The MLB's Las Vegas Aces

[BelgianBomber]

New York, October 24th, 2012

In an official statement, Commissioner Bud Selig made the announcement that a massive change would be made before the upcoming season starts. The Commissioner had been talking to representatives from both the Players Association and the owners. In an effort to take the game of baseball to another level and once again make baseball America’s game, it was voted that the entire landscape of the league would change.

Owners and the Players Association agreed on releasing every player form their current contracts and to put all the players into one massive draft pool. This would allow every team to start over from zero and send their respective organizations into a new (or old) direction. After the completion of the ‘draft’, every player would be awarded a contract based on their production and value. In other words, neither the teams nor the players would know in advance what the cost of a certain contract would be. It’s an interesting process, but there certainly are flaws in it. The idea behind this is that the teams with lower payrolls could immediately become more competitive and thus would be able to generate a higher revenue, as fans would be more interested in attending games. The richer teams can still get the big name, big money guys and play their type of game, but the market should become more balanced.

It will ofcourse remain to be seen just how well this new idea will work. The draft is expected to kick off in early January and could take as long as two months. This could interfere with Spring Training, which could be shortened or cancelled. The regular season should still be able to start as expected.

Updates to follow soon.

[BelgianBomber]

When the news about the upcoming changes in the MLB were announced, there was one man in particular who saw a new opportunity arise. Casino and hotel tycoon Steve Wynn had been dreaming of owning an major sports franchise for a long time. Up untill now, all 4 of the major sports (MLB, NFL,NHL and NBA) had been against putting up a franchise in Las Vegas. But it goes without saying that the Las Vegas market is an interesting one. Not only does Las Vegas have a population of 2 million, almost 40 million people visit the entertainment capital of the world every single year. The potential is just immense.

What made this an especially appealing time for Wynn is the fact that he could instantly shape his franchise as he would want it to be. From the moment he heard the news, Wynn started making calls left and right to see if there would be a possibility. He contacted Lew Wolff, owner of the Oakland Athletics, who had been rumored to be interested in selling the team. It might not come as a surprise that the A’s could be made available for sale, as the team has been trying to move away from the O.co Coliseum. A plan to move the team to the San Jose area has been countered by the rival San Francisco Giants, as they claim that the San Jose market is within their territory. The only problem here could be that Wolff isn’t looking to sell his entire stake in the team and that he would prefer to keep the team in, or close to, the Bay Area. Wolff ofcourse is a real estate developer and he sees a big opportunity in the construction of a new stadium and other possibilities that might arise out of that. Wolff’s reluctancy to give that part of a possible deal out of hand, could be a huge dealbreaker for Wynn, who obviously would prefer to keep the construction-part in house.

Another franchise that could be a possibility for Wynn arevthe Houston Astros. The team has been stuck near the bottom of the league forvthe past few years and fans aren’t overly happy with the team’s recentvperformances. Therefore the value of the franchise has dropped and it could beva potential ‘bargain’. And with the changes the league is planning to make thisvoffseason, there is a quick way to turn a franchise around.

It eventually became clear rather quickly that the Houston Astros franchise was the most appealing to Steve Wynn. The idea would be to move the team to Las Vegas and build a brand spanking new stadium/resort near the Strip. Wynn had negotiations with Jim Crane, the team’s current owner. After hefty, but short talks, both men came to an agreement were Wynn would partake a stake of 85% in the team and would be allowed to move the team to Las Vegas, if the Commissioner would agree to it.

[BelgianBomber]

What people didn’t know is that Steve Wynn had been working on a project for a long time. He already had the land were he would want to put up a ballpark and the plans to the new ballpark, which would be named Wynn Stadium.

Steve approached Commissioner Bud Selig with his plans to buy the Houston Astros and relocate the team to Las Vegas. After some consideration and a round of voting from the other owners, the sale of the Houston Astros to Steve Wynn was approved. Wynn would obtain 85% of the ownership for the price of 850 million.

The team no longer would be known under the name Houston Astros, but would be renamed, appropriately as the Las Vegas Aces. The team will play the 2013 season in Houston, while the new ballpark in Las Vegas isbeing constructed. It is expected that Wynn Stadium should be ready to open it’s doors in time for the 2014 season.

[BelgianBomber]

Today has to be one of the most exciting days of my life. I’d say it comes in third, behind the birth of my daughter and my weddingday(don’t want the mrs. to get mad if she’d ever read this). What makes this day so special you say? Well, early this morning I received a call from Mr. Steve Wynn. You know, the guy that owns all those casinos and who just recently acquired a majority stake of the Houston Astros. Or should I say, the Las Vegas Aces. Mr. Wynn informed me that he would appoint me as the new General Manager of the team, at a press conference later this week.

How did I, a 28-year-old from Belgium, get this job??? It happened like this, atleast I think it did.
After the purchase of the team, Mr.Wynn started his search to find a new GM to build, rebuild, retool, however you want to name it, HIS team. He didn’t want someone with years of experience for this job, as it would be more difficult to steer that person into the direction he wants to go with the team. He went out of the box on this one. Looking for someone who obviously has some knowledge about baseball and who also is able to handle himself in a business environment, but who didn’t have experience at the highest level. People were able to get in touch with a team of headhunters, who were tasked to find the ideal person for the job. I had send in my curriculum vitae (yes, that’s Latin) and a 35 page paper explaining my vision for the team.

In all honesty, I never expected to be offered the job. I was hoping that I might somehow get noticed and would be able to get a smalltime gig with the team, in whatever capacity. For the past couple of years I had been running a company that works in the areas of insurance, loans and the financial markets. But my passion is baseball. While it’s not overly popular in my part of the world, I have a love for it. Reading, writing about baseball, watching games, playing in fantasy leagues,… You name it. And as I don’t have any real financial worries, I did want to persue my dream to be able to make a living out of my passion.

And here I am today, packing my bags to move to the other side of the world to become the General Manager of the Las Vegas Aces. Truly a dreamjob. Mr. Wynn told me to report to Zaventem airport tomorrow morning, as he would make all the arrangements to get me to Houston as soon as possible.

