View Single Post
Old 09-18-2019, 07:16 PM   #15
Paulie123
All Star Starter
 
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Manchester, England
Posts: 1,945
June 2055

Record
  • 33-49 (7-18 this month)
  • Runs scored: 330 (11th in Eastern League)
  • Runs allowed: 351 (11th)
  • Def: .704 (11th)

Central Division standings
Annapolis Mustangs 50-32
Albany Firefoxes 47-35
Columbus Heatseekers 36-46
Indianapolis Wildcats 36-46
Richmond Eagles 33-49
Trenton Colts 31-51

Month summary
  • A dreadful month from a results perspective. But hopefully a good month from the point of view for setting us up to improve next year and beyond, with a number of good young players acquired in trade in exchange for veterans, and a productive draft. My priority has been to give playing time to the most promising young players in the organisation.
  • That said, performances this month have perhaps not been quite as bad as our 7-18 record would suggest, as we’re now sitting fully 5 games behind our Pythagorean record. 11 of those 18 losses were by only 1 or 2 runs.

Who’s hot?
  • SP Butch Davis (2.85 ERA, 2.96 FIP) has continued to pitch superbly and has cemented his place as the ace on our staff. He has given up just 1 earned run over his last 22.2 innings across 3 starts.
  • Trade acquisition C John Wooten (.309/.373/.500) has hit consistently since arriving from Atlanta. He has been less effective behind the plate, but I expect some regression up to his usual performance levels.

Who’s not?
  • SP Ryan Hurley (2-7, 5.11 FIP) is in fact no longer a starting pitcher and his been demoted to the bullpen. He has 10/5 rights and refuses to be traded. But he’s done ok as a reliever thus far.
  • RF Ian Britt (.230/.310/.259, 0 HR) is repeating his recent history of giving teams poor production for his talent level. He wouldn’t be on the roster if I had a major league-ready prospect in the minors.
  • CF Rory Simmons (.182/.262/.348, 9 HR) is giving me the elite defense I signed him for, but I really was hoping he’d give me numbers closer to replacement level with the bat.

Trades and transactions
  • The month started with a sweep by Albany, and I decided it was time to shift the deadwood off the roster. The first trade actually happened unexpectedly. The Lansing Sharks GM rang me, seeking a trade for his veteran reliever Lorenzo Colón. Colon (age 35, RHP, 4.5*, 180-119, 2.66) is a 5-time all-star who lost his role as the Sharks’ closer to free agent signing Forrest Myers and was deeply unhappy about it. We agreed a trade which served both teams. The Sharks got my closer Justin Dodson to replace Colón in the middle of their bullpen plus minor leaguer John Bailey. The Sharks got Colón’s anger off their books, and also gave me pitching prospect Jaime Zamudio (age 22, RHP, 0.5*). Colón earns more than Dodson did ($14m over 2 years compared to $4.5m for 1 year) but is 2 years younger and a lot better - and will get his desired closer role here.
  • I wasn’t done there. Top prospect Ben Phipps had been tearing up the minors and I needed to get his bat in the lineup. He’s weak defensively, though, and only plays first. But I already have 1B Robert Numbers, 1B Robbie Smith and 2B Bill Lloyd giving me weak defense. I can stash one of these guys at first and another at DH, but I can’t carry all four. Two would have to go. I also needed to address the catcher situation.
  • Next, I sent 2B Bill Lloyd to Atlanta in a straight swap for their catcher John Wooten (age 23, LHB, 4*). Wooten is only slightly above average defensively, but he’s young and can hit: he put up a .863 OPS for the Hurricanes last year, his first full major league season. He’ll be eligible for arbitration at the end of next season. The Hurricanes have a clutch of good young catchers, so this move deals out of an area of strength to improve their weak infield. Lloyd is a talented hitter who definitely upgrades their lineup. Ed Shelton will replace Lloyd at 2B for us.
  • Then, I agreed a trade with Baton Rouge to acquire their Glove Wizard-winning shortstop Vicente Madrigal (age 24, LHB, 4*). I sent 1B Robbie Smith and SS Jesús Torres the other way. Madrigal is an out-and-out leadoff hitter with blazing speed and has a .356 OBP this season. Torres hadn’t been here long, but seemed to be struggling to settle in Richmond. After a conversation with his agent, we agreed that a fresh start was best for all parties.
  • Finally, with Wooten installed in the lineup, I salary dumped unwanted catcher Pedro Rivas, sending him and minor league pitcher Derek George to Carson City in exchange for minor league infielder Pablo Martínez (age 24, RHB, 1*).
  • Although Madrigal is highly paid ($17.8m salary this year), these moves have shifted 3 big contracts off my books (Lloyd, Rivas, Smith). Our payroll for this year is down to $113m, and I have a ton of room for next year. Plus, we’ve got younger and, I think, better. Our primary starting lineup is now SS Madrigal - 1B Numbers - C Wooten - LF Miller - DH Phipps - RF Arroyo - 2B Shelton - CF Simmons - 3B Galván.

