Season 18 - Preseason Power Rankings

Season 18 is about to kick off, so it's time to check in with the preseason power rankings!   Claiming the top spot, the defending champs Little Rock solidified their squad with a few good pickups this offseason, so they start off as the #1 team!  Traditional powers Oklahoma City, Buffalo, New Britain and Pawtucket round out the top 5.   Will anyone be able to infiltrate the top 5 this season?  It will be interesting to see.   Good luck this season, here are the complete preseason power rankings!

		Season 17
	Team	W	L	Comments
1	Little Rock	89	73	The defending champs look good and added a few players
2	Oklahoma City	98	64	Bring back pretty much the same solid group as last season
3	Buffalo	104	58	Always in the mix it seems, this season should be similar
4	New Britain	111	51	Lost a few Type A guys, but we think they'll be solid still
5	Pawtucket	92	70	Always one of the best offensive teams, should be in the mix
6	Syracuse	92	70	Made a splash in free agency, so could be even better
7	Tampa Bay	91	71	Add a few pieces this offseason to an already solid club
8	Honolulu	91	71	Dealt stud SP Mouton, but seemed to get a good return
9	Tucson	98	64	Still looking strong here, and should be in contention again
10	Boston	82	80	Made some nice moves in free agency, so should improve
11	New York	79	83	Seem to be looking to make a push this season
12	Seattle	92	70	Should be solid, the team looks the same as last season
13	Salt Lake City	86	76	Not much activity this offseason, but have a good core
14	Detroit	81	81	Had a bit of a step back last season, can they bounce back?
15	Nashville	85	77	Solid team last season, but need better pitching to move up
16	Rochester	83	79	Majorly up and down last season, but pitching looks solid
17	Atlanta	83	79	Pitching held them back last season, will it improve?
18	Santa Cruz	91	71	Under new ownership, this team has a solid pitching staff
19	Toronto	86	76	Played a bit above their numbers last season, so we'll see
20	Cleveland	78	84	Excellent offense, but need better pitching to take next step
21	Chicago	71	91	New owner signed some guys, but pitching still a concern
22	San Francisco	76	86	They've got great offense, but pitching hasn't panned out yet
23	Oakland	76	86	Another team with great offense and poor pitching last season
24	Richmond	72	90	Seem to be improving, but offense is a slight concern here
25	New Orleans	67	95	Didn't do much this offseason it seems, so we'll have to see
26	Charlotte	59	103	Pitching was an issue last season, and might be again
27	Helena	57	105	Have been in rebuild mode, can they take a step forward?
28	Louisville	68	94	Also have been rebuilding, and seemed better last season
29	Burlington	70	92	Offense is tough to come by in their park, pitching is good
30	Memphis	70	92	Lack of offense seems to be an issue for them as well
31	Vancouver	57	105	Looking to break through but not sure it will be this season
32	San Juan	57	105	Major pitching issues last season and offense was not great

Season 18 Free Agency Preview

Kenny Powers has kicked off season 18, and it's time for the first blog post of the season, the Free Agency preview.  Overall, it's a pretty week free agent class, but there are still some solid players to be had.  Here's a rundown of our top 10 Free Agents available this offseason.  Good luck to those looking to land a player to get them over the hump this season!

1. David Frias, 30, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .816 OPS
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $65 million

Possible Destinations: Boston, Pawtucket, Salt Lake City, Burlington

Signed with Boston - 5 years, $45 million

Frias gets the nod as our top free agent this offseason, as he is a 5 tool player who would be above average in the field anywhere put shortstop, has good speed and baserunning ability and very good contact, power and splits to go with a decent enough batting eye.  His overall makeup puts him on top of the board, rather than dominance in any one particular area.

2. Alving Machado, 30, CF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .802 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $40 million

Possible Destinations: Santa Cruz, Syracuse, Burlington, San Juan

Signed with Chicago - 5 years, $41 million

Machado's bat is solid, but not spectacular, with nice power and batting eye, good splits and decent contact.  In the field, he has plus range, but his glove is a bit questionable.  With his bat, you might stick him out in CF and see what happens.

