OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - All things Figment - from the pages of The Figment Sporting Journal

ayaghmour2 · 03-25-2025, 05:13 PM

Special Edition: Deadline Blockbuster!

Buzzer Beater at Deadline!
Pioneers Add Pair of Bats to Fuel Repeat Quest

At 69-34, the St. Louis Pioneers are percentage points ahead of the Detroit Dynamos, and this major acquisition gives them a chance to match Detroit's top scoring offense. At shortstop, Paul Watson (.244, 5, 26) has struggled in his retirement tour, and in center they just loss the injury prone Bill Bather (.292, 13, 40, 12), leaving two obvious areas for improvement.

Just a few hours before the deadline, they agreed to acquire All-Stars Joe Kleman (.286, 10, 60) and Bill Tutwiler (.289, 9, 42, 11) in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Minutemen. Having already announced they were in a rebuilding phase, Boston continues to build their farm, but it's still a surprise to see a talent like Kleman leave town. Having turned 33 on the 27th, nearly every one of his 1,533 appearances with the Minutemen came as the team's shortstop. It's the only thing the former 14th overall pick has known, and he got to win back-to-back titles with the team that drafted him. In the midst of another quality season, Kleman was hitting .286/.338/.443 (106 OPS+), providing 27 doubles, 2 triples, 10 homers, and 60 RBIs for the seventh place Minutemen. That's not much lower then his .306/.349/.439 (112 OPS+) career line, and he'll enter his Pioneer career less then 125 hits away from 2,000.

A mainstay in the Boston lineup, he ranks top-10 in team history in runs (7th, 843), hits (5th, 1,885), doubles (3rd, 332), homers (6th, 139), RBIs (5th, 811) and RBIs. Earlier in his career he was among the best defensive shortstops as well, but the range isn't quite what it used to be. With an outstanding defensive shortstop in Bob Bell (.357, 24, 59, 5), they can protect him some, and take advantage of his elite glove. He won't make many fielding errors and turns a ton of double plays, which will fair him well once he shifts to second. A move both for now and the future, Kleman gives the Pioneers a high quality middle infield option until 46th ranked prospect Rich Hood is ready.

Tutwiler is no slouch either, as the almost 31-year-old outfielder has been a top hitter since his 1956 debut. A veteran of 918 games, Tutwiler owns a career .304/.422/.480 (144 OPS+) batting line and his 144 WRC+ is one point lower then Jerry Smith's (.230, 13, 37) career mark. Like Smith, his season line is much lower then his norm, but at .289/.393/.459 (126 OPS+) he's still well above average. The former Miner and Minutemen outfielder added 22 doubles, 8 triples, 9 homers, 42 RBIs, 63 runs, 66 walks, and 11 steals. While not a center fielder, he's played solid right field defense, and seems like the best option to take in St. Louis. This will allow Smith to play left and Danny Davis (.342, 26, 73, 5) center, at least until Bather is healthy again. Bob Wilson (.210, 1, 6, 1), Grady Smith (.194), and Ray O'Connor (.195, 2, 7, 1) haven't offered any sort of offense at all, but Wilson or O'Connor can help upgrade the defense late in game. A Bather injury almost cost the Pioneers last season, and with Tutwiler they'll look to avoid that costing them here.

Boston's return centers around 22-year-old Frank McCarroll, who ranks as the 25th best prospect in FABL. Recently promoted to AAA, the former 9th Overall pick hit .296/.377/.556 (149 OPS+), and managed 7 doubles and homers with 17 runs, 19 RBIs, and 13 walks in just 27 games. His .285/.407/.477 (148 OPS+) line in 54 AA games is just as impressive, and he had a matching 154 WRC+ at each level. Potentially FABL ready, he has an excellent eye and is a threat on the bases, but a team like St. Louis can't really afford to let him try and figure things out in a pennant race. He doesn't make nearly enough contact, leading to a lot of strikeouts and likely a low average, but his projected power may eventually make up for it. Where he ends up is yet to be determined, but he is positioned to enter the Boston Minutemen as their 2nd ranked prospect, trailing just #3 Bill Dunlop.

