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NL Central

1. Mobile Swordfish
Managed by: Nick Ross - 3rd season

Top Players: Jack Clements, Hughie Jennings, Ben Sanders
Top Prospects: Irv Ray, Daniel Robertson, Ron Hunt

Comments: not a great team but .500 season is not out of question


2. Birmingham Hillcats
Managed by: Sean Cain (2nd season)

Top Players: Milt Pappas, Red Murray, Joe Gaines
Top Prospects: Levi Meyerle, Tony Conigliaro, Tyson Ross

Comments: They will probably be very bad again in their 2nd season, but they have some solid prospects including Tony C's second chance


3. Madison Monarchs
Managed by: Gustavo Calderon (2nd season)

Top Players: Carl Taylor, Mellie Wolfgang, Joe Presko
Top Prospects: Wally Schang, Carlos Carrasco,

Comments: they are still developing slowly, Carrasco made the team for 2025.


4. Grand Rapids Crawdads
Managed by: Max Parker (3rd season)

Top Players: Dolph Camilli, Chet Ross, Elmer Knetzer
Top Prospects: Birdie Cree, Jack Flaherty, Brook Jacoby

Comments: a team that will be mired in another 100 loss season as they don't have much of a core.


5. Morgantown Cottonmouths
Managed by: Tom Halifax (1st season)

Top Players: Mel Parnell, Hank O'Day, Charlie Gelbert
Top Prospects: Scott Downs, Ted Kennedy

Comments: first year team and they will struggle to win 40 games


6. Milwaukee Brewers
Managed by: Cesar Florez (2nd season)

Top Players: Frank Thomas, Lady Baldwin, Denny Lyons
Top Prospects: Bernie Friberg, Al Zarilla, Gus Triandos

Comments: Finished in 2nd in 2024, but missed playoffs, they are a fringe playoff team once again in 2025


7. Pittsburgh Pirates
Managed by: Ronnie Courtney (6th season)

Top Players: Jerry Nops, Gio Urshela, Bid McPhee
Top Prospects: Dan Stearns, Joe Gordon, Sam West

Comments: disappointing 2024 season and not much hope that things will change in 2025 as this team seems to be in decline


8. Chicago Cubs
Managed by Joe Maddon (11th Season)

Top Players: Bob Feller, Vic Willis, Orval Overall
Top Prospects: Jim Lonborg, Daniel Cabrera, Ryan Yarbrough

Comments: Maddon is now 70 and still managing, this is an unusual Cubs team that has the pitching but not much hitting, could contend


9. Louisville Bats
Managed by: Mike Zoeller (5th Season)

Top Players: Johnny Vandermmer, Rich Nye, Bill White
Top Prospects: Heinie Manush, Jimmy Dykes, Ryan Braun

Comments: they got a lot better in 2024, but are they good enough to play with Milwaukee and Cincinnati?


10. Rome Thoroughbreds
Managed by Joe Quinn (1st season)

Top Players: Jack Sanford, Christopher Soprano, Marcus Jensen
Top Prospects: Wilson Ramos, Carl Sawatski

Comments: first year team playing in Italy, not much to look forward to. Odd how they drafted Christopher Soprano


11. Cincinnati Reds
Defending World Champions
Managed by Adam Sinatra (1st season) manage Jacksonville Beach Bums in 2024

Top Players: Larry Doby, Roy Oswalt, Jose Fernandez
Top Prospects: Carl Lundgren, Hal Gregg, Travis Fryman

Comments: they are the defending world champions but did lose George Davis to free agency should win the division and the rest could be a repeat


12. Aruba Jackrabbits
Managed by: Jason Evans (2nd season)

Top Players: Bill Swift, Van Mungo, Matt Wieters
Top Prospects: Felix Mantilla, Buster Adams, Mike Zunino

Comments: 2nd year team and 60 wins would be a mircale



NL Midwest

1. Wichita Hawkeyes
Managed by: Alex Jenkins (2nd season)

Top Players: Harry Howell, Don Hurst, Fritz Peterson
Top Prospects: Rico Carty, Red Faber, Eddie Robinson

Comments: Decent team this year, could hit .500


2. New Orleans Zebras
Managed by: Ruben Perea (3rd season)

Top Players: Larry Walker, Ken Griffey Jr, Elmer Smith
Top Prospects: Bruce Bochte, Charlie Frank, Stephen Piscotty

Comments: Very strong team that just missed playoffs in 2024, and should contend hard in 2025


3. St Louis Cardinals
Managed by: Chris Piatt (6th season)

Top Players: Nolan Arenado, George Van Haltren, Harry Wolter
Top Prospects: Carlos Guillen, Duke Sims, Bob O'Farrell

Comments: took steps back in 2024, but look revamped for 2025, did lose Phil Douglas to the market


4. Winnipeg Wolf Pack
Managed by :Mike Carlson (2nd season)

Top Players: John Fulgham, Laynce Nix, Evan Gattis
Top Prospects: Dustin Ackley, Curt Young

Comments: this is a bad team that should be as bad as they were in 2024


5. Memphis Cougars
Managed by: Roger Candelo (6th season)

Top Players: Bryce Harper, Juan Gonzalez, James Paxton
Top Prospects: Robin Yount, Al Leiter, Russell Martin

Comments: Yount made the team for 2025, they should have a shot at the NL Crown if all goes well as they have drafted well


6. Little Rock Sunbirds
Managed by: Joe McEachern (3rd season)

Top Players: Ross Barnes, Steve Rogers, Justin Verlander
Top Prospects: Yordan Alvarez, Bob Welch, Orel Hershiser

Comments: should fight for .500 in 2025, but they have some great future players for sure


7. Duluth Champions
Managed by: Jon Kidman (2nd season)

Top Players: George Decker, Derrel Thomas, Elliott Maddox
Top Prospects: Abner Powell, Milt Shoffner, Joe Kuhel

Comments: 110 losses is consensus for this 2nd year team, they don't have any star power


8. Peoria Oil Barons
Managed by: Garrett Hayes (1st season)

Top Players: Ned Ryerson, Dan Uggla, Buddy Hield
Top Prospects: Billy Williams

Comments: should be better than some established teams even in their first year. Team is built around Needle Nose Ryerson, an insurance agent from rural Pennsylvania


9. Tulsa Rattlers
Managed by: John Rosen (4th season)

Top Players: Brownie Foreman, Jack Smith, Gene Krapp
Top Prospects: Steve Brady, Johnnhy Marcum, Jose Jimenez

Comments: Got to the NLCS in their first playoff run and they are another favorite to win it all with Foreman and Smith being 2 of the biggest stars in the game


10. Oklahoma City Colts
Managed by: Chris Burns (3rd season)

Top Players: Fernando Tatis Jr, Tom Seaver, Mark Redman
Top Prospects: Bill Eagan, Jeff Niemann

Comments: a team that has been better than it is expected and adding Tatis makes them a solid candidate for 90 wins in just their 3rd season


11. Lagos Hammerheads
Managed by: Matthew Well (1st season)

Top Players: Ike Brown, Cheslor Cuthbert, William Outen
Top Prospects: JD Martinez, Matt Lindstrom

Comments: first year team in Africa, not expected to do well, will be one of the better rookie teams


12. Sioux Falls Velocity
Managed by David Bell (1st season) managed Cincinnati Reds in 2024

Top Players: Brett Tomko, Mike Dorgan, John Kirby
Top Prospects: Max Carey, George Hendrick

Comments: Bad team that landed the world series winning manager, so they must have a long range plan