[Westheim]

2055 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set in parenthesis shows 2054 stats, second set career stats; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP He Shui, 29, B:R, T:R (18-8, 2.48 ERA | 18-8, 2.48 ERA) – the Coons keep finding good pitching in Asia, with last year’s main import casually winning the Rookie and Pitcher of the Year awards, the ERA title, an All Star assignment, and the World Series. More of that, please. Has four pitches, a 94mph fastball, and very good control. He also does all of this silently while minding his own business. Seriously, I don’t remember him saying a word even once. Might be mute after all.
SP Kennedy Adkins *, 30, B:L, T:L (16-12, 3.04 ERA | 71-44, 2.92 ERA) – if I want something, I get it – eventually, sometimes. The 30-year-old elite left-hander was on my wishlist for a decade, and I finally blackma- convinced the Buffos to let go of him. Good stuff, steady control, keeps it in the ballpark. Might win a Pitcher of the Year award one day.
SP Seisaku Taki, 27, B:R, T:R (9-11, 3.48 ERA | 41-30, 3.01 ERA) – right-handed groundballer that was imported from Japan to some success, like, uh, winning both Rookie of the Year and Pitcher of the Year in his debut season (like He Shui!), PLUS a Gold Glove. Taki has three very good pitches, throws 95, and should continue to be a delight, even though last year showed him struggle for stretches. Everybody struggles at times, though?
SP Rafael de la Cruz, 24, B:L, T:R (5-5, 3.98 ERA | 28-27, 3.60 ERA) – golden boy returned from his torn UCL in June… and struggled all the way to the end of the season. Sometimes he strikes people out, sometimes he walks them. He constantly seems to be in a 3-2 count, meaning his starts are short thanks to low-ish stamina, and he went only 110.2 innings in 19 starts in his return. Maybe I should have traded him for goodies at some point……….
SP/3B Kyle Brobeck, 27, B:S, T:R (8-5, 3.59 ERA, 1 SV | 27-24, 4.27 ERA, 1 SV) – Brobeck is a weird, weird pitcher slash third baseman. In 2054 he got all of a World Series ring, a win, a save, a homer, and a stolen base while pitching in 38 and batting in 56 games. He hit .306/.388/.396 with the stick in 154 at-bats, the most he gobbled up in a season so far, and is a career .329 hitter. I guess we could do worse for a fifth starter / long relief candidate…?

MR Takenori Tanizaki *, 27, B:R, T:R (no stats) – just keep buying Asian free agents! Tanizaki throws a splitter and a fastball for grounders, and has very good control on his resume. I will also never get his name straight, even if he were to pitch for this team for ten years.
MR Matt Walters, 24, B:L, T:L (0-0, 1.85 ERA, 1 SV | 0-0, 1.85 ERA, 1 SV) – technically a failed starter (and former #8 pick), but while his arsenal is small, it still contains an unhittable curve and a 94mph heater; still working on control, but he could be a closer candidate in the not-too-distant future, but if he ever gets the changeup for a third pitch going, he’ll not have mercy with merely mortal batters anymore.
SP/MR Hyun-soo Bak, 27, B:S, T:R (8-4, 2.49 ERA | 8-4, 2.49 ERA) – the second Asian import of 2054 came from Korea and has a fastball, slider, and splitter to offer. While he is an option for spot starting, he did not do so at all in his debut season, but gained the higher-ups’ confidence quickly and ended up in many close situations as evidenced by getting 12 decisions in relief.
MR Eloy Sencion, 28, B:L, T:L (6-0, 3.11 ERA, 1 SV | 16-3, 3.29 ERA, 7 SV) – fastball, vicious slider, but if you were to look for this left-hander, who debuted in the majors in 2050, on the 2053 Opening Day roster rundown, you’d be out of luck. Nothing worked for Eloy Sencion in 2052, posting an 8.04 ERA in the majors after a flashy pair of seasons in 2050-51. He dropped as far as AA, and was not remotely near the big league portion of the depth chart as the 2053 began, starting out in AAA. When Brett Lillis jr. went down to injury early on, he was somewhat reluctantly recalled and somehow just worked again, making 52 appearances without major complaints. He put up nearly identical stats in 2054, and hasn’t lost a game in relief since that dismal 2052 season.
SU Brett Lillis jr., 29, B:L, T:L (4-2, 2.81 ERA, 2 SV | 10-12, 3.40 ERA, 6 SV) – second-generation lefty reliever in the Coons pen – well, whenever he’s not injured. Very steady, also against right-handers, and might split eighth-inning duties with Hitchcock, or even get the odd save assignment against left-handed opposition.
SU Kevin Hitchcock, 32, B:R, T:R (7-4, 2.86 ERA, 11 SV | 25-23, 3.05 ERA, 81 SV) – the German right-hander had to slot into the eighth inning role after the Raccoons added Daley in 2053, and it’s not gonna get any better for him with Daley gone, although he has largely pitched without complaints thanks to a 1.4 BB/9 mark in ’54 and generally allowing few home runs. Very good cutter/slider combo, generating groundball after groundball. One of only two Raccoons on the roster that still has 2040s rings with the team on his paw, for 2046 and 2047, although he only pitched seven games for the former team.
CL Tommy Gardner *, 34, B:R, T:R (9-8, 2.51 ERA, 36 SV | 57-59, 2.53 ERA, 401 SV) – signed on a 3-year deal, Tommy Gardner is well known to Raccoons fans everywhere for closing games for the Indians for five years while we were winning those five straight penannts; four great pitches, but unfortunately no stamina, otherwise those three Reliever of the Year awards might have been Pitcher of the Year awards.

