Season 11 Free Agency Preview

Sherman Perez none none Age: 28 B/T: R/R Born: Kiln, MS Position(s): RF/1B/OF/DH View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Perez is arguably the top prize in this year's free agent class, with a big bat and great fielding skils

Will Dale none none Age: 33 B/T: R/R Born: South El Monte, CA Position(s): P (SP2) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Ramiro Vazquez none none Age: 31 B/T: S/R Born: Fundacion, DO Position(s): P (SP2) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

But there are some nice pitchers available as well.

SEASON 11 FREE AGENCY PREVIEW

This is a very deep free agent class, particularly in pitching.  There were over 20 players considered for the top 10, so there are still some quality players available beyond this list.   With the $100 million salary cap, teams have less to spend, so it will be interesting to see how things go down with this very deep free agent class.  There could be some nice bargains out there or do you go for the big guns?  Without further adieu, here's who made our top 10 list for this year's free agent class. 

1. Sherman Perez, 3B, 28

Type A Free Agent

Key Stat: .905 career OPS

Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $85 million

Possible Destinations:  Cincinnati, Oklahoma City, Rochester, Memphis, Portland

Signed with Pawtucket - 5 years, $97 million

Perez is a four-time all-star and has won five Gold  Gloves in RF.  Durham must have had a pretty stout defense to use Perez in RF, as he could be one of the league’s best defensive 3B wherever he lands.  Oh yeah, and he can completely crush the ball too, all of his hitting ratings are plus and beyond.  Plus he’s only 28.  Whoever lands Perez will greatly improve their team. 

2. Will Dale, SP, 33

Type A Free Agent

Key Stat:  3.16 career ERA

Salary Over/Under:  4 years, $60 million

Possible Destinations:  Buffalo, Burlington, Oklahoma City, Cincinnati

Signed with Cleveland - 5 years, $50.5 million

The top SP in this year’s free agent class, Dale is a 2-time all-star, and it’s surprising he hasn’t made more.  There are few weaknesses to speak of in Dale’s arsenal, with tremendous ratings across the board.  Great control and splits, keeps the ball down, throws hard with a killer splitter.  He will make an impact wherever he goes in greatly improving their pitching staff. 

3. Ramiro Vazquez, SP, 31

Type A Free Agent

Key Stat: 4.02 career ERA

Salary Over/Under:  5 years, $70 million

Possible Destinations:  Burlington, Los Angeles, Augusta, Louisville, Rochester

Signed with Rochester - 5 years, $63 million 

Vazquez is a not very distant #2 SP in this free agent class, and if you rated him #1, we wouldn’t blame you.  He can throw a lot more innings than Dale, but won’t be quite as effective, due to lower splits, velocity and GB/FB ratio.  He pitched in a band box in Cincy which inflated his career ERA, but did win a Cy Young and make 2 all-star teams there.   He has the potential for more of both wherever he lands.

4. Randall Paquette, 31, RP

Type A Free Agent

Key Stat:  279 career saves, 89% conversion

Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $48 million

Possible Destinations:  Augusta, Vancouver, Philadelphia, Seattle, Oklahoma City

Signed with Cincinnati - 5 years, $35 million

Paquette is a three-time all-star and a former fireman of the year who has been lights out as a closer throughout his career, but also has the potential to throw a ton of innings as a setup A guy.  Whatever his role is with the team who signs him, he is sure to be a solid reliever, as his ratings are solid across the board. 

5. Juan Medrano, 34, SP

Type B Free Agent

Key Stat: 3.54 career ERA

Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $27 million

Possible Destinations:  Vancouver, Rochester, Buffalo, Durham

Signed with Boston - 2 years, $11.2 million

Medrano is a 2- time all-star who throws hard with great control.  His change-up is amongst the elite, and has two other pitches that rate in the 60’s.  His weaknesses are he is only good, not great vs. lefties, and tends to leave the ball up in the zone.  But he is still solid and can be a great addition to any staff, particularly if you aren’t looking to give up a draft pick. 

6. Turk Mullen, 25, DH

No Designation

Key Stat: 0 years of Major League Service

Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $15 million

Possible Destinations:  Nashville, Seattle, Cincinnati, Augusta

Signed with Cleveland - 5 years, $29 million

Mullen looks like he can flat out mash, and his 1.004 minor league OPS tends to yield credence to that, but he has never gotten the opportunity to play full time in the majors.  He’d make a great DH in the AL, or an extremely poor defensive catcher or first baseman.  He should be able to approach .900 OPS in the big leagues, if given the opportunity to play, with a top notch batting eye, elite power and effectiveness vs. lefties.

7. Damaso Merced, 29, RP

Type A Free Agent

Key Stat: 3.96 career ERA

Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $21 million

Possible Destinations:  Oklahoma City, Cleveland, Monterrey, Vancouver

Signed with Chicago - 4 years, $25.6 million

Merced is an extremely solid RP with great control, splits and velocity, and he also keeps the ball down.  His sinker is amongst the best.  His slider and change-up aren’t great, but his other ratings make up for it.  Could be a very nice closer or a solid setup A guy.

