[Westheim]

2033 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set in parenthesis shows 2032 stats, second set career stats; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Bernie Chavez, 24, B:R, T:R (3-8, 4.67 ERA | 6-9, 4.43 ERA) – the first of three youngsters the Raccoons are waiting on to break out; with three main pitches including a 94mph heater, he could use some more movement on the fastball, which comes rather straight and can be tattered, but at least he doesn’t walk everything with legs.
SP Ignacio del Rio, 23, B:R, T:R (12-14, 4.60 ERA | 13-16, 4.91 ERA) – more young talent in the rotation, pretty decent stuff, but unfortunately with a rotten character that had him pretty soon stamped as clubhouse cancer. The Raccoons are willing to wait for him to turn into a star before they sent him to reeducation camp.
SP Raffaello Sabre, 24, B:L, T:R (5-8, 4.49 ERA | 8-10, 4.56 ERA) – and the third young pitcher which we still put great hopes in! All he has to do is to somehow double his strikeouts and half his walks, and get the defense to help him out, and then he can become a star!
SP Rico Gutierrez, 33, B:L, T:L (4-7, 4.97 ERA | 107-95, 3.69 ERA) – the baseball equivalent of a dying pet, Rico Gutierrez keeps swinging the pendulum back and forth between injuries and getting blown up and clobbered by opposing teams. He has lost all the stuff, and regularly gets taken deep… or to the DL. This is the final guaranteed year of the ill-advised 8-year contract Gutierrez got on the heels of some strong production in the mid-20s.
SP Andy Palomares *, 33, B:R, T:R (7-15, 4.46 ERA | 95-110, 4.30 ERA, 1 SV) – journeyman right-hander that at least has a record of durability, pitching to 200+ innings in eight out of the last nine years. His stuff is average, but he has strong command, but is homer-prone.

MR Victor Anaya, 30, B:R, T:R (6-4, 3.28 ERA | 8-7, 3.41 ERA) – pretty solid and reliable middle reliever that doesn’t get a lot of strikeouts, but also doesn’t make too many mistakes.
MR Nick Bates, 27, B:R, T:R (3-0, 2.78 ERA | 3-0, 3.42 ERA) – extremely erratic right-hander with short stamina, who walked six per nine innings over his brief career; has pitched for the Coons in each of the last three seasons, but also spent ample time in St. Pete every time and is thus out of options, which was about the only thing that protected his hairy bum at the start of the season.
MR John Hennessy, 25, B:L, T:L (7-2, 2.66 ERA, 1 SV | 9-2, 2.43 ERA, 1 SV) – was very impressive in his first full season that was not spent primarily on the DL, whiffing a whisker more than nine batters per nine innings while walking less than two. Almost looks like he is recommending himself for higher duties than mixed seventh-inning, long-man assignments.
MR David Fernandez, 26, B:L, T:L (2-3, 2.83 ERA | 3-4, 2.53 ERA) – this 2027 fifth-rounder flummoxed batters with a vicious slider, even though the fastball didn’t always arrive in the correct zip code, but which young lefty ever gets it over precisely where the catcher points at…?
SU Ed Blair *, 30, B:R, T:R (5-3, 3.18 ERA, 2 SV | 34-25, 3.37 ERA, 36 SV) – right-handed veteran that signed late in March after being a leftover on the free agent market. Not very high strikeout numbers, but he has had pretty good control and movement and keeps walks and homers down.
SU Mauricio Garavito, 31, B:L, T:L (4-3, 3.12 ERA, 2 SV | 15-15, 2.76 ERA, 9 SV) – left-hander with balanced splits that was claimed off waivers by the Bayhawks early in the 2029 season when Jeremy Moesker turned out to be a turd. Has since been really reliable, and in major news has yet to make us regret having given him a 4-year contract prior to the 2032 season.
CL Chris Wise, 26, B:R, T:R (5-2, 2.51 ERA, 33 SV | 10-7, 2.66 ERA, 59 SV) – the Tennesseeian groundballer Wise has become the first reliever to hold down the closer assignment for more than five minutes in recent memory and we generally don’t have too many complaints about what he does, although 8.5 K/9 is not exactly outrageous for a closer.