C Chris Gowin, 28, B:R, T:R (.313, 19 HR, 75 RBI | .274, 41 HR, 260 RBI) – very fine defensive catcher the Falcons didn’t know what to do with and dumped onto the Raccoons for odd bits and pieces that didn’t fit anyway. Broke out in his second season in Portland, smashing almost as many homers as he had for his hole career previously, and whacked for an impressive 146 OPS+. No complaints, except that he’s in a contract year and might want a lot of dosh to keep doing this.
C/1B Tyler Philipps, 28, B:R, T:R (.261, 2 HR, 18 RBI | .245, 4 HR, 43 RBI) – excellent defensive catcher that debuted late in the 2051 season, then made the Opening Day roster behind Sean Suggs in ’52, but ended up spending most of his time in AAA again after an early demotion. Since then he’s been backup to Gowin without making much of an impression.

1B Pedro Rojas, 23, B:L, T:L (no stats) – with Ramsay on the DL for at least another month, we’d have a debutee on Opening Day. Rojas was a weird one for a first-baseman: he didn’t have much power, but in AAA was drawing 20% more walks than strikeouts, and he was stealing double-digit bases. Very fine glove for first base, too, but neither range nor a throwing arm to move him elsewhere.
2B/SS Matt Waters, 34, B:S, T:R (.228, 6 HR, 30 RBI | .262, 213 HR, 812 RBI) – Waters went from winning the home run crown in 2053 to playing just 68 games due to injury in 2054, and when he played he did so badly, posting his worst-ever OPS+ (85) and shedding 53 points off his batting average. There’s two years left on his old 10-year contract, so there’s still time for redemption. (Although hitting .393 in the World Series, when he returned to the team, does count for something!) With Wheats gone, Waters is the last Raccoon that has a version of each of the 2040s trifecta of rings.
SS/3B Lorenzo Lavorano, 27, B:R, T:R (.283, 6 HR, 69 RBI | .283, 18 HR, 275 RBI) – Everybody loves Lonzo! If you don’t love Lonzo, you can’t be my friend…! Has won four stolen base titles in four full (as in: not-injured) seasons, a Gold Glove at least once… and he keeps being a delight in the field and on the career steals list, which he’s racing up at the moment. Maybe 400 bags is too lofty a goal for this year – he starts it at 322 – but I’m willing to let myself be positively surprised by him.
3B/LF Anton Venegas, 33, B:R, T:R (.282, 2 HR, 54 RBI | .309, 28 HR, 519 RBI) – his first half was very good, the second half not so much, and he put up a 98 OPS+ in the end, so perhaps the overall package wasn’t exactly worth $5.7M a year, but now we’re stuck with him. Still a very good third baseman, though, and he stole almost as many bases (31) as his age was last year (32/33), so there’s that.
3B Ed Crispin, 28, B:L, T:R (.262, 2 HR, 26 RBI | .254, 31 HR, 201 RBI) – once upon a time one of the returns from the Rebels in the deal that sent Josh Rella away, Crispin’s a good defender at the hot corner, which is about as many good things I have to say about him. He’s just kinda *there*, and will probably disappear as free agent after the season, because “kinda there” doesn’t have to cost seven figures. Nice complement to the right-handed Venegas, though, so he might still get the regular one or two starts each week after all.
SS/2B Matt Knight, 27, B:R, T:R (.229, 4 HR, 27 RBI | .238, 6 HR, 52 RBI) – slaps singles, and was a bit lost as a decent defensive shortstop (and even placed on waivers last Opening Day), but started to learn second base in AAA before Matt Waters went down to substantially miss the second half of the regular season, and thus was able to slide right onto the open position.

