2018 A.L. WEST Preview

FAIRGROVE TIGERS

Consistent Winners Won't Find Latest Push Easy

One thing you can count on year-after-year is Robert Mosher leading his team to the post-season, he has only missed the playoffs once (2015), and continues to do whatever possible through trades or the draft, to keep Fairgrove a consistent winner. Mosher is the only BoS owner to have two World Championships to his name, while having the best career winning percentage (.588).

Once again the team is led by its leader Paul Goldschmidt, one of only two players in league history to own two Most Valuable Player awards (2014, 2016). Goldschmidt is coming off his worst BoS Season (.240 BA, 21 HR & .733 OPS), but don't count on a repeat as he should rebound towards to a season geared more towards his career .858 OPS. He won't have to do it all on his own, as he will have key lineup contributors in Josh Donaldson, Khris Davis & Avisail Garcia (who came off a MLB breakthrough season in 2017 for the White Sox).

Davis & Garcia will likely be daily outfield starters, while the other outfield slot will likely rotate among Howie Kendrick, Mikie Mahtook & Jason Heyward, while Brandon Nimmo may get some DH activity, while Kendrys Morales has a day off.

The usual-dependable rotation for the Tigers will likely be more of a juggling act in 2018, with Madison Bumgarner's health & Parker Bridwell's limited innings likely to play factors. Their rotation at peak health will still be the best in the division, while they will have plenty of arms to throw out there to join Bumgarner, Bridwell, Greinke & Sabathia with the likes of Martin Perez, Erasmo Ramirez, and Marco Estrada. Zack Greinke will be the Tigers' ace, after another strong MLB season (17-7, 3.20 ERA & 220 strikeouts) with the Diamondbacks.

Always known for having one of the league's stronger bullpens, the Tigers made a splash by drafting Arizona's Archie Bradley, who will be joining consistent arms in Joe Smith, Bryan Shaw & Justin Wilson.

The team may be looking long in the tooth, but Fairgrove has always depended heavily on a veteran-laced roster.... if it's not broke, why fix it?

Prediction: 1st Place -- They won't win the division in a run-away as in year's past, but with Mosher at the helm, among the usual star players leading the way, it's hard to bet against the Tigers.

VANCOUVER STORM

A Probable Chance of Injuries Projects for Weak Front

The Storm have plenty of productive bats to plug into their lineup. It's all going to come down to keeping those bats healthy. Players such as Dustin Pedroia (.293 BA, .369 OBP & 62 RBI in 406 AB), Brandon Belt (18 HR & .823 OPS in 382 AB) & Lonnie Chisenhall (.288, 12 HR & .881 OPS in 236 AB) are really productive when on the field, but all can't seem to stay healthy. There are others with similar situations, while other productive bats on the roster, such as Matt Olson (24 HR, 45 RBI & 1.003 OPS in 189 AB), Rafael Devers (.284 BA, 10 HR & .819 OPS in 222 AB) & Jose Martinez (.309 BA, 14 HR & .897 OPS in 272 AB) are going to be simply victim to limited play.

Their rotation may be the most durable rotation in their division for 2018, led by rising star Luis Severino (14-6, 2.98 ERA & 230 K) & Marcus Stroman (13-9, 3.09 ERA & 164 K) in the first two slots. The Twins' future ace, Jose Berrios (14-8, 3.89 ERA & 139 K in 145.2 innings) will likely be the #3 starter, followed by Danny Duffy and Yu Darvish. The Storm hopes that Darvish can bounce back to his more dominate days in his new Cubs digs.

The bullpen is formidable, while lacking control.

The current forecast may not be promising, but the future forecast looks bright & promising with the likes of Severino, Berrios, Devers, Olson, Edwin Diaz, Dinelson Lamet, Kendall Graveman, Mike Montgomery & possibly Tyler Glasnow emerging in future seasons to come.

Prediction: 2nd -- The team seems to be heading in the right direction, while reaching the post-season this season seems unlikely.

BUFFALO YANKEES

Buffalo Continues to Play the Waiting Game

The Yankees have never finished in dead last, that's a good thing... but never have had a winning record, that's not a good thing. Buffalo has been victim to dealing with a constant powerhouse in Fairgrove, while dealing with brief powers other than Fairgrove (Chicago Nine), while also having to face a more competitive division in the A.L. East. The American League East has generated a wild card team, in every season except for 2016 (Chicago has been the A.L. West's lone wildcard up to this point).

Buffalo's long-awaited success may have to be a waiting game, much in the same way that the King Road Kings had to do, until they finally broke into the playoffs last season.

For now, the Yankees will compete with a lineup that witnessed two players with rejuvenated bats in Austin Jackson and Alex Avila, both players almost fell into oblivion until they started playing more like circa 2012 versions of themselves. Marwin Gonzalez ended up being a huge pickup for Buffalo, as he might be their best option to hit clean-up. The lineup also boasts up-years from Jay Bruce and Starlin Castro, while the team roots for solid-glove guys Ian Kinsler and Trevor Story to have better years in the majors for 2018.