8.  Mike Oquist, 34, 2B

Type A Free Agent

Key Stat: 392 career HR

Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $10 million

Possible Destinations:  Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle, Memphis

Signed with Philadelphia - 3 years, $27.5 million 

At 34, Oquist, a 4-time all-star and 2-time silver slugger winner, still has elite power, and can still play a solid 2B or CF.  His downside is he isn’t extremely effective vs. RHP, and his age.  Clearly on the downside of his career, prospective owners will have to weigh the pros and cons of giving up a draft pick to sign a guy who can help a lot now, but maybe only for one or two more seasons.

9. Hank Sellers, 28, SP

No Designation

Key Stat: 4.05 career ERA

Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $24 million

Possible Destinations:  Monterrey, Louisville, Nashville, Los Angeles

Signed with Nashville - 4 years, $34.6 million

Sellers has solid splits and control and throws hard.  His pitches are good but not great.   If you’re looking for a quality #4 starter at a good price for the next several seasons though, he’d be a nice pickup.  But there are others with better ratings if you are just looking for a one or two season stand in. 

10. Lon Sappelt, 29, 3B

Type A Free Agent

Key Stat: .346 career OBP

Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $22 million

Possible Destinations:  Memphis, Rochester, Portland, Augusta

Signed with Cincinnati - 5 years, $32.5 million

Sappelt makes the list mostly because of the lack of quality offensive players outside of the 1B/DH types in this free agent class.  He has great contact and a good batting eye, so he should get on base a lot, but doesn’t have a lot of power.  He has plus fielding ratings for any position except SS, which is again why he makes the list.  

Good luck to all in free agency, there are a lot of quality players available, it will be tough to decide who to go after!

Season 10 Recap

Oklahoma City wins their 2nd title in Season 10!

Thought I'd kick off our blog with a recap of Season 10.  Oklahoma City defeated the Vancouver Grizzlies to take their second World Series title in three seasons.  It was a hard fought battle that went seven games.  Oklahoma City and Vancouver have won the last four titles now in alternating years.  Both Oklahoma City and Vancouver look pretty stacked for Season 11, so it will be tough to dethrone them as league champions, but there are certainly some teams out there that are capable.  

Now, let's take a look at the award winners from Season 10. 

NL MVP: Antonio Liang .296 AVG 53 HR 124 RBI
The second year slugger had his coming out party in Season 10 capping it off with the NL MVP award.   He also made the all-star team and won a silver slugger award.  At only age 23, Liang has the potential to rack up a few more MVP trophies throughout his career.

AL MVP: Anthony Xavier .315 AVG 45 HR 108 RBI 35 SB

Xavier, an offseason free agent acquisition prior to season 10 for Seattle, proved he was worth the max contract he got by doing it all for the Sonics in Season 10 in helping lead them to Wild Card appearance in the playoffs.  This is Xavier's 3rd MVP award, and on top of that made his 6th All-Star team and won his 5th Silver Slugger.

NL Cy Young: Richard Ma 21-6 2.37 ERA
Richard Ma help lead Oklahoma City to the World Series title with a simply dominant season.  He made his third consecutive all-star appearance as well in Season 10.  It wouldn't be a surprise to see him win more Cy Young awards, and it's hard to believe he didn't win in Season 8 with a 22-4 record and a 2.14 ERA.

AL Cy Young: Clyde Hurst 20-8 2.98 ERA
Hurst took home his 2nd Cy Young in Season 10, as he also won it in Season 8.  After an off year in season 9, he bounced back with a stellar season 10 to take home the trophy.  He also made his 2nd all-star team in season 10.

NL Rookie of the Year:  Luis Navarro .373 AVG 32 HR 88 RBI
Oklahoma City also had the Rookie of the Year in Luis Navarro who put up an incredible .373 batting average and a whopping 1.140 OPS, a feat only two other players have accomplished in the history of the world, making him a no-brainer for Rookie of the Year and if he had more plate appearances, he likely would have been MVP too.   

AL Rookie of the Year: Timothy Crede 12-3 2.98 ERA
A midseason call-up, Crede dominated in the 21 starts he made in his rookie campaign.   The 26 year-old looks like he'll be a great pitcher for seasons to come, and he hasn't even accumulated a full season of major league service yet.

A few big International Free Agents were signed in season 10, let's take a look.

Delino Santana, Little Rock, $24.7 mil - he will be an excellent fielding shortstop with a solid bat.  At only age 19, he is a few years away from the Big Leagues.
Victor Diaz, Montreal, $18.7 mil - this lefty looks like he could be decent in the majors now, and at only age 20 could be a star by the time he hits the majors.
Omar Valentin, Salem, $15.8 mil - already has a great batting eye and contact at age 20, should develop into a regular .400+ OPS guy. 
Vladimir Franco, Pawtucket, $13.1 mil - has an elite batting eye better than most major leaguers at age 20, and his other batting skills are all have plus potential.

That concludes the Season 10 recap.  We're only one owner away from starting season 11, it should be an exciting one!

Welcome to the Kenny Powers World blog!

This is the new Kenny Powers world blog, I will be updating as time permits.  If you'd like to contribute, let me know.  In the meantime, keep spreading the word about the openings, and we should be rolling on to Season 11 soon!