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Old 02-27-2019, 04:27 AM   #11
waittilnextyear
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1979-1980 Offseason

1979-1980 Offseason



This is pretty weird. In recent times, the MLB offseason has become a full-on season in its own right. Roster decisions are made. Free agent signings are rumored. Winter meetings are congregated at. Arbitration hearings...oh to be a fly on the wall.

But, the present league will feature none of that. Zero. Zip. Zilch. A pretty sleepy few months between seasons that exist mainly for building lower back muscles through shoveling snow.

The only "happening" of note between seasons is the amateur draft. Yes, that's right. The draft is in December instead of June. December 15th to be exact, right around when the Winter Meetings would occur in a normal league.

In this game, the draft consists of only 5 rounds (with enough players generated for 10) with all 26 teams picking once in each round. The remainder players are summarily deleted. Each team came into the draft carrying about 35 players total spread between an active roster (25-man) and a reserve roster (35-man). At a pace of 5 new players per year (minus retirements) it will take a little while yet before teams really have to think hard about who to keep and who to...delete.

Draft results are sorted by team rather than by round. Comments follow for each team...


Seattle Mariners

1 - Floyd Bannister - LHP
2 - Kenji Johjima - C
3 - Roger Salkeld - RHP
4 - Kevin Pasley - C
5 - Yoervis Medina - RHP

No Junior. No Edgar. No Units of any size, let alone big ones. It's a shame this proud expansion franchise has just about zero of its squad from the mid-1990s extant. Alas, maybe a dynasty is in the distant future. Wherefore art thou Jay Buhner? In the present, Seattle acquired some meat-and-potatoes types here with starting pitchers and catchers. Having Johjima and Pasley in the fold doubles the number of catchers in the organization. The M's will be a bit deeper, but no doubt favored to reprise its role as worst team in the AL.


Houston Astros

1 - Carlos Lee - OF
2 - Wade Miller - RHP
3 - Terry Puhl - OF
4 - Bob Knepper - LHP
5 - Chad Qualls - RHP

A pretty exciting draft for Houston actually, albeit one that was devoid of Bagwells, Biggios, and Altuves. That said, this crop of players will really help the outfield--which was woefully thin aside from George Springer--and the starting staff. A starting staff that literally watched Tim Redding take the ball on Opening Day last year. The new look outfield will feature El Caballo in LF, Puhl in CF, and Springer in RF. Sprinkle in Morgan Ensberg, Evan Gattis, and Daryle Ward and you have the beginnings of...something. Qualls will be setting up for Frank Dipino, who has been bumped from the starting rotation.


California Angels

1 - Chuck Finley - LHP
2 - Scot Shields - RHP
3 - Nick Tropeano - RHP
4 - JB Shuck - OF
5 - Gene Leek - 3B

Eh, Chuck Finley is a nice get for sure. Arguably the best California Angels pitcher this side of Nolan Ryan. Some familiar names in the pile for Angels fandom here, but not really a draft class that's going to help them Tim Salmon their way to the top of the American League. Prediction: California challenges Seattle for last place. Luis Polonia and Jim Fregosi are gonna need more help than this.


Milwaukee Brewers

1 - Valerio de los Santos - LHP
2 - Shaun Marcum - RHP
3 - Wes Obermueller - RHP
4 - Randy Veres - RHP
5 - Kevin Brown - LHP

It was all pitchers and all sadness for this Milwaukee draft class. If anything, this team is now worse due to other teams finding actual functional pieces in the draft. These mostly nondescript pitchers are young if nothing else. That we're giving Shaun Marcum to the Brewers over the Blue Jays tells you just how dire this draft class was for the Brew Crew. At least they can look forward to catcher George Kottaras batting cleanup in 1980 as ace Jaime Navarro starts games and closer Mike Fetters finishes 'em.


