Let's see what the experts predict for the
1938 Ullamaliztli Namiqui season!
Mérida (40-44 last year) are favorites to reclaim their title, behind the likes of 1B Santiago Salas (.274/.363/.369, Teyaotlani last year), LF Celestino de la Rosa (.299/.425/.450, Tlatoani and Teyaotlani), SS Antonio Monterrosa (.318/.338/.375, Teyaotlani) and RHP Jesús Pérez (2.31 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 9.7 K%). You may have noticed the club has decided to move Celestino de la Rosa to left, having been the starting CF since the league began 2 years ago. He was never the best defender, but age is starting to catch up to him and his arm. The league's #4 prospect, 21 year old José Contreras, is expected to take on the starting role at center. Otherwise, their lineup is the same as the 1936 title winning lineup.
San Luis (48-36 last year) are expected to fight hard to keep their title, with new signing CF Jesús Rodríguez (.247/.285/.323) as well as title winning pitchers LHP Francisco Camacho (2.46 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 11.5 K%) and RHP Roberto Mestre (1.50 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 11 K%) as early contenders for awards. Miguel Muñoz (.307/.361/.406) is expect to make the move from LF to 1B after Francisco Escamilla was traded to León, while Guillermo Aceves (.233/.278/.297) will move from center to left to make space for Rodríguez.
Puebla (43-41 last year) will provide competition for the top spots, with a star-studded roster that includes players like 1B Mario Morales (.172/.274/.188 in 47 games last year) who's expected to break out in a big way, 3B Daniel Rivera (.264/.371/.306) and pitchers Rafael Sianez (1.37 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 8.2 K%), Martín Pérez (3.23 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10.7 K%) and former Howler José García (3.04 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 6.6 K%).
After the top 3 contenders, competition is expected to drop off, with Jaguares de México (43-41 last year) the only other team above .500. RF Salvador Velázquez (.260/.345/.339 last year) and LHP Andrés Amaya (2.60 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 7.9 K%) are expected to carry the biggest loads this year. Their lineup remains almost identical, with 1B Efraín Armenta (.187/.275/.227) coming over from Tampico.
Guadalajara (46-38 last year) and León (45-39 last year) are not expected to compete, despite the talent on their rosters and their strong results last year. The Obsidians' 2B César Loaiza (.311/.346/.409, Teyaotlani) is the favorite for this year's Tlatoani award, with LHP Carlos Casillas (2.14 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 12.3 K%) and RHP Jacinto Santos (1.97 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 12.6 K%, Atlatl) in the running for the Atlatl Award. Oscar Valladolid (.261/.296/.322) is set to move from LF to 1B, taking over from "Memo" Villanueva (.243/.265/.319) who himself replaces RF José Mancilla (.261/.321/.343) who is being moved to LF. New signing Gabriel Rivas (.277/.308/.323) is expected to be the starting 3B.
Experts consider RF Andrés Suárez (.280/.359/.390) as the Arrows' only top player, despite them acquiring Victor Barrios (.332/.394/.401) this offseason. The Barrios signing makes Suárez move from LF to RF, with Manuel Gil (.275/.314/.350) moved to the bench. The aforementioned Francisco Escamilla (.266/.290/.357) takes the starting 1B spot from Julio Pera (.308/.353/.364).
After doing away with several of their top players, Águilas de México (35-49 last year) are expected to end up second to last. José Canto (.331/.377/.392 in 54 games) replaces an aging Octavio Nieves (.256/.320/.287 in 53 games) as starting backstop. Carlos Ramírez (.327/.335/.386 in 54 career games) takes over second base after the Octavio Torres trade. Melquiades Espinoza (.247/.274/.342 in 54 career games) replaces a 34 year old Carlos Castro (.221/.264/.258 in 49 games last year) in shortstop. Luis García (.291/.323/.347 in 87 career games) takes over in right from Victor Barrios.
Finally, Tampico (36-48 last year) is expected to be at the bottom once again, with only RHP Israel Pastrana (2.14 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 10.8 K%) expected to compete for awards. New signing Mario Abeyta (.239/.295/.352 in 49 career games) moves David García (.225/.274/.286 last year) over to short and Andrés Martínez (.259/.297/.316) over to the hot corner. Abelardo Rivera (.286/.312/.351) is expected to be the starting center fielder after the departure of Jesús Rodríguez.
That's the experts' take on the upcoming 1938 season, but I'm sure we'll see some surprises along the way. In the next update we'll look at April's results. Thanks for reading!