First "Stats Mostly" Team

[Thunder]

Sorry for a bit of a cross-post, but I wanted to start fresh as I have decided to give the dynasty theme a go.

Quick backstory: After playing on and off since OOTP9 always with real rosters via MLB quickstarts with all the info on the table and usually in commish mode, I went a different route.

I have done all these things for the first time and all in one game: Fictional League (24 teams with real team names in the 1969-76 MLB format, 5 levels of minors, 1 each per team), HS and College Feeders, turned off the Overall & Potential Ratings (used to use 20-80), turned off current skills (used to use 1-20) and have only left visible potential skills ratings on 2-8 scale.

Whew.

I picked the Red Sox and let it whip for five years to build up some history, taking over the team after the 2019 World Series. I inherited a team that went 61-101 and finished 57 games behind the Yankees. We had a .452 aggregate farm system winning percentage in ’19 and have 23 players in the organization with Very Low work ethic and 40 more with Low. And I’m in debt. Hooray.

Later I realized by choosing my team first and running 2015-19 in “do not disturb” mode, the 40-man roster wasn’t managed and the AI wouldn’t make trades, so my organization was extra-messy, but it is what it is and why not just go forward?

[Thunder]

Off season 2019-20

The first off-season was a massive undertaking as I start the process of weeding out lazy minor leaguers and low-grade major leaguers making over the minimum. The line-up I inherited with 2019 stats:

C: Wilson Garcia .272 avg.-4 HR/0.9 WAR
1B: Mike Bush .260-6/-1.2
2B: Tommy Lane .355 in 37 games (injured)
2B: Dong-po Yang .277-5/1.0
3B: Riccardo Martinez .296/1.8 (led hitters in WAR)
SS: carousal
LF: Lee Landis .267-26-70 RBI/-0.1
CF: Gary Lee .224-4/-0.7
RF: Julio Garcia .263-10/0.5
DH: Jim Rousch .263-18/0.4 (21 years old)

Lane is by far my best asset and at $18.4 mil/year, consumer of about one-third of my payroll. He’s pretty much the only guy I have who isn’t regarded as one of the worst player in the majors at his position. The position strength reports shows this (of 24 teams): C-20, 1b-22, 2b-19*, 3b-24, ss-22, lf-11, cf-24, rf-15. *-When he got off the DL, Lane was #2 at second base.

SP: Nick Parker 13-8, 2.78 ERA
SP: Jordan Greene 10-14, 4.29
SP: Steve Dillon 8-15, 4.48
SP: Lou Benjamin 7-13, 4.64
SP: Cristobal Ortiz 2-14, 6.34
RP: Taisuke Niura 68 IP, 21 Sv, 5.43
RP: Augusto Munoz 76 IP, 10 Sv, 2.49
RP: Jose Estrada 107 IP (8 starts), 4.46

AAA: Mostly overaged guys and those who did well don’t project as very much. Lee Zaragosa, 30, led the team with 3.1 WAR and he got most of his value on defense (.229-10 HR). Pitching had some guys who will compete for spots in Boston next year: Jesus Lugo (age 26; 11-9, 4.35), Mario Rosado (23; 4-10, 4.03), RP Julio Vallenueva (24; 66 IP, 2.70) and Stu Lester (23; 40 IP, 2.90 and 64 IP, 1.97 at AA).

AA: Much the same, 27 year-old RF Scott Murphy was the top offensive player at 3.1 WAR. SP Bryan Kelly (age 21; 10-11, 3.93) and RP Tom Gray (23; 66 IP, 1.76) are promising.

SP Arthur Dixon (21; 2.97 in 22 starts) was the most interesting guy from Class A.

The ace, Parker, just finished off a contract and I can’t afford to resign him. He’s ranked as the #9 SP, but I’ll have to settle for a compensation draft pick. The cupboard isn’t bare, it’s gone.

I make one big deal starting the re-build process, essentially trading away four starters: LF/CF Landis (who had been ROY in ‘15, but tumbled each year and is due $14.5 mil next season), C Garcia, 2B Young (expendable with Lane returning) and #3 SP Dillon, the toughest call to make seeing as how #1 is also gone, but I have to start the youth movement somewhere.

What we get back from San Diego:
3B Zach Vina, 26: Had 2.2 WAR in 97 games; will start.
SP Roberto Rivas, 25: 12-10, 3.36 at AAA, will get a shot
RP Ken Collins, 19, 3.51 at SA and RF Dennis Hogan, 21, 1.3 WAR at SA/R, long-term hopefuls.

