While my competitive nature is not pleased with a 75-87 third place season it actually validates some good growth for the optimist in me. The McSwan/Ramirez fiasco from a few seasons back is firmly in the rear view mirror and a somewhat wiser GM has emerged. Attendance increased from 30k to 40k a game. There is virtually no salary on the books. And the Mustangs appear to be going into the 2020 season with only three players that have seen their 30th birthday.
Catcher:
Despite combing through all available talent pools there really were not any options to upgrade catchers. From what I can tell the Mustangs are not alone in that assessment.
In 2020 the Mustangs will likely return to the R/L platooning Shane Bunch and Bob Genge at catcher. Both were pretty solid defensively.
Bunch's offensive numbers were fairly anemic but he did show a flare from the dramatic. No batting title is on the horizon here but the Mustangs hope he can keep coming through in the clutch.
Infield:
The true strength of the team.
At second base Sosa "Nuclear" Mizuno broke out big time with a 5.6 WAR. His development is still trending up. There is no reason to think his best seasons are not still to come.
Short stop Dayne "Cruel Shoes" Reagan is an absolute stud. He shattered the ABL single season record with 150 walks. That went a long way towards posting a beastly .445 OBP. He needs to mature on the base paths and pick and choose his spots. He definitely got picked off way too much. The fans can't help but love how he approaches the game though.
Switch hitting third baseman Mashashi "Sparky" Kogawa led the team with 123 RBIs. He was directly responsible for more than 1/6 of the teams runs.
First base was a revolving door. The 2020 plan is another R/L platoon situation featuring German Hernandez and Yasunobu Kanno. Hernandez came up in September and was the team leader with a .578 slugging percentage. He is all about the doubles.
Outfield:
Again the Mustangs seem to be dealing with issues most ABL GMs can relate to. This is a muddy pool of uncertainty that will require lots of analyzing in spring training to gain some clarity.
Left fielder Allan Jackson has been great in the minors and putrid in the majors. He really needs to step up and play up to his ratings. Especially since his right handed bat is a rarity in the Mustang's outfield options.
Center fielder Jim Richter first has to prove he can stay healthy and when healthy can contribute. His excellent defense, reasonable OBP and speed will probably make him the #1 option as a place holder until top prospect Elvis McNeil shows that he is ready to step in.
The best right field option may end up being Jeff Kent. Kent remains a team leader in batting average, OBP and stolen bases. He is the polar opposite of the clutch hitter though and compiles a lot of stats in garbage time. Despite solid numbers he has big negatives in VORP and WAR. Also an ugly 65 OPS+
Also in the murky waters are Alan Blanchard, Floyd Cross and Steve McDonald.
Rotation:
The Mustangs have a group of good but not great starters. Their strength is there is very little difference between number one and number five.
Cedric Leroux was a fantastic find in the rule 5 draft. He stepped in and provided the much needed left handed arm in the rotation. His 154 strikeouts led the team and he held his own as a rookie with nearly 60% quality starts.
Cliff Stevens spent the majority of the season on the DL but returned to start 8 games and had a 3.59 ERA.
Kevin Landry is probably the #1 guy now and Jose Ramos should be the ace pretty soon.
The final spot will be determined after spring training with cagey veteran Manual Ruiz battling waiver acquisition Luis Hiracheta.
Bullpen:
ABL save leader David "Slam" Reynolds was released this year after his continued decline that started the moment he inked his big payday contract. The decision was made easy due to the emergence of Leon King. Leon will tell you that it really is good to be the king. He was 12 of 13 in save situations down the stretch and compiled impressive stats. 1.18 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 58 Ks over 12 walks.
Setting up for the left handed King will be right handed Andy Smithey. Smithey can handle a large workload and is comfortable starting his set up duties in the seventh. He looked untouchable at times with his 1.64 ERA and 0.95 WHIP.
The rest of the bullpen will likely remain the same as they did lead the league in ERA in 2019. Front runners are Darryl Bradshaw, Pancho Vargas, Woody Williams and Greg Rose. If it's not broke don't fix it.
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