NL North

Toledo Zephyrs (NL) lansteen View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Infield
Torrealba is average at best behind the plate, but he has an excellent bat and is one of the up-and-comers at catcher in Mordecai. Cashman will serve as his backup, but is no better defensively and will likely not see much playing time. Larkin will get his first chance to start at 1B, and if he can match his minor league totals, will be huge for the Zephyrs offense. Henderson has an excellent glove at 2B, and a huge bat to go with it. Klesko had a great OBP before arriving in Toledo last season and will try to find his stride again. Sterns is the #1 guy at 3B though, and hopes to finally reach his expectations. Bradley, Gagne and O’Brien are all natural shortstops and all merit playing time with their solid bats (although their defense ranges from below-average to excellent). Overall, the infield should contribute lots of offense to this potent lineup.
RATING: 8

Outfield
Sosa was a bit of a disappointment in LF last season, but should rebound. Vega will do a good job getting on base, but has no power and plays an average defense for a CF. Wagner will likely be the starting CF, and contributes nice power. He should be better in his second full season in the majors. Black doesn’t hit as many HRs as you’d like out of your normal RF, but he has a nice average and plays good “D”. This is an outfield with lots of upside.
RATING: 7

Starting Pitching
Stuart and Buckley are an awesome 1-2 punch at the top of Toledo’s rotation, and if Corino can rebound from a poor Season 7, gives the Zephyrs a trifecta of great pitching. Baker, Hartman and Scanlan will compete for the final 2 spots. All have the potential to be rocks in the rotation, but haven’t delivered yet. Still, this is an excellent rotation and will be tough to beat.
RATING: 8

Bullpen
Mitchell will join whoever does not make the starting rotation as the two long relievers in the bullpen. Mitchell is a Rule Ver making the jump after just 6 AA appearances. Olmedo and Parrish are excellent as short relievers, and Rodrigo put up great stats in a limited number of appearances last season. Coco rounds out the bullpen as a Rule V player, with only 6 AA innings under his belt. If the starters can get the ball to the short relievers, they’re in great shape. If the long relievers pitch too much, it will be tougher to keep those wins.
RATING: 7

Overall
Last season’s 10-win dropoff looks to be an aberration, as Toledo has both the offense AND defense to return to their 95-win form from the previous 3 seasons.

Chicago Capones (NL) dupala View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Infield
Anderson is a Rule V catcher who has a long way to reach his potential, but with some playing time, will be an on-base machine who calls a great game. Parker offers power behind the plate, and Purcell is the defensive specialist. Withers finally lived up to expectations at first base last season. Moreno, Swann, Velazquez and Yang are all natural second basemen who all offer respectable defense, while each brings something different (average, power, speed). They will fight each other for playing time, but expect them to also log time at DH and in RF. Spence is a great third baseman, with both power and average. Reboulet will be the starting SS, and can hit for decent average, even as his formerly superior defensive skills start to deteriorate. Boone will fill the role of utility player. There is lots of versatility in this infield.
RATING: 8

Outfield
There are only 2 true OFs on the team. Parra is a monster in left field. DiSarcina struggled as a rookie last season and will be looking to rebound. Without knowing who will be the regular right fielder, there are question marks in the OF once you get past Parra.
RATING: 6

Starting Pitching
Stark is the clear #1 guy of this staff, and Kotsay is the future stud. In between them are Kelly, Ransom, and Reed, all of whom will put up decent numbers without being dominant. If the offense flexes its muscle, the pitching staff should keep it close.
RATING: 7

Bullpen
Graves and James are both coming off great seasons, and these two long relievers should do an excellent job when called on to log some innings. Pujols is just a notch behind them and will be a strong contributor. Denham and Gonzalez have not quite lived up to expectations, but as the #4 and 5 long relievers, they are more than serviceable. Blanco has progressively struggled the last couple seasons, and Gonazalez will look to return to his awesome rookie season as short relievers in the ‘pen.
RATING: 7

Overall
The Capones have the bats to win the high-scoring games, and the pitching to win a lot of the others. Question marks in the outfield will likely be easily resolved, and the Capones should look forward to another 90 win season.

