NL South Preview

Charleston Chiefs

New owner tjeman takes control over what was the Huntington Double Wides and moves them to Charleston. Season 4 saw the franchise make it to the playoffs for the third time, second time winning the division. They feel in the Division Championship game to the Scranton SweetSwing'nSeason. They only signed three free agents to the major league club but signed 24 players to bolster the minor league system. (3B) Orlando Molina with his 25 HR and (SP) Justin Jensen with his 13-9 record last year, resigned once they filed for free agency. The other signing was relieve pitcher Don Swift to a one year, 3.4m contract, as he can pitch anywhere in the bullpen. The only significant lose for the Chiefs was (CF) Edgar Ordonez who signed with the Huntington Blazers.

The Chiefs pitching staff hope to improve there numbers inside there new ballpark in Charleston. The staff allowed 832 runs which was 10th in the National League. Don Morgan will probably continue to be the workhorse for this team as he led the team with 283.1 innings pitch but needs to improve 13-18 record and 4.22 ERA from last year to be worth the 15.5m salary this year. Vance McDonald was the staff ace coming off his best year going 22-3, 2.34ERA, with 217 SO in only 227 IP. Last year the Chiefs played musical closers with just about everyone in the bullpen and hopefully this year they can find the consistent closer this year.

The Chiefs offense was outstanding last season, scoring 917 runs. The offense was led by All-stars 2B Edgar Cornejo, whose 1.017 OPS and 37 HRs balanced his double play partner SS Edgardo Ortiz with his .403 OBP. Catcher Larry Charleston will be behind the plate for his second season and hoping to reproduce his .310 batting average and 38 homeruns. The outfield has a good mixture of speed and power with Ryan Cox providing the speed, Miguel Nunez for the power and Magglio Elcano a good combination of both. Barring any major injuries this year, the offensive is expected to dominate the NL once again.


Charlotte Knights

The Charlotte Knights came within 4 games last year of winning the division. They are the youngest team in the division with an average age of 26.7 with only to players on the major league roster over thirty but they are in a great position to finally take the division title for the first time in team history. The Knights didn’t pick up anyone from the free-agent market and really didn’t lose anyone either. The Knights pick up the third overall draft pick from last season Lorenzo Feliz in trading pitchers Turner Venafro, Junior Yamamoto, Juan Estrada.

The Knights pitching staff was the best in the division. The staff allowed 760 runs which was 5th in the National League. Closer Einar Olivares had a career high 39 saves but also blew 15 saves as well. Henry Nathan it going to be looked at to lead the young rotation, as he had a great year with an ERA of 3.12 and a WHIP of 1.07, but could only get 9 wins. The rest of the rotation is going to be young but it will also be good.

The Knights offense was in par with the pitching staff, producing 832 runs, that was good for 5 in the NL as well. All-star (RF) Timothy Stokes was having a great year until an ankle injury slowed him down towards the end of the season. Up until that point he was hitting .357 with a .997 OPS. Stokes wasn’t the only star on the offensive with (2B) Vladimir Valentin, (CF) Dario Newfield, (LF) Phil File and (3B) Lorenzo Park becoming a killer knight’s row. They combined for 145 HR, 454 RBI and 378 Runs. (C) Chad Patterson was the favorite target of the pitching staff, as he didn’t make an error all season, with only 6 pass balls, while nailing 30% of all base stealers. His average was barely above the Mendoza line at .203 but he did 26 homeruns, with 54 RBI’s.


Jacksonville Hurricanes

The Hurricanes came in last place for the second straight year, so new owner playboy33 move the team away from Durham to find better luck in Jacksonville. The Hurricanes where tired of losing, so they reach out into the free-agent market and address there biggest concerns of offensive and starting pitching by picking up seven players, also getting three players in the rule 5 draft and picking another in a trade. (OF) Gus Martin was acquired in a trade with Philadelphia Phightins for two prospects Dan Douglass and Ivan Mercado. They also acquired (OF) Warren Richardson, (OF) Roger McCarty, (OF) David Yamakazi, (P) Cory Kraemer, (P) Clay Adams, (P) Geronimo Valdes and (P) Winston Williams, spending almost 85m on them. (P) Andrew Cooper, (P) Carl Kirk and (P) Malcolm McKay where picked up from the rule 5 draft. The GM was quoted as saying “it was time to reestablish the talent of the Hurricanes and to get back to our winning ways and through free agency, we have done that.”

The Hurricanes pitching staff always seemed out of place last year, finishing 14th in runs allowed with 879 runs. Closer Elroy Cogan became an all-star, but he was the only bright for the pitching staff, but his 8 blown saves and 5.24 ERA are a real concern for the team. The free-agent signings for Kraemer, Adams and Valdes each had solid years but are expected to improve and provide that much needed constancy in the rotation. Ben Roosevelt will anchor the rotation with his 9 wins and 1.26 WHIP, but will need to improve his 4.6 innings average per start last year. If bullpen can remain steady all year round the pitching should improve for the Hurricanes and lead them to a .500 season.

The Hurricanes offensive struggle all year, finishing 13th with 766 runs scored. The additions of utility man Martin (38 homeruns, 126 RBI), Richardson (55 homeruns, .984 OPS and .303 Ave), McCarty (.301 AVE, .367 OBP) and pinch-hitter Yamakazi (.321 AVE, 22 SB) will give the offensive much needed production. All-Star (3B) Artie Spence is looking to have big year with the newly added talent around him and improve upon his .391 OBP and 99 runs scored. The middle infield of (SS) Marino Aramboles and (2B) Miguel Reynoso won’t scare anyone with there numbers but they will once again be solid and with another year playing next to each other they should make a solid double-play combination.


Huntington Blazers

The Blazers fell from division champions to third place last year. New owner Will9899 moved the team from St. Louis to Huntington to fill the void left by the Double Wides. The Blazers was almost silent during the off season, only adding two players. The Blazers seem to be rely on the in house talent this year to get them back to being champions once again. One of the new players added was (OF) Edgar Ordonez who’s career .376 OBP should help. The other player is (P) Haywood Brewer who is hoping that a change from Las Vegas will help his 6.53 ERA from last year.

The Blazers pitching staff was average last year, finishing 7th in the league with 765 runs allowed. This year the Blazers seem to be rely on young talent to fill there staff, as Rafael Torres and Johnny Linden saw any significant time starting games last year. Veteran Ken Beltre, rookie Casey Timlin and young pitchers Alfonso Romero and Milt Greene are looking to fill the rest of the starting spots. The bullpen is young with only two players over 30 years old and real no closer as the beginning of the year. The biggest affect on the pitching staff is if they can keep teams from killing the score board the hitter friendly ballpark in Huntington.

The Blazers offensive struggle in St. Louis and there hoping the move Huntington will bring some life into it, as they finish with only 773 runs scored, which was good for only 12th. (1B) Mac Hyun provided the power 38 homeruns and 105 RBI’s as he was the only player to do so for the team. No one else hit more then 28 homeruns, 87 RBI’s and 87 runs scored. With the lineup filled with players in there early 30’s, (3B) Carlos Trinidad and (OF) Benito Polanco are looking to bring young hope the lineup and improve from last year. (C) Pat Montgomery is hoping that his 35 year old knees will hold up and he’s expected to bring along the young pitching staff and give young (C) Richard Matthews one more year to develop under his wing.


Predictions

Charleston Chiefs, 92-70 Wins.
Charlotte Knights, 84-78 Wins.
Huntington Blazers, 84-78 Wins.
Jacksonville Hurricanes, 81-81 Wins