Conference: Liberty
Division: North
2009 Record: 82-80, 3rd Place
Typical Lineup:
1B Lyle Overbay
2B Dan Uggla
SS Christian Guzman/Everth Cabrera
3B Casey Blake/Casey McGehee
LF Carl Crawford
CF Shane Victorino
RF Shin-Soo Choo
C Brian McCann/Bengie Molina
DH Luke Scott
Solid around the field with no obvious holes other than SS. The catching duo is top-notch, and the outfield defense is fantastic. The infield defense is weak other than Overbay.
Starting Rotation:
Jair Jurrjens
Chris Carpenter
Paul Maholm
Brian Bannister
Tommie Hunter/Koji Uehara
The top two are outstanding, but then there is a precipitous drop off. Hunter and Uehara combine for a decent 5th starter. There are a bunch of other options not mentioned, but none of them are particularly good.
Bullpen:
Jason Frasor
Jason Bulger
Hideki Okajima
Brandon League
Matt Capps
The two Jasons and Okijima are good, but again, a big drop-off after that.
Closer:
David Aardsma
Aardsma has emerged as one of the game's top closers, and will greatly help the Shooters in close games.
Minors:
J.P. Arencibia
Philippe Aumont
Adeiny Hechevarria
Scott Sizemore
The Cuban defector Hechevarria may have solved the Shooters SS problems after he signed a hefty deal with the Blue Jays. Arencibia looks like a good catching prospect, and Sizemore will start at 2B for the Tigers. Aumont may be several years away, but he has potential. It's not a huge prospect list, but it fills some holes.
The Shooters have a good all-around offense, two great starting pitchers, and a great closer. This should all add up a to a winning season, but not a championship. They have a shot at winning the division and should at least grab a wild card. It will be difficult to beat the very tough OshKosh squad to get to the World Series though.
Predicted Record: 91-71
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