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.
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