Fielding percentages

Ok. First off I just did a quick analysis comparing our top 5 SS's in chances with the ML 2006 leaders in chances. I still can't figure out how to post the spreadsheet, so if you want it, let me know and I can send it to you.

On average the top 5 SS's in Morgan world had 22% more chances than their Major League counterparts (887 to 728). Their average range factor was 5.87 versus the Major League average of 4.75. The average fielding percentage in Morgan was .960 whereas the average fielding percentage in MLB was .972. This difference (I feel) can be attributed to the fact that Zach Kirby (MEM) had a .939 fielding percentage which significantly hurt the overall average.

HBD
Orlando Flores (WAS) - 1,375.1INN, 938TC, 5.90RF, .961FLDG, 37E, 89RA, 88GL, 92AS, 84AA - MLB PROJ E: 28
Zach Kirby (MEM) - 1,336.1INN, 929TC, 5.87RF, .939FLDG, 57E, 72RA, 76GL, 79AS, 69AA - MLB PROJ E: 44
Darrel Perez (SCO) - 1,283.2INN, 865TC, 5.88RF, .969FLDG, 27E, 80RA, 90GL, 93AS, 82AA - MLB PROJ E: 23
Victor Williams (CIN) - 1,266.0INN, 874TC, 6.04RF, .973FLDG, 24E, 91RA, 84GL, 94AS, 91AA - MLB PROJ E: 20
Goeff Leonard (NY1) - 1,258.0INN, 829TC, 5.68RF, .958FLDG, 35E, 78RA, 84GL, 84AS, 82AA - MLB PROJ E: 31

MLB
R Furcal - 1,371.0INN, 788TC, 5.00RF, .966FLDG, 27E/HBD E: 30
M Young - 1,356.1INN, 747TC, 4.86RF, .981FLDG, 14E/HBD E: 17
J Peralta - 1,275.1INN, 710TC, 4.90RF, .977FLDG, 16E/HBD E: 20
Y Betancourt - 1,374.1INN, 701TC, 4.46RF, .971FLDG, 20E/HBD E: 26
H Ramirez - 1,323.1INN, 695TC, 4.55RF, .963FLDG, 26E/HBD E 33

Take away from this what you will, but my conclusion is that the rate that our SS's are reaching balls seems to be too high in comparison to the best that the MLB can offer. Reaching more balls will lead to more errors as will playing someone who is not a SS at SS (Kirby and Leonard IMO). I'm thinking it's more of a matter of there being a lack of adequate players for SS as well as an inordinate number of chances for the SS position.

DL Trips

First...a disclaimer. I realize that everybody handles injuries differently. This is merely meant as a comparative tool based on days on various DLs. It encompasses the entire organization (RL to ML). Also, since DL trips are based only on the 7-day, 15-day, and 60-day trips and does not actually list out the days a player is injured, that is how I calculated the total days lost. Enjoy.

Average days lost per team - 171
Average Training per team - 12
Average Medical per team - 12
Total days lost - 5,461
2 Teams had a total of 360 DL days. These teams spent 12/12 & 10/10 (T/M). Memphis & Salt Lake City, respectively.
2 Teams had a total of 0 DL days. These teams 16/13 & 14/14. Boston & St. Louis respectively.
Cincinnati spent the most (18/18) and had 104 DL days.
Sacramento spent the least (8/8) and had 155 DL days.

I don't know how to post an excel spreadsheet, so feel free to contact me, hurricane384, for the raw data.

First look at Season 6 FA list

This is a quick list I ran though. It does not take into account any options that teams or players hold for next season that could dramatically change this list.

Position Players

Mark Ross NY In his prime, has a .310 lifetime and got his 5th consecutive 100RBI season. The most well rounded player on the list. He's got power, and great OBP, defense and speed. He can play any position outside of SS/C and really could be a team's emergency SS. He won't ever be MVP of the league, but he will help any team and really has no weakness.

Rich Forbes SCO Starting to show his age but he can still hit and get on base. His L/R splits are among the highest for any 3B in the league.

Heath DeRosa HAR Still young and he has solid ratings across the board, good splits, BE and decent Def.

