[Westheim]

2051 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set in parenthesis shows 2050 stats, second set career stats; players with an * are off season acquisitions):

SP Jason Wheatley, 30, B:R, T:R (11-11, 3.88 ERA | 105-71, 3.40 ERA) – 2045 Pitcher of the Year! Wheats roared from #5 starter in April of 2045 to the highest honor the CL had to dole out to pitchers (at least regularly), doing it with a perfectly balanced approach, keeping things on the ground and walks to a minimum (2.1 BB/9 last season). He has five pitches, some very good, and sort of broke the old Opening Day Curse in 2047; suffered through continuous defensive sabotage in 2050 (.330 BABIP) and otherwise posted his usual numbers.
SP Victor Salcido, 25, B:R, T:R (13-9, 3.67 ERA | 21-20, 3.71 ERA) – cost almost half a million to sign as international free agent in 2044, and found an opening in the rotation in 2048, immediately sticking in it. Could be a bit better in terms of control of his otherwise undisputable stuff.
SP Bubba Wolinsky, 28, B:L, T:L (6-13, 4.28 ERA | 45-32, 3.81 ERA) – former #12 pick pitched in a career-high 33 games in 2050, but also had his worst season by ERA (though also BABIP-“assisted” like Wheats). Led the league in homers allowed in ’49, but rallied to get that value down again in ’50 despite pitching more innings. Five pitches, with a treacherous forkball his best asset.
SP Kyle Brobeck, 23, B:S, T:R (3-2, 4.10 ERA | 3-2, 4.10 ERA) – groundballer acquired in a trade with the Knights for Armando Herrera, he made only seven starts in various cups of coffee, but already flicked a casual 2-hit shutout at the Indians. Five pitches in the arsenal, but still finding both control and strikeouts. Notably a very good hitter by pitchers’ standards.
SP Danny Hall, 26, B:L, T:L (2-3, 2.92 ERA | 2-3, 2.92 ERA) – lefty groundballer, came up for a few cups of coffee in 2050 after spending three years in AAA with mixed success. Well, sometimes they find it at 25! Good fastball, curve, and changeup, but struggles with command.

SP/MR Paul Miles, 27, B:L, T:L (4-3, 4.17 ERA | 4-3, 4.11 ERA) – claimed off waivers by the Stars in June 2050, Miles made 17 appearances (one start) for a 2.79 ERA with the Critters, so he either figured something out or we’re in for some nasty surprises. Throws 92 with a flyball tendency.
MR Mike Snyder, 24, B:S, T:R (3-0, 4.26 ERA | 3-0, 4.26 ERA) – devastating curveball with a 95mph cutter, not bad a for a “failed starter” who was a first-round pick (#21 at least) in the 2045 draft. Quite serious control problems, though, walking almost six batters per nine innings in 52 appearances across AAA and the majors in 2050.
MR Julian Ponce, 38, B:R, T:L (2-1, 2.84 ERA, 1 SV | 112-89, 3.47 ERA, 127 SV) – cutter, curveball, and a groundball tendency should fit him in really well with the rest of what we have. Used to be a starter before transitioning into the bullpen with the Wolves in ’44. Actually led the CL in innings pitched as a 2040 Crusader. Has been silent and steady out of the pen for two years here, but we wouldn’t have minded trading him for something crisper or at least younger. No takers, though.
MR Willie Maldonado *, 31, B:R, T:R (2-1, 4.08 ERA, 2 SV | 40-27, 3.89 ERA, 16 SV) – signed as free agent off the Thunder, Maldonado throws a cutter and curve with groundball tendency and bouts of wildness to him.
MR Eloy Sencion, 24, B:L, T:L (0-0, 2.74 ERA, 2 SV | 0-0, 2.74 ERA, 2 SV) – acquired from the Gold Sox a winter ago, Sencion debuted early in the season and spun 60 appearances without a decision despite appearing in some high leverage spots towards the end of the year. Here’s another applicant for late-inning relief work for sure. Vicious slider.
SU Kevin Hitchcock, 28, B:R, T:R (6-1, 1.89 ERA, 5 SV | 9-8, 3.30 ERA, 6 SV) – the German right-hander seems to have finally figures his own stuff out and pitched a splendid year in 2050 after several false starts earlier in his career. Towards the end began to challenge Willie Cruz for the closer role, and he might be closer to that than many around this team think.
CL Willie Cruz, 25, B:R, T:R (6-6, 3.63 ERA, 32 SV | 6-6, 3.66 ERA, 32 SV) – Cruz showed flashes of brilliance with his plus-plus curve and the 96mph cutter, often decimating the opposition in the ninth inning … but he also had his fair share of blow-ups, perhaps not a shocker with a 24-year-old and completely unproven closer. The competition is on his heels for sure.