To be continued...

[pgjocki]

I am really excited about your writing style and approach, can't wait to see what kind of team you and Mr. Wynn have in mind.

Will you be trying to draft a winning team right away or build for a long term future? I.E. focus on pitchers between the ages of 22 to 26 in the early rounds, grab a solid catcher and corner infielders and then let the rest come together.

[BelgianBomber]

Houston, November 21st, 2012

I arrived at George Bush Intercontinental Airport earlier today, where I was greeted by one of Mr. Wynn’s trusted employees. The young woman, her name was Ashley, informed me that she would be taking me straight to Minute Maid Park, where I would meet with Steve Wynn himself. I tried to get my nerves under control during the short drive from the airport to the ballpark. I don’t think I was able to pull that off, because I felt like I was sweating like an otter when I walked into the meeting room. I was cordially greeted by Steve Wynn, who appeared to be the only person in the room.

We sat down and after a brief “getting to know each other”-moment Steve got straight to the point. He told me ‘Kristof, I hope you aren’t expecting to get the keys to the franchise, because frankly, that’s not going to happen. You will be allowed to run the club on a daily basis, as I just don’t have the time to do all of the work myself. But I will have the final say about every major decision that will be made regarding this ballclub. As you are well aware, we are moving this team to Las Vegas, hopefully before the start of next season. We have to take advantage of the opportunities that the Las Vegas market will bring and I think I have a pretty good idea about how that will work. I want, and fully expect, the team to be competitive from day one. I’m not interested in building a team for the future, as there is no such day as the present day. I want the local fans to be excited about the product on the field from the moment the team sets foot in Vegas. And I want the tourists to want to come to our games.’

Steve could see I was taken by surprise because of his statement and asked me what I was thinking about his view for the team. I told him ‘Well Mr. Wynn, I fully understand that you want the team to be competitive from day 1. Especially with the relocation to Las Vegas coming after the season. We obviously need to win the fans over and you can only do that by putting a good product on the field. A winning team that is. However, I would not put all the eggs in one basket. In baseball, as much as in any other sport, there is a need to consider the future. A strong minor league system allows continued success, and I think that is also something we need to strive for. But I do feel there is more about your strategy that you haven’t shared with me yet. I’m very curious to learn more.'

And boy, was I right about that. Steve told me that he didn’t only expect me to draft a team that would be able to contend, but that he expected me to draft in a certain direction. What follows is a brief layout of what he expects me to do in the draft:

• Draft a team that is capable of contending from day 1.
• Draft a “face-of-the-franchise”-type of player. A player that fans are excited to see and who will appeal to tourists from other countries. Players such as Albert Pujols, Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, David Ortiz come to mind.
• Draft 3-4 other players who will generate interest because of their names. Big names means more revenue and merchandise sales.
• Draft a well-known Asian player. A lot of Asians visit Las Vegas and it is known that they like their baseball. That is a potential market we need can’t ignore. Players as Ichiro Suzuki, Yu Darvish, Shin-Soo Choo, Hiroki Kuroda would get the Asian fans interested in our team.
• Don’t neglect the minor league system. It’s always a positive to have options within the system when injuries occur and when it is time to replace a certain player.

So now I pretty much know what I’m expected to do. It won’t be easy to nail all 5 of the points above, but we’ll have to see what we are able to do and how the draft shapes up. With only a couple of weeks to go before the draft starts, I have a ton of work to do. Steve informed me that he had arranged a suite for me in the nearby Embassy Suites hotel. It’s only about half a mile from the ballpark, so I wouldn’t be wasting much time getting around.

Ashley, the young woman I met at the airport earlier would also show me my office at Minute Made Park and she would function is my secretary/link with Mr. Wynn. (I wonder what the wife will think about me having a lovely young lady as my secretary.)

After a quick tour of the ballpark, Ashley informed me of my schedule for the next couple of days. Tomorrow I would meet with the rest of the staff, as coaches and scouts would come to my office for introductions. Later on the day there would be a press conference at which I would be officially named the GM of the Las Vegas Aces.

It’s 8pm now and I’m looking out the window of my new ‘home’. A hotel room thousands of miles away from home. What have I gotten myself into??? It will be a ride with ups and downs, I have no doubt about that. But I’d feel much more at ease if I had my family here. So let’s hope things go well and they can get here soon and join me in this adventure.

[BelgianBomber]

Houston, November 22nd, 2012


It had been widely expected that new majority owner Steve Wynn would want to install his own GM to run the day-to-day affairs for the Las Vegas Aces. Today we were able to put a name and face on that person, as Wynn made the hiring of 28-year-old Belgian Kristof De Roye official.

A large number of reporters were gathered in the press room of Minute Maid Park for the press conference.

'We wanted to find someone with a fresh view and a background in finances,' Wynn stated. 'Kristof has earned his stripes in the world of business, even at his young age. I am confident he will be able to succeed in that aspect of his new function as the General Manager of the Las Vegas Aces. While it will be his first job in professional sports, I was very impressed with his knowledge regarding the game of baseball and I feel that the combination of his skills make him the ideal hiring for our team.'

'I'm very happy and grateful for this amazing opportunity', said De Roye. 'I am fully committed, along with every other member of our staff, to make our ownership and fans proud of their team. We will try to give the fans in Houston an amazing season before moving the team to Las Vegas next season.'

When asked what his expectations were, De Roye answered:

'It's hard to make any predictions right now. The landscape of the entire MLB is going to change in a couple of weeks. The upcoming draft is probably the most impactful event in the history of MLB. When you do a good job, you can set your team up for years of success. If you fail, the team can be stuck in a whole for the forseeable future. We have a little over a month to go before the draft will start and I'm confident that we will have a solid strategy in place. I will be working on that strategy with our coaches and scouts right up untill the draft takes place. The more knowledge and information you have, to better you are armed for the events that will take place. I, for one, am very excited about the draft and the future of the Las Vegas Aces.'