Brian Maeda LOU - Starting to get a little long in the tooth. While his power and RBI numbers have dropped he is still a has kept up his .308 career average and .390 career OBP.

Norman Freeman HAR - Another player that has lost his power numbers from early in his career, but still can get on base, has an amazing .440 career OBP and had a .457 this season. He obviously played in one of the best hitters park but you can’t ignore those numbers.

Greg Brinkley NY – A speedy 3b/OF that can get on base. He probably won’t be a 30/30 player that he was in season two, but can his speed and power make him a threat.

Bailey Crawford/Bob Widger/Manny Hernandez/Chris Sinclair – A similar group of adequate hitting great fielding players that are great to have. Could start for many teams, or at least be that utility player who gets 300+ ABs because he won’t lose a game for in the field.

Relief Pitchers

Daniel Malone CSP- Showing his age. After his fireman of the year award in season 1 he was merely average, but came back to life in season 5 and still has great ratings.

Joey Diaz CHI Has good ratings, but his stamina probably puts him in the bullpen next season. He could serve as a nice LRA for a number of team looking for bullpen help.

Andre Starr - no longer a closer, but his fourth season of a sub 4.00 ERA is worth a being some team setup man.

Marc Wayne - A journeyman RP that will find a spot in a contenders bullpen.

Ramiro Suarez SCO - Another older pitcher, but he appeared in 79 games and had a 1.24 WHIP and 4.24 ERA. He has the kind of rubber arm that every team needs.

Steve Childers STL – Very similar setup guy to Suarez except he’s much younger, and his L/R splits are not good as Suarez.

Mendy Aoki – After a stellar career as a SP he was moved to the bullpen because of stamina issues. This was his worst season yet, after never having an ERA above 3.76 he had a 6.00 this season. His ratings are still good and I don’t expect another season like that, but his STA/DUR numbers kind of put him in no mans land for a role.

Starting Pitching

Robin Sullivan LOU – Will be 33 years old and is a solid middle of the rotation SP. He’s pitched 210+ innings every season and has a career 70-53 1.38 WHIP 4.43 ERA. Not a very sexy FA pickup, but if it keeps you from throwing a awful pitcher on the mound every 5th day he is worth the money. Health could be an issue for the owner that wants to do a long term deal.

William Woo Ari – Nothing spectacular about this guy, but he’ll keep you in the game and won’t give up many HRs. Just don’t look for him to be the Ace of your staff.

Kevin Franklin ATL – Might be able to help a team hold down the fort until good minor leaguers are ready, but its starting too look like his incredible season 3 was a fluke.

Rodrigo Johnson RIC – Ratings wise this guy looks like a AAA guy at best, but for some reason he performs adequately. Of all the FA SPs available he might have the best OAV, ERA, and WHIP totals of anyone.

Clay Reese – Might have the best chance of catching lighting of any of the group of SPs on the FA market. Season 4 he was on pace to win the Cy Young Award until an injury sidelined him. He seems like he has usually under performed his ratings though.

Dustin Sutton SLC - Sutton had a tough season 5, it could be the signal the end is close for him but he has had a solid career and one or two more decent seasons would not be out of the question. In seasons 2-4 he won 51 games and he still has good L/R splits and control ratings. Has been a career leader in shutouts and complete games.

BEST INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS – NL WEST – SEASON ONE

Here’s the last of the Season One series. Will I tackle Season Two? Who knows…

1) Best Value

Tony James currently sits on the Arizona AA roster. He’s a solid .300+ hitter that lacks a regular position. He seems to make too many errors to be a regular CF or 2B and may find a home in RF. Signing for $875K, James could peak on the major league roster as a great pinch hitter with his strong rating against lefties.

2) Lowest Production Per Dollar

The Las Vegas Gamblers signed nine International free agents for a total of $4.29 million.

One of the players (P Placido Domingo) was traded to Scottsdale’s High A team. Three players retired, three were released, and one was waived (P Vasco Lee, who was claimed by Cincinnati and pitches for their High A team).

