The Grand Experiment Continues

Apparently having a super pitcher friendly ball park and fielding a team to succeed in it is harder than it first might appear.  Mustangs management are taking last years disastrous season as a learning experience and moving on.  A flurry of trades have given the team a complete makeover both financially and on the field.

Finances got destroyed last year and the owner rightfully put the kibosh on that crap by yanking 26 million out of the budget.  That is going to take awhile to rebuild but the ship got pointed quickly back in the right direction by sending DH Eric McSwan and his $23 million salary to Minnesota along with starting pitcher Scott Wilson.  Wilson will be sorely missed but it was worth the price to get back into the black.  This was truly a deal that should be good for both teams.  Expect McSwan to flourish away from the deep Mile High fences.

The Mustangs completed terms on 7 other trades.  (9 if you include the Delhaye and McCreary moves just before the trade deadline last season).  Several players were not extended arbitration offers or were outright released.  Also, the Mustangs were pretty active in the Rule V draft and were able to find three players they hope can be major contributors right now.  The 2018 opening day Mustangs barely resemble the group that took the field opening day just a season ago.  Mashashi Kogawa stands as the one and only player that was in the starting lineup up 365 days ago.  That's right, the Mustangs lineup features 8 new batters from a year ago.

Infield

2B Sosa Mizuno got himself injured in the preseason so we won't get to see the Mustangs top prospect in action for a month or two.  Heydar Botsvade had a pretty solid season last year and will fill in in the interim.  At short stop, Thomas Blanchard will get the starting nod.  Mustangs found him in the Rule V draft.  His strong defensive capabilities make him a nice fit.  23 year old Hiroya Aoki was obtained from the Bombers and will start at 3B.  Rounding out the group is previously mentioned Mashashi Kogawa at 1B.  Francisco Morales will stick around as the utility guy.

Outfield

CF Jim Richter was selected in the second round of the 2013 draft.  Expectations were sky high for this speedster to replace Eric Flash Black after his CEI.  His development has been slow and he does not appear to be the super star Flash was turning into.  But his speed and defense look pretty great and he'll suffice nicely.  Time will tell if he will ever develop the OBP consistency he needs to be a viable lead off guy though. In LF we will see a ton of Jeff Kent who joined the roster as a piece of the Delhaye trade last year.  This is a downgrade in batting prowess but an upgrade in defense and speed.  In right field we'll use Harold Poole.  He led the Mustangs last season with a .278 batting average and can cover a ton of ground in the field.  Raymundo Gaias and Alan Blanchard will complete the unit and sub in where needed.

Catchers

For the first six seasons the Mustangs featured two amazing defensive catchers almost exclusively.  Neither were invited back to training camp this year.  25 year old Shane Bunch has been progressing through the minor leagues and is ready to be the main guy.  Orlando Hernandez will handle the LHP side of the platoon.  He is a home grown Mustang as well.  Both catchers are previous 6th round Mustang picks.

Starting Pitchers

Kevin Landry, Cliff Stevens and Manuel Ruiz all return from last years rotation.  The hope is that a better defense behind them and improved strategy settings will help them regain pre 2017 form.  Masahide Memoto was added via Rule V.  He had a shaky spring and a shaky history.  He gets a shot because the rotation desperately needs a lefty.  Fifth starter duties will be filled by Arturo Gonzalez, a 2017 waiver find.

Bullpen

Closer David Reynolds is stuck on the roster for contractual reasons.  He'll get first dibs at the closer role but is on a short leash.  Eagerly awaited Andy Smithey finally is breaking into the majors.  We love the 26 year old as a set up guy.  We are also excited about the third of the Rule V finds, Pancho Vargas providing left handed relief.  Leon King excelled last season as a specialist against lefties.  His role gets expanded.   Finally Marty Garrison and Colby Hoffman will hold down the fort until better options become available.

So that's your Mustang run down.  Detractors claim that the ball park is the biggest disadvantage.  We are still not ready to bail on the idea of making it our biggest advantage.  A bunch of brand new faces and completely updated strategy settings guarantee one thing.  If we are going to suck again, we are going to suck in a completely new way.

Go Mustangs.

2017 Report

Infield

The Mile High infield faced much instability and never really got settled into a groove.  For five years you could count on Callum Ritchie at short and super star Jeff Wade at second.  The loss of Wade to free agency was certainly felt and Ritchie finally got himself benched at the all star break.  It looks like the Mustangs won't exercise Ritchie's team option marking the end of an era.

One of the few bright spots for the season was Mashashi Kogawa's play at first base.  He was the only Mustang with 600 at bats and led the team with 90 RBI.  Previous unanimous vote all star Francisco Morales had a disappointing year as he bounced around between all infield positions and never really got comfortable.  Heydar Botsvade and Randy Bingham battled back and forth for playing time.  It is yet to be determined if either can be a long term option.

Watch out for stud 2B prospect Sosa Mizuno to break through and be an impact player in the next couple of years.

Outfield

Lots of experimenting happened in the outfield as well.  24 year old Harold Poole was another bright spot.  He put in time in all three outfield positions and ended up with a positive zone rating everywhere.  He also managed a .278 batting average which is like .380 if you are not a Mustang.  Long awaited Jim Richter finally made his major league debut with marginal success.  If nothing else his speed and defense should keep him around.  Jeff Kent who was obtained in the Tim McCreary trade looks like a good asset as well.  Josuke Sato has proved to be more of a DH on a team that doesn't need another one.  His future as a Mustang is in jeopardy.

Watch out for stud prospects Manuel Aguilar, Tetsuo Chikuda and Mitch Wolf.

Catcher

Defensive studs Len Brewer and Randy Gibson have seen the lions share of the playing time over the first 6 seasons.  Neither are likely to be a part of the organization next season.  25 year old Shane Bunch broke into the majors this season and looks like he might know which end of the bat to hold on to.  He is not quite as good at stopping the ball but trying to run on him is still pretty risky.  Orlando Hernandez is likely to get the starting nod.  He has been screaming for playing time for a couple of years and next season will get his chance.

Starting Pitchers

The Mustang starters ranked 9th in the TML with an ugly 5.13 ERA.  A good chunk of the problems may be chalked up to a young GM that is still learning the ins and outs of the system.  At least four members of the rotation should return in the hopes that better coaching decisions result in improved performance.  Manuel Ruiz, Scott Wilson, Cliff Stevens and Kevin Landry have all been given a free pass on a forgettable season.

Bullpen

Contracts will force the Mustangs hand and keep David Reynolds and Joe Russell around.  Young stud Leon King was the third of three bright spots in the 2017 season.  We'll be happy to keep him around.  The rest is too be determined at the moment.

The pressure is really on now with the Tornadoes winning it all.  How long does it take to go worst to first?  I like our chances in 2020.  Here come the Mustangs!