IBC

The long awaited second installment is finally here. Going to add a few more bells and whistles from here on in to make up for my slowness, hoping that it will still be IBC Spring Training when I finish...

Brewers

Strengths
Strasburg and Cueto is as good a 1-2 punch as anyone in the league will have. Ben looks to have made the right move not letting anyone (not even me!) have Strasburg post TJ, and is being rewarded for it now. There's some more nice depth in the rotation: I'm an AJ Griffin fan and I think that he'll keep being a solid contributor in Oakland for the next while, and Franklin Morales is a really nice lottery ticket if he can ever stay healthy.

Weaknesses
Don't see much hope for this lineup. Prado would look nice in the 7th hole of a lineup for a contending team (FYI my 7th place hitter and 3B is going to be Dan Descalso), but if he's the best hitter in your lineup and you have to go up against JP however many times a year that's a problem. I see upside for Rosario and Escobar is a nice "set it and forget it" type player who can hold the spot for the next 5 years, but we need to see more ceiling.

Bottom Line
Ben really lucked out having the ability to draft Strasburg. Very few teams ever get a chance at talent like that. He's shown a really nice ability to put a pitching staff together, now let's see if he can build the lineup to match it.

Cardinals

Strengths
Whither Joey Votto? I still haven't forgiven Aaron and Nick for that trade. This is a team that's definitely in rebuilding mode and doesn't quite have a cornerstone player yet. Karma?

Weaknesses
I kid because I love. I suppose the weaknesses are also strengths if the team is in rebuilding mode and hoping to end up in Mark Appel range next January. Not much to say here

Bottom Line
An interesting mix of high end prospects sitting in the system. I like Tavarez, Skaggs, Yelich, and Gausmann as potentially a future core, I'm less into some bust looking guys like Turner, Sale, and Cox, and who knows about Walker and Starling, they could be cool. Check back in 2015!

Cubs

Strengths
Serious star power with Kershaw. I hate Kershaw very much, but gotta respect his talent in a Jeter (swallows) kind of way. Cespedes, Andrus, and Perez are going to be among the best players in baseball at their positions for awhile, and Gio makes a nice #2 behind Kershaw.

Weaknesses
Did you all know that Gabe doesn't like prospects? This had hurt the depth of his team pretty dramatically because those prospects are how you fill the depth out on your team. Gabe has love for names that probably aren't as valuable as they are famous anymore like Howard, Uggla, and K-Rod, plus it looks like he'll be stuck holding the bag on Dellin Betances

Bottom Line
There's more talent here than I expected, Gabe is doing the best he can with handicap he's given himself on the prospect side. I expect improvement from last year.

Pirates

Strengths
Offense. Trout+Kemp+Longo+etc. Yeesh. The pen is also sneaky good.

Weaknesses
Rotation depth isn't great. I feel like Greinke is primed for a fall (though he's probably a better bet than Lincecum who he was traded for much as I hate to say it), and after Iwakuma who knows who's going to pitch and if they're any good.

Bottom Line
Fuck you JP, Fuck you (you might remember this as my last word for JB in the first arbitrary spring training preview. It's appearance here signifies that I think JP has now passed JB for most fucked up team in the league)

Reds

Strengths
That is quite a bullpen you have there Ken. Kimbrel has replaced Sergio Romo in Zips' eyes as the greatest pitcher in all the land. Add in Sean Marshall from the left side and depth the rest of the way this is clearly his strongest unit (too bad WAR doesn't care so much about it). In the field this team is all about speed, with Billy "Usain" Hamilton and Brett Gardner both threats to lead the league and Brandon Phillips has potential to be a plus there too.

Weaknesses
Jason Hammel and Matt Harrison are the only real starters. Thanks to my park I know that I can win without real starters, but in this division and this park (which Pete Rose just described as a "joke" to pitch in), uh oh. Also, Trumbo is the only hitter in the lineup projected to a triple digit OPS+, so this team will have to be all about speed, defense, and Kimbrel.

Bottom Line
Last year was a big disappointment for Ken, but right now this team looks like it's fighting to stay in the middle of the pack. Will Ken's reputation for sim magic save him?

