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| Team Captain Jose Altuve leads the way. |
I know it's been a little while, as you all know in my recent posts, I have been trying to catch up my April stats from my 2018 MLB Projections Season. That process has been momentarily delayed due to some exciting news.
I finally have joined a mail-in APBA league! I have been looking forward to doing something like this for some time. The name of the league is the Ultimate APBA League (UAL), which consists of 24 teams, while the league also works under a salary cap using the real-life MLB salaries... which brings a nice owner aspect to the league. The guys from the league seem really nice, and I could not be any happier at the moment.
I will be taking over a team that was named the Shenango Valley Showboats, which turns out was managed by my friend Ken Schulz. Schulz hosts the Pittsburgh APBA tournament (Linda B. Schulz Memorial APBA Baseball Tournament), we have also competed together at the Greater Michigan & Chicagoland APBA tournaments.
I don't have a team mascot yet, I will likely not be going with the Traverse City Panthers or Traverse City Tigers (as I have with past & current leagues) due to the fact that some UAL Managers already have those mascot names. I have been bouncing around some names with the wife for some feedback, but have yet to settle on one yet.
The team itself is a playoff contender for this upcoming season (which starts in October) and is based off the 2017 MLB Season stats & 2017 APBA Season Cards. My team has a solid lineup and reliable rotation, to go along with an excellent bullpen.
Here is my probable starting lineup...
- Jean Segura - SS(8) (.300, 11 HR, 45 RBI & 22 SB / .776 OPS)
- Buster Posey - C(8) (.320, 12 HR, 67 RBI & 6 SB / .861 OPS)
- Jose Altuve - 2B(8) (.346, 24 HR, 81 RBI & 32 SB / .957 OPS)
- Justin Bour - 1B(4) (.289, 25 HR, 83 RBI & 1 SB / .902 OPS)
- Marwin Gonzalez - 3B(3) (.303, 23 HR, 90 RBI & 8 SB / .907 OPS)
- Domingo Santana - DH (.278, 30 HR, 85 RBI & 15 SB / .875 OPS)
- Yoenis Cespedes - LF(2) (.292, 17 HR, 42 RBI / .892 OPS)
- Gerardo Parra - RF(3) (.309, 10 HR, 71 RBI & 2 SB / .793 OPS)
- Jarrod Dyson - CF(3) (.251, 5 HR, 30 RBI & 28 SB / .674 OPS)
I have a few guys here that will not always start due to limited time on the field, such as Yoenis Cespedes & Justin Bour. The good news is that I have plenty of players who can play multiple positions.
I will start Caleb Joseph from time-to-time at catcher, while Buster Posey will play first. Marwin Gonzalez & Gerardo Parra each can play at first as well. Other than Gonzalez starting at third, I will also have him play in the outfield since the team is a little short on outfield depth... a need that I will have to address.
For the times I don't have Gonzalez starting at third, I will have Ronald Torreyes (Grade 4 at third) who will bring an upgrade on defense, his batting average is pretty good at .292, while he has little power.
My rotation will be as follows (the order not 100% decided)...
- Rich Hill - B(1)-XY 12-8, 3.32 ERA, 166 K / 49 BB - 136 IP (1.091 WHIP)
- Jimmy Nelson - B(1)-XZ 12-6, 3.49 ERA, 199 K / 48 BB - 175 IP (1.249 WHIP)
- Taijuan Walker - B(1)-Y 9-9, 3.49 ERA, 146 K / 61 BB - 157 IP (1.328 WHIP)
- Jeff Samardzija - C(2)-XZ 9-15, 4.42 ERA, 205 K / 32 BB - 208 IP (1.136 WHIP)
- Yu Darvish - C(2)-X 10-12, 3.86 ERA, 209 K / 58 BB - 187 IP (1.163 WHIP)
I also have Josh Tomlin C(2)-ZZ, Jon Gray C(1)-XZ & R.A. Dickey C(2). Tomlin will likely be a spot starter & long reliever for me this season, Gray may work out of the pen in mop-up situations, while Dickey will not see opening day... especially with his $7.5 million price tag.
Dickey could be valuable to another team looking for a C starter, especially one that has 238 innings to work with.
The bullpen is really strong, and going to play a significant role in this team's 2018 success, the bullpen is as follows...
- Matt Belisle - C*(2)-YZ 60 IP
- Chris Rusin - B*(2)-YZ 85 IP
- Dan Otero - B*(1)-ZZ 60 IP
- Donnie Hart - B*(2)-Z 43 IP
- Bryan Shaw - B*(1)-XZ 76 IP
- Andrew Miller - A&C*(2)-K 62 IP
- Ken Giles - A*(1)-K 62 IP
Bryan Shaw (7th inning) and Andrew Miller (8th inning) are the set-up men for the closer Ken Giles. This doesn't always mean that this will be the case, when I am at home, I may go with whatever situation that presents itself... meaning, if the opponent's 7-9 hitters are coming up during the 8th inning, I may go with Giles to face the weaker part of the lineup & leave the top-half in the 9th for Miller; Shaw may close some games as well.
You may have noticed that all my pitchers above had pretty-good to good 2017 seasons, but are doing horrible or are injured for significant time during the current 2018 MLB Season... believe me, this went unnoticed by me. I will have to make some really tough decisions to bring in some pitching come the 2019 UAL Season, but until then, we will have to wait.
I have a few guys that make me cringe when I look at their salary... Cespedes (like I mentioned above), Jeff Samardzija ($19.8 m), Yu Darvish ($11 m) & R.A. Dickey ($7.5 m).
I don't have a 2018 UAL Rookie Draft Pick until pick #102, the team's first 4 round picks were traded to bring in some of the current pitching staff. I was a little relieved to be honest, because I just got hired in, and the draft starts Monday... this will give me a few more days at least to get situation, and then I will see if I can finds some gems in the late-round dirt.
I don't plan to do any major moves (trades) during the UAL Rookie or Waiver Drafts, but if it comes down to adding some OF depth or some 2019 pitching, I won't be against making such a move, I do have an extra C starter to trade with. My 2019 UAL Rookie picks will not be touched, I will need every one of those picks, to help my team in 2019.
One thing is for certain, I am looking forward to this new adventure!
*** 2018 MLB Projections Season Update -- Coming Soon! ***
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