Season 21 NL West Preview

Seattle Strikers

Offense			1	Defense			1	Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Average	.255	13		Fielding %	.988	3		ERA	3.22	3
Home Runs	155	14		Double Plays	335	16		Opp. Avg.	.288	1
Ops.	.699	15		+ Plays	60	8		Strike Outs	1139	5
Runs	706	10		- Plays	23	5		Saves	45	8
Steals	137	4		1	1	1		1	1	1
Slugging	.376	15		1	1	1		1	1	1

Season 20 Record: 93-69
Last 5 Seasons: 435-375 (NL West Champs)

The Seattle Strikers continued there dominance of the NL West in season 20. Silver Slugger Winner, Benny Navarro continues to be a centerpiece of the offense and a great player with the glove.  Management made some big moves last year picking up Corky Whitehead and Henry Siddall. Siddall had a great season for the Strikers but left during free agency. Ghutton added Catcher Felipe Reynoso in the off season to help ease the lose of Siddall. One of the strengths of this team is their defense. Asdrubal Alcantara claimed his fifth Gold Glove at shortstop last season and continues to be a premier defensive player in the league. This team has an above average defense with little room for improvement. Seattle has excellent pitching. Ratings wise this is the best rotation in the NL and maybe all of Pine Tar. Management made a huge trade with San Juan to acquired SP Diego Valbuena and Darren Banks. These are two top of the rotation type of players who are likely Seattle's 3 and 4 starters. John Rucker had as close to a perfect year as I've ever seen. Rucker went 22-3, and had an ERA of 1.79. Not to mention he won his second Cy Young. Alex Guerrero had a solid season finishing 13-9. He is finally performing how he should be but has room for improvement. Rookie Willie Ciaro has been a nice surprise for the Strikers. Cairo is the 5 starter and tossed a no-hitter last year, yeah this rotation is that good. Ghutton is all in for season 21 and will win this division once again. I think anything under 100+ wins or a NL title is a disappointment for this team.


Colorado Springs Night Watchmen

Offense			1	Defense			1	Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Average	.258	12		Fielding %	.983	1		ERA	4.82	13
Home Runs	229	3		Double Plays	435	4		Opp. Avg.	.280	13
Ops.	.753	7		+ Plays	32	15		Strike Outs	1029	15
Runs	812	2		- Plays	39	11		Saves	40	13
Steals	68	11		1	1	1		1	1	1
Slugging	.427	5		1	1	1		1	1	1

Season 20 Record: 72-90
Last 5 Seasons: 352-458

Season 20 was a productive season for the Nights Watchmen. This team is in rebuild mode but managed to stay competitive winning 72 games. Offensively Colorado Springs was a good club. Rafael Chavez had a great season batting .281 with 21 homers and 86 RBIs. The loss of Juan Perez to injury was a big blow to the future of this club. It'll be interesting to see how he performs in season 21. Management added several good young players this off season. King Ashburn is a great player who should be a ROY contender. Arlie Leon is another solid player who will make an impact. The big weakness for this team last season was pitching. They ranked toward the bottom in every category. The addition of Patrick Wilson will be a big help but I don't think he's enough to push this club over the top. Other then Wilson this team doesn't have much in the rotation. The bullpen does have some good arms. Alberto Blasco and Willis Phillips are two young players who are nice pieces to build around in the future. The biggest bright spot for the Night Watchmen is their defense. This team was ranked first in fielding percentage last year and it looks like they might be in the top five again in season 21. Rafael Chavez has a great glove and will continue to be a key to this defense.
Colorado Springs will continue to rebuild this season but i wouldn't sleep on them. This team has a lot of young talent and might make some noise if they can pick up some pitching.


Oklahoma City Prairie Dogs

Offense			1	Defense			1	Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Average	.253	14		Fielding %	.979	15		ERA	4.15	8
Home Runs	128	16		Double Plays	403	5		Opp. Avg.	.280	13
Ops.	.677	16		+ Plays	33	14		Strike Outs	1054	13
Runs	636	15		- Plays	52	13		Saves	44	10
Steals	73	10		1	1	1		1	1	1
Slugging	.363	16		1	1	1		1	1	1

Season 20 Record: 69-93
Last 5 Seasons: 353-457

This team continued to struggle last year finishing with a 69-93 record. Three out of the last four have been under 70 wins for the Oklahoma City Prairie Dogs. The offense has been below average for OKC for the last few seasons but they might be finally rounding the corner. Third overall pick back in season 18, Carlos Zorrilla has been added the major league roster. Zorrilla is a good player with solid defense and a solid bat, plus he can steal some bags. I would expect him to hit around a .280 to .290. Vic Rijos continues to be a force in this line up by batting .297, 34 homers and 115 RBI's. The pitching for the Prairie Dogs was decent in season 20. Juan Ramirez had a solid rookie season. He tossed 93 innings and had a ERA of 4.15. Rick Owens continues to be a mystery to me and has been under achieving every season since joining the majors. Owens consistently posts good ERA's but doesn't win very many games. This team had a below average defense last season also. Cecil Pratt is a great middle infielder who can also swing the bat. He had an impressive rookie season. Billy Kashmir is a solid veteran who will continue to play good defense. Overall Oklahoma City is a average team but should improve this season. This team has added a few good players and I expect this team to win over 70 games.


Albuquerque Komodo Dragons

Offense			1	Defense			1	Pitching
Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank		Category	Stat	Rank
Average	.260	10		Fielding %	.981	10		ERA	5.05	14
Home Runs	185	10		Double Plays	389	13		Opp. Avg.	.283	14
Ops.	.733	11		+ Plays	71	5		Strike Outs	1062	10
Runs	675	13		- Plays	54	14		Saves	35	14
Steals	63	13		1	1	1		1	1	1
Slugging	.401	11		1	1	1		1	1	1

Season 20 Record: 
Last 5 Seasons:

Season 20 was a rough one for the Komodo Dragons. They finished last in the division with 67 wins. Its going to be hard to guess why they did so bad since overall they had solid pitching, offense and defense. Lets start with the offense.  This team didn't really have any one great offensive player but they made some good ones. Glen Fedroff had a good season batting .287. Jorge Renteria had a good year hitting .285 with 79 RBI's. Management didn't add much in the form of offense but they did improve the defense. Kennie McCraken is a former supplemental pick that has been brought to the Majors. McCraken is a great fielder who will be a nice addition. Ernie Borders and Daryl Robertson are both solid players with good gloves. This defense is improved but they still have some weakness to fix in the future. The off season wasn't good for the Komodo Dragons when it comes to pitching. They lost starter Patsy Ainsworth and Ace Raymond Simmons. The lose of Simmons is a significant blow to this clubs rotation that is going to be a lot to over come. Marvin Bere had a rough rookie season as the closer posting a 4.55 ERA. If Bere can perform close to his ratings he will be a good closer for this team. Overall the Albuquerque Komodo Dragons are in for a long season of rebuilding and don't look like there going to get out of the basement in this division.


Predictions
One of the more predictable divisions in Pine Tar. This looks like Seattle's division to lose. Seattle has won 9 of the last 12 division titles and it looks like that will continue this season. Anything under 100 wins or a NL title for the Strikers will be disappointing  Colorado Springs is an improved team but they will miss the playoffs once again unless they pick up some pitching. They have the offense and defense to be a contender but they need pitching to be a championship team. Oklahoma city and Albuquerque should continue the rebuilding process and i don't expect much out of either team in season 21.

1. Seattle Strikers
2. Colorado Springs Night Watchmen
3. Albuquerque Komodo Dragons
4. Oklahoma City Prairie Dogs