Kansas City Royals

1 - Mike Moustakas - 3B
2 - Buck Martinez - C
3 - Gary Thurman - OF
4 - Mike Sweeney - C/1B
5 - Danny Duffy - LHP

This KC draft class is more akin to Houston's haul than Milwaukee's tough sledding. You can squint a little bit and possibly see a team on the rise. Moustakas, Sweeney, and Thurman could all be mainstays for quite a long time in a supporting role to an aging Carlos Beltran (he's 34). Duffy will help add depth to a rotation that already includes Steve Busby and Danny Jackson. It was a tough choice whether to give Buck Martinez to KC or TOR, but the Jays were already Gregg Zaun-ed out at catcher.


New York Mets

1 - Dave Magadan - 3B
2 - Jacob deGrom - RHP
3 - Josh Satin - 1B
4 - Ron Taylor - RHP
5 - John Stearns - C

Magdan and deGrom give the Amazins a little bit of positive momentum. Magadan becomes the clear starter at 3B and deGrom unseats Pete Schourek as the team's #1 starter. That Schourek was actually given to the Mets rather than the Reds in the first place tells you the state of the team's pitching. Along with Zack Wheeler, Addison Reed, and Jose Reyes, deGrom adds a little more modern day flavor to this team. John Stearns is probably overlooked a bit here, but Anthony Recker was the lone ranger behind the plate in 1979, so getting an additional (and better) catcher is a big plus.


Atlanta Braves

1 - Greg Olson - C
2 - Eddie Perez - C
3 - Alex Wood - LHP
4 - Mallex Smith - OF
5 - Del Crandall - C

The Braves were the first non-expansion team to pick in the draft. That means they were pretty bad last season. Weird, considering the rich history in Boston-->Milwaukee-->Atlanta. None of their all-timers are on the team yet, unless you consider Javy Lopez and Pascual Perez to be among those. One thing is for sure, they should have plenty of catchers to get through the 1980 campaign.


Montreal Expos

1 - Brendan Harris - UTIL
2 - Gio Gonzalez - LHP
3 - Sean Berry - 3B
4 - Pepe Frias - SS
5 - Ron Woods - OF

The Expos are not winning anything anytime soon. And maybe they never will. But, at least adding Gio Gonzalez to the mix gives them another capable starter to slot in with Livan Hernandez, Brian Barnes, and Dennis Blair. Sean Berry will back up an entrenched Bob Bailey at 3B. Woods is a nice get, if only because the Expos were one of those teams with zero outfield depth. Otherwise, Harris and Frias are reserve roster stashes for a rainy day.


Chicago Cubs

1 - Billy Williams - OF
2 - Kyle Hendricks - RHP
3 - Rich Nye - LHP
4 - Ted Lilly - LHP
5 - Lee Walls - OF

It's too bad the Cubs were the 9th worst team in baseball in 1979, hence their draft position here (draft position is totally meaningless given the setup of this particular game). On the bright side, adding a 19-year-old HoF talent in Billy Williams is among the better outcomes possible for this draft class. Add in three very solid mid-rotation types in Hendricks, Nye, and Lilly to back up Matt Clement, and this team gets substantially more interesting. Lee Walls likely cracks the starting outfield as an 18-year-old so it's a really solid 1-5 here. Among the better drafts in the league, but the sad part was not having a 6th round pick to splurge on Heathcliff Slocumb.


New York Yankees

1 - Aaron Judge - OF
2 - Clay Bellinger - 3B
3 - Jerry Coleman - 2B
4 - Clint Frazier - OF
5 - Joe Glenn - C

The Cubs had themselves some company amongst storied franchises that had a tough beginning. The Yankees were undoubtedly a disappointment in 1979. This is not a fantastic draft class either considering the universe of Yankee greats that could've materialized here instead. Judge will be a key building block for this team. Judge'll bat cleanup between Charlie Keller and Joe Collins. This is a team on the rise perhaps, with a teenage Babe Ruth marinating on the reserve roster last year. A team that saw Red Ruffing get a massive ratings boost to compliment Lefty Gomez and A.J. Burnett atop a scary good starting rotation.


