Bill Bradley and the Rockies Rebuild - Page 2

bengalmike17 · 03-08-2015, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phillyboy19

Can you go over your top prospects like vigilante did in his Padres dynasty please.

Next post I'm going to go over the major league roster and the month of April. After that then I will give some information about my top prospects.

Quote:

Originally Posted by darkcloud4579

I like the idea of having the Cubans enter via a draft. Also intrigued by posting MLB players and if anything comes out of that. I've never done it the other way before, only with inferior leagues posting to the MLB with interesting results.

I think the Cueto deal is worth the risk, like you said...no fun in just bottom feeding all of the time and so, hope it pans out for you.

The draft should be interesting. I plan to grow the association to include all the international major leagues. We'll see how it works out.

To your Cueto point, that's exactly what I was thinking. He hasn't been very good so far in ST and April. Maybe he can turn it around maybe not, if not I'll keep his innings down and he won't meet the requirements for his vesting option. This year is a transition year, at least in my mind, so I thought it would be good to get a pretty decent pitcher in. I think in 2016 we can compete for a wild-card spot and then 2017 and on we can compete for the division title and possibly a WS.

bengalmike17 · 03-12-2015, 11:55 AM

Entry #10 Player Evaluations and April 2015

State of the Roster

I'm going to go through the roster before the season and give a brief write-up on him. Each write-up will have the player's name as well as their current rating out of 80 and their potential rating out of 80.

SP Alex Colome 20-20

Colome was a free agent acquisition after being let go by the Rays. Colome may not work out for us, but he has decent potential, at least in my opinion. His pitching ratings are not bad at all, and he has been relatively good in his career. It will be interesting to see where the season goes with him.

SP Chris Archer 20-20

Archer was acquired through the rule 5 draft this past year from the Rays. He was a great prospect as late as last year but he underwent Tommy John surgery and is trying to work back up to where he was. I have faith in him. He only has three pitches, but they are all above average, especially his slider. If he doesn't make it as a starter I would feel comfortable with him in the bullpen.

2B Pedro Okuda 21-21

Okuda was signed to a minor league contract last year and is still here. He is a backup and nothing more. His bat is very poor, but he does offer good speed. Honestly he probably won't be on the team in a month.

2B DJ Lemahieu 21-21

I signed DJ to a contract extension this past off-season knowing he would be a backup. He's a great backup and he was very good as a starter last year. I still like DJ.

MR Ernesto Frieri 21-21

Ernesto was signed to a major league deal this off-season. Frieri hasamazing stuff; all of his pitches are above average to great. He's going to be a part of the back end of the bullpen unless his production isn't there.

RF Charlie Blackmon 21-21

Blackmon, 28, was a starter last year, but won't have the same opportunity this year. He's a decent player and an above average fielder in the outfield with some good speed, but unfortunately with the influx of younger players to the major league team, there isn't a spot for him. He will be a decent piece off the bench but might be good trade bait.

MR Adam Ottavino 22-22

Ottavino was one of my better relievers last year. He's back again this year in the setup role, and I intend to keep him there. His slider and change-up are stellar, which leads to a number of strikeouts. The only negative with Ottavino is his underwhelming control. Nevertheless, I am still a fan of Ottavino and what he does.

MR Dellin Betances 22-22

Betances was acquired via trade this off-season. Betances has nasty stuff but like Ottavino he needs to refine his control. I'll be keeping Betances for as long as I can unless his performance plummets.

1B Justin Morneau 23-23

Justin went from starter to the veteran bench player. Justin still has some left in him, but he won't play much with all of the young talent we have at the major league level. Still an okay player.

SP Johnny Cueto 34-36

Well, this was an unprecedented drop in ratings. His individual pitch ratings didn't suffer any, but his overall ratings did. He hasn't performed well since joining the team, and I may try and unload him at the deadline. Colorado just might not be the place for him. Disappointing, but he wasn't part of the plans for the future anyways.

CF Che-Hsuan Lin 32-39

Lin was a free agent acquisition this past year from Taiwan. I was impressed with his speed and impeccable outfield defense. Unfortunately he struggled so much in spring training that I couldn't give him a spot in the starting line-up. He is still a great defensive replacement or pinch runner. Plus he's signed cheap for the next three years after this one.

MR Joel Hanrahan 41-41

Hanrahan has proved to be a great addition to the team. His stuff is great and can be counted to strikeout his share of batters. I'm a fan of Hanrahan but I'm not sure how long he'll be here long-term as he is 33.

C Wilin Rosario 44-46

Rosario is one of my favorite players. His power plays very well in Colorado. He makes contact often and when he gets ahold of one, you can bet it will be going very far. He's no slouch on defense either.

SP Tyler Chatwood 36-48

Chatwood is 25 years old and is already at the top of our rotation. He's become a very good pitcher and has figured out how to deal with a tricky ballpark. He gets people out, which is the most important thing. None of his pitches are extremely sexy, but he gets it done.

SP Allen Webster 33-50

Webster was my favorite signing of the past off-season. Webster is only 25 and has great pretty good stuff. He pitched a great spring training and earned himself a spot in the rotation. He won't be a star, but he'll be a very solid player for a long time.

MR Chad Bettis 44-51

Bettis is another young reliever. His stuff is all above average. Bettis could both start and relieve.

LF Ryan Wheeler 60-65

Wheeler was a first baseman until the spring, where I moved him to left field. His bat is certainly major league ready. Good contact and power should play well in the park. I like Wheeler a lot.

3B Nolan Arenado 55-65

Arenado is one of our best players, and was the best player on the team statistically last year. Good contact, power, and he doesn't strike out a ton. I would like to keep Arenado in a Rockies uniform for awhile.

SS Chris Bostick 33-67

I might be rushing Bostick a little to quicklly, but I didn't see any other attractive options. Defensively Bostick is great, and he's just as good on the basepaths. His bat is a work in progress, but it should come along.

RF Garin Cecchini 40-71

I am very intrigued with Cecchini. He was a third baseman until, like Ryan Wheeler, I moved him to RF this spring. The best part of Cecchini's game is his bat. IT's above average with good contact and a fantastic eye.

MR Boone Logan 74-74

Logan is a setup guy for us. He's got great stuff. He's got a top of the line fastball and slider. He's 30, but I would be open to keep him for a little longer.

2B Mookie Betts 24-74

Mookie is one of the more intriguing prospects I have. He is very well rounded with good defense, contact, power, and speed. He could become one of my best players come a few years.

CL Rex Brothers

Brothers is a great pitcher. He performed very well last year and is line to continue his stellar season. Currently 27, he is signed through the 2020 season at a bargain price. His two pitches, fastball and slider, grade out at 75/80 and 80/80 respectively. Fantastic!

