Post Rookie Draft Team Preview 2017

NL EAST- We start with what has potentially become the most exciting division in Nostalgia League. Of course you have the beautiful rivalry between the two time defending champion Marlins and the Atlanta Tommies, but this year the NL East will add some fuel to the fire with two young upstart teams in Philly and Washington who slow roasted their teams to what they hope is juicy perfection.

MIAMI- You definitely can’t say Miami is guilty of the one and done tactic using a slew of picks to grab a bevy of top 10 talent. Swanson, Benintendi and Jose DeLeon sign rookie tenders with the fish and the Marlins decided to splurge as a trophy present by paying the hefty contract to bring over Buster Posey. When you factor in the losses of Brandon Belt, Zack Cozart and Justin Verlander it doesn’t scream 3peat, however they do have a copious coin purse to the tune of over 50M.

ATLANTA- After riddling their draft to get the pieces to heavily contend last year the ravages of time caught up with Atlanta in the draft. The Tommies pull Tim Anderson in the 1st, but there wasn’t much of a draft warcry beyond that. Atlanta did manage to infuse some young arms by dealing Syndergaard for Nola and Velazquez giving them an officially bright future in the arms race. On the veteran side of things, the Tomahawks clean house but still brought in a veteran leader Adrian Beltre and clearing a whopping total of 61M off of their cap. With that kind of money you could buy a brand new team which is apparently what the Tommies plan to do.

WASHINGTON- Prior to draft day the Degenerates had so many draft picks they couldn’t even fit them on their 40 man roster…… literally. Those picks were highlighted by fortifying their outfield with Nomar Mazara and Mallex Smith plus adding Dylan Bundy all of who should get immediate playing time. Washington seemed mainly focused on bringing in veteran pitchers and by the time they were done they had landed Danny Salazar and Gerrit Cole to team up with an electric Yordano Ventura. The pitching has tremendous upside and the offense has a great nucleus with Freddie Freeman and Evan Longoria at the corners. The only question is whether the Capitol city will be able to afford to contend with only 23M in the mint.

PHILADELPHIA- The Cheese creamed at the opportunity to bring in Thor’s Hammer himself to ace their staff. That last sentence made me feel icky…. sorry. Anyways, talk about instant rotation, when paired with the 7th overall pick, Michael Fulmer, the Steaks have a nasty 1, 2 punch for the next few years. Jose Ramirez and Trea Turner grew up so fast it forced Philly to go for it all bringing in fat bat Ryan Braun and the oh so consistent Jason Kipnis. The future still remains bright with Orlando Arcia and Carson Fulmer waiting in the wings so it appears the “City of Brotherly Love” will get an early Christmas present and still be able to keep from having to rebuild anytime soon.

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NL CENTRAL- The NL Central became a two man race last year as the defending champ Milwaukee Wallbangers slid into obscurity on the heels of injuries and pitching degradation. With STL still in rebuild mode, it opened the door for Chicago and Pittsburgh to throw all of their cards on the table. The acquiring of rental deals and the fruits of the rebuilds should prove to create a much more competitive NL Central in 2017.

PITTSBURGH- Which players haven’t my darling Sharktopus bought and sold this offseason? The list runs like memorial credits at the end of a cheesy Iron Eagle movie. I know there is someone out there who just cussed me because the first one was good. Yeah I get it. Look there were four of them. 1 for 4 isn’t even good in baseball. Anyways, we did manage to solidify most position players and create a roundabout 28M in cap. Not bad after eating Miggy’s monster deal. The draft was a bust due to selling out to keep up with Chicago but citizens in the PIT are still hopeful the future can rest on Tim Anderson and Tyler Chatwood. Yes I said Tyler Chatwood. Just like every other team, the hybrid horrors are setting their sights on the deep pitching available in the 2017 auction to solidify the rotation.

CHICAGO- The Pizzamakers grabbed a nice trade deadline bundle with Brandon Crawford and JD Martinez. Unfortunately it was a little too late and Chicago just missed the wild card and the rentals cost the chefs the majority of their draft. Both big investments are now back in the free agent pool, with over 60M, Chicago is definitely a frontrunner to resign their studs, not to mention anybody else’s studs as well. With all that money the Windy City will have no shortage of options to choose from for their rotation in order to put them back at the top of the division.

