[Westheim]

2061 PORTLAND RACCOONS – Opening Day Roster (first set in parenthesis shows 2060 stats, second set career stats; players with an * are off season acquisitions;

SP Tyler Riddle, 29, B:L, T:L (13-8, 2.93 ERA | 66-46, 2.98 ERA, 2 SV) – last year he signed as free agent from the Loggers after missing half of ’58 and all of ’59, and it looked bad enough for him at times that he could not get more than a 1-year contract, either. However, he put together a pretty strong season, leading the league in BB/9 and posting a career-high 8.2 K/9 in a qualifying season. His bothers won him a 4-year deal paying actual money.
SP Bobby Herrera, 30, B:R, T:R (14-12, 3.50 ERA | 38-35, 3.27 ERA) – Tipsy Bobby won a career-high 14 games in his third season over from Cuba, but posted his worst ERA at the same time. While that changeup and slider combo has been shown to work very well with him getting close to the 200 strikeouts mark for the last two seasons, overall his numbers were behind those posted by Tyler Riddle, and so he would not be the Opening Day starter for the first time in his ABL career.
SP Nick Robinson *, 32, B:L, T:L (16-6, 3.01 ERA | 109-76, 3.32 ERA) – truly elite pitcher brought onto the roster in a trade with the Gold Sox. Vicious curveball and very impressive stats, and he hasn’t missed a start in eight years while winning an ERA title in the FL in ’58.
SP Justin DeRose, 27, B:S, T:R (10-9, 3.98 ERA | 23-30, 4.12 ERA) – one of two Texan rookies acquired from the Crusaders for 2057 Opening Day man Kennedy Adkins and Oscar Caballero at the deadline in 2057, him and Sensabaugh were thrown right into the deep end and … it was much horror with both of them ever since. DeRose remains consistently inconsistent, but at least he toned the homers down last year and posted his first winning record, but also missed six starts due to injury.
SP Chance Fox, 26, B:L, T:L (14-11, 4.12 ERA | 34-24, 4.13 ERA) – former #3 pick and groundballer with iffy control, Fox was promoted from St. Pete in the middle of the 2058 season and got roughed up regularly, but pitched a few nice games as well. Also throws 96 with a nice slider and changeup. Led the team in W’s in 2059 and matched that win total in 2060, and actually made some improvements in BB/9 and K/9.

MU J.J. Sensabaugh, 28, B:R, T:R (1-0, 6.05 ERA, 1 SV | 9-9, 5.00 ERA, 1 SV) – basically a failed starter at this point, Sensabaugh once was the other half of returns in the trade that also gave us DeRose. He will not be expected to do any heroics. Just show basic competence when the starter has already been knocked out early and give us three innings to get everybody closer to going to bed.
MR Elijah LaBat, 27, B:L, T:L (1-2, 3.28 ERA, 1 SV | 1-3, 2.98 ERA, 1 SV) – cutter/curve left-hander that was taken in the supplemental round in ’56 and reached the majors for the first time in 2059, was on the Opening Day roster last year, but was demoted to AAA for the summer before rejoining the team much improved in the second half of the season.
MR Reynaldo Bravo, 29, B:R, T:R (2-5, 3.71 ERA, 1 SV | 12-18, 3.38 ERA, 3 SV) – good fastball/curveball, not such a great rotator cuff. But he’s been healthy for the last couple of seasons, and struck out 9+/9 most of the time. He had his struggles in 2060 though and got lit up a couple of times, thankfully while already being planned in as only the third-most prominent righty reliever out of that pen behind Ryan Sullivan and Ruben Mendez.
MR Mike Lane *, 33, B:R, T:R (8-6, 3.00 ERA, 3 SV | 41-40, 3.67 ERA, 69 SV) – Lane was with the Raccoons in 2056-57 and pitched generally with competence and few complaints. He went through some struggles in Denver and Boston in the interim, but looked much rejuvenated last season while the Titans tortured him for 87 innings out of the pen. Signed as Ryan Sullivan replacement on a 1-year deal.
SU Ruben Mendez, 34, B:R, T:R (2-0, 2.73 ERA, 1 SV | 49-50, 3.44 ERA, 175 SV) – was a free agent acquisition in 2060 and pitched very well with 1.9 BB/9 and five times as many strikeouts. The 96mph heat and the changeup have been working very well. Will be in a contract year this season, but the Raccoons look open to negotiate an extension despite his advanced age.
SU Ricky Herrera, 29, B:L, T:L (8-3, 3.21 ERA, 1 SV | 24-10, 2.79 ERA, 2 SV) – former second-rounder with a fastball/slider combo that has become Portland’s most notorious wins thief with 19 victories claimed between the last two seasons. Very sturdy on the hill, although his walks issued have seen some up and down over the years.
CL Matt Walters, 30, B:L, T:L (1-2, 1.81 ERA, 55 SV | 12-14, 1.77 ERA, 214 SV) – three Reliever of the Year titles, three times leading the CL in saves, including last year and by a landslide, also setting a new franchise mark for saves in a single season, erasing Angel Casas’ ancient mark of 54. Deceptive 94mph fastball, wipeout curveball that is guaranteed to corkscrew through swinging batters. Good boy. Loves snacks.

