Santo Domingo 2104-05 Offseason News

[Huckleberry]

After a disappointing conclusion to the 2104 season that saw the Palmchat blow the division lead late in the year, they head into the offseason with a lot of question marks.  Some prognosticators are already calling it a rebuild but sources inside the front office indicate they will be trying to cobble together a playoff contender in the 2105 season.  Positional breakdowns at the major league as well as minor league levels to follow.

[Huckleberry]

Starting Pitching

Staff leader Tyler Newman returns after posting a 13-11 mark with a 3.93 ERA in 2104.  Although a solid starter, the fact that Newman is the Santo Domingo #1 reflects some of the issues they've had recently as they finished 8th out of 10 teams in starter ERA last year.

Last year's team leader in ERA, Fernando Cuevas, left for free agency.  Cuevas has been an up-and-down performer so the Palmchats felt they had to let him walk given upcoming budget constraints.  Veteran Martin Hendrickson returns and will likely assume the #2 slot in the rotation pending free agent acquisitions.  Former #1 overall draft pick Román López will once again be a middle or back-end option as his control looks like it will never develop.  William Tucker will battle to hold down a rotation spot, which will depend on prospect development and his ability to keep the ball in the park (something Hendrickson also struggles with).

Minor Leagues

At the end of the 2104 season the Palmchats considered their minor league starter prospects the strength of their organization.  Around one month into the offseason, though, many of those arms are now gone after three trades early in the offseason.  Offensive concerns after the free agency departures of Tadanobu Suzuki and Sasha Matyushenko led to the deals.

Considered by some to be their #2 SP prospect, Dhrtatman Nageshwar was dealt along with Casimiro de Almeida to the IBL's Black Forest in exchange for LF/MR prospect Cheslav Zamorov.  Nageshwar figured to be a rotation option late in 2105 and a shoo-in for a slot in the 2106 staff.  de Almeida, on the other hand, was bouncing between the AAA and major league level and was considered expendable despite some opinions that he still had room to develop.

Abhramu Manyam was also dealt, heading to IBL's Karachi in exchange for major league 1B Moritz Segaar.  Promising youngsters Alberto Guzmán and Sandy Romero were dealt to London for Dimitrios Tsaregorodtsev and Ottaviano Baroncelli.

After all the wheeling and dealing, the #1 SP prospect is still in the system but the depth is gone.  After him the ceiling for the rest appears to be back-end of the rotation if everything goes well.  Most experts believe the Palmchats will need to address this in the upcoming draft.  Rankings of the remaining prospects:

• Damon von Vormann
• Corbin Carlisle
• Lorenzo Sánchez
• Miguel Rivera
• Botol Soteiro

[squaredrive]

nice summary huck! good read.

[Huckleberry]

Relief Pitching

The bullpen will once again be anchored by hometown hero Juan Barajas who incredibly led the team in wins last year out of the closer role.  Barajas' 14 wins were good for 6th in the ABL while he also finished 3rd in the league in saves. Rumors of experimenting with Barajas as a starter have started to leak out of the Palmchat organization, but this would likely only be a short-term issue while the rotation is solidified.  Barajas has two outstanding pitches, but they are still only two pitches.

After Barajas, Huai-yu Chien was the only above average bullpen arm for the club in 2104 and he was rewarded with a $1M extension for 2105.  Dasaketu Koppola was adequate but is clearly on the downside of his career.  Claudio Casillas and Barry Myers essentially kept bullpen seats warm as the organization groomed minor league pitching talent and both are on notice that their roles must be earned in spring training.

Minor Leagues

The previously mentioned trade spree depleted the organization's arms, however there are still some talented guys in the system.  Jesús Mercado is the top relief prospect and figures to get a chance to earn a major league roster spot this upcoming spring.  #2 Matias Alavedra is working as a starter in the minors but will likely work out of the bullpen at the big league level.  The same holds true for #3 prospect Pat Hardy.

• Jesús Mercado
• Matias Alavedra
• Pat Hardy
• Mohamed Berisha
• Pablo Martínez

[Huckleberry]

Catchers

A former ABL Player of the Year, starting catcher Abdel Jolly is now an extreme liability behind the plate. He still provides an above average plate presence overall, though, thanks to a good on base percentage.  Local sports talk personalities and fans have started calling for Jolly to rest more often in the 2105 season, but his contract will still hamper the payroll through 2106.

Compared to Jolly, backup catcher Lubos Hilber looks like a defensive wizard but his skills are truly only about average.  He also offers nothing at the plate, so his position may be under threat in the upcoming year.

Minor Leagues

22-year old prospect Bambang Ananas  was acquired from Paris in a trade during the 2103 season and has worked his way up to AAA Santiago.  While only an average defender like Hilber, Ananas' bat shows very good power potential and a good start to this season could see him called up to platoon with Jolly at some point in 2105.

After Ananas, though, the position is very weak in the Santo Domingo system.  Only Sergio Lima seems to have even serviceable big league potential so this position will likely have to be addressed in the upcoming draft.

