AL South Predictions

The AL South is Charlottes division. They have controlled it the last 5 seasons and are in control again this season. Richmond should come in second this season but look like they will miss the playoffs. Florida appears to be making progress but is lacking pieces on offense to make a legitimate run. KC will be pulling up the rear here. I see some puzzling things going on in KC.

Charlotte comets (S6: 106-56 1st place, WS winner: projection S7:115- 47 )
agrybaus- 7(2 WS; 5 straight division titles); $100m Player Salary

Additions: None (not Phillip Reagan)

Losses: Alex Andujar (SP),

Overall Preview: Well writing this part way into the season it is safe to say this team is good. They should win this division going away. 12 games in and they have an 8 game lead. The offense is stacked with a silver slugger at just about every position. The rotation is just as good and the pen is solid.

Offense: Six all stars provide the core of the offense and the remaining 3 batters get overshadowed because of the greatness of the first 6. Mike Hayes is an offensive force at DH. C Jamie Lofton should not hit but it really doesn’t matter. hit Albert Escobar, a natural SS, covers 2b and is an imposing presence and could win an mvp if not for… LFSantiago Nieves is the presence in the middle of the lineup. SS Benji Groom is in the lineup more for his glove than his bat, but he still hits his fair share out. Vic Hill, a natural SS, covers 3b and could finish 3rd in the MVP race…unless of course CF Raul Cortez slugs his way into the top 4. RF Alex Sanchez could be the best play on several teams, here he is about the 6th best, and for that he will hit 30+ hr and bat over .300. There is an allstar at every position even bench where Gabriel and Martin are pulling in big checks, a combined $12m for watching.

Defense: This team has 3 natural ss playing various positions. Lofton has about the highest pc I have seen. And Cortez is solid in CF. LF and RF are about league average but again their bats make them great.

Rotation: This rotation has 3 Cy Young candidates, another ace and a solid contributor with suspect control. Shibata, Russell and Johnson may battle each other for the cy young award and could all win 20+ games. How Joe Russell was resigned for a contract that average $5.5m per season is beyond me. Damaso Perez very likely will win 20 games not only because of the offense but because he has skills too. Buchanan is a good #5, on many staffs he could be a #3.

Bullpen: The pen is good as well. Wilson and Farley do a solid job bridging the gap (when there is a gap to bridge). Whang and Downs set it up and Young is a premiere closer. Good stuff. Oh there are 3 other quality arms too.

The Farm: SS Hugh Stoops and CF Antone Zaun could step in immediately if needed. Omar Olivo is a stud catcher, but will be limited to about 350 AB. LF Lariel Felix and LF Roger Jones are both a ways off but should contribute on the ML level at some point. Harry Pena is a future Rolaids reliever candidate. Vic Alou, Jose Moreno, and Mario Haney will be a solid ML contributors

X-Factor: Playoff performance. This team is the front runner to represent the AL in the WS. A lot of that depends on how his stars produce in the post season. This team has so many stars though it will not fall on the shoulders of just one player.

Richmond Rounders (S6: 83-79 2nd place: S7: 81-81 )
Dblaine Owner since season 1; $54.8 Player Salary

Additions: SP Esteban Romano, RP Vic Almanza, RP Jamie Monroe

Losses: 1b Guillermo Flores,

Overall Preview: This team is an interesting one to look at. There are some aging stars and developing prospects. The $54m player’s salary allows for the funds to be allocated elsewhere. The core group is solid they just lack the star power to really drive the offense and staff. They will be middle of the pack. Moving forward they are top heavy with DH and 1b prospects and could benefit by flipping these for position prospects, especially at key defensive positions. There are some very good sp prospects down on the farm. As a whole I say 81 and 81 but I could see them pushing to 88 wins but not more.

Offense: Old pros C Marcus Haywood is the team captain and the heart and soul of this team. He is a solid bat and should hit a ton, despite showing some signs of slippage at 31. 3b Thomas Pena is a rising star. 2b Norberto Alomar, 3b Brian Zhang and SS Red Sanford represent the other major contributors

Defense: Red Sanford is a solid defender up the middle. Short of that the defense looks to be on the lower half the spectrum. There is some potential at a few positions but with a 60 glove at this point Alomar has potential to make a ton of errors at 2b. Corey Denham will call most games from behind the plate and he is a good catch and throw type backstop who knows how to work the hitters strengths and weaknesses when calling a game.

Rotation: On the Mound I count 7 potential starter Dougherty, Watson, Nunnari, Shibata, Romano represent the 5 main guys and all are solid. Watson is the best of the bunch but is getting older.

Bullpen: All pieces of the bullpen are solid. None stand out as great but none are your typical mop up types. Mathews is the closer but at 35 is showing his age. Jamie Monroe looks like he can develop into the best reliever of the group.

