The Tortured Sports City of San Diego

[captaincoop17]

Based off of this thread, it appears the Padres are in the worst spot right now as a team. When AJ Preller took over the team a couple seasons ago, I loved how aggressive he was with acquiring players and trying to get his team to win now. Unfortunately it hasn't worked out for him and he's had to back track, selling off pieces to help build up the farm.

Since the Cavs just won the NBA Finals, it now leaves San Diego as the city in most need of a title. With the Chargers trying to leave town, it's up to the Padres to bring home the title. ESPN had an interesting article on San Diego and other sports cities in dire need of a championship:

Sports Misery Index - Cleveland passes crown of most tortured fans to San Diego, Buffalo

With that, I'll be taking over the Padres and giving them the overhaul they so desperately need here in OOTP. San Diego has been through quite a few rebuilds, hopefully this will be their last

[captaincoop17]

The technical side of this dynasty...

1-10 Rating Scale, Scouting on "Normal"
Coaches and Owner Goals OFF

1.000 Batter and Pitcher Developing Speed
.7500 Batter and Pitcher Aging Speed

• Designated Hitter in BOTH leagues. (MLB needs to increase offensive output)
• 35 Round Draft, Signing Bonuses OFF for now.
• League Minimum lowered from $507,500 to $500,000 to make for easier math.
• $25,000,000 CASH MAX
• League Evolution OFF (I'll manually expand if necessary).
• All-Star Game does NOT determine World Series home field advantage.

Along with the MLB, I have also added the Nippon League, Korean League, and Cuban League. Both the Nippon and Korean League have adjusted financial systems. Players from these leagues will now go through arbitration and enter free agency after 6 seasons, like the MLB. The Cuban League doesn't have a free agency system, but players may defect from the island like they do in real life!

That's most of the general stuff. Since I've played a few dynasties in OOTP 17 already, I've also decided to wipe the default IFA class and all the default draft classes that come with the game. All IFA's and Draft Pools will be completely generated so I don't know the future or have any advantage with how players develop.

Next up will be my initial organization overview...

EDIT: The Rule 5 Draft is also turned off. The AI doesn't handle this very well and it's too easy to pluck talent that will in turn speed up any rebuild.

[captaincoop17]

First up, let's break down the Major League team and my financials/scouting.

Right now my scout is Mark Connor. He has 5 years of experience and scouts players pretty well. Unfortunately he favors tools and I prefer a "neutral" scout. Best of luck Mr. Connor with your future, but I'll be looking for a different scout.

We have a budget of $150M and our current payroll is $105M. I'm gonna try to cut some payroll in an effort to put the money towards scouting and player development.

Now a look at this "Major League" roster...

Pitching Staff
SP Tyson Ross (28, 4.5/4.5*, $9,625,000) 10-12, 3.26 ERA (2015) Verdict: SELL
Tyson Ross is a very good pitcher, probably a number 2 on a good team and we will sell him off as such. With him being in arbitration and us entering full rebuild mode, we don't have much need for him and should sell while his value is high.

SP Andrew Cashner (29, 3.5/3.5*, $7,150,000) 6-16, 4.34 ERA (2015) Verdict: SELL
We love Cashner's live arm and 95-97 MPH fastball, but he's always struggled to get the results you'd expect. If we were in a win now mode, I would likely move Cashner to the bullpen where his stuff would likely play better.

SP James Shields (34, 3.5/3.5*, $21,000,000) 13-7, 3.91 ERA (2015) Verdict: SELL
James Shields is a workhorse who will give you a ton of effective innings, but with his age and salary, we need to move him while we can. There just isn't much need for him on this team when we're looking to get younger and try different guys out at the Major League level.

SP Drew Pomeranz (27, 0.5/1.5*, $1,350,000) 5-6, 3.66 ERA (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Pomeranz is in the same boat with Cashner, not getting the results you'd expect with his stuff. Pomeranz is younger and cheaper though, so I'll be hanging on to him for now. From what I see, Pomeranz only has 2 good pitches with an iffy 3rd, I'm gonna move him to the bullpen where he'll hopefully shine.

