S56 - Mysterious Case of Jorge Johnson

Eli Cash - contributing reporter

As we near the end of Jorge Johnson's playing days and the debate that will follow as he nears 3,000 hits. Let's take a look back at his career and what might be in store for him next season where at the prime ole age of 39 he will be crossing his fingers that topoftheworl exercises the mutual option for $7.5M. That's a lot to pay for a guy whose scouting OAV is projected to be in the 40s; lower than some top prospects coming out of high school. With the loyalty to his players, I'd imagine topoftheworl declines the option and signs Jorgey to a league minimum contract in hopes he can reach the milestone that in his mind guarantees his entrance into the hall. 

But before we get into his career, let's take a quick look at a few other retired players. First are two players who just missed the 3k hit mark in Francisco Baez and Midre Mantalban. Baez feel just 5 hits shorts and missed his chance at the Hall. Mantalban missed it by 70 hits and only received 5 votes for his Hall bid this past off-season. The great Alex Tarraga who is likely also in his last season, crossed over the 3k hit this season. Must be a proud moment for the future first ballot Hall of Famer given his other accolades. Of the players in the Hall at or near the 3k hit total, Johnson has the least amount of runs, doubles, triples, batting average, ops, and thanks to Yoenis Portillo, the second least HR and RBI total. He's middle of that pack in stolen bases. So needless to say he doesn't quite match up to the other Hall of Famers at the 3k Hit much. But so what you say, he still nabbed 3,000 hits. Something that Stan Ross was barely able to do. And you'd be absolutely correct, that's a huge accomplishment for a player, especially in this day and age where players are held back to stretch their prime years to fall within arbitration or their first extension. It's rare to see a guy last 18 seasons anymore. That's one thing you can count on top for, loyalty to his players and getting the most out of them. 

In Johnson's prime years he was a .300+ hitter that offered 20ish HRs and low teens SBs; making NINE All-Star games, two Gold Gloves - one in RF the other at 1B, and was part of the S48 From My Loins championship team! S54 was the first time we started to see a little slip in his game, so many wondered if he'd get to 3k. He finished S54 with 2,723 hits after hitting .289 that season. His S55 left a lot to be desired but his age was catching up to him, hitting only .247 with only 124 hits and his lowest career OPS at .648. That bumped him to 2,847 hits; with one more guaranteed year on his contract he needed just 153 to reach the milestone. 

Expectations were low entering S56, considering the drops in ratings he saw across the board. Ending S54 JJ was 73, 48, 56/81, 83 and enter S56 we saw him at 68, 37, 51/74, 77; with him dipping down to 63, 37, 46/65, 71 ending the season. If you know anything about Cobbfather you have to agree, how does a guy with such low ratings end up hitting .286 this season with a few games to play. It's gotta be his drive, the heart! This must be where experience shines. Props to top for getting every last squeeze of juice out of JJ this season. 

If he does come back next seasons, we could easily see his ratings start the season somewhere around 58, 25, 58/60, 65. It might take him a full season of at-bats, but top can use JJ's leadership skills in the club house for a club entering their rebuild years. What's a few extra L's for a rebuilding club in hopes a Colorado Springs fan favorite hits the 3k mark!

In closing, I look forward to reviewing him in the HoF coverage in the short years to come. 

S56 On The Books!

Jessica Fletcher - contributing reporter

The annual 7yankee7 recruitment post reminds me that it's time to look at future budgets. Here is who has the most committed in future seasons. List in order of most future money committed. In the 'Future salary is future owner problems' is still the Chicago Gunslingers with just over $265M; down from last year. Not far behind him is Tokyo and New Orleans. Least on the books Augusta Alcoholics with $0M next four seasons. Their commitment appears to be to beer over players! Mexico City came in at just $1.2M for next year only. Tacoma comes in as the third team with no money committed beyond S57. 14 teams have 0 commitments to S60. The average commitment in the league is $48M next year, down to $30 then $15, then $8. 

I expect a bit of change as extensions are signed after the regular season. 