C Fernando Garcia *, 30, B:R, T:R (.282, 12 HR, 65 RBI | .266, 63 HR, 294 RBI) – All Star catcher acquired via trade from the dastardly devious Elks, who should Thompson continue to not work out is probably going to be our primary catcher for the next two years. Consistent above-average batter with over-the-fence power (career high 18 homers in 2030), and also a solid body of defensive work as he works well with pitchers and can throw out runners trying to commit robbery.
C Elliott Thompson, 23, B:L, T:R (.200, 4 HR, 12 RBI | .200, 4 HR, 12 RBI) – sixth-rounder (2028) that ranked as high as #32 in the prospect tables at one point, with stellar defense and game-calling, but unfortunately he couldn’t hit a damn lick in extended time in the majors in ‘32.

1B Travis Zitzner, 29, B:R, T:L (.256, 12 HR, 47 RBI | .278, 33 HR, 153 RBI) – acquired from the Stars for none other than Mark Roberts, Zitzner did hit the ball hard and far and sometimes outta there, but ultimately was inconsistent and merely won the full time job for this year because his platoon mate Jarod Howden was even worse and a constant and colossal annoyance.
2B/SS Tim Stalker, 34, B:R, T:R (.261, 6 HR, 61 RBI | .260, 95 HR, 616 RBI) – very good defensive middle infielder, more than just token speed, and most of the time also a good batter, at least until he hit a snag right after signing that big extension. Since then, Stalker has four seasons with OPS+ under 100, but at least he keeps collecting Gold Gloves (six total now) in his mid-30s...
SS Alberto Ramos, 27, B:L, T:R (.293, 0 HR, 36 RBI | .316, 14 HR, 291 RBI) – The Excitement missed 34 games as injuries returned to him after keeping him out of only five games in the last two seasons. He also failed to bat .300 for the first time since ’27, didn’t hit a homer, and failed to win the stolen base crown. This all sounds negative, but he is still about the perfect leadoff man, whenever he is healthy, with a .408 career on-base percentage and 374 nipped bags through his age 26 season.
3B/SS Justin Perkins, 32, B:R, T:R (.248, 14 HR, 89 RBI | .259, 21 HR, 139 RBI) – freed from oppression by the numerous star infielders on the Titans’ roster, this good defensive third baseman didn’t turn out to be an offensive terror, but at least won a Gold Glove the first time he got even a chance at playing regularly. Despite a .664 OPS he managed to lead the team in home runs and RBI, which says a thing or two about the 2032 offense.
3B/SS/2B Tom Hawkins *, 31, B:R, T:R (.294, 2 HR, 25 RBI | .281, 35 HR, 319 RBI) – free agent that used to be on the Bayhawks as a regular, but bounced around quite a bit in the last years, spending 2032 with the Crusaders as a backup, a function he will continue to perform for the ’33 Critters.
3B/2B/SS/RF Justin Marsingill, 26, B:R, T:R (.254, 1 HR, 24 RBI | .245, 1 HR, 24 RBI) – played his first substantial chunk of major league ball in ’32 and was a pretty poor hitter, but at least is defensively versatile and thus beat out Sam Cass for the final roster spot.