Steve Wynn spoke about the construction of the new ballpark in Las Vegas, which should be ready to open it's door in time for the 2014 season. He added that the Aces would unveil new uniforms for the 2014 season aswell, as they would play in Astros' colored jerseys in 2013, as a sign of respect for the fans in Houston.

[BelgianBomber]

Houston, March 12th, 2013

The draft is finally behind us. It's been a busy past couple of weeks, living on coffee and take out food. Our team had been working from the 'command center' to construct what would become the foundation of our team. I have to say that I was very impressed with the organization and th eknowledge everybody brings to the table. In the next couple of posts I will review our lineup, pitching staff and minor league system.

The Commissioner's Office also announced that the preseason will be cancelled, as the draft took longer as was expected. The season will start as planned. We have a little over two weeks to get prepared, before we kick off the season against the Texas Rangers.

[BelgianBomber]

#1: Chin-Soo Choo, RF, bats left, age 30, 7million/possible free agent after the season (round 5, 135th overall)
South Korean on-base machine. Choo had a number of good seasons for the Cleveland Indians. He doesn’t have the speed of a traditional lead-off hitter, but he does an amazing job of getting on base. An OBP around.400 is well within his possibilities. Choo has the power/speed combo to hit a ton of doubles (43 in 2012) and he will take you deep if you make a mistake. 35+ doubles and 15+ home runs are the power numbers we are hoping to get from him. But getting on base should be his primary goal.

#2: Gerardo Parra, LF, bats left, age 25,2.65million/eligible for arbitration (round 19, 555th overall)
Parra has been mostly known for his excellent defense in left field. That’s not giving this guy the credit he deserves, as I feel he is one of the most underrated players in the game. Parra has a good combination of speed and extra-base power, which should allow him to hit a ton of doubles. My projection is that he could hit 30-40 doubles a season. He has a solid eye and should do a good job getting on base and getting into scoring position. With the power hitters behind him, he should score plenty of runs.

#3: Albert Pujols, 1B, bats right, age 32, 94.8million/2016(round 3, 75th overall)
9-time All-Star, 2-time Gold Glove Award winner Albert Pujols will man first base for us. Okay, he makes a ton of money, but he is one of the best hitters in the game today. When all is said and done, he could very well be in the conversation as one of the best ever. With Albert you pretty much know what you are going to get at this point of his career. A .295/.345/.515 line with 25+ doubles, 30+ home runs and 100 RBI should be the goal. Pujols is still considered as one of the best defensive first baseman and teamleaders. Oh and he will obviously draw fans to the ballpark.

#4: Chris Davis, DH/1B, bats left, age 27,2.6million/eligible for arbitration (round 11, 315th overall)
After a couple or rough years with the Texans, Davis finally got another chance with the Orioles last season. And he showed just what you can expect from him. A ton of power and a lot of strikeouts. Now entering his age 27 season, there might still be some room for him to grow. But if he can duplicate his statline from 2012 (.270/.326/.501 with 20 doubles and 33 homeruns) he will play a big role for our ballclub. He will primarily DH, but will also give Pujols a day off at first from time to time.

#5: Evan Longoria, 3B, bats right, age 27,4.12million/possible free agent after the season (round 1, 15th overall)
3-time All-Star and 2-time Gold Glove winner at 3rd base. Longoria saw his season cut short in 2012 and is destined to re-establish himself as one of the best overall players in the game. He is an amazing defensive presence at third base and a leader in the clubhouse. But what stands out most about him is that he is one of the best clutch hitters in the game. With the game on the line, this is the guy you want to see at the plate. Evan gives us a third power bat in the middle of our order. The projection is that he could hit .270/.360/.520 with 25-30 doubles and an equal amount of homeruns. At age 27, there is reason to believe that he still has room for growth.

#6: Alejandro De Aza, CF, bats left, age 28,4million/eligible for arbitration (round 10, 286th overall)
De Aza showed a lot of promise in his first full season at the highest level. He is a solid defender at the center field position, where he uses his speed to cover a lot of ground. He also showed solid skills as a batter, posting a .281/.349/.410 batting line with 29 doubles. That extra-base power and his speed should play well at this spot in the lineup. He could also hit near the top of the lineup.

#7: Brandon Phillips, 2B, bats right, age 31, 15million/2016(round 7, 195th overall)
In Phillips we have yet another former Gold Glove winner(Phillips won the award in ’08, ’10 and ’11). Besides the obvious value on defense, Phillips has been pretty consistent as a hitter. His presence on and off the field is important to the club, as Phillips is very popular among his teammates. If Phillips is able to produce as in recent years, we can hope for a .290/.340/.430 line with 30+ doubles and around 20 home runs.

#8: Ruben Tejada, SS, bats right, age 23, 539k/possibly eligible for arbitration (round 9, 255th overall)
Tejada doesn’t stand out in any particular area, but he is a solid to good player overall. He can play both middle infield positions pretty well, but he will probably never win a Gold Glove. On offense he should be good for 20-25 doubles and a decent BA and OBP. At age 23 there is still plenty of room to develop and surprise.

#9: Jose Molina, C, bats right, age 37, 5.04million/2014(round 18, 526th overall)
Molina has been a backup or platoon catcher his entire career and at age 37 we are trying to make him a starter. I’m not expecting any miracles here, but his defense alone is well worth his selection. Granted, all good options were taken very early in the draft. Molina is one of the best at calling the game and he has a great arm. He is extremely intelligent and he should be able to get the most out of our staff. Whatever he can contribute on offense will be a bonus.

Omir Santos, C, bats right, age 31, 490k/not yet eligiblefor arbitration (round 78, 2326th overall)
Santos hasn’t seen much playing time at the highest level over the course of his career. He is pretty smart and gets along with everyone. He has solid gamecalling skills and a good arm. He will give Molina the occasional night off. His defense is the reason we selected him. Whatever he brings on offense is a bonus.