ST. LOUIS- The Lou remains in a steady rebuild. They bring in top pitching prospect Lucas Giolito and pair him up with possibly the most underrated arm in the draft Jharel Cotton. The Redbirds are doing it right by not taking on huge contracts, and have 36M to dabble in the market this winter as they wait for Jacoby Ellsbury to produce who resembles more of an albatross than a redbird at this point. This year may not be the year and with only another 7M coming off of their books next year it may be a wait and see proposition for St. Louis through no fault of their new owner. Hopefully the new waiver rules in effect next year can help rid the birds of some of their dead weight.

MILWAUKEE- After a tough season in Brewtown, the Wallbangers bounce back in the draft by powering up their infield. Signing Aledmys Diaz and Ryon Healy will add some immediate pop and bringing in the swift Cesar Hernandez helps to put some speed and defense with that power. Tanner Roark, who the Sharktopus have heavily courted to no avail, breathes new life into a once riddled rotation which always had Masahiro Tanaka a top it. I love that 1, 2 punch. The question will be whether or not 36M will be enough to plug the gaps in the field and still find a backend rotation. One thing is definitely for certain, the Wallbangers are in a much better position this year than they were at this time last year. With another 20M coming off of the books next year the pains of rebuild may have been more of a quick Band-Aid rip for Milwaukee. Band-Aid was always a weird word to me. Hmmm… BAND… AID... A band that aids I guess… not sure.

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NL West- The sleepy NL west features three teams that are in the middle of rebuilds and the reigning division champion who appears to have a stranglehold over the opposition. I see a lot of potential in this division within a year or two. At the moment, however, it appears to be another 66er Highway to hell for anyone opposing Arizona.

ARIZONA- We start with the division tyrant, Arizona 66ers. Or as their division rivals refer to them, the 666ers. They carried a beastly 105 win mark into the 2016 playoffs then promptly laid my Sharks to waste as the Puss struggled to get anything going against their amazing rotation. Remember when I said Boston got laid to waste that one year, and the old owner yelled at me and quit. Awww early Nostalgia. Fun Stuff. Anyways, unfortunately for the 66ers the run came at a cost as the trade for ace Matt Harvey, and subsequent injuries, resulted in a dry draft in the desert. But no matter, as Arizona definitely has an oasis of talent locked up, namely MadBum and Hendricks to pair with a slew of offensive talent. With 49M in rations and a readymade offense I don’t foresee the 66ers having any issues locking up this division and meeting my bloodthirsty Sharks in a first round rematch. Yeah I said it….

LOS ANGELES- Under new management, LA changed their name to the Angles and will find some trouble working past the 180 franchise pitcher Zack Greinke pulled. They do have some young hitting talent to work with, but the truth is the City of Angels will need some Angels and Angles…. whatever they can find in the outfield in order to run with the 66ers. With the large 3yr deals of Agone and Greinke chewing up their cap the new owner will have to take a wait and see approach and hope that Greinke can collect himself along with that 22M dollars.

SAN FRANCISCO- The NL West, no doubt, headlines the best named teams list. The Gloom added some nice infield depth in the draft with prospects Raul Mondesi Jr. and Cheslor Cuthbert. Offense hasn’t really been the issue in past years so we move onto the pitching staff. Conley is a great young piece and Mccullers, if healthy, could be the ace in Frisco, but outside of that San Francisco doesn’t have much to throw at the competition….. literally. With a year of seasoning and a solid 30M coming off of the books next year San Fran has a bright future, but with only 15M this year the Gloom may have trouble even covering their starts unless they can find some cheap SPs to cross the Golden Gate bridge.

SAN DIEGO- The last entry in the name game is the San Diego Naranjeros. Quick without looking… what are they? Times up. They are oranges….. Spanish ones I am pretty sure. The spicy oranges.. probably offensive somehow, sorry, have hands down my favorite pitching staff. I prove that fact every day by inundating the SD owner with emails trying to pry away Max Scherzer and John Lackey. Why would I ever be as idiotic to think a team could afford to move that kind of talent? Oh I am glad you asked. Because sitting on the bench next to them are the future aces Steve Matz, Julio Urias, and Tyler Glasnow. Holy Orange Julius Batman. The bullpen looks good to go with nice performances from Ty Blach and Blake Treinen. The problem is that there isn’t much hitting in the Bay Area. They have plenty of money for the future with a grand total of over 50M coming off of the books the next two years so it is definitely possible the Naranjeros could start competing as soon as this year.