[Thunder]

Year 1/2020

66-96, 40 GB, sixth place (last)

I was predicted for 56 wins, so I am about as happy as I can by while totally stinking.

My first-ever draft pick in my first-ever feeder league (#4 overall) is Will Atkinson, a 1B with a great glove, good power and good eye who hit .337 with 10 HR in 50 games at Gainsville College. I have the supplemental first-rounder (#22) for losing ace pitcher Nick Parker and grab Mark Hanson, who has three plus-pitches, touches 98 and had a 2.93 ERA in 11 starts at Ann Arbor College.

Tommy Lane broke down again and I got 63 games for my $18.4 mil. At least it was a really good 63 games (28 2b, 12 HR, 1.020 OPS, 3.5 WAR). My 3B acquisition Vina also broke and had 0.6 WAR in 51 games. I had only four other position players with at least 1.0 WAR:

DH Jim Rousch .320-14-91/1.9 WAR
LF Julio Garcia .274-15-51/1.2
C Marv Richardson .261-5-48/1.2
1B Dennis Mack .293-6-50/1.0

The pitching was about as good as could be expected.

SP Jordan Greene (6-18, 3.76) had no luck, but was a serviceable No. 1 on a bad team
SP Cristobal Ortiz (12-12, 4.25) was much-improved
SP Mario Rosado (8-9, 3.86) came out of the minors
SP Fernando Castro (9-10, 4.03) was an Opening Day waiver claim from KC
SP Cade O’Halloran (7-12, 5.14) was a $2.5 mil FA signing who was mediocre

SP Lou Benjamin (0-6, 5.35) was sent to Texas in July for 3A RP Tommy Landry (2.41 ERA) and we swapped low-level prospects with me giving up RF Dan Cochran, 20 (.222 in 20 games at SA after hitting .362 last year at R and .349 there this year) and getting Sy-ing Tseng (21, 3.91 in 5 starts at SA).

[Thunder]

2020 Farm report

AAA Pawtucket: 1B Dennis Mack, 22, (.289-7, 1.3 WAR) did well in 57 games at 3A before getting the call and producing about the same results in Boston. SP Bryan Kelly, 22, also got a shot after an amazing 1.29 ERA in 10 starts at Pawtucket. He went 0-4, 1 save in 60 big league innings (24 games, 7 starts), but had a 4.20 ERA.

AA New Britain: Arthur Dixon (22; 10-14, 4.26) continues to make progress and Roberto Morales, 24, had a 2.81 ERA in 90 relief innings.

The rest . . .

Single-A Winter Haven: RF Dennis Hogan, .338-15 HR/2.8 WAR
Short-A Greensboro 3B Will Barrera, 19, .336-12 HR/3.3 WAR
SA: 1B Will Atkinson, 20, .318-5, 39 2B in 69 games/2.5 WAR
SA: SP Mark Hanson, 20, 5-4, 3.41 in 14 starts
SA: Woodrow Jordan, 23, 5-0, 2.96 in 14 stars
R Elmira: Terry Tinsley, 22, doesn’t appear to be much of a prospect, but in his third year of rookie ball, hit .342 with 19 HR, so you never know.

Overall farm system winning percentage went backward to .442. Short-A Greensboro did win its division and LCS before dropping the championship series, 2-0.

All my minor league playoffs are best 2-of-3 with divisions that mach the majors . .four divisions, six team per divisions and four teams only in the post-season.

[darkcloud4579]

Interesting and love the idea of stats mostly. Been playing that way since you first posted about it.

[Thunder]

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

Interesting and love the idea of stats mostly. Been playing that way since you first posted about it.

The whole idea is getting some love on the board right now . . glad to be a part of it. I was kind of flat-lining with the game, probably due to overplaying earlier this summer, and needed a shake-up.

It's kind of odd seeing a guy at, say, CONT: 5 and it never moves, but he gets better, but that's part of the appeal; that's what you need the stats for. Pure Stats Only strikes me as unrealistic and a bit masochistic and I like this format.

Thanks for following and let me know how yours goes.