LF Corey Dickerson 73-73

Dickerson was supposed to be our left fielder this year, as that is the position where he is best at, but we couldn't put new-comers Cecchini or Wheeler in center, so Dickerson was our only other option. Dickerson has good contact and power and is just an all-around good ballplayer.

1B Joey Gallo 21-77

Gallo was acquired via trade last year from the Rangers and he came to us as one of the top power hitters in the minors. He has got potential to be a 40 home run player. He is that talented. The only thing that will hold him back I his contact, which needs a little work.

Big Prospect Find

The biggest news of the first week of the season had nothing to do with the team on the field, but instead with a prospect our scouting director found us. Tai Ban was searching for talent in Mexico when he came across Jorge Gonzalez. Gonzalez has the potential to be an 80/80 on the scale, and Ban says he possesses true impact potential. He has great contact potential and power potential to match it.

Chad Bettis injured

Our #3 pitcher Chad Bettis went down with a sprained elbow that will keep him out 11 days. We put Chris Archer in his spot and called up Greg Burke to add bullpen depth. Chad Bettis had been doing pretty well. In two starts he struck out eight and posted a 2.84 ERA.

Wilin Rosario wins batter of the month

Wilin Rosario had a stellar April, he posted a .400 average while hitting five home runs, 12 RBI's, and scoring 11 runs. Congrats Wilin!

April Stats

Wilin lead in almost all offensive categories, and Mookie Betts and Ryan Wheeler were right behind him in most. Joey Gallo had a very disappointing month, hitting .193 with three homers and 10 RBIs. He whiffed 21 times.

Tyler Chatwood leads the team in ERA at 3.73, but ironically he also has the highest loss total. Rex Brothers has three saves. Chatwood also leads the team in strikeouts with 19.

bengalmike17 · 03-13-2015, 10:27 PM

Entry 11: May-July

Colome gives up 20 runs in start

Alex Colome, one of our free agent acquisitions this past off-season, had a pretty awful start on May 2^nd, as he gave up 20 runs over six innings. He threw a whopping 188 pitches and struck out seven. His control was horrendous as he gave up 9 runs. Needless to say, we lost the game. Our bullpen was fried, which was most likely the reason that he was not taken out earlier.

We moved Dellin Betances into the starting role to give him a shot. We have absolutely nothing to lose. I have found that our starting rotation is awful, and the manager recommended it.

Joey Gallo Underperforming

1B/3B Joey Gallo has been vastly underperforming in his time with the major league club. In 103 at-bats he's had 17 hits and five of them have been home runs. His potential is higher than ever, but it might be a little too early for him. I sent him down to triple A to work on his game a little more and called up another top prospect in Maikel Franco. He will now be starting at first base.

Arenado Hurt

It was announced that third baseman Nolan Arenado suffered a concussion and will miss three months. This is a big blow to an already struggling team. Maikel Franco will likely move over from first to third and we will put Ben Paulsen, who we just called up, at first. Paulsen has had a stellar year in triple A this year.

Wheeler Wins Award

Our left fielder Ryan Wheeler won the NL Rookie of the Month award for the month of May. In May he hit .283 and hit 6 dingers and drove in 16. For the season he has an average of .289, 26 RBIs, and 34 runs scored. Congrats Ryan!

End of May Recap

Well, things haven't gone well for the Rockies. At the end of May we are 11-34 which is an awful record. We are far and away the worst team in the league. We have more losses than any team in the league has wins. Wilin Rosario and Ryan Wheeler are some of the only bright spots on this team. Mookie Betts, Chris Bostick, and Garin Cecchini have been pretty good in their rookie campaigns. Our pitching staff is horrendous, though, and that is what is killing us. Tyler Chatwood leads the team in ERA at 4.43. Chad Bettis, Allen Webster, and Chris Archer al have ERAs over 7. Awful. Johnny Cueto is having an okay season, but nowhere near what we expected him to do. The only thing I have to look forward to is the FYPD, which comes along in a few days.

FYPD

I have the sixth pick out of 49 this draft. Remember that we are drafting with Cuba, as MLB joined together last off-season.

With the sixth overall pick, I selected SS John Aiello. Aiello is an 18 year old shortstop with the potential to have an above average bat. He's got good speed and a good glove on defense. He should be a good player in the future.

With our second round pick we selected Brendon Davis, a 17 year old right fielder out of high school. Tai Ban says that Davis is a superior offensive player who is consistent and has a great approach to hitting.

I selected Tristan Metten in the third round of the draft. Metten is a shortstop with a plus power projection. He also has a great glove and arm on defense. Tai Ban says that he should be a star if he refines his game. His ceiling is very high.

Draft Signings

Our draft signings didn't start too well. First rounder John Aiello is now asking for $9.5 mm. During the draft he indicated that he would be fine with the slot, but apparently playing for the Rockies is just too crazy for him. I offered him $4 mm, which is still above slot value, but I highly doubt he accepts.

This drop looks like a flop to me. Our 6^th, 7^th, 8 ^th, and 12^th round picks all have bonus demands of over $2 mm. I will not be offering them a contract. $2 mm is just too much.

Ryan Wheeler Out

Our left fielder and star rookie Ryan Wheeler went down with a sprained ankle today. He is going to be out for 7-8 weeks. This is truly terrible news as Wheeler was having a stellar rookie campaign. He had a shot at rookie of the year, but those hopes may be gone now.

Gray Sent Away

I have been working the phones for awhile now, trying to find a landing place for both Carlos Rodon and Jonathan Gray. Gray was here when I got here and has not worked out, and Ban is not a fan of him either. I made a mistake last year when I drafted Rodon. I went against Ban's judgement and I have payed for it. He is not the player the OSA advertised.

Today I found a spot for Jonathan Gray. I am sending him to Isla de la Juventud Piratas. I will receive SS Brendan Rodgers in return. I am ecstatic with this trade because Rodgers was the third overall pick this past draft, and was the prospect I wanted most. This takes the sting away from losing John Aiello. Now we have a first round pick this year as well as two picks in the first round next year.

Rodgers has above average contact and potential and should have plus power in the future. He's got a good eye and is a decent defender at shortstop. He's got great speed as well. He's only 17, so he is still a ways away, but I like him a lot.

Yordano Ventura tosses no-no

Yordano Ventura, the Royals ace threw a no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs. Ventura struck out 8 and only walked one in the historic game.

Rodon Traded for Elite Prospect

I finally found a landing place for Carlos Rodon. I sent the 22 year old pitcher along with Drew Stubbs, who I had recently signed to a minor league deal, to the Cubs for stud prospect Kris Bryant.

Bryant is an outstanding prospect with the potential to have an above average bat and above average power. He could be a star-in-the-making.