SP Brandon Morrow (31, 0.5/0.5*, $507,500) 2-0, 2.73 ERA (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Morrow has flashed some brilliance in his career and we'll give him a chance to hopefully show it again. Right now, we probably won't get much, if anything for him, so we're gonna keep him and let him eat up some innings.

RP Tayron Guerrero (25, 1/3*, $507,500) No Major League stats (2015) Verdict: DEMOTE
We love Guerrero's live arm, but we don't think he's quite big league ready yet. Guerrero will start 2016 in AAA where we will try to stretch him out as a starter.

RP Luis D. Perdomo (22, 0.5/1*, $507,500) No Major League stats (2015) Verdict: KEEP
The Padres grabbed Perdomo in the Rule 5 Draft from the Cardinals and we'll give him every opportunity to prove himself at the big league level. With three of our current starters likely on the move, Perdomo is gonna find himself in the rotation very soon.

RP Matt Thornton (39, 0.5/0.5*, $507,500) 2-0, 2.18 ERA (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Thornton was once a very effective lefty specialist. Somehow, at the age of 39 he's still able to pump it up to the mid-90's and get guys out. He'll stick in our young bullpen and hopefully mentor some of the guys we will be using this year. If Thornton can put up some good numbers for us early on, we may try to move him at the deadline to a contender.

RP Brandon Maurer (25, 1/1*, $507,500) 7-4, 3.00 ERA (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Maurer was once a top flight pitching prospect for the Mariners, but has since fizzled out and finds himself in our bullpen. He's still young and controllable, so we are gonna let him go to work for us. Ideally, he settles into a late inning role and help us close out wins. If that doesn't work, we may try to stretch him out to start again.

RP Carlos Villanueva (32, 2/2*, $1,500,000) 4-3, 2.95 ERA (2015) Verdict: SELL
Villanueva has been a great swing man his entire career, pitching mostly out of the bullpen, but also making starts when needed. It seems like he's been around forever, but he's only 32 years old. We're gonna shop him around early on, but if there isn't an offer we like, we'll hold onto him.

RP Kevin Quackenbush (27, 3.5/4, $507,500) 3-2, 4.01 ERA (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Quackenbush is our closer of the future and will likely start closing out games by the end of this year or at the start of next. If our rebuild starts to look like it'll take longer than we'd like, we may have to shop Quackenbush around.

CL Fernando Rodney (39, 1.5/1.5*, $1,600,000) 15 saves, 5.68 ERA (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Rodney had a rough year last year between Seattle and Chicago, hopefully he can regain that lights out form and we can sell him off at the deadline.

Starters
C Derek Norris (27, 4/4*, $2,925,000) .250-14-62, 2.0 WAR (2015) Verdict: KEEP
We have two great defensive catching prospects in Bethancourt and Hedges, but we prefer an offensively minded catcher. Given Norris' relative young age, he may be around for a few years with us.

1B Wil Myers (25, 3/4.5*, $507,500) .253-8-29, 1.5 WAR (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Myers can hit the crap out of the ball, but injuries early on in his career have held him back. If he can stay healthy for us, he's gonna be a big part of our team going forward. He's also super athletic and we aren't gonna let an athlete like him play first base. Expect Myers to shift back to the outfield.

2B Cory Spangenburg (25, 4/4.5*, $507,500) .273-4-21, 1.3 WAR Verdict: KEEP
Spangenburg has great speed, makes contact, and plays good defense at second base. Spangenburg will likely hit leadoff for us and should still be around when we turn things around as a team. Just like Quackenbush and Norris though, we may have to move Spangenburg if we aren't satisfied with where our rebuild is.

3B Yangervis Solarte (28, 3.5/3.5*, $507,500) .270-14-63, 2.8 WAR (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Solarte is a weaker hitting third basemen, but still does a good job. We're gonna keep him around for now, but he may be on the move if he puts up a repeat performance of last year.

