Season 16 Preseason Power Rankings

Season 16 is on the horizon as spring training winds down, so it's time for the preseason power rankings before the regular season kicks off.  The teams at the top are familiar names, as back-to-back champion Oklahoma City takes the top spot.  They seem to get a key Free Agent each season, and this season it was Sherman Perez.  #2 Buffalo and #3 Honolulu, both coming off 100 win seasons, will again try to dethrone OKC as kings of the NL, and have the talent to potentially do it.  Detroit comes in at #4 as the top AL team, and will certainly face challenges from #5 Pawtucket and #6 New Britain.  Will these teams rule their leagues or will other teams surprise and crack the top echelon of the Kenny Powers World?  It will be interesting to see!   Good luck to all in the regular season and here are the complete rankings!

		Season 15
	Team	W	L	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	102	60	Poised for another great year and added Sherman Perez
2	Buffalo	108	54	Gunning for Oklahoma City as always and looking strong
3	Honolulu	106	56	Had league's top pitching last season, will make a run too
4	Detroit	98	64	Well balanced team that could take next step this season
5	Pawtucket	91	71	Wagner will help the pitching staff, have great offense too
6	New Britain	98	64	They should be in the thick of it in the AL, nice all around
7	Rochester	80	82	Numbers were much better than 80-82 record last season
8	Seattle	101	61	Lost a couple of guys, but still have a solid core group
9	Tampa Bay	83	79	Tough being in OKC's division, but they have the talent
10	St. Louis	90	72	If they get a little more from the bats, they will move up
11	Nashville	82	80	Mediocre record last season, but numbers looked good
12	Indianapolis	85	77	Could build on their division title from last season for sure
13	Toronto	88	74	Losing Wagner hurts, we'll have to see if they can adjust
14	Tucson	82	80	Pitching needs to improve this year for them to move up
15	Cleveland	69	93	Made some nice free agent adds, so should be better
16	Scranton	79	83	Great offense, but pitching hurt them a bit last season
17	Little Rock	80	82	Numbers are about in the middle of the pack, so we'll see
18	Richmond	80	82	We'll see if the new owner can reign in the pitching staff
19	Oakland	73	89	Pitching was an issue here too, but offense is very solid
20	Pittsburgh	74	88	Had a couple of nice signings, which should help them out
21	San Francisco	63	99	Very active in FA, signing 3 of top 10, so it's looking up
22	Florida	77	85	They've been improving last few season, and could step up
23	Salt Lake City	68	94	Added a huge bat in Franco, we'll see if they step it up
24	San Juan	84	78	May be an adjustment period with transition to new owner
25	Chicago	72	90	Pretty off season for the offense, but could rebound there
26	Burlington	72	90	Tough park for hitters, but they've improved last few seasons
27	Helena	76	86	Rebuilding, as 4-time Cy Young winner Hurst was traded
28	Kansas City	71	91	Offense is not bad, can new owner get pitching in shape?
29	Memphis	65	97	Rough going last season, their ranking is always volatile
30	Syracuse	68	94	Offense was bad last season, new owner may rebuild here
31	Louisville	65	97	They've been rebuilding, the offense was up last year though
32	Vancouver	62	100	They were bad all-around last season and rebuilding as well

Season 16 Free Agency Preview

Ted Wagner none none Age: 30 B/T: R/R Born: East Hanover, NJ Position(s): P (P) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Richard Ma none none Age: 32 B/T: R/R Born: Uwajima, JP Position(s): P (SP4) View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Who will land these 2-time former Cy Young winners this offseason? 

Season 16 is kicking off in Kenny Powers and we're on to Offseason Free Agency!   This Free Agent Class is highlighted by a couple of two-time former Cy Young winners and a handful of excellent bats.  Let's see who made this season's top ten Free Agent list!

1. Ted Wagner, 30, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.64 career ERA, 2 Cy Young awards
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $95 million

Possible Destinations: Chicago (AL), Pawtucket, Cleveland, Oakland

Signed with Pawtucket - 5 years, $95 million

Wagner is the prize of this free agent class, it appears.  Although his career ERA isn't microscopic, his last three years have been front-line starter quality, and he has taken home 2 Cy Young awards in his career.  On top of that, he's only 30, meaning he should be solid throughout the entire contract if signed to a five year deal.  If he has a weakneess, it's pitch quality, but he makes up for that with tremendous effectiveness vs. RH hitters and very good control. 
 
2. Antonio Liang, 28, 2B
Type  Free Agent
Key Stat: 39 HR 117 RBI average last 4 seasons
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $75 million

Possible Destinations:  Tampa Bay, Cleveland, Memphis, Burlington

Signed with San Francisco - 5 years, $36.5 million

Liang has plus power that has seen him hit many long balls since his rookie campaign.  He also has good, but not great, splits, batting eye and contact.  He can probably be a serviceable, but below average 2B or CF fielding wise, but his bat should make up for any fielding woes.  The major plus for Liang is that he is only 28, which means he shouldn't deteriorate too much, if at all the next five seasons.

