2040 Arizona Diamondbacks Preivew
Oct 29, 2016 19:09:30 GMT -5
Texas Rangers, earlweaver, and 5 more like this
Post by Luc_AZdbacks on Oct 29, 2016 19:09:30 GMT -5
2039 was the first sub-80 win season in my tenure as Arizona GM, and it was a strong signal that our time as a perennial NL contender was over.
Despite the weak finish to the decade, the 2030’s was the strongest decade in Diamondback history, and will ultimately be looked back on as a success. We made the playoffs in 7/10 years, but only managed 2 division titles, and no World Series championships were brought back to the desert. Unfortunately, our strongest years (2032 – 2035) coincided with the peak years of Ron’s Padres, and we never quite had enough talent to overtake his team for the division crown.
We couldn’t get it done in the playoffs either, posting a 21-25 record over the last 10 years, getting eliminated in the Wild Card round in 4 of those 7 years. We made a big push in 2033 to go all the way, acquiring SP Chris Bryant in a deadline trade, however we came up just short in the NLCS.
My goal for the next decade is pretty simple: To win a World Series title. It will not be easy to do in an increasingly tough NL West division, but I’m hopeful that it can be done if we can somewhat quickly reassemble a playoff-caliber squad, and get some things to bounce our way in the playoffs.
On to 2040…..
My negligence of the team over the last 2 years has really put me in a bad spot, that will cost us in the years to come. Our 2040 team is entering the season with extremely low expectations, but I’m still very excited for the season, and for what we can achieve this year. Every team starts at 0-0 right…?
It all begins with what may be the worst roster of hitters the PBL has ever seen, and it isn’t young and upcoming either, as I inexplicably forgot to protect two of my solid young players in the rule 5 draft. (You’re welcome Colorado!!). With 75% of our payroll locked up in Starting Pitching, there was very little flexibility in what kind of lineup we could have.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
1. CF Chris Brown, 34 y/o, R/R, (5/6/6), 10 DEF: Chris Brown was our ‘big’ free agent signing this offseason. He is an incredibly injury prone speedy CF, who has failed to play a full season in all but one season in his career. If he can manage to play 100 games this year, it is a huge plus. His career OPS has always hovered around .600, however he is one of the best defensive OF in the game, and should be a big asset to our starting pitchers.
2. SS Kelvin Boyd, 27 y/o, R/R, (6/5/4), 7 DEF: Boyd is probably the best all around player in our lineup, and was acquired in a trade with Boston a few years ago. His bat is adequate for SS, and he has speed and solid defence. Still holding out some hope that he can improve his contact to a 7, but it isn’t looking likely at this point in his career.
3. DH Josh Geer Jr., 35 y/o, R/R, (5/7/6), -- DEF: He only has 900 AB under his belt despite being 35 years old. On any other team, he wouldn’t have a spot in the lineup, let alone be the #3 hitter. However things are a bit different for us in Arizona… Geer may end up being our best hitter, as he has the potential to hit 25 HR.
4. 2B Gene Cunningham, 35 y/o, R/R, (5/4/7), 10 DEF: Cunningham returns to Arizona after posting a 5.7 WAR last year, in what was a career year for him. He is an all-around solid player, able to hit, field and run. His only struggle is with injuries, and he is at risk to miss a lot of time this year.
5. 1B Ken Allison, 36 y/o, R/L, (5/7/5), 5 DEF: Allison is a strikeout machine, however he has decent power, and had good success last year. There isn’t really anything special about him, and if he can post a .750 OPS again this year I’d be thrilled.
6. C Nick Murphy, 32 y/o, R/R, (4/6/6), 5 DEF/ C Dan Jackson, 33 y/o, R/R, (4/5/4), 8 DEF: Murphy and Jackson will be splitting the catching duties. Jackson is an Arizona veteran, and provides stronger defence at the expense of some power compared to Murphy. Murphy came up last year and posted an .736 OPS in 81 games. If Murphy can show that kind of output again, he will take over the catching job full-time, however until he proves his hitting ability Jackson will take every other game in order to better our defence.
7. LF Frank Fry, 34 y/o, L/R, (4/7/5), 10 DEF/ LF Dirk Butler, 33 y/o, R/R, (5/4/4), 8 DEF: Fry and Butler will be the only platoon on the roster. Fry will bat against righties, and Butler against righties. Not much to say about either of them, other than that they kinda suck. Their biggest asset will be their strong defence in LF, and helping our pitchers limit our runs against.
8. 3B Tony Rosario, 35 y/o, R/R, (4/5/5), 9 DEF: Rosario had a great year in the minors last season, and I’m hoping that he can at least translate a bit of that success up to the majors. Regardless, he provides us with good defence at 3B until Armando Manuel returns from injury.
9. RF Tommy Galindo, 33 y/o, R/R, (4/5/5), 10 DEF: Galindo completes what will be the strongest defensive outfield that I’ve ever fielded. Unfortunately, like seemingly everybody else in my lineup, he offers virtually no offensive upside.
So there you have it. Not only will this likely be one of the weaker offences in the PBL, but it is probably the oldest and most injury prone as well! Only 1 player under 32 years old is never a good thing, and the future does not look bright for our offence, with a lack of talent in our minor league system.
