Expectations
To no longer be considered one of the absolute worst teams in the league would be a nice start.
Best Case
Camilo Pascual, Freddie Fitzsimmons, and José Méndez form a strong front of the rotation and Cole Hamels joins them, fulfilling the promise he showed early in the season with the Black Yankees. Offensively, José Canseco repeats, but is joined by … someone–Paul Molitor or Gary Sheffield or Alejandro Oms or even Yasiel Puig–as a formidable offensive force, with Cookie Rojas recovering the form he showed with the Gothams, and and and … you get the idea. Everyone improves in every way.
Worst Case
Ouch. Everyone with high expectations becomes Martín Dihigo from last year, a continual disappointment showing just enough promise to keep from being jettisoned. One issue here is that a significant amount of the talent on the roster is very, very young and therefore several years away from really showing their true potential (for example, Dihigo is 18, Oms 20)
Key Questions
- How does the rest of the staff fill out?
- Can the continued development of Eustaquio Pedroso and Dihigo as two way players bear enough fruit to warrant continuing the experiment?
Trade Bait
I mean … maybe? The problem is that a team building for the future whose best assets are its young talent will often find it difficult to locate a good trading partner.
Yeah … so … that happened. It’s hard to boil the trade down: the Cuban Giants gave up Molitor, top draft pick Vladimir Guerrero, and some stuff, getting back Iván Rodríguez and a few useful possibilities (Al Oliver, Jon Matlack, Adolis García). So, this year, it’s Molitor for Pudge. But losing Guerrero is a potential big deal.
Roster Evaluation
| POS | Elite | Strong | Solid | Meh | Weak | Unknown |
| C | Rodríguez | Burgess | ||||
| 1B | Thome | Miñoso | ||||
| 2B | Dihigo Rojas | |||||
| 3B | Sheffield | |||||
| SS | Yount | |||||
| LF/ RF | Canseco | Puig | Braun | Oliver Rodríguez | ||
| CF | Oms | |||||
| SP | Pascual | Hamels Martínez Méndez | Fitzsimmons | |||
| End | Consuegra | Nolasco Terry | ||||
| RP | Looper Pedroso | Latman |
Doesn’t look like a playoff contender to me. Pudge really does help, though, and .500 might–might–be within reach.
Talent Ratings
| WBL | Minors | |
| Raw Power | IF Jim Thome | 1B Willie McCovey |
| Batting Eye | IF Jim Thome | U Carlos Morán |
| Contact | U Cookie Rojas | 2B Nellie Fox |
| Running Speed | OF Alejandro Oms | IF Charlie Briggs OF Bert Campaneris IF Luis Castillo OF Marquis Grissom OF Eddie Milner |
| Base Stealing | OF Alejandro Oms | IF Jiggs Donahue OF Marquis Grissom |
| IF Defense | U Martín Dihigo | 3B Willie Kamm |
| OF Defense | OF Yasiel Puig | OF Tony González |
| Stuff | P Adonis Terry | P Gary Gentry |
| Control | P Freddie Fitzsimmons | P Dale Murray |
| Velocity | SP Cole Hamels | P Brad Brach |
Best In The Minors
| Rank | Age | POS | Name |
| 1 (22) | 20 | P | Josh Beckett |
| 2 (103) | 20 | CF | Julio Rodríguez |
| 3 (111) | 18 | P | Jon Matlack |
| 4 (142) | 24 | P | Freddie Fitzsimmons |
| 5 (159) | 23 | C | Smoky Burgess |
| 6 (184) | 23 | U | Bert Campaneris |
On the one hand, the cupboard is pretty bare; on the other hand, the Cuban Giants are among the youngest teams in the league, so many of their “prospects” are already in Miami, joined this year by Rodríguez, Burgess, and Fitzsimmons.
| Most | Least | |
| Age | C Clyde Sukforth, 37 | P Ed Seward, 17 |
| Height | 1B Richie Sexson, 6’8″ | P Phenomenal Smith, 5’6″ U Carlos Morán, 5’6″ |
| OPS | OF Carlos Quentin, 1.381 (—) | 1B Julio Becquer, .504 (AA) |
| HR | OF Carlos Quentin, 81 (—) | OF José Tartabull, 0 (AAA/AA) OF Carlos Morán, 0 (WBL) IF Luis Castillo, 0 (AA) |
| SB | OF José Canseco, 29 (WBL) OF Marquis Grissom, 29 (—) | Many with 0 |
| WAR | OF Carlos Quentin, 6.7 (—) | IF Russell Branyan, -2.2 (—) |
| W | Camilo Pascual, 12 (WBL) Ed Brandt, 12 (—-) Denny Lemaster, 12 (—-) Marcus Stroman, 12 (—-) | Johnny Murphy, 3 (AAA/AA) |
| SV | Bob Gillespie, 19 (—) Jim Roland, 19 (—) | |
| ERA | John Boozer, 2.26 (—) | Mike Morgan, 6.67 (AAA/AA) |
| WAR | Marcus Stroman, 5.1 (—) | Nick Strincevich, -0.6 (AAA/AA) |