C/1B Ruben Gonzalez, 29, B:R, T:R (.239, 6 HR, 43 RBI | .244, 48 HR, 232 RBI) – pretty good defense and a fine throwing arm, but apart from that he managed to shave nearly 200 points off his 2047 OPS in just two years and saw no meaningful recovery last year either – two more years on that deal…
C Juan Jimenez, 29, B:R, T:R (.226, 4 HR, 15 RBI | .253, 26 HR, 167 RBI) – mostly a defensive catcher, and hitting like one, although his OPS was actually a bit better than Gonzalez’ …

RF/1B/LF Jesus Maldonado, 37, B:R, T:R (.281, 12 HR, 68 RBI | .293, 211 HR, 1,081 RBI) – two (probably long) years left on this contract; missed half the season with injuries in ’49, and when he played, the power wasn’t there, but came back to play all but seven games in 2050, and even improved slightly on the OPS for his 13th straight season over 100. One of the three-ring Coons (who are becoming fewer on the roster), Maldo still holds the biggest contract ever doled out by the team ($38.5M over 7 years, or roughly half the annual GDP of his home country of Venezuela).
SS/2B Matt Waters, 30, B:S, T:R (.261, 17 HR, 72 RBI | .260, 138 HR, 537 RBI) – Home Run King! …in 2048. Has since returned to his career mean after a .910 OPS season in ’48, but for a while had no challengers for cleanup duties on this roster. Ken Crum perhaps? Significant power aside, he’s a good defensive shortstop that can also totally steal 20 (and probably 30) bases in a season, but was moved to second base with the arrival of Alex Adame (since gone), and has been kept there with the timely emergence of Lorenzo Lavorano; also signed a long-term deal on his own volition during ’47, and which probably cost him eight figures with what he hit in ’48 (again, .910 OPS anyone?).
SS/3B Lorenzo Lavorano, 23, B:R, T:R (.279, 4 HR, 48 RBI | .289, 5 HR, 61 RBI) – Lonzo had a thunderous debut in 2049 and stole 16 bases in just 36 games, then swiped himself a stolen base title with 65 bags in his first full season, although a 90 OPS+ bat prevented him from winning Rookie of the Year honors.
3B Ed Crispin, 24, B:L, T:R (.273, 7 HR, 44 RBI | .267, 12 HR, 75 RBI) – once upon a time one of the returns from the Rebels in the deal that sent Josh Rella away, Crispin’s good defender at the hot corner, with a middle of the road bat that might see him hit 12-15 homers in a full season, but so far all we’ve gotten is the typical output of the average player on a roster losing 88 games a year.
2B/3B/SS/LF Brian Kaufman *, 30, B:R, T:R (.295, 7 HR, 48 RBI | .273, 28 HR, 288 RBI) – super utility (more or less) that was acquired from the Falcons this offseason. Kaufman figures to be a bit of a rover, spelling Crispin against left-handers and giving the middle infielders regular rest.
1B/LF/RF Evan Van Hoy, 29, B:L, T:L (.237, 3 HR, 23 RBI | .247, 3 HR, 25 RBI) – defensive first baseman that can’t hit much at any level and has a total of 162 at-bats to his name in the majors. How he made it onto the Opening Day roster FOR A SECOND TIME is mesmerizing.