Nonetheless, I’m still hopeful that this lineup can hit a ‘mediocre’ level, and provide just enough runs to support our pitching!
Will preview the pitching in a later post!
Despite the weak finish to the decade, the 2030’s was the strongest decade in Diamondback history, and will ultimately be looked back on as a success. We made the playoffs in 7/10 years, but only managed 2 division titles, and no World Series championships were brought back to the desert. Unfortunately, our strongest years (2032 – 2035) coincided with the peak years of Ron’s Padres, and we never quite had enough talent to overtake his team for the division crown.
We couldn’t get it done in the playoffs either, posting a 21-25 record over the last 10 years, getting eliminated in the Wild Card round in 4 of those 7 years. We made a big push in 2033 to go all the way, acquiring SP Chris Bryant in a deadline trade, however we came up just short in the NLCS.
My goal for the next decade is pretty simple: To win a World Series title. It will not be easy to do in an increasingly tough NL West division, but I’m hopeful that it can be done if we can somewhat quickly reassemble a playoff-caliber squad, and get some things to bounce our way in the playoffs.
On to 2040…..
My negligence of the team over the last 2 years has really put me in a bad spot, that will cost us in the years to come. Our 2040 team is entering the season with extremely low expectations, but I’m still very excited for the season, and for what we can achieve this year. Every team starts at 0-0 right…?
It all begins with what may be the worst roster of hitters the PBL has ever seen, and it isn’t young and upcoming either, as I inexplicably forgot to protect two of my solid young players in the rule 5 draft. (You’re welcome Colorado!!). With 75% of our payroll locked up in Starting Pitching, there was very little flexibility in what kind of lineup we could have.
PROJECTED LINEUP:
1. CF Chris Brown, 34 y/o, R/R, (5/6/6), 10 DEF: Chris Brown was our ‘big’ free agent signing this offseason. He is an incredibly injury prone speedy CF, who has failed to play a full season in all but one season in his career. If he can manage to play 100 games this year, it is a huge plus. His career OPS has always hovered around .600, however he is one of the best defensive OF in the game, and should be a big asset to our starting pitchers.
2. SS Kelvin Boyd, 27 y/o, R/R, (6/5/4), 7 DEF: Boyd is probably the best all around player in our lineup, and was acquired in a trade with Boston a few years ago. His bat is adequate for SS, and he has speed and solid defence. Still holding out some hope that he can improve his contact to a 7, but it isn’t looking likely at this point in his career.
3. DH Josh Geer Jr., 35 y/o, R/R, (5/7/6), -- DEF: He only has 900 AB under his belt despite being 35 years old. On any other team, he wouldn’t have a spot in the lineup, let alone be the #3 hitter. However things are a bit different for us in Arizona… Geer may end up being our best hitter, as he has the potential to hit 25 HR.
4. 2B Gene Cunningham, 35 y/o, R/R, (5/4/7), 10 DEF: Cunningham returns to Arizona after posting a 5.7 WAR last year, in what was a career year for him. He is an all-around solid player, able to hit, field and run. His only struggle is with injuries, and he is at risk to miss a lot of time this year.
5. 1B Ken Allison, 36 y/o, R/L, (5/7/5), 5 DEF: Allison is a strikeout machine, however he has decent power, and had good success last year. There isn’t really anything special about him, and if he can post a .750 OPS again this year I’d be thrilled.
6. C Nick Murphy, 32 y/o, R/R, (4/6/6), 5 DEF/ C Dan Jackson, 33 y/o, R/R, (4/5/4), 8 DEF: Murphy and Jackson will be splitting the catching duties. Jackson is an Arizona veteran, and provides stronger defence at the expense of some power compared to Murphy. Murphy came up last year and posted an .736 OPS in 81 games. If Murphy can show that kind of output again, he will take over the catching job full-time, however until he proves his hitting ability Jackson will take every other game in order to better our defence.
7. LF Frank Fry, 34 y/o, L/R, (4/7/5), 10 DEF/ LF Dirk Butler, 33 y/o, R/R, (5/4/4), 8 DEF: Fry and Butler will be the only platoon on the roster. Fry will bat against righties, and Butler against righties. Not much to say about either of them, other than that they kinda suck. Their biggest asset will be their strong defence in LF, and helping our pitchers limit our runs against.
8. 3B Tony Rosario, 35 y/o, R/R, (4/5/5), 9 DEF: Rosario had a great year in the minors last season, and I’m hoping that he can at least translate a bit of that success up to the majors. Regardless, he provides us with good defence at 3B until Armando Manuel returns from injury.
9. RF Tommy Galindo, 33 y/o, R/R, (4/5/5), 10 DEF: Galindo completes what will be the strongest defensive outfield that I’ve ever fielded. Unfortunately, like seemingly everybody else in my lineup, he offers virtually no offensive upside.
So there you have it. Not only will this likely be one of the weaker offences in the PBL, but it is probably the oldest and most injury prone as well! Only 1 player under 32 years old is never a good thing, and the future does not look bright for our offence, with a lack of talent in our minor league system.
Nonetheless, I’m still hopeful that this lineup can hit a ‘mediocre’ level, and provide just enough runs to support our pitching!
Will preview the pitching in a later post!