Season 24 - NL Team Power Index Ratings

After previewing the American League, it's time to see how the National League stacks up!  In case you missed the AL, see the prior blog post for their ratings and some info on this.

NL North

Montreal (Previous season 107-55)

Offense:

OBP - 47 (out of 100)

SLG - 53

Run Creation - 50 (based on Runs Creation stat)

AL Rank - 3

Pitching:

OBP Against - 64

SLG Against - 78

AL Rank - 2

Chicago (Previous season 88-74)

Offense:

OBP - 43

SLG - 46

Run Creation - 44

AL Rank - 12

Pitching:

OBP Against - 56

SLG Against - 74

AL Rank - 3

Salt Lake City (Previous season 82-80)

Offense:

OBP - 47

SLG - 42

Run Creation - 43

AL Rank - 14

Pitching:

OBP Against - 56

SLG Against - 72

AL Rank - 4

Tacoma (Previous season 76-86)

Offense:

OBP - 52

SLG - 50

Run Creation - 49

AL Rank - 5

Pitching:

OBP Against - 45

SLG Against - 57

AL Rank - 13

NL East

Baltimore (Previous season 116-46)

Offense:

OBP - 44

SLG - 47

Run Creation - 47

AL Rank - 9

Pitching:

OBP Against - 67

SLG Against - 79

AL Rank - 1

London (Previous season 77-85)

Offense:

OBP - 47

SLG - 49

Run Creation - 47

AL Rank - 8

Pitching:

OBP Against - 41

SLG Against - 62

AL Rank - 12

Trenton (Previous season 65-97)

Offense:

OBP - 51

SLG - 44

Run Creation - 43

AL Rank - 13

Pitching:

OBP Against - 41

SLG Against - 61

AL Rank - 14

New York (Previous season 54-108)

Offense:

OBP - 42

SLG - 39

Run Creation - 37

AL Rank - 15

Pitching:

OBP Against - 34

SLG Against - 50

AL Rank - 15

NL South

New Orleans (Previous season 93-69)

Offense:

OBP - 58

SLG - 45

Run Creation - 50

AL Rank - 4

Pitching:

OBP Against - 57

SLG Against - 69

AL Rank - 5

Austin (Previous season 87-75)

Offense:

OBP - 59

SLG - 46

Run Creation - 51

AL Rank - 2

Pitching:

OBP Against - 52

SLG Against - 62

AL Rank - 9

Jackson (Previous season 87-75)

Offense:

OBP - 48

SLG - 46

Run Creation - 46

AL Rank - 10

Pitching:

OBP Against - 45

SLG Against - 59

AL Rank - 11

Houston (Previous season 77-85)

Offense:

OBP - 49

SLG - 49

Run Creation - 48

AL Rank - 6

Pitching:

OBP Against - 53

SLG Against - 69

AL Rank - 6

NL West

Fresno (Previous season 93-69)

Offense:

OBP - 48

SLG - 52

Run Creation - 53

AL Rank - 1

Pitching:

OBP Against - 50

SLG Against - 64

AL Rank - 8

Salem (Previous season 77-85)

Offense:

OBP - 53

SLG - 46

Run Creation - 48

AL Rank - 7

Pitching:

OBP Against - 46

SLG Against - 60

AL Rank - 10

Arizona (Previous season 63-99)

Offense:

OBP - 51

SLG - 44

Run Creation - 45

AL Rank - 11

Pitching:

OBP Against - 51

SLG Against - 63

AL Rank - 7

Las Vegas (Previous season 50-112)

Offense:

OBP - 35

SLG - 42

Run Creation - 36

AL Rank - 16

Pitching:

OBP Against - 28

SLG Against - 50

AL Rank - 16

Season 24 - AL Team Power Index Ratings

This is a new addition I would like to do annually.  I will likely never have as much time as I would like to analyze every team, but I'd like to incorporate a player model that I have been slowly building.  Currently it takes awhile to bring in all of the data I need, but I am trying to make a file where I just need to pull in the Roster and Ratings page from a team's page which I can easily pull into Google Sheets.  There are still some limitations, but it should for the most part give me what I need.

Some comments about my player model:

1. This is still a work-in-progress.  The same team might get a different rating in a future year if I've updated any assumptions.
2. The model will produce numbers based on a neutral park.  Thus, teams in pitchers parks will likely outperform my model's pitching expectations and similarly a team in a hitters park will likely outperform my model's hitting expectations.
3. I don't have fielding done yet, but that's something I would like to include in the future.
4. I haven't yet differentiated starting pitchers from relief pitchers.  Stamina doesn't matter in my model.
5. My model seems to be harder on hitters than pitchers, and it's something I need to investigate more.
6. Please don't ask me for my model parameters.  I may share more info about it later, but not right now :)

One other thing to note.  I am doing this now when it's still Spring Training.  There will likely be players called up on some teams that I cannot anticipate.  That can obviously play a role on how good a team is.  Also, these are not all being done on the same day, so it's possible some moves happen before this gets posted.