Ranking Projection

1. Pirates
2. Cubs
3. Reds
4. Brewers
5. Cardinals

Up next: NL East

Whither Joey Votto? I still haven't forgiven Aaron and Nick for that trade. This is a team that's definitely in rebuilding mode and doesn't quite have a cornerstone player yet. Karma?

Why, were you trying to get him from me? Don't quite remember...

He got Freddie Freeman in the deal!

If Motte needs TJ, JP's pen looks a little light for a contending team. Next 6 guys average 100 ERA+. Average MLB RP is 108+.

Phillies wrote:Whither Joey Votto? I still haven't forgiven Aaron and Nick for that trade. This is a team that's definitely in rebuilding mode and doesn't quite have a cornerstone player yet. Karma?

Why, were you trying to get him from me? Don't quite remember...

Hated that trade then, still hate it now. For those who don't remember, the trade (from October of 2010) was

Cardinals get: Joey Votto, Tim Hudson, Joe Blanton, Andres Torres
Phillies get: Freeman, Lonnie Chisenhall, Jhoulys Chacin, Matt Hobgood, Jordan Lyles, and Brendan Ryan

Again, add these guys all up 2 years later and they didn't equal Votto, let alone Hudson who gave two more years of solid SP work.

When BA released their top 100 Freeman was #17 and Chisenhall was #25. Votto, who was 25 years old at the time, was the 5th best hitter in baseball by WAR, that's the majors by the way, not the minors. There just wasn't enough ceiling in that trade to justify giving up Votto, not even close, and I'm a prospect lover saying that.

I'll stop here and not talk about how much Hobgood sucked or anything else. Forgive the screed, but if we can't get ludicrously angry about fake baseball trades from two and a half years ago then the terrorists have won!

I would've so over payed for Votto then.... likely still would.

RedSox wrote:If Motte needs TJ, JP's pen looks a little light for a contending team. Next 6 guys average 100 ERA+. Average MLB RP is 108+.

eh. I'll be ok.

Athletics wrote:

Phillies wrote:Whither Joey Votto? I still haven't forgiven Aaron and Nick for that trade. This is a team that's definitely in rebuilding mode and doesn't quite have a cornerstone player yet. Karma?

Why, were you trying to get him from me? Don't quite remember...

Hated that trade then, still hate it now. For those who don't remember, the trade (from October of 2010) was

Cardinals get: Joey Votto, Tim Hudson, Joe Blanton, Andres Torres
Phillies get: Freeman, Lonnie Chisenhall, Jhoulys Chacin, Matt Hobgood, Jordan Lyles, and Brendan Ryan

Again, add these guys all up 2 years later and they didn't equal Votto, let alone Hudson who gave two more years of solid SP work.

When BA released their top 100 Freeman was #17 and Chisenhall was #25. Votto, who was 25 years old at the time, was the 5th best hitter in baseball by WAR, that's the majors by the way, not the minors. There just wasn't enough ceiling in that trade to justify giving up Votto, not even close, and I'm a prospect lover saying that.

I'll stop here and not talk about how much Hobgood sucked or anything else. Forgive the screed, but if we can't get ludicrously angry about fake baseball trades from two and a half years ago then the terrorists have won!

Looking back, yea my return was light. But I thought Lyles would be much better than this by now. Still only 22 and I still have high hopes for him. Flipped Chisenhall for Lowrie who is hitting everything right now. Obviously Freddie Freeman has worked out for me (still only 23). Chacin didnt stay long.

Chacin turned into Dom Brown. Dom Brown turned into 1st overall pick. 1st overall pick and Rasmus turned into Bauer and Jennings. Jennings turned into Arenado. Bauer headlined a deal for Austin Jackson. Austin Jackson helped me get McCutchen.

Still, looking back I should've got more in return. But that's what happens when you rebuild. You get anstsy and you pull the trigger too quickly. Still can't complain about having Freddie Freeman being the best of what I got out of that deal.

Dex Fowler looks pretty good with an AV rating in CF, but otherwise I agree my lineup stinks. Don't sleep on my Padre hitters though.