LF/1B/RF/CF Ken Crum *, 28, B:S, T:L (.279, 9 HR, 62 RBI | .282, 71 HR, 387 RBI) – unquestionably our biggest offseason addition, acquired in a trade with the Bayhawks. Led the league in RBI and OPS in 2049, but had a major regression episode in ’50. Oh well, all he had to do was to outhit Matt ******* Glodowski to get star stickers in his personnel file…
RF/LF/CF/1B Cullen Tortora *, 32, B:L, T:L (.243, 5 HR, 33 RBI | .257, 55 HR, 418 RBI) – able outfielder that used to be quick on the bases and steal 20+ a year, but was now on his fifth ABL team and well on the wrong side of 30. Nevertheless was mostly offered up for free by the Condors and we obliged. Should get a lot of playing time in centerfield especially.
LF/1B/RF Alan Puckeridge, 23, B:L, T:R (.273, 6 HR, 51 RBI | .273, 6 HR, 51 RBI) – one of 250 debutees with the Raccoons in 2050 (I counted), Pucks offered good defense, some threat on the bags, and otherwise mostly singles and a few DL stints sprinkled in. Figures to be the dominant end in a platoon with Glodowski.
RF/LF Matt Glodowski, 31, B:R, T:R (.274, 4 HR, 23 RBI | .274, 6 HR, 33 RBI) – he’s the guy I’m pointing at whenever Nick Valdes asks why we’re losing so much; absolute filler material, at an age when teams should have disposed of their filler material. No speed, dubious defense, and yet somehow he ******* led the Coons outfielders in OPS in 2050.
CF/RF/LF Mikio Suzuki, 27, B:L, T:L (.251, 0 HR, 9 RBI | .251, 0 HR, 9 RBI) – signed out of Japan for not a lot of dosh, Suzuki was advertised as a versatile defender and potential base stealer, while probably having mostly a singles bat. What we got was a snuff movie of injuries, not hitting, more injuries and more not hitting. It can hardly get much worse than his .613 OPS in 59 games in 2050…..

On disabled list: Nobody.

Otherwise unavailable: Nobody.

Other roster movement:
MR Polibio O’Higgins, 24, B:R, T:R (0-2, 21.00 ERA | 0-4, 8.10 ERA) – optioned to AAA; loves to fire his 97mph heater, and hitters love to see that. Looks like he’s turning into a grave that took a bleeping $570k to dig.
MR Jim Larson, 24, B:R, T:R (0-0, 3.86 ERA | 0-0, 3.86 ERA) – optioned to AAA; filled in for some games in September; pretty good cutter, but as a whole he’s rather underdone.
MR Bryan Lenderink, 27, B:R, T:R (0-0, 3.52 ERA | 0-0, 4.58 ERA) – optioned to AAA; 11th-string reliever that is routinely hard to watch despite a pretty good curveball – the “pretty good” part also extends to how it’s hit if he hangs it, which happens more often than it shoud.
MR Brett Lillis jr., 25, B:L, T:L (1-0, 4.57 ERA | 2-2, 4.50 ERA) – optioned to AAA; his father was a fairly pleasant presence on some Coons rosters that never progressed past the CLCS, but the offspring had quite the hard time of it in odd bits of major league playing time the last two years. 95mph cutter, scooping curve, and a hard time trying to keep it all under wraps with 6.4 BB/9. Would have made the roster if he hadn’t been the fourth-best left-handed reliever and we weren’t going to carry more than three.
C Jeff Raczka, 27, B:L, T:R (.263, 0 HR, 4 RBI | .208, 1 HR, 6 RBI) – optioned to AAA; defensive catcher, hits like one, too. Keen eye is of note, but putting himself on first base just increases the likelihood of a double play.
2B Rich Seymour, 24, B:R, T:R (.250, 0 HR, 0 RBI | .213, 0 HR, 10 RBI) – optioned to AAA; young second-sacker that basically can’t hit and probably never will.
3B/SS/LF/RF/2B Mitch Sivertson, 25, B:R, T:R (.213, 0 HR, 5 RBI | .213, 0 HR, 5 RBI) – optioned to AAA; super-utility player with a singles stick and quick hindpaws that was thoroughly out-hit by most of our pitchers.
RF/LF/1B/CF Adam Samples, 22, B:R, T:L (.190, 0 HR, 11 RBI | .190, 0 HR, 11 RBI) – optioned to AAA; quite adept outfielder, especially at the corners, but without much speed. Exposing him to 132 major league plate appearances in 2050 yielded perhaps expectable results, and he’ll be allowed to sort himself out in AAA.