The Minutemen also pick up the Pioneers second ranked pitching prospect, adding AAA southpaw Joe Lee. 6th in the system and 162nd overall, the former 3rd Rounder is another near FABL option, but there's not an inch of room in the Pioneers rotation. Boston, meanwhile, has only gotten success from Opening Day acquisition Andy Logue (6-10, 3.87, 72), allowing Lee a chance to pitch his way into a team's future plans. A seven pitch pitcher with nice stuff, he has a sinker and cutter in the 93-95 range that look quicker due to the slider and curve. Both are tough to make contact on, and could allow Lee to strike out an above average number of hitters. In AAA he struck out 71 in 126.1 innings, going 4-5 in 18 starts. His 3.35 ERA (118 ERA+), 3.21 FIP (81 FIP-), and 1.29 WHIP are all impressive too, but GWL hitting falls way short of FABL hitting. Better hitters will take advantage of his underdeveloped control, but his stuff and leadership already give him the floor of a useful swingman to stash on the edge of your roster.

Joe Kleman was the other infielder the Kings were targeting before shifting their focus to Stan Kleminski (.260, 2, 35, 12). Five years younger, Kleman cost more in terms of prospect capital, and the hypothetical deal would have cost more then just 19-year-old Platon Daniels.
Another team interested in Kleman was the Chicago Cougars, but there interest would have been for an offseason addition. Unwilling to mess with what had been working, the Cougars did not want to move Tom Halliday (.263, 5, 40, 5) off short, but would have considered spending the spring allowing Kleman to get acclimated to second base. This would move the injury prone Jack Gibson (.293, 25, 63) to the hot corner, allowing Cal Randall (.256, 7, 46) to move between the three positions to keep everyone fresh.
A source closer to the Pioneer front office explained the team felt like they had to do something. Without Bather, their offense hasn't been running as smoothly, and shortstop was an automatic out most of the season. Now with Kleman and Tutwiler, they add seasoned veterans who always provide value at the plate. Kleman's leadoff abilities are noted too, as without Bather there was no good fit to leadoff.
The Chiefs were looking to add power at the last moment, but no deal came to fruition. Kansas City offered up Bill Guthrie (.284, 1, 5) and there was likely some discussion on Turk Ramsey (.295, 29, 78), but the Chiefs didn't find a deal to their liking. At 57-49, they're playing pretty solid ball, but this season they find themselves 13.5 games out of first. Any deal would have had to make sense for more then just this season, as they look to begin complimenting the youth they've added recently.