LF/RF/1B Trent Brassfield, 22, B:R, T:R (.323, 4 HR, 22 RBI | .323, 4 HR, 22 RBI) – debuted just early enough in 2054 to ruin his rookie eligibility for this year, but it was tight down the stretch and we couldn’t have done it without him and his .895 OPS in 48 games. Not a great defender, but should be solid enough for a long time in leftfield, and if he draws walks for a .411 OBP like in his short debut season, then he might actually be a great leadoff option.
LF/RF/1B/CF Alan Puckeridge, 27, B:L, T:R (.252, 10 HR, 56 RBI | .295, 63 HR, 357 RBI) – the Aussie nearly doubled his career homer total in 2053, appearing in all 163 games the team played in while hitting for a .312/.374/.508 slash line. That led right into a crash back to below-100 OPS+ territory, much like with Waters, although Pucks stayed on the field, appearing in 159 regular season games, even though he came off the bench 38 times, which was more often than in the last three years combined.
LF/RF Danny Munn *, 31, B:L, T:L (.264, 14 HR, 57 RBI | .256, 145 HR, 543 RBI) – the Michigander slugger was acquired from the Bayhawks for less than you would have thought, although perhaps missing some time to injuries in his three years there could have influenced a desire to get rid of the $5.9M annually. Competent defensively on the corner, he is mostly here to mash the ball far; no speed, and not enough patience at the plate sometimes.
RF/LF/3B/CF/1B Ricky Lamotta *, 30, B:R, T:R (.270, 4 HR, 40 RBI | .273, 21 HR, 175 RBI) – Lamotta returns as a super utility and cheap free agent, five years after spending most of the year with the team as a waiver claim. Defensive replacement in the late innings perhaps, and could spell Pucks against lefty starters.
CF Brent Cramer *, 30, B:L, T:R (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI | .269, 60 HR, 326 RBI) – Player of the Year in 2050, not making a single appearance in a starting lineup in 2054, while still being in his 20s. It was a fall from grace for the ages for Brent Cramer, who signed a cheap redemption contract – and was not expected to make the roster, but we got wind that he would refuse an assignment to the minors, so culled Prospero Tenazes instead.

On disabled list:
MR Reynaldo Bravo, 23, B:R, T:R (0-0, 47.25 ERA | 0-0, 47.25 ERA) – good fastball/curveball, not such a great rotator cuff. Might miss most of the year having that stitched back together; gave up 7 runs in 1.1 innings in a rather brief debut in ’54.
1B Harry Ramsay, 27, B:L, T:L (.261, 14 HR, 69 RBI | .273, 38 HR, 155 RBI) – has 20+ homer power, good contact ability, and in ’54 drew more walks than he struck out. He was also on the DL twice, and starts the year on the DL still working his way back from a broken kneecap, and is not expected back before May.