[Thunder]

2020-21 Off Season

I have to trade the injury-prone Lane and his $18.4M contract. I package him up with:
SS Arthur Duncan, 33 yo starter who hit .236
1B Mike Bush, 27, .251-5 HR as part-time player
SP Aaron Atkinson, 32, minor-league FA signing during the year who patched a hole at AA

For:
SP Jose Gonzalez, 25, two full seasons with STL: 15-7, 2.54; 12-12, 4.42. Becomes the ace by default.
IF/OF: Ron Palmer, 26, who is used mostly as an infielder but looks like a top-notch defender in RF and is slotted there. He split 2020 between 3A (.302) and St. Louis (.247).

O’Halloran, my failed #5 SP, also goes to St. Louis in another deal with throw-ins Rafael Valdez (5.34 ERA) and Rob Griffin (6.30 ERA at Pawtucket) for RP Geoffrey Maxwell (51IP, 2.08).

This year’s bottom of the barrel FA signing for the rotation is Paco Varella (41g/27gs, 5.30 ERA for Minnesota) at 1 mil for one year. Jim “Freak” Huff (.244 as a back-up OF in Detroit) is added for 950K and may start in CF.

C’mon guys, just keep me afloat until the kids get here!

[Thunder]

In season 2021

Five trades! I’m trying to get better one piece at a time and get rid of low/very low work ethic guys at the same time. Numbers are age and stats before and after the trade.

June 6 – To Bos
SS Bill Randolph, 26 (0.3 WAR in 16 Games) / (.240-6-38/0.4 WAR in 102G)
SP Kyle Lloyd, 21 (DNP) / (2.86 ERA in 15 GS at Short-A)

To NYY
SP Jordan Greene, 35 (0-11, 4.62 ERA in 12 GS) / (6-8, 5.82 ERA in 21 GS)
RP Henry Ballet, 32, inconsequential minor leaguer in his final season of pro ball

Normally I would not trade with my arch-rival, but we’re not rivals yet in this league. NY is in the middle of a four-year stretch where they will win 190 more games than we do. I’m giving them playoff support and they are giving me a prospect. And yes, Greene was winless when I moved him. He was the unluckiest guy I ever saw and he got five total runs of support in his first 10 starts. I am secretly hoping Greene sabotages the Yanks, but he doesn’t. NY wins the AL East by 15 games, Greene is bumped from the post-season rotation (6 IP, 2 ER in the post-season) and the Yanks win it all.

June 12 – To Bos
OF Bob Love, 29 (.276-6-29/0.5 WAR in 50G) / (.270-12-50/0.6 WAR in 97G)

To Philly
LF Julio Garcia, 25 (.207/-0.8 WAR in 61G) / (.247/0.1 WAR in 34G)
C John Campbell, 23 (1.3 WAR at Class A) / (1.3 WAR at Class 3A)
3B Brandon Warner, 21 (0.7 WAR at Class A) / (-1.2 WAR at Class A)

I’m a little bit ahead of where my write-ups are and I missed the mark on Campbell a bit. He went on to be the starting catcher in Philly . . . nothing too spectacular, two 96OPS+, 15 HR type seasons.

June 14 – To Bos
RP Ben Patella, 35 (6.28 ERA at 3A) / (29 IP, 11.17 ERA in Boston). Retired after season.

To Baltimore
3B Zach Fernandez, 32 (.231/-0.2 WAR in 21G) / Retired after 1.5 seasons in the minors
RF Rich Powell, 27 (.170/-1.3 WAR in 47G) / Not played in the majors since trade

Pretty much dumping two major-league contracts for one. I guess it saved about $300K, can’t see it did anything else.

July 9 – To Bos
S/RP Bob O’Boyle, 26 (24IP, 5.70 ERA) / (34 IP, 1.60)
2B Bill Wiltse, 23 (0.7 WAR in 73G at AA) / (0.8 WAR in 58G at AA)
$100K

To KC
LF Richard Austin, 23 (0.4 WAR in 47G at AA) / (1.0 WAR in 24G at AA; 0 WAR at 18G at A/3A)
RF Rob Carpenter, 24 (-1.7 WAR in 71G at 3A) / (0.7 WAR in 49G at A/AA/3A; 2-for-17 in KC)
RP Taisuke Niura, 30 (36IP, 7.07 ERA) / (12 IP, 1.46)
Bit players and we both got a reliever who did better after the trade.