For now, I just plan to give a team rating for each team (I may go back and post projected OBP and SLG later).  I hope to add more in future iterations of this.  The team rating is an average of all hitters or pitchers.  I'm not sure this is the best approach, but it's the easiest approach right now.  Without further ado, let's get started!

AL North

Sioux Falls (Previous season 74-88)

Offense:

OBP - 41 (out of 100)

SLG - 35

Run Creation - 39 (based on Runs Creation stat)

AL Rank - 16

Pitching:

OBP Against - 61

SLG Against - 74

AL Rank - 1

New York (Previous season 61-101)

Offense:

OBP - 51

SLG - 49

Run Creation - 47

AL Rank - 10

Pitching:

OBP Against - 43

SLG Against - 58

AL Rank - 14

Minnesota (Previous season 81-81)

Offense:

OBP - 56

SLG - 51

Run Creation - 52

AL Rank - 7

Pitching:

OBP Against - 42

SLG Against - 57

AL Rank - 15

Toronto (Previous season 91-71)

Offense:

OBP - 47

SLG - 42

Run Creation - 45

AL Rank - 12

Pitching:

OBP Against - 46

SLG Against - 63

AL Rank - 9

AL East

Augusta (Previous season 87-75)

Offense:

OBP - 48

SLG - 53

Run Creation - 52

AL Rank - 6

Pitching:

OBP Against - 55

SLG Against - 70

AL Rank - 3

Buffalo (Previous season 60-102)

Offense:

OBP - 48

SLG - 53

Run Creation - 50

AL Rank - 8

Pitching:

OBP Against - 50

SLG Against - 65

AL Rank - 8

Cincinnati (Previous season 93-69)

Offense:

OBP - 52

SLG - 57

Run Creation - 54

AL Rank - 4

Pitching:

OBP Against - 59

SLG Against - 70

AL Rank - 2

Philadelphia (Previous season 100-62)

Offense:

OBP - 52

SLG - 54

Run Creation - 55

AL Rank - 2

Pitching:

OBP Against - 54

SLG Against - 69

AL Rank - 5

AL South

Texas (Previous season 83-79)

Offense:

OBP - 56

SLG - 53

Run Creation - 55

AL Rank - 3

Pitching:

OBP Against - 43

SLG Against - 59

AL Rank - 13

Charleston (Previous season 71-91)

Offense:

OBP - 47

SLG - 41

Run Creation - 41

AL Rank - 15

Pitching:

OBP Against - 41

SLG Against - 61

AL Rank - 12

El Paso (Previous season 99-63)

Offense:

OBP - 48

SLG - 44

Run Creation - 46

AL Rank - 11

Pitching:

OBP Against - 57

SLG Against - 67

AL Rank - 4

Little Rock (Previous season 48-114)

Offense:

OBP - 53

SLG - 48

Run Creation - 49

AL Rank - 9

Pitching:

OBP Against - 45

SLG Against - 62

AL Rank - 10

AL West

Iowa City (Previous season 81-81)

Offense:

OBP - 61

SLG - 53

Run Creation - 56

AL Rank - 1

Pitching:

OBP Against - 46

SLG Against - 59

AL Rank - 11

Cheyenne (Previous season 98-64)

Offense:

OBP - 53

SLG - 42

Run Creation - 45

AL Rank - 13

Pitching:

OBP Against - 54

SLG Against - 68

AL Rank - 6

Colorado Springs (Previous season 89-73)

Offense:

OBP - 44

SLG - 46

Run Creation - 44

AL Rank - 14

Pitching:

OBP Against - 38

SLG Against - 56

AL Rank - 16

Kansas City (Previous season 84-78)

Offense:

OBP - 57

SLG - 50

Run Creation - 53

AL Rank - 5

Pitching:

OBP Against - 52

SLG Against - 66

AL Rank - 7

HOF Candidates for Season 24

In Season 23, KML failed to elect any players to the Hall of Fame, despite some deserving candidates.  A season later, there's some new faces that are going to make the votes even more challenging.  Let's break down some of the top candidates for Season 24.  For this post, I am only going to post on some of the new candidates and refer you back to my blog post from last season for candidates I have previously written about.  There are four new candidates for the HOF this year, three of which worth discussing.

Should Be A Lock

Fergie Speier - KML's all-time home run leader and 5th all time in hits, Fergie Speier is lock of all locks.  The 15th pick of the Season 3 draft, Speier was dominant as soon as he reached the majors in Season 6, winning Rookie of the Year.  He would go on to make the All Star team 8 times, be awarded the Silver Slugger at 1B 11 times and win 3 MVPs.  Speier at one point had a streak of 12 consecutive seasons with at least 40 HRs!  Fergie also had a great eye, finishing his career with the 2nd most walks at 1,311 and has the 3rd best OBP at 0.404.  A dominant hitter for his whole career, Speier should be hearing his name called in Cooperstown this year.