Moncada on his way to Colorado

We received Yoan Moncada via trade from the Cienfuegos Elefantes in exhange for Juremi Profar and Luis Sardinas. I think this is a good deal as we had a load of minor league Middle infield depth. Moncada has the potential to be a very solid player in his career.

Rays Extend David Price

David Price signed an extension worth $54 mm over four years. He is well worth every penny of the deal as he has become one of the leagues best pitchers over the past couple years. Congrats David!

Maikel Franco wins Weekly Award

Maikel Franco, our third baseman, has won the NL Player of the Week Award. Last week Franco his .458 with 2 home runs, 4 RBIs, and 5 runs. For the season, Franco has hit .254 with 8 homers, 25 RBIs, and 25 runs. Congrats Maikel!

International Free Agents

I signed CF Juan Rivera from Cuba to a minor league deal. The young man projects to be a cleanup hitter with plus power potential. He could be a great power-speed combo in the future.

I also signed SP Freddy Gonzales. Gonzales is below average and probably won't make it to the majors, but if he ges good coaching and the timing is right he has a shot. He isn't the greatest, but is a decent addition to my minor league system.

Draft Pick Compensation

Just like I figured, we weren't able to sign Aiello. We will receive compensation next year. We couldn't sign our 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 12 ^th, 17^th , 23^rd, or 33 ^rd round picks either. We won't receive compensation for those picks.

Through July 15^th

Through July 15^th, our team is 31-55. We've picked it up a little bit, but we're still in dead last. No surprise.

Minor League Prospect Rankings

These are coming soon. I've done a lot this entry and any more would be too long in my opinion. I'll cut this one off here and will go over prospects next entry.

bengalmike17 · 03-14-2015, 12:02 PM

Entry #12: Prospect rankings

Prospect Rankings

The main goal of this post is to go through the best prospects in our organization. So without further ado, here are the top 25 prospects in the Rockies organization.

25. 2B Wendell Rijo Potential: 75

Rijo is an interesting prospect. He was one of the key pieces of the deal that sent Troy Tulowitzki to the Red Sox. (Tulo is currently doing very well in Boston) Tai Ban loves his tools and says Rijo should be a star. I'm skeptical.

24. SS Trevor Story Potential 47

Story is a prospect who has outperformed his rankings. Ban has his doubts but Story is currently raking in AA, hitting .319 with 15 homers and 53 RBIs. He also has 10 SB's.

23. RF Kyle Parker Potential 45

Parker is a borderline prospect. Right now he's 25 and he's blocked by Cecchini in the majors. He's got good power projections and should be a .270 hitter according to Tai Ban. He's patient at the plate and he's got good hands on defense. Nothing special but a good piece.

22. SP Tyler Matzek Potential: 20

Though he lacks any great talent, he is still a very solid player. He projects to be a Major League starter and so far this year has an ERA of 3.44 with 116 K's in Triple-A Colorado Springs.

21. 3B Ted Williams Potential: 21

Tai Ban isn't a fan, but OSA is. Williams is a player with 70 potential according to the OSA ratings. They think he will be a pllus power hitter with a good contact rate and good defense. Though he most likely won't be as good as the great Ted Williams, he has a chance!

20. C Tom J. Murphy Potential 68

Murphy deserves a promotion. He's almost reached his potential and he's playing great in the minor leagues, but with Wilin Rosario at catcher he's blocked. Murphy makes the most of his tools and should be a solid major leaguer for years to come.

19. 3B Ryan McMahon Potential: 69

McMahon has immense power potential, and has an advanced approach at the plate. He projects to be an impact player with an average around .290. Pretty solid player.

18. SS Roman Quinn Potential: 66

Roman Quinn is an interesting prospect. He has amazing speed, some of the best in the game. Ban doesn't see him as a starter but says he could be an amazing role player. He projects to have an average bat and below average power.

17. SS Rosell Herrera Potential: 69

Herrera is an above average defensive shortstop with an okay bat. He projects to have average contact potential and should be a solid hitter with some pop.

16. CF Terry McClure Potential: 73

McClure, 19, has great speed and a great eye at the plate. He should bat around .290 according to our scout. He's patient at the plate and is a decent defender. A good player.

15. SP Luis Ortiz Potential: 21

Ortiz isn't rated highly by my scout, but OSA loves him. So far this year he's had a very good year, with an ERA under 3 and 28 Ks in 30 innings. He has good command and his stuff should become big league ready soon.

14. 3B Rafael Devers Potential: 77

One of my favorite prospects, Devers is only 18 years old and is already holding his own in Single A and could get a promotion later this year. Tremendous power potential and the potential to be a .310 hitter are just some of the reasons I like him. He will be interesting to watch.

13. C Devon Fisher Potential: 74

Fisher is a great catching prospect. The 19 year old has it all. A great power bat and great defense. Nothing not to like about this guy.

12. CF David Dahl Potential: 68

Dahl is 21 year old center fielder who is just beginning his first season in Triple-A. He has great speed and has a fine glove in the outfield. He could be one of the best defenders in the league if he works at it. A good contact hitter with extra base power, Dahl might be on the major league team as soon as September.

11. 2B Mookie Betts Potential: 76

Although he's already surpassed his rookie limits, we'll still list him. He's shown that he can be a major league player already this year, batting .265 with four home runs, 39 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. I am a Mookie believer.

10. 3B/1B Maikel Franco Potential: 34

Ban has been losing hope in Franco for awhile now, as his potential rating just keeps plummeting. I'm happy with what he's done so far this year, as he's batting .259 with 9 home runs and 30 RBIs.

9. SS Chris Bostick Potential: 61

Bostick has been an all-around great player for my major league team. He's batted .246 with 9 home runs, 38 RBIs, and four tolen bases. I think he will only improve on what's been a very solid major league debut.

8. 1B Drew Lugbauer Potential: 79

Lugbauer has just as much power potential as Joey Gallo and Maikel Franco. It is his best tool and his other hitting tools should become major league average to above average. He's patient at the plate and should be an interesting prospect.

7. SS Jorge Gonzalez Potential: 80

Gonzalez was Tai Ban's greatest find earlier this year. He's got great potential, but he's a far ways away. Well above average contact and immense power, he should have a great bat if all goes well.

6. RF Garin Cecchini Potential: 69

Cecchini has been my best rookie this year, hitting .295 with four home runs, 19 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases. He's been towards the bottom of my lineup, which is one of the reasons his counting stats are so low. He hasn't reached his full potential yet but should be a very good player when he does.

5. CF Luis Alexander Basabe Potential: 80

Basabe is one of Ban's favorite prospects. He is a scout's dream. He projects to have above average contact and he has tremendous power potential. He has a respectable eye and is an average fielder. He has very good speed as well.