July 30 – To Bos
SP Tom Massey, 24 (21GS, 3.78 at AAA) / (2GS, 3.86 at 3A; 7 GS, 1-4, 4.15 in Boston)
RP Jeffrey Morris, 24 (40 IP, 3.12) / (44 IP, 5.08)

To NYY
S/RP Fernando Castro, 29 (47G, 4 GS, 71 IP, 5.68) / (13 IP, 3.68)
S/RP Paco Varella, 29 (27G, 10GS, 83IP, 2-4, 3.90) / (21IP, 5.66)
RP Pete Robinson, 19 (6GS, 2.67 at R) / (7GS, 7.28 at R)
1B Pat Hines, 23 (.267, 27 HR, 2.5 WAR in 98 G at 3A) / (13 HR, 2.0 WAR in 45G at AA/3A)
3B Morris Jackson, 22 (.287, 11 HR, 3.3 WAR at 2A) / (13G, 0.2 WAR at 3A; 4-for-20 in NY)

Ridding myself of 4A quality pitchers, salary and two prospects with bad attitudes for (hopefully) better options for the future. Massey started a game where we beat the Yanks, which was cool. I think it was his one major league win.


The Draft
My first pick was #6 overall and it just wasn’t a great pick. I don’t know what happened.
I went with a HS pitcher Preston Clark, 17. He had a 3.98 ERA in High School in 2019, but was limited to 7 games due to a two-month injury. Then he didn’t pitch in ’20 or ’21; on the reserve roster I guess. Not sure what I was thinking, but his upside is still very good. He managed a 4.39 ERA in 12 starts at Rookie ball.

I always split my catching at the lower levels and third-round pick Brandon Caldwell, 21, went 44-for-94, .468 at Rookie. Going forward, the default level for college players is Short A instead of Rookie.

[Thunder]

Year 2; 2021

57-105, sixth place, 54 GB

A step back, nine wins fewer than last season. My payroll is impossibly small (the final number is $22,907,308 after some mid-season moves) and I about max out on scouting and development expenses. Pre-season prediction was for 60 wins and the Pythagorean projection was 62, so a bit of a downer. A lot of major leaguers are unhappy and the ones who want to win HIGH or VERY HIGH are just livid. At the end of the season, I spend way too much time peddling a couple of the unhappy spare parts for happy (for now) spare parts.

I guess I can just post a pic of the stats, so I’ll do that and just hit highlights here.

Hitting
3B Zach Vina (.20-20-74/5.0 WAR) turned out to be the player I traded for, RF Ron Palmer was decent (.273-9-43/2.8 WAR) and 1B Dennis Mack (.277-18-86) was solid with the stick. I have no depth and it shows in C Jimmy Roberts (.186 in 113 AB), OF Julio Garcia (.207 in 208 AB) and OF Rich Powell (.170 in 141 AB). Alberto Robles (4-for-40) and Paul Bartlett (4-for-36) don’t help much. We do improve to 637 runs scored from 584 in ‘19.

Pitching
Jose Gonzalez went to the top of the rotation (12-12, 4.42) and young Bryan Kelly (7-7, 4.14) made himself part of our future plans. Geoffrey Maxwell, acquired in a trade with St. Louis, has 29 saves, but a 4.98 ERA. The team ERA jumped from 4.29 last season to 4.84.

Defense
RF Palmer (+12.4 ZR) and 3B Vina (+11.9) are standouts and Huff proves solid in CF (+4.9). Back-up IF Tom Chester is a wiz at 2B (+5.5 in 50 games), but has a bleak .529 OPS. Mack is useless at 1B (-6.6).

[Thunder]

2021 Farm Report

Overall, the farm system perks up to an aggregate .479 winning percentage.

AAA: 1B Pat Hines, 23, (TRADED) leads the offense at .261-27-69/+2.5 WAR. The next three best position players are 28-29-30 years old and plug-in emergency call-up types. We’re still not deep here. Pitching highlights include SP Arthur Dixon, 23 (9-7, 3.49 in 19 GS), Roberto Rivas, 27 (10-13, 4.05), but I get the sense he’s kind of stalled, RP Errol Ferrell, 32 (68IP, 2.90 ERA, 33 Sv) could get a shot despite his age and Tommy Landry, 24 (89 IP, 3.64 ERA) was decent.