S56 Power Rankings Update

Richard Castle - contributing reporter

Let's face it, the only people who care about these rankings are the ones at the top. The bottom dwellers are more than happy to see their names at the bottom or even wish they were lower. Skynet sees you New York! Here we are 3/4 of the way through the season with the playoff brackets being set. 

In the AL - Atlanta still owns a sizeable lead, though Helena has cooled off a bit. Division leads are in the two series range, 5-7 games. Wildcard in the AL is a bit interesting, with Boston's pitching struggling this year, they sit 3 games behind Salt Lake City. Philly has fallen further back with potential of either an all in year next season or the start of a rebuild. Huntington is looking like a strong WC1 team and likely just misses the division.  

In the NL - After a very tough run, Montreal has fallown below .500 and no longer considered a top 3 NL team. On the opposing end, New Orleans has finally hit stride and started to win some more, and looking to hold on to the #2 seed and first round bye. Vancouver is up and down, just like my opinion on Canadians. Chicago could easily win the East or West but are stuck behind a strong Hartford squad who is cruising and hoping for another World Series appearance.   

If we look at how each team has expected to win based off recent play, here is what we'd see. Champs and Wildcard are listed based on expected win percentages. Current playoff teams are highlighted in bold.  

1. .753 - Atlanta Expos (AL E Champ)
2. .740 - Hartford Rising Stars (NL N Champ)
3. .651 - Houston Space Cowboys (AL S Champ)
4. .641 - Huntington Tropics (Wildcard 1)
5. .665 - New Orleans Hurricane Dodgers (NL S Champ)
6. .624 - Chicago Gunslingers (NL Wildcard 1)
7. .602 - Oklahoma City Barons (NL W Champ)
8. .602 - Helena Hot Dogs (AL-W Champ)
9. .573 - Minnesota Nort Stars (AL N Champ)
10. .559 - Salt Lake City Punk! (AL Wildcard 2)
11. .529 - Vancouver Canucks (NL Wildcard 2)
12. .522 - Philadelphia Harpers
13. .521 - Boston Baseball Team
14. .515 - Tokyo Nomo 
15. .515 - Anaheim Diablos
16. .495 - Salem Bourbon Makers
17. .473 - Charleston Offspring
18. .470 - Buffalo Bisons
19. .464 - Columbus Corgis (NL E Champ)
20. .450 - Jacksonville Lizard Kings
21. .445 - Pittsburgh Yinzers 
22. .432 - Milwaukee Metronomes
23. .430 - Santa Fe Surf Riders VIII
24. .415 - Washington DC Nationals
25. .405 - Mexico City Staring Frogs
26. .403 - Augusta Alcoholics
27. .400 - Colorado Springs From My Loins
28. .400 - Montreal Fighting Poutine Plate
29. .333 - Austin Son's of Odin
30. .328 - Tacoma Aroma
31. .325 - Dover Hazmats
32. .308 - New York Empire

The race for the top 3 picks in next season's draft

1. Dover Hazmats & New York Empire - 38-81 - on pace for a 110 L season
2. Tacoma Aroma - 41-78 (3 games back)
3. Austin Son's of Odin - 42-77 (4 games back)
4. Pittsburgh Yinzers, Mexico City Staring Frongs & Colorado Springs From My Loins - 49-70 (11 games back)

Do we say good luck or bad luck to those team?

S56 Draft Recap

Gabrielle  O. Alvarez-Tillman - Contributing Reporter.

Yet another draft season in Cobbfather, so let's round up the Rule 4 draft. We won't mention any names, but a certain team hired the scouts out from under us, so temper expectations on projections a bit. Let's dig into it! We'll do the same as last season and add in current ML comps to most players - maybe not all. As a reminder comps are to match their projections as closely as possible and not what they may end up like. 