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AL EAST- The AL East has become the premier American League division in recent history by sending both World Series contenders in the last two years. The carousel will probably continue to spin as the New York Yankees add their name to the contenders list alongside Tampa and Boston. Baltimore is making the moves to set the foundation but will probably need a year to gel it all together in what is probably the most competitive division.

TAMPA BAY- Overall, the bay area has been relatively quiet. Acquiring Devon Travis and Jay Bruce via trades with Pittsburgh and drafting potential outfield phenom Alberto Almora at a discount is a good start and it will be interesting to see how Tampa Bay ices the cake. The Renegades lose Zobrist to Free Agency and threw an underperforming Dee Gordon in the trash can….. not to say they won’t dig them back out since their mascot is a raccoon. 19M isn’t a whole lot of cap space going into the auction so dumpster diving may have to be the Tampa Bay specialty to acquire the pieces they need.

NEW YORK YANKEES- The upshot Yankees made the playoffs for the first time in Franchise History thanks to their new owner. Possibly the best draft in the AL produced a slew of young talent including Alex Bregman mixed in with a dominant bullpen. The Nostalgia League will be waiting with baited breath to see if some of last year’s free agent contracts catch up with the big spenders or if the Yanks are able to compensate with their new young talent. With only 13.7M in the bank one has to imagine that the Yankees won’t be able to make the same big splash they did in 2015, however they have many positions currently filled. I can see the Yankees already waving all 13M at their pitcher of the future. The question is who will it be? A nice young Cy Young winning Porcello or strikeout artist Corey Kluber?

BALTIMORE- The Hawks are putting some nice pieces in place with one of my personal favorites David Dahl. Add in Carlos Rodon and Joe Musgrove and the future could be as current as next season. The new owner has some work to do thanks to some financial misgivings of previous management, but he hit the ground running. I look for Baltimore to do what it takes to open up cap and supplement his young talent, but there may not be enough time this year in what shapes up to be a brutally tough division. If nothing else the Seahawks have hands down the prettiest logo in the league. Not to say the Seahawks don’t have a nice little nest egg this year with 36M. See how I did that? Nest egg…. Because they are birds…. Cool.

BOSTON- Boston has been very active in the young talent department acquiring Josh Bell, Junior Guerra, and Edwin Diaz through the draft. A little bit of everything to accommodate each department. The Brewmasters have been one of the most owner turnover laden teams, but have managed to keep away from long dangerous contracts. Unfortunately team captain, Andrew Mccutchen, dropped a big doo doo this year, but you have to think he will bounce back. Frazier, Polanco, Simmons, and Dozier offer a nice young offensive nucleus, but the Beermeisters will have to come across some front end starters with their 30M in free agency. Unfortunately, that just happens to be what every other team in the league is saying also so competition will be stiff. Did it again. You didn’t even notice that one. Stiff because alcoholic drinks are stiff… BOOM.

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AL CENTRAL- The AL Central could be the most wide open division….. ever. The Motor City brought home the division title pretty handedly last year, but after a very AL Central heavy draft it could be anyone’s ballgame this year.

DETROIT- The division champs spent most of their draft suring up a shaky bullpen with Matt Bowman and Ryan Dull. Unfortunately, that doesn’t bring much buzz about the future. What does bring buzz is pulling Nelly Cruz on a one year deal to put some balls in the seats this year and put a definitive stamp on the best outfield in the league that already included Bryce Harper and George Springer. Detroit will be bringing some insane offense to the field, but it is shaping up to have an active scoreboard as much hasn’t been done to mold a rotation. With only 26M in cap it doesn’t look Detroit will be fixing the rotation in free agency either. It is shaping up like a busy summer for the Detroit scorekeeper.

KANSAS CITY- Kansas City brings the polar opposite to the AL Central table. The reason Detroit may not be able to obtain any young arms is because KC is hoarding them. The Pidglets reeled in not one, but two rubber mound hogs in Alex Reyes and Blake Snell. Add that to Carlos Martinez and you have the makings of a well crafted future rotation, which the rats with wings will need. Rizzo and Machado offer some nice offense, but that’s about it. Well that is it on offense, unless we find Dr. Frankenstein to surgically bolt on Prince Fielder’s neck the KC offense will need lots of help. Seriously, KC and DET should reach out and touch each other. Not that way you pervs. People do still talk on the phone you know? There is also a lot of money in the bank in Mizzou so it is not out of the realm of possibility to fill all of those holes with a whopping 50M. The future definitely looks bright in the royal blue. I assume they still sport the blue unis in KC.