Only ONE player is still the property of Las Vegas. Shortstop Junior Wang currently sits on the Vegas AA roster, but his spot on the bench appears tenuous after about 100 at-bats this season with a .243 between High A and AA.

I’m sure Vegas wishes they could redo this bunch of signings.

3) Best Overall

Arizona signed pitcher Erubiel Castillo for $2.4 million based on his projections as a strong short reliever. Castillo was put to the test immediately after his signing, struggling in about 10 Rookie innings before pitching 80 solid innings in Low/High A with a WHIP just above 1.35. Castillo followed with two solid years in High A (38-48 in save opportunities) before dominating AA ball in Season 4 (2.06 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, .188 batting average allowed, 33-36 in save opportunities).

Erubiel struggled in AAA this season (5.77 ERA, 1.55 WHIP), but did convert 25 of 31 save opportunities. It appears Erubiel will need one more season in AAA before getting his promotion to the bigs.

Budgeting for the playoffs

As we near the end of this season and begin to prepare for the next, I thought it might be nice to take a quick look at budgeting. The following is the average spending of playoff teams from each season, including this season's division leaders. (I think you have to click on it to make it readable). The most obvious, and probably predictable, trend has been the that towards spending less on player payroll, and more on prospects.

It should also be noted that in instances of budget transfers, I used the new amounts, so for seasons 3, 4, and 5 the total spending isn't quite $185.

NL Playoff Picture

The last two World Series representatives have proved their success was no fluke as they battle for the being the #1 seed in the NL. Atlanta this season doesn't have a dominating rotation, but they are all solid. They also boast the best rated bullpen in the league. Their offense is the most well rounded in the league, they rank among the top teams in HRs, OBP, and SB. You can't focus on keeping the ball in the park or keeping their speedsters from stealing to beat them. If they have a weakness it is that they don't have that one batter or one pitcher that strikes fear in the other team.

Hartford is polar opposite to Atlanta, they don't steal and just pummel teams with their lineup. It really revolves around three imposing hitters that can hit any pitcher. Even though they play in one of the best hitter parks, they have two pitchers vying for a Cy Young award. A weakness has to be their closer, he's 0-12 and has only converted 70% of his saves. And how can Carlos Johnson only be 24 years old?

Apologies to Richmond, but Houston is about the only team that is in striking distance of getting one of the coveted top two seeds. They have the best .OPS in the NL, and if season ended today they would have 5 silver sluggers. They sure don't seem to be regretting making the trade for Tim Smith this year, he's having another all-star season and can single handedly win games. He's not a one man show though; they have 6 guys that will get 100+ RBI this season.

Richmond has quietly been one of the most consistent teams in the league. For the fourth time in five seasons they will get 90+ wins. Pitching is what separates this team from the pack along with being one of the best defensive rated teams, but don't ignore their offense. Its really a three man show with this lineup, but they each bring something different. Al Pena is one of the best all round players in the game, Enrique Ruiz is starting to live up to his potential, and Jim Stewart is raw power.

Barring something spectacular Austin is probably the only team that has an outside chance of catching the current Wild card leaders. Their pitching outside of Ralph Taylor needs to step it up a notch and finding a consistent run producer to go with Gus Andrews would help. Speaking of Andrews he must be the most unheralded superstar in the league. Take his four best seasons and he's averaged 60Hrs and 155 RBIs, and his only award in his career.

Colorado Springs is trying to break the stranglehold Arizona has had on the NL West every season. They play with a solid lineup from top to bottom, but no all-stars. Brent Oswalt has to win the award for playing out of his mind, a borderline ML talent with 2 season of +7 ERA this year in 26 starts he has a 3.67 ERA.

Arizona like always is going to pin its hopes on Doug Connelly and Dick Yeats, an impressive 1-2 punch but they might be starting to show their age. Their pitchers are statistically an average group, and in another HBD relief pitcher oddity their closer has a 6.00 ERA, yet has converted 93% of his save opportunities.