AA: Kuniaki Kiyomizu, 27, was an international free agent who wanted a minor league contract. He was probably ready for more, but he hit .288-10-74/4.1 WAR. Will Barrera, 20 has become my top prospect. He went .332-9-49/3.5 WAR in 72 games after .333-10-49/2.7 WAR in 58 Class A games. Right behind is 1B Will Atkinson who drives in 110 runs (.300-11-63/1.9 WAR at AA and .300-10-47/1.9 WAR at A). My deepest team that also includes SS Howard Thomas (age 22, 3.0 WAR), CF Duncan Reynolds (24, 2.8), CF Ben Newman (23, 2.7) and 1B Ambukum Gljian (23, 2.7). SP Kyle Walls (9-6, 3.35 in 28 GS) is 25 and might just be successful because of his experience, but he’s on the radar. Dixon had a 2.10 ERA in 10 starts before going to Pawtucket.

The rest
Class A LF Brian James , 23, .287-15-72/4.4 WAR
A CF Ron Callahan, 24, .279/3.2 WAR
A SP Sy-ing Tsang, 22, 7-9, 3.46 ERA
A SP Chris Lyons, 19, 8-8, 3.20
Short A 3B Adam Menichelli, 21, .323-4-14, 1.4 WAR
SA SP Kyle Lloyd, 21, acquired from NYY, 1-2, 2.85 in 15 GS/71 IP
SA SP Nelson Kerrick, 23, 6-3, 2.50 in 54 IP
R LF Tony Stafford, 20, .329-15-62/3.3 WAR
R 3B Ophik Mkhitarov, 20, .385-7-46/3.2 WAR
R CF James Hooper, 19, .396-3-21/2.7 WAR

[Thunder]

2021-22 Off season

First big trade of the winter on Nov. 9
To Bos
SS Bruce Wilson, 25, .289-9-58/2.9 WAR, +4.1 ZR
RP Craig Brown, 24, 84IP, 3.00 ERA
LF Luis Gonzalez, 27, .284-14-55. Gold Glove winner. A most curious couple years in Cleveland. He won the GG in 2019, but had a .645 OPS. He went back to 3A in 2020, but got used as a corner infielder. Back to Cleveland this past year and back to winning the Gold Glove in RF. Strange.

To Cle
2B Tom Chester, 29, .232 as a back-up. Is allowed to become a FA four days after the trade and never plays again.
CF Duncan Reynolds, 24, .339-10 HR at Class A/.354-7 at AA
SS Bill Randolph, 26, .240-6 HR as the starter. Disappointing -1.6 ZR.
LF Rob Love, .29, 270-12 HR in 97 games after being acquired in mid-season. Also sub-par on defense (-2.7 ZR).
RP Jose Estrada, 25, 4.91 ERA in swingman role

Reynolds is tough to part with, but you have to give up something good to get something good back. Plus he was a little old for the levels and doesn’t project to keep hitting like that. Randolph and Love are out of Boston almost as quickly as they arrived . . . just flailing about searching for the right parts.

Dec. 1: Take a shot with a 37 year-old veteran free agent Manuel Soto for 1.2 mil to fit in at the back end of the rotation (4.91 ERA in 2020). In July he is 1-8, 7.83 and I plan on eating whatever is left on his contract when I waive him. Much to my delight, he is claimed by Cleveland (40 IP, 5.90 ERA there).

Dec. 1: Select CF Mal Van Dam, 29, in the Rule 5 Draft from KC, who two weeks earlier had given Van Dam an 850K bonus to sign a minor league contract. Sorry Royals! He was coming off a .237, +0.9 WAR season, but had averaged 3.5 WAR for three prior seasons. For 507K, I can hope he reverts to form.

Dec. 4: With money to spend, I open the vault for 27 year-old Japanese catcher Shohei “Ogre” Kurihara to the tune of five years, $63 mil with a team option after that. For settings, I have eight international FA per year, but no international amateur FAs. It just annoys me to have all that bidding and re-bidding when I’m deep into a season. So I have my International scouting set at 0. I really hope OSA is good on this guy.

[Thunder]

Year 3/2022
In Season

May 11 Trade (stats before and after)
To Bos
1B Garry Reese, 26, .345-9 HR, 1.2 WAR in 34 G / .297-16, +1.1 in 129 G
OF Matt Gilbert, 26, sub-par hitter who bats .224 at Pawtucket with +17 ZR. He goes 1-for-4 as a Sept. call-up, then wants major-league money. Bye Matt.

