2104 Final Standings:
2105 OOTP Predicted Standings:
After five seasons of the World Baseball Association the Latin American Division has won only a single Americas League pennant, that being Bogotá's triump in 2101. Either the defending WBA champion Los Angeles Stars or upstart Washington Senators will likely stand in any Latin American team's way this year, so let's look at each squad.
The
São Paulo Toucans are the favorites in the Latin American Division and most prognosticators have it not even as close as the OOTP engine predicts. The Toucans are led by the most fearsome offense in the league that boasts perhaps 4 of the top 10 hitters in the entire Americas League. And the news gets even worse for the rest of the division as only newly signed second baseman
Ralph Martin is more than 27 years old. The returning youngsters are all superstars in their own right: 21-year-old shortstop phenom
Carlos Vargas (who was just signed to a long-term extension), 26-year-old first baseman
António González, and 27-year-old centerfielder
Pio Seixas. All three of the younger stars are locked up through at least 2106, and with aging star
Aquilino Correa's contract expiring after this year, the Toucans look set up for a long stay at the top of the team offense leaderboard.
With all that talent and money tied up in their offense it shouldn't be too surprising that their pitching staff is below average in the Americas League, but it is still plenty talented to support their powerful offense.
Roberto Morales is a solid rotation anchor while talented
Luis Hernández is recently back from an elbow injury. After bouncing back and forth between the minors and the big league club,
Roberto Flores seems to have finally taken control of the closer's role.
Turnover was the theme of the 2104-05 offseason for the
Santo Domingo Palmchats as their starting lineup figures to see three new faces while their starting rotation will likely have two newcomers. Much like São Paulo above, the Palmchats are stronger on offense than on the mound.
John Pottle will continue to hold down the leadoff spot and second base in Santo Domingo while the front office hopes that recent free agent signing
Ataka Vasava will add some pop to the middle of the lineup. Young first baseman
Moritz Segaar was acquired in a trade with Karachi and has performed very well in spring training so far. He has likely won the starting position in his battle with offseason signing
Dimitrios Tsaregorodtsev. One other position to watch is catcher, as age has caught up with
Abdel Jolly this offseason and
Dai-lin Lee's spring injury happened just after last year's backup
Lubos Hiber was claimed off waivers by São Paulo. Santo Domingo may be forced to turn to prospect
Bambang Ananas sooner than they'd hoped.
Pitching and defense were a weak point for the Palmchats last season and unfortunately that looks like it will continue to be the case as the OOTP projections have them 9th out of 10 teams in the Americas League in runs allowed. The rotation is a hodgepodge of #3 caliber starters while the bullpen does bring some talent. By far the star of the staff is closer and hometown hero
Juan Barajas. Offseason signing
Seung-kab Park appears poised to move into the setup role while Palmchat fans are buzzing about the possible debut of young
Jesús Mercado. All in all Santo Domingo is positioned for a wild card push but their lack of a frontline starter makes a playoff run unlikely.
The
Rio de Janeiro Jaguars are predicted by OOTP to be in the thick of the wild card race with a well-balanced squad. Both their runs scored and runs allowed predictions are 5th in the league, with the defense tied for that position. On offense they will count once again on first baseman
Zé Vargas to provide the power and while his numbers have been declining since his ABL-record 48 home run season in 2101, Vargas still packs a punch.
Dave Chaulk is the predicted right field starter in Rio and should help Vargas in the middle of the lineup while observers are still waiting on
Cahyono Ananas to force his way into a starter's role. The left side of the infield and top of the lineup figure to be held down by plus-plus fielding third baseman
Ernesto Colón and young shortstop
Piero Folena.
On the mound the Jaguars will feature a fairly average rotation but a bullpen that nobody in the ABL will want to face in a close game.
Bob Turner and
Carlos Núñez will likely hold the first two spots in the rotation which like Santo Domingo's is a patchwork of mid-tier talent. But the bullpen is where Rio invested heavily and figures to see a tremendous payoff. The Jaguars splashed cash on superstar
Justin White and the talented
Mark Villa. Villa has had elbow concerns in the past but if he stays healthy it's unlikely anyone in the ABL can match the late-inning relief arms in Rio. A lead after 7 innings may feel like game over to Jaguar opponents. Look for that bullpen to keep them in the wild card race all season long.
While there was significant turnover elsewhere, the
Buenos Aires Dolphins stayed mostly stable coming off their 2104 Latin American Division championship. The one big free agent signing was on offense as they inked veteran third baseman
Vassily Yaitsky after he had previously declined his contract option, so even their big signing was not a newcomer. Overall the Dolphins roster is based on pitching and defense, which should tie in well with the new Dolphins Stadium that forecasts to be a pitchers park. Perhaps the best stick in the Buenos Aires lineup belongs to first baseman
Lopo Sobaran, who figures to bounce back from a slightly disappointing 2104 campaign offensively. Together with Yaitsky these two figure to provide most of the run production for the Dolphins.
The strength of the team is on the mound. While no free agents were brought in that shouldn't be a surprise with all the returning arms, including superstar
Clifford Mitchell. Mitchell signed an extension this offseason that will keep him in Buenos Aires through the 2110 season with a player option for 2111. Also returning is the defending ABL Pitcher of the Year
Daniel García. Most observers don't expect quite as strong a season from him this year as he yielded only a 0.282 BABIP last year, but even without such good fortune he is still good for a solid 4+ WAR per season. But the great Dolphin arms don't stop there with
Zeusef Longle also returning. In fact, while some of their division mates struggle to patch together rotations with mediocre talent, the Dolphins have three starters who would be the ace of those rotations.
Jim McCann looks slated to move into the closer's role for the first time in Buenos Aires, but he does have experience closing games having done so for Santo Domingo two years ago during Juan Barajas' short-lived sojourn to Paris. Look for the Dolphins to be in the thick of the playoff chase this year.
Under new ownership yet again, the
Bogotá Condors appear ready to start the rebuilding process as rumors persist that some of their veteran stars are on the trading block. Offensively the Condors are led by outfielders
Hal McBurnie and
Sergio Guillén. Bogotá lost veteran star Tommy Gommers to free agency and were inactive in the offseason market, leading to the conclusion that the rebuilding process has begun.
As for the pitching staff, they also lost Mark Villa but return staff stars
Gareth Pollock and
Andy Stone. Both Pollock and Stone have been mentioned in trade rumors, though, so they may not finish the year in Bogotá.
Ed Tozer and the recently reacquired
Zuleide Rainha appear set to lead the bullpen. Although in rebuilding mode the Condors don't appear bad enough to expect a Top 3 draft position, but if the 2106 draft is as stocked as the 2105 that may not matter. They look to be clearing payroll space and if Pollock and Stone find new homes that predicted record seems unlikely.
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