4. 3B Yoan Moncada Potential: 74

Moncada was recently acquired in a trade from Cuba. He is above average in pretty much everything and in his short time with the organization has already figured out Double-A pitching. He could see a move to Triple-A very shortly.

3. SS Brendan Rodgers Potential: 80

Another one of my favorite prospects, Rodgers was acquired via trade. He was the third pick in this last draft and has amazing potential. Above average contact, tremendous power, and a capable defense are just some of the things that make Rodgers great.

2. 1B Joey Gallo Potential: 71

Gallo has some of the best power in all of baseball. Rating 70/80 currently with the potential to be 80/80. His contact is below average but his power more than makesup for it. He's a masher.

1. 3B Kris Bryant Potential: 75

Bryant was recently acquired in a trade with the Cubs. Bryant has great power potential as well as a great contact potential as well. He should be a stud sooner rather than later.

bengalmike17 · 04-07-2015, 11:43 PM

Entry #13: 2nd half of the season

Trading Deadline
At the trade deadline we stayed pretty quiet. No big moves. No moves really. Onto the second half of the season!

International Signing
Although its a few weeks after amateur players were allowed to sign contracts, we reached an agreement with 2B Juan Gallegos. Gallegos projects to have slightly above average contact and eye. He's still quite raw but hopefully we can polish him into a decent player.

Waiver Trade
Even though I didn't make a trade before the non-waiver trade deadline, I was still working the phones. I decided to send Ernesto Frieri to the Telemarket Rimini's of the Italian Baseball League in return for 22 year old first baseman Ismael Martinez. Martinez is certainly not a stud prospect. He will most likely be a middle of the road, AAAA type player. Maybe good enough to get a bench spot on the major league club, but will probably be in the minors his whole life. I made this trade mainly to make room for Neftali Feliz.

Neftali Feliz
Reliever Neftali Feliz was throwing really well in the minors and I decided to give the young guy a shot in the show. Thus, I sent Frieri out and called up Feliz. In triple-A this year, he has a 2.28 ERA in 47.1 Innings as well as 46 strikeouts. Hopefully he can keep it up with the big league club.

Star comes off DL
Our star third baseman Nolan Arenado is finally off the DL. After what seemed like forever, Arenado is ready to put on a big league uniform again. Hopefully he returns and picks up right where he left off.

Torres Acquired
I acquired reliever Alex Torres from the Padres. Torres has pitched well this season. In 47.2 innings, he has a 3.21 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and 53 Ks. He should be a good addition to the bullpen.

Waiver Claim
We claimed another player off waivers. This time it was Dorssys Paulino from Cleveland. The young SS is currently injured with an oblique strain, but he has decent potential. He is only 20 and should play in the minors for a few more seasons as he still needs some seasoning.

Lin Traded
I traded Che-Hsuan Lin, who I had signed to a multi-year deal in the off-season, to the AmigoO ADO Lakers for Chris Suarez. Lin never did anything for us, and I decided to give him a fresh start somewhere else. Suarez is 19 years old and Tai Ban likes him a lot. He projects as an average contact hitter and has tremendous raw power.

Agreement with Betances
I was able to extend Dellin Betances to a two year, $1.32 mm deal. The reliever was acquired in the off-season and has done a pretty nice job. Although his stats aren't great, most of the large numbers can be attributed to the time he spent in the rotation earlier this year.

End of Season
We finished the season 62-100. Not good at all. I think the only positive that can be taken away from this year is the development of the rookies. They all pretty much looked good, bar a few.

Garin Cecchini lead the team in batting average and OBP, and at the end of the season he had a slash line of .283/.351/.415. Wilin Rosario lead the team in slugging percentage (.494,) OPS (.802,) home runs (33) RBIs (101,) hits (162) and total bases (296.) He was probably the best player on the team. Ryan Wheeler lead the team in VORP at 33.4. Mookie Betts had the most doubles, stolen bases, and runs scored on the whole team with 45, 24, and 87 respectively.

Tyler Chatwood was again our top pitcher. Chatwood had a 6.7 WAR as he posted a 3.98 ERA, 132 Ks, and a 1.54 WHIP in 205.2 innings pitched. He also lead the team in wins, innings pitched, VORP, hits per nine innings, FIP, WHIP, and strikeouts. Rex Brothers lead the team in saves with 27.

bengalmike17 · 04-08-2015, 11:31 PM

Entry #14: THe offseason

Batting Titles
Jurickson Profar of the Texas Rangers won the AL batting title after he posted a .330 batting average this season. Over in the National League, Ben Revere won it with a .340 average. Congrats guys!

Indians win the Championship
The Cleveland Indians won the 2015 World Series. The Indians finished the season winning the series 4-2 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Tribe had a regular season record of 98-64 and overcame several elimination games to get to the title. It was a very successful season for them.

World Champions Crowned
The Cleveland Indians won the 2015 Cuban American Baseball League Championship, defeating the Tigres four games to none. On the way there, they beat the Cardinals four games to three. Quite a season for the Tribe.

Posted Players
Only one player of note was posted. Patrick Corbin, a 26 year old starting pitcher was posted. I will certainly look to acquire him. He would definitley be a nice addition to the team.

Option Years
I voided the contract options of both Justin Morneau and Joel Hanrahan. Neither helped the team much in 2015.

Rockies Sign Star OF
I handed out one of the richest contracts in my history. Jason Heyward is the newest Rockie. He will receive $87,000,000 over a six year period. The contract is heavily frontloaded to give me flexibility in the future. Heyward is an amazing player and unfortunately he has had a few injury problems the past few years. I still think he is a great addition to the team.

Rockies Acquire All-Star
After we signed Jason Heyward, Garin Cecchini became expendable. I traded Cecchini and shortstop Alec Mehrten to the Cardinals in return for outfielder Oscar Taveras. Taveras is only 23 and already has an All Star season under his belt. Last season he hit .337 with 16 home runs and 72 RBIs. He completes a star studded outfiel with Heyward and Corey Dickerson.

Murphy Swapped
One of our young catchers, Tom J. Murphy is headed to Toronto. He was sent to the Blue Jays in exchange for Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez should be a part of the bullpen and possibly the rotation next year.

Third Trade
We made a third and probably final trade. This time we sent star prospect David Dahl, Chris Bostick, and Allen Webster to the Dodgers for Corey Seager. Seager is one of the top young players in the game. The 21 year old hit .245 with 8 home runs and 36 RBIs in 95 games for the Dodgers last year. Bostick was my starting shortstop last year and he did a pretty good job for a rookie. He hit .235 with 18 doubles, 10 triples, and 12 home runs.
Dahl was the biggest part of this deal. He is pretty much major league ready. At age 21 he was dominating triple-A. Unfortunately, I don't have anywhere to put him, so I decided to get something out of him.