3. Rodney Long, 3B, 29
No Designation
Key Stat: Ratings over past numbers
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $32 million

Possible Destinations: Tampa Bay, Boston, Memphis, Little Rock

Signed with Pawtucket - 1 year, $6.24 million

Long's career numbers at the plate do not particularly impress, but he has good contact, power and batting eye, although his splits are mediocre.  In this free agent class that is lacking beyond 1B/DH types, his ability to play a good 3B along with potential for better offensive numbers gets him a high spot on our list.

4. Tommy Stoddard, 29, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.40 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: $4 years, $44 million

Possible Destinations: Rochester, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, Oakland

Signed with Syracuse - 5 years, $65 million

Stoddard is the top free agent pitcher on our board this offseason, thanks to his outstanding control and splits, and solid pitch selection.  He has excellent velocity and keeps the ball down well.  His only downside is limited stamina/durability which will limit him to 160-170 innings per season, but those should be quality innings that he contributes.  His age, at only 29, is also a plus.

5. Achilles Sadler, 32, DH
No Designation
Key Stat: .951 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $21 million

Possible Destinations: Detroit, Oklahoma City, Memphis, New Orleans

Signed with Atlanta - 2 years, $7.8 million

Sadler has a nice combination of excellent power, splits, particularly vs. LHP, and an elite batting eye to go with decent contact.  A slight decline in power, and a bit of a drop off in numbers last season are a bit of a concern, but his ratings indicate he still has an elite bat.

6. Carlos Mercedes, 30, C
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .852 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $20 million

Possible Destinations: Rochester, Burlington, New Orleans, New York

Signed with Honolulu - 4 years, $21.3 million ($16.65 million guaranteed)

Mercedes is another big power bat with plus splits and decent contact and batting eye.  He'd make a serviceable catcher, although his zero range is of slight concern.  Whether at catcher of DH, his huge bat will be a nice asset for any lineup.

7. Ron Wilkinson, 35, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.70 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $20 million

Possible Destinations: Syracuse, Memphis, Oakland, Louisville

Signed with Tampa Bay - 1 year - $8.5 million

Wilkinson is a solid righty who was put up multiple consecutive solid seasons, putting up an ERA below 4 while throwing over 200 innings.  He's outstanding vs. right handed hitters, and has plus control.  His pitches are good, but not elite, and age is a slight concern, but he should have a few more solid seasons left in him.

8. Butch Borland, 34, LF
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .921 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $17 million

Possible Destinations: Detroit, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Little Rock

Signed with Syracuse - 3 years, $20 million ($14 million guaranteed)

Borland is a pure power hitter with nice splits and a pretty good batting eye.  His contact isn't great, but that hasn't stopped him from posting a most impressive career OPS.  He is at the age where hitters start to decline, so a long term contract probably isn't in the works, but he should continue his great hitting for at least a couple of more seasons.

9. Enrique Rivera, 32, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 4.14 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $16 million

Possible Destinations: Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Tucson

Signed with Little Rock - 2 years, $9.2 million

Rivera gets the nod as the best reliever in this season's free agent class, thanks to his outstanding control, solid pitches, and very good splits.  He was roughed up a bit last season, which is a concern, but we think he can bounce back and post decent numbers while working 100+ innings.

10. Javier Bonilla, 33, SP
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.98 ERA last season
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $26 million

Possible Destinations: Pawtucket, Santa Cruz, Vancouver, San Juan

Signed with Boston - 2 years, $12 million

Bonilla is a workhorse right-hander, with two excellent pitches and solid splits.  His velocity and ability to keep the ball down are good.  His control isn't that of an elite starter, but Bonilla will eat up a ton of innings and has the potential to post solid numbers like he did last season.