2033 AL Professional Division Preview

[Chris_SFG]

AL Professional Division

Teams that left the division: KC+, BOS+, CLE-
Teams that joined the division: HOU+, NYY-, TB-

Houston Astros:
2032 Review:
Won the Tertiary division in 2032 with 91 wins led by a top 3 offense in the league, and league average pitching.
Offseason Recap:
Players Lost: HOU had some turnover this offseason, moving on from regulars like 2B Soto, C Quintero, 1B Bravo, and DH Greene. In addition to more role players like RP Fox, C Berryhill, SS Marte, and 3B Clarke.
Players Acquired: They made a potentially large upgrade at 2B trading for the underrated Camacho and signing him to a long term deal. They also added CF Gramajo to a solid outfield and C Mack behind the plate. They also added SP Riolo on a solid deal and depth in backup Ifs 2B Young and 3B Fermin.
Season Preview:
Position Player to Watch: In addition to the players they added, they also have some young guys looking to make a difference, including former top 25 prospect 1B Owusu. He got a taste of the big leagues last year, but will be looking to contribute in a major way this season.
Pitcher to Watch: HOU rotation is led by a veteran and reliable staff that should perform as expected. However, as injuries or performance issues crop up, they have SP Farrington in AAA waiting his turn. The #27 ranked prospect looks primed to step in and probably become the ace on the staff by the end of this season.
Expectation: This team has a nice mix of veteran production (Paredes, Becker, Hancock) and young potential (Farrington, Owusu, Ortega) that makes this team with a decent floor and a pretty high ceiling. There is little doubt this team should be competing for a playoff spot and have a legitimate shot at the division.

New York Yankees:
2032 Review:
NYY lost 85 games last year and ultimately got demoted to the Professional Division. Although their offense was league average, they were drug down by the 3rd worst ERA in the league.
Offseason Recap:
Players Lost: NYY lost a couple regulars in 3B Torres, CF Beck, SP Padilla, and role players like RP Wallace, SS Greer, and 2B Pagliarulo.
Players Acquired: NYY did add a couple regulars in LF Trammell, 3B Pantoja, and C Astudillo.
Season Preview:
Position Player to Watch: 1B Koch had a solid rookie campaign putting up 3.6 WAR and that is probably his floor. He could develop into one of the better 1B and even compete for a HR title this season.
Pitcher to Watch: It appears SP Haines is moving back to the rotation after a brutal 19 starts in 2030 moved him to the bullpen. If NYY wants to compete they will need him to put up solid numbers as there is not much depth in AAA.
Expectation: NYY will live or die with their highly paid stars – Lala, Gorman, Oviedo, and Garcia. This is a very top heavy team that will be relying on those guys to drag them into a playoff race as the supporting cast and depth is not strong enough on its own. Hovering over .500 and staying in the playoff race into September is probably a reasonable expectation if things go well. If injuries come knocking, especially in the rotation, things could get ugly.

Chicago White Sox:
2032 Review:
CWS made the playoffs as a WC with 88 wins, before losing in the divisional series. As is typical with this franchise lately, they were led by a top pitching staff and a subpar offense.
Offseason Recap:
Players Lost: CWS rarely makes splashes in the offseason, remaining consistent from year to year. This offseason the big player they lost was CL Morales, and C Ortiz who was below average.
Players Acquired: Replacing Morales in the BP they signed RP German.
Season Preview:
Position Player to Watch: DH Crawford took a major step forward in his sophomore season with a .953 OPS. Analytics say that he is not that good of a hitter. Is Crawford that hitter? Will the league adjust? CWS sure could use that production from him going forward.
Pitcher to Watch: SP Axelrod is key to bridge from aces Padgett and Poliziano to back-end guys Bash and Hoglund. Axelrod has been anywhere from a 3.57 to a 4.75 ERA in his 4 years. CHI is hoping to get more of the former in a season with high playoff hopes. Also, don’t look now but they have another potential top pitcher in AAA in Lagunes…
Expectation: This CWS will always lean on pitching first with 2 aces to hold the rotation, but with SS Smith declining the last few years, they will be relying on some young players with upside like OF Barrientez, DH Crawford, and SP Lagunes. This should be a team that is yet again in the playoff race and likely competing for the division with a high floor with their pitching, and the potential for a deep playoff run.