SS Alexei Ramirez (34, 4.5/4.5*, $4,000,000) .249-10-62, 0.0 WAR (2015) Verdict: SELL
Alexei has had a very solid career so far and finds himself in San Diego after having a down year in Chicago last year. He's got a great glove and usually puts the ball in play, but he's also a free swinger and doesn't take too many walks.

LF Jon Jay (31, 3/3*, $6,225,000) .210-1-10, -0.6 WAR (2015) Verdict: SELL
Jay has great speed and plays a good centerfield. On a contender he's a very good bench bat and we're gonna sell him off as such.

CF Melvin Upton, Jr. (31, 3/3*, $15,450,000) .259-5-17, 1.1 WAR (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Melvin has struggled since he signed his big free agent deal with the Braves a few years back. Now that he's in San Diego though, he's been able to show flashes of what used to make him so brilliant. Given his contract, it'll be tough to move him, so we're gonna let him play it out and see if he can completely regain form.

RF Matt Kemp (31, 3.5/3.5*, $21,500,000) .265-23-100, 3.4 WAR (2015) Verdict: SELL
The Dodgers had a very crowded outfield and that left Kemp as the odd man out, landing him in division rival San Diego. Kemp is a great, slightly overpaid player who could help a lot of teams. We won't be looking for much, but Kemp is one of our better assets to move.

DH Alexei Amarista (26, 1/1*, $1,300,000 .204-3-30, -1.0 WAR (2015) Verdict: KEEP
With the National League adding the Designated Hitter, it'll likely be a revolving door for the Padres here. Amarista will get first crack at it, but expect guys like Brett Wallace and Jose Pirela to also appear here to get their at bats in.

Bench
C Christian Bethancourt (24, 4/4.5*, $507,500) .200-2-12, -0.7 WAR (2015) Verdict: SELL
Bethancourt is an excellent defensive catcher, but we prefer an offensively minded catcher. Other teams do value a catcher like him though and hopefully we can get a good return for him. If he weren't out of options, I might consider keeping him and seeing if the bat would develop some more.

1B Brett Wallace (29, 1.5/1.5*, $1,000,000) .302-5-16, 1.0 WAR (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Another once top prospect, we're gonna take the flyer on Wallace and maybe he'll show some of the promise he once had. With Myers moving back to the outfield, Wallace may end up being our starting first basemen.

2B Jose Pirela (26, 2/2.5*, $507,500) .230-1-5, -0.2 WAR (2015) Verdict: KEEP
Pirela came from the Yankees and his ability to play multiple positions should help us off the bench. He's also still young, so we're gonna sprinkle in some starts for him to see what he can do.

CF Travis Jankowski (24, 1/3*, $507,500) .211-2-12, -0.1 WAR (2015) Verdict: DEMOTE
A former 1st Round pick out of Stony Brook, Jankowski gives us great speed and the ability to make a lot of contact. We're gonna send him back down to AAA for some more seasoning and so he gets more consistent playing time. He should be back up by mid-season and into our starting lineup hopefuly.

With a couple weeks until Opening Day, it's time to get to work and start making moves!

[captaincoop17]

Like I said, it's gonna get a lot worse here in San Diego before it gets better

Hopefully the Padre fans can put up with it for just a couple more seasons, because I'm promising a World Series title before I'm done here!

From my previous post, I listed a few guys who I'm looking to sell off:

SP Tyson Ross
SP Andrew Cashner
SP James Shields
MR Carlos Villanueva
SS Alexei Ramirez
LF Jon Jay
RF Matt Kemp
C Christian Bethancourt

I'll be looking for good returns with Ross, Cashner, Kemp, and Bethancourt. The rest I'm just looking to get a couple fringe prospects for, who may or may not pan out. Moving James Shields may be the toughest of the above and including a prospect or two might be necessary to get his money off the books.

We're also in the market for a new scouting director, so I've offered Logan White a 5 year, $5M contract. The sooner he signs on with us, the sooner I can get to work moving the above guys.