Chi-Chi Margot - One of the best all around 3B to see time in KML, Chi-Chi Margot was a truly exceptional 3B that could do it all.  A 10-time all star, Margot managed to finish his career with 2,778 hits (currently 4th all time) and 578 HRs (currently 5th all time).  He could also steal the occasional base, finishing his career with 229 SBs.  That led to Margo being a 5-time Silver Slugger at 3B.  But Margot was also an excellent defender.  He only won 2 Gold Glove awards at 3B, but he has the most career good plays at 3B with 254 (52 more than #2), was part of the most double plays for a 3B at 511 (209 more than #2), has the most assists at 6,041 (over 2,000 more than #2), and has the most putouts with 2,217 (almost 700 more than #2).  Basically, no player has been as good at 3B for as long as Margot.  All of that plus an MVP award make Chi-Chi a lock for the HOF.

Jose Terrero - see last season's blog post for more on the 3x Cy Young winner.  He surprisingly only got 8 votes last year, and I think he should be in the HOF easily with his 232 wins and 2,854 strikeouts.

Probably Makes It

Aramis Cortazar - see last season's blog post for more on the other 3x Cy Young winner up for the HOF.  Cortazar came close last year with 13 votes.  I think he deserves it, despite the ERA being a little higher.

Could Go Either Way

Nobody new this year in this category.  See last season's blog post for some additional names:

• Joakim Fernandez
• Trey Munro
• Chadd Kendrick
• Charles Payton
• Sean Turner
• Livan Guerrero
• Socrates Russell
• Jimmie Pena

Good Stats But Lacking Accolades

Steve Bailey - One of the great home run hitters in KML history, Steve Bailey was known for his power and durability.  Bailey's daily routine was to get out of bed, mind his spot at 1B and hit some dingers.  He was so good at avoiding injuries that he played in at least 160 games for 10 straight seasons.  He had several great offensive seasons, but only managed on Silver Slugger award and one MVP.  No All Star appearances or any other awards to show for.  Unfortunately for Bailey, his defense likely cost him trips to the All Star Game and there was a lot of competition for Silver Sluggers with other 1B.  Bailey finished with a very impressive 570 HRs, just 8 behind another HOF candidate in Chi-Chi Margot for 5th all time.  He also had nearly 2,300 hits and a lifetime split of 0.277/0.335/0.519.  It's difficult to put Bailey in the HOF right now given the lack of awards, but he may be worth revisiting after some of the current crop makes it in the HOF.

• Peter Donald
• Del Matsumoto

Solid Career, Just Not Quite HOF Worthy

Victor Escalona - Known for his contact and speed, Victor Escalona was excellent at getting on base and getting around the basepaths.  Escalona is a career 0.302 hitter with a career OBP of 0.380.  He finished with 2,307 hits and 420 SBs.  He won 3 Silver Sluggers in CF and another at 2B as well as being a 4-time All Star.  However, he was really overmatched defensively at CF and 2B racking up poor plays every season.  Playing at CF and 2B allowed him to get those Silver Slugger awards, but Escalona doesn't quite have the offensive numbers to justify the HOF.

My votes:

1. Fergie Speier - most prolific HR hitter in KML history

2. Chi-Chi Margot - best KML 3B of all time?

3. Jose Terrero - Elite SP with 3x Cy Young Awards and career 3.17 ERA

4. Aramis Cortazar - More volatile elite SP with 3 x Cy Young Awards and 3.53 ERA

5. Trey Munro - Cy Young winner with 3K strikeouts

Proposed New Penalties for the MWR

For this post, I would like to talk about the existing Minimum Win Requirement (MWR) penalties and what I think would be a better solution going forward.  Note, this post is not intended to call out anyone for the past.  Rather, I just want to explain how things have been done in the past, and how I'd like to do things going forward.

First let's talk about the history - why do we have the MWR?  I've been in KML since its inception, and for the first 15 seasons we didn't have a MWR rule.  We really didn't need it because teams that had bad years generally bounced back within a couple seasons.  Around season 10, there were a few teams that stayed bad for 3+ seasons with win totals under 60 each year.  That led to some animosity with a select group of owners, throwing out the dreaded "T word" (tanking).  Thus, in season 15 we established the current required MWR rules: a ML team must win 180 games over 3 seasons and cannot win fewer than 55 games in consecutive seasons or the owner will not be invited back.

Why hasn't this been enforced?  I took over as commissioner in Season 16 rather abruptly.  The old commissioner, Jperiodj had unfortunately disappeared for over a week when we were trying to fill the world, so I stepped in unexpectedly.  We had already lost some owners, so I didn't want to disrupt things by enforcing the MWR.  This has caused some teams to skirt by without punishment.  However, I think only one team has been truly uncompetitive to the detriment of the league and that owner left on his own accord this season.