Gonzalez & Bruce will likely play the corner outfield spots, while Jackson will try to play the majority at center. The team could use Story the majority of time at short, while Paul DeJong hits in the designated hitter role, when he's at short or has a night off, Ben Gamel could fill in nicely at DH as well.

The rotation is headed by one APBA-B, among plenty of APBA-C starters, the APBA-B starter ended up being the most unlikeliest to suddenly anchor a rotation in Andrew Cashner; Casher had a career comeback-of-sorts with the Rangers, sporting a 11-11 record & 3.40 ERA in 166.2 innings.

The bullpen may be one of the better division pens, as they may have strong guys in Chris Devenski, Tommy Hunter & Alex Colome for innings 7-through-8... the question is, can the rotation hand the ball over to these guys with a lead by then?

All things are possible, but expect much the same as previous seasons.

Prediction: 3rd -- The Yankees have hovered consistently between 69-73 wins, which will probably be the same result, but the Yankees shouldn't be discouraged, this may be the murkiest of seasons for the Fairgrove Tigers, and who knows what the future holds? King Road's story has to be encouraging.

DeWITT TERMINATORS

New Team, New Owner & New Expectations

It's a new age for the DeWitt Terminators, no more Watersmeet Nimrods... New Owner/Manager Chad Lundy is excited for what future seasons will bring him.

To be fair, when first glancing at the Terminators, they read as a who's who of the 2000's to early 2010's, if we took a time machine back to 2009, this would most likely be an All-Star team. The team is loaded with the likes of Joe Mauer, Robinson Cano, Adam Jones, Matt Kemp, Jose Reyes, Andrew McCutchen & Justin Verlander... and out of the above, Verlander likely has the most gas left in the tank.

Entering 2017, Verlander's name fell down the Fantasy Baseball lists, many have written him off. A year later, Verlander has a strong chance at winning the 2018 A.L. Cy Young for the Houston Astros. Verlander was phenomenal down the stretch, the Terminators hopes this translates to having a powerful ace for a few more years at least.

Their rotation's success won't happen over night, but they added three young arms in Jordan Montgomery, Kyle Freeland & Trevor Williams... who are all 25 & younger. It will take J.V.'s as a mentor, to help these young arms develop.

Nolan Arenado (soon to be 27), is one of the youngsters of the bunch, coming off another excellent season with the Colorado Rockies... consistently solid with the glove & bat, you can expect a season close to .300 BA, 40 HR & 130 RBI; Mike Schmidt recently said when Arenado's career finishes, he will be the greatest third baseman to ever play... now that's high praise.

The team has a dependable veteran lineup, while it's bullpen may be among the better American League, sporting at least 4 APBA Z's (control)... that's more than you can say for some other teams out there.

They may suffer more losses than wins, but there definitely a lot of excitement in DeWitt.

Prediction: 4th -- The Terminators could easily finish third even, but this is a learning season for new manager Lundy, the success will come later.

2018 A.L. EAST Preview

CORKTOWN TAMALES

Corktown is One Step Closer towards Titletown

The Corktown Tamales have been getting closer & closer each of the past couple seasons in their quest of a BoS Championship. The team broke into the playoffs for the first time last season, losing to the Fairgrove Tigers in the American League Division Series. They may have made it one step closer by acquiring veteran catcher Buster Posey and reliever Andrew Miller.

Posey brings a MLB championship pedigree, along with solid leadership from behind the plate, to help lead a strong rotation in Max Scherzer, Carlos Carrasco, Jake Arrieta & Gio Gonzalez.

Andrew Miller's addition creates a two-headed monster for the 7th through 9th innings, as he joins forces with Craig Kimbrel, who bounced back beautifully in Boston, producing his best MLB season since his 2012, 2013 days. Matt Albers and Richard Bleier will play big roles as well in the pen, along with Addison Reed. Keone Kela and Drew Steckinrider will be likely be used in low-pressure situations, due to their spotty control.

Due to the acquisition of Posey, backstops Wilson Ramos and Kurt Suzuki will play bigger roles as pinch-hit specialists, and the occasional start; Suzuki smacked 19 HR in only 276 at-bats at age 33.

Mainstay franchise stud, Jose Abreu (.304, 33 HR & 103 RBI) will not have to relied upon as much, with Jose Ramirez and Justin Upton having big 2017 MLB seasons... The three will likely form the heart of the lineup in the 3-through-5 slots. Ramirez's emergence allowed the Tamales to trade away rising star Alex Bregman to South Side.

The Tamales have plenty of excellent gloves & depth in the outfield, which any of these talented players could get their starts... but likely will be Upton in left, Odubel Herrera in center, with Gerardo Parra in right. David Peralta may very likely be Corktown's designated hitter with such a crowded outfield in place.

The Tamales' only question mark may be, should they acquire a solid 5th starting pitcher to go along with their 1-4 starters. Many teams don't even have the luxury of having an equal 1-4 starters, so the necessity for a 5th starter is not a huge priority...