Everybody not mentioned by now has already been waived, reassigned, or turned into duck food during the offseason.

OPENING DAY LINEUP:

The Raccoons had their top of the order semi-surgically removed, with neither Matt Watt nor Armando Herrera still available. Lonzo was allergic to walking and not the greatest option for leading off, and in fact, we had no great option for leading off. Cullen Tortora had never beaten the .360 mark for OPS in a qualifying season, but it was really the best we could do. Depending on how well Maldo was holding up at this point, the middle was still formidable, though, and there was some hope in those #6/7 slots.

Or maybe it’s a wing and a prayer, we’ll see.

Vs. RHP: CF Tortora – SS Lavorano – 1B Maldonado (Van Hoy) – 2B Waters – LF Crum – RF Puckeridge – 3B Crispin – C Gonzalez – P
(Vs. LHP: CF Tortora – SS Lavorano – 1B Maldonado – 2B Waters – LF Crum – C Gonzalez – 3B Kaufman – RF Glodowski – P)

Again, Kaufman will sub regularly, and Suzuki might get a share of starts from Tortora and rest Crum, but there’s no natural right-hander in that trio. Van Hoy would of course bat further down the order, with Ken Crum up to #3 whenever he spells Maldo.

OFF SEASON CHANGES:

Five years, five pennants, three rings! What a dynasty!

I like to say that but it is increasingly receding into the history books and there’s hardly any personnel left that has any rings from that era…!

In fact, after posting a 74-88 record in 2050 and thus our first losing season since 2042, we’re also a solid bet to post back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2030-32.

Ken Crum is strong addition for any team at any time, and I wouldn’t sneeze at Kaufman and Tortora (although he was not exactly a target before the Condors shoved him onto us). Half the roster is quite young, which explains perhaps some of the teething problems in 2050 and gives some promises that better days lie ahead?

Despite a modest effort and only a handful of additions, the Raccoons scored in the top 5 in the offseason WAR gains according to good old BNN:

Top 5: Miners (+22.2), Canadiens (+7.6), Thunder (+6.1), Cyclones (+4.2), Raccoons (+3.1)
Bottom 5: Rebels (-4.7), Gold Sox (-5.2), Bayhawks (-7.3), Knights (-7.6), Stars (-15.1)

The other four CL North teams all had crummy offseasons according to the ranking, none of them gaining WAR: the Crusaders were 12th with -0.4 WAR, with the rest even further behind in 14th (IND, -0.6), 17th (BOS, -3.0), 18th (MIL, -3.1).

PREDICTION TIME:

I predicted 90 losses last year and it’s not like we were far away.

But I think some of the young talent on the roster will definitely be better than last year and that should help. On the other paw, there’s two completely unproven starters in the rotation and our backup concept mostly revolves around Paul Miles.