I don't see any issues with the current group of owners, but I still think we need to enforce MWR rules so that we keep a competitive balance within the league.  However, I'm not a fan of removing owners, so I would like to revise the punishment for missing the MWR.

My new proposed penalties are as follows:

• Missing the 3-year, 180 win rule will require an owner to not exceed a prospect budget of $15 million for the following season.  This cannot be exceeded even via a transfer of money from one of the other budgets.
• Missing the consecutive seasons of 55 wins will require an owner to not exceed a prospect budget of $8 million for the following season.  This cannot be exceeded even via a transfer of money from one of the other budgets.
• If an owner exceeds their set Prospect budget, they will be warned to transfer money out of their Prospect budget until they reach the required threshold.  If they have already spent more money on prospects than would be allowed, they must release prospects in the amount they exceeded their required budget.  For example, if a team spent $16 million on prospects and had a maximum budget of $15 million, they must release a prospect for which they spent at least $1 million to sign said prospect, or any combination of prospects that would add up to $1 million while also not hurting their minor league squad.  If this is not done then the owner will not be invited back for the following season.

The point of these proposals is so that owners cannot double-dip and acquire talent via draft picks and international free agents.  I know some leagues require teams to either release their 1st round pick or draft a 2-pitch reliever, but that's more convoluted than I want to administer.  I also don't want to punish teams unfairly for one bad season.  Another reason I don't necessarily like removing an owner is that the next owner gets a fresh start at the MWR requirements, so they can continue keep the team bad for an extra season or two and then reap the rewards.

I'm interested to hear thoughts on this, so please leave comments below if you feel strongly one way or another.

Thanks for reading!

Nick

World Series 23 Preview

                       Philadelphia Unionvs     Baltimore Crab Cakes

                           (100-62)                                                                                              (112-50)

It's time for World Series 23, and it’s a battle of the #1 seeds between the American League champion Philadelphia Union and the 3-time defending World Series Champions, the Baltimore Crab Cakes from the National League.  Baltimore will be in search of the franchise's 5th championship which would put them two behind Seattle's leading 7 titles.  For Philadelphia, it's the franchise's 3rd trip to the World Series, and its first appearance since Season 5.  Both teams needed to survive a 5-game series in the LDS with Baltimore overcoming a 2-1 series deficit.  Both teams then stormed out to 3-0 series leads in the LCS.  Baltimore was able to close out Montreal in 5 games, but Philadelphia needed a 6th game to finish off El Paso, costing their pitching staff a little bit of rest.  Will that make a difference in the World Series?  Let's breakdown the matchup.

Philadelphia is led by jp_chips who is in his 8th season at the helm of the Union.  He took over a team that was the laughingstock of the league and has turned them into one of the best teams in the league, having won back-to-back AL East titles with over 100 wins each season.  For Philly, 5 is the magic number as they are 5th in the majors in both runs scored and runs allowed.  They also have an excellent defense behind their pitchers as they rank 1st in fielding percentage, 3rd in + plays and tied for 2nd in fewest - plays.  

Philly has three MVP candidates this season, with LF Beau Guyer the standout of the bunch.  Guyer was both Rookie of the Year and the MVP a season ago, and he's arguably the best hitter in the world.  His numbers were down a little from his tremendous 1.078 OPS season a year ago, but he still put up 37 HRs and drive in 133 runs with a 0.981 OPS and good defense to back it up.  1B Mel Kluber is having a career year with 0.913 OPS and CF Dewey Zornes had an excellent year both at the plate (0.806 OPS, 43 SBs) and in the field (8 + plays and only 3 errors).  The Philly big 3 will likely be at the top of the order and play a key role in getting past the elite Baltimore pitching staff.  An x-factor in this series could be 2B Carl Vining.  The former 2nd overall pick was a late season callup and he has been excellent so far in these playoffs, with a 0.343/0.439/0.713 slash line.

Philadelphia's pitching strength is in their bullpen, with closer Ross Burton (7-2, 37 saves, 1.58 ERA) in the running for both Cy Young and Fireman of the Year awards.  Stefen Parrish had a solid 1.92 ERA in 75 IP.  Jack Lewis pitched the most innings out of the pen with a 3.54 ERA.  The three SPs that have been used most these playoffs - Gil Tomlinson, Glenn Lorraine, and Einar Rivera had regular season ERAs of 3.43, 3.59, and 3.64, respectively.  So they are pretty good, but wouldn't be considered elite.  Every game they can get through 6 innings relatively unscathed, they will have to feel happy about turning it over to their bullpen.  Will their starters be good enough to topple the beast that is Baltimore.

Baltimore is led by aoscott2 who has been in the league since Season 8.  After being #1 in runs scored a year ago, they dropped to a tie for 6th, scoring 122 fewer runs this season.  Their pitching is still as good as ever, ranking #1 in ERA and runs allowed this season.  The also have three MVP candidates in LF Henderson Long (49 HRs, 149 RBIs, 38 SBs), CF Charley Campbell (55 HRs, 121 RBIs, 0.979 OPS) and 1B Marquis Affeldt (31 HRs, 0.906 OPS, 40 SBs).  Nobody else on the team hit more than 18 HRs so these guys bring the power while everyone else does their best to keep the line moving.