1. Tacoma - Steve Mailman (SP) - I'm seeing a trend. Tacoma with #1 pick in even years. Time to hit Vegas in S58! Let's take a look at the player paired with last year's Scott Stokes (SP) and their other #1 pick Domingo Rodriguez (SP). It's going to be a solid rotation if all three of those guys make and in a pitcher friendly stadium like Tacoma, it should be interesting to see what these guys do. Now to get some bats to put up some runs. With Steve's velocity, the mailman sure isn't ringing twice. He's a slightly better Damaso Ethier but with a lot lower first pitch quality and doubled third pitch to make up for it. Definitely a front line starter without a doubt. 

2.  Mexico City - Marc Olson (SS) - Similar to Tacoma they've taken two starting pitchers the last two years within the top 5 picks but this year shift to the infield. But can the plus arm strength make up for the average range, accuracy and below average glove? I'd set Charlie Hinojosa as his floor. A player who can man Short and put up a good average with high teens to mid-20s HR power and probably about the same depending on his manager letting him run or not. His red flag is his health, one injury could kill him defensively or quickly turn him into your prototypical Rule 5 SS. Solid makeup for a kid who is 20 yrs old. 

3. Augusta - Logan Galloway (RP) - This team missed out on signing their S54 pick, but made up for it by selecting two pitchers last season. It's rare to see a relief pitcher this early in the draft so that should tell you something about Galloway. He's going to be a beast! Imagine prime Radhames Machado, he could be better than that. His down side is that stamina won't last more than an inning, but I could still see him easily pitching 120-135 innings a season at the prime setup man. If you want an ace to your bullpen for the playoffs, Galloway is your man and I'm not even sure he's Scottish. He'll have the best forkball in all of Cobbfather. Might even have a top 5 curveball in all of Cobbfather too. If that doesn't get your knees shaky, then I don't know what will. 

4. Dover - Bernie Paez (2B) - Great health, fantastic speed and posed to be able to lay down a bunt wherever he wants it to go. Watch out KBO Bunt Derby! He shouldn't strike out much, but neither will he impress the chicks who vote on the Hall as his career high in HRs projects to be 10. Think S54 Al Rosario who will hit about .260. Given his health and durability he should see every bit of all 162 games, but we fill that will also drive up his arbitration years given the production of his bat. Given Dover isn't really a team that likes to run, he's probably best traded to a team like OKC who loves to run and could use 18 yr old manning second in their future years. 

5. Washington DC - Gordon Eyre (SS) - We covered the struggle of the previous owner to develop talent, this year's pick sure hopes the new owner will be different. Given the limitations in range and slight below average glove, we'd suspect Eyre will move off short and likely to the hot corner where his power will be better suited. Think Boone Maxwell with his splits reversed and slightly more speed. Similar to #2 pick Olson, a slight injury concern but with the right medical staff he should be fine. 

6. Austin - Viosergy Barrett (SS) - Superb range and arm strength with above average accuracy should be fun to watch at Short. Third Shortstop with an injury concern but with Barrett it's even more pressing given his low contact and splits abilities with his power driving so much of his value at the plate. He's basically a stronger slower Ronald Wilson; he'll be a streaky hitter but I've seen far worse players starting at Short. 

7. Tokyo - Dave Cisco (P) - I like big budgets and I cannot lie. With $122M committed to payroll, one has to wonder what their scouting budget looks like. Maybe the owner's dad did the scouting for the team this year. You gotta like what Pops found at pick 7, a Danys Solis with better control, a hair better splits, but much less velocity and doesn't know how to keep the ball anywhere near the ground. Solis by the way has a career 55-14 mark; that's nearly a .800 winning percentage as he's bounced between the bullpen and rotation down in New Orleans. 

8. Montreal - Dale Baker (2B) - This dude can flat out run, and might even challenge Matty Moss for the All-Time stone base record, IF he can get on base. At the plate he's an Ernest Collins or Yovani Bonilla type of bat. Over the last two seasons those guys have hit .247, .248, .265, .280; with anywhere from 8-27 HR. Let's hope Baker ends up more S54 Bonilla. Has a good chance to stick at 2B for the future. Now if only Montreal could decide if they are rebuilding or going for it, that changes more times than the owner changes his underwear!