C Angel Perez, 25, B:R, T:R (.272, 13 HR, 72 RBI | .282, 16 HR, 103 RBI) – acquired with Jack Kozak from the Pacifics for mostly Jesus Martinez in July of 2059, Perez immediately made a bit of a splash, not necessarily in the power department, but with good work behind the plate and a steady supply of base hits and keeping the line moving. Did his first full season in ’60 and hit just above league average with a 102 OPS+, although we had hoped for a tad more. Runs like a catcher though, so he will probably continue to bat behind all the other big bats that actually have legs.
C Tim Fuller *, 32, B:R, T:R (.260, 3 HR, 23 RBI | .271, 46 HR, 302 RBI) – free agent from the Wolves, where he spent four years batting mostly competently, but for the last three years only as the backup. Good behind the dish, and best case is we have an adequate replacement for Chris Maresh, who was very fine behind Angel Perez last year, but had to go because of the compensation pick.

1B Joel Starr, 28, B:L, T:L (.310, 22 HR, 80 RBI | .304, 48 HR, 193 RBI) – while he’s already a bit older than prime prospect porn, he still won a Platinum Stick in his first full season in the majors at age 26 and became the Raccoons’ best hitter for good in 2060, when he not only put up a .901 OPS, but also played all but one game in a season where almost everybody else at one point or another hit the DL. Good steady bat with power, normal defense at first base, and while he’s not Lonzo by any stretch of the imagination, he can time the pitcher up and sneak a few stolen bases.
SS/2B/3B Nick Nye, 30, B:R, T:R (.297, 18 HR, 85 RBI | .313, 150 HR, 671 RBI) – THE Addition of the previous offseason! Nick Nye was a former FL Player of the Year and had won a sack full of titles and awards with the Blue Sox in the last few years, including bagging the FL homer crown in 2059. So of course in Portland he shed 42 points of batting average and cut his homer total in half. Portland things, I guess. That still made him perhaps the second-most batter on the roster, especially once multiplied with games played, and even then he missed 18 games.
SS Lorenzo Lavorano, 33, B:R, T:R (.269, 3 HR, 53 RBI | .280, 38 HR, 559 RBI) – Everybody loves Lonzo! If you don’t love Lonzo, you can’t be my friend…! Has won seven stolen base titles in eight full (as in: not-injured) seasons, a Gold Glove at least once… and he keeps being a delight in the field and on the career steals list, where he currently sits sixth with 627 career thefts in 871 attempts – keep running, boy! After missing almost all of 2059 with a shoulder injury, he kept the absences down to 30 games last year, part hamstring, part suspension, and part more regular rest days to keep him alive.
3B/1B/2B/SS/RF Nick Fox *, 31, B:S, T:R (.291, 6 HR, 68 RBI | .278, 27 HR, 289 RBI) – free agent acquisition intended to be a more permanent (well, two years) solution to third base, where we have spent about half a decade now just fudging around without ever arriving at a productive solution (although Nick Fowler was not horrendous last year). Very good D on the corners, serviceable up the middle, but not much in terms of power and speed.
SS/3B/2B Nick Fowler, 30, B:L, T:R (.280, 6 HR, 43 RBI | .282, 27 HR, 236 RBI) – Fowler assumed regular third base duties early last year after coming over from the Crusaders, and thus missed out on a ring. Had a strong first half, but tailed off in the second half.
1B/CF/LF Jack Kozak, 26, B:R, T:R (.237, 10 HR, 39 RBI | .237, 10 HR, 45 RBI) – hit ten homers in half a season’s worth of at-bats while at the same time hitting for no average almost exclusively against lefty pitching and coming out below league average with a 97 OPS+. At this point he claims a roster spot with defensive versatility, even though his outfield defense has been the subject of rough reviews.
2B/SS/LF/3B/RF Jon Bean, 26, B:L, T:R (.248, 0 HR, 11 RBI | .252, 1 HR, 30 RBI) – part of the Raccoons’ ever-tingling carrousel of unimpressive quad-A middle infield talent, Jon Bean won the final spot on the roster mostly for being a left-handed alternative to give Lonzo a day off, although there’s also Nick Fowler and in the end he might not see much action after all.