NL North - Due to some recent long losing streaks Toronto and Cincinnati have really just about fallen out of the race. Cleveland has some very good RPs and a couple of nice sluggers that hit behind perennial all-star CF Goya. St. Louis might only have one above average offensive player on their team, they don't really have power or speed, but that is still an impressive trio of SPs followed by a just as impressive group of RPs. For all the ridicule this division has taken for its winner potentially having a losing record it would be unwise for a team that meets either of these teams in the playoffs to take them lightly.

Draft re-cap

This is just a quick re-cap of the players taken in the draft. A few notes: I only looked at rounds 1-5 so if you got an all-star in round 6 way to go and sorry I missed him. Also my scouts didn't catch every player drafted (I put some notes about that in the forum) so some teams notes are less complete than others. At the bottom I also added an "awards" section.

A couple things I also noticed by looking at almost 150 players drafted. First off as a whole there seemed to be a much stronger group of position players than pitchers. There really only looked to be about 4 impact SPs in the draft -impact players meaning they should have multiple all-star appearances. SS and 2B seemed to be strong position groups, both offensively and defensively. There seemed to be less super hitting catchers than in the past, but they might have just fallen to later rounds since so many people have them. Also it seemed the player generator made lots of copies of fast CF with average splits, low power, and great range. Also there seemed to be quite a few 1B with high L/R splits, BE, but just average power ratings. Outside of the top couple of picks COF seemed to be an average group.

Arizona - very nice Closer, a RP/LHS type player, and a speedy OF/3b

Atlanta - 2nd Best pitcher in the draft with 29th pick Mullen, another solid SP in McLaughlin, and a solid RP in the 5th round

Austin - Solid SP with 11th pick, a CF with nice range, another speedy OF

Boston - unknown 1st, two very solid OF with above average bats and gloves,

Chicago - No first round pick, but picked up a nice SP in round two and a defensive specialist.

Cincinnati - Stud 3B Gaetti that should be MVP contender, Above average hitting 2b/CF, abd a fine IF prospect in Flores.

Cleveland - Solid SS in Kane, All round very good 2B Crespo, a rangy LH CF that hit RHs well, solid RP, another speedy OF, and a solid hitting 3B. Maybe no MVPs but solid core group.

Colorado Springs - A couple holdouts that might not sign, a very solid #2 hitter type RF prospect, a good hitting/defensive 2b/CF, and a decent backup OF type player.

Florida - MVP Candidate Hutton with first pick, a decent 3B, a power hitting DH, and a number of tough signings.

Hartford - no first round pick, still got a solid hitting 1B, Speedy defensive specialist 2b/CF, average hitting major league COF

Houston – My scouts didn’t get his prospects for round 1 and 2 but obviously focused on pitching. Looks to be a nice SP prospect if he signs, future closer, a solid 2B, a high OBP C/DH, and a LRA type P. Multiple decent ML prospects.

Indianapolis - Potential All-Star SP in Cortes, a couple of decent tough signing guys. There were only 4 SPs in the draft that have star quality and Cortes is one of them.

Las Vegas - Very nice SS prospect with a great bat in Boliver, a solid hitting speedy 3B, a decent hitting quality fielding SS.

LA - A nice SP that should do well in their park, some other decent SP/RPs but no position players until 10th rd.

Louisville - Best defensive SS in the draft that could hit, followed by another one, a good SP, a SuA type player, a power hitting 2b/OF, and a number of borderline SP/RP in picks 52 through 141.

Memphis - a speedy top of the order type OF, a couple of decent hitting 2b/CF types, and a future major league backup IF.

Milwaukee - Top SP in the draft, a speedy quality defensive CF/2B that can hit, a good OBP/RBI 1B prospect, another slugging 1B/DH.

Minnesota - A decent Outfielder. Heavy on the SPs, but so many have average to poor L/R splits they might find the road to the big leagues tough.

Monterrey - A beast of a 2B prospect in Cesar Park, followed by some decent SP prospects. Also a power hitting 1B.

Montreal - Grabbed one of the few exceptional SPs, a few unknowns, a very nice power hitting SS that can field well, a couple more decent middle relief type guys and a speedy CF.

NY - Picked up a decent hitting 2B Cambell that could lead the league in SBs, and a power hitting OF. The 4th rd C/DH should be a superior OBP players.

