2035 Thoroughbreds season preview

[Thoroughbreds]

Playing in the Dixie Division can be tough. Thanks to the Florida Fastriders, year in and year out the battle is for 2nd place and a wild card spot in the playoffs and it that appears to be the case again this season. Realistically the Thoroughbreds goals are to win 100 games and close the 29 game gap between them and the Fastriders.

Starting Staff

2035 is the year that Kentucky is hoping that Michael Doyle takes another step forward and becomes a true ace. His numbers were good enough last season (16-10 3.58 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), but now that he has 3 full seasons under his belt expectations are growing that he will be a true shutdown starter. A lot of the team's success will rest on the 28 year old Doyle.

Chris Brown will be the team's #2 starter. the 31 year old won 18 games last season and was an all-star. He actually out pitched Doyle. Last season was the first where Brown was a full-time starter in his PEBA career and he destroyed expectations. Is it too much to as for another 18 win season? Probably, expectations are that Brown will regress some, but Kentucky is hoping not too much.

All eyes throughout the league will be on Kentucky's #3 starter Ju-Hyung Park. Park signed a massive 113 million dollar contract in the offseason. Kentucky is hoping Park will be an exact replica of Brown - a career reliever until the age of 30 and then turns into an all star starter. EIther way it will be fascinating to see what happens with Park.

25 year old Jose Mora should get his chance to be in the rotation full time this season. He has been solid in limited appearances (3.62 ERA in 21 career starts), but he put up great numbers in AAA last season (10-2 2.01 ERA)

Veteran Brian Gutierrez should hold down the #5 spot, but he will be under pressure and should he falter, 24 year old Luis Jiminez will be there to take his place. Jiminez had a 2.55 ERA in AAA last season. Both pitchers should be more than adequate for the bottom end of the rotation.

Bullpen

If there is a chink in Kentucky's armour it could be there bullpen, specifically in holding leads. It looks like former starter Rory Sautar (10-11 3.63) will get the first shot a closing duties. He definitely has the arm, but could his lack of control prevent him from being a reliable option?

Kunisada Yasuda will be the set up man and next in line for the closer role. At 30 years old, Yasuda had his best season last year, posting a 2.55 ERA.

This should definitely be Alfedo Aranda's last hurrah in the PEBA. The former great who has 586 career saves to his credit was largely ineffective last season. He is 41 years old and in the last year of his contract. It doesn't look like Kentucky will be able to count on many high leverage appearances from Aranda this year.
Vincent and Taguchi will be the other 2 relievers relied on heavily this season. Both have mediocre career numbers, so it would be a stretch to expect much more from them. Don't be surprised if Kentucky adds and a high leverage bullpen arm at some point this season.

Offence - Outfield

Possibly the strongest part of the Kentucky roster is their outfield. All 5 that are on the opening day roster could be starters in the PEBA. Rocky Kowalski and Antonio Canseco will hit in the middle of the Thoroughbred roster. They had 59 homers between the 2 of them and expectations are they will be at that level again this year. Kowalski may be forced to DH most of the time due to the depth in the outfield.
Pedro Bermudez is the most intriguing position player on the roster. At 21 years old he burst on to the scene last season and made it tough for the team to keep him out of the lineup. At his current level he may be a step behind some of the other outfielders offensively but he is by far the best defensive centerfielder on the team. He is the team's biggest prospect and he maybe patrolling the Kentucky outfield for a long time to come.

With 27 homers and 60 stolen bases last season Shu-de Mu should beat out William Sharrock for the rightfield position. Sharrock should get a lot of playing time filling in for all the outfield positions and by being one of the first options off the bench.

Offence - Infield

There isn't as much firepower in the infield as there is in the outfield, but the Kentucky infield should be among one of the better defensive units in the league.
Recently acquired 3b Juan Carlos Cruz (.256 4 26) may get a shot to hit near the top of the lineup. at 23 years old he is already great defensively and the hopes are his offensive totals will improve this year. 39 year old Brad Davis and his 22 million dollar contract will get the start at 1b. in 133 games last year Davis had a 0.8 WAR and the team will not be as patient with him this year. Expect 24 year Takeo Miyagi to see some time at 1b this season.
Shortstop Bang-Xao You (.259 1 25) and second baseman Ruben Ortega (.270 10 60) will patrol the middle of the infield. You is light hitting but he has great speed and a great glove. Rounding out the infield will be catcher Tony Burston. Burston will hit at the bottom of the order and he is in there for one reason only. His defence and the way he handles the rotation. He was an all-star in 2033, but again that was strictly for his defensive prowess.

Do the Thoroughbreds have enough to eclipse the 100 win plateau and make a run in the playoffs? Either way they should be a tough team to play during the season.

[Borealis]

Here's to a successful year for the T-breds, chasing down the F'heads - I mean F'riders!!