump, okay?
LHP Bobby Little (15-4, 3.72, 160 IP, 150 K, 2.3 WAR) Solid lefty, not overpowering but gets people out.
LHP Eric Jones (19-5, 2.80, 202 IP, 145 K, 3.3 WAR) Second in Rookie of the Year voting, not bad for a former 21st round pick. Has good stuff but wins with superior movement and control.
RHP Mark Phillips (9-3, 2.35, 126 IP, 154 K, 3.0 WAR in AAA) 26-year-old rookie getting his chance at the back end of the rotation. Great stuff, average control, and a flyball pitcher. Ken Clark 2.0, maybe? We'll see.

Bullpen:
CL Jim Kieffer (3-3, 3 SV, 1.88, 91 IP, 115 K with St Louis) Another year, another bullpen rebuild. Kieffer wants to be a starter, but I think he's a natural closer and will be great at it.
SU Aaron Glass (3-2, 1 SV, 3.19, 54 IP, 48 K) Has had two solid seasons with us and moves into a setup role. Currently one of three lefties in the pen.
SU Ryan Key (7-2, 14 SV, 2.73, 56 IP, 56 K) Closed down the stretch and did well, but got beat up in the World Series. Returns to a setup spot, and begins his sixth season with us as the last original Islander.
RH Chris Mayer (1-1, 4.32, 33 IP, 25 K) Just okay for us last year, but pitched great in the spring to make the roster. Average in most respects.
LH Pat Stanley (2-0, 1 SV, 2.19, 25 IP, 33 K; also 69 IP in AAA) Threw well late last year, now gets a shot as a regular. Might succeed as our LOOGY.
LH Jay Yates (2-2, 1 SV, 4.55, 55 IP, 51 K with White Sox) Comes back to Hawaii after two years in Chicago. Was our closer for three seasons before that, but doesn't have the chops for that anymore. Still good enough to pitch to righties as well, and brings strong leadership as well.
RH Rich Beltowski (7-2, 3 SV, 4.29, 86 IP, 109 K with Montreal and Oakland) Free agent signing brings big time stuff and good control. One of the three new key guys in the pen for us.

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MLB has us winning 89 games, finishing 6 games behind Oakland. Adam Groff looks to have a big year at the plate, while Casillas, Hart, and Kieffer get good numbers from the mound. Otherwise, our hitting and pitching look suspect, at least from their perspective. Miami and Cleveland are pegged to win their divisions, with Minnesota getting the second wild card spot. In the NL, New York, Pittsburgh, and Arizona are marked to take their divisions, with Chicago and one of Richmond or LA getting the other wild card. And for fun, consider these numbers: Portland lost a net 11.1 WAR from their roster during the off-season, while Washington gaines 8.3 WAR, followed by the Yankees at 7.4. We're down in 31st place, having lost 6.1 WAR, thanks to three top relievers and our starting SS Mullen.

Our system ranks 12th in MLB, with three players in the top 100: P Mike Messinger (60th), OF Mel Carillo (74th), and P Cameron Bornhoft (84th). Among our starters, MLB ranks four in the top ten: 1B Jeremy Dunklee (2nd), 3B Adam Groff (1st), CF Josh Drayton (6th), and SP Leon Casillas (3rd).

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Next up: Start of the 2039 season