Lineup
C - Dobbe Pals - Starter two seasons ago took a backseat to learn from Armando Barella last season. Since Pals is my future at C, i've decided to put him back at starter and let Barella be my defensive backup C this season.
1B - Octavio Canilliac - Octavio set the Kabul single season RBI record last season with 136. Dude doesn't walk much but only strikes out once every 4 games or so. Great middle lineup bat.
2B - Jesus Andres - Shawn Stone was admirable at this position last season. Stone is able to play all 3 positions however and Andres' defense is a bit better at 2B. Offensively they have similar games.
3B - Lucio "Tangles" Escamilla - Waiting for him to make the jump. .250/.310/.480 slash line is "ok", but doesn't match up with his ratings.
SS - Bernard Brault - Great defensively. Had an outstanding offensive season last year for him. Hoping for more of that but expect him to return. Andres will probably take over at SS in 2059 with Stone back starting at 2B.
LF - Jari "Booker" Kievit - Defense ratings don't look pretty but they produce only SLIGHTLY below average results. His bat is worth the slight drop in LF.
CF - Piet Veuger - Biggest shakeup in my lineup from last season. With Booker being a bit of a liability in LF and Alvarado's range dropping, i wanted a stud in CF. I've got one. Hoping for some overachieving with the bat.
RF - Felix Alvarado - Injuries have hampered his career to this point. Hoping a move to RF will extend his longevity.
Bench Bats
C - Amando Barella - A starting level catcher on my bench. I'll take that. Will still play a good bit to give Pals some rest to extend his career hopefully.
2B/SS - Shawn Stone - Started last season and hit ~20 homers. Solid bat but i want to give Andres a chance. Stone will play a good bit at 2B and SS.
3B - Kim Hu Luong - Will play some at 3B and 1B against RHP.
OF - Toby Eissens - Can get on base against RHP. Good legs on basepaths.
OF - Kevin "Spoon" McGuire - Good defensively. Great contact/avoid k bat. Will give Kievit and Alvarado lots of rest throughout season.
Rotation
SP - Jude Brayley - Four really solid pitches. Should be the stable rock of my rotation.
SP - Luis Corona - Never expected him to really be a factor but he kind of flourished overnight. Great movement, some control issues. Pitched realllly well last season. Injury derailed it a little late in the season.
SP - Ernesto Ramos - ERA under 3.00 and a whip at 1.05 in his first 35 starts. Injured last season...hopefully he can bounce back. Amazing fastball...good splitter and cutter.
SP - Daniel Salmon - Dude earned the starting job by performing like a stud in his 11 starts last season. Has been an extremely solid professional pitcher since he was brought up.
SP - Nicholas Pye - Lone lefthander on my staff. Wrecked as hell and control falling apart but i hold onto hope that he can still be good.
Bullpen
RP - Luis Espinoza - Performed admirably as a starter late last season. Kept his spot in the pen for that reason alone.
RP - Vincent Lyons - One of my many young dynamic arms in the pen.
RP - Roman Pereira - If dude had better control, i'd make him a starter. I can't put a guy with 40 control as a starter though. We'll see.
RP - Breno "Racetrack" Navio - Pitched well out of the pen for me last year. Kept him around for a veteran presence in the pen.
RP - Christof "Viper" Utpadel - Another guy who could be starting. He didn't perform that well as a starter in the minors.
CL - Frazer Wenden - Was injured in the playoffs in 2056. Missed almost all of last season. Still a great arm.
I feel like this is a solid team that should make the playoffs with no issues. The WBL/OOTP may have different plans though. We shall see.