[captaincoop17]

On March 29th, 2016 Logan White inked his contract to become the new San Diego Padres scouting director.

My first move with White as scouting director is to shop around James Shields and see what kind of deals are out there. A few teams made an offer for James, but it appeared the Detroit Tigers had the most interest. Their initial offer was a 25-year old outfield prospect from Double A named Wynton Bernard. Bernard possess' good speed, makes contact, and can play all three outfield spots. Also, while negotiating with the Tigers I saw a starting pitcher on their Double A affiliate who I liked as well, SP Austin Kubitza. Along with giving up SP James Shields, I dealt the Tigers RP Jon Edwards (28 years old, mid 90's fastball, struggles with control) and CF Austin Bousfield (AA).



Both Kubitza and Bernard will be assigned to Double A San Antonio. Kubitza will pitch out of the rotation and Bernard will start in left field in an effort to get his ratings their up.

[captaincoop17]

Next up, we've got a few more guys to move off of the books. We'll start with Matt Kemp...

The Red Sox, Angels, Yankees, Mets, Giants, and Nationals all expressed interest in Kemp. Of those teams, the Giants had the most interest and showed it with their offer. They offered SP Adalberto Mejia (AA) straight up for Kemp, but they also had some other arms I liked in their system.

Along with Mejia, I received SP Tyler Beede (AA) and SP Kyle Crick (AA). Both are former first round picks for the Giants, with Beede still on the incline and Crick struggling to figure things out. They each throw 93-95 off the hill, but have command issues. Last year in Double A, Crick struck out 73 in 63 innings, but also walked a staggering 66! Beede faired a little better last year in Double A, walking 35 in 72 innings. Regardless of the control issues, I love live arms and I'll take the risk of them never figuring it out... Crick was a throw in for this deal anyway.

In order to get both Beede and Crick with Mejia, we had to give up one of our top middle infield prospects, 2B Luis Urias (A), and RP Angel Acevedo (Rk).



LF Jon Jay, SS Alexei Ramirez, and RP Carlos Villanueva could all help a contender off the bench and out of the bullpen, so I'm looking to package them all together to one team. With the Seattle Mariners in a win now mode and GM Jerry Dipoto looking to get the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2001.

Dipoto seemed pretty interested in the idea of getting all three players so we moved forward with negotiations. The Mariners don't have very many top flight prospects, so anything we'd be getting will by a flyer. LF Tyler O'Neill (AA) interested us the most with his light towering power, but also scares us because of his very high swing and miss rate. We could be looking at a Chris Carter or Mark Reynolds type player, which isn't ideal, but the upside to develop into a middle of the order hitter is enough to take the gamble. Since Dipoto is also a fan of O'Neill, I had to actually toss in one of my lower end top prospects, SS Franchy Cordero (A+). Cordero has great speed and is a wizard in the field. His bat also seems to be coming around, but it's not their quite yet.

As you can see here with the below screenshot, O'Neill is ranked as the #173rd prospect in the MLB, likely ranking so low because of his strikeout rate.



Still need to find new homes for SP Tyson Ross, SP Andrew Cashner, and C Christian Bethancourt, but each has a high price tag and will be taken care of next.

[captaincoop17]

In real life, the White Sox got SP James Shields from the Padres. He hasn't worked out very well...

Here I offered them SP Tyson Ross, who would be a great fit behind SP Chris Sale, and help the "Win Now!" White Sox, who are now in the shadow of the cross town rival Cubs. By acquiring Ross, the White Sox now have a very formidable rotation which should carry them all season.