Seattle Mariners:
2032 Review:
SEA had their worst season in 2032 with 85 losses since 2019. For a franchise that had gone 21 years straight without a playoff appearance it’s been a solid run as of late.
Offseason Recap:
Players Lost: SEA let a lot of talent go this offseason, letting guys like Brujan, Onyshko, Trujillo, Espinoza go as FA and trading away Wangerin, Carlson, and Davis.
Players Acquired: They only ML contract they signed was SP Rocker, although they did have a high number of Rule 5 picks.
Season Preview:
Position Player to Watch: SEA will have some young talent to watch this year like RF Selvidge, CF Serrano, and SS Vergara whose upside is quite high.
Pitcher to Watch: SP Ruelas was the prize of the Carlson/Davis trade and is ranked the #43 prospect. He will look to establish himself as a top pitcher on the next contending SEA team.
Expectation: SEA is in a retool phase, letting some contracts expire and letting the young talent play and prove themselves. While they won’t compete for a playoff spot, there will be trade targets to watch (Perez, Franco) and young talent.

Tampa Bay Rays
2032 Review:
After winning 100 games and being World Champs in 2030, then taking a step back in 2031, 2032 was a disaster season losing 98 games.
Offseason Recap:
Players Lost: TB let a lot of supplemental guys hit FA like LF Carroll, RP Miller, C Rutschman, 2B Kieboom, RF Scott, 2B Marcano, and SP Lambert.
Players Acquired: Most of their acquisitions were Rule 5 picks.
Season Preview:
Position Player to Watch: CF Smith has put up 7.1 WAR and 3.5 WAR as recently as 2030. He is looking to reestablish his value and will likely end up on the trade block in July.
Pitcher to Watch: SP Calasnz is the #29 ranked prospect and looks primed to claim a spot atop the TB rotation this season.
Expectation: TB has some large contracts on declining older players. They will be filling in young talent to see if they can find some diamonds while those contracts expire and other young talent comes up. Depending on who they trade away in July, 98 losses may not be out of the picture again this year.

Summary: There are a couple teams here clearly starting the rebuild phase, while some are strong contenders for the playoffs. I expect HOU & CWS to be competing for a division by the end of the season, NYY in the middle, and SEA & TB at the bottom.

For the GMs of the AL Professional Division:
What was your biggest perceived weakness in the offseason, and what did you do to fix it?

What is your record prediction for your team this season?

Who is the most underrated player on your club?

What needs to happen for you to consider 2032 a successful season?

Who wins the AL Professional division this year?

[krispal2000]

What is your record prediction for your team this season?

Hopefully should be at least a .500 season but I'm going to be bold and say we win 90.

Who is the most underrated player on your club?

I didn't see Juan Ortega mentioned so I'm going to say him as he seems to have been overlooked. 41 HR and 113 RBI in his rookie season. He even threw 8.1 innings at an ERA of 3.24. He still has room to grow as well (mainly in terms of his bat as he is unlikely to see much pitching action beyond mop-up duties). Otherwise, Paredes who was a salary dump from Detroit put up 4.7 WAR in his 4th season in Houston and averaged around 3 WAR for the previous 3. Not too shabby.

What needs to happen for you to consider 2032 a successful season?

A successful season will see us competing in the professional division and not slipping straight back down. This is a season of consolidation as evidenced by us locking up several key players. Next season will likely see a rebuild and, hopefully, an upgrade to the rotation for us to kick on further.

Who wins the AL Professional division this year?

I'm going to go with the White Sox. They seem like a club built around sustaining long term success.