LF/RF/1B Trent Brassfield, 28, B:R, T:R (.266, 12 HR, 57 RBI | .278, 70 HR, 351 RBI) – sketchy defender that made a name with his stick as a 21-year-old before flaying a shoulder, and he’s chased that 151 OPS+ in 48 games ever since without getting remotely close. Still a tough out and a valuable right-handed bat that in 2060 drew almost as many walks as he struck out, but also missed almost 50 games with injury.
CF/1B/LF/RF Noah Caswell, 31, B:L, T:L (.264, 4 HR, 32 RBI | .290, 78 HR, 495 RBI) – exceptional defender and well-above-average hitter that was signed on a huge $36M contract as a free agent from the Wolves before the 2058 season. Four consecutive CF Gold Gloves in the Federal League leave no question about who will play that position on this roster! Okay he has yet to win one of those with the Raccoons, but we’re confident that he’ll catch some attention even on the wrong side of 30. 2060 was a tire fire for him, though, as he missed over 100 games on the DL and when he was actually playing he could never hit a groove and had by far his worst career season. Three more years on the contract to get the ship righted, or break through its bottom and pull the whole bloody thing to the bottom of the ocean.
RF/LF/CF/1B Joey Christopher, 25, B:L, T:L (.247, 5 HR, 33 RBI | .243, 7 HR, 57 RBI) – yes, that’s our starting rightfielder, stop snickering. Joe-Chris has a .380 BABIP in the majors in three partial seasons and a full one, including .388 last year in 156 games, more than half of his body of work in the majors. Also has a killer throwing arm in rightfield, and has considerable speed on the basepaths, although his career success rate for stealing is a paltry 56.5%.
CF/LF/RF Ben Morris, 23, B:L, T:L (.294, 3 HR, 30 RBI | .267, 3 HR, 32 RBI) – has drawn comparisons to Joey Christopher in the past, at least for his batting, but defensively he is more at home in center and lacks the thunderous arm. He did a fine job of spelling Noah Caswell during his long absence last year, and normally he’s too young to be wasted as a backup, but we clearly don’t know what we’re doing.

On disabled list:
SU Ryan Sullivan, 31, B:L, T:R (2-1, 1.79 ERA, 2 SV | 52-51, 3.06 ERA, 143 SV) – two stints as a Crusaders closer, two years in L.A., and now a 3-year deal with the Raccoons as free agent; also a devious curveball in addition to the 94mph fastball, all of which he’ll take to the 60-day DL for most or all of the season due to a torn rotator cuff before potentially voiding his player option for 2062. Lovely.

Otherwise unavailable: Nobody.