Their pitching staff is elite, led by Cy Young candidates Mac Rollins (20-3, 2.04 ERA) and Cozy Kennedy (20-4, 2.69 ERA).  They had 6 different pitchers with sub-3.00 ERAs and a total team ERA of 2.96.  Rubi Callaway was excellent on the backend leading the team with 34 saves.  Baltimore likes to creative with tandem pitching in the playoffs, so it will be interesting to see what they do to stop the powerful Philadelphia offense.

Baltimore is the better all around team, but Philly is young, talented, and eager to make their mark on KML history.  Can the Union topple the Crab Cakes, or will it be a 4th title in a row for Baltimore and aoscott2?  Good luck to both teams in World Series 23!

Season 1 Draft Review

With the Amateur Draft having just finished, I was curious about how some historical draft classes have fared, and what changes would have occurred knowing everything after the fact.  My plan is to review all of the first round picks (including Type D picks), but not the Supplemental Round picks for now.  Ideally, I would like to get to within 10 seasons of the current season, and have this be an annual lookback of 10 seasons prior.  Then I might expand to more picks.

It makes sense to start at the beginning, so let's recap the Season 1 draft!  There are technically still 5 players active from the original draft, but all 5 are in the minors and 4 of the 5 have never played in the major leagues.  I'm including the actual team name who made the pick, and the current city of the franchise in parentheses as of Season 23, if the team has changed cities.  One thing to note about Season 1 is that it was the first season of two worlds merging together, so the draft order was randomized for this year.

I'll be honest, this draft class seems fairly weak, but once I review other classes I'll have a better idea.  It definitely lacks superstar talent, but there were some players that had mostly solid careers.  Ten players ended up with at least one All Star appearance, with half of those receiving multiple trips.  Four 1st round picks received at least one Silver Slugger award and three won a Gold Glove.

1. Atlanta Major Duckies (Wichita) - Gregorio Blanco (3B)

• 2x All Star, 1x Silver Slugger 2B
• Blanco was a dependable 3B who excelled against left handed pitching, but was wasn't as successful against righties.  He finished his career with 1,546 hits, 246 HRs, 769 RBIs and a slash line of 0.263/0.334/0.439.  A pretty good player overall, but definitely taken too high at #1 overall.

2. Fresno Fuego (Anaheim) - Yoervis Almora (P)

• 3x All Star, 2x Gold Glove P
• Was an All Star in Season 6 and then had a 12-year gap between his next two All Star appearances
• He was traded twice in the early part of his career, including for HOF candidate Chadd Kendrick.  Almora was a very dependable SP for Iowa City for 13 seasons and won 192 games in his career to the tune of a 3.55 ERA.  He also struck out 2,581 batters for his career.  A fairly solid pick at #2.

3. Norfolk Sellswords (Baltimore) - Terry Leius (P)

• Leuis did not sign, and Norfolk did not receive a Type D pick.  It's very likely that Norfolk was in win-now mode, having a player budget of $125M and a prospect budget of only $6M.  It almost worked out for them as they made it to the World Series, but they ultimately fell to Seattle in 7 games.  They didn't sign any picks from the first 10 rounds of this draft.

4. Toronto Schmenges - Robb Grieve (C)

• 6x All Star, 1x Gold Glove C, 1x HRD Champ
• With the #4 pick, Toronto found a catcher that would be on their roster for 14 seasons in Grieve.  He would play two more seasons elsewhere to to finish a very solid career.  He amassed 1,760 hits, 369 HRs, 1,061 RBIs with a slash line of 0.288/0.351/0.514.  He also threw out 36% of stolen base attempts for his career, showing his prowess on both offense and defense.  Grieve turned out to be a great pick for Toronto at #4.

5. Cincinnati Red Stockings (Salt Lake City) - Curt Simms (P)

• 1x All Star
• Simms spent six seasons with the Cincinnati/Salt Lake City franchise before getting released and moving on to a couple other teams.  He was a serviceable pitcher for his career, finishing with just over 100 wins and a 4.26 ERA in a 12-year career.

6. Jackson Schlemiels - Giomar Azocar (P)

• 1x All Star
• Azocar started his 12-year career with Jackson, and that's where he had most of his success with three sub-4 ERA seasons and played in his only All Star game.  He was traded in his 5th year in the majors and he was never the same.  He would only once achieve a sub-4 ERA (3.99) in his remaining seasons, and finished his career with a 4.56 ERA.

