Kentucky Thoroughbreds 2038 season preview

[Thoroughbreds]

Last year, for the 4th straight season the Kentucky Thoroughbreds finished in 2nd place in the Dixie Division and earned a wild card birth. For the 2nd year in a row and 4th time in team history they finished with over 100 wins. They also had a successful playoff run by getting out of the WC for the first time in 3 seasons and then knocking off the heavily favoured Farstriders before bowing out in 6 games to the eventual champion Alleghenies.

With a deep talent starting staff and a veteran lineup, Kentucky is poised for another wild card appearance and hopefully another deep playoff run. Anything less will be a disappointment.

Catcher - Antonio Mesegue (.276 22 74) has been one of the Throughbred's best acquisitions of the past few years. He has been an all-star for both of his seasons in Kentucky. He is a team leader in the clubhouse and he is above average both offensively and defensively. At 31 years old Kentucky is hoping for at least a few more seasons of productivity. Aaron Lawrence, the guy he was traded for has spent much of the past few years on the injured list, so this trade looks really good for Kentucky.
Rookie Tony Gonzalez has won the backup role over veteran RIkiya Abe . Kentucky drafted Gonzalez in the 2nd round of the 2034 draft.

First Base - Antonio Santos' (.224 32 80) first season in Kentucky was a little underwhelming although he still managed 32 homers and an OBP of .388. At 34 years old I would not expect much more from Santos this season. Santos struggled against lefties most of last season so expect newcomer Louis Kossan to get some starts.

Second Base - To start the season Louis Kossan (.286 8 64) and Dale 'Hamburger' Spencer (.236 6 36) will most likely share duties. Spencer won the all-leather award at 2b last season but he doesn't bring much to the table on offence. Kossan should bring a better balance of offence and defence to the table.

Third Base - Another trade that has worked out well for the Thoroughbreds was the acquisition of Juan Carlos Cruz (.296 2 41) from Duluth in 2034. Cruz always seems to be the straw that stirs the drink in the Kentucky offence. He hit 34 doubles, 11 triples and stole 55 bases last season all well playing solid defence at the hot corner. It will be his spot to lose once again this season.

Shortstop - Last season Kentucky signed Naomi Honma (.247 16 63) to shore up the defence at shortstop. He did that and more, chipping in with 63 RBI and making the all-star team for the 6th year in his career. for the 7th time in his career he had a WAR above 4.5. At 32 years old if he strings together a few more productive seasons he could be a candidate for the Hall of Fame.

Left Field - Fresh off signing a new 4-year deal, 30 year-old Antonio Canseco (.256 31 95) is back patrolling left field. Canseco, a 3 time all-star has averaged 30 homers and 35 doubles over the past 4 seasons. Expect similar numbers from him this season. Canseco was a monster in the postseason last year winning the IL Divisional MVP.

Center field - This year feels like the season that Pedro Bermudez (.276 20 80) could burst into super stardom. Bermudez is a true 5-tool player and is one of the best defensive centerfielders in the game. His 5.5 war from last season seemed like he was just scratching the surface. Bermudez will be somewhere in the middle of the order and will have a lot to do with how well Kentucky fares this season.

Right field - Like a fine wine, Shu-de Mu (.310 31 93) gets better with age. Last season at the age of 32 he had his best season yet. He drove in 93 runs for the leadoff spot and had a career high WAR of 6.9. I am not sure he can replicate those numbers but he still should have a solid season. Unless something drastic changes he will be in the leadoff spot again.

Designated Hitter - Dan Gore (.346 9 32) burst onto the seen last year. He impressed management so much that they let go of fan favorite Rocky Kowalski. Dan Gore is terrible defensively but he can hit with the best of them. Unless something goes completely south he will be the DH virtually every night. He will likely be hitting in the middle of the order and big numbers are expected for this 24 year old.

Starting Staff
The depth of the staff could prove to be the strength of this roster.
At just 25 years old Dong-Hak Yi (5-1 3.05) will get the opening day nod. Kentucky gave up a lot to get Yi last season and they are hoping the form he showed in the last half of the season will carry over and he can be the ace of the staff this year.
Mr. Consistency Ju-Hyung Park (16-5 3.16) will be the teams number 2 starter. Since Kentucky signed Park as a free agent 3 seasons ago he has gone 48-17 with a 3.20 Era and has pitched over 209 innings each of those 3 seasons. I would expect Park to have similar numbers again this year.
The big signing this year for Kentucky was Roberto Rivera (10-5 3.59). Rivera has the best stuff on the team and if could ever stay healthy he would be a perennial candidate for the Golden Arm award - an honour he won back in 2033. With his chronically bad back, Kentucky would probably be ecstatic with 25 starts this year.
24 year-old Valke Petiet (13-11 3.34) will be the teams #4 starter. Petiet, a former first round pick has steadily move up through the Thoroughbred system and now he is firmly entrenched in the rotation. Petiet is a pretty solid starter to have in the back end of the rotation.
Another pitcher with electric stuff is Rory Soutar (10-7 4.55). He struggled a bit last season as a starter and was relegated to bullpen duties. in 2036 he went 17-8 with a 2.94 era. In spring training he looked more like the 2036 version of himself. If he finds his form and if Rivera stays healthy this rotation looks excellent. If anyone should falter, former all-star Luis JIminez should be more than capable of stepping into the rotation.


Bullp
6-time all star Matt Brown is back in the closers role. He has saved 84 games over the past 2 seasons for the Thoroughbreds, At 35 he is getting a little long in the tooth so he will be monitored closely for any signs of struggles. Esteban Benitez (4-2 4.03) and Nelson Alvarado (6-1 4.19 )will be the setup men. After a quality spring training in looks like 25 year old Fred Gross will pitch some high leverage innings in middle relief. Gross has only 38.1 innings pitched in his career. Luis Jimenez and veteran Jose Gomez with be counted on to face the tough left handed hitters in the opposing lineups.

Projection is that Kentucky will win just under 100 games and make the playoffs once again. What happens then is anyone's guess.

[Trendsetters]