San Diego Padres

1 - Austin Hedges - C
2 - Chase Headley - 4C
3 - Hunter Renfroe- OF
4 - Luis Salazar - UTIL
5 - Cameron Maybin - OF

The Padres are off to a nice little start here. They finished 79-83 which is very respectable given the disadvantages of an expansion team. This draft class had a pretty modern vibe with Hedges, Headley, Renfroe, and Maybin in it. Hedges is an especially nice get for a team that was suffering from not-enough-catchers-itis. A disease that affects many although there is no cure. Interestingly, Headley/Renfroe/Maybin are headed to the reserve roster as San Diego likes having Gene Richards (who led MLB with a .380 batting average), Larry Stahl, Steve Finley, Luis Salazar, and Al Ferrara in the outfield a bit more. Salazar was tough to cede to San Diego because of his Cubs ties and his 104/100 contact rating, but it was the right thing to do.


Texas Rangers

1 - Rod Barajas - C
2 - Mike Munoz - LHP
3 - Neftali Feliz- RHP
4 - John Koronka - LHP
5 - Jake Smolinski - OF

Uh oh. This isn't going to do much to improve Texas' lot in the American League. At the same time, both Barajas and Smolinski crack the starting 9; Feliz becomes the closer; and Koronka is the new #3 starter. So, maybe it's not as bad as it looks. The core of Buddy Bell, Ruben Sierra (35-year-old version), Hank Blalock, and Frank Catalanotto isn't really giving anyone nightmares, but we'll see how it goes for Texas/Washington Senators (AL).


Toronto Blue Jays

1 - Kelvim Escobar - RHP
2 - Drew Hutchison - RHP
3 - Alex S Gonzalez - SS
4 - Dwight Smith Jr - OF
5 - Chad Mottola - OF

The hardest working expansion team in show business. The Jays had absolutely no business going 81-81 and finishing ahead of the Yankees in this type of setup. Yet, they did. Although Kelvim Escobar is a pretty nice addition (new closer), the starting rotation still features both Tanyon Sturtze and P.J. Walters. So...maybe 1980 goes worse for the Blue Jays. An in-his-prime Troy Tulowitzki will do his best to not let that happen.


St. Louis Cardinals

1 - Stan Musial - OF
2 - Mike Difelice - C
3 - Magneuris Sierra - OF
4 - Stephen Piscotty - OF
5 - Ted Sizemore - 2B

This is the best timeline for The Best Fans In Baseball (TM). Pulling the all-timeiest of the all-timers in St. Louis history is acceptable. Adding a catcher is not far behind because the Cards played the entirely of 1979 with a single catcher in the organization. We have a new spokesmodel for Ben-Gay. Sizemore and Piscotty are nice pieces as well and Sierra is the type to hang out on the reserve roster until maybe being needed as a pinch runner in a key spot some day. I am a bit ticked at myself that I didn't plan these picks better--David Freese was the odd man left out. Didn't realize he was in the draft pool until there were 2 rounds remaining and Freese, Piscotty, and Sizemore as strong candidates. Let's not focus on that, though. Let's focus on an outfield that consists of Stan Musial, Jim Edmonds, and Stephen Piscotty. Matt Carpenter, Ken Oberkfell, and Ted Sizemore would've made playing time hard to come by for Freese anyhow.


Cincinnati Reds

1 - Donald Lutz - OF
2 - Ed Taubensee - C
3 - Sammy Ellis - RHP
4 - Jackie Collum - LHP
5 - Lew Riggs - 3B

With the 15th overall pick in the 1979 draft, the longest-tenured team in MLB selects... .... ...Donald Lutz. The Philadelphia Phillies are now on the clock. This is tough to explain, but the Reds must've really pissed off the RNG gods. I mean throw us a frickin' Chris Sabo or a Sean Casey here. I'd even settle for stealing a Kevin Mitchell (who would more properly belong on the Giants). Jose Rijo or Norm Charlton, anyone? Aaron Harang and it's a deal!