Other roster movement:
SP/MR Curt Therien, 27, B:L, T:L (0-1, 4.00 ERA | 0-1, 4.00 ERA) – optioned to AAA; the British-Columbian throws four pitches, none too effectively, and he was unimpressive even just as a reliever with the Raccoons last year. Hasn’t actually started a game since 2058 and Ham Lake.
MR Bryan Erickson, 26, B:R, T:R (2-1, 4.44 ERA | 2-1, 4.44 ERA) – optioned to AAA; former eighth-rounder and basic flyball pitcher with a curveball that was mostly employed in garbage relief, but also lacked the length to do that on a regular basis and for multiple innings, so he couldn’t even stink up to J.J. Sensabaugh for that job at the shallow end of the pen.
MR Adam Harris, 26, B:R, T:L (1-0, 3.80 ERA | 1-0, 3.86 ERA) – waived and DFA’ed; beset with control issues, he had a few nice outings in his annual pair of call-ups, but just like last year he drew the short end of the stick against Elijah LaBat for the second non-closing left-hander spot in that bullpen.
C Marcos Arellano *, 24, B:R, T:R (.000, 0 HR, 0 RBI | .214, 0 HR, 10 RBI) – optioned to AAA; the young Panamanian accompanied Nick Robinson over from Denver, and will be the new third-string catcher option held in reserve in AAA. Actually very adept defensively, but he just can’t hit a lick, not even in AAA.
2B/3B/SS David Gonzales, 28, B:S, T:R (.218, 1 HR, 9 RBI | .233, 3 HR, 31 RBI) – waived and DFA’ed; was half of a failed third base platoon with Tony Benitez to begin the last season. Somehow hung on to a roster spot through two years following being taken in the Rule 5 draft, despite hitting absolutely nothing; defensively versatile and competent, but we now have more people like that that can actually out-hit a high school freshman.
2B/LF Bernie Ortega, 24, B:R, T:R (.255, 0 HR, 3 RBI | .263, 1 HR, 18 RBI) – optioned to AAA; hit very well for two weeks after first getting promoted into our general middle infield mess in 2059, but eventually petered out to hitting at replacement level, which he continued into 2060.
3B/RF Armando Suriel, 26, B:S, T:R (.264, 0 HR, 1 RBI | .264, 0 HR, 1 RBI) – optioned to AAA; lingered on the roster for two months last year for no particular reason, without hitting anything. Very good defender at third base, though.
RF/LF/CF Todd Oley, 28, B:L, T:L (.250, 1 HR, 2 RBI | .299, 2 HR, 37 RBI) – waived and DFA’ed; agile defender that once hit .432 in 26 games, but all his other performances have never matched up.

Everybody not mentioned by now has already been waived, reassigned, or sold to the The Dalles Beer Drinkers during the winter.

OPENING DAY LINEUP:

Vs. RHP: RF Christopher – SS Lavorano (Fowler, Bean) – 1B Starr – 2B Nye – CF Caswell (Morris) – LF Brassfield – C Perez – 3B N. Fox (Fowler) – P
(Vs. LHP: RF Brassfield – SS Lavorano – 2B Nye – 1B Starr – C Perez – CF Caswell (Morris) – LF Kozak – 3B N. Fox – P)

That is very similar to the “dense lineup” I proclaimed last year. Well, dense they were, scoring the second-fewest runs in the CL. There are not many alternatives against southpaws, since we only have six right-handed bats (two catchers included) and the lone switch-hitter Nick Fox on the roster.

OFF SEASON CHANGES:

The Raccoons ended up in seventh place with +3.8 WAR according to BNN this winter, of which +3.4 WAR came from the Robinson trade, the only trade we struck this year. Zach Stewart (2.9) and Chris Maresh (1.2) were significant departures, but we also brought in three quality free agents with Fox (2.8), Lane (1.2), and Fuller (0.7).

Top 5: Miners (+14.1), Crusaders (+10.1), Knights (+7.7), Titans (+5.3), Scorpions (+5.1)
Bottom 5: Blue Sox (-6.2), Stars (-6.3), Gold Sox (-6.4), Capitals (-7.4), Rebels (-11.1)

The Indians came ahead of us in sixth place with +4.8 WAR and the Elks were right behind, eighth with +1.4 WAR. That left the Loggers, who were a rather middling 12th with -0.3 WAR. So basically everybody in the division got better. Yikes.

PREDICTION TIME:

I said they’d go 92-70 last year, and they went 92-70. They didn’t win anything in the grander picture, and Maud just informed me that it’s the same for me. Bother.

The Raccoons look fortified, but the Crusaders well out-spent us and I don’t see us being very close. We should win 90+ again, maybe even another 92-70. The Crusaders look like they’ll win 100+ again. And the Titans are also still there.

PLAYER DEVELOPMENT:

The Coons gained a spot in the prospect rankings, going from 7th to 6th place among all the ABL teams. There was little organizational turnover in the personnel listed while we went from nine to ten ranked prospects, including six (rather than three) inside the top 100. The only actual departure from the system was #183 Miguel Ulloa, who had been part of the package the Gold Sox received for Nick Robinson. Everybody else was still in the organization, although #120 SP Victor Herrera, #182 SP Daniel Benitez, and #185 1B Alex Vargas were no longer ranked this year.

There were a few new odd additions to the list of ranked Raccoons prospects, including Rich Read, one of the players taken by other teams in the Rule 5 draft last December, as well as our last-rounder and #323 pick from 2060, Andy Marullo, who was being converted from a second baseman to a right-handed reliever. He struck out 10.2/9 in 31 innings with the Beagles last season, but walks were also … “significant”. No homers allowed, though.