To Tex
1B Jim Rousch, 24, .282-1HR, -0.2 WAR in 33 G / .296-18, +1.6 in 95 G
Reese was a defensive upgrade at first, which was the point, but it turns out to be only a few runs a year and kind of a big wash.
LF/RF Ed Howard, 23, Had a .406 OBP with 16 HR last year at AA, but is a brutal OF who put up a -13 ZR. Off to a slow start, hitting just .191 in 13 games at 3A. After the trade? A sad saga.

The sad saga of Ed Howard: Despite defensive shortcomings, he established himself as a prospect at AA in 2021, hitting .279 with 31 doubles, 16 homers and 101 walks. Off to a slow start at 3A he is sent to the Texas Rangers on May 11. The Rangers see his potential, bring him to the majors and start him in his first major-league game that very day. On May 12, he injures his elbow making a throw and will be out 4-5 months. Being an active defender must be too much for him. Somehow in just 12.1 big-league innings, he already had one assist to go with two putouts. Still, in that short stint he manages a -1.4 ZR and a .533 defensive efficiency. How many hits fell in front of him? The word comes down at the end of August; his career is over. He finishes 0-for-5 with three whiffs.

June 19 – To Bos
2B Jim Stevenson, .306, 1.4 WAR in 68 G / .286 1.2 WAR, 37 2b in 89 G

To Tex
3B Zach Vina, 29, .299-4, 1.5 WAR in 68G / .276-3, 0.8 WAR in 87 G
2B Ricardo Martinez, 29, -0.6 WAR in 26 G / 0.1 WAR in 19 G
RP Sam Stewart. 31, 34 IP, 8.39 ERA / 70 IP, 4.76 ERA

Vina is ranked as the #6 3B in the majors, but may be dropping off and I need to fill a weakness. The other piece of the puzzle works out as 22 year-old uber-prospect Will Barrera (.969 OPS in 3A) hits .299 with nine HR in 90 big-league games at third.

The Draft
We had the worst team in baseball last year and as such, pick first overall. After scouring and scouring and thinking and thinking, we invest a $9 million signing bonus in 20 year-old RHP Claude “Hoover” Lowe. He went 4-0 with a 3.12 ERA in 10 starts for Gainsville College, but it was his weakest of three collegiate seasons. Previously he was the two-time Eastern U.S. College Pitcher of the Year with ERAs of 1.40 and 1.72 and a 10-4 total record. I assign him to full-season Class A and he shines, going 5-1 with a 2.98 ERA in 16 starts. He makes two post-season starts with one win and a 2.38 ERA to lead the Winter Haven Red Sox to the Continental League Championship.

Everything seems to be falling into place.

[Thunder]

Year 3/2022
70-92, sixth, 30 GB

Still last, but a big step toward respectability, though two wins below projection.

International Free Agent catcher Shohei “Ogre” Kurihara hits .163 in May and I wonder what I have done. But Ogre is a near-beast after that and hits .267 with 22 HR, 82 RBI, a 105 OPS+ and wins AL ROY. A bit of an overspend perhaps, but I had the worst catching in the league. Now I don’t.

Hitting
1B Dennis Mack, 24, blossoms with a .325-33-108/+4.3 WAR season. As mentioned, Will Barrera, 21, came up to fill 3B nicely (.299-9 HR/+2.2 WAR in 90 games). Rule 5 pick-up Mal Van Dam was decent (.267-14 HR) but a little sub-par in CF (-3 ZR) and is gone when he wants a big multi-year deal. Still a long way to go, but we improve from 637 runs scored to 656.

Pitching
Jose Gonzalez (9-10, 3.77) and Tom Massey (10-12, 3.38) are solid on top, but Bryan Kelly (1-7, 6.49) has an injury-plagued season and takes a big step back. ERA drops from 4.84 to 4.48 (or maybe 4.50, my index page and team stats have two different numbers). Runs allowed drops from 830-775.

Defense
RF Ron Palmer (+21.1 ZR) and LF Luis Gonzalez (+14.5) win Gold Gloves. The middle infield is weak with 2B Jim Stevenson (-2.8) and SS Bruce Wilson (-3.4).

[Thunder]

2022 Farm Report

Big progress as the system produces a .536 aggregate winning percentage and Class A Winter Haven wins the Continental League. Every team but Rookie League Elmira (31-37) goes over .500.