Philadelphia Phillies

1 - Bobby Abreu - OF
2 - Rico Brogna - 1B
3 - Ron Northey - OF
4 - John Denny - RHP
5 - Robert Person - RHP

Nothing really too remarkable one way or another. Certainly, Bobby Abreu will come in handy. A couple of useful pitchers, of which it was tough deciding whether Denny should go to Philly or St. Louis. Denny actually did a little more for the Cards, but his Cy Young in Philly coupled with St. Louis' strong draft class tilted it this way. Denny will be the #2 for Philly because Curt Schilling is in town.


Chicago White Sox

1 - Adrian Nieto - C
2 - Ron Karkovice - C
3 - Jorge Orta - 2B
4 - Vern Kennedy - RHP
5 - Gavin Floyd - RHP

This was sort of a sneaky-good draft for the ChiSox. Not gonna 'wow' anyone with star power, but the crime rate in Chicago will immediately go down with Officer Kark back in town. Vern Kennedy (106 stamina) and Gavin Floyd provide a pair of really useful righties that add a little more oomph to a rotation fronted by a 35-year-old Tommy John (he's practically a rookie at that age). Jorge Orta has some nice ratings and will bump Juan Uribe from 2B over to SS and Chico Carrasquel to a bench role.


Oakland Athletics

1 - Frankie Montas - RHP
2 - Franklin Barreto - SS
3 - Izzy Molina - C
4 - Cliff Pennington - INF
5 - Ryan Sweeney - OF

Some versatility was added here? Not good, Bob. Not good that only Cliff Pennington makes the active roster out of this five-some. The flip side is this club is already pretty doggone good--they batted an MLB-best .302 last season. It'll be scary if they actually start adding real Philly/KC/Oakland legends like Canseco, Henderson, Jackson, Giambi, Foxx, Cochrane, or Simmons. Because zero of those players are on the team currently.


Cleveland Indians

1 - Carlos Baerga - INF
2 - Steve Olin - RHP
3 - Mike Garcia - RHP
4 - Alan Bannister - SS/OF
5 - Tony Bernazard - 2B

This was likely a top 5 draft class. Not quite up there with St. Louis or Chicago (NL) but commensurate with Houston or Chicago (AL). Solidly above average. Baerga is obviously quite the get and joins a 26-year-old Kenny Lofton as members of those 1990s power teams. Olin and Garcia give them a new closer and #3 starter respectively. And that's a really nice #3 starter--would be higher if this club didn't already have Herb Score and Cliff Lee. Steve Olin and Doug Jones give Cleveland one of the more interesting bullpens around. Bannister and Bernazard will be the new starting double play combo as well. Very productive draft class.


Detroit Tigers

1 - Karim Garcia - OF
2 - Roxie Lawson - RHP
3 - Austin Jackson - OF
4 - Pete Fox - OF
5 - Brian Dubois - LHP

This is up there with the Cincinnati Reds as co-most disappointing draft classes. Of all the rich history in Motown baseball, this is tremendously weak. Roxie Lawson will start the 1980 season as the Detroit closer. Garcia and Fox will man corner outfield spots so it's not a total loss. Just feels like one. I have a feeling the next draft class will be more helpful for Detroit.


Baltimore Orioles

1 - Mike Mussina - RHP
2 - Rodrigo Lopez - RHP
3 - Scott McGregor - LHP
4 - Wes Stock - RHP
5 - Mike Wright - RHP

At 92-70, Baltimore was the winningest team in the AL to not make the playoffs last season. Sure, they were way way way behind Boston, but loading up with some nice pitchers might help narrow the gap. Mike Mussina is obviously one of the better players in this draft class overall. McGregor and Stock are also likely useful pieces. Both will join an interesting bullpen that already includes closer B.J. Ryan, Storm Davis, and Ivy Andrews. The reason some of these guys are in the pen is because the Baltimore rotation projects to be one of the better outfits in the AL: Johnny Niggeling/Mike Mussina/Steve Barber/Mike Flanagan/Mike Cuellar. Just missing Jim Palmer at this point.