Rule Change
The Designated Hitter was added to the National League in an attempt to create more offense. This will definitely help our team a lot.

New Manager in Town
Scott Posednik is the new manager of the Rockies. Walt Weiss did an okay job, but Posednik's ratings were just too high to pass up. Posednik takes over an up-and-coming team.

This about takes us up to Spring Training. Next post will have roster decisions and Opening day.

03-13-2015, 10:27 PM	#23
bengalmike17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Cleveland Posts: 43	Entry 11: May-July Entry 11: May-July Colome gives up 20 runs in start Alex Colome, one of our free agent acquisitions this past off-season, had a pretty awful start on May 2^nd, as he gave up 20 runs over six innings. He threw a whopping 188 pitches and struck out seven. His control was horrendous as he gave up 9 runs. Needless to say, we lost the game. Our bullpen was fried, which was most likely the reason that he was not taken out earlier. We moved Dellin Betances into the starting role to give him a shot. We have absolutely nothing to lose. I have found that our starting rotation is awful, and the manager recommended it. Joey Gallo Underperforming 1B/3B Joey Gallo has been vastly underperforming in his time with the major league club. In 103 at-bats he's had 17 hits and five of them have been home runs. His potential is higher than ever, but it might be a little too early for him. I sent him down to triple A to work on his game a little more and called up another top prospect in Maikel Franco. He will now be starting at first base. Arenado Hurt It was announced that third baseman Nolan Arenado suffered a concussion and will miss three months. This is a big blow to an already struggling team. Maikel Franco will likely move over from first to third and we will put Ben Paulsen, who we just called up, at first. Paulsen has had a stellar year in triple A this year. Wheeler Wins Award Our left fielder Ryan Wheeler won the NL Rookie of the Month award for the month of May. In May he hit .283 and hit 6 dingers and drove in 16. For the season he has an average of .289, 26 RBIs, and 34 runs scored. Congrats Ryan! End of May Recap Well, things haven't gone well for the Rockies. At the end of May we are 11-34 which is an awful record. We are far and away the worst team in the league. We have more losses than any team in the league has wins. Wilin Rosario and Ryan Wheeler are some of the only bright spots on this team. Mookie Betts, Chris Bostick, and Garin Cecchini have been pretty good in their rookie campaigns. Our pitching staff is horrendous, though, and that is what is killing us. Tyler Chatwood leads the team in ERA at 4.43. Chad Bettis, Allen Webster, and Chris Archer al have ERAs over 7. Awful. Johnny Cueto is having an okay season, but nowhere near what we expected him to do. The only thing I have to look forward to is the FYPD, which comes along in a few days. FYPD I have the sixth pick out of 49 this draft. Remember that we are drafting with Cuba, as MLB joined together last off-season. With the sixth overall pick, I selected SS John Aiello. Aiello is an 18 year old shortstop with the potential to have an above average bat. He's got good speed and a good glove on defense. He should be a good player in the future. With our second round pick we selected Brendon Davis, a 17 year old right fielder out of high school. Tai Ban says that Davis is a superior offensive player who is consistent and has a great approach to hitting. I selected Tristan Metten in the third round of the draft. Metten is a shortstop with a plus power projection. He also has a great glove and arm on defense. Tai Ban says that he should be a star if he refines his game. His ceiling is very high. Draft Signings Our draft signings didn't start too well. First rounder John Aiello is now asking for $9.5 mm. During the draft he indicated that he would be fine with the slot, but apparently playing for the Rockies is just too crazy for him. I offered him $4 mm, which is still above slot value, but I highly doubt he accepts. This drop looks like a flop to me. Our 6^th, 7^th, 8 ^th, and 12^th round picks all have bonus demands of over $2 mm. I will not be offering them a contract. $2 mm is just too much. Ryan Wheeler Out Our left fielder and star rookie Ryan Wheeler went down with a sprained ankle today. He is going to be out for 7-8 weeks. This is truly terrible news as Wheeler was having a stellar rookie campaign. He had a shot at rookie of the year, but those hopes may be gone now. Gray Sent Away I have been working the phones for awhile now, trying to find a landing place for both Carlos Rodon and Jonathan Gray. Gray was here when I got here and has not worked out, and Ban is not a fan of him either. I made a mistake last year when I drafted Rodon. I went against Ban's judgement and I have payed for it. He is not the player the OSA advertised. Today I found a spot for Jonathan Gray. I am sending him to Isla de la Juventud Piratas. I will receive SS Brendan Rodgers in return. I am ecstatic with this trade because Rodgers was the third overall pick this past draft, and was the prospect I wanted most. This takes the sting away from losing John Aiello. Now we have a first round pick this year as well as two picks in the first round next year. Rodgers has above average contact and potential and should have plus power in the future. He's got a good eye and is a decent defender at shortstop. He's got great speed as well. He's only 17, so he is still a ways away, but I like him a lot. Yordano Ventura tosses no-no Yordano Ventura, the Royals ace threw a no-hitter against the Chicago Cubs. Ventura struck out 8 and only walked one in the historic game. Rodon Traded for Elite Prospect I finally found a landing place for Carlos Rodon. I sent the 22 year old pitcher along with Drew Stubbs, who I had recently signed to a minor league deal, to the Cubs for stud prospect Kris Bryant. Bryant is an outstanding prospect with the potential to have an above average bat and above average power. He could be a star-in-the-making. Moncada on his way to Colorado We received Yoan Moncada via trade from the Cienfuegos Elefantes in exhange for Juremi Profar and Luis Sardinas. I think this is a good deal as we had a load of minor league Middle infield depth. Moncada has the potential to be a very solid player in his career. Rays Extend David Price David Price signed an extension worth $54 mm over four years. He is well worth every penny of the deal as he has become one of the leagues best pitchers over the past couple years. Congrats David! Maikel Franco wins Weekly Award Maikel Franco, our third baseman, has won the NL Player of the Week Award. Last week Franco his .458 with 2 home runs, 4 RBIs, and 5 runs. For the season, Franco has hit .254 with 8 homers, 25 RBIs, and 25 runs. Congrats Maikel! International Free Agents I signed CF Juan Rivera from Cuba to a minor league deal. The young man projects to be a cleanup hitter with plus power potential. He could be a great power-speed combo in the future. I also signed SP Freddy Gonzales. Gonzales is below average and probably won't make it to the majors, but if he ges good coaching and the timing is right he has a shot. He isn't the greatest, but is a decent addition to my minor league system. Draft Pick Compensation Just like I figured, we weren't able to sign Aiello. We will receive compensation next year. We couldn't sign our 6^th, 7^th, 8^th, 12 ^th, 17^th , 23^rd, or 33 ^rd round picks either. We won't receive compensation for those picks. Through July 15^th Through July 15^th, our team is 31-55. We've picked it up a little bit, but we're still in dead last. No surprise. Minor League Prospect Rankings These are coming soon. I've done a lot this entry and any more would be too long in my opinion. I'll cut this one off here and will go over prospects next entry.

