2039 Philadelphia Phillies Season Preview: On the Edge
Aug 12, 2016 22:28:00 GMT -5
Derek _ Red Sox, Texas Rangers, and 2 more like this
Post by Chip_PhilliesGM on Aug 12, 2016 22:28:00 GMT -5
While I am anxiously waiting for Derek to sim opening day, I'll pass the time with a quick 2039 preview.
Welp, this is going to be a illuminating season for the Phillies. After making the playoffs in back to back years in 2035 & 2036, we've missed the playoffs narrowly in 2037 and by a decent amount in 2038, finishing at exactly .500. This team is very much teetering on the edge between being competitive and if things don't work out we will likely blow it up completely and commit to a full rebuild.
What's New?
We brought in a fair amount of new faces from free agency. 1B Fred Moon will be manning the LHB portion of a platoon at 1B. I always remembered Moon since I considered taking him with the 10th overall pick. I ended up going with Scott Sempill, so no regrets there, but I've always liked his extreme patience and gold glove defense. He sat out last season, likely because teams are frightened of his contact issues (career .216 BA, ouch). We're hoping he has enough walks, dingers and defense to make up for his lack of contact.
The other half of the 1B platoon is another newcomer with 1B Stu MacGregor. MacGregor is always defensively gifted, but is the opposite of Moon, in that he rarely strikes out. I have a weird affinity for second chances, since MacGregor has not played in the majors since 2036 and has spent the past two years at AAA with the Orioles.
Another new face in the infield is 3B Ken "The Anvil" Henry. Most of what I said for Moon applies here. Incredible defense, severe contact issues and a career .185 AVG. Hasn't played in the majors since 2036. I really have a weird type.
Rounding out a completely revamped IF is 2B Jesus Gonzalez and SS Jose Valencia. Both are making the jump from Lehigh Valley. Gonzales is particularly special with excellent defense and eye and the potential to be a little above average across the board at the plate. Valencia is lightning quick on the basepaths, but is likely to be average at best at the plate.
On the mound we've brought in veteran SP Juan Franco to be our #3 starter. Franco has been consistently good his whole career and has kept up his effectiveness the past couple years, so we should hopefully get some quality innings out of him, even though his velocity has declined a little. At the #5 starter, we've brought back lefty SP Chris Robinson, who threw for us from 2032-2034. He's got killer control, so the hope is he can keep the ball in the ballpark and our defense can handle the rest. And if he sucks, we have a couple options in AAA.
At the back end of the games, we added CL Manny Sandoval. Maybe he will finally solve the 9th inning blown save problem we have had for the last ohhh...about as long as I've been GM. Daron Acord didn't solve it (blew 11 saves in 2037, gee wonder why I narrowly missed the playoffs), Norman Willis didn't, please Sandoval just continue being what you've been for everyone else. And lastly, MR Jeff Flowers was brought on in the hopes that his fastball/slider combo that has worked in Coors for the last 3 seasons will work at CBP too. His scouting report strongly disagrees, with highlights of "inadequate" and "lazy".
The Oldies
For the 5th season in a row, SP Warren Smith and Scott "Whiz" Sempill top our rotation. Both are quality starters that dependably give 200+ solid innings, even if they aren't the flashiest about it. Also for the 5th season in a row, former 16th overall pickSP Eric Justic continues to amaze with his mediocrity and has settled in as a crafty 27-year old acceptable back end starter.
Always a question mark, the bullpen has Daron Acord who went from 4 HR's combined in 2036-2037 to 14 HR's last year. Hopefully, that was a fluke...still, Acord's K-rate is down too, so he's not going to be trusted anywhere near the end of a game. Even when he was "good" in 2037, his respectable ERA of 3.24 hides the aforementioned 11 blown saves in 42 chances. The eternally wild Norman Willis somehow had a BB/9 under 3 for the first time in his 9 year career. Don't bet on a repeat, but even when he's wild, he's an innings gobbler who gets a boatload of K's and groundballs. Signed out of Japan in 2037, Yoshida "Cuddy" Ota filled in admirably as closer when all the other options blew up in my face. He likely won't repeat a sub-2.50 ERA, but he should be a reliable arm out of the pen. Leonard Price transitioned well to the bullpen in 2038 after a horrible 1st year as a SP in his 3 year contract. He'll once again be the overpriced 5M/year long man.
In the lineup, let's start with the really good, the trio of C Forest Kol, LF George MacKinney and RF/DH Millard Nosworthy make the idea of contention seem possible. Kol's a tremendous catcher, who does a little bit of everything with the bat and since making it to the majors in 2036, hasn't posted a WAR below 4.5. MacKinney and Nosworthy powered the offense in 2038 with breakout years, combining for 89 HR and 11.2 WAR. Playing Nosworthy permanently at DH worked out, as he managed to stay healthy, crushed 56 dingers and played more than 120 games for the 1st time in 4 seasons. The opposite of those guys is our CF Roger Williams. He hits as well as a pitcher, sporting a career .552 OPS. He should have the nickname Hoover though, since he sucks up everything hit anywhere near him. He easily won the gold glove at CF last year, with his +24.8 ZR. Oh yeah, and he only managed to start 112 games due to injuries. I've never seen a center fielder as good as him before. In RF is Jan Brocklebank, who either due to injuries or being blocked by better players has never played over 100 games in a season. He plays good defense and usually outhits what his scouting report says, which is why I am always uneasy relying on him, I keep expecting him to not hit.
