Final Division Standings:
1. Gaylord
2. Mid Michigan
3. Olivet
4. Charlotte
Team Observations:
Gaylord:
There is a lot of power here which should help them compete in home runs, runs and runs batted in all year. A general lack of speed will need to be addressed, as will what I expect to be a lack of overall production at third base. I'm not sure there is enough quality depth to overcome an injury or two, particularly at third or in the outfield.
I like Samardzija/Shields/Kennedy atop the rotation. There is a lack of depth in the starting pitching that will be a problem if Garza doesn't get healthy. I don't trust the bullpen, which is especially true of the closers. There is no telling how long Axford keeps his job and Rodney is a lock to regress.
Mid Michigan:
Again, a lot of power and run production here. This team should hit for a solid average from week to week. Not much speed here, which should be a point of focus later in the season. Not a lot of depth in the outfield, but otherwise a decent bench. I would expect Murphy to claim the UTL job sooner rather than later; I don't think Plouffe will come close to matching his power totals from 2012.
I'm not crazy about the starting pitching, mainly because I don't think you can trust Sanchez and Scherzer, who are the sole source of strike outs. Moving Champman to the rotation hurts more than it helps, assuming he makes the transition, because it eliminates a dominant closer and replaces him with a SP who is likely to be limited in terms of innings this year. A lack of starting pitching depth will need to be addressed.
Olivet:
I had a hard time picking a third place team in this division, but I went with Olivet because I think their offense will have better balance. There is promise (Craig, Lawrie, Cozart, Reddick), and a solid veteran presence (Doumit, LaRoche, Hart) on offense. Growth from Cain and a bounce back from Young improves the speed. There is just enough depth to weather a few injuries, so long as they aren't long term.
The rotation doesn't look great on paper, but I think it will outperform projections. I think Santana will rebound, he's too talented to continue pitching at that level. Friers seems likely to continue his growth and be a solid source of strikeouts. Cap is steady - keep an eye on Phelps as a breakout candidate. The 'pen should provide strike outs, holds and solid ERA/WHIP figures. He's light on saves, but that isn't an issue unless he contends late into the season. I like the SP depth.
Charlotte:
I'm not sure there is much to be excited about outside of Miggy, Harper, Mauer and Cespedes. There isn't much power outside of those four and there are a number of serious question marks. There isn't much speed, and many of these guys don't take many walks. There are a ton of major injury risks to worry about. The depth is OK, as long as he doesn't have to rely on any of them for an extended period.
The pitching is tough to trust from top to bottom. Dempster is going to struggle in the AL East and Johnson seems likely to be hurt at some point. Lester, while a head case, remains talented and could rebound unless he decides he doesn't like his new manager. Richard is steady, but doesn't miss many bats. Kuroda should be a steadying influence. The bullpen is atrocious. Outside of Hanrahan, everyone of them is a virtual gas can and major drain on ERA and WHIP.
Overall:
Wagner and Keith are the cream of the crop in this division, so activity will ultimately decide who wins the division. Wagner is always active in-season, hopefully Keith is ready to take that next step. Larry was able to lay the foundation of his team, but will need to make some trades and have a good draft next year to complete the rebuild. I never know what to make of Broskey's teams, mainly because they seem to change on a weekly basis. I think Broskey may be faced with trading what he considers core players during the season in order to turn over his contracts and prepare for next season.
1. Gaylord
2. Mid Michigan
3. Olivet
4. Charlotte
Team Observations:
Gaylord:
There is a lot of power here which should help them compete in home runs, runs and runs batted in all year. A general lack of speed will need to be addressed, as will what I expect to be a lack of overall production at third base. I'm not sure there is enough quality depth to overcome an injury or two, particularly at third or in the outfield.
I like Samardzija/Shields/Kennedy atop the rotation. There is a lack of depth in the starting pitching that will be a problem if Garza doesn't get healthy. I don't trust the bullpen, which is especially true of the closers. There is no telling how long Axford keeps his job and Rodney is a lock to regress.
Mid Michigan:
Again, a lot of power and run production here. This team should hit for a solid average from week to week. Not much speed here, which should be a point of focus later in the season. Not a lot of depth in the outfield, but otherwise a decent bench. I would expect Murphy to claim the UTL job sooner rather than later; I don't think Plouffe will come close to matching his power totals from 2012.
I'm not crazy about the starting pitching, mainly because I don't think you can trust Sanchez and Scherzer, who are the sole source of strike outs. Moving Champman to the rotation hurts more than it helps, assuming he makes the transition, because it eliminates a dominant closer and replaces him with a SP who is likely to be limited in terms of innings this year. A lack of starting pitching depth will need to be addressed.