7. Houston Astros - Ahmad Barney (3B)

• 4x All Star, 3x Silver Slugger 3B, Hit for the Cycle x2
• Ahmad Barney was a solid all around 3B for Houston for several seasons, and was part of their championship winning team in Season 7.  He was an All Star for 4 straight seasons (6-9) and won his 3 Silver Slugger awards during that stretch.  He spent the final 5 years of his 13-season career with other teams.  He wasn't as successful there, but his OPS never dropped below 0.730 for any individual season.  His final slash line was 0.274/0.339/0.495 with 1,741 hits and 347 HRs.  Houston got tremendous value with this pick.

8. Pittsburgh Saints (London) - James Bergen (P)

• 3x All Star, 1x Fireman of the Year
• He's lacking in accolades, but James Bergen was a fantastic reliever for several teams.  In a little over 1,400 IP, Bergen struck out 1,295 batters and finished his career with a 1.15 WHIP and 3.13 ERA.  Charlotte was the team that allowed Bergen to win awards by using him exclusively as a closer, and he made the all star team for three straight seasons.  Another tremendous value pick, given how effective Bergen was his entire career.

9. Arizona Artists - Cal Jordan (P)

• No awards
• Jordan was traded to Kansas City before making it to the majors and spent half of his career there.  He never put up fantastic numbers, but was good enough to pitch for 14 seasons with a 4.28 ERA.

10. Los Angeles Legends (Kansas City) - Roscoe Kramer (P)

• 1x All Star
• Kramer played for 7 different teams in a 9-year career, and he had some ups and downs in that time.  His best season came in Season 14 when current day Chicago got a fantastic showing from Kramer leading to his only All Star game.  He finished his career with a 4.86 ERA, winning 65 games and losing 67.

11. New York Creasy Bear (Sioux Falls) - Lester Rojas (COF)

• No awards
• Rojas was a decent hitter, but never had an OPS over 0.800 in his career, finishing with a career slash line of 0.265/0.327/0.391.  

12. Austin Jiveturkeys - Tomas Espinosa (P)

• Espinosa ended up not signing, and Austin received a Type D pick in the Season 2 draft

13. Washington D.C. Rebels (New York-NL) - J.D. Kluber (3B)

• 1x Gold Glove 3B
• Kluber was known for his glove rather than his bat as his career slash line was a meager 0.253/0.308/0.377.  He was definitely a plus defender who only won one Gold Glove award, but could have managed to win more in the right seasons.

14. Anaheim Angels (Salem) - Alvin Manship (P)

• Rookie of the Year, 1x All Star
• In his rookie year, Alvin Manship was 18-9 with a 3.12 ERA winning Rookie of the Year and making the All Star team.  That was his best year though as he failed to replicate that success for his entire career.  That being said, his final numbers weren't too shabby, finishing with a 4.29 ERA and nearly 1,800 strikeouts.  There is just some disappointment given how it started for him.

15. Fargo Freaks (New York - AL) - Donn Trammell (1B/DH)

• No awards
• Trammell played a tough position to win awards, but he had pretty solid numbers for his entire career.  He had just over 2,000 hits and 359 HRs for his career with a final OPS of 0.806.

16. Kansas City Bush Leaguers (Philadelphia) - Garry Foulke

• Foulke never made it to the majors and is still swinging in the Arizona AAA system at 40 years young.

17. Montgomery Moonshiners (El Paso) - Jimmie Franklin

• No awards
• Franklin never had an ERA better than 4.34 and finished with a career ERA of 5.26, but he managed to keep getting roles with teams as he played for 11 seasons in the majors.

18. Seattle Totems - Endy James (C)

• James ended up not signing, and Seattle received a Type D pick in the Season 2 draft

19. Portland IPAs (Tacoma) - Eddie Craig (RF)

• Craig ended up not signing, and Portland received a Type D pick in the Season 2 draft

20. Montreal Marauders - Jay Bowman (SS)

• No awards
• Bowman spent 5 seasons in the majors after spending 11 seasons in the minors.  Good enough to play 3B, but probably overmatched at SS, he lacked the offense or defense to really stick around in the majors.

21. Louisville Laser Show (Texas) from Santa Cruz - Graham Gagne (P)

• No Hitter
• Gagne finished with a career ERA of 5.51 but somehow managed to throw a no hitter.  Go figure.

22. Jackson Schlemiels from New Orleans - Doug Ducey (RF)

• No awards
• Ducey spent his entire career with Jackson, finishing with a slash line of 0.263/0.329/0.471.  He played most of his career in RF where he had 1 "+" play and 54 "-" plays.  His defense could have been better, but his offense was good enough to overcome that when he did play.

23. Norfolk Sellswords (Baltimore) from Burlington - Phil Cannon

• Similar to pick #3, Norfolk did not sign pick #23

24. Augusta Admirals - Jarred Tresh (3B)

• No awards
• Tresh played most of his career at 3B where he had 1 "+" play to 33 "-" plays.  He was better served to play RF, but his offense really didn't justify it.  He finished with a career slash line of 0.257/0.320/0.425.