In return for my ace Ross, the White Sox will be sending me three pitching prospects; CL Matt Purke (AAA), SP Tyler Danish (AA), and SP Spencer Adams (A+). Purke is a former Nationals 1st Round pick out of TCU who once had what looked like ace potential, he's the weakest of the three arms I acquired, but looks like he could be pretty effective out of the bullpen. Danish was selected by the White Sox in the 2nd Round of the 2013 draft and has middle of the rotation potential. He sits in the low 90's with a solid three-pitch mix and has a good work ethic. Spencer Adams is the top guy I received in the package for Ross. Throwing in the mid-nineties and with 3 above average pitches, the 19-year old Adams has the look of a future ace. Adams is the farthest off of the three guys I received for Ross, but has the highest upside and will fit nicely into our rebuild.

[captaincoop17]

C Christian Bethancourt and SP Andrew Cashner each found their new homes today. Bethancourt is heading back to Atlanta and Cashner is heading to Pittsburgh, where'll he hopefully help them avoid the one-game Wild Card playoff.

In exchange for Bethancourt, we are actually bringing one of our former prospects back, CF Mallex Smith (AA). Both Smith and Bethancourt are supreme defenders with weak bats. Smith may also be the fastest player in baseball, so if everything breaks right for him, he may our leadoff man of the future.



The Pirates originally offered a couple different upper minor league arms for Cashner, each who I liked a little bit. After starting negotiations with them we went after SP Chad Kuhl (AAA), who they would swap straight up for Cashner. I wanted a little more for Cashner since he has the potential to be a top of the rotation starter. SP Mitch Keller (Rk) looks like he has pretty good stuff, but is pretty far off still, since he's only 19 years old. In order to get Keller, we had to give up our prospect who is similar to Keller, SP Mayky Perez (SS-A).

[captaincoop17]

Here's a better look at all the prospects I've been able to acquire so far...

[captaincoop17]

Rotation
SP Brandon Morrow
SP Robbie Erlin
SP Jeremy Guthrie
SP Justin Hancock
SP Luis D. Perdomo

Summary: Moving Ross, Cashner, and Shields created three holes for us in the rotation. We've brought up Erlin, Guthrie, and Hancock from AAA to fill the spots. This will be Hancock's first big league experience and he might end up a serviceable starter if he puts it together. Guthrie has been a workhorse his whole career and will soak up some of the innings for us. Erlin will be getting another crack at the big league rotation after being injured the last few years. He was once thought of as a potential middle of the rotation starter and we're hoping he can regain that form.

Bullpen
MR Carlos Pimental
MR Leonel Campos
MR Drew Pomeranz
LT Matt Thornton
SU Kevin Quackenbush
SU Brandon Maurer
CL Fernando Rodney

Summary: We've moved Drew Pomeranz from the rotation to the bullpen to hopefully maximize his potential. We feel his stuff will play better out of the bullpen and we're gonna count on him as our number 1 middle relief option. Pimental and Campos are both live arms who we are taking a chance on. In a rebuilding year, we're gonna get a look at a lot of players. Trusty veteran Matt Thornton will be called upon to face lefties out of the pen. One of the strong spots out our team will be the back end of the bullpen, where we have flame throwers Quackenbush, Maurer, and Rodney. These three will be asked to close out our close games and bring us home some wins.

Lineup
1. 2B Cory Spangenburg
2. 3B Yangervis Solarte
3. LF Wil Myers
4. 1B Brett Wallace
5. RF Jabari Blash
6. C Derek Norris
7. DH Alexi Amarista
8. SS Jose Pirela
9. CF Melvin Upton, Jr.

Summary: We've got speed and contact at the top of the order in Solarte and Spangenburg. After those two, we have our best power hitters; Myers, Wallace, Blash, and Norris. These four will be asked to drive in our runs. At the bottom of the lineup we have the light hitting Amarista and Pirela, followed by Melvin Upton. Upton will serve as our "second" leadoff down in the nine spot.

Bench
C Jason Hagerty
1B Mike Olt
IF Adam Rosales
OF Alberth Martinez

Summary: Hagerty will be making his big league debut when he first enters a game. Mike Olt was once a top prospect and will be called upon to pinch hit a lot late in games. Rosales is a key utility man, who can play adequately at 2B, 3B, and SS. Martinez provides us with some speed off the bench.

