Premier League Offseason Team Overview
Yesterday’s edition of the Star had a piece on some of the best free agents available this offseason. Today we have an infographic on each team’s potential needs and losses this offseason.
Caprica City Buccaneers – Its hard to imagine the team that won the league would have any glaring needs, yet there are some holes the champions can look to plug. Particularly on the defensive side of the ball. The C-Buc’s pitching ranked in the bottom half of the league, allowing almost 900 hits this season. That was 3rd worst in the league. Also, opponents batting average on balls in play was .322, which was the worst in the Premier Leauge. The C-bucs Defensive Efficience was just .669, second worst in the PL. So the C-bucs should be in the market for another starter, some back end bullpen help, and a good solid defensive player or two. They will also be losing 1B Brice Brown. Their top prospect is Dave Tracy, who spent the entire season in the Developmental League with the Caprica City Battlestars. He’s a big step down in the offensive categories from Brown.
Promethea Miners - The Miners have similar problems to the Buccaneers; their offense is good and their pitching is medium to bad. Promethea had the worst bullpen ERA in the Premier League, and allowed the most hits. Fortunately for the Miners, free agency won’t be too rough on them, as the only every day starter they’ll lose is 1b Scott Auchnie. Granted, this is a big loss, as Auchnie was the catalyst for the offense for most of the season, but they have the bank to either offer Auchnie a large contract to remain with the team, or go after other elite first basemen, such as the Buccaneer’s Brice Brown. Right field will also be another point of need for the Miners this season, but 1B and the bullpen should be their first priorities.
Itar Aces – In a role reversal from the previous two teams, the Aces lived up to their name and had the best pitching staff in the Premier League. Their offense was good, but just let them down coming down the stretch. Adding a big bat to the middle of the lineup will go a long way to helping the Aces get over the hump and get into the Colonial Cup. Itar was 8th in the league in slugging, 8th in runs scored, and 10th in home runs. Of course, the Aces will have to deal with the potential loss of their closer Tom Hopps. The Wings of Ares award winner will most certainly demand a high price on the free agent market. Either keeping Hopps or adding a another strong arm to the bullpen, plus the addition of a hard hitting corner outfielder could see the Aces near the top of the table again.
Fateu Blaze – The Blaze’s point of need is pretty clear: They need pitching. In every phase of the game. The Blaze pitching staff had the worst overall ERA in the league, at 4.73, the second worst starters ERA at 4.92, and the 3rd worst bullpen ERA at 4.24. They allowed more runs than any other team in the Premier League. On top of that, their one bright spot, Randy White, will be eligible for free agency this year. White went 7-2 with a 3.06 ERA. So the message for the Blaze front office should be clear: pitching, pitching, pitching.
Reidi Drillers – As we get to the middle of the Premier League standings, we get to the more middle of the road teams. The Drillers fit that bill pretty well. They were in the 6-9th place in the league for almost all measured stats. Their biggest area of need is probably at the top of their lineup. As they weren’t great at getting on base this year. That, in turn, led to a lower amount of total runs scored. Free agency has the potential to be rough on the Drillers as well, as their closer Keely Mobbs and starting left fielder David Birnie are both eligible. Left field could be a good upgrade spot anyway, as Birnie only hit .250 this season.
Ersia Elephants – Like the Blaze, the point of emphasis this offseason for the Elephants should be pretty clear: they need offense. The Elephants were the worst offensive team in Premier League, and it wasn’t particularly close. They were actually decent at getting on base, having the 5th most hits in the league, but those singles never came home. The Elephants were last in extra base hits and last in home runs. Their pitching was pretty middle of the pack, and kept them in games, but their lack of production from the plate is a big pain point going forward. Carl Conner will be the biggest name on the free agent market this season. We talked about him yesterday, but Conner’s a big loss for this pitching staff if they can’t keep him. 2B Russ McCoy is probably the other biggest name for the Elephants going to free agency. He hit .325 with 24 driven in for the Elephants this season.
Kobol College Twins – The Twins fall into the camp of teams that need to improve their pitching. They allowed the second most runs of any team in the Premier League this season. However, free agency has the potential to be rough on the Twins, as both their starting corner infielders are potentially leaving the ship this offseason. Third baseman Rodeny Nathaniel hit .343 with 66 driven in this year, while first baseman Paul Twig only hit .260 but drove in 45. This offseason will go a long way in determining if the Twins will be contenders for the Colonial Cup, or contenders for relegation.
Hadrian United – The United had both the league’s MVP and the 2nd place vote getter, yet finished 4 games below .500 and closer to relegation than the Colonial Cup. As seems to be the theme here in the middle of the standings, the pitching staff let the United down. The United scored more runs this season than any other team in the Premier League – 456. They also allowed the second most runs in the Premier League – 434. As noted yesterday, Jim Hoffman is the potential big free agent departure. The third baseman was second in Globe of Atlas award voting, and would take 69 RBI and 25 home runs with him. The United’s closer, Dana Worcester, is also a potential free agent casualty.
Queenstown Wave – If you’ve read the last few reports and wondering where any of the good pitching in the league actually is, the Wave are one of the answers. While they recorded the fewest strikeouts in the Premier League, the Wave managed to be in the top half of the teams in almost all categories. It was the bats that let the Wave down this year. The two-time champions had the worst batting average in the Premier league, hitting a paltry .254 as a team. Fortunately, the Wave can be buyers this offseason, as they have lots of cap room and no major role players leaving in free agency.
Luminere Reds – The Reds has the best starting rotation in the Premier League, with a total ERA of just 3.57. Unfortunately for the reigning champs, a bad June sunk them too deep in the standings to recover from. They really turned it around at the end of the season, managing to get out of the relegation zone and stay in the Premier League. They’re hoping they can build on the momentum going into next season. The Reds will lose two key players in free agency, right fielder Dave Mix and third baseman John Taylor. Mix was the 2018 Colonial Cup MVP, and hit .270 and drove in 42 this season. Taylor hit .318 and drove in 53.
Tauron City Bulls – The Bulls collapse is already the stuff of legend, and the key question the front office must answer this offseason is “why”. The Bulls offense was good, and while the pitching left something to be desired, it wasn’t bottom tier by any means. Finding the correct pieces to the puzzle and keeping morale up will be the key to getting the Bulls back into the Premier League. The Bulls only have 4 players eligible for free agency, but unfortunately all four are role players for the team. Vasil de Brouwer is the big name, but third baseman Aindreas Mickel is the everyday starter who hit .322 with 53 runs driven in this season. Center fielder Dale Windom was the second man in the outfield platoon, and left fielder Josh MacKinnon started all but 3 games for the Bulls.
Landson Vipers – Not a lot went right for the Vipers in 2020. Their pitching was the worst in the league by far, and the hitting wasn’t much better. While the Vipers are a smaller market than most, there is still some money in the bank to try and go get that impact player that will help get them into the Premier League again. Fortunately for the Vipers, they won’t be losing any every day starters or pitchers to free agency. Setup man Aidan Maclan will most likely find himself in a new uniform next year, but other than that, the Vipers will return their normal starters. That might not be a good thing, given their 2020 record, but it is at least a good base to try and rebuild from.