The Farm: Miguel Alomar projects to be pretty good but is he a starter or reliever? Miguel Cruz however will be very good, and would be one of Richmond’s best ML starters right now. Miguel Gardel projects to be just as good but is a ways off still. 3b Appier will make an impact down the line. Taubensee, Romano and Stephens are going to be very good DH. LF Lincoln is ready to go on the majors now. Alvin Hernandez will be a masher at 1b soon.

X-Factor: Team defense! The pitchers will underperform as long as the defense continues to drop routine balls. They lack the range at some key positions as well.

Kansas City NQ Pilots(S6: 76-86 3rd place: projected record S7: 58-104 )
threester- 2nd season ; $81.4 Player Salary

Additions: Victor Ruffin (SP); Archie Tracy (rp); Scot Reed (1b); Guillermo Flores (1b/C); Anthony Charles (rp); Buddy Person (CL); Omar Ramirez (SS); Lyle Evans (3b); Jose Lira (2b); Herbert Perry (LF)

Losses: Vic Almanza (rp)

Overall Preview: This team is interesting to look at. They have 7 players who are either 1b, DH, LF or RF on the roster. There is no true catcher, although Flores would do the job. The 2b, Mark Roosevelt has decent range but no glove and the SS has below range and glove. There is also no true CF. The offense is ok but lacks a superstar and lacks depth. About $18 million was spent this offseason retooling the roster, which leads me to ask, is it better to spend and lose or not spend and lose?

Offense: On offense the most reliable pieces are 1b Endy Leiter, lf Giovanni Nye, and 2b Tracie McMillon. Nye and McMillon are still developing and look like they will get better. SS Omar Miro is average in every way, except paycheck where he will collect $7.1m this season. Overall this team will struggle to score runs.

Defense: The defense, as pointed out in the general preview is unique. While most teams load up on SS, 2b and CF, Threester has focused on cornering the market on 1b and corner of. There is no true CF on the roster and the team lacks range.

Rotation: Archie Tracey is the highlight of the pitching staff. He is a very good closer, sadly there have been few opportunities for him. Byung-Hyun Chang, and Buddy Person do a good job setting it up for him. I like Miguel Flores but with that D behind him he is going to struggle. He is not the type of pitcher to blow batters away but more the type to rely on ground balls. Ooops. Overall the whole pitching staff is slanted towards inducing grounders. This is a recipe for disaster. Anthony Chalres has a durability of 0 and pitched in the RL last season. There are 3 players under 30 years old here so an overhaul is on the way.

The Farm: SP OT Relaford and Milt Rivers are better than several ML SP. There are 4 P at AA, that is total not 4 worth watching. There are 7 at LoA, one is worth watching Miguel Hernandez will be very good, provided he is not burnt out. SP Dwight Scott is a legit ML prospect who at 23 is wasting time in the RL. Same thing about RF Eduardo Coronado. C Geoff Martin has potential to be a good player. C Odalis Blasco will make a solid DH. Not many positions guys worth writing home about.

X-Factor: The defense. This team is geared towards bringing on grounders but the D is geared towards dropping them. Not a good mix. I expect a last place finish here.

Florida Orlocks (S6: 69-93 last place: projected record S7:78-86 )
Nosferatu- 7 seasons; $73.9 Player Salary

Additions: SP Ahmed King;

Losses: Non worth noting

Overall Preview: The pitching staff and defense will hold this team in a lot of games. The offense may not score many runs though and it will hurt. This team needs about three more abts to really put something together.

Offense: The offense is led by SS David Viriato. At 23 he is good and looks like he could be much better. Thumper Smith will pound lefties but may struggle against certain righties. Placido Astacio is the third key player on offense. After the three of them there are holes. The team is young with only three players at the ML level who are over 30.

Defense: This team is built around defense. They will get to a lot of balls and keep the staff in most games. Don Koh is a very good game caller, sadly he hits like Charlie O’Brien.

Rotation: I count 12 starters and 1 long reliever on the staff. All of them get the ball over the plate. With that defense supporting him, Carl Mlicki should be the anchor of this rotation for a long time, he may end up with a a lot of ND’s this season though as the offense may not come to his support. J.T. Peterson, Olmedo Perez and Al Cust look like the other bright sports in this rotation.

The Farm: SP Whitey Donatello is waiting for his shot at AAA. Matty Velazquez will be a very good ml reliever. HiA C Darrel Vernonhas potential. AAA LF Louis Bates also may make an impact in the majors. Overall there is a lack of depth in the Florida minor league system.

X-Factor: David Viriato; Can the future MVP produce enough to get this team to .500? There is a lack of pieces around him and he cannot do it by himself