Overall: It's a rebuilding year, so we are going to try quite a few things out this year. Our main goal this season is to develop players, with winning coming second.

BNN projects us to win just 53 games in the preseason predictions. I don't expect to win a lot this year, but I think we are more in the 65-70 win range.

[captaincoop17]

BNN released its top 100 prospect list, headlined by the top 10.

Top 100 Prospects List Published: The season is about to start, so it's time to publish the annual Top 100 Prospects list. This year 19-year-old LHP Julio Urias of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the #1 prospect overall.

Here is the top 10:
1) LHP Julio Urias, 19, Los Angeles Dodgers
2) SS Tim Anderson, 22, Chicago White Sox
3) LHP Steven Matz, 24, New York Mets
4) RHP Jose Berrios, 21, Minnesota Twins
5) SS Corey Seager, 21, Los Angeles Dodgers
6) LHP Blake Snell, 23, Tampa Bay Rays
7) RHP Lucas Giolito, 21, Washington Nationals
8) 2B Yoan Moncada, 20, Boston Red Sox
9) RHP Jeff Hoffman, 23, Colorado Rockies
10) SS Dansby Swanson, 22, Atlanta Braves

We don't have anyone in the top 10, but our system does rank as the 5th best in the league. Our top prospects are listed below:

Renfroe is our top prospect, but I'm not sure I'm sold on him yet. He's 24 years old and still developing, but I don't think he'll be able to fully reach his potential.

[captaincoop17]

April 2016

9-15 in April
9-15 Overall, 5th Place in the NL West, 6 GB

Injuries
SP Robbie Erlin out 9 months with a torn elbow ligament (Ouch).
SP Tyler Beede (A+) out 9 months with a partially torn UCL (Tommy John).

Transactions
PROMOTED SP Cory Mazzoni from AAA El Paso to take the place of the injured Robbie Erlin.
PROMOTED 2B Ryan Schimpf from AAA El Paso to the the place of the injured Yangervis Solarte.
IF Adam Rosales was WAIVED/DFA'd to make room for Solarte when he came back off the DL.

Minor Leagues
AAA El Paso Chihuahuas 7-16
AA San Antonio Missions 9-12
A+ Lake Elsinore Storm 14-9
A Fort Wayne TinCaps 11-12
A- Tri-City Dust Devils 0-0
Rk AZL Padres 0-0

Prospect Watch
LF Michael Gettys (A+) .300-1-10, 4 SB, 0.4 WAR (Picking up left field very quickly)
CF Manny Margot (AA) .253-5-18, 0.8 WAR (Showing power?)
3B Javier Guerra (AA) .175-1-6, 0.0 WAR (Struggling offensively, demoted to A+)
RF Carlos Asuaje (AA) .313-1-9, 0.3 WAR (Hitting as expected, starting to learn right field)
RF Travis Jankowski (AAA) .211-1-3, 5 SB, -0.3 WAR (Off to a slow start, hopefully it doesn't continue)
RF Tyler O'Neill (A+) .372-6-23, 1.1 WAR (Named the California League player of the month, could be promoted to AA soon)
SP Spencer Adams (A) 1-0, 9.00 ERA, 15-7 K/BB, -0.2 WAR (Top pitching prospect struggling out of the gate so far... Needs to get it together)
LF Hunter Renfroe (AAA) .269-5-14, 4 SB, 0.5 WAR (Hopefully he can keep it up, would like him to prove me wrong)
SP Chad Kuhl (AA) 2-2, 5.70 ERA, 18-6 K/BB, 0.7 WAR (High BABIP might be the cause of his struggles)
SS Taylor Lindsey (AAA) .342-3-11, 0.5 WAR (Off to a hot start, slowly picking up shortstop defensively)

