Here we go for season three of COBRA. We'll take a quick look at how the teams look to fare for 1922.
It's a strange little moment for COBRA at the moment as teams start to feel a bit financially crunched. Dustland gave out a record-breaking contract to MVP RF Jon Jackson but then there was silence for months. As we got closer to the season, the teams started to spend but it was strictly one year deals at well below what the players were asking for at the start of the season.
Good players still remain on the free agency market including arguably four top 20 starting pitchers. You could bundle them all into a rotation together and you'd probably have the best pitchers in the competition but they can't find jobs? We'll see who's the first to break but if we have to give victory to the owners in this one.
Anyway, onto the East Division. We'll go from the worst-projected to the best.
1920 Record: 63-81
1921 Record: 59-85
1922 Projection: 49-95
A bad team looks set to get even worse. They've committed to this bit. They traded away two of the more useful players they had in SP Jackson Woods and CF Sawyer White for an assortment of prospects, Woods at 36 is understandable but White was only 27. Where's the sense in building for the future if you're going to trade them away before they even hit their peak?
3B Lenny Johnson could be about due for a big year. He went from a 116 OPS+ to an 143 OPS+ in 1921. If he can stay injury free (assorted injuries restricted him to about 100 games) then we're bound to see some good baseball from the 29 year old. Pity about the rest of them.
1920 Record: 44-100
1921 Record: 65-79
1922 Projection: 60-84
Having the Hadestown Broncos decide to be the worst team in the East has certainly taken some of the pressure off but don't get us wrong, the Falcons are still bad but they do feel a bit more promising than the Broncos.
First off, leading off is 1921 Rookie of the Year Christian Tiggs who will now be taking position at in Center Field with the departure of Augie Hanson. Hanson is a unfortunate casualty of a logjam of talent the Falcons have in the outfield. They used their #1 pick last season to take University MVP & CF Kevin Stump and all of a sudden were left with a surplus of talent at the position and Augie Hanson was left out of the shuffle.
Kevin Stump is probably not due up until next season but we can expect some big things from him.
Another exciting player to watch is SS Gaby Williams who started off 1921 with a hiss and a roar (good enough for an All-Star selection) but a ruptured Achilles tendon 56 games in cut that short.
Pitching will be a weakness. Lincoln Carter, #1 guy in the rotation went 14-21 last season, with a 3.81 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, and 229 strikeouts for a 105 ERA+. Obviously not bad but when he's the best you've got then you're in for a bad time. The bullpen is
led by two guys who haven't even pitched at this level before.
Maybe next season.
1920 Record: 67-77
1921 Record: 67-77
1922 Projection: 63-81
Two underwhelming seasons down the drain and the Ducks do little to improve for 1922. They let two pitchers walk in free agency (Logan Philips and Dmitri Balanchin) and replaced the pair with one just one signing in Fred Alltop.
Joel de Vries is still one of the best pure contact hitters in the land and Thad Pardue is definitely the best steal artist out there and will be hopeful for another entry in the 20/20 club.. or even the 30/30 club if he can get his home run production up slightly.
#12 Prospect 3B Sean Bigham looks set to make his big league debut this season. He projects out to be a fantastic contact hitter with an excellent arm at Third Base. The current 3B, Kevin Ellis, is an excellent defender in his own right but a 49 OPS+ probably means he's not long for a starting role.
Pitching is a bit of a mess, Fred Alltop is the only above-average guy they've got and he's backed up by a fairly inconsistent looking bullpen.
1920 Record: 96-48 (Division Title/COBRA Cup Winners)
1921 Record: 83-61 (Division Title)
1922 Projection: 80-64
If you like dingers then you'll love the Roosters. This is a team full of guys that can send it to the stands anytime they please. Missing from the above graphic is LF Odin Bendig who'll sit out the first few weeks of the season with injury but rest assured that is a guy who can rake. Between him, Spurrier, Utter, and Karabanov you've got guys who can do 30+ Home Runs in a season. Throw in someone like Curtis Ripley who's hit for an average of .356 so far -- better than anyone else.
Then you've got the king of strikeouts: Max Steel. Steel will be hoping to reclaim his 1920 form that saw him be named the unanimous Pitcher of the Year. Though we have to say that last year wasn't half bad: a 26-8 record, 2.95 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, and 404 strikeouts still provoked envy from about anyone.
Personally, I think the Roosters have been done dirty by this prediction. I fully expect to see them contesting for the division title.. and for the championship they were only one fielding error away from claiming in 1921.
1920 Record: 84-60 (Wildcard / LOST COBRA Cup Final)
1921 Record: 74-70
1922 Projection: 99-45
I'm highly questionable about this prediction but the Elephants have returned to 1922 with practically the same team that narrowly missed out on a wildcard spot in 1921. With the exception of 1B Vladik Zavalin and C Jim Dertinger, this is a young under-30 team... and Zavalin is still a top candidate to take out the title of home run champion once again.
The team's stopper Max Collins is the highlight of the pitching staff. The two-time reliever of the year has given up just four home runs over two seasons of work and has accumulated 47 saves and 19-12 record over his 150 appearances in an Elephants jersey.
Fans are excited at the return of Connor Kyle though. The pitcher damaged his elbow ligaments in May 1920 and we haven't seen him throw a baseball since. He'll take the mound for opening game.
One exciting talent to watch in 1922 is reliever Ezra Varalli. The 22 year old is the #4 prospect in baseball and has been named in the main squad. He's in the bullpen for now, but most are picking to see him in the rotation before the end of the year. He projects out to be one of the best control pitchers in the league.
1920 Record: 76-68
1921 Record: 78-66 (Wildcard / Lost Semi Final)
1922 Projection: 100-44
So wait, they lose their MVP and... get better? A lot better actually? Better than the dominant 1920 Roosters? How does that work? The big (and what felt like only) news of the offseason was Dustland's signing of RF Jon Jackson away from the Polar Bears but Northlands management took in stride. They picked up 2-time All-Star RF Lucas West to take Jackson's spot in the field and lineup. West isn't quite the player that Jackson is but he's only one-fifth of the cost and it's still a deadly lineup -- especially with the likes of Richard Maxwell at First Base ready to bash.
The other big move of the winter was trading away 2B Easton Wilkins to Dustland for Pitcher Chris Ulmer. Ulmer had the best BB/9 among those who pitched enough qualifying innings last season, and he'll be put into the Stopper role for the Bears. A fantastic acquisition for Wilkins, who they couldn't fit into their lineup.
This actually looks like one of the best pitching staffs in the competition. Despite playing in a hitter-friendly park, they are predicted to concede the second-lowest amount of runs of anyone. A big part of that will be the reigning Pitcher of the Year Elijah Shumate.