S57 Fat Cats

Jessica Fletcher - contributing reporter

Fat Cat - noun
/ˈfat ˌkat/ 

1. A player whose contract outweighs their performance. 
2. A Canadian whose downed too many Tim Horton timbits.

Let's see who makes that phat pay check but giving the team diet production. We've gotten a little stricter on what accounts for a Fat Cat but it's a salary above $5M (increase from $4.5M last Fat Cat article), a wOBA below .310, and then taken into account HR, SB, R, and RBI totals. Lastly we took a look at their defensive measures, as plenty of Shortstops carry some value for what they offer on the field rather than the plate. For pitchers we've gone with an ERA+ below 95; which is still 105% worse than league average and then taken into account a pitchers W, SV, and K. For pitchers we've upped the salary to $5.5M. 

• Positions Players
• Catchers
• Allan Wright (Columbus Corgis - 32 yr old - $5.5M) - Yup, that's $48.2k an AB or $204k a base hit; pick your poison. By far the biggest fat cat in this family of cats. .237 average with a .264 wOBA! We get to see Wright be Wrong next season while under contract for his last season as a Corgis and likely as a major leaguer. 
• First Basemen
• Al Martinez (Pittsburgh Yinzers - 36 yr old - $5.2M) - The Yinzers are clearly rebuilding and waiting for some of these older contracts to expire. He did appear in 157 games this season, but was limited to 284 ABs, good for a .302 wOBA with an OPS+ of 84. Runs and RBIs combined were 64, he struck out 68 times while only walking 22 tiles. But I guess that's better than having money left over in IFA?!?
• Yusmeiro Troncoso (Austin Son's of Odin - 33 yr old - $6.9M) - 247 ABs and practically zero production. 4 HR, 6 SB, .298 wOBA. At least he kept his Ks down but that's still a lot of money that could be spent elsewhere. What nearly kept him off this list was his 8 plus plays at 1B over 370 innings. 
• Second Basemen
• None
• Shortstops
• Bubba Alexander (New Orleans Hurricane Dodgers - 33 yr old - $6.3M) - This one seems a bit baffling because NO brought him on board because he was a "SS" who could hit, yet his wOBA was a .292. His wSB is a -0.6 so he added negative value on the base paths. Defensively he nearly scored a -4, 10th worse in the league. One more year of Bubba, but with the moves the team has made, we'll see if he remains a starter or not. We'll add, he's performing well in the playoffs this season thus far. So maybe all he cares about is winning a third ring. 
• Third Basemen
• Hideki Gao (Austin Son's of Odin - 30 yr old - $5.6M) - Only managed 382 ABs this season in a backup role and played poorly at the hot corner though he saw time elsewhere around the diamond. But still, that's nearly $15k per at bat. It's highly likely Gao receives even less ABs next season and he becomes a repeat Fat Cat!
• Left Fielders
• None
• Center Fielders
• Pinky Salazar (Philadelphia Harpers - 31 yr old - $5.8M) - Philly acquired Pinky back in S54 and boy has him star dimmed, only managed 132 ABs this season with a .289 wOBA. Not surprising considering he was demoted to Rookie back in S55 for awhile. He hasn't been the same ever since. 
• Right Fielders
• None
• Designated Hitters
• None
• Pitchers
• Starters - It's understandable that some teams need a body to fill but what exactly is the value of a back of the rotation arm; which is likely where most of these guys fall. 
• Doc Cortes (Pittsburgh Yinzers - 38 yr old - $13.5M) - By far Doc is the fattest of cats! He was signed when Pitt was going full steam and aiming for a title but now that they've entered rebuild mode, he's struggling a bit with old age. Made just 18 games with 15 starts this season, going 7-7 with a WHIP of 1.83, ERA of 6.00 and ERA+ of 72 - remind you that's 28% worse than league average. With one more year on his contact, guess who you should expect to see as a repeater on this list? Yup, the owner of the Yinzers!
• Jose Carrasco (Dover Hazmats - 31 yr old - $6.5M) - Do we consider this money well spent for a team aiming for a top pick? Maybe not, considering they will have the 6th pick in next year's draft. But his 6-17 record definitely helped them not end up with a worse pick. Made 32 starts, averaged 85 pitches a game with a 1.46 WHIP and 5.64 ERA. Though his saving grace, his FIP was actually 4.74; so he wasn't nearly as bad as the numbers show. I'd assume Dover's rebuild lasts at last through S60, which is the same year Carrasco's contract expires. Let's hope he improves and S58-60 aren't this bad. Thankfully S60 is a mutual option that would cost $3.5M to decline. 
• Birdie James (Anaheim Diablos - 36 yr old - $5.6M) - The Bird man is still around? Looks like he's finally lost his rotation space, appearing in 30 games this season but only making 19 starts. Ended with a 5-9 record, a 1.58 WHIP, and a 5.49 ERA (5.44 FIP). 
• Relief Pitchers
• Chris Sinclair (Columbus Corgis - 29 yr old - $5.8M) - basically made 37, one inning appearances and went 4-8 with 0/4 saves, a 1.88 WHIP and 6.45 ERA (though a 4.98 FIP) and an ERA+ of 66 - 34% below league average!! Imagine if he was league average how much stronger the Corgi bullpen would have been, especially in the playoffs when it counts most. 
• Tomas Benitez (Helena Hot Dogs - 28 yr old - $6M) - He was a .500 pitcher that would net your team 200 innings as a starter the last three years but his transition to the bullpen was miserable to say the least. He managed (using the word loosely) a 60 ERA+ - league worst, with a 1.69 WHIP and a 7.43 ERA. Since he's contracted for one more year, maybe he can wear the Hot Dog mascot costume next year and at least cheer up the fans. 

There you have it folks, the Fat Cats of S57!