San Francisco Giants

1 - Dan Runzler - LHP
2 - Jeff Kent - 2B
3 - Mike LaCoss - RHP
4 - Yusmeiro Petit - RHP
5 - Jerry Johnson - RHP

The Giants are the Orioles of the National League in that they finished 1979 as the best non-playoff team. They also had a pitcher-laden draft class. You see Dan Runzler there and are probably thinking, really? Then, I borrow from Lee Corso and say not so fast! See, Runzler has the ratings of a true ace closer. We're talking 100/100 stuff, 69/100 movement, and 38/100 control with 86/100 FB and 96/100 CB. He slots in easily as the new closer. Jeff Kent slots in as the new 2B/cleanup hitter. Right between old-timers Sid Gordon and Babe Young. LaCoss joins a very interesting rotation that consists of Carl Hubbell, Mike Krukow, and Juan Marichal.


Pittsburgh Pirates

1 - Starling Marte - OF
2 - Doug Drabek - RHP
3 - Gus Suhr - 1B
4 - John Jaso - C
5 - Ramon Hernandez - LHP

Not great. Not terrible. Starling Marte becomes the leadoff batter and will start in LF opposite of Dave Parker in RF. Jaso is the new starting catcher. Doug Drabek is just 22 and will likely be a part of the future, but he doesn't appear to make the active roster as of Opening Day 1980. The most interesting part of the Pirates is their bullpen. Kent Tekulve is in there to go with Mark Melancon and a bevy of lefties: closer Mike Gonzalez, Tony Watson, Jason Christiansen, and Felipe Rivero. Pittsburgh will be looking for a repeat playoff appearance and a likely NLCS rematch with the Dodgers.


Minnesota Twins

1 - Alex Burnett - RHP
2 - Aaron Slegers - RHP
3 - Buddy Lewis - 3B
4 - Joe Kuhel - 1B
5 - Alex Meyer - RHP

Good thing Minneapolis still has World Series fever because this draft class ended with a thud. Some very mediocre right-handers to go with a pair of pretty useful corner infielders. Kuhel will be the starting first baseman. Meyer will help with setup duties in the bullpen. The others are afterthoughts. To maintain their hold on the AL West, the Twinkies will rely on Jose Berrios, who just graduated from the bullpen to the rotation with a little bit of developmental help.


Boston Red Sox

1 - Junichi Tazawa - RHP
2 - Mike Lowell - 3B
3 - Johnny Pesky - INF
4 - Rafael Devers - 3B
5 - Mike Ryba - RHP

Solid class. Two useful relief pitchers (Ryba will set up for Jonathan Papelbon) and more pieces added to their already enviable infield depth. Pesky becomes the new starting 3B and leadoff batter--an upgrade over Urbane Pickering there. This active roster has Rico Petrocelli starting at SS, which means Nomar Garciaparra has to DH, which means that Xander Bogaerts and Mike Lowell aren't even in the starting lineup, which means Devers doesn't make the active roster. The starting rotation isn't great, but the Red Sox have to be the favorites to win the pennant once again (OSA agrees with this assessment).


Los Angeles Dodgers

1 - A.J. Ellis - C
2 - Andrew Toles - OF
3 - Hanley Ramirez - SS
4 - Jay Howell - RHP
5 - Joe Hatten - LHP

The Dodgers would welcome that NLCS rematch against Pittsburgh. They feel like they're the better club despite losing 4-games-to-3 last season. OSA likes the Dodgers' chances for sure. Hatten will be inserted as the new #5 starter, behind the uber talented group of: Clayton Kershaw, Don Sutton, Orel Hershiser, and Curt Davis. A 20-year-old Hanley Ramirez is the biggest addition from LA's draft class. He'll add some panache atop the order and be a rather large upgrade at SS over new reserve roster resident Dave Anderson. Not a bad upgrade for a team that won 113 games last year. Hanley was one of the more difficult guys to place. In light of the insane infield depth in Boston and that the Marlins do not exist, the Dodgers seemed like the best choice.

Last edited by waittilnextyear; 02-27-2019 at 04:40 AM.
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