03-14-2015, 12:02 PM	#24
bengalmike17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Cleveland Posts: 43	Prospect Rankings Entry #12: Prospect rankings Prospect Rankings The main goal of this post is to go through the best prospects in our organization. So without further ado, here are the top 25 prospects in the Rockies organization. 25. 2B Wendell Rijo Potential: 75 Rijo is an interesting prospect. He was one of the key pieces of the deal that sent Troy Tulowitzki to the Red Sox. (Tulo is currently doing very well in Boston) Tai Ban loves his tools and says Rijo should be a star. I'm skeptical. 24. SS Trevor Story Potential 47 Story is a prospect who has outperformed his rankings. Ban has his doubts but Story is currently raking in AA, hitting .319 with 15 homers and 53 RBIs. He also has 10 SB's. 23. RF Kyle Parker Potential 45 Parker is a borderline prospect. Right now he's 25 and he's blocked by Cecchini in the majors. He's got good power projections and should be a .270 hitter according to Tai Ban. He's patient at the plate and he's got good hands on defense. Nothing special but a good piece. 22. SP Tyler Matzek Potential: 20 Though he lacks any great talent, he is still a very solid player. He projects to be a Major League starter and so far this year has an ERA of 3.44 with 116 K's in Triple-A Colorado Springs. 21. 3B Ted Williams Potential: 21 Tai Ban isn't a fan, but OSA is. Williams is a player with 70 potential according to the OSA ratings. They think he will be a pllus power hitter with a good contact rate and good defense. Though he most likely won't be as good as the great Ted Williams, he has a chance! 20. C Tom J. Murphy Potential 68 Murphy deserves a promotion. He's almost reached his potential and he's playing great in the minor leagues, but with Wilin Rosario at catcher he's blocked. Murphy makes the most of his tools and should be a solid major leaguer for years to come. 19. 3B Ryan McMahon Potential: 69 McMahon has immense power potential, and has an advanced approach at the plate. He projects to be an impact player with an average around .290. Pretty solid player. 18. SS Roman Quinn Potential: 66 Roman Quinn is an interesting prospect. He has amazing speed, some of the best in the game. Ban doesn't see him as a starter but says he could be an amazing role player. He projects to have an average bat and below average power. 17. SS Rosell Herrera Potential: 69 Herrera is an above average defensive shortstop with an okay bat. He projects to have average contact potential and should be a solid hitter with some pop. 16. CF Terry McClure Potential: 73 McClure, 19, has great speed and a great eye at the plate. He should bat around .290 according to our scout. He's patient at the plate and is a decent defender. A good player. 15. SP Luis Ortiz Potential: 21 Ortiz isn't rated highly by my scout, but OSA loves him. So far this year he's had a very good year, with an ERA under 3 and 28 Ks in 30 innings. He has good command and his stuff should become big league ready soon. 14. 3B Rafael Devers Potential: 77 One of my favorite prospects, Devers is only 18 years old and is already holding his own in Single A and could get a promotion later this year. Tremendous power potential and the potential to be a .310 hitter are just some of the reasons I like him. He will be interesting to watch. 13. C Devon Fisher Potential: 74 Fisher is a great catching prospect. The 19 year old has it all. A great power bat and great defense. Nothing not to like about this guy. 12. CF David Dahl Potential: 68 Dahl is 21 year old center fielder who is just beginning his first season in Triple-A. He has great speed and has a fine glove in the outfield. He could be one of the best defenders in the league if he works at it. A good contact hitter with extra base power, Dahl might be on the major league team as soon as September. 11. 2B Mookie Betts Potential: 76 Although he's already surpassed his rookie limits, we'll still list him. He's shown that he can be a major league player already this year, batting .265 with four home runs, 39 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. I am a Mookie believer. 10. 3B/1B Maikel Franco Potential: 34 Ban has been losing hope in Franco for awhile now, as his potential rating just keeps plummeting. I'm happy with what he's done so far this year, as he's batting .259 with 9 home runs and 30 RBIs. 9. SS Chris Bostick Potential: 61 Bostick has been an all-around great player for my major league team. He's batted .246 with 9 home runs, 38 RBIs, and four tolen bases. I think he will only improve on what's been a very solid major league debut. 8. 1B Drew Lugbauer Potential: 79 Lugbauer has just as much power potential as Joey Gallo and Maikel Franco. It is his best tool and his other hitting tools should become major league average to above average. He's patient at the plate and should be an interesting prospect. 7. SS Jorge Gonzalez Potential: 80 Gonzalez was Tai Ban's greatest find earlier this year. He's got great potential, but he's a far ways away. Well above average contact and immense power, he should have a great bat if all goes well. 6. RF Garin Cecchini Potential: 69 Cecchini has been my best rookie this year, hitting .295 with four home runs, 19 RBIs, and 5 stolen bases. He's been towards the bottom of my lineup, which is one of the reasons his counting stats are so low. He hasn't reached his full potential yet but should be a very good player when he does. 5. CF Luis Alexander Basabe Potential: 80 Basabe is one of Ban's favorite prospects. He is a scout's dream. He projects to have above average contact and he has tremendous power potential. He has a respectable eye and is an average fielder. He has very good speed as well. 4. 3B Yoan Moncada Potential: 74 Moncada was recently acquired in a trade from Cuba. He is above average in pretty much everything and in his short time with the organization has already figured out Double-A pitching. He could see a move to Triple-A very shortly. 3. SS Brendan Rodgers Potential: 80 Another one of my favorite prospects, Rodgers was acquired via trade. He was the third pick in this last draft and has amazing potential. Above average contact, tremendous power, and a capable defense are just some of the things that make Rodgers great. 2. 1B Joey Gallo Potential: 71 Gallo has some of the best power in all of baseball. Rating 70/80 currently with the potential to be 80/80. His contact is below average but his power more than makesup for it. He's a masher. 1. 3B Kris Bryant Potential: 75 Bryant was recently acquired in a trade with the Cubs. Bryant has great power potential as well as a great contact potential as well. He should be a stud sooner rather than later.