Alexi Amarista, UTIL, bats left, age 24, 490k/not yeteligible for arbitration (round 26, 766th overall)
Amarista truly is a super-utility guy. He can play both middle infield and all 3 outfield positions. And most of all, he can play them pretty well. He was a pretty decent hitter throughout his minor league career and has the upside to translate that to the big leagues. His versatily means that he will probably see a lot of playing time. I’m hoping he can hit around .260/.310/.330 with 20 doubles and some stolen bases, while giving our starters a break.

Jack Hannahan, 3B, bats left, age 33, 900k/eligible for arbitration (round 79, 2355th overall)
Hannahan is a high quality defensive 3rd baseman who provides us with some insurance behind Evan Longoria. Hannahan won’t do a lot of damage with the bat, so as long as we don’t need to count on him for longer periods of time, he will do just fine is this role.

Franklin Gutierrez, OF, bats right, age 30, 490k/2013 (round30, 886th overall)
After his breakout offensive campaign in 2009 and winning a Gold Glove in 2010, injuries have derailed his once promising career. Gutierrez has worked hard to get healthy, but the offensive upside he once displayed is pretty much all gone. He should however be a quality late-inning defensive replacement and he could give our starters the occasional day off. Franklin can play all 3 outfield positions, but center and right field should still be Gold Glove-worthy. His defensive ability is what we drafted him for and that is pretty much all we are expecting to get from him.

I feel like we have a very balanced lineup with some guyswho should put up big power numbers in Pujols, Davis and Longoria. We also haveguys that can get on base with Choo and Parra. Even the bottom or our lineuplooks promising as De Aza and Phillips are solid allround hitters. This offensecould put up some serious numbers over the course of a season.

[BelgianBomber]

SP1: Cole Hamels, throws left, age 29, 88million/2016 (round2, 46th overall)
The 3-time All-Star will anchor our rotation. Over the past couple of seasons Hamels has shown that he is one of the best left-handed pitchers in the game. He should be good for 200+ innings with an ERA around 3.00 with a strikeout per inning. Hamels does a decent job of limiting walks and he can hold his own when it counts the most. He will make 88million on his current 4 year contract, but Hamels should be well worth every penny.

SP2: Max Scherzer, throws right, age 28, 5.3million/eligible for arbitration (round 4, 106th overall)
Scherzer should make a great right-handed compliment to our staff ace, Cole Hamels. Scherzer is a strikeout machine, getting 231 K’s in 187.2 innings last season. Many believe that Scherzer has room for growth and that this next season could very well be the one that gets him into the conversation of the best pitchers in the game. Max should be able to give us around 200 innings with a 3.50 ERA and over 200 strikeouts. If he starts out strong, we should look into giving him an extension.

SP3: Jeremy Guthrie, throws right, age 33, 3.5million/2013 (round 12, 346th overall)
Guthrie has had some nice seasons during his career. He isn’t a lights-out type of pitcher, but he should be able to give his team some quality innings, especially as a middle-of-the-rotation starter. He lacks the stuff to be a true strikeout pitcher, but he has good control and gets solid movement on his pitches. I’m hoping to get 200 innings of sub 4.00 ball from him.

SP4: Patrick Corbin, throws left, age 23, 490k/not yeteligible for arbitration (round 8, 226th overall)
Corbin gives us a second left-handed starter. The youngster had his struggles in his first taste of the big leagues last season, but he has all the potential and talent to become a solid middle-of-the-rotation starter. Corbin is more of a finesse pitcher, as his fastball tops out at around 90-92mph. He does however have solid control of his pitches and regularly gets good movement on them. I’m hoping for a season of 180+ innings with a sub 4.00 ERA and 125+ strikeouts.

SP5: Joe Kelly, throws right, age 24, 490k/not yet eligible for arbitration (round 14, 406th overall)
Kelly got his first taste of the MLB last season and he showed he can hold his own. He should make a solid fifth starter for us and if he can put it all together, he could even become more. If we can get around 175 innings of 4.00 ball and 150 strikeouts it will be a success. Kelly does get a good amount of groundballs, so playing with a good defense behind him should really help him out.

CL: Craig Kimbrel, throws right, age 24, 539k/possibly eligible for arbitration after the season (round 13, 375th overall)
Can’t go wrong with the best closer in the game being your 9th inning guy. Kimbrel has been as dominant as one can be since entering the league 2 years ago. He will look to build on his performance to establish himself as the true elite closer in the MLB. Craig should be able to put up a sub 2.00 era with 100+ K’s over the course of a season. We should feel confident when we hand him the ball as he should close out the game pretty much all the time.

SUR: Jason Grilli, throws right, age 36, 4.4million/2013(round 45, 1335th overall)
Grilli has been a quality reliever for most of his career. Especially his last 2 seasons, with the Pirates, were of a high standard. As with most relievers, Grilli has excellent stuff and knows how to strike someone out. As evidenced by his 90 K’s in 58.2 innings last season. If he can limit the number of walks and keep the ball in the park, Grilli could post another season of sub 3.00 ball to go with a good K-rate.

SUL: Jeremy Affeldt, throws left, age 33, 10.64million/2014(round 46, 1366th overall)
Affeldt has been one of the better left-handed relievers in baseball for the past couple of years. The two-time World Series winner is used to pitching under pressure and he should do well in a late inning role for our team. We should see him pitch around 60 innings with a sub 3.00 ERA and a strikeout per inning.

MR: Carter Capps, throws right, age 22, 490k/not yeteligible for arbitration (round 35, 1035th overall)
Capps is one of the best bullpen prospects in the game. He made the jump from AA to the MLB last season (only 1.1 innings of AAA-ball) and he showed he belongs at the highest level. We are going to put him in lower pressure situations to ease him along, but he should be a future closer or setup man. Capps should pitch upwards of 50 innings for us this year with an ERA in the mid 3’s. He has the makeup to strike out a batter per inning.

