The usual statistical breakdown for this franchise with a dominant offense and lousy defense (although not entirely terrible). The differences this year are the lousy baserunning (very few steals and a terrible efficiency) and the high starters' ERA. Interestingly though all the starters came in around 3 WAR or better and we did lead the league in pitcher WAR which tells me it's the defense and perhaps even moreso the ballpark (since Publix Park is friendly for homers
and hits).
Right now my big dilemma is who is the odd man out of the rotation for the playoffs since after Bookhart and Rose they all have similar profiles with Gardner, Riley and Delgado all coming in around 3 WAR. I'm leaning toward Riley getting the boot as his high-contact profile isn't the best one for this park and defense although Game 4 of either the ALDS or ALCS would be on the road. Still not sure.
Plenty to enjoy here, with all the regulars over 3 WAR and all the part-timers over 2. Even guys with limited at-bats like Suzuki, Ferguson and Olivo contributed when in the lineup. Juan Davila will finally get his every day shot next year with Frick going, and Alex Duran will get more at-bats with Doug Johns going, but top prospect Jon Morales will figure in as well.
As mentioned before, our primary starters all had good seasons when it came down to it, even if their ERAs didn't reflect it thanks to high BABIPs (especially Riley). We have good defenders as the team ZR shows, so I'm increasingly convinced it's the ballpark (which of course helps our hitters as well). Tim James is making the postseason roster while Caleb Ramos and Chris O'Brien aren't, with Tony Olivo getting on as an extra hitter thanks to his elite speed.