CLEVELAND- The Steamers were able to bring in a 30+ homerun hitting shortstop in the draft. How many teams can say that? They also brought in a nice young arm, Sean Manae which makes a very formidable rotation with stud horse Clayton Kershaw and Jonathan Gray. The offense is somewhat stuck in the middle as their young bats continue to turn in minimal returns. Schwarber, Soler and Starlin Castro are staring at a Cleveland Crossroad in which they need to start performing or start jumping in the fiery Cuyahoga. The offensive nucleus will still contain consistency in the form of Matt Kemp and Kyle Seager and there is plenty of young underperforming talent to keep the future looking bright. Unfortunately for Cleveland fans it may be a year away before Kershaw will be able to pull his weight in wins.

MINNESOTA- Doug has returned to Nostalgia, this time as a Minnesota Grey. I really wish someone would change that Pubey Beard looking thing for him. Nobody wants to walk right into that mess. Anyways, the offense and defense look sound with Yadi and Lindor leading the way. The Beards also focused on suring up a weak rotation with Kenta Maeda and Jameson Taillon. With a huge bank of over 60M and a deep free agent class, all of the pieces are in place for Minnesota to become extremely relevant once the 4 feet of snow melt from the winter meetings.

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AL West- The AL West has been ripening up and appears ready to strike this year. Houston took the division pretty handedly last year, but compared to other divisions the AL West has shown a ton of ownership consistency and I expect that loyalty to pay dividends this year.

HOUSTON- Houston put a 19 game stranglehold on their division with a massive 3B combo of Kris

Bryant and Josh Donaldson. With Donaldson entering free agency the rest of the division hopes things

are different this season. The Astros still have a good offensive nucleus with Cespedes and Bryant, but

didn’t add much outside of role player, Whit Merrifield during the draft. It will be tough for Houston to

repeat last year’s dominance on the pitching side also losing Estrada, Keuchel, Iwakuma, Leake…. need I go on? Unless their 37M can fill their holes or there is some strange math formula for addition by

subtraction that I am not aware of, Houston has some major work to do in order to walk all over their

division once again.

OAKLAND- There is a beautiful offense in Oakland. Altuve, Perez, Maybin, and a solid OF pickup of Tyler Naquin in the draft create a nice team friendly nucleus for the next few years. The same blight that has struck the league has infected the poor Gangrene as well. The epidemic of no solid pitching sweeps across Nostalgia, but the good news is that it creates a perfect environment for a deep free agency pool. Moneyball won’t fix Oakland’s rotation but money (38M) very well could. If placed right around Matt Moore in that rotation, like Scrooge Mcduck in his Mean Green Money Pit, I could see Oakland prying this wide open division from the jaws of the Astros.

TEXAS- The pitching is there and young to boot….chalk that up as a Texas reference. Lester, Wacha, and Taijuan Walker create the nucleus and the Usagis did a nice job spreading their draft around as Berrios, Moncada, and Gurriell add some fresh talent to the mix. Like a nice ceviche, the Texas offense will take some time to marinate. I honestly have no clue how you make ceviche, but I am guessing you have to soak it in lime juice or something. Despite the resurgence of Jose Reyes the offense still looks a little light hitting for this year. 38M is a decent sum of money, but it may be better for Texas to spread it around for the future instead of smacking an MVP 3B. Buuuuutttt Josh Donaldson could be lots of

fun.…. Wink. Did I mention this division is wide open?

SEATTLE- We wrap up this holiday edition with a true rags to riches story in Seattle. Seattle entered the draft with only a shade over 8M in cash, but by trading the contracts of Miggy and others, has

accumulated over 31M. Okay, so maybe it’s more like a rags to comfortable middle class story, but hey,

it still feels good. The Mariners have a vanilla, but serviceable offense in the form of Billy Hamilton,

Travis Shaw and Jonathan Schoop. It doesn’t look like much this year, but the Mariners have a

whopping 41M coming off of the books next year in what looks like a total free agency free for all. I

consider Seattle the frugal investors. Today 20$ a share in Snuggies and boom… next thing you know

they come out with those Mermaid blanket things and shares skyrocket to over 70M. I imagine this

division will be a toss-up for years to come and by next year every team in the division will be in the

running for a title.