MR: Cody Eppley, throws right, age 27, 490k/not yet eligible for arbitration (round 48, 1426th overall)
Eppley should be a solid to good middle reliever for us. He was a strong piece of the Yankees’ bullpen last season and we are hoping he can duplicate that this year. Eppley is a groundball pitcher who keeps the ball down and does a solid job of limiting walks. He should throw around 50 innings, while his ERA should top out around 3.60.

MR: Josh Edgin, throws left, age 26, 490k/not yet eligible for arbitration (round 38, 1126th overall)
Edgin saw his first action in the majors last season. He did a pretty nice job and he shows a lot of potential. He should be an effective lefty for our bullpen, who can give us a good number of quality innings. If he continues to mature, he could become a solid setup-man. Edgin should get around 40-50 innings this season. His ERA should be around 4.00, while getting a good number of strikeouts.

MR/LR: Jerome Williams, throws right, age 31, 900k/eligible for arbitration (round 66, 1966th overall)
Williams has been used in the role of reliever/spotstarter/longreliever for the past 2 seasons. While he might not be the most flashy guy around, he did a good job in that role. If he can build on his performance from the past season, he could play a very important role for our team. Jerome is a groundball pitcher who uses movement and control to be successfull.


I’m pretty happy with the way our staff looks to enter the season. Hamels and Scherzer headline our rotation and are one of the best lefty-righty combinations in the league. Corbin and Kelly are the youngsters in our rotation and I feel like both of them have the potential to be solid MLB starters and they will be given the chance to prove their worth.

Our bullpen, especially in the late innings, should be one of the best in the league. Kimbrel is, in my opinion, the best closer in the game, while Grilli and Affeldt should be a solid bridge between the starters and Kimbrel.

[pgjocki]

What do your finances look like to start the season? That looks like a good line-up!

[BelgianBomber]

#7: Byron Buxton, CF, bats right, age 19, A (round 23, 675th overall)

#10: Tyler Skaggs, SP, throws left, age 21, AAA (round 6, 166th overall)

#15: Javier Baez, SS, bats right, age 20, AA (round 27, 795th overall)

#16: Miguel Sano, 3B, bats right, age 19, AA (round 21, 615th overall)

#17: Jameson Taillon, SP, throws right, age 21, AA (round 15, 435th overall)

#20: Albert Almora, CF, bats right, age 18, SA (round 29, 855th overall)

#21: Kyle Zimmer, SP, throws right, age 21, A (round 22, 646th overall)

#26: Archie Bradley, SP, throws right, age 20, AA (round 16, 466th overall)

#28: Kris Bryant, 3B, bats right, age 20, R (round 31, 915th overall)

#34: Clint Frazier, CF, bats right, age 18, R (round 51, 1515th overall)

#35: Jorge Soler, RF, bats right, age 21, A (round 25, 735th overall)

#43: Yasiel Puig, RF, bats right, age 22, AA (round 17, 495th overall)

#48: Dominic Smith, 1B, bats left, age 18, R (round 37, 1095th overall)

#49: George Springer, CF, bats right, age 23, AA (round 24, 706th overall)

#52: Max Fried, SP, throws left, age 18, SA (round 34, 1006th overall)

#60: D.J. Peterson, 1B, bats right, age 21, R (round 36, 1066th overall)

#61: Mark Montgomery, CL, throws right, age 22, AAA (round 42, 1246th overall)

#64: Gregory Polanco, CF, bats left, age 21, AA (round 43, 1275th overall)

#70: Jordan Sheffield, SP, throws right, age 17, R (round 40, 1186th overall)

#74: Robert Stephenson, SP, throws right, age 20, A (round 28, 826th overall)

#82: Robert Kaminsky, SP, throws left, age 18, R (round 39, 1155th overall)

#84: Gary Sanchez, C, bats right, age 20, AA (round 33, 975th overall)

#97: Nolan Arenado, 3B, bats right, age 21, AAA (round 20, 586th overall)

#98: Bruce Rondon, CL, throws right, age 22, AAA (round 44, 1306th overall)

Our team is obviously loaded with high-end talent. But the question is, how many of these guys will actually pan out. We will bring our young talent along slowly, as we want them to have every chance to succeed. This means pumping a lot of money into development and constantly searching for the best available coaches to mentor our youngsters.

Most teams focused on adding veteran depth, while we went all-in on prospects. This could come back to bite us in the ass, if we face significant injuries to our starters.

[BelgianBomber]

The 2013 season is almost upon is, so it’s as good a time as any to have a look at our financial situation and expectations.


The budget for the upcoming season has been set at 144.2million. That budget ranks 10th in the league. That’s a pretty decent budget to work with. As things stand now, our payroll (full roster) would come in at 106.648 million, ranking 11th in the league. There are however some reasons for concern when it comes to the payroll, but I’ll get in to that a bit later.

Our other expenses are:
Staff Payroll: 6.645 million
Scouting Expenses: 10.140 million
Draft Expenses: 7.5 million
Player Dev. Expenses: 14.0 million

Putting our total expenses at 140.798 million, so we should be able to stay within our budget.

My biggest concern about the current expenses can be found at the top of our payroll. In 2013 we are paying 54.2 million to our 3 highest paid players. Their salaries fit within our budget this year, so no real reason for concern right? Well, these guys are all under contract for the next 4seasons and the total amount of their combined salaries will rise every year.
2014: 58.2 million
2015: 63.2 million
2016: 67.2 million

That leaves us with very little flexibility going forward and it certainly is an item I will need to look into sooner rather than later. By the way, the 3 players are Albert Pujols, Cole Hamels and Brandon Phillips.

Expectations:

Steve Wynn has already made it pretty clear when he hired me, he wants a competitive team. On paper out team looks solid and we should be able to contend for a division title. Ofcourse, we don’t know yet how these guys will get along and just how good the other teams will be. If we can believe the ‘experts’, we should enjoy an excellent season. They are expecting us to win 104 games and run away with the division.

A 100 win season would be a great start for our team. I’m not sure that it will be possible, but with the players we have here, we should be able to reach the postseason.