9. New York - Charles Strickland (3B) - This is probably the lowest pick you see NY at in the next 5-6 seasons, get ready for a strong rebuild! Strickland seems willing to sign for slot but NY must be saving for that IFA spending over the ratings they see of this high schooler. Not sure if they end up getting a Type D pick next season at #10. They'd be that much closer to shifting money over to scouting and might be more comfortable with their selection. Not to mean they are looking at a possible #1 or 2 pick next year as well. Strickland is a high power, high health type of player who will shift off Short in the majors. Hits Lefties and Righties decently well....when he can finally make contact. 

10. Santa Fe - Braden Bassitt (LF) - Last year's pick appears to be progressing decently enough, but like Tokyo at the #7, this is a high budget team who might not have the scouting budget and resources to correctly identify who exactly their pick is. Defensively Bassitt is going to struggle anywhere outside of first base. Hitting wise he looks like a Mat Patel with a better eye and a metric s#%@ ton more speed. Sadly that speed will go to waste in terms of stolen bases, but I'd imagine in that hitter's park of Santa Fe he probably legs out a few extra hits getting down the base path quicker. 

11. Anaheim - Matt Roberts (SP) - A lot to like about Roberts especially this late in the draft. With comp names like Nigel White, Riger Simon, Louis Conley, Victor Ortega, Alan Street, Joaquin Owe, and Zephyr Gross you know he's going to have a pretty decent career. If you forced me to compare with just one player I'd probably lean Nigel White with the biggest difference being able to keep the ball low. This could be the steal of the draft consider White has won the last 3 NL Cy Young awards. While White is having his "worst" season for the Rising Stars he's still 18-2 through 24 starts with a 1.04 WHIP and 2.50 ERA. 

12. Helena - Yunel Valenzuela (RP) - Is there a vowel in the alphabet this guy doesn't like? YV might challenge Galloway who was drafted #3 as the best relief pitcher in the draft. He also comps to Radhames Machado but also new Expo, Joshua Lough. YV stands to have better pitches than both while keeping the ball almost immediately on the ground. Imagine having the sharpest Shortstop with this guy on the mound. His stamina is low, but he gets himself ready for the next day quickly. Very solid pick here. At 21 yrs old, and playing for the AL West division leading Helena squad, you might actually see him called up pretty quick compared to most players. Let's make the most of that playoff window!

13. Columbus - Junior Morris (LF) - What a jump, this team went from the #1 pick last year to errr....lucky #13. That's a good sign right? Being the third big budget team, this one having a $127M player payroll, I'd expect some talent to fall to later picks this season. No real good comps for the player for Mr Jr Ms. But given his struggle against Lefties, he'd likely split At-bats with another player. 

14. Buffalo - Jason McCallum (SP) - McCallum will be an interesting one to watch, especially for this Bisons team. He's likely an Edgardo Boscan type pitcher; not the name everyone thinks up but gets the job done. Minus this year for Boscan but maybe he's just not a Boston type of pitcher. 

15. Montreal (Type D) - Stefen Diaz (3B) - With their second pick in the top 14, the only team in Canada that really matters selects, Stefen 'Not Curry' Diaz. Talk about another comp for an underrated player, I'd see Diaz as a James Kondou type with a little less speed and slightly worse at making contact. Given the quality I've seen at a #15 pick, this the team should be excited about this one. 

16. Jacksonville - Eury Gomez (CF) - I hate giving two player comps but Gomez falls pretty close to a perfect mix of Rafael Rodriguez and Steve Lalli. If he can stick at CF I'd take the low teens HR with 40-50 SBs on the season. Likely a .260ish type hitter. Bat him in the 9th hole and let him lead get on base ahead of your true leadoff guy and just sit back and watch the double steals happen! 

Recap: 6 pitchers, 1 second baseman, 3 shortstops, 3 center fielders, a left fielder, and 2 third basemen. Very pitcher focused this season.  Most expensive signing: #7 overall to Tokyo - Dave Cisco - $5.8M, well above slot. Let's see if he ends up worth it in a few years. 

Let's go prospects, it's nearly your time to shine!!