3A 1B Ambakum Gljian, 24: .267-21-75, 2.6 WAR
3A 1B Will Atkinson, 22: .301-19-48/2.5 WAR in 82 G
(AA: .333-13-56/3.3 in 62 G)
3A SP Roberto Rivas, 28: 8-9, 3.30 ERA, the best of a journeyman lot
3A RP Ken Collins, 22: 8-5, 3.84 ERA in 75 IP

2A CF Bryan James, 24: .283-15-75, 3.1 WAR
2A SP: Chris Lyons, 20: 8-10, 4.39 in 28 GS
2A SP: Kyle Lloyd, 22: 7-2, 3.08 in 15 GS (13GS, 2.77 at Class A)

A 1B Terry Tinsley, 24: .344-16-55, 3.6 WAR
A LF Myron Smith, 22: .324-4-54, 2.6 WAR
A SP Bobby Banks, 24: 12-6, 3.73 ERA
A SP: Claude Lowe, 20: 5-1, 2.98 in 16 GS
A SP: Mark Hanson, 22: 3-4, 3.38 in 10 GS (16 GS, 3.48 at Short-A)

SA CF Tony Stafford, 21: .315-11-51/+3.1 WAR
SA SP Ryan Winston, 21: 6-3, 3.39 in 14 GS
R LF Jorge Nunez, 21: .310-8-27, 1.030 OPS

[darkcloud4579]

Solid update style. Keep plugging away.

[Breckinridge]

Following this dynasty.....really enjoying your rebuilding process....

Regards,
Breck

[Thunder]

Thanks guys. I kind of write it how I'd like to read it if it were someone else's . . . mostly just the highlights, with the occasional friendly reminder of who guys are. Personally, I'd rather be going through the day-to-day grind with my own team than read about every little thing from someone else's game.

Haven't said much about "Stats mostly" since the beginning, so here's the GM perspective in a nutshell.

3rd round draft pick, out of college, 21 years old

Year 1: Scouting potential is Cont: 5, Power: 4, Eye: 4
Rookie ball: 1.102 OPS; Short-A .807.
Probably too advanced for Rookie Ball coming out of college, did fine at SA, guess he's ready for A-ball.

Year 2: Still scouts at 5/4/4, .746 OPS in full-season A.
Ok, I wouldn't think a 22 year-old in his first season of pro ball would be close to max ratings, but he's probably not close to being close. But I don't actually know.

Year 3, 4/4/4: .683 OPS at Class-A. One drop in his potentials, hmmmm. He'll be 24, can't keep him in A any more. We'll give him a make or break year at AA.

Year 4, 4/4/5: .803 OPS at 2A. Scouting bump and he's essentially where he started and did well . . guess he developed. Or it could be totally random! But it looks good for him.

Year 5, 4/4/5: .827 at 3A through mid-season.

So there's a typical guy. His scouting, except for a +1 and a -1, remains the same and his current ratings may be evolving. Based on the stats, I'd say they have.

Now, make the same kind of evaluations with the same limited info times 100 times every year.

Me like.

[Thunder]

2022-23 offseason

Oct. 24: Bite down hard and swing a blockbuster, trading two minor league pitchers who were drafted #4 and #6 overall for a CF who made his major league debut at 19, hitting .348 in 23 games. It takes me a whole day, a night’s sleep and some message board feedback to decide to pull the trigger.

To Bos
CF Kel Leahy, 19: .388, 11 2b, 10 3b in 64 Class A games; .262 average in 11 2A games; .348 with six doubles in his four-week stint in the majors. Also plays a great CF. His place on the annual prospect lists has slipped (2021-#5, 2022-#8 and he would be 2023-#10), but my scout and I absolutely love him. In “Stats Mostly” mode, I keep only potential ratings on from 2-8 and he’s the rare Contact 8 and has three 7s for OF defense abilities with CF-6/RF-5 for skill.

RP Hayden Cole, 29: Had a 5.59 ERA at 3A, but 3.87 the year before. A bit part with some popularity, every bit of which I could use to bump the bleak financials.

$5 million. I still don’t entirely get the role of cash in OOTP, but more has to be better.

To Montreal (oh boy, a lot)
SP Chris Lyons, 20: Drafted No. 4 overall in 2019 (the year before I took over). 8-10, 4.39 ERA in Double-A. The #3 minor-league prospect in baseball. My scout – Excellent across the board and I have near-max scouting spending – thinks he’s good, but not quite as good as OSA.