03-25-2025, 05:13 PM	#1103
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,011	Breaking News! Special Edition: Deadline Blockbuster! Buzzer Beater at Deadline! Pioneers Add Pair of Bats to Fuel Repeat Quest At 69-34, the St. Louis Pioneers are percentage points ahead of the Detroit Dynamos, and this major acquisition gives them a chance to match Detroit's top scoring offense. At shortstop, Paul Watson (.244, 5, 26) has struggled in his retirement tour, and in center they just loss the injury prone Bill Bather (.292, 13, 40, 12), leaving two obvious areas for improvement. Just a few hours before the deadline, they agreed to acquire All-Stars Joe Kleman (.286, 10, 60) and Bill Tutwiler (.289, 9, 42, 11) in a blockbuster trade with the Boston Minutemen. Having already announced they were in a rebuilding phase, Boston continues to build their farm, but it's still a surprise to see a talent like Kleman leave town. Having turned 33 on the 27th, nearly every one of his 1,533 appearances with the Minutemen came as the team's shortstop. It's the only thing the former 14th overall pick has known, and he got to win back-to-back titles with the team that drafted him. In the midst of another quality season, Kleman was hitting .286/.338/.443 (106 OPS+), providing 27 doubles, 2 triples, 10 homers, and 60 RBIs for the seventh place Minutemen. That's not much lower then his .306/.349/.439 (112 OPS+) career line, and he'll enter his Pioneer career less then 125 hits away from 2,000. A mainstay in the Boston lineup, he ranks top-10 in team history in runs (7th, 843), hits (5th, 1,885), doubles (3rd, 332), homers (6th, 139), RBIs (5th, 811) and RBIs. Earlier in his career he was among the best defensive shortstops as well, but the range isn't quite what it used to be. With an outstanding defensive shortstop in Bob Bell (.357, 24, 59, 5), they can protect him some, and take advantage of his elite glove. He won't make many fielding errors and turns a ton of double plays, which will fair him well once he shifts to second. A move both for now and the future, Kleman gives the Pioneers a high quality middle infield option until 46th ranked prospect Rich Hood is ready. Tutwiler is no slouch either, as the almost 31-year-old outfielder has been a top hitter since his 1956 debut. A veteran of 918 games, Tutwiler owns a career .304/.422/.480 (144 OPS+) batting line and his 144 WRC+ is one point lower then Jerry Smith's (.230, 13, 37) career mark. Like Smith, his season line is much lower then his norm, but at .289/.393/.459 (126 OPS+) he's still well above average. The former Miner and Minutemen outfielder added 22 doubles, 8 triples, 9 homers, 42 RBIs, 63 runs, 66 walks, and 11 steals. While not a center fielder, he's played solid right field defense, and seems like the best option to take in St. Louis. This will allow Smith to play left and Danny Davis (.342, 26, 73, 5) center, at least until Bather is healthy again. Bob Wilson (.210, 1, 6, 1), Grady Smith (.194), and Ray O'Connor (.195, 2, 7, 1) haven't offered any sort of offense at all, but Wilson or O'Connor can help upgrade the defense late in game. A Bather injury almost cost the Pioneers last season, and with Tutwiler they'll look to avoid that costing them here. Boston's return centers around 22-year-old Frank McCarroll, who ranks as the 25th best prospect in FABL. Recently promoted to AAA, the former 9th Overall pick hit .296/.377/.556 (149 OPS+), and managed 7 doubles and homers with 17 runs, 19 RBIs, and 13 walks in just 27 games. His .285/.407/.477 (148 OPS+) line in 54 AA games is just as impressive, and he had a matching 154 WRC+ at each level. Potentially FABL ready, he has an excellent eye and is a threat on the bases, but a team like St. Louis can't really afford to let him try and figure things out in a pennant race. He doesn't make nearly enough contact, leading to a lot of strikeouts and likely a low average, but his projected power may eventually make up for it. Where he ends up is yet to be determined, but he is positioned to enter the Boston Minutemen as their 2nd ranked prospect, trailing just #3 Bill Dunlop. The Minutemen also pick up the Pioneers second ranked pitching prospect, adding AAA southpaw Joe Lee. 6th in the system and 162nd overall, the former 3rd Rounder is another near FABL option, but there's not an inch of room in the Pioneers rotation. Boston, meanwhile, has only gotten success from Opening Day acquisition Andy Logue (6-10, 3.87, 72), allowing Lee a chance to pitch his way into a team's future plans. A seven pitch pitcher with nice stuff, he has a sinker and cutter in the 93-95 range that look quicker due to the slider and curve. Both are tough to make contact on, and could allow Lee to strike out an above average number of hitters. In AAA he struck out 71 in 126.1 innings, going 4-5 in 18 starts. His 3.35 ERA (118 ERA+), 3.21 FIP (81 FIP-), and 1.29 WHIP are all impressive too, but GWL hitting falls way short of FABL hitting. Better hitters will take advantage of his underdeveloped control, but his stuff and leadership already give him the floor of a useful swingman to stash on the edge of your roster. Joe Kleman was the other infielder the Kings were targeting before shifting their focus to Stan Kleminski (.260, 2, 35, 12). Five years younger, Kleman cost more in terms of prospect capital, and the hypothetical deal would have cost more then just 19-year-old Platon Daniels. Another team interested in Kleman was the Chicago Cougars, but there interest would have been for an offseason addition. Unwilling to mess with what had been working, the Cougars did not want to move Tom Halliday (.263, 5, 40, 5) off short, but would have considered spending the spring allowing Kleman to get acclimated to second base. This would move the injury prone Jack Gibson (.293, 25, 63) to the hot corner, allowing Cal Randall (.256, 7, 46) to move between the three positions to keep everyone fresh. A source closer to the Pioneer front office explained the team felt like they had to do something. Without Bather, their offense hasn't been running as smoothly, and shortstop was an automatic out most of the season. Now with Kleman and Tutwiler, they add seasoned veterans who always provide value at the plate. Kleman's leadoff abilities are noted too, as without Bather there was no good fit to leadoff. The Chiefs were looking to add power at the last moment, but no deal came to fruition. Kansas City offered up Bill Guthrie (.284, 1, 5) and there was likely some discussion on Turk Ramsey (.295, 29, 78), but the Chiefs didn't find a deal to their liking. At 57-49, they're playing pretty solid ball, but this season they find themselves 13.5 games out of first. Any deal would have had to make sense for more then just this season, as they look to begin complimenting the youth they've added recently.