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After a long hiatus, we’re going to get this going again for next season, starting off with live coverage of the 2024 expansion draft. I’d also like to welcome TRCMagic as a new contributor to the blog. Between myself, MogulMonster, and TRCMagic, we hope to keep you regularly updated throughout the entire season. Round 1:
Also known as “Midnight Talk With Sanji”, the Cubs GM SanjiWatsuki was nice enough to sit down with me early today to speak about the Cubs, scouting, and Oscar Delu, amongst other things. OSR: Thanks for taking the time to answer a few questions for the OSR, Sanji. OSR: Let’s start first and foremost with the NL Central this season. The Brewers are noticeably much improved this season, and it’s looking like one of the best races in all of baseball. How do you like your chances? OSR:How about your signing of John Sanders in the offseason? You were often criticized for a lack of “star power” in the last few years. Did the signing of Sanders have anything to do with this? OSR: You’re very well known for picking up pitchers off the scrap heap and turning them into very valuable pieces of your ballclub. How much scouting usually goes into finding these types of players? OSR: Are there any specific prospects that you’re really looking forward to? OSR: As the Brewers continue to emerge as a real threat, where do you see the Cubs 5 seasons into the future? OSR: Most hated player in the league? OSR: Oscar Delu is an excellent example of the aforementioned “pitchers off the scrap heap”. In limited time, he’s performed very nicely for you. What did you see in him when he was on the Brew crew? OSR: Your WS pick this season? OSR: Alright Sanji, thanks a lot for your time and good luck in defeating the Brewers. I never got around to the second round of FA previews, but here’s one thing I definitely noticed. Second base is becoming the hardest position to fill in Outahere, and I don’t see it getting better in the near future. So hang onto those second baseman! I’d rank them second (pun intended) in overall value to a team right after a top SP. With the 2022-2023 off season looking to possibly be the best year ever as far as talent available in free agency, I thought we’d check out some of the biggest names on the market. 1B/DH Liam McGurk (97): He set career high numbers last season in HRs, RBIs, batting average, and OPS. And he’s only 29 years old. Clearly the best hitter on the market this year, although his defense makes him mostly suited to the DH role. 1B Nomar Gauna (96): Everyone’s favorite utility man, Gauna can play virtually every position on the field and is good for 40+ HRs a year. His OBP is a bit of a concern but his power and defense should more than make up for that. LF John Sanders (96): Sanders struggled a bit in his 2/3rds of a season in Minnesota, possibily contributing to his release. Still, he has a proven track record and can play all four corner infield/outfield positions so he should command a pretty nice contract. SP Rohan Leger (94): Leger is one of the best pitching FAs to hit the market in quite some time, and should command top dollar. His 2022 season was somewhat of a regression but I think most teams will look past that and hope he can put up numbers like he did in 2021. CL Jared Helmuth (92): Helmuth had one of the worst seasons of his career in 2022, yet still managed to convert 32/37 save opportunities. At 34 years old, he’s getting up there, but I’m sure there will be a lot of interest in this proven veteran. SP Jorgé Villaroel (86): Don’t let his low overall fool you…he still managed to put up a 2.81 ERA in 2022, and has a .728 career winning percentage. His lack of health is a bit of a risk but one that many teams are willing to take a chance on. That’s just a brief summary of some of the top players in this year’s free agency, although there’s quite a bit more out there than I listed. I’ll look at a few more players in Part 2, later tonight. Free agency will kick off sometime Monday afternoon or evening, so start doing your homework! In what has been a dismal season for the Seattle Mariners, who currently sit at 57-96, slugger Liam McGurk gave Mariner fans something to smile about on September 20th vs. Boston, when he went 4-6, with a single, double, triple, and a home run. One of the rarest plays in baseball, McGurk’s historical night is the 3rd cycle this year, the other two belonging to Kevin Gheorghe of the Padres and Julio Gouea of the Braves. McGurk’s contract will expire this year, and it’s widely expected that the Mariners do not have the cash to resign him. McGurk’s four RBIs on the night helped contribute to a 10-4 win over the worst team in baseball, the Boston Red Sox. The Boston Red Sox, currently 34-107 (.241) are on pace to tie the Milwaukee Brewers for the all time lowest wins in Outahere history. The Brew Crew posted a dismal 39-123 (.241) record back in the 2010 season. Clearly, we still need to work on league balance as we should not have teams winning less than 60 games if we want some sembalance of realism. The Cubs picked up flame thrower Curt Savage this off-season in an attempt to revive the Curt Savage of 2015-2016, when he posted a 3.80 and a 2.99 ERA, while striking out over 9 batters per 9 innings. Maybe he hasn’t been the Curt Savage of old – his ERA currently sits at 5.03 – but Savage has brought something else valuable to the Cubs. His bat. In 48 ABs so far this season, Curt has hit .319/.360/.787 with 7 HRs and 14 RBIs. That all adds to to a 1.147 OPS (take that, Fred Tiers) and two INTENTIONAL WALKS. That’s also after an 0-2 performance vs. the Washington Nationals. But, hey, they’re the Nationals. Sometimes, not even the mighty Curt Savage can hit against the Nats. I thought it would be fun to see what the simulator thought each team’s WS odds were. I went ahead and set the DH/Non-DH lineups for all likely playoff teams and also brought up any players who were injured but should be available for the post season. Results are based on 1000 seasons simulated. Overall, things are looking up. We still have a ways to go balance wise but this is the first season I can remember where the favorite had under a 50% chance of winning the WS.
Benigno Fortuño of the Portland Scrappers led his team to an 8-7 victory over the Angels on Sunday, June 13th. He’s the first player this season to hit 4 HRs in a game. His first three bombs were all solo shots, but the last was a 2 run HR in the top of the 12th inning which was the game winning hit. Since his monster game, he’s on a 3 for 22 slide. |
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