• Bambang Ananas
• Sergio Lima
• Rafael Féliz
• Emilio Castro
• Tim Yates

[Huckleberry]

Infielders

John Pottle is the face of the Santo Domingo franchise and is signed through 2107 at $10M per.  His production slipped a bit last season, though, and scouts also indicate that his skills seem to have taken a step back.  The first and only member to date of the World Baseball Association's 1,000 hit club is still a solid talent.

Shortstop Mike Spears is transitioning from prospect to veteran and offers a competent bat to go with above average defensive skills.  Spears was drafted as a centerfielder but made the position switch after his first major league season.  His experience in centerfield allowed him to help the Palmchats there when their starter was injured last season.  He will be on a league minimum salary through the 2106 season.  Santo Domingo brought in José Estrada to push Spears this season but regardless of how that shakes out both players should be on the major league roster.

Felipe Escalón is a lock to hold down third base again this season for the Palmchats.  Escalón's production took a step down in 2104 but he continues to produce at a rate higher than the scouts predict both at the plate as well as in the field.

First base was an interesting storyline for Santo Domingo in the offseason.  The loss of three-year starter Sasha Matyushenko to free agency seemed to have panicked the Palmchat front office a bit as they traded for both Moritz Segaar and Dimitrios Tsaregorodtsev on the same day.  The spring training battle between these two will definitely be one to watch.

If Santo Domingo keeps 7 infielders on the roster again this year as they opened last season look for the final spot to be a battle between utility players Ted Davis and Eliseu Utra.

Minor Leagues

While there are a couple of decent prospects the infield also lacks for depth in the Santo Domingo system.  The front office seems committed to trying to give John Pottle every shot at a title but if and when they throw in the towel or the finances make it necessary, the rebuild may be long and difficult.

• Henri Mercier
• Jesús Marín
• Matilde Dinares
• Andreas Morken
• Dan Powell

[Huckleberry]

Outfielders

The outfield is a bit of a weak spot for the Palmchats and Tadanobu Suzuki's free agency departure hasn't helped matters after he provided excellent bargain production for two years.  There have been whispers that the Santo Domingo front office may be trying to bring him back, in fact, as he is still unsigned.

Centerfielder Will Jones is the headliner in the outfield and is a defensive star, saving over 21 runs in only 106 games defensively last season.  His bat is streaky, though, and he has battled injuries both of the last two seasons.  He has yet to reach 110 games played and all eyes will be on his health this year.

Speaking of injuries, last offseason's signing Mehdi Khalfan was supposed to hold down the right field spot in 2104 but missed most of the year with an elbow injury.  At 31 years old he may see some competition for playing time this year.  This season's outfield signing, Ataka Vasava, joins Khalfan and Jones to round out the predicted starting group.  Vasava brings championship experience after five years with the IBL's Singapore Merlions.

The Palmchats will typically carry five outfielders on their major league roster, although utility men such as infielder Ted Davis could take the fifth outfielder slot.  At press time the favorites to take the two roster spots are Sancho Cervantes and recently acquired Ottaviano Baroncelli.

Minor Leagues

Draft results were not available by press time, so below are the top outfield prospects in the organization prior to those selections:

• Cheslav Zamorov
• Pablo Gonzáles
• Alejandro Piña
• Rhett Koch
• Steven Campbell

[Huckleberry]

Key Free Agent Signings (chronological order):

RP Seung-kab Park - Projected to be the setup man for Barajas
SP Luis Vázquez - Will be a top half of the rotation starter
LF Ataka Vasava - Slated in the starting lineup
RP Arvi Tuomainen - Should be in the major league bullpen
SS José Estrada - Figures to get plenty of playing time between SS and 3B
SP Juan Amador - Will be in the rotation

[Huckleberry]

Draft Recap:

The Palmchats had the 5th pick in the ABL draft and with no draft pick trades involving this year's selections here are their picks in order.

• SP Bob Pérez  - Talented two-way prospect, development will determine whether he's a SP or an outfielder
• SP Ignacio Rivera  - Taking a chance on a hometown prospect here, great stuff but control is not top-tier, got burned before by Román López
• CF Pedro Gómez  - Very good bat potential, may move to a corner outfield spot if Will Jones can stay healthy
• LF Tomás Salinas  - Plus hitter, glove is a negative and will likely move to 1B
• CL Mike Myers  - Internally rated as the top true relief prospect in the draft
• C Juan Luis Rodríguez  - Catcher getting thin in the system, unfortunately in a weak draft for them
• SS Christovão Neri  - Plus fielding skills in both the infield and outfield
• SP Carlos Flores
• 1B Wilfred Lowe
• SS Phil Mathews
• CF Gonzalo Hernández
• CF Daniel Herrera
• CF Héctor Quiñones
• RF Paul Greer
• SS Rodrigo Pacheco
• 1B Felipe Rodríguez
• 2B Pancho Hernández
• CF Pedro Lara
• SP Liberio Carvoeiro
• SP Tony Jiménez