Call to the Post - 2036 Season Preview Edition

[Thoroughbreds]

2035 was very similar to the year before except they didn't last as long in the playoffs as they were ousted by London in 5 games in the WIldcard round. Kentucky finished a distant second to Florida and won the wildcard. The script looks like it could be much the same this year. Make the wildcard and hope to catch lightning in a bottle during the playoffs.
There are some question marks though, in a surprise move Kentucky traded talented starter Michael Doyle to Duluth in order to restock the dwindling talent in the farm system.
Then in Spring Training, 26 year old Jose Mora went down with a season ending arm injury. Doyle and Mora had 29 wins between and were extremely reliable all season long.

Infield

The infield should be the same as last season. The main focus early in the season will be on first baseman Brad Davis. Davis is 37 hits away from 3000 and 64 hits away from breaking the all-time PEBA record of 3026 held by Rob Raines. Davis looks to still have plenty in the tank offensively but his defense leaves a lot to be desired. Takeo Miyagi should see some time at first as a defensive replacement or when Davis is in the DH spot. The question is will Davis' quest for history be a distraction to the rest of the team?
Ruben Ortega returns as the team's starting second baseman. Ortega had a surprisingly good year last season, posting a WAR of 4.8 - if he has another season like that the Thoroughbreds will be extremely happy.
Both shortstop Bang-Xao You and third baseman Juan Carlos Cruz were a little disappointing last season and will hope to rebound this year. You battled some injury problems and posted career lows in many categories. He turns 31 this year and fans are hoping this is not a sign of things to come. He gets paid 16.7 million a year and he still has 3 years left on his deal so the more he struggles the more the scrutiny will be on him.
Cruz came over from Diluth with high expectations and was pencilled in to hit at the top of the order. However he only managed an on base percentage of .247 and struggled with the stick for most of the season. He will get another chance to prove himself this season.
Antonio Mesegue came over in a late season deal and he is locked in as Kentucky's starting catcher. Look for 20+ homers and an abundance of leadership from him. With a few young starters in the rotation this year, Mesegue will be a key factor for the team.

Outfield

The outfield is where most of the offensive production comes for Kentucky. Right fielder Shu-de Mu had another productive season and should hit leadoff once again. He has spent all 6 years with Kentucky and has been extremely consistent. Last season he set a career high with 72 stolen bases. He is 31 years old and will be looking for a big raise at year's end. In Centre Pedro Bermudez gets a do over as he was supposed to take over duties last season but he struggled mightily and was sent down. His future is bright and Bermudez is one of the reason the offense and defense for Kentucky could be better this year.
Rocky Kowalski and Antonio Canseco provide a large amount of Kentucky's offensive punch. They combined for 77 homers last year and they should come close to that number this year. Canseco is better defensively so he generally gets the nod in leftfield, while Kowalski will spend most of the time at DH.

Pitching

The starting rotation will be very interesting and maybe the main factor to which way the season goes for Kentucky. They will be relying heavily on two young starters Luis Jimenez and Valke Petiet. Jimenez was great down the stretch and into the playoffs last season. He won 8 of his 12 starts and posted a 1.93 ERA after he was called up. Petiet is one of Kentucky's top prospects - he went 14-3 with a 2.49 ERA in AAA last season. Petiet is 22 and Jimenez is 25, if they can continue on their current path they could keep Kentucky competitive for a long time.
With the loss of Doyle and Mora, Rory Soutar moves from the bullpen to the starting rotation. Soutar has started before and he has high quality stuff so the transition should be seamless. Chris Brown went 17-10 last season and was an all-star for the third straight year. He will be looked upon to anchor the staff once again
Ju-Hyung Park signed a massive free agent contract last season and he delivered going 15-9 with a 3.29 ERA. Look for similar numbers from him and he should fit somewhere into the middle of the rotation.

6 time all-star Matt Brown will take over the closer duties for the team this season with Soutar being moved to the rotation. Brown has 290 career saves and a 2.26 lifetime ERA.
Rookie Esteban Benitez and veteran Kunisada Yasuda should see the majority of the tough innings in the bullpen. And Alfredo Aranda with his 100 wins and 606 saves is back for his 21st season with team. He is no longer the closer but he will eat up some innings in the back end of the bullpen.

It is tough being in the same division as the 3 time defending champs. Can Kentucky get within 20 games of Florida? They hope to make the playoffs and then hope and pray after that.