Summary
The 2016 season for the Padres got off to a quick 3-0 start, then things started to go down hill a little bit finishing the month 6-15. We currently sit 6 games back of the division leading Dodgers and that lead may continue to grow for them. Offensively, we're 7th in the NL, but we have the worst pitching staff in the league. Both Brandon Maurer and Brandon Morrow are off to good starts for us and may be dwindled in trades as the season goes on if they keep this up. The one bright spot we had this month was that SS Jose Pirela won Rookie of the Month after hitting .326 with 7 doubles and a 0.6 WAR. Down on the farm, we lost prospect Tyler Beede for the year to Tommy John surgery and that may hinder his develop into the arm we thought we were getting for Matt Kemp. On the development side of things, we've moved Cory Spangenburg over to third base to see how he picks it up. Could be a long season in San Diego, but at least we're one month down on this rebuild and one step closer to bringing a title to town.

[captaincoop17]

The 2016 Draft Pool was revealed and BNN identified Wake Forest RF Chris Keegan as the top prospect in the class.

Overall, the draft pool looks very deep and we should be able to land several good prospects with our three first round picks (8th, 24th, 25th). I'm not currently in love with our system, so I'll be taking the best talent available with each pick in the draft.

[captaincoop17]

The Phillies and Reds are both off to quick starts and lead their respective divisions. The Cubs and Rangers slow starts are probably the most surprising given the talent on their teams.

SP Cody Anderson (CLE) is also off to a fantastic start for the Indians, compiling a minuscule 0.72 ERA in his first five starts (37.2 IP). If he keeps up a pace like this, he'll win the Cy Young easily.

With Harper and Strasburg both off to good starts, I'm taking them to carry the Nationals to the World Series to face the Houston Astros.

[captaincoop17]

May 2016

5-24 in April
14-39 Overall, 5th Place in the NL West, 18 GB

Injuries
None

Transactions
IF Adam Rosales claimed off of waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks

Minor Leagues
AAA El Paso Chihuahuas 23-30
AA San Antonio Missions 25-25
A+ Lake Elsinore Storm 34-18
A Fort Wayne TinCaps 24-28
A- Tri-City Dust Devils 0-0
Rk AZL Padres 0-0

Prospect Watch
LF Michael Gettys (A+) .286-1-25, 6 SB, 0.3 WAR (Power slow to develop?)
CF Manny Margot (AA) .308-7-36, 2.3 WAR (Destroying Double A pitching, promoted to Triple A)
3B Javier Guerra (A+) .393-8-35, 1.9 WAR (Demotion to High A seems to have worked, will go back to Double A)
RF Carlos Asuaje (AA) .339-6-31, 1.9 WAR (Continues to pick up right field, showing great gap power)
RF Travis Jankowski (AAA) .262-1-12, 6 SB, -0.2 WAR (Had a better month, but is now out for a couple weeks with injury)
RF Tyler O'Neill (A+) .337-11-39, 2.4 WAR (Slowed down a little bit this month, maybe another strong month gets him promoted)
SP Spencer Adams (A) 4-2, 4.50 ERA, 41-17 K/BB, 0.3 WAR (Much better month for my prized pitching prospect)
LF Hunter Renfroe (AAA) .306-14-43, 2.2 WAR (He's putting up good numbers, but scouting report says he isn't big league ready yet)
SP Chad Kuhl (AA) 5-5, 4.42 ERA, 45-20 K/BB (BABIP came down and so did the rest of his numbers)
SS Taylor Lindsey (AAA) .335-8-33, 1.3 WAR (Continues to rake, needs more time to learn shortstop though)

Summary
5 wins, 24 losses this month... That's not very good. Our attendance didn't dip though, which must mean the fans believe in what we are trying to do here. Not much to talk about with the Major League squad, it seems like everyone took a couple steps backward on the pitching staff . Cory Spangenburg is picking up third base pretty well and hopefully by seasons end he'll have a good feel for the spot. CF Melvin Upton, Jr. is doing well now that he's back into the starting lineup, hitting .269 with 6 homers, 24 RBI's, 5 stolen bases, and a 1.7 WAR. Down on the farm, a few of our prospects took steps forward and will be seeing promotions to the next minor league level. Starting pitching prospect, Spencer Adams threw a complete game, one-hitter in Single A and we are very excited about his future. With the draft soon to occur, our focus will now shift towards evaluating talent in the draft class and hoping one of our top guys falls to us at 8th overall.