Oklahoma - Jimmy Colon looks to be an all-star/gold glove SS and will be an impact player. Also got a couple of decent RPs.

Richmod - picked a light hitting phenomenal fielding SS late in rd 1. A decent hitting 2B in rd 2 followed by a borderline RP prospect.

Sacramento - A solid SP prospect, he also grabbed two power hitting 3B and a speedy CF.

Salem - No 1st rd, a decent hitting speedy 2b with a great glove, followed by 3 light hitting SS.

Salt Lake City – Their first round pick is playing hardball and might not sign. 2^nd rd pick looks to be a great #2 hitter in their lineup, a couple of OFs in round 3 and 4 should also make the majors.

Santa Fe - A phenomenal prospect in Anderson that will put up MVP numbers in that ballpark. Followed up with a power hitting SS that has a good glove and a switch hitting 1B that should have a decent OBP.

Scottsdale - 11 picks in 5 rounds, mostly slugging types. No SPs in their first 14 picks.

St. Louis - Only had one pick in rd 1-5 and my scouts didn't see him.

Texas – My scouts missed two of his picks top picks (P and 2B) looks like they might be holding out. Savage is a 2B with a good glove and nice bat, Locko is a light hitting speedy CF with a good glove.

Toronto - If he signs Isringhausen could be a powerful hitter, he picked up another great bat in Presley but he really projects to a DH. Also added a couple of fringe pitchers.

Washington - Focused on pitching, Chapman looks to be a quality middle relief player. My scouts did see 1st round pick.

Best Value Award

Atlanta – To pick up 2 quality pitchers (one with all-star potential) and a solid RP with their picks is a great job. One of the top 5 drafts of the day.

Building with Depth Award

Cleveland – They had a 4 picks from 17-51. There is not a HOF in the group, but there are a bunch of solid ML quality players that will make a solid core for the team.

Was it enough? Award

Florida – It looks like 3 of the top 4 picks won’t sign, and they aren’t exactly in the position to be giving up decent draft picks. Then again if you draft Albert Pujols do you really complain about the draft? Most guys from pick 15 down would give up their draft to get Hutton.

First one to 100 wins Award

Santa Fe – Derrick Flynn partnered with JP Anderson in a couple of years could be a scary lineup, outside of Hutton he’s the most dominating player in the draft. But not picking a pitcher until round 17 might not be a formula for success every year particularly in a need area.

Scottsdale - was honorable mention in this group. A lot of power hitters and zilch on the pitchers.

Back to the basics Award

Montreal – This team did not make the sexy picks, but it was a solid draft. The picks were quality players and they focused on defense and pitching.

Best Drafts

I really thought two team did very well.

Cincinnati – Not only did they get a superstar in Gaetti they also got two other IFs that should combine to make a nice young core.

Monterrey – Probably the most well rounded draft in the league. Most teams were heavy on pitching or heavy on position players. They got all-star position players and still managed to land a couple of good pitching prospects.

The Best

National League
Best Hitter: Carlos Johnson (Hartford) - His batting line reads like something out of a horror story for pitchers… a .380 avg, .498 OBP, .843 SLG…30 HRs, 80 RBIs. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me.

Best Pitcher: Douglas Parker (Richmond) - This was a tough pick as nobody really took control. This guy has a WHIP of 1.21 and an ERA of 2.96. He has struck out 56 while walking only 26. He’s also thrown 4 complete games. Pretty solid all-around right there.

American League
Best Hitter: Rusty Jones (Scottsdale) - .430/.533/.804. That says it all right there. 18 HRs, 58 RBI, only 10 K's. This was a no brainer.

Best Pitcher: JC Russell (Salem) - Through 90.2 IP his ERA of 2.08 leads the AL by nearly a full point and his WHIP of 1.04 is best by .13. This is a no-brainer.

The Best & Worst of Division Play

National League
Best: NL East - With 3 teams within 4 games of first place and all 3 teams are at least 10 games over .500. This division has a shot of landing 3 teams in the playoffs when the season is over.

Worst: NL North - This could be a barn-burner of mediocrity and awfulness. 4 teams. 5 games separate them. Unfortunately the division leader is 30-31. It’s looking more and more like 80 games could win this division.