5th (-1) – AAA RF/LF Jose Corral, 20 – 2057 international free agent signed by Raccoons
24th (+36) – AAA SP Angel Alba, 24 – 2053 scouting discovery by Raccoons
58th (+69) – AA INF/RF/LF Victor Morales, 19 – 2059 international free agent signed by Raccoons
62nd (-36) – A 1B Jon Herbert, 19 – 2059 first-round pick by Raccoons
87th (new) – A LF/RF Roberto Soto, 20 – 2058 scouting discovery by Raccoons
96th (new) – A SP Juan Arauz, 18 – 2060 international free agent signed by Raccoons

110th (new) – AAA MR Rich Read, 23 – 2057 supplemental round pick by Raccoons, taken in 2060 Rule 5 draft by Buffaloes but returned
133rd (new) – A MR Andy Marullo, 19 – 2060 13th-round pick by Raccoons (as infielder)
160th (new) – A LF/RF/1B John Bentley, 21 – 2060 first-round pick by Raccoons
199th (-30) – AAA 1B Joe Agee, 26 – 2056 first-round pick by Raccoons

Finally, the top 10 overall prospects this year are:

1st (new) – IND A SP Gabriel Rios, 19
2nd (+9) – CHA ML CL Manny Gutierrez, 21
3rd (new) – CIN A C Ryan Marty, 18
4th (+29) – TOP AAA INF/LF/CF Alex Rodriguez, 23
5th (-1) – POR AAA RF/LF Jose Corral, 20

6th (+1) – VAN ML SP Ken Nielsen, 22
7th (+7) – CIN A OF/1B/3B Dallas Baker, 22
8th (+17) – OCT AAA 1B Andres Valencia, 23
9th (new) – RIC A SP Marc Timmons, 19
10th (new) – BOS A CL Gil Huerta, 18

The promotion of Eddie Marcotte to the big-league Titans finally allowed for a new #1 prospect to be declared after Marcotte hogged that spot from 2058 to 2060. Last year’s #8 draft pick, Gabriel Rios, taken by the Indians, got the honors. He was joined in the top 10 by the #1 pick from 2060, Ryan Marty, debuting as the #3 prospect. 2059’s #1 pick, Dallas Baker, showed up on #7 on the list after being the #14 prospect in last year’s edition. The other two entries at the bottom of the list had also been taken in the first round in 2060, but a bit deeper down; Timmons had been the #21 pick, and Huerta had been the #16 pick.

Only two top 10 prospects from last year, the Pacific Northwest pair of Jose Corral and Ken Nielsen, were still in the top 10 this year, which means eight of the group had departed.

The Titans had held two of the top 10 prospects; three-time #1 Eddie Marcotte had spent all year on the major league roster, leading the CL in strikeouts while batting .233 with 16 HR, 66 RBI, and 27 SB before tearing cruciate ligaments in September. He was still on the shelf and expected to return in May. Their other entry, #8 Bryce Wallace, had slipped to #20 after a trying season in AA Arlington.

The Stars’ #10 prospect, SP Ian Peters, suffered through biceps and hamstring injuries and made only nine starts last year. He was still promoted to AAA for the new season, but sagged to #38 in the rankings.

The #2 prospect, the Indians’ SP Matt Martin, struggled so badly in his second pro season that the Indians pulled the plug on him and decided to convert him to a centerfielder. He was still ranked as the #12 prospect because BNN thought the Indians might come to their senses eventually.

The #3 prospect, Vegas OF Jake Evans, made it to the majors by May last year and batted .239 with 15 HR and 71 RBI for the rest of the year. He was followed a bit later by the Crusaders’ RF/LF Javier Acuna, the #5 prospect, who played half a season for AAA Lexington before joining the top club and batting .281 with 2 HR and 21 RBI in 50 games, some off the bench.

A bit more complicated story for the #9 prospect, catcher Nick Dingman, who played four games for AAA Akron before being promoted to the Blue Sox, where he hit .242 with 7 HR and 25 RBI before being traded to the Miners in July, where he hit another 7 HR and 25 RBI while batting .326; in total he played 86 games in the majors.

The #6 prospect, the Loggers’ Dave Wright, spent long enough on the bench with the Loggers to exceed rookie limits as a 21-year-old, but only got into eight games, batting .313 with one RBI, and now he was back to AAA Lubbock.

The Loggers…!

Next: first pitch.