Noteworthy individual performances
  • 6 Jun: 3B Fernando Galván hit 3-4 with a 3-run HR and a double as we beat Montgomery 7-1 at the Eagles’ Nest.
  • 16 Jun: Having been moved from the rotation down to the bullpen, Manny Clemons threw 5 innings of 1-hit ball in relief against Concord.
  • 19 Jun: LF Scott Reynolds had a rare good day with the bat for our outfield, hitting 2-2 with a HR and 2 walks, but we still lost 5-3 to the Dark Knights.
  • 24 Jun: In the first game after the all-star break, Butch Davis dominated Trenton with 8 terrific scoreless innings, giving up just 5 hits and 1 walk.
  • 26 Jun: Robert Numbers hit 3-3 with a double in a 5-4 win over Trenton that clinched the series.

Biggest worry
  • The outfield. Scott Reynolds, Rory Simmons and Ian Britt have hit below replacement level, and David Miller is 42. José Arroyo (.759 OPS) is the only long-term keeper of the group. This is symptomatic of how we are some way from having a lineup good enough to help us win an SCL Cup Final Series trophy.

First year player draft
  • Providence had the first overall pick, and chose slugging CF José Valenzuela.
  • Generally I tried to take the best player available with our choices, which meant I stocked up on talented young arms. Our picks were: #4 SP Fernando Gutiérrez (age 19, RHP, projects to 5*), #34 MR Nori Okuta (age 22, RHP, 5*), #35 SS José Rojas (age 21, RHB, 2.5*), #57 MR Tommy Randall (age 22, RHP, 5*), #60 LF Lorenzo Vásquez (age 21, RHB, 1.5*), #90 MR Roberto Díaz (age 23, LHP, 4*), #120 MR Michael Ellison (age 22, LHP, 3*) #150 MR Donovan Connolly (age 20, RHP, 1.5*).
  • Gutiérrez had “can’t miss” written all over him. He complements a 97mph fastball with a lethal splitter and a deceptive curveball, and frequently goes deep into games. He’s probably 2-3 years away from reaching the big leagues, but if he lives up to the hype he’ll become the mainstay of our rotation for a long time.
  • Okuta is rated a 5* reliever already. He is rated 10/10/10 potential and he has two 10-rated pitches. If he lives up to scouts’ billing he really could become one of the SCL’s great relievers.

Roster moves
  • LF David Miller sprained his elbow and missed 2-3 weeks. OF Jason Webb was called up in his place and failed to impress.
  • After yet another disappointing start against Boston, I moved Manny Clemons (3-7, 4.75) into the bullpen. Gerardo Rivera (3-1, 3.08) took his rotation spot. Pancho Jaimes (0-1, 6.91) was demoted, and lefty Luis Mendoza was promoted into the pen to replace Rivera. Mendoza pitched nicely in 3 games but then suffered a partially torn labrum and is done for the season; Mark Forrest was recalled.
  • Draft pick Nori Okuta has gone straight into our bullpen, and Don Rich has gone back into the minors. Rich did nothing wrong (3.1 scoreless IP since being called up) but at age 34 I can’t prioritise giving innings to him over one of our younger players.
  • Ryan Hurley’s demotion to the bullpen meant that Manny Clemons returned to the rotation straight after the all-star break.

News from around the league
  • The Dark Knight’s starter Tom Blair threw a magnificent no-hitter against the Indianapolis Wildcats. The righty took just 98 pitches to complete his demolition job.
  • 12 Jun, afternoon: Lansing Sharks announce that they have agreed a 2-year contract extension with ex-Eagles reliever Justin Dodson, worth $10.8m per year. 12 Jun, evening: Lansing Sharks announce that Dodson has sustained a shoulder injury and won’t play again this season. How’s your luck?
  • SS Vicente Madrigal was our only selection for the All-Star Game. It’s hard to argue with that. Madrigal batted 2-3 at leadoff for the Eastern League as they won 9-2.
  • Des Moines (50-32) lead the way in the Western League and have a shot at a fourth consecutive championship. Hartford (51-31) have the SCL’s best overall record.
Paulie123 is offline   Reply With Quote