S32 PRESEASON PREVIEW NL NORTH

Last season Scranton ran away with the division winning 97 games and winning the division by 18 games.  It was their fourth straight division title.  They played great in the DCS sweeping Texas in 3 games, but then fell victim to a very good Seattle team in the NLCS.  The Minnesota Huskies placed second.  They are now known as the New York Highlanders.  They finished two games under .500, and made it the third straight season for finishing under .500.    Iowa City placed third winning 72 games.  They have now finished under .500 in 3 of the last 4 seasons.  The Helena Copper Kings finished in last place losing an embarrassing 108 games.    That was a franchise record for losses.  They are now known as the Wichita Tornadoes.   


I ranked all teams in each category.  The AL teams are ranked separately from the NL teams.  16 teams obviously in each league.

Iowa City Hawkeyes
Owner:tk21775 (17th season)

Offense-10th

Pitching-14th
Starters-7th
Relief-15th

Defense-1st


Scranton Red Barons
Owner:Reggie988(10th season)

Offesne-3rd

Pitching-2nd
Starters-5th
Relief-3rd

Defense-10th

Press release-My offense should be great, and I've got mega-prospects Wilfredo Zapata and Cy Ackley sitting in AAA waiting to make the jump. I may need to make a deal for another arm or two, but I've got the prospect depth to make that happen.


Wichita Tornadoes
Owner: Pinetaar(6th season)

Offense-16th

Pitching-6th
Starters-16th
Relief-1st

Defense-16th

Press Release-League punching bag Al Galvez and his $5.6M salary are providing entertainment at our AAA affiliate this season. Several lower level free agent signings that filled a few of the gaping holes from last years squad. Several minor leagues brought up as well, mostly prospects that were acquired via trade. Expecting a 2nd place finish in a weak division. Not good enough for a wild card spot.

New York Highlanders
Owner:Ranscott64(3rd season)

Offense-14th

Pitching-16th
Starters-13th
Relief-16th

Defense-11th

Press Release-I'm not sure what starbuck was doing his final season(s) but as far as I'm concerned, I'm in year 2 of a major rebuilding program for this franchise. Starbuck won 15 divisional titles and more during his time year but he left the franchise in shambles; particularly the minor leagues. I guess success comes with a price.
In any case, I lost two Type A free agents. C Junior Shigetoshi and P Rickie Metcalf. That's ok. I should have an excellent draft this time around.
I'm going to experiment and have Santo Peralta be my starting catcher. He probably really should be a 3B with his pitch call rating of 25 but he has an excellent arm. Andy Ganzel will be the interim closer until next season when I promote 1, maybe 2, closers in waiting.
Rookie CF Ramiro Encarnacion should be good for years to come. Rookie 1B Lloyd Schafer should be adequate. Both of these left handed hitters hit lefties better than righties which is a problem. This team will be vulnerable to right-handed pitching.
In any case, I expect to contend in three more seasons. This year's team will struggle mightily to duplicate last seasons 79 victories. I'm predicting a 72-90 season. Probably good for last place in the division...

Predictions

Scranton will win the division easily again this season.   I don't know if they are the best team in the NL, but they should make a good push.  Iowa City and and Wichita should battle back and forth in the middle of the division.  I think they'll both win in the neighborhood of 70-72 games.  While Wichita might have one of the best young bullpens in the NL, their starters,  hitting, and defense will drag the team down.  Iowa City will overtake them because of their superior defense.  New York Highlanders should finish at the bottom of the division once again.

1. Scranton
2. Iowa City
3. Wichita
4. New York Highlanders