I decided to let the game run the expansion draft for both Hawaii and New Orleans. I wanted to come to the team totally fresh, and to work with whatever I find, rather than crafting a team out of the draft leavings. Likewise, I will not hire my own staff, letting the game do that as well. I'll go at least half a season with all these original coaches/staff until considering any changes.
For now, we'll be playing in Aloha Stadium. I went with the game-generated stadium stats, and they're a bit...odd. It's a pitchers park, and will depress averages, doubles, and triples. But...home runs will be easy to come by. Once I find a fictional stadium image I like, that looks suitably picturesque, I'll make a big deal of moving out of the cavernous, 70s-looking Aloha.
My new owner is Alexis Pagan, a 49-year-old originally from the Dominican Republic. He's tolerant and hands-off (good), but an economizer and has profit as his priority (hmm). His first goals to me are "don't suck completely." Hey, thanks. He's also given me a budget of $90M.
Our head coach is Rehiner Cordova. He's 40, from Venezuela, and is listed as "Inexperienced." He's easygoing, conventional, and favors power hitters. His ratings (yes, I peeked) are all just on both sides of average. I also find out that he's a former 2B, came up in the Miami/Richmond system starting in 2012....and that I released him in 2017 after two seasons in A ball. No hard feelings, big guy!
Meet the Players
The expansion draft brought me 33 players, 17 batters and 16 pitchers. Nearly all of these guys figure to be on the 40-man roster. From there, I'll need to fill out the rest of my farm system. I have teams in AAA, AA, A, S A, and two R. More on them later.
Oh my. This is pretty clearly an expansion lineup. It's obvious that we'll struggle for hits, with only two players having good contact. All those low Eye ratings are worrisome as well. But we will hit some homers and some extra-base hits (away from home, at least). Breaking down the batters a bit more closely:
CATCHER: a decent enough platoon here, even though both are RH batters. Zamorano is the better defensive player. I'll ride whoever is hitting better here. Neither is a long-term solution. (Get used to hearing that.)
FIRST BASE: Thomas looks like our cleanup hitter. Neither he nor Elder are any great shakes in the field, although Elder has a nice looking overall rating.
SECOND BASE: Connor gets the nod going into camp. He has the slight edge at the plate, and is by far the better fielder. Depending on injuries and how the season unfolds, Hebert (3B) might figure in here as well.
THIRD BASE: Hebert looks like an all-star on this team. Good contact, won't strike out, and won't hurt you with his glove. Not rangy enough for shortstop, and has no power. Neitzke has a cannon arm, and has good intangibles, so he's useful even though he's limited to third.
SHORTSTOP: A trouble spot. Hubert would be a decent-enough backup on a better team, especially as his glove is a bit clunky for a SS. Lamborn is a very good fielder, but probably won't hit. He's a bit of a slacker too. And you may have noticed we have a Hubert and a Hebert. Good times.
OUTFIELD: There's a lot of mediocrity here, and I'll need spring training to figure out who's going to play where. Bacon, Moreno, and Christopher are better corner outfielders, with Torres and Winchester better at center. However, anyone could end up anywhere with this group.
Sixteen pitchers, almost all of whom have stamina enough to start, almost all with at least three pitches too. Camp is going to tell me who does what come opening day. Right now, I'd have to guess my starters will be Rivera, Wiggins, Fisher, and two of Adams, Griffith, Tello, and Vance. Key and Yates are the best bullpen options, although I'm hoping some of these guys with high Stuff will settle in to useful roles. Once play starts, I think we're going to walk a lot of guys. There are going to be a lot of high WHIPs. And if we're beset by injuries, well...let's not think about that.
Next up: rest of off-season and training camp, plus a system report.