Otherwise unavailable: Nobody.

Other roster movement:
SP Phil Baker, 26, B:R, T:R (2-1, 1.91 ERA | 9-8, 4.41 ERA) – waived and DFA’ed; has made odd appearances since exploding after making the Opening Day roster in 2053. Pitched fairly well last year, got two wins in relief in the CLCS, but was squeezed off the World Series and the Opening Day roster. Walks too many, doesn’t strike out enough. Pitching depth at best.
MR Luke Ostler, 26, B:L, T:R (0-0, 4.15 ERA | 0-0, 4.15 ERA) – optioned to AAA; unspectacular righty with serious control issues that struck out nobody in 4.1 innings of September work.
MR Geoff Sather, 25, B:L, T:L (0-0, 7.45 ERA | 0-0, 7.45 ERA) – optioned to AAA; the ERA doesn’t tell the story, because Sather struck out 10.2/9 and walked only two batters in 9.2 innings of work, but if you just pitch 9.2 innings, getting on the snout good once or twice is all that it takes. Has the misfortune to rank behind three very good left-handers already on staff.
C Jeff Raczka, 31, B:L, T:R (.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI | .223, 4 HR, 29 RBI) – waived and DFA’ed; good old boy that has made scarce appearances as third and fourth catcher for six years running, but never makes an impact. All of a .598 OPS for his career, spanning 112 games.
LF/RF/CF Prospero Tenazes, 28, B:R, T:R (.263, 1 HR, 5 RBI | .257, 2 HR, 7 RBI) – waived and DFA’ed; run-of-the-mill outfielder, offensively as defensively.

Everybody not mentioned by now has already been waived, reassigned, or disappeared in a landfill during the offseason.

OPENING DAY LINEUP:

I wish there was another left-handed bat in the top half of the lineup… although a healthy Harry Ramsay would give us options there.

(Vs. RHP: 3B Venegas – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – C Gowin – RF Munn – 2B Waters – CF Puckeridge – 1B Rojas – P)
Vs. LHP: 3B Venegas – SS Lavorano – LF Brassfield – C Gowin – 2B Waters – RF Munn – CF Lamotta – 1B Phillips – P)

One more options on days at least one day away from Brobeck’s start would be to have Brobeck on third base, Venegas in left, Brassfield on first, and rotate things around that way against left-handers.

OFF SEASON CHANGES:

The Raccoons took a few losses with Wheats and Crum and Pickett and Daley… the additions of Adkins, Munn, and Gardner don’t quite make up for those WAR losses, and thus the Raccoons were only tied for 16th with the Gold Sox and a -3.1 WAR offseason. That doesn’t account for Pedro Rojas hitting 20 homers in April, though – hah!

Top 5: Capitals (+12.4), Stars (+5.8), Knights (+5.3), Thunder (+5.3), Cyclones (+4.1)
Bottom 5: Aces (-5.7), Wolves (-5.9), Buffaloes (-6.2), Loggers (-7.4), Scorpions (-10.6)

The remaining CL North teams were ranked 12th (NYC, 0.0), 14th (IND, -1.9), 15th (VAN, -2.7), and 18th (BOS, -3.8). Cruddy division?

PREDICTION TIME:

For the second straight season the Raccoons were awful for the first two months, then gradually took off over the summer. Should we turn the heat in the clubhouse on in April? Are they stiff and asleep when they go out to play?

In both years the team ended up winning 94 games, which was enough for one tie-breaker loss and one set of rings. And this year? Nobody seems to have improved much in the division, so the goal almost has to be to win it again.

Last year I had them at 88 wins, and while there’s the odd question mark in the rotation, the pen looks sturdy, and the lineup has been reinforced. 94 wins for the third straight year then!

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

The Raccoons’ farm dropped from 9th to 13th, which was at least partially due to two of the team’s three highest-ranked prospects graduating to the majors and losing rookie eligibility for this year. That would be #25 Matt Walters and #37 Trent Brassfield for you. The only other player falling out of the top 200 was #175 Reynaldo Bravo, who surely wasn’t helped by either his performance in three relief appearances or by missing up to 12 months with a torn rotator cuff.