25. Sacramento Savages (Fresno) - Matt Sewell (P)

• No awards
• Only pitched 97 innings in the majors with an 8.48 ERA.

26. Monterrey Diablos Verdes (New Orleans) - Brandon Mays (3B)

• No awards
• Similar to Jarred Tresh, Mays was not good enough offensively to play RF and not good enough defensively to play 3B.  He finished his career with just 722 hits and 98 HRs and a slash line of 0.256/0.311/0.410.

27. Trenton Diamond Stars (Cincinnati) - Sam Richard (3B/COF)

• 1x All Star, 1x Silver Slugger RF, Hit for the Cycle
• Sam Richard carved out a really solid career and was good value at pick #27.  He finished his career with 1,849 hits and 438 HRs.  He managed to receive some recognition late in his career with an All Star appearance in Season 14 and a Silver Slugger award in Season 16.

28. Iowa City Farmers - Angel Small (P)

• Played 16 years in the minors but never made it to the bigs.

29. Chicago Bears - Reid Greene (P)

• No awards
• Greene spent almost his entire career with Chicago and put up respectable numbers for the majority of his career.  In 1,500 IP, Greene won 75 games with an ERA of 4.34.  All things considered, a pretty solid pick for Chicago late in the 1st round.

30. Syracuse Frozen Yeti (Buffalo) - Rico Cortez (SS)

• Cortez only played 5 seasons for the minors before retiring.  It looks like he was stuck in High-A, and it's a shame because he definitely should have made it to the majors as a defensive utility player.  When he retired, Cortez had a speed rating of 99 and baserunning rating of 76, as well as a contact of 91, so he definitely would have found use on some teams.

31: Louisville Laser Show (Texas) - Bernard Hooper (2B)

• No awards
• He had all but 3 ABs in his 7-year major league career with Texas.  He was out of his depth at 2B, but his offense was pretty solid, finishing his career with an OPS of 0.772.

32. Chicago Eagles (Madison) - Cesar Benitez

• No awards
• Best known for his power, the last pick of the 1st round was Cesar Benitez who played for 13 seasons in the majors finishing with 359 HRs and a final slash line of 0.246/0.313/0.486.

Other Notable Picks:

34. Jackson Schlemiels - Darrell McCorley (P)

• McCorley spent 12 seasons in the majors, playing the majority of his career.  He started 269 games and appeared out of the bullpen in another 154.  His career ERA was an unimpressive 4.73, but he managed to do well enough to hang around the majors for awhile.

62. Sacramento Savages (Fresno) - Spencer Hellickson (SS)

• Never known for his bat, Hellickson was an excellent defender who finished his career with 66 "+" plays at SS to 1 "-" play.  He would win one Gold Glove at 3B later in his career.

65. Seattle Totems - Clay Perkins (RF)

• Mostly a platoon hitter, Perkins had a pretty good career finishing with a career OBP of 0.348 and 1,034 hits.

131. Montreal Marauders - Esteban Rondon (1B)

• The college senior was drafted but didn't sign with Montreal.  The following offseason, he signed with Fargo.  He mostly stuck in the minors until Charlotte traded for him in Season 8, where he spent the next 7 seasons.  He finished with 949 hits, 250 HRs, and a career OPS of 0.804.  Not bad for the 131st pick who was not a DITR.

329. Monterrey Diablos Verdes (New Orleans) - Brandon Mays (P) - DITR

• Only pitched 732 innings in his 8-year career, but Mays finished his career with a respectable 3.69 ERA.

384. Montgomery Moonshiners (El Paso) - Pedro Jacquez (P) - DITR

• In his 8-year career, Jacquez pitched 1,140 innings with an ERA of 4.33.  Not bad for a 12th round pick.

519. Augusta Admirals - Stan Workman (P) - DITR

• Augusta never gave him a chance, but after becoming a Rule 5 draft pick, Workman managed to pitch 10 years in the majors.  However, I'm not sure why as he had a 5.02 ERA.

HOF Candidates for Season 23

In Season 22, there were a lot of strong candidates that were deserving of the HOF, but only two former Seattle players managed to reach the necessary votes to be enshrined.  A season later, there's even more competition.  Let's break down some of the top candidates for Season 23:

Should Be A Lock

Jose Terrero - A 3-time Cy Young champion, Jose Terrero was one of the aces for the Toledo Bend and was a big reason why they won two World Series in a three-year span.  He only won one of his Cy Young awards there, but manged to win two more in Charlotte/Augusta in a very competitive American League (think all the Seattle pitchers).  Terrero is currently 4th all time in strikeouts (although he's going to be passed by Cookie Figaro in the first month of the regular season), has a career 3.17 ERA and made it to 8 All Star Games in his career.  He has the best resume of anyone up for the HOF and should be a lock in his first year of eligibility. 