American League*
Best: AL West - Scottsdale could run away with this division, but the rest of the teams are still within a multi game winning streak of making this into an interesting division race.

Worst: AL South - There was no clear-cut winner so I just went with the division whose bottom teams were worse than the other divisions’ bottom two.

* You could make a case for any division in the American League for both classifications. In each division (minus the South) the second place team is 5.0 games out. It's early, but that's quite a ways out of first place.

BEST INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS – NL EAST – SEASON ONE

No need in lying about this…the signings for this division are easily the worst of any division I’ve reviewed yet.

1) Best Value

Vasco Suarez is a Honduran third baseman that signed with Hartford for $610K. He’s currently spending his third consecutive season in AA ball and is on pace to demolish his previous high of 14 HRs in a season. His .312 career batting average in the minors is evidence of his offensive strengths. Vasco’s weakness is his defense, as he averages an error in every 4.22 games. His range and glove ratings seem to imply that Suarez may find at best a pinch hitting role in the majors.

2) Lowest Production Per Dollar AND 3) Best Overall

Hartford also signed Colombian pitcher Omar Castillo with the hopes that he could earn a spot in the major league rotation. He was dropped immediately into the Low A roster, where he was shelled (10.57 ERA, 2.45 WHIP) in 10 starts.

Despite the horrible start in Low A, he was promoted to High A for Season 2. Over the next 2 seasons, Castillo pitched 280 innings and put up a 21-12 record, 4.24 ERA, and a 1.40 WHIP. In Season 4, he moved to AA and has since pitched 261 2/3 innings with an 18-12 record, 3.20 ERA, and a 1.35 WHIP.

Looks good, right? So why does he get the "lowest production" award? There were no other highly paid International players in the NL East, and Castillo seems prepared for Triple A ball at this point. His $3 million signing bonus seems high now for a AA player, but there is a very good chance that Castillo could start paying dividends in the majors within a few seasons.

***This was authored by Chrispy***

League Notes at the 1/3 point

Biggest Surprises

Santa Fe - After season three when this team made an 80 game improvement and a second place finish things looked up for the new ownership. But season 4 came along and so did another 100 loss season. This season started a little rough for them, and then a decision from management came down to move perennial MVP candidate Flynn from SS to the OF and be replaced by a quality fielding SS. Flynn had 50 errors at SS 3 out of 4 seasons and was well on his way this season before the move. While playing in Santa Fe probably will never earn a pitcher a Cy Young award, with their potent offense (eight players might reach 100 RBI mark) they are not out of any game.

Salem - In Season 4 this team made its mark by signing the two best FA pitchers available, but pitching in the thin air of Colorado was rough and they finished their fourth straight season in 3rd place and ranked towards the bottom on the league in pitching. With a move to Salem they have been a much tougher opponent. Pitching is ranked 4th in the league and their offense is still in the top 1/3 of the league.

Montreal - Statistically this team is below average, but the owner is a vet of sim league baseball and that knowledge must be of some value in HBD because he has taken a team the has lost 100+ games the last two seasons and got them playing .500 ball.

Honorable Mention

Cleveland - They have won the division two straight seasons, but got little love from the pundits for doing so. Most picked St. Louis and Toronto to dethrone them.

Florida Phoenix - While hovering around .375 is usually not something to cheer about this team has reached a level of respectability and you just can't ignore them. They have taken series from Scottsdale, NY, and Minnesota.

Salt Lake City - While there are no easy divisions in the league, it is tough compete in a division that 113 wins equaled 2nd place last season. Ownership has brought together a team can score some runs, which is always needed in the AL.

Colorado Springs – There has been one team that has won their division title every season, the Arizona Scottsdales. Colorado has been in the top 1/3 of pitching and above average for hitting. If Colorado Springs is going to stay in first they need to get more from their 5^th starter and maybe add another bat.

Head Scratchers

Toronto - Morgan's first championship team has always put together good team. This is shaping up to be their toughest season yet. Yamid is still in MVP form, but only one other player that projects to get 75 RBI. The pitching has been decent, but inconsistent. A trade for a big bat could help, but in 5 season's their owner has yet to make a trade so its not likely to start now.

