Expectations
Improvement, meaning again being in the playoff hunt at the end, but perhaps it being far less of a longshot/surprise.
Best Case
The juggling of the pitching staff works perfectly, with Smokey Joe Williams and Watty Clark Orel Hershiser joining Don Drysedale and Frank Knauss to provide a dependable, top of the league rotation helped by a continually improving Sandy Koufax. This implies that Eric Gagne‘s conversion to closer goes well.
The offense finds its soul, helped by the acquisition of Pedro Guerrero.
Worst Case
Knauss, Clark, and Koufax regress and Williams doesn’t step up, leaving only Drysedale as a dependable starter and the offense continues to just meander along without any real oomph. The acquisition of Guerrero fails to deliver.
Key Questions
- In addition to the pitching staff changes mentioned above, the rest of the roster is very much in flux.
- Can John Briggs continue to set the world on fire?
- Will Mike Piazza finally take hold of the starting C role?
Trade Bait
Unsure? There is a bit of a logjam in the OF right now, maybe that could be solved.
Instead, the Royal Giants doubled down on the logjam, adding Guerrero to the mix. It’s unlikely Clark’s value is ever higher than it is right now, so it’s not a bad moment to make the move.
Roster Evaluation
| POS | Elite | Strong | Solid | Meh | Weak | Unknown |
| C | Piazza | Bertell | ||||
| 1B | Robinson | |||||
| 2B | Isbell | |||||
| 3B | Cey | |||||
| SS | Dandridge | Wills | ||||
| LF/ RF | Becker Guerrero | |||||
| CF | Briggs Snider White | Griggs | ||||
| SP | Drysedale | Knauss | Hershiser Koufax | Williams | ||
| End | Gagne | Dreifort Von Ohlen | ||||
| RP | Forster Grimes Mateo Valenzuela |
Very middle of the road imo. There is a lot of uncertainty on the mound, with a bunch of new faces and others whose ability to replicate their success from last season remains firmly in doubt.
Talent Ratings
| WBL | Minors | |
| Raw Power | OF Duke Snider | 1B Jim Gentile |
| Batting Eye | OF John Briggs | C Jim French |
| Contact | OF Pedro Guerrero | 1B Dan Brouthers |
| Running Speed | SS Maury Wills | SS Sonny Jackson |
| Base Stealing | 2B Frank Isbell | 2B Davey Lopes |
| IF Defense | IF Jackie Robinson | 1B Eric Karros |
| OF Defense | OF Roy White | OF Chicken Wolf |
| Stuff | SP Sandy Koufax | RP Lefty Thomas |
| Control | CL Eric Gagne | RP Trevor Hildenberger |
| Velocity | CL Eric Gagne | SP Walker Buehler |
Best In The Minors
| Rank | Age | POS | Name |
| 1 (3) | 20 | 2B | Ed Delahanty |
| 2 (5) | 23 | P | Smokey Joe Williams |
| 3 (15) | 21 | P | Doc Newton |
| 4 (51) | 22 | P | Walker Buehler |
| 5 (84) | 21 | OF | John Briggs |
| 6 (108) | 22 | P | Dazzy Vance |
| 7 (125) | 24 | OF | Terry Moore |
| 8 (147) | 24 | P | Fernando Valenzuela |
| 9 (162) | 24 | P | Dustin McGowan |
| 10 (165) | 20 | OF | Al Simmons |
Williams, Briggs, and Valenzuela all break camp with the WBL team. Given the scarcity of offense in the system, both Delahanty and Simmons may see time this season.
| Most | Least | |
| Age | 2B Julio Franco, 39 | P Odalis Pérez, 19 P Hilly Flitcroft |
| Height | P Don Drysedale, 6’6″ P Tommy Hanson, 6’6″ | P Bobby Shantz, 5’6″ |
| OPS | 1B Justin Smoak, 1.101 (—) | SS César Izturis, .527 (AAA/AA) |
| HR | 1B Justin Smoak, 64 (—) | SS César Izturis, 0 (AAA/AA) OF Art Griggs, 0 (WBL/AAA) |
| SB | OF Beals Becker, 49 (WBL) | |
| WAR | 1B Jim Gentile, 5.0 (—) | SS Germany Smith, -1.0 (WBL/AAA) |
| W | Josh Outman, 14 (—) Jordan Zimmerman, 14 (AAA) | Tom Phoebus, 2 (—) Dick Redding, 2 (WBL/AAA) |
| SV | Red Evans, 23 (—) | |
| ERA | Darren Dreifort, 2.03 (WBL/AAA) | Tom Sullivan, 8.09 (—) |
| WAR | Bobby Shantz, 5.9 (—) | Tom Sullivan, -2.0 (—) |