Rafael de la Cruz might make an appearance in the second half if all things go well for him, however, and he’s the most anticipated thing in Portland since the divine intervention that disposed of R.J. DeWeese’s contract and “character” 30 years ago.

Nevertheless, there’s too many Matt Glodowskis on the roster, and the Raccoons will still lose 86 games this year. It should get better by 2052/53.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

For the third straight year, the Raccoons had the #6 farm in the league this season.

We had eight ranked prospects (four in the top 100, three in the top 50) last year, but this time managed to fill out our franchise top 10 with ranked prospects entirely, having exactly ten of them. Six of these were in the top 100, and four in (or juuust outside) the top 50.

This was despite some of the previous ranked prospects getting shed on the way: #153 Alan Puckeridge exceeded rookie limits; #112 Dave Blackshire had a soft season in AAA and dropped out of the rankings; and #195 Curtis Scholl was taken by the Falcons in the Rule 5 Draft (but dropped out of the top 200 anyway) after missing most of 2050 with a busted knee;

5th (-3) – AAA SP Rafael de la Cruz, 20 – 2047 international free agent signed by Raccoons
37th (0) – AA SP Duarte Damasceno, 19 – 2049 international free agent signed by Raccoons
46th (new) – ML SP Kyle Brobeck, 23 – 2048 first-round pick by Condors, acquired in trade from Knights for Armando Herrera
54th (new) – A SP Kenneth Spencer, 19 – 2050 first-round pick by Raccoons
78th (-15) – AAA C/1B Tyler Philipps, 24 – 2047 fifth-round pick by Raccoons
125th (new) – AAA SP Phil Baker, 22 –
184th (new) – AAA SP Carmen Argenziano, 22 –
197th (-158) – AAA RF/LF Oscar Rivera, 25 – 2042 scouting discovery by Gold Sox, acquired in trade with Willie Cruz, Eloy Sencion for Dave Hils, Andrew Clarke, Justin Brooks
198th (-37) – AA CL Reynaldo Bravo, 19 – 2047 international free agent signed by Raccoons

Finally, the top 10 overall prospects this year are:

1st (new) – MIL A SP Tyler Riddle, 19
2nd (-1) – ATL AAA C Pedro Almaguer, 22
3rd (new) – LVA AA CF Dan Martin, 23
4th (+64) – ATL AAA 2B/SS Willie Acosta, 21
5th (-3) – POR AAA SP Rafael de la Cruz, 20

6th (-3) – TOP ML C Matt McLaren, 23
7th (-3) – TOP AAA SP Bill Hernandez, 21
8th (new) – SFW AAA CL Ricardo Montoya, 20
9th (new) – LAP AA UT Jeremy Lindauer, 21
10th (+3) – LAP AAA OF/1B Noah Caswell, 21

Riddle was the top pick in the 2050 draft and made a top impression on the prospect ranking right away. Similarly, Dan Martin was the #3 pick in the 2050 draft. Lindauer was also a top pick in the most recent draf,t, being selected at #5. Montoya has been around for a while, signing a minor league contract with the Canadiens in 2047, but was never ranked until the Warriors got him in a trade last August.

That left the bottom six from last year’s top 10, none of whom made the list anymore.

#5 OF Josh Abercrombie went from AA to the majors with the Miners last year, hitting .268 with no homers in 42 games. He was on their loaded Opening Day roster, same as the old #6, Canadiens reliever Anton Jesus, although he will be a debutee.

#7 Falcons corner infielder Rich Fish slid 48 spots to #55 after hitting .252 in AA for most of the year. It was 22 spots down from #8 to #30 for Gold Sox SP Josh Gowin, who would make his AA debut this year after pitching to a 3.00 ERA in single-A in 2050. Loggers OF/1B Phil Steinbacher dropped from #9 to #14 with a lackluster AAA campaign. And #10 Edwin Flores lost two spots to #12. The 20-year-old outfielder and first baseman split time between single- and double-A in 2050.

Next: first pitch.