...then again don't count out manager Chris Demercurio, who is not afraid to make moves to better his team.

Prediction: 1st Place -- The Tamales take that next step & have all the tools to go deep into the playoffs, they are a legit championship contender. The team has had winning seasons in all three of their seasons of existence, improving upon each season.

SWATARA ELIMINATORS

Reshuffling a Combative Swat Team

With the exception of Corktown, the A.L. East for the most part is retooling their rosters. The Swatara Eliminators retooled by making a trade prior to the draft in acquiring two solid relievers in Roberto Osuna and Raisel Iglesias, while also adding 2B/OF- Dee Gordon... then followed that up  by executing their three 1st Round 2017 Draft Picks, drafting 1B/OF- Rhys Hoskins (3rd overall), SP- Luis Castillo (9th overall) & OF- Lewis Brinson (14th overall) -- all solid picks. The Eliminators then added their closer Corey Knebel, picking him up in Round 2 of the 2017 BoS Annual Draft.

The team will sport a top-heavy tough-out lineup, with Lorenzo Cain (CF), Josh Harrison (2B), Anthony Rendon (3B), Charlie Blackmon (RF) & Anthony Rizzo likely in those slots. The starting lineup will also feature one of the BoS's best fielding squads.

Their excellent fielding will be much needed in its attempt to help a light frame of a rotation. The pitchers have the potential to develop into something more for seasons to come, especially with Castillo & Jameson Taillon. All of that future potential won't be much help for the 2018 Season though, and at best the team has to hope the rotation can overachieve.

Swatara has a strong bullpen that can take over a ballgame, while the team also has plenty of options on the bench to plug into their lineups. The team will have bits & pieces, that manager Brandon Matlock will certainly use to trade for future nuggets.

Prediction: 2nd Place -- The team may have had a two-year hiatus from the post-season, but don't expect Swatara's absence to continue much longer with plenty of hope on the horizon. At best, they reach the playoffs as an A.L. Wild Card, at worst.... they are a team on the rise.

MICATIN DESTROYERS

Big Bang Theory: Can Strong Bats Bring Back Pitching in Return?

Up and down the roster, there is no denying that the Micatin Destroyers have plenty of bats, and that they have them everywhere, giving the Destroyers some serious depth. The team also has a deep bullpen after they added Chad Green, Yusmeiro Petit, Austin Maddox and Anthony Swarzak to the mix. But will these big bats and newly armed bullpen go to waste with no starting rotation in place?

The Destroyers' starting lineup will be one of the very best in the American League, while new additions Thomas Pham (OF) and Ian Happ (2B+) will be instant plug-ins. Pham batted .306 (.411 OBP) with 23 HR, 73 RBI & 25 steals, his combination of speed & power along with his willingness to get on base shouts out vintage Ron Gant, while Happ will start at second base slot that was weak for Micatin entering the draft.

Every year seems to be a career year for Joey Votto, and his 2017 MLB Season was no different, many may argue that it was his best MLB season since 2012. Ryan Zimmerman (.303, 36 HR & 108 RBI), not only came back in a major way in 2017, but it may have been the best year of his career, and will be the team's designated hitter.

Two notable bats that may not make the starting lineup (due to all of the other talent), are Yuli Gurriel (.817 OPS) & Travis Shaw (.862) -- which could bring back arms to help Alex Wood and Sonny Gray in the rotation.

Prediction: 3rd Place -- The team should be competitive & definitely better than last year's 59-win squad, they should also have a legit shot at the A.L. Wild Card as well. Manager Bill Gillam (.533 pct) is one of the league's all-time winning managers, with a BoS Championship under his belt, so you can count on the Destroyers giving it their best shot.

SOUTH SIDE SPARTANS

Championship Banner is Up, while Rebuild Starts Strong

The South Side Spartans accomplished plenty in their short three-year stretch, they have won 57% of their games since their inception, while winning last year's BoS World Championship over King Road. The team's owner and manager Matt Hoeppner is using the same wit & expertise that got him to the top in his new rebuilding effort.

They got the rebuilding effort started off with a bang, thanks to new acquisitions of catcher Willson Contreras, 3B- Alex Bregman & pitcher Carson Fulmer, while drafting SS/3B- J.P. Crawford, OF- Bradley Zimmer, 1B- Dominic Smith & OF- Clint Frazier, among others, to go along with young studs like OF- Trey Mancini.

It was tough for the team to say goodbye to Buster Posey and Andrew Miller, but it should still be a fun, learning season for the Spartans, as the team will get plenty of seasoning while facing other weak rotations in the division. The team's rotation will be headed by Jon Lester and Kenta Maeda, while their bullpen will get lots of work.

Mookie Betts takes over Posey's role as team captain, while the Spartans can hope that Betts bounces back in the majors to his pre-2017 form, with his batting average hovering .290 or higher.

Prediction: 4th Place -- The team most likely finish last (but nothing is a given), while their weak rotation matches up with Micatin & Swatara. One thing is for sure, no one will catch Corktown in this division.