SP Preston Clark, 18: The No. 6 overall pick in 2021 by me, but not a great pick. Had a 4.39 ERA in his debut season at Rookie ball, but was 1-7, 8.25 at Short-A this year.

S/R Bob O’Boyle, 27: Had a 4.45 ERA in 92 innings in swingman role.

RP Alex Lee, 18: A 19th round draft pick with the upside of a typical 19th round draft pick, which is to say, almost none, but he’s in the final “make it work” list, so away he goes. Never mind that it’s been less than a year since I drafted him and I have the option which prevents this from happening checked, it’s a deal!

Oct. 26 – To Bos

CF Bob Myers, 27: Sub-.600 OPS in 3A. It was either release the four guys I gave up or get a minor-league roster filler for them. I went for the warm body who had one more year of pro ball in him as he did little at 2A/3A.

To San Fran
RP Craig Brown, 25: Injured, 17 IP, 6.75 ERA

RP Stu Lester, 26: 73IP, 4.28 ERA

I get rid of two bad guys (the team is happy to see Brown go) who are both arb-eligible and would cost about $2.5 mil total to keep. Back-up catcher Marv Richardson and RF Francisco Gaetan are throw-ins, but SF likes them as much as I do. They are both released and neither one ever plays again.

Essentially, a waste of time to even write

[Thunder]

Year 3/2023
In Season

For the first time, no in-season trades. Things are going that well!

After inheriting a system full of bad guys - 23 guys with Very Low work ethic and 40 with Low - I am down to one Very Low/three Low.

The Draft
SS Milard Dixon, 21, #8 overall out of Stillwater College. He was selected #27 overall last year by Milwaukee, but didn’t sign and went back to school for his senior year. Put up a .900 OPS and 3.5 WAR in the 50-game season. Great infield tools (Range and Arm both 7 potential on 2-8 scale) and already has the skills to play 2b, ss or 3b.

SP Rafael Garcia, 17: I like my second pick as well, out of Miami HS. Averaged a 2.80 ERA and 10.7 K/9 the past two years.

[Thunder]

Year 4/2023
86-76, 2nd place, 19 GB

We’re a real team! There was no running down Cleveland and its 105 wins, but I have a truly exciting season. I thought having sole possession of second place on May 23 (25-21, 9 GB) was amazing and that it wouldn’t last. My record peaked at 68-54 on Aug. 19 after a seven-game win streak, but that was followed by a six-game losing streak. Lots of ups and down, but overall it was great.

Cleveland was actually predicted to win the same number of games I was (86, I matched it) and NY was predicted first at 89, but the Yanks slogged their way to 83-79.

Late in the season, Claude Lowe makes his major League debut, about 15 months after being drafted No. 1 overall. He goes 6.2 shutout innings in a win and allows two runs over seven innings in a no decision in his other start. Thoughts of being a playoff contender next year are already strong in my head.

Hitting
Kel Leahy, 20, is the goods. He hits .350 with a league-high 51 doubles, 11 triples, 41 steals (20 CS), 7.6 WAR, is an All-Star, wins the Silver Slugger and Rookie of the Year.
3B Will Barrera misses time with an injury, but still manages .308-20-65/3.0 WAR in 107 games. DH Dennis Mack (.288-16-73) and C Shohei Kurihara (.271-21-63) keep chugging along and we score 748 runs, way up from 656.

Pitching
Jose Gonzalez (15-9, 3.73) does well at the top and the development of Tom Massey (13-7, 3.03) gives us a solid 1-2. Bryan Kelly (9-5, 2.83) has a strong bounceback season in a split role and looks like a solid piece of the rotation going forward. The bullpen remains iffy and was led by Jeffrey Morris (68 IP, 3.97, 41 saves) and Geoffrey Maxwell (64 IP, 3.82). Totals are 716 runs allowed and a 4.24 ERA, improvements over 775/4.50.

Defense
I have a historically great OF with LF Luis Gonzalez (+22.8 ZR), CF Kel Leahy (+23.8) and RF Ron Palmer (+17.4). Gonzalez and Palmer win Gold Gloves. Palmer is problematic though as he hit .219 with a .584 OPS and wound up +0.6 WAR. No doubt our improved defense had a lot to do with our success, but I have to think I can live with a little trade-off there and get some offense in right. 2B Jim Stevenson (+1.4) and SS Bruce Wilson (+6.8) come back to acceptable levels.