St. Louis - Admittedly this hasn't had a history of success. But the new ownership came in and signed 3 of the biggest FA pitchers on the market. That got the entire league's attention. The pitching has been good, ranked in the top 10 most the season, but their unproven offense has let them down. They don't play small ball and don't have enough power to wait for homers. The good new for this team is that if they were able to add a couple of potent bats to the lineup they are within striking distance of the division leaders. As bad as they have been, nobody wants to face that staff in the playoffs.

Boston - This is a young team and they should do well in the future. The owner has won championships with other teams so he knows what he's doing. But the goal of at least competing this year barely seems reachable. They’re ranked 31st in pitching and hitting which makes it difficult to win. The troubles can’t be blamed on lack of attention from the owner. This team might be using MLB’s Florida franchise as an example to build a strong young team, but this isn't their year.

Sacramento - The questions about last year's 113 Win performance being a run of good luck persist. They ranked 2nd in both pitching and offense last year, while pitching is just barely above average this season offense has been non-existent. Ranked in the bottom 5 offenses of the world won't ever get you in the AL playoffs. They might get three guys with 100RBIs, but after that nobody projects to 60.

Texas - While Chicago is probably the most surprising poor performance, Texas has to be the biggest drop for no apparent reason. Some decent signings and they kept most the players from last year's 98 Win team, this team might not get 1/2 the wins as last year. The biggest culprit was Ben Musial's colossal slide from his MVP form, but he's getting back on track. It might be to late though for this team. They only have one SP with sub 5.25 ERA. Last year their pitchers weren't dominant, but they had the offense to overcome average groups of SPs. Now their offense is mired in the bottom third of the league which won’t cut it for that staff.

Chicago - There isn't a bigger surprise on this list. Its not like Pitching and Offense have completely tanked for this team, both are above average in the league. A couple players like Santayana are not playing as well as they have in the past. FA pickup Buddy Parrish who was expected to give a lift to the offense and pitching with his skills behind the plate has barely been adequate. His catcher's ERA is a full run higher than it was last season, and he doesn't look to get anywhere close to the 100 RBIs he has averaged over the past three seasons. Usually superb SPs Joey Diaz and former cy young winner Ted Riveria have really fallen on hard times for this team - when they haven't been hurt. The good news for Chicago is that they are only a few games back and have the talent to still make a run for it.

BEST INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS – NL NORTH – SEASON ONE

1) Best Value

The Cincinnati Reds signed P Tomas Alonso for $910K, hoping Alonso could develop into a major league starter. While Alonso likely won’t be an ace, he could make for a decent #4 or #5 starter with his solid stamina and above average control.

Alonso was a workhorse in AA ball, with 68 starts over two seasons and an 18-8 record in Season 2. He was promoted to AAA in Season 4 and turned heads with a 13-8 record with a 4.17 ERA and 1.26 WHIP. Thus far in Season 5, he looks likely to improve on those numbers.

Don’t be surprised if Alonso gets a mid-season promotion to the big show.


2) Lowest Production Per Dollar

I was tempted to give this to either Cleveland AA pitcher Willie Gutierrez ($1.8 mil) or Toronto AA pitcher Jimmy Vazquez ($2.5 mil), but there is still a chance for both pitchers to crack into AAA or higher.

No such opportunity exists for Miguel Lee. The Dominican pitcher signed with St. Louis for $1 million, but had a disappointing Rookie ball debut in Season 1. For some reason, he shuttled between Rookie and Low A in Season 2 despite an inability to keep his WHIP below 2.50.

Then, in Season 3, came the breakthrough. In Low A, Lee had a 3.23 ERA and a WHIP of 1.14 WHIP over 64 innings. Half of his appearances were starts, showing his flexibility. He was then promoted to High A, and although his 5+ ERA and 1.61 WHIP weren’t great, he had pitched less than 14 innings.

Surprisingly, instead of staying in High A for Season 4, he was demoted….all the way back to ROOKIE ball.