Baseball is almost here, so buckle up and enjoy the ride.

[BelgianBomber]

Texas Rangers @ Las Vegas Aces

The Rangers have the makeup to be one of the best teams in the league. The offense features the likes of Justin Upton and Adrian Gonzalez,with Pedro Alvarez and Chris Young as additional power hitters. The offense should also get solid contributions from veterans Bobby Abreu, Alfonso Soriano and Scott Hairston. Yadier Molina is clearly the best catcher in the game and he will help this team out in more ways than one. The rotation could be one of the better ones in the league, with veterans from spots 1 to 5. Hiroki Kuroda, Homer Bailey, Ryan Dempster, Justin Masterson and Ted Lilly. That’s a group without an ace, but all these guys are solid numbers 2-3 in most rotations. The bullpen is even more impressive and features 4 guys with a closer mentality. Mariano Rivera is still one of the very best in the game and he is joined by Huston Street, Grant Balfour, Joe Nathan and Jonny Venters in what could be the best bullpen in the league. It should be without surprise that the Rangers have one of the highest payrolls in baseball. 158.757 million to be exact. That has them ranked second in the league (and the division). Their 18th ranked minor league system has 1 top 100 ranked player in center fielder Austin Meadows. The experts predict the Rangers to win 89 games and finish second in the division, behind your Aces.

03/31/2013
Game 1: vs. Texas Rangers
The game turned out to be a nice pitcher’s duel as Hiroki Kuroda (8.0-5-0-0-1-8) got the best of Cole Hamels (8.0-7-2-2-1-6). But their bullpen couldn’t hold on to the lead as Evan Longoria tied the game with a 2-run shot in the 9th. The fun would be shortlived, as Craig Kimbrel gave up a solo-shot to Brandon Crawford in the 10th.
LV 2 – TEX 3 (loss 0-1)

04/01/2013
League News:
Roy Halladay of the Colorado Rockies gets career win #200 ina 2-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.

04/02/2013
Game 2: vs. Texas Rangers
Chris Davis came to play tonight. He went 3-3 with 2 homeruns, 4 RBIs, 2 runs scored and a walk. That offensive output proved to be more than what we needed, as Max Scherzer was dominant today. Scherzer pitched a complete game shutout, allowing only 2 base hits (both singles) and 2 walks, while striking out 8.
LV 5 – TEX 0 (win 1-1)

04/03/2013
Game 3: vs. Texas Rangers
Jeremy Guthrie (6.2-13-4-4-4-5) and his counterpart, Homer Bailey (5.1-10-4-4-4-5), battled all night long. Neither had their best performance, but they kept their team in the game. The game was tied at 5 a piece in the 9th, as we went to extra innings. Brandon Phillips would finish theg ame with an RBI single in the 11th. Chris Davis was 3-4 with a double. Phillips, Choo and Amarista had 2 hits each. Both of Amarista’s hits were triples.
LV 6 – TEX 5 (win 2-1)

[BelgianBomber]

Oakland Athletics (0-4) @ Las Vegas Aces (2-1)

209.3 million dollar budget, 180.570 million dollar payroll. These aren’t the A’s we used to know. The A’s are spending in a big way this season, but will have a ton of money coming off the books next year and the year after. As should be expected, there are a lot of high priced players on this team: Curtis Granderson, Edwin Encarnacion, Ryan Braun, Alex Rodriguez, Rickie Weeks, Bryan McCann, Erick Aybar on offense and the likes of Johan Santana and Colby Lewis in the rotation. The bullpen is filled with guys that have closer experience, with Sergio Romo, Rafael Bethancourt, Jim Johnson, Ryan Madson and Casey Janssen all part of this unit. The A’s clearly put their focus on adding big name, big money guys and neglected the farm system, which ranks29th in the league and does not have any players ranked in the top 100. The ‘experts’ aren’t buying into the hype around this multi-millionaire ballclub and are predicting them to finish last in the division, with a 71-91 record.

04/05/2013
Game 4: vs. Oakland Athletics
Patrick Corbin had a solid outing for us today, limiting the A’s to 5 hits and 1 walk over 7.1 innings. However, one of those hits was a 3-run home run by Jason Kubel. But our offense had Corbin’s back tonight, getting hits and walks all night long. Phillips, Pujols, Longoria, Amarista and Molina all had 2 hits. For Longoria, Pujols and Molina, one of those hits left the park. Chris Davis was hitless, but he did walk 3 times.
LV 8 – OAK 3 (win 3-1)

League News:
The San Diego Padres lose 27-year-old closer David Robertson for the next 11 months, as he suffered a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament. Robertson was selected in the 20th round, 578th overall.

04/06/2013
Game 5: vs. Oakland Athletics
Another strong outing from our ace, Cole Hamels, as he went 8.0-5-2-2-1-7. The offense did just enough to help Hamels get his first win. Craig Kimbrel pitched a scoreless 9th to get his first save. Brandon Phillips homered in the first inning and added an RBI single later in the game. Tejada and Pujols also had 2 hits.
LV 3 – OAK 2 (win 4-1)

04/07/2013
Game 6: vs. Oakland Athletics
Joe Kelly struggled to start the game, giving up a run in each of the first two innings. He settled down after that and put up a solid 8.0-9-3-3-2-3 performance. Chris Davis went 3-3 with 2 doubles and a home run, while coming across to score 3 times. Pujols (2 RBI) and Amarista had two hits each, while Craig Kimbrel picked up save number 2.
LV 5 – OAK 3 (win 5-1)

Weekly Awards:
Wilson Ramos of the Cleveland Indians is named AL Player of the Week. The 25-year-old catcher went 13 for 19 (.684) with 3 home runs and 5 RBIs.
The Milwaukee Brewers’ Matt Kemp wins NL Player of the Week honors. He recorded 12 hits in 19 at-bats with 4 home runs, 6 RBIs and 4 runs scored.

