[mikev]

2014 Offense Preview

Ok, we covered the pitchers - let's go over the doods who are gonna be hitting the ball this year.

1. Francisco Mendez, LF



2013: .317/.355/.463, 15hr, 57rbi, 108sb, 62.4 VORP

Mendez, 32, is cementing his position as one of the best leadoff hitters in the GUBA's short history. He set a career high in steals last year, gets on base at an above average clip, and is a career .300 hitter. I'm kind of afraid of how much money he's going to want to extend, because he took a dirt cheap $3.2M per year deal when he was injured in 2011.

2. Anibal "The Wall" Santos, CF



2013 (Sao Paulo): .270/.353/.493, 31hr, 77rbi, 74sb, 54.2 VORP

Santos, aquired in a center fielder swap for Takahashi this offseason, will be slotted into the 2nd spot in the batting order. Along with Mendez, they should make for a hell of a pair of table setters for the big boppers in the heart of the order.

3. Jakob Forest, 1B



2013: .295/.394/.460, 21hr, 103rbi, 29 2b, 96bb, 50.9 VORP

Forest really doesn't need any introduction. The guy is a beast, and while he's potentially heading toward his decline years he's going to be an elite hitter for at least the next couple seasons.

4. Cristian Ruvalcubu, DH



2013 (LA/Bog): .269/.337/.469, 15hr, 64rbi, 24 2b, 21.5 VORP

Ruvalcubu wanted desperately out of LA last year, as evidenced by his 150 point increase in OPS after being dealt to Bogota. We're betting that he'll be closer to the .280/.350/.500 he was as a Toro than the .240/.300/.400 guy he was as a Quake last year. I hope we're right.

5. Tommy Aucoin, C



2013: .274/.317/.405, 12hr, 67rbi, 25 2b, 22.7 VORP

Aucoin saw a nice 100 point increase in his OPS from 2012 to 2013. He's maxed out on his contact, power, and avoid K ratings, but still has some room to grow in the plate discipline department. I figure putting him 5th in the order will give him plenty of opportunities to move guys over and drive in runs, since he's fantastic at putting the ball in play.

6. Rafael Lopez, 3B



2013: .243/.331/.393, 11hr, 54rbi, 27 2b, 21.0 VORP

Lopez had a down season in 2013, but his ratings didn't suffer and he still plays good enough defense to make him worth playing. If he gets his OPS up above .750 this year, I'll be happy.

7. Mark Edwards, RF



2013: .251/.300/.402, 7hr, 27rbi, 8 2b, 5.4 VORP

After being a backup for most of last season, Edwards finds himself the likely starter in right field for the Crusaders this season. Good defense, good power, and decent on the basepaths. After a 1.000 OPS season in AAA last year before his callup, Edwards needs to step up and prove that he belongs in the bigs for good this year.

8. Antonio Alvarado, SS



2013: .263/.313/.415, 11hr, 68rbi, 34 2b, 22.9 VORP

Alvarado, aquired from Valencia at the trade deadline last year before signing a 2 year extension, is the reigning Platinum Glove winner at shortstop. His defense is so good that even at a .730 OPS he's a plenty valuable piece on the team. Basically the plan is to hit him 8th, let him save 50 runs per season with the glove, and count everything he does with the bat as a bonus. He's that good on D.

9. Robinson Leyva, 2B



2013: .274/.306/.389, 9hr, 49rbi, 27 2b, 15.4 VORP

Leyva had a pretty bad sophomore slump in 2013, after an insane 70 game callup where he hit .343 the year before. I was wary of calling him up at the time because the only talent that he'd really developed was his contact, and he hasn't made much progress over the last year. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that he'll make some huge strides during Spring Training, because we could really use another .850 OPS type of guy in the lineup like he was in 2012.