3. Sherman Perez, 33, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 32 HR 105 RBI average last 4 seasons
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $42 million

Possible Destinations:  Oklahoma City, Memphis, Rochester, Pawtucket

Signed with Oklahoma City - 5 years, $44.2 million

Perez was our #1 Free Agent of Season 11, the very first season of blog coverage, and five seasons later he's still got gas left in the tank at age 33, making him a quality add.  His hitting skills are still plus across the board and he can still handle the hot corner in the field.  But age is a factor with him, as a decline upcoming is inevitable, but he still has at least a few very good seasons left in him. 

4. Richard Ma, 32, SP
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 2.64 career ERA, 2 Cy Young awards
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $44 million

Possible Destinations: Oklahoma City, Chicago (AL), Scranton, San Juan

Signed with San Francisco - 5 years, $55 million

The two-time Cy Young winner with a microscopic career ERA hits the market this offseason.  Unfortunately, a major elbow injury in Season 14 zapped some of his skills, stamina and durability.  If not for that, he'd be by far and away the #1 player on this list, practically guaranteed a max contract.  Still, he has a solid arsenal that would help just about any rotation, granted only for about 175 innings compared to what he could do in the past.

5. Robb Ross, 33, LF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .892 OPS average over last 4 seasons
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $33 million

Possible Destinations: Tucson, San Juan, Chicago (AL), Vancouver

Signed with Cleveland - 4 years, $29.2 million

Ross, a former MVP from Season 11, is getting up there in age as well, but is still a quality hitter, and is capable of playing a solid Left Field with his defensive skills.  At this point, he isn't a star you build your team around, but he can still be a great piece for a contender to help lift the offense a notch., given his outstanding splits and contact and plus power and batting eye. 

6. Evan Richardson, 32, RF
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .863 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $30 million

Possible Destinations: Tampa Bay, San Francisco, Rochester, Tucson

Signed with Toronto - 3 years, $17.6 million

Richardson is another solid hitter who could contribute good production.  His fielding skills a bit iffy for Right Field, but he's probably passable there.  His main asset is his bat, with very good contact, batting eye, power, and effectiveness vs. LHP.   His .863 career OPS shows he can produce, despite some shaky seasons recently. 
  
7. Trenidad Franco, 31, DH
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .931 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $36 million

Possible Destinations:  Toronto, Oakland, Detroit, Pittsburgh

Signed with Salt Lake City - 4 years, $26.8 million

Franco is the most powerful bat on this list, and he also has outstanding splits and contact.  His career .931 OPS is the best of any of the players on the top 10 list.  He's probably more suited to be a DH in the AL at this point, but could probably play catcher in a pinch (pretty badly though).  His low durability may limit him to about 450 AB's, but those will be quality AB's with a bunch of homers mixed in.

8. Randy Gonzales, 32, 3B
No Designation
Key Stat: .832 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $26 million

Possible Destinations: San Francisco, Burlington, Memphis, Pawtucket

Signed with Indianapolis - 4 years, $23.8 million

Gonzales is an excellent bat with very good splits, plus power, but only a decent batting eye and contact.  His biggest asset is the fact that he is a capable 3rd baseman.  Having a strong bat like his at the hot corner would be a boost to most lineups.  Age and durability may be a slight concern, but he should be an above average performer for at least the next couple of seasons.  

9. Lawrence Crabtree, 34, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.98 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $24 million

Possible Destinations: Oklahoma City, Tampa Bay, Seattle, San Francisco

Signed with San Francisco - 5 years, $40 million

Crabtree's career 3.98 ERA is a bit surprising, given he's played in Seattle, a park highly geared for pitchers, but he is still a quality arm.  He's got nice control and a good arsenal of pitches, and knows how to keep the ball down.  His effectiveness vs. LH hitters is mediocre, however, which may be a reason for the higher career ERA.  Still, he's a solid #3 type, at least, for a contending team.

10. Harry Shiell, 32, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.70 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $36 million

Possible Destinations:  Pawtucket, Oklahoma City, Scranton, Seattle

Signed with Pittsburgh - 3 years, $17.6 million

Shiell gets the nod as the top reliever in this year's class.  His excellent durability-stamina combo makes him a practical lock for 120+ IP per season.  On top of that, he throws with excellent velocity, has outstanding control, and is solid against RH hitters.  His LH split is a bit down, but that is about his only weakness.  He'll make someone's bullpen a lot better.

That's it for the Free Agency Preview, good luck getting the players you're after!