[Sundance]

Recap

Overall Record: 100-62
Position: 2nd (Wildcard)
Games Back: 13 (+9 in Wildcard)

Once again, I find myself looking back at the season and feeling conflicted. There's so much to be happy with. It was the best regular season in the club’s history. Once again, we were a playoff team. But I can’t help but feel disappointed in the way things ended. At this point, the Dodgers have won three straight World Series, and have been in five of the last six.

Is this the pain that our 1998 team endured? To be so close, yet so far away? To put together a championship caliber team, only to have it crushed by a dynasty?

And it’s not just that they are an all-time great team. It’s that we have to take their best shot in the playoffs. They get that extra rest. They get to throw out the top of their rotation against us. And we took that shot this year. Our offense showed up. But we couldn’t do anything to slow down their offense.

We won 100 games this season, and still finished 13 games behind them. We actually won the season series, 6-3 against them. But in a short format, with their best matched up against ours, it just wasn’t enough.

Where do we go from here? How do I improve the team and reach them? What do I give up in order to best our rivals?

Let’s take a look at some standout performances this past season.

C Cam Gallagher & C Luis Campusano
Gallagher - .297/.345/.386, 15 doubles, 6 HR, 50 RBI, 52 R, 2.4 WAR
Campusano - .282/.354/.463, 15 doubles, 8 HR, 25 RBI, 31 R, 1.9 WAR

Our platoon behind the plate really seemed to pay off this year. It would be nice to keep both of them, but both players are up for arbitration this off season. Depending on how much they are awarded, we may be forced to make a decision to keep one over the other. Their production was so similar this season, that just keeping one may not actually make much of a difference.

1B Jose Abreu
.267/.319/.494, 27 doubles, 35 HR, 107 RBI, 93 R, 3.0 WAR

2022 saw Abreu develop into much more of a stereotypical power hitter. His .267 average was the second lowest of his career, but he set a career best in home runs. He ranked 10th in the NL in total bases, 6th in HR, and 9th in RBI. He’s a free agent after this season and will be turning 36 next year. He’s going to come with a high price tag. Unfortunately, there aren’t a whole lot of options out there to replace him, so we might just have to bite the bullet and pay him.

2B Ha-Seong Kim
.266/.324/.498, 31 doubles, 4 triples, 26 HR, 69 RBI, 78 R, 10 SB, 4.8 WAR

2022 was a breakout year for the 27 year old international import. The second year man was awarded with his first All-Star selection, as well as his first Golden Glove! We’re still waiting on his contact ability to develop more. The skills to hit for a high average are there, he just hasn’t quite been able to get where we expect him to be. Still, I can’t complain much when he puts up a WAR number like that.

3B Manny Machado
.298/.365/.556, 42 doubles, 37 HR, 111 RBI, 98 R, 7 SB, 7.3 WAR

When we signed Machado to that massive contract, this is the player that we dreamed about getting. Machado finished 5th in the NL in hits, 2nd in total bases, 5th in doubles, 4th in HR, 2nd in RBI, 8th in average, 6th in OPS, and 2nd in WAR. He was selected to his 6th All-Star game, won his 2nd Silver Slugger, and finished 2nd in MVP voting. It was an absolutely monster year for Manny.

SS Fernando Tatis Jr.
.301/.381/.582, 33 doubles, 5 triples. 42 HR, 114 RBI, 113 R. 25 SB, 9.7 WAR

Of course El Nino was going to get a mention here. Tatis Jr. was simply ridiculous in his fourth year in the league. The 23 year old ranked 3rd in the NL in hits, 1st in total bases, 2nd in HR, 10th in steals, 1st in RBI, 2nd in runs, 6th in average, 3rd in OPS, and 1st in WAR. He was elected to his 2nd All-Star game, won his 2nd Silver Slugger, and was the unanimous winner of the MVP.

LF Corey Dickerson, CF Ian Miller, & RF Alex Verdugo
Dickerson - .308/.349/.514, 40 doubles, 6 triples, 19 HR, 77 RBI, 70 R, 3.9 WAR
Miller - .281/.334/.401, 38 doubles, 5 triples, 8 HR, 64 RBI, 93 R, 43 SB, 3.1 WAR
Verdugo - .301/.366/.440, 31 doubles, 2 triples, 11 HR, 63 RBI, 70 R, 10 SB, 3.0 WAR

Our outfield was so incredibly consistent this season. Their presence is a big reason for our success. Special mention needs to be given to Miller, who forced his way into the starting lineup and ended up leading the NL in stolen bases.

SP James Paxton
16-5, 201.2 IP, 234 K, 3.53 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 4.7 WAR

In his first full season as our ace, Paxton certainly lived up to the hype. He finished 2nd in the NL in wins, 2nd in winning percentage, 4th in IP, 2nd in K, 9th in ERA, 6th in WHIP, 1st in quality starts, and 5th in WAR. He finished 5th in Cy Young voting.

RP Seth Elledge
66.1 IP, 91 K, 2.17 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 2.2 WAR

I remember that when I traded for Elledge last season, I wrote that he would be a project and that he might not even make it back to the big leagues. Well, I was wrong. Not only did he make it onto our roster, but he was by far our best reliever this season. It’s a shame that he didn't receive more votes for the Reliever of the year award. I feel like he should have finished higher up. He still has hopes about being a starter, but he might just be too good to move from his current role.

Prospects Follow Up

SP MacKenzie Gore - MLB
2B Ha-Seong Kim - MLB
2B Tucupita Marcano - MLB
C Luis Campusano - MLB
SP Seth Elledge - AAA -> MLB
SP Ryan Weathers - AAA -> MLB -> AAA
CL Adrian Morejon - AAA
SS CJ Abrams - AAA
RF Jorge Ona - AAA -> Traded
LF Robert Hassell III - A+ -> AA