Detroit Freaks (NL) dbgmpd View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Infield
The Freaks won’t be able to count on a lot of HRs from their catchers this season, but Bush has a career .410 OBP and can play solid defense, and Escobar is likely the best pitch caller in Mordecai. First baseman Mora hits a very consistent .316 average and can be counted on for 25 HRs. Second baseman Hansen hit .271 with 24 HRs as a rookie last season, and should only improve on those numbers this season. Third basement Burkett is a career .261 hitter as a backup, but he will get his chance to start this season and should put up better numbers. Shortstop Richie Adams plays a great defense, and has the bat to go along with it. Counsell rounds out the infield, and while does not have much of a bat, he makes a great defensive replacement and will be a rock at any position late in the game. Defense should be solid, but lack of power will hurt. RATING: 5

Outfield
The Freaks outfield will have all kinds of speed in File and Posada on the corners. Stein and Ward are both coming off of disappointing seasons in CF, and will be battling each other for the starting spot. Canseco is coming off a season where he saw a big drop in offensive productivity and will need to rebound. Again, solid defense, but a lack of power. RATING: 4

Starting Pitching
Allen is the clear #1 starter on this team, while DeLeon, Weaver, and Oliva round out the top 4. All 4 of them put up very respectable WHIPs, but their poor win-loss records are indicative of the lack of offense on the team. Bates, Forbes, and Reese will battle for the final spot in the rotation, but none of them have pitched well in recent seasons, and Detroit may be in the market for a #5 starter.
RATING: 5

Bullpen
As stated above, Bates, Forbes, and Reese will battle for the final spot in the starting rotation. The other two will become long relievers. Neither will be dominant in that role. If the Freaks can take a lead into the late innings of a game, their bullpen should be able to seal the deal. Mercedes, Romero, Saturria, Valentin, and Thomas can all log a lot of quality innings and put up great stats.
RATING: 9

Overall
If the Freaks offense can keep them in close games, they should be able to win most of them thanks to a strong defense and bullpen. This team will be tough once the 7th inning rolls around. Unfortunately, there just doesn’t appear to be enough offense on this team to put them in that position. Expect about a 70 win season from the Freaks.

St. Louis Pathfinders (NL) johncfremont View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Infield
Jodie and Serrano have decent enough bats, but neither is good enough behind the plate to handle the young pitching staff taking the mound for St Louis. Molina has a big bat at 1B and should be a rock there for seasons to come. Fleming has nice power for a 2B, but his defense is sub-par. Sojo is the better defensive option at 2B, and has proven that he can put up good stats when given a chance to play. Hutton is a solid 3B who will be relied upon to anchor this infield. Barber is a young SS who will eventually be an excellent fielder with good pop in his bat. Clark is also a youngster with a good glove who should do a nice job getting on base. Sandberg is an erratic SS who seems to average either .230 or .300 every season (but nothing in between). The Pathfinders seem to have their infield headed back in the right direction, and should be play good defense while manufacturing some good runs.
RATING: 7

Outfield
Belitz is a good LF who gets on base well, but doesn’t hit as many HRs as most LFs. Terrero is an aging LF who works well as a pinch hitter, but at 38, probably needs to retire. Castro is the speedy CF, stealing 68 bases last season. Maloney is a young RF who should get on base a lot, but doesn’t have much power. Overall, this outfield will do a good job moving the baserunners, but there is a severe lack of power here.
RATING: 6

Starting Pitching
Starting pitching is a problem for St Louis. While the Pathfinders had some stamina problems last season, they don’t appear to be a problem anymore after drafting several Rule V players to round out the roster. Unfortunately, even though they have great control, they all have problems getting players out. Hard-luck Todd Kroon, who started last season 0-13 before winning his last start of the season, is the #1 guy. After that, some combination of Nunez, Harris, Osuna, Guerrero, Cervantes, Lee, Brosius, and Lambert will fill the rotation. This rotation will need a LOT of offensive help.
RATING: 2

Bullpen
The long relievers will consist of 4 of the 8 players above who do not make the rotation, along with Mark Miller (unless he makes the rotation, even though he doesn’t have the stamina to play there anymore). Lamb will likely be the setup man, leaving Santiago as the closer on the team. Unfortunately, the bullpen is not much stronger than the starting rotation.
RATING: 4

Overall
The Pathfinders are still recovering from years of neglect, but at least have the bats headed in the right direction. St Louis should score its share of runs if they can start some rallies. But with its pitching staff this season, they’re going to need a LOT of rallies. Unfortunately, the seasons of 20-win improvements over previous year are done, and they’ll be lucky to hit the 60 win mark this season.