But we still have the same number of ranked prospects this year – 13 – although overall their average rank is a bit worse. Last year we had four top 50s, seven top 100s; this year it’s three and five, respectively, and then four in each block of 50 youngsters below that.

25th (+15) – AAA LF/RF David Flores, 23 – 2052 second-round pick by Raccoons
33rd (+57) – AA C Marcos Chavez, 22 – 2050 scouting discovery by Stars, signed as free agent by Raccoons
41st (new) – A 1B Forbes Tomlin, 19 – 2054 first-round pick by Raccoons
54th (-25) – AA SP Chance Fox, 20 – 2053 first-round pick by Raccoons
96th (-16) – AA SP Ramon Carreno, 19 – 2051 international free agent signed by Raccoons

118th (new) – A OF Jose Estrada, 20 – 2051 international free agent signed by Raccoons
120th (+50) – A SP Javier Simo, 17 – 2053 international free agent signed by Raccoons
128th (new) – AAA SP John Blevins, 24 – 2052 third-round pick by Raccoons
148th (-11) – AA CL Alex Rios, 21 – 2053 fifth-round pick by Raccoons
163th (-7) – AA CL Ricky Herrera, 23 – 2053 second-round pick by Raccoons
179th (-30) – AA 3B/2B Richard Anderson, 22 – 2050 supplemental round pick by Raccoons
193rd (-89) – AAA SP Josh Mayo, 24 – 2049 supplemental round pick by Raccoons
195th (-97) – AA SP Jose Villegas, 22 – 2050 scouting discovery by Raccoons

Finally, the top 10 overall prospects this year are:

1st (new) – SFB A OF/2B/3B Grant Anker, 18
2nd (new) – DAL AA SP Ray Walker, 20
3rd (new) – BOS A SP Jason Brenize, 18
4th (-3) – LVA AA OF Jose Ambriz, 21
5th (-1) – TIJ AAA SP Jay Everett, 22

6th (+8) – NAS ML 1B Andy Metz, 23
7th (-4) – SAL AA SP Josh Elling, 20
8th (new) – CHA AA C/1B Alex Gomez, 20
9th (-2) – WAS A 3B/2B Diego Mendoza, 20
10th (+12) – SFW AA CL Alex Flores, 20

Anker went from #1 pick in the 2054 draft to #1 on the 2055 prospect list. Brenize was the #2 pick, Walker was the #6 pick, while Gomez was a scouting discovery for the Falcons in 2051 and had never been ranked before. He made his pro debut last year, hitting for a .774 OPS in single-A.

With six new additions to the top 10, there also had to be six players that dropped out.

Last year’s #2, TOP 3B/SS Alex de los Santos, was on the Opening Day roster and appeared in 159 games for Topeka, batting .232 with 12 homers. The Cuban still had potential to do better, though. He was the best success story to be found here.

Two players dropped just outside the top 10, but made good strides forward. Last year’s #8, Justin Round, saved 35 games for AAA Newark but didn’t get a call-up to the Scorpions’ big tent until now; he was on the Opening Day roster as the #12 prospect. Similarly for #9 Aaron Harris, who went 14-8 with a 2.89 ERA for AAA Anaheim and was now added to the Opening Day roster by the Thunder.

Also just one position down from #10 to #11 was New York AAA SP Joel Lura, despite injuries and getting blasted in five starts for AAA Lexington, the level he was assigned to again now. He dominated AA during a reassignment there, however.

On the downturn were two more former top 10s: single-A outfielder Mike Walker on the Pacifics had been ranked #5 12 months ago, but sagged 29 spots to #34 for hitting just .236 with 5 homers and still being stuck in single-A Stockton. A rather mysterious disappearance was made by #6 prospect Levi Harre. The now-22-year-old made 30 starts between AA and AAA in the Warriors system, pitched to a 3.18 ERA on aggregate, and still found himself plunging to #100 on the new prospect list.

Next: first pitch.