He pitched 38 half-hearted innings in Rookie, then retired.


3) Best Overall

Two players are worthy of mention in this category.

Honorable Mention would go to Juan Carrasco, currently on Cincinnati’s AAA roster. After receiving a $2.8 million signing bonus, Carrasco was immediately through into the fire of the AAA roster. Averaging a .296 batting average over his minor league career, Carrasco has been bounced from 3B to the outfield. He could play either position adequately and is a potential starter for the Reds in the very near future.

The award goes to Toronto pitcher Ichiro Li. The Storks dished $3 million to sign the set up man from Japan, and Li has delivered in every level of the minors that he has pitched. He was dominant in Low A, producing a sub-1.00 WHIP in 42 total innings. In Season 4, he made 50 appearances (including 2 suspect starts) in High A. Li’s 3.57 ERA and 1.34 WHIP would likely have been improved without the starts, where he simply does not have the stamina to pitch. His 40/11 K/BB ratio was especially impressive.

This season, Li is off to a great start in AA. His 2.00 ERA and 1.11 WHIP could land him a mid-season promotion if maintained. Li’s potential weakness is that he produces significantly more flyballs, although he has only surrendered 12 HRs in 152 minor league innings.

***Chrispy is the author of this post ***

RANDOM FACTS (ML)

Oldest Team: Salem (30.5)
Youngest Team: Santa Fe (25.0)
Highest salary (per): Las Vegas ($3.8M)
Lowest salary (per): Milwaukee ($847K)
Most drafted: Santa Fe & Boston (7)
Fewest drafted: 12 teams with 0
Most experience: Richmond (6.9)
Least experience: Milwaukee (1.6)

BEST INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS – AL WEST – SEASON ONE

1) Best Value

The Anaheim Long Ballers spent $2.91 million on 5 international prospects, and the current Salt Lake City Bonnevilles GM isn’t complaining about a few of those players.

SS Fernando Chavez signed with Anaheim for $430K and currently sits on Salt Lake’s AA roster. Chavez spent his first two seasons in Rookie ball, but only played in 73 games in Season 2 despite hitting over .300. He started Season 3 in Rookie, but earned a promotion to Low A after 15 games. Chavez responded to the promotion by hitting .364 and splitting time between SS and RF defensively. After starting Season 4 in Low A, he once again earned a mid-season promotion. Chavez hit .315 in 73 games, this time exclusively at SS.

While lacking in speed and power, Chavez could possibly earn a major league bench role with a solid batting average in the next few seasons.


2) Lowest Production Per Dollar

I really wanted to give this award to Hector Rosado, a pitcher that signed for $5 million with Albuquerque and currently sits on Atlanta’s AAA level. However, all of the trades that are tied into Rosado and Sacramento make Rosado’s value to Sacramento a bit arguable. (If you have 3 hours, feel free to trace down Rosado and all of the players that went to SacTown after his trade.)

Rodrigo Gomez signed with Anaheim for $1 million. After two seasons in Rookie ball, he finally “earned” a promotion to Low A (7-4, 5.35 ERA, 1.59 WHIP). Season 4 saw Gomez put up a 5-10 record in 25 starts with a 4.73 ERA and 1.44 WHIP and seemed primed for a potential promotion to High A.

No such luck, as Gomez retired before Season 5. Reports were that he had figured on two more seasons in Low A before another promotion, putting his expected age before a major league promotion to be around 174.


3) Best Overall

Anaheim signed 3B Luis Seneca for a mere $890K, which Salt Lake could view as a bargain in a few year.

In Season 1, the power hitting Seneca hit .281 with 28 HR and 106 RBIs in Low A. Surprisingly, Seneca was DEMOTED to Rookie ball the following year, where he hit .341 with 17 HRs and 98 RBIs in less than half of a full season.

In Seasons 3 and 4, Seneca turned High A ball into a playground, putting up 82 HRs, over 300 RBIs, and a .325 batting average.

He starts Season 5 in High A, and Salt Lake might want to consider promoting him immediately or risk losing him to retirement. Luis could likely end up as a backup 3B on the major league level, especially with his power and ability to hit right handers.