RF/LF Jimmy Wallace, 26, B:L, T:L (.281, 10 HR, 64 RBI | .281, 27 HR, 155 RBI) – 44 extra base hits ’32, although we would like a few more homers from Wallace, who is nothing short of a disaster on defense, and has yet to post a season where he’s worth at least one win more than a token replacement. He really has to start showing things of…
CF/LF Adrian Reichardt *, 35, B:R, T:R (.273, 2 HR, 23 RBI | .276, 112 HR, 810 RBI) – Reichard had won everything there was to win with the Titans, but then lost the fight against Moises Avila who was more than a decade his junior and waived his 10/5 rights to join the Critters and to get back into the starting lineup. He was by no means bad with the stick, and he remains a solid defender, even though he had quite a few injuries for the last few years. Undisputed centerfield starter to begin the season. Hey, maybe the second highly-paid Titans outfielder in two years will hit something other than the DL!
RF/LF/CF Billy Jennings *, 29, B:L, T:L (.268, 13 HR, 64 RBI | .256, 44 HR, 241 RBI) – acquired in a trade with the Cyclones, Jennings figured to be a full time regular until we somehow stumbled into the services of Adrian Reichardt, and will now platoon with Ferrero in a corner spot, most likely rightfield. He is a bit of a strikeout-prone hacker, while not hitting too many homers, which keeps his stats down.
LF/RF/1B/CF/SS Noel Ferrero *, 26, B:R, T:R (.247, 11 HR, 75 RBI | .252, 24 HR, 209 RBI) – very versatile backup outfielder that could be All Star material in a corner spot, but will have to be content with the short end of a platoon with Jennings after coming over from the Blue Sox in a trade. It’s not like he’s an amazing hitter, with a career 86 OPS+.
RF/CF/3B/2B Preston Pinkerton, 27, B:R, T:R (.268, 1 HR, 19 RBI | .268, 1 HR, 19 RBI) – a man of many talents, this pale-faced rookie not only showed of good defense and strong and agile hindpaws, but also became the Raccoons’ garbage pitcher of choice in 2032, pitching in 16 games and to an 8.10 ERA, which I want to point out was a better run rate than Tom Shumway’s, and for $3M less...

On disabled list: Nobody.

Otherwise unavailable: Nobody.

Other roster movement:
SP Travis Coffee, 25, B:R, T:R (5-7, 4.31 ERA | 5-7, 4.31 ERA) – run-of-the-mill righty with a distinct lack of stuff and mediocre control that might still have snuck into the rotation if not for the Palomares signing, but was optioned to St Pete to begin the season.
SP Jason Gurney, 27, B:R, T:L (6-13, 6.29 ERA | 18-24, 4.89 ERA) – came out of nowhere (well, St. Pete) early in 2031 after injuries and misery had already decimated the rotation, plugged right in and made 26 starts down the road with pretty nice overall stats, but our scout threw up all the red flags he had – and not for no reason. Gurney’s 2032 was a disaster top to bottom, and the poor sod is reassigned to AAA to get his **** together.
2B Sam Cass, 27, B:S, T:R (.313, 0 HR, 2 RBI | .237, 1 HR, 10 RBI) – waived and DFA’ed; 2005 Ugliest Baby Boy Sam Cass’ lack of versatility or defensive prowess or hitting acumen (his .313 clip came about in just 32 at-bats…) made him redundant no matter how pleasant his nature might be.
CF/RF/LF Ed Hooge, 23, B:L, T:L (.240, 2 HR, 27 RBI | .240, 2 HR, 27 RBI) – reassigned to AAA after not hitting anything at all despite getting ample chance to do so after the Adam Braun injury in ‘32.

Everybody not mentioned by now has already been waived or reassigned during the offseason.

OPENING DAY LINEUP:

Vs. RHP: SS Ramos – CF Reichardt – LF Wallace – 1B Zitzner – C Garcia – RF Jennings – 3B Perkins – 2B Stalker – P
(Vs. LHP: SS Ramos – CF Reichardt – LF Wallace – 1B Zitzner – C Garcia – 3B Perkins – RF Ferrero – 2B Stalker – P )

To be honest, they aren’t easy to line up, and it starts in the #2 spot. You want a guy that puts the ball in play and not where it hurts, and in the past Tim Stalker has been that guy, but I think we can get more from Reichardt at this point. Elliott Thompson will get regular starts against right-handers to begin the season, but not Opening Day against Adam Potter.

The bench is mostly right-handed but we will not regularly leave out either Ramos or Wallace against southpaws.

OFF SEASON CHANGES:

For the second year in a row the Raccoons divested themselves of more than 20 players and wouldn’t miss many of them. We only brought on a handful and change, not counting the odd minor league signing. Shrewd trading for veterans however saw the Raccoons finish TOPS of the offseason WAR gains table on BNN!

Too bad WAR is a useless stat…

Top 5: Raccoons (+9.1), Cyclones (+7.7), Gold Sox (+7.1), Pacifics (+6.4), Warriors (+5.7)
Bottom 5: Miners (-5.9), Knights (-6.3), Rebels (-7.4), Canadiens (-11.6), Thunder (-12.9)

Two of the departures returned on Opening Day, as rule 5 picks Chad Reinhardt and Steve Florence were returned to the Raccoons.