Welp, this is going to be a illuminating season for the Phillies. After making the playoffs in back to back years in 2035 & 2036, we've missed the playoffs narrowly in 2037 and by a decent amount in 2038, finishing at exactly .500. This team is very much teetering on the edge between being competitive and if things don't work out we will likely blow it up completely and commit to a full rebuild.
What's New?
We brought in a fair amount of new faces from free agency. 1B Fred Moon will be manning the LHB portion of a platoon at 1B. I always remembered Moon since I considered taking him with the 10th overall pick. I ended up going with Scott Sempill, so no regrets there, but I've always liked his extreme patience and gold glove defense. He sat out last season, likely because teams are frightened of his contact issues (career .216 BA, ouch). We're hoping he has enough walks, dingers and defense to make up for his lack of contact.
The other half of the 1B platoon is another newcomer with 1B Stu MacGregor. MacGregor is always defensively gifted, but is the opposite of Moon, in that he rarely strikes out. I have a weird affinity for second chances, since MacGregor has not played in the majors since 2036 and has spent the past two years at AAA with the Orioles.
Another new face in the infield is 3B Ken "The Anvil" Henry. Most of what I said for Moon applies here. Incredible defense, severe contact issues and a career .185 AVG. Hasn't played in the majors since 2036. I really have a weird type.
Rounding out a completely revamped IF is 2B Jesus Gonzalez and SS Jose Valencia. Both are making the jump from Lehigh Valley. Gonzales is particularly special with excellent defense and eye and the potential to be a little above average across the board at the plate. Valencia is lightning quick on the basepaths, but is likely to be average at best at the plate.
On the mound we've brought in veteran SP Juan Franco to be our #3 starter. Franco has been consistently good his whole career and has kept up his effectiveness the past couple years, so we should hopefully get some quality innings out of him, even though his velocity has declined a little. At the #5 starter, we've brought back lefty SP Chris Robinson, who threw for us from 2032-2034. He's got killer control, so the hope is he can keep the ball in the ballpark and our defense can handle the rest. And if he sucks, we have a couple options in AAA.
At the back end of the games, we added CL Manny Sandoval. Maybe he will finally solve the 9th inning blown save problem we have had for the last ohhh...about as long as I've been GM. Daron Acord didn't solve it (blew 11 saves in 2037, gee wonder why I narrowly missed the playoffs), Norman Willis didn't, please Sandoval just continue being what you've been for everyone else. And lastly, MR Jeff Flowers was brought on in the hopes that his fastball/slider combo that has worked in Coors for the last 3 seasons will work at CBP too. His scouting report strongly disagrees, with highlights of "inadequate" and "lazy".
The Oldies
For the 5th season in a row, SP Warren Smith and Scott "Whiz" Sempill top our rotation. Both are quality starters that dependably give 200+ solid innings, even if they aren't the flashiest about it. Also for the 5th season in a row, former 16th overall pickSP Eric Justic continues to amaze with his mediocrity and has settled in as a crafty 27-year old acceptable back end starter.
Always a question mark, the bullpen has Daron Acord who went from 4 HR's combined in 2036-2037 to 14 HR's last year. Hopefully, that was a fluke...still, Acord's K-rate is down too, so he's not going to be trusted anywhere near the end of a game. Even when he was "good" in 2037, his respectable ERA of 3.24 hides the aforementioned 11 blown saves in 42 chances. The eternally wild Norman Willis somehow had a BB/9 under 3 for the first time in his 9 year career. Don't bet on a repeat, but even when he's wild, he's an innings gobbler who gets a boatload of K's and groundballs. Signed out of Japan in 2037, Yoshida "Cuddy" Ota filled in admirably as closer when all the other options blew up in my face. He likely won't repeat a sub-2.50 ERA, but he should be a reliable arm out of the pen. Leonard Price transitioned well to the bullpen in 2038 after a horrible 1st year as a SP in his 3 year contract. He'll once again be the overpriced 5M/year long man.
In the lineup, let's start with the really good, the trio of C Forest Kol, LF George MacKinney and RF/DH Millard Nosworthy make the idea of contention seem possible. Kol's a tremendous catcher, who does a little bit of everything with the bat and since making it to the majors in 2036, hasn't posted a WAR below 4.5. MacKinney and Nosworthy powered the offense in 2038 with breakout years, combining for 89 HR and 11.2 WAR. Playing Nosworthy permanently at DH worked out, as he managed to stay healthy, crushed 56 dingers and played more than 120 games for the 1st time in 4 seasons. The opposite of those guys is our CF Roger Williams. He hits as well as a pitcher, sporting a career .552 OPS. He should have the nickname Hoover though, since he sucks up everything hit anywhere near him. He easily won the gold glove at CF last year, with his +24.8 ZR. Oh yeah, and he only managed to start 112 games due to injuries. I've never seen a center fielder as good as him before. In RF is Jan Brocklebank, who either due to injuries or being blocked by better players has never played over 100 games in a season. He plays good defense and usually outhits what his scouting report says, which is why I am always uneasy relying on him, I keep expecting him to not hit.