Power Rankings:
Tied for 1st with the Pittsburgh Pirates

[BelgianBomber]

Las Vegas Aces (5-1) @ Seattle Mariners (5-2)

The Mariners did a nice job putting together their rotation in the draft. It features solid, young arms such as Brandon Beachy, Yovani Gallardo and Justin Turner. Vance Worley and Jason Vargas round out a rotation that could be really good for years to come. The offense is led by Jose Reyes,who is joined by a couple of high upside youngsters in Jose Altuve, Will Middlebrooks and Matt Adams. Ryan Hanigan should work well with the pitching staff, while veteran Michael Young brings leadership to the team. The bullpen will feature lefty Mike Gonzalez as the closer, with Latroy Hawkins and Frank Francisco as veteran arms. Youngster Tanner Scheppers looks to have a bright future. The Mariners have a payroll of just 57.32 million, ranking 27th in the league. This should give them some flexibility going forward. The minor league system, which ranks 8th, looks in pretty good shape. Outfielders Austin Wilson and Jake Marisnick are joined by pitchers Taylor Guerrieri, Allen Webster and Marcus Stroman as the top players in the system. The Mariners are expected to finish 3rd in the division, with a 76-86 record, but their future looks pretty bright.

04/08/2013
Game 7: @ Seattle Mariners
Scherzer got himself in trouble early, giving up 3 hits and a walk in the first. He would settle down after that and put up zeroes across the board for his second win. Chris Davis went 2-4 with his 4th home run and 2RBIs. Amarista also got 2 hits. Jason Grilli pitched a scoreless 9th to get his first save on the season, as Craig Kimbrel got the night off.
LV 2 – SEA 1 (win 6-1)

04/09/2013
Game 8: @ Seattle Mariners
Jeremy Guthrie pitched well enough today (7.2-7-1-1-3-6) to outduel his counterpart, Jair Jurrjens (7.1-7-4-4-1-2). He was backed by Gerardo Parra’s 2-4 (double and triple) performance. Brandon Phillips hit a 2-run home run and Albert Pujols had 2 hits, including his 2nd home run of the season. Craig Kimbrel pitched a scorless 9th for save number 3.
LV 4 – SEA 1 (win 7-1)

04/10/2013
Game 9: @ Seattle Mariners
Today Patrick Corbin showed just why our scouting department was so high on him during the draft. The young lefty went 8.1 innings, giving up only 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 6. He only threw 99 pitches, 66 of which were strikes. The offense did more than it’s part, getting 12 hits and 5 walks. De Aza, Parra, Pujols and Choo each had 2 hits in the game. Evan Longoria went 1-3 with 5 RBI and home run number 3. Chris Davis was hitless,but he walked 3 times (12 walks in only 9 games, wow!!!) and scored 3 runs.
LV 11 – SEA 1 (win 8-1)

[BelgianBomber]

Las Vegas Aces (8-1) @ Los Angeles Angels (5-4)


Our division rival Angels have a couple of nice young players on the roster, but overall it looks a bit messy. The pitching staff looks to be in decent shape with Clayton Kershaw as the ace and solid number 2 and 3 guys in Hyun-Jin Ryu and Tommy Milone. Manny Machado, Jurickson Profar and Salvador Perez are youngster with immense upside, but they are still inexperienced and will need a couple of more years to reach their full potential. Veterans Josh Willingham, Cody Ross and Lance Berkman will serve as mentors to the youngsters. The bullpen includes Matt Belisle, Jose Valverde and Cody Allen and could be a decent unit. The Angels’ current payroll sits at only 59.288 million, good for 25th place. Free spending owner Arturo Moreno will certainly give management a lot of money to play with going forward. Avisail Garcia and Roberto Osuna are the best known prospects in a system that ranks 25th. The Angels are expected to finish 4th in the division, with a 74-88 record.


04/12/2013
Game 10 @ Los Angeles Angels
Today’s game shaped up to be a beauty, as Cole Hamels would face Clayton Kershaw in a battle between two of the best left-handed pitchers in the game. Hamels would pitch a complete game, finishing 9.0-9-3-3-0-6. Kershaw was outpitching Hamels in the first 6 innings of the game, but the wheels came off during a 5-hit, 5-run 7th inning. Evan Longoria hit a 3-runshot (#4), while Albert Pujols went 3 for 5 in a 3 RBI performance to go with home run number 3. Parra and Molina each had 2 hits, Chris Davis added another 2 walks.
LV 8 – LAA 3 (win 9-1)

04/13/2013
Game 11: @ Los Angeles Angels
Gerardo Parra went 3-5 with a run scored, Albert Pujols had a 2-3 night that included a double, RBI, run scored and 2 walks. Shin-Soo Choo hit his first home run on the season, a 3-run shot in the 8th. So the offense did it’s part, but starter Joe Kelly was pulled after only 3.1 innings, giving up 8 hits, 1 walk and 6 earned runs. Chris Parmelee went 2 for 5 with 2 HR’s and 6RBI.
LV 5 – LAA 11 (loss 9-2)

04/14/2013
Game 12: @ Los Angeles Angels
Max Scherzer had another dominant outing, going 7.0-4-0-0-3-10 for his third win of the season. Jeremy Affeldt pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief. On offense we got home runs from Albert Pujols (#4) and Jose Molina (#2), while De Aza, Choo and Phillips all got their first stolen base. Gutierrez, Choo and Tejada had 2 hits a piece.
LV 6 – LAA 0 (win 10-2)

League News:
Our own Albert Pujols was named American League Player of the Week after hitting .545 (12-22) with 2 home runs, 8 RBIs and 6 runs scored.
Matt Holliday of the Atlanta Braves was named NL Player of the Week. The 33-year-old left fielder had 12 hits in 23 at-bats with 1 home run and 8 RBIs.

Matt Kemp of the Milwaukee Brewers will miss 5 weeks becauseof a fractured hand, he was placed on the DL.