Olivet:
I had a hard time picking a third place team in this division, but I went with Olivet because I think their offense will have better balance. There is promise (Craig, Lawrie, Cozart, Reddick), and a solid veteran presence (Doumit, LaRoche, Hart) on offense. Growth from Cain and a bounce back from Young improves the speed. There is just enough depth to weather a few injuries, so long as they aren't long term.
The rotation doesn't look great on paper, but I think it will outperform projections. I think Santana will rebound, he's too talented to continue pitching at that level. Friers seems likely to continue his growth and be a solid source of strikeouts. Cap is steady - keep an eye on Phelps as a breakout candidate. The 'pen should provide strike outs, holds and solid ERA/WHIP figures. He's light on saves, but that isn't an issue unless he contends late into the season. I like the SP depth.
Charlotte:
I'm not sure there is much to be excited about outside of Miggy, Harper, Mauer and Cespedes. There isn't much power outside of those four and there are a number of serious question marks. There isn't much speed, and many of these guys don't take many walks. There are a ton of major injury risks to worry about. The depth is OK, as long as he doesn't have to rely on any of them for an extended period.
The pitching is tough to trust from top to bottom. Dempster is going to struggle in the AL East and Johnson seems likely to be hurt at some point. Lester, while a head case, remains talented and could rebound unless he decides he doesn't like his new manager. Richard is steady, but doesn't miss many bats. Kuroda should be a steadying influence. The bullpen is atrocious. Outside of Hanrahan, everyone of them is a virtual gas can and major drain on ERA and WHIP.
Overall:
Wagner and Keith are the cream of the crop in this division, so activity will ultimately decide who wins the division. Wagner is always active in-season, hopefully Keith is ready to take that next step. Larry was able to lay the foundation of his team, but will need to make some trades and have a good draft next year to complete the rebuild. I never know what to make of Broskey's teams, mainly because they seem to change on a weekly basis. I think Broskey may be faced with trading what he considers core players during the season in order to turn over his contracts and prepare for next season.
10 comments:
Great Job as always Jamie!
May I ask what site you used or is this just a guess? Just wondering because I used (ESPN, CBS and fantasy source. When i took out all bench guys my team was the best in the great lakes division, but with bench I'm no better then 12th overall. I don't know - maybe a guess is better than averaging three sites out (which took forever!)
Good stuff think we on same page in this division.. Broskey improved by default. The question with him has always been how long till he dumps his team and restarts again? Larry will be competitive for the sheer fact he hates to lose. Keith always has a decent team but never enough to put it all together. Wagner had last years deadline and good draft spot to improve and obviously has..
Thanks for painting somewhat prettier picture for Olivet
I didn't use any sites. Who has the time for that? I barely had time to do it this way. This is essentially a cocktail consisting of equal parts player performance, career path and my own opinion (which is pretty much all those sites are, as well).
The last two spots were tough to pick in this division. There isn't much separating them from one another. I went with Larry in third because I have a better sense of what his team will look like at the end of the year. I think Broskey will need to create a great deal of turnover during the season to expedite the building process for next year, which is scary given how much tinkering (and gutting) he already does during the season.
Get your offers for Miggy ready.. Broskeys door is always open.
Here is the thing. The whole league is devoid of speed. Starting pitching is questionable. Its no secret its Wagners league to lose... but I think it'll be up in the air before Wags pulls away
Don't get me wrong I love reading these. I was just wondering how you came up with these rankings.
Yes, I took the time and put in 2013 projections from three different sites (ESPN, CBS and FANTASY SOURCE)then averaged them out. I didn't care who owned what team or what happened in the past.
In one scenario I went strictly starters (took out the bench players) because lets face it owners makes an average of 30-60 transactions per-year. In that scenario the Great Lakes division came out Charlotte, Gaylord, Mid-Michigan then Olivet. Now when I added in drafted bench players the division came out Gaylord, Mid-Michigan, Charlotte and Olivet.
Again, Love reading these and you did a great job writing these out!
Broskey I am not sure what site you found would but your staters ahead of Wagners. I just don't see enough quality on your team. Cabrera and Cespedes can't carry your offense. When you start Eaton (unknown) and Maybin and Werth and Utley which you have to realize are not elite any more. Plus Davis is Dunn with less power you hav e to see your holes. No real SB threat. Yoour SP are a wing and prayer along with your closers. If the ball bounces perfect fine but history has it you'll be lucky to get a few of these longshots right. Yet you seem to bank your team on these long shots every year.. All I can say is good luck.. I would rather draft prep more and take solid gambles then look at long shots.
To be clear, the static rankings didn't take who owns the teams into account at all. It was just a side by side comparison of the lineups. I considered where each player is in their career, whether there is the potential for improvement or regression, and mixed in some of my own opinion. That's it. I didn't take the owners into account other than a brief mention of in-season activity, but that didn't impact how the lineups compared to one another position for position.
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