PREDICTION TIME:

Last year I laid an egg stating that maybe a .500 season wasn’t out of the question. Then the starting pitching collectively crapped out, the offense was a deserted ruin in the middle of nowhere, and we ended up losing a crisp 94 games.

This time everything will be better, though. The pitching (at least the part of the pitching that is not inherently terrible) will not end up on the DL, will not suck like a funnel, and the additions to the lineup will make an impact, and maybe Jimmy Wallace will catch a ball hit right at him from time to time and hit 30 homers himself. If all that comes together, we might actually win 85 games.

But knowing our luck… well, at least the top 3 starters have a decent chance to get better. We must not forget that they are still very young and can reasonably be expected to get better every year.

At least until their arms come off.

The Raccoons should be good enough for 76 wins, and maybe we can actually get a positive surprise or two.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

During their years of dominance and two titles in the late 20s, the Coons completely burned down their farm to find more bits and pieces and ranked last in young material for the meat mincer several times before starting a slow rally that began to accelerate with a 17th place among all teams in 2031, 8th place last year, and all the way up to SECOND PLACE this season!

This rise continues despite us burning up some of our prospects in 2032, when our top prospect, ranked #15, was Raffaello Sabre, who of course spent all of the year in the majors… or on the DL. For the same reason (exceeded rookie limits), we also lost #78 Elliott Thompson, #120 Ignacio del Rio, #149 Justin Marsingill, #156 Ed Hooge, #185 Bernie Chavez, and #194 Travis Coffee, which amounts to six of our 16 ranked prospects from last season. And we still got better??

3rd (new) – A OF/3B/1B Jesus Maldonado, 19 – 2032 international free agent signed by Raccoons
7th (+145) – A SP Julian Ponce, 20 – 2029 international free agent signed by Raccoons
13th (new) – AA SP Brandon Williams, 20 – 2032 first-round pick by Raccoons
34th (new) – INT SS Juan Cerezo, 19 – 2029 scouting discovery by Raccoons
52nd (0) – AA SP Jonathan Dykstra, 23 – 2031 supplemental round pick by Raccoons

64th (-5) – AAA OF Manny Fernandez, 23 – 2031 first-round pick by Raccoons
66th (+46) – A SP Jonathan Galvan, 21 – 2028 international free agent signed by Raccoons
74th (+3) – AAA SP Darren Brown, 23 – 2028 first-round pick by Raccoons
107th (new) – A SS/2B Jose Agosto, 19 – 2030 international free agent signed by Raccoons
130th (-3) – AAA SP Jason Lucas, 23 – 2030 second-round pick by Raccoons

142nd (new) – A INF Vincent Zesati, 20 – 2029 international free agent signed by Raccoons
153rd (new) – AA 3B/2B Dusty Mahaney, 21 – 2032 supplemental round pick by Raccoons
175th (new) – A OF Dave Mendoza, 18 – 2031 international free agent signed by Raccoons

That is 13 players in the top 200, with a few more that were in last year having dropped out: #58 Will Luna, #129 Kyle Green, and #200 Barry Schuster are no longer ranked. All three are still in the organization however – we notably stayed away from trading any ranked prospect in a deal this winter!

The top 5 overall prospects this year are:

#1 PIT AA INF Sergio Barcia (was #1)
#2 LVA AA SP Chris Crowell (was #2)
#3 POR A OF/3B/1B Jesus Maldonado (newly signed)
#4 SAC AA OF/SS Jesus Banuelas (was unranked)
#5 WAS AAA SP Jerry Banda (was #9)

Last year’s #3 prospect, CHA A SP Chris Turner, missed all of 2031 and much of 2032 after Tommy John surgery and had a slow return, dropping to #26, but will be in AA to begin the season. The Scorpions’ RF Troy Greenway moved from A to AA, and dropped from #4 to #9, while his teammate, OF/1B Chris Sandstrom, also moved along with him, but dropped from #5 to #14.

Next: first pitch.