[captaincoop17]

The Cubs had a strong month to get back to the top of the NL Central, tied with the Cardinals. In the NL West, the Giants appear to be looking to continue the even year streak and have taken the league in the division. Through two months, the Reds and Phillies have both remained in contention and have a little buzz going in their respective cities.

On the leaderboards, Cleveland SP Cody Anderson had a rough month and his ERA is now in the 3's. Detroit RF JD Martinez is also in Triple Crown contention, leading the league in homeruns and RBI's, while hitting .325. Not sure how Dee Gordon's suspension wasn't in game, but he's off to a hot .333 start and has stolen an MLB-leading 21 bases.

[captaincoop17]

With the 1st overall pick in the 2016 MLB Amateur Draft, the Philadelphia Phillies selected SP Adam Klinginsmith out of the University of Maine.

Klinginsmith was the top guy on my draft board and looks to have ace potential.

With my three first round picks, I selected CF Kyle 'Hoodoo' Gallagher, SP Manny Montoya, and SP Billy Young. Gallagher has elite hand eye coordination, putting the ball in play at an elite level. Along with that, he may challenge our center field prospect Mallex Smith as the new fastest player in baseball. SP Manny Montaya is a 5-pitch product out of the University of Arizona who could be a very capable number 2 or 3 starter if he refines his control and uses all of his pitches effectively. Since we had three first round picks, we decided to take a risk with our third in SP Billy Young. Young comes from Buffalo, New York out of Seneca Vo-Tech. In his senior year, Young went 11-0 and struck out an astonishing 204 hitters in just 111 innings pitched. With a fastball that already sits in the mid-90's and two other developing pitches, Young has the potential of a future ace.

[captaincoop17]

June 2016

6-20 in June
20-59 Overall, 5th Place in the NL West, 27 GB

Injuries
SP Cory Mazzoni is out 9 months with partially torn UCL (Tommy John)

Transactions
Promoted SP Christian Friedrich from Triple A El Paso to replace the injured Mazzoni (1-3, 4.05 ERA).

Minor Leagues
AAA El Paso Chihuahuas 40-41
AA San Antonio Missions 38-39
A+ Lake Elsinore Storm 47-31
A Fort Wayne TinCaps 40-38
A- Tri-City Dust Devils 7-7
Rk AZL Padres 6-3

Prospect Watch
LF Michael Gettys (A+) .296-2-28, 7 SB, 0.6 WAR (Striking out a ton for someone with his skill set)
CF Manny Margot (AAA) .319-4-20, 0.3 WAR (Hitting the ball well in his first taste of Triple A pitching)
3B Javier Guerra (AA) .215-2-11 (Tore up Double A this month, hitting .364)
RF Carlos Asuaje (AA) .335-10-43, 2.9 WAR (Progression of right field has slowed, but keeps hitting. Will be promoted to Triple A)
RF Travis Jankowski (AAA) .254-2-18, 9 SB, -0.3 WAR (Still not hitting...)
RF Tyler O'Neill (A+) .321-15-52, 3.6 WAR (Continues to hit, will be promoted to Double A)
SP Spencer Adams (A) 6-3, 4.46 ERA, 55-20 K/BB, 0.6 WAR (Not really taking an steps forward, but also isn't going backwards)
LF Hunter Renfroe (AAA) .286-22-62, 2.5 WAR (Averaged slipped this month, but the power is still there)
SP Chad Kuhl (AA) 7-7, 3.79 ERA, 74-28 K/BB, 2.5 WAR (Starting to put it together)
SS Taylor Lindsey (AAA) .320-15-49, 2.0 WAR (Looking more and more like a September call-up)

Summary
We improved from last month, but still not very good. Most of the prospects are heading in the right direction though and things look bright for the future. Dog days of summer are coming up...