Probably Makes It

Aramis Cortazar - He doesn't have quite the resume that Jose Terrero does, but Aramis Cortazar was still an excellent pitcher that is likely destined for the HOF.  He is 4th all time in wins (274), a 6-time All Stat, and has 3 Cy Young awards to his name.  His ERA isn't as impressive as you would like for a HOF pitcher (3.51), but when he was on his game, he was one of the best in the league.  I'll be curious to see if his ERA holds him back, but I think he will get into the HOF either this year or in the future thanks to those wins and Cy Youngs.   

Could Go Either Way

Joakim Fernandez - A long-time Seattle player, Fernandez has the award history you would expect from a hall of famer.  He won AL Rookie of the Year in Season 5, appeared in 9 all star games, was a silver slugger winner 5 times, and won 2 gold gloves in LF.  He doesn't have an MVP award which I think puts him a notch below being a lock, but he does have 2,404 hits and 489 HRs for his career history, and his numbers likely would have been more impressive in a more hitter friendly ballpark.

Trey Munro - I think I am a little bit higher on Trey Munro than most, but I think he should be in the HOF.  Unfortunately for him, he hasn't gotten the votes needed in his first few years of eligibility.  Early in his career, he didn't play on some of the best teams and I think that affected his numbers.  He really hit his stride when he signed with Charlotte in Season 9.  That's where had had 4 of his 5 all star appearances, won his only Cy Young and threw his only No Hitter.  He finished his career with an ERA of 3.12 and is 2nd all time in strikeouts with 3,063.  He is also 3rd all time in quality starts with 340 despite only starting 500 games for his career.

Chadd Kendrick - Kendrick is someone that I and some others have overlooked, but I think he deserves consideration for the HOF.  His 536 saves are 5th all time, and he finished his career with a staggering 2.19 ERA which is 2nd all time, only to the great Cookie Figaro.  His .907 save percentage is the best of all qualified pitchers in league history.  He is also a 10x all star and a 4x Fireman of the Year.  The only knock on him is his innings pitched, as he had only 915 for his career, but he was dominant in those innings.  Considering how hard it is for a closer to win Cy Young, I think he has done enough to get the nod for the HOF.

Charles Payton - Another player that some may have overlooked, Payton has come close to the HOF getting 11 votes a couple years ago and 12 votes last year, but hasn't gotten over the hump yet.  He has a career slash line of 0.308/0.376/0.537 along with 2,458 hits and 461 HRs.  He won Rookie of the Year, was an all star 7 times, silver slugger 5 times, and won 2 MVP awards.  He did have the benefit of playing in some hitters parks such as Toronto and Texas, but his numbers are still good enough to warrant consideration for the HOF.

Sean Turner - Despite playing over half his career in Seattle, Sean Turner's numbers were very good for playing so many games in a pitcher's ballpark.  He finished with 547 HRs. 2,285 hits, and a career 0.886 OPS.  He was also a 3x silver slugger, 2x all star and most impressively, a 2x MVP.

Livan Guerrero - Another excellent reliever, Livan Guerrero is the all time saves leader with 691.  He also has a whopping 10 all star game appearances and 6 Fireman of the Year awards.  He also has two seasons pre-merger, so it's very possible/likely he has over 700 saves for his career.  The knock however is on his ERA which finished at 3.80.  Thus, I have to put Kendrick over him in terms of closers, but Guerrero is someone I could see making the HOF in the future.

Socrates Russell - Of all the hitters up for the HOF this season, no one has a better career OBP or OPS than Socrates Russell.  Russell had a career 0.399 OBP, thanks to his world leading 1,366 walks and he hit the impressive 500 HR mark.  He was mostly a C/DH in his career and won 5 Silver Slugger awards.  His hit total (2,094) isn't as high as some of the other candidates on this list, but he still deserves consideration for his other excellent offensive numbers.

Jimmie Pena - A good all around player, Jimmie Pena was a home run machine (578, tied for 5th all time), but also was a solid defender (3x Gold Glove winner).  He only made it to 3 All Star games, so it will be interesting to see how much the voters like his HR numbers, which were helped later in his career playing in New York.

Good Stats But Lacking Accolades

Peter Donald - A pitcher who falls firmly into the polarizing category, Peter Donald was a strikeout machine, but his ERA was lacking.  He's the world's all time leader in strikeouts with 3,243 and his 265 wins are currently 5th all time, but his ERA barely starts with a 3, at 3.99.  Despite that ERA, he has the most quality starts in league history with 374, so when he was on he was hard to hit.  However, he had only 3 all star games to his resume, and no other awards.  I think if he managed to win a Cy Young or two, he would be a lock, but it's hard for me to see him make the HOF with an almost-4 ERA.

Del Matsumoto - He is 3rd all time in saves with 596, has 6 all star games and 1 Fireman of the Year award along with a 2.91 ERA for his career.  I debated putting him in the either way category, but I felt like the other closers on this list were more deserving based on their award history.

My votes:

• Jose Terrero
• Aramis Cortazar
• Trey Munro
• Chadd Kendrick
• Joakim Fernandez