Expectations
Playing .500 ball would be a nice step; doing so while nurturing some talent for the future would begin to raise hopes in Indianapolis.
Best Case
Some starting pitching comes out of nowhere to support the continued development of Doc White and Willie Mitchell, Johnny Bench and Oscar Charleston anchor the offense, and some of the MI talent finally emerges fully onto the scene. The 6 man rotation turns out to be a thing of beauty, allowing the ABC’s to maximize their talent on the mound.
Worst Case
Only Bench remains as a real offensive force and the pitching stays totally muddled, with the 6 man rotation confusing fans, pundits, and players alike.
Key Questions
- Who starts, and does the team retain its experimentation with a 6-man rotation?
- How do the uncertainties at SS/3B resolve?
Trade Bait
Not enough talent to really be active.
Davey Concepción was sent to the Gothams in exchange for Sad Sam Jones, adding another arm to the pile and clearing one person from the MI crowd.
Roster Evaluation
| POS | Elite | Strong | Solid | Meh | Weak | Unknown |
| C | Bench | Ritter | ||||
| 1B | Votto | |||||
| 2B | Morgan | |||||
| 3B | Charles | |||||
| SS | Menke | Larkin | ||||
| LF/ RF | Bescher Charleston | Dunn Foster Padrón | ||||
| CF | Stenzel | Henderson | ||||
| SP | Cueto | White Mitchell | Foster Jones | Padrón | ||
| End | Carroll | James | ||||
| RP | Tidrow | Bellingham Blackwell Nolan |
That is a lot of new arms on the staff, and a lot of unknowns. But performance last year was so bad, you would think anything would be an improvement.
Some interesting things here, though: the continued use of the 6 man rotation, the emergence of Luis Padrón as a 2-way threat, the promise of some of the young talent, especially Oscar Charleston.
Talent Ratings
| WBL | Minors | |
| Raw Power | C Johnny Bench | OF Wally Post |
| Batting Eye | IF Joe Morgan 1B Joey Votto | IF Edwin Encarnación |
| Contact | IF Joe Morgan | CF Edd Roush |
| Running Speed | OF Bob Bescher | IF Pokey Reese |
| Base Stealing | OF Bob Bescher | 1B Doc Hoblitzell |
| IF Defense | IF Barry Larkin | 3B Robin Ventura |
| OF Defense | OF Oscar Charleston | OF Curt Walker |
| Stuff | P The Only Nolan | P George Pipgras |
| Control | SP Johnny Cueto | SP Eppa Rixey |
| Velocity | RP Ewell Blackwell | RP Tyler Clippard |
Best In The Minors
| Rank | Age | POS | Name |
| 1 (24) | 19 | P | Edward Nolan |
| 2 (28) | 19 | P | Jim Maloney |
| 3 (42) | 22 | 3B | Oliver Marcell |
| 4 (59) | 24 | 3B | Robin Ventura |
| 5 (101) | 22 | OF | George Foster |
| 6 (105) | 20 | 2B | Dario Lodigiani |
| 7 (123) | 19 | P | Tom Glavine |
| 8 (144) | 23 | 1B | Sean Casey |
| 9 (153) | 25 | P | Bob Ewing |
| 10 (182) | 25 | P | Chris Hammond |
Nolan and Foster start the year with the WBL club. There’s decent help on the mound working through the system, but little else, especially if Ventura ends up being a bust.
| Most | Least | |
| Age | OF Harold Baines, 39 | 3B Bob Aspromonte, 18 |
| Height | P Ewell Blackwell, 6’6″ OF Adam Dunn, 6’6″ | SS Donie Bush, 5’6″ |
| OPS | C Johnny Bench, .951 (WBL) | SS Walt Weiss, .441 (—) |
| HR | OF Adam Dunn, 35 (WBL/AAA/AA) | SS Walt Weiss, 0 (—) |
| SB | OF Bob Bescher, 37 (WBL) | Many with 0 |
| WAR | C Johnny Bench, 6.0 (WBL) | SS Walt Weiss, -3.9 (—) |
| W | Eppa Rixey, 16 (WBL/AAA) | Joe Moeller, 3 (—) Teddy Higuera, 3 (—) |
| SV | Rob Dibble, 30 (WBL) | |
| ERA | Jack Powell, 2.83 (—) | Joe Moeller, 7.11 (—) |
| WAR | Virgil Trucks, 7.0 (WBL/AAA) | Brad Radke, -1.1 (—) |