04-07-2015, 11:43 PM	#25
bengalmike17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Cleveland Posts: 43	Entry 13 Entry #13: 2nd half of the season Trading Deadline At the trade deadline we stayed pretty quiet. No big moves. No moves really. Onto the second half of the season! International Signing Although its a few weeks after amateur players were allowed to sign contracts, we reached an agreement with 2B Juan Gallegos. Gallegos projects to have slightly above average contact and eye. He's still quite raw but hopefully we can polish him into a decent player. Waiver Trade Even though I didn't make a trade before the non-waiver trade deadline, I was still working the phones. I decided to send Ernesto Frieri to the Telemarket Rimini's of the Italian Baseball League in return for 22 year old first baseman Ismael Martinez. Martinez is certainly not a stud prospect. He will most likely be a middle of the road, AAAA type player. Maybe good enough to get a bench spot on the major league club, but will probably be in the minors his whole life. I made this trade mainly to make room for Neftali Feliz. Neftali Feliz Reliever Neftali Feliz was throwing really well in the minors and I decided to give the young guy a shot in the show. Thus, I sent Frieri out and called up Feliz. In triple-A this year, he has a 2.28 ERA in 47.1 Innings as well as 46 strikeouts. Hopefully he can keep it up with the big league club. Star comes off DL Our star third baseman Nolan Arenado is finally off the DL. After what seemed like forever, Arenado is ready to put on a big league uniform again. Hopefully he returns and picks up right where he left off. Torres Acquired I acquired reliever Alex Torres from the Padres. Torres has pitched well this season. In 47.2 innings, he has a 3.21 ERA, a 1.17 WHIP, and 53 Ks. He should be a good addition to the bullpen. Waiver Claim We claimed another player off waivers. This time it was Dorssys Paulino from Cleveland. The young SS is currently injured with an oblique strain, but he has decent potential. He is only 20 and should play in the minors for a few more seasons as he still needs some seasoning. Lin Traded I traded Che-Hsuan Lin, who I had signed to a multi-year deal in the off-season, to the AmigoO ADO Lakers for Chris Suarez. Lin never did anything for us, and I decided to give him a fresh start somewhere else. Suarez is 19 years old and Tai Ban likes him a lot. He projects as an average contact hitter and has tremendous raw power. Agreement with Betances I was able to extend Dellin Betances to a two year, $1.32 mm deal. The reliever was acquired in the off-season and has done a pretty nice job. Although his stats aren't great, most of the large numbers can be attributed to the time he spent in the rotation earlier this year. End of Season We finished the season 62-100. Not good at all. I think the only positive that can be taken away from this year is the development of the rookies. They all pretty much looked good, bar a few. Garin Cecchini lead the team in batting average and OBP, and at the end of the season he had a slash line of .283/.351/.415. Wilin Rosario lead the team in slugging percentage (.494,) OPS (.802,) home runs (33) RBIs (101,) hits (162) and total bases (296.) He was probably the best player on the team. Ryan Wheeler lead the team in VORP at 33.4. Mookie Betts had the most doubles, stolen bases, and runs scored on the whole team with 45, 24, and 87 respectively. Tyler Chatwood was again our top pitcher. Chatwood had a 6.7 WAR as he posted a 3.98 ERA, 132 Ks, and a 1.54 WHIP in 205.2 innings pitched. He also lead the team in wins, innings pitched, VORP, hits per nine innings, FIP, WHIP, and strikeouts. Rex Brothers lead the team in saves with 27.

