Expectations
Progress. Finishing over .500 with some clarity on long-term talent would be a success for next year.
Best Case
The roster stabilizes, and a handful of talent establishes itself as the core of future years. Napolean Lajoie and Honus Wagner settle in at 2B and SS respectively, and the OF talent clarifies. And, anyone reliable steps forward on the mound. Anyone.
Worst Case
Nothing settles, nobody figures it out, and the pitching continues to be miserable.
Key Questions
- Who pitches?
- For a team without top end talent, there are a surprising number of logjams (Davey Johnson and Lajoie and even the ageless Jeff Kent at 2B; Rick Reichardt and Willie Stargell at LF; Roberto Clemente, Andy Van Slyke, and Owen “Don’t Call Me Chief” Wilson in RF).
Trade Bait
Will the team hit it stride in time for Stargell to contribute? If not, he could be an attractive piece for a competitive team.
Roster Evaluation
| POS | Elite | Strong | Solid | Meh | Weak | Unknown |
| C | Gibson | Crandall | ||||
| 1B | Epstein | |||||
| 2B | Lajoie | |||||
| 3B | Sabo | |||||
| SS | Wagner | Sánchez | ||||
| LF/ RF | Reichardt | Van Slyke Wilson | Clemente Stargell | |||
| CF | McCutchen | |||||
| SP | Liriano | Friend | Pierce Brown Zambrano | |||
| End | Lindblom Ownbey | Jackson | ||||
| RP | Drabek Giusti Hudson Lincecum |
So. Much. Talent. So little production. Even with that, though, the presence of anything approaching average pitching makes the Grays a .500 team.
Talent Ratings
| WBL | Minors | |
| Raw Power | OF Willie Stargell | 3B Steve Hertz |
| Batting Eye | 1B Mike Epstein | OF Ralph Kiner |
| Contact | OF Roberto Clemente | OF Goose Goslin |
| Running Speed | OF Andy Van Slyke | OF Sterling Marte |
| Base Stealing | IF Honus Wagner | IF Bobby Wheelock |
| IF Defense | U Nap Lajoie | IF Rennie Stennett |
| OF Defense | OF Roberto Clemente | OF Max Carey |
| Stuff | P Tim Lincecum | P Harry Kelley |
| Control | SP Bob Friend | P Syl Johnson |
| Velocity | RP Josh Lindblom | RP Mychal Givens |
Best In The Minors
| Rank | Age | POS | Name |
| 1 (13) | 19 | P | Clayton Kershaw |
| 2 (21) | 21 | P | Tim Lincecum |
| 3 (39) | 18 | 3B | Judy Johnson |
| 4 (46) | 19 | OF | Ralph Kiner |
| 5 (61) | 24 | P | Bartolo Colón |
| 6 (64) | 20 | P | Pink Hawley |
| 7 (79) | 23 | OF | Paul Waner |
| 8 (109) | 22 | P | Trevor Cahill |
| 9 (117) | 23 | P | Daniel Hudson |
| 10 (130) | 20 | 3B | Freddie Lindstrom |
Hope for the Grays persists, largely in how dense and deep their system is. 16 prospects in the top 200 bodes well for their future.
| Most | Least | |
| Age | P Al Worthington, 38 | 3B Judy Johnson, 18 |
| Height | P John Candelaria, 6’7″ | P Earl Hamilton, 5’8″ SS Bobby Wheelock, 5’8″ OF Paul Waner, 5’8″ 1B Eric McNair, 5’8″ |
| OPS | OF Harvey Hendrick, 1.088 (—) | IF Ken Harrelson, .432 (WBL) |
| HR | OF Starling Marte, 42 (—) IF JJ Hardy, 42 (—) | C Peaches Graham, 0 (WBL/AAA) |
| SB | CF Andrew McCutchen, 33 (WBL) | Many with 0 |
| WAR | OF Andy Van Slyke, 5.7 (WBL/AAA/AA) | IF Ken Harrelson, -4.3 (WBL) |
| W | Frank Arellanes, 15 (—) Moose Haas, 15 (—) | Daniel Hudson, 3 (WBL/AAA/AA) Earl Hamilton, 3 (WBL/AAA) Doug Drabek 3 (—) John Candelaria, 3 (WBL/AAA) |
| SV | Mychal Givens, 24 (WBL/AAA/AA) | |
| ERA | Charles Nagy, 2.17 (—) | John Candelaria, 6.84 (WBL/AAA) |
| WAR | Charles Nagy, 5.3 (—) | John Candelaria, -1.1 (WBL/AAA) |