Power Rankings:
2nd with a score of 159 (Pittsburgh 160)

[BelgianBomber]

Las Vegas Aces (10-2) @ Oakland Athletics (2-11)

We swept the A's at home and now we are looking to repeat that performance on the road. The big budget A's have been struggling to start the season, but the quality is certainly there.

04/15/2013
Game 13: @ Oakland Athletics
Guthrie pitched rather well today, but he made some mistakes at crucial points in the game. He was pulled after going 5.2-8-6-6-1-4. The offense did rather well, as Brandon Phillips went 4-4 and Alejandro De Aza was 2-5 with a double, RBI and run scored.
LV 3 – OAK 6 (loss 10-3)

04/16/2013
Game 14: @ Oakland Athletics
For the second night in a row, our starter couldn’t get into his groove. Corbin was shelled for 6 earned runs in 3.2 innings. Capps and Affeldt gave us 4.1 scoreless innings in relief, but the damage had already been done. Longoria and Davis both had 2 hits and home runs #5 on the season. Parra and Tejada also had 2 hits in the game.
LV 4 – OAK 6 (loss 10-4)

League News:
Edwin Jackson of the Kansas City Royals put himself in the history books today. The 29-year-old righty threw a no-hitter against the Atlanta Braves today. Jackson walked only one batter and struck out seven. Jackson came very close to immortality, as he almost threw a perfect game. 8.2 innings of perfect baseball, untill Dave Sappelt drew a walk. A great performance none the less, but getting so close to perfection must hurt.

04/17/2013
Game 15: @ Oakland Athletics
Cole Hamels had a pretty solid outing, despite what the scoreboard said. Hamels went 7.1-5-4-4-2-8. Only giving up 5 hits, but 4 earned runs. He did a good job all night long, but made a couple of bad pitches at critical points during the game. Our offense had a total of 12 hits, but could only force one run across the plate on an Evan Longoria home run (#6). Shoo (3), Pujols (2), Davis (2) and De Aza (2) had multi-hit nights. Choo and Pujols both stole their 2nd base of the season.
LV 1 – OAK 3 (loss 10-5)

[BelgianBomber]

Cleveland Indians (8-8) @ Las Vegas Aces (10-5)


The Indians feature a very young rotation, but one that could be very very very good. Madison Bumgarner is the best of the bunch, but guys like Zack Wheeler, Daniel Hudson and Jeurys Familia should all be at least solid mid-rotation type of starters. The bullpen could be decent, but has too many question marks. The Indians will look for guys like Junichi Tazawa, Hideki Okajima and Steve Cishek to step up. On offense their is also a lot of upside, with guys like Giancarlo Stanton, Lonnie Chisenhall, Ben Revere, Oscar Taveras and Wilson Ramos. Veterans Victor Martinez and Dan Uggla are expected to mentor the young guys. It’s clear that the Indians are a couple of years away, but there is a lot of help on it’s way, with players like Taijuan Walker, Francisco Lindor, Oswaldo Arcia and Jesse Biddle in the system. That much youth means the Indians have a very low payroll, ranking 30th in the league at only 40.382 million. As would be expected, the preseason predictions for this young team weren’t all that great, with the Tribe expected to lose 90 games.


04/18/2013
Game 16: vs. Cleveland Indians
This was a marathon game that lasted almost 5 hours and 16 innings. Joe Kelly started the game and did a decent job, going 6.2-9-2-1-1-4. Affeldt, Kimbrel, Grilli and Edgin combined for 9.1 innings of scoreless relief as we edged out a win on a RBI double from Brandon Phillips. Gerardo Parra was 4-7 with a HR, double, 2 RBI and a run scored.
LV 3 – CLE 2 (16) (win 11-5)

League News:
The Tampa Bay Rays will be without ace Mat Latos for the next 3 months due to a torn triceps.

04/20/2013
Game 17: vs. Cleveland Indians
We started the game with back-to-back home runs from Phillips (#3) and Amarista (#1). The game would however be tied after 9 innings, as Oscar Taveras had an excellent outing, going 3-4 with 2 home runs, 3 RBI, 2 runs scored and a walk. Pitchers Max Scherzer (7.2-5-3-3-0-10) and Blake Beavan (7.1-8-3-3-1-2) were solid all night. Ryan Jackson took Josh Edgin deep in the 10th, to give Cleveland the lead. Junichi Tazawa pitched ascoreless inning and the handed us the loss.
LV 3 – CLE 4 (loss 11-6)

CHRIS DAVIS NEWS (update coming soon)

04/21/2013
Game 18: vs. Cleveland Indians
Our offense was able to come up with some key hits today to back up Jeremy Guthrie 's 7.0-4-3-3-3-3 performance. Phillips was 2-4 with 2 RBI and Jose Molina went 2-3 with a HR (#3), a walk, an RBI and 3 runs scored. Carter Capps retired the final 5 batters and was awarded his first save of the season.
LV 8 – CLE 3 (win 12-6)

Weekly Awards:
Bryce Harper of the Baltimore Orioles was named AL Player of the Week. The 20-year-old left fielder had 6 hits in 16 at-bats (.375) with 5home runs and 14 RBIs.
The St. Louis Cardinals’ Jimmy Rollins was awarded the National League Player of the Week award. The shortstop had 16 hits in 34 at-bats (.471) with 1 home run and 8 RBIs.

Power Rankings:
We drop to 3rd with 121 points. Pittsburgh (149) still leads while the New York Mets move up to second (136).

[BelgianBomber]

04/21/2013

The Las Vegas Aces confirmed that they have signed first baseman/designated hitter Chris Davis to a contract extension.

The 27-year-old Davis would have been eligible for arbitration after the season, but the team and player will not go through that process, after they agreed to a 6 year deal. The new contract gives Davis some security for his future, as he could earn up to 62.22million.

The annual salaries are said to be 8.76, 9.16, 10.55, 11.25, 11.25 and 11.25 million. The final year is a club option.

Considering the 12.375 million arbitration estimate, this deal has to be considered a steal for the Aces.

Upon hearing the news, fan interest increased slightly.