03-12-2015, 11:55 AM	#22
bengalmike17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Cleveland Posts: 43	Entry #10 Player Evaluations and April 2015 State of the Roster I'm going to go through the roster before the season and give a brief write-up on him. Each write-up will have the player's name as well as their current rating out of 80 and their potential rating out of 80. SP Alex Colome 20-20 Colome was a free agent acquisition after being let go by the Rays. Colome may not work out for us, but he has decent potential, at least in my opinion. His pitching ratings are not bad at all, and he has been relatively good in his career. It will be interesting to see where the season goes with him. SP Chris Archer 20-20 Archer was acquired through the rule 5 draft this past year from the Rays. He was a great prospect as late as last year but he underwent Tommy John surgery and is trying to work back up to where he was. I have faith in him. He only has three pitches, but they are all above average, especially his slider. If he doesn't make it as a starter I would feel comfortable with him in the bullpen. 2B Pedro Okuda 21-21 Okuda was signed to a minor league contract last year and is still here. He is a backup and nothing more. His bat is very poor, but he does offer good speed. Honestly he probably won't be on the team in a month. 2B DJ Lemahieu 21-21 I signed DJ to a contract extension this past off-season knowing he would be a backup. He's a great backup and he was very good as a starter last year. I still like DJ. MR Ernesto Frieri 21-21 Ernesto was signed to a major league deal this off-season. Frieri hasamazing stuff; all of his pitches are above average to great. He's going to be a part of the back end of the bullpen unless his production isn't there. RF Charlie Blackmon 21-21 Blackmon, 28, was a starter last year, but won't have the same opportunity this year. He's a decent player and an above average fielder in the outfield with some good speed, but unfortunately with the influx of younger players to the major league team, there isn't a spot for him. He will be a decent piece off the bench but might be good trade bait. MR Adam Ottavino 22-22 Ottavino was one of my better relievers last year. He's back again this year in the setup role, and I intend to keep him there. His slider and change-up are stellar, which leads to a number of strikeouts. The only negative with Ottavino is his underwhelming control. Nevertheless, I am still a fan of Ottavino and what he does. MR Dellin Betances 22-22 Betances was acquired via trade this off-season. Betances has nasty stuff but like Ottavino he needs to refine his control. I'll be keeping Betances for as long as I can unless his performance plummets. 1B Justin Morneau 23-23 Justin went from starter to the veteran bench player. Justin still has some left in him, but he won't play much with all of the young talent we have at the major league level. Still an okay player. SP Johnny Cueto 34-36 Well, this was an unprecedented drop in ratings. His individual pitch ratings didn't suffer any, but his overall ratings did. He hasn't performed well since joining the team, and I may try and unload him at the deadline. Colorado just might not be the place for him. Disappointing, but he wasn't part of the plans for the future anyways. CF Che-Hsuan Lin 32-39 Lin was a free agent acquisition this past year from Taiwan. I was impressed with his speed and impeccable outfield defense. Unfortunately he struggled so much in spring training that I couldn't give him a spot in the starting line-up. He is still a great defensive replacement or pinch runner. Plus he's signed cheap for the next three years after this one. MR Joel Hanrahan 41-41 Hanrahan has proved to be a great addition to the team. His stuff is great and can be counted to strikeout his share of batters. I'm a fan of Hanrahan but I'm not sure how long he'll be here long-term as he is 33. C Wilin Rosario 44-46 Rosario is one of my favorite players. His power plays very well in Colorado. He makes contact often and when he gets ahold of one, you can bet it will be going very far. He's no slouch on defense either. SP Tyler Chatwood 36-48 Chatwood is 25 years old and is already at the top of our rotation. He's become a very good pitcher and has figured out how to deal with a tricky ballpark. He gets people out, which is the most important thing. None of his pitches are extremely sexy, but he gets it done. SP Allen Webster 33-50 Webster was my favorite signing of the past off-season. Webster is only 25 and has great pretty good stuff. He pitched a great spring training and earned himself a spot in the rotation. He won't be a star, but he'll be a very solid player for a long time. MR Chad Bettis 44-51 Bettis is another young reliever. His stuff is all above average. Bettis could both start and relieve. LF Ryan Wheeler 60-65 Wheeler was a first baseman until the spring, where I moved him to left field. His bat is certainly major league ready. Good contact and power should play well in the park. I like Wheeler a lot. 3B Nolan Arenado 55-65 Arenado is one of our best players, and was the best player on the team statistically last year. Good contact, power, and he doesn't strike out a ton. I would like to keep Arenado in a Rockies uniform for awhile. SS Chris Bostick 33-67 I might be rushing Bostick a little to quicklly, but I didn't see any other attractive options. Defensively Bostick is great, and he's just as good on the basepaths. His bat is a work in progress, but it should come along. RF Garin Cecchini 40-71 I am very intrigued with Cecchini. He was a third baseman until, like Ryan Wheeler, I moved him to RF this spring. The best part of Cecchini's game is his bat. IT's above average with good contact and a fantastic eye. MR Boone Logan 74-74 Logan is a setup guy for us. He's got great stuff. He's got a top of the line fastball and slider. He's 30, but I would be open to keep him for a little longer. 2B Mookie Betts 24-74 Mookie is one of the more intriguing prospects I have. He is very well rounded with good defense, contact, power, and speed. He could become one of my best players come a few years. CL Rex Brothers Brothers is a great pitcher. He performed very well last year and is line to continue his stellar season. Currently 27, he is signed through the 2020 season at a bargain price. His two pitches, fastball and slider, grade out at 75/80 and 80/80 respectively. Fantastic! LF Corey Dickerson 73-73 Dickerson was supposed to be our left fielder this year, as that is the position where he is best at, but we couldn't put new-comers Cecchini or Wheeler in center, so Dickerson was our only other option. Dickerson has good contact and power and is just an all-around good ballplayer. 1B Joey Gallo 21-77 Gallo was acquired via trade last year from the Rangers and he came to us as one of the top power hitters in the minors. He has got potential to be a 40 home run player. He is that talented. The only thing that will hold him back I his contact, which needs a little work. Big Prospect Find The biggest news of the first week of the season had nothing to do with the team on the field, but instead with a prospect our scouting director found us. Tai Ban was searching for talent in Mexico when he came across Jorge Gonzalez. Gonzalez has the potential to be an 80/80 on the scale, and Ban says he possesses true impact potential. He has great contact potential and power potential to match it. Chad Bettis injured Our #3 pitcher Chad Bettis went down with a sprained elbow that will keep him out 11 days. We put Chris Archer in his spot and called up Greg Burke to add bullpen depth. Chad Bettis had been doing pretty well. In two starts he struck out eight and posted a 2.84 ERA. Wilin Rosario wins batter of the month Wilin Rosario had a stellar April, he posted a .400 average while hitting five home runs, 12 RBI's, and scoring 11 runs. Congrats Wilin! April Stats Wilin lead in almost all offensive categories, and Mookie Betts and Ryan Wheeler were right behind him in most. Joey Gallo had a very disappointing month, hitting .193 with three homers and 10 RBIs. He whiffed 21 times. Tyler Chatwood leads the team in ERA at 3.73, but ironically he also has the highest loss total. Rex Brothers has three saves. Chatwood also leads the team in strikeouts with 19.

04-08-2015, 11:31 PM	#26
bengalmike17 Minors (Rookie Ball) Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: Cleveland Posts: 43	Entry #14: THe offseason Batting Titles Jurickson Profar of the Texas Rangers won the AL batting title after he posted a .330 batting average this season. Over in the National League, Ben Revere won it with a .340 average. Congrats guys! Indians win the Championship The Cleveland Indians won the 2015 World Series. The Indians finished the season winning the series 4-2 over the St. Louis Cardinals. The Tribe had a regular season record of 98-64 and overcame several elimination games to get to the title. It was a very successful season for them. World Champions Crowned The Cleveland Indians won the 2015 Cuban American Baseball League Championship, defeating the Tigres four games to none. On the way there, they beat the Cardinals four games to three. Quite a season for the Tribe. Posted Players Only one player of note was posted. Patrick Corbin, a 26 year old starting pitcher was posted. I will certainly look to acquire him. He would definitley be a nice addition to the team. Option Years I voided the contract options of both Justin Morneau and Joel Hanrahan. Neither helped the team much in 2015. Rockies Sign Star OF I handed out one of the richest contracts in my history. Jason Heyward is the newest Rockie. He will receive $87,000,000 over a six year period. The contract is heavily frontloaded to give me flexibility in the future. Heyward is an amazing player and unfortunately he has had a few injury problems the past few years. I still think he is a great addition to the team. Rockies Acquire All-Star After we signed Jason Heyward, Garin Cecchini became expendable. I traded Cecchini and shortstop Alec Mehrten to the Cardinals in return for outfielder Oscar Taveras. Taveras is only 23 and already has an All Star season under his belt. Last season he hit .337 with 16 home runs and 72 RBIs. He completes a star studded outfiel with Heyward and Corey Dickerson. Murphy Swapped One of our young catchers, Tom J. Murphy is headed to Toronto. He was sent to the Blue Jays in exchange for Aaron Sanchez. Sanchez should be a part of the bullpen and possibly the rotation next year. Third Trade We made a third and probably final trade. This time we sent star prospect David Dahl, Chris Bostick, and Allen Webster to the Dodgers for Corey Seager. Seager is one of the top young players in the game. The 21 year old hit .245 with 8 home runs and 36 RBIs in 95 games for the Dodgers last year. Bostick was my starting shortstop last year and he did a pretty good job for a rookie. He hit .235 with 18 doubles, 10 triples, and 12 home runs. Dahl was the biggest part of this deal. He is pretty much major league ready. At age 21 he was dominating triple-A. Unfortunately, I don't have anywhere to put him, so I decided to get something out of him. Rule Change The Designated Hitter was added to the National League in an attempt to create more offense. This will definitely help our team a lot. New Manager in Town Scott Posednik is the new manager of the Rockies. Walt Weiss did an okay job, but Posednik's ratings were just too high to pass up. Posednik takes over an up-and-coming team. This about takes us up to Spring Training. Next post will have roster decisions and Opening day.