[Bub13]

Roster, with 2034 stats.

DH Austin Collins -- Nashville (PCL, AAA), .287/.345/.535, 21 HR, 394 PA; also 6 PA with MIL
C Willie Zamorano -- Hawaii, .244/.298/.342, 5 HR, 143 PA
C Lucas Crabtree -- Hawaii, .261/.311/.390, 20 2B, 7 HR, 357 PA
1B Jeremy Dunklee -- Hawaii, .246/.410/.428, 9 HR, 21 RBI, 240 PA
1B Erik Hodge -- Kansas City (INTL, AAA), .300/.336/.477, 11 HR, 59 RBI, 440 PA
2B Jamie Forbes -- Hawaii, .283/.315/.510, 16 HR, 45 RBI, 314 PA
3B Ryan Hebert -- Hawaii, .288/.322/.375, 37 2B, 17 SB, 659 PA
SS Tony Castro -- NY (AL), .266/.283/.336, 24 2B, 589 PA
SS Walt Hubert -- Hawaii, .201/.271/.296, 6 HR, 363 PA
OF Zach Bacon -- Hawaii, .244/.285/.427, 19 HR, 438 PA
OF Robbie Christopher -- Hawaii, .222/.286/.355, 12 HR, 548 PA
OF Kelvin Moreno -- Hawaii, .219/.267/.357, 13 HR, 376 PA
OF Eric Lane -- Cleveland/Hawaii, .240/.340/.415, 20 HR, 527 PA

When they're all lined up like this, it's easy to see our weaknesses. Hitting for average and OBP will still be our Achilles' heel(s) again, but I'm still optimistic that we'll be better than last year. We'll get a full season from Dunklee, for one. His average was low, but his OPS was solid during his limited run. While I don't expect Collins to hit like he did in AAA, I expect he'll be more than respectable. Hebert and Forbes need to duplicate their play from last year to keep us in games; Forbes in particular delivered a lot of power in essentially half a season. His ratings don't necessarily show he's capable of it again, but if he did it once... I still need to figure out what to do with this outfield. For now it will be Bacon in left, Christopher in center, and Lane in right. Moreno is a capable enough backup all around, so I'm only going with four outfielders to start the season. I'll be on the lookout during the season to make improvements where I can, especially in the outfield.

SP Oscar Wiggins -- Hawaii, 10-12, 4.09 ERA, 194 IP, 8.2 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, 3.5 WAR, LHP
SP Bobby Anderson -- NY (AL), 11-11, 3.91 ERA, 209 IP, 4.5 K/9, 2.4 BB/9, RHP
SP Jimmy Wunderlich -- Miami, 12-12, 3.99 ERA, 226 IP, 5.6 K/9, 2.8 BB/9, RHP
SP Ken Clark -- Puebla (LMB), 9-7, 2.94 ERA, 150 IP, 10.9 K/9, 3.5 BB/9, RHP
SP Rich Rivera -- Hawaii, 1-5, 6-05 ERA, 42 IP, 10.6 K/9, 5.4 BB/9 (2.83 ERA in 124 IP at AAA), RHP

RP Raleigh Vance -- Hawaii, 1-12, 5.36 ERA, 84 IP, 8.5 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 3 SV, RHP
RP Andy Long -- Hawaii, 0-0, 1.04 ERA, 9 IP, 11.4 K/9, 2.1 BB/9 (5.25 ERA in 24 IP at AAA), RHP
RP Evan Larkins -- Raleigh (INTL, AAA), 3-9, 6.10 ERA, 49 IP, 7.2 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, RHP
RP Ryan Key -- Hawaii, 3-2, 4.55 ERA, 59 IP, 8.5 K/9, 4.6 BB/9, 1 SV, RHP
RP Juan Salazar -- CIN/DET, 4-8, 3.61 ERA, 62 IP, 8.2 K/9, 3.6 BB/9, 19 SV, RHP
RP Jack Shewmake -- St Louis, 7-11, 5.25 ERA, 70 IP, 9.1 K/9, 3.3 BB/9, 32 SV, RHP
CL Jay Yates -- Hawaii, 7-7, 3.32 ERA, 69 IP, 11.0 K/9, 3.1 BB/9, 33 SV, LHP

I'm a little more optimistic that our new pitching staff will deliver better results than last year's model. With three new starters (plus Rivera, who spent much of 2034 in AAA) in the rotation, and four new relievers, you'll need a scorecard to tell who's who. I'm hoping Anderson and Wunderlich will be stable, at least, and that Clark will get better as he acclimates to MLB. Here's hoping Shewmake and Salazar are the ace set up guys I think they can be. It could be problematic that both of them want to be closers, but Yates pretty much has that nailed down.

Defensively, we'll be better than our near-the-bottom defensive efficiency from last year. At SS, Castro is a huge improvement at a key position, and allows Hebert to stay at 3B, where his limited range isn't as big a drawback. My catcher platoon is adequate. My outfielders have good range and arms, even if their glovework is spotty. The right side of the infield, however, could be a problem. Dunklee only played four games at first last year, so he's brand spanking new over there and his ratings don't impress. And at second, Forbes had better hit, because his fielding is decidedly subpar.

OVERALL: We'll be better than 2034, but how much? If our hitting doesn't collapse, and our new pitchers deliver, we'll easily top 70 wins, and maybe even approach .500. But there are a lot of 'ifs' on the roster. Still, OOTP has made me an optimist, and I'm excited to see how we do.

Next up: Play ball!