Niagara Falls Rapids
Division Last Season: 1st
Wins Last Season: 104
Batting
It seems that when Blackwater packed up and shipped off to Niagara Falls someone forgot to pack Ace Shoppa. His retirement sees a good deal of experience and solidity removed from the lineup. The one bright point is that the Rapids do have options at 3rd base so simply trading for a decent bat at DH will offset the loss. Ian Demmit, who was sorely missed in the final months of 2022, returns from injury. Expect a similar year in 2022 with the potential for improvement if a replacement for Shoppa is traded in.
Pitching
The one thing Niagara Falls staff did do was make sure they brought all of the pitching with them out of Blackwater. With no retirements, a bolstered bullpen and a good spring training this roster should improve on 2022. In to bolster the bullpen, on the back of good spring training outings, are rookie pitchers Darryn Hoerdter and Matt Quin while Xavier Sanders gets his first chance for five seasons. Jose Restovich looked strong in spring training and looks set to have a 5th consecutive 20+ win season.
Overall
Despite expecting a better pitching performance we see Niagara Falls struggling to hold on to the division title ... yes yes, we know we predicted the same last season and we know our ratings don't seem to favour this team but this year we're sure … sort of. But it was evident in 2022 that their division rivals were catching up.
Transactions
Shoppa, Ace, 3rd Base - Retired
Simon, Sherry, Right Field - Sent to AAA
Hutton, Fred, 2nd Base - Retired
Demmitt, Ian, Centre Field - Sent to ACT
Coleman, Terrelle, Right Field - Sent to ACT
Fogg, Livan, Catcher - Sent to ACT
Laprocina, Jim, 1st Base - Sent to ACT
Sanders, Xavier, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Quinn, Matt, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Hoerdter, Darryn, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 3rd
Wins: 85
Charlottetown Blues
Division Last Season: 2nd
Wins Last Season: 101
Batting
Charlottetown's batting power was hit hard by the retirements of Archer Joecks, Joaquin Oberkfell and Bill Osborn. Joecks was an 8 time all star who collected 2 silver slugger and was sound behind the plate. Joaquin Oberkfell was traded for at the beginning of 2022 and was the major reason why the Blues made the league finals. Oberkfell was a 7 time all star, a 2 time silver slugger and the 2021 player of the year. While Bill Osborn didn't reach the heights of Joecks and Oberkfell he was a important part of the team. Between the three of them they hit 109 home runs and batted in 303.
Pitching
The Blues suffered no losses in the pitching department so they'll be relying in these guys to get them into the playoffs again. The senior players will need to pick up on their 2022 showing to achieve this however. Up and coming Matthew Stevenson looks to have improved over the off season and he'll not want another season like 2022 as Chris Kaughman is banging on the door.
Overall
Charlottetown had a great 2022 but with their batting retirements it'll be difficult for them to repeat that performance. We can't see the pitching improving significantly on 2022 and so reaching the playoffs will be difficult.
Transactions
Joecks, Archer, Catcher - Retired
Oberkfell, Joaquin, 1st Base - Retired
Osborn, Bill, Left Field - Retired
Vizcaino, Dermal, 3rd Base - Sent to AAA
Akles, Marquis, Centre Field - Sent to ACT
Cowan, Duane, Right Field - Sent to ACT
Forbes, Luke, Bullpen - Sent to AAA
Brinsdon, Sam, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Eaton, Claudio, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 5th
Wins: 70
PEI Argonauts
Division Last Season: 3rd
Wins Last Season: 98
Batting
With no batting retirements the Argonauts are definitely the strongest in the Fishermen East. They improved in 2022 and should continue to improve in 2023. With the oh so close 2022 season behind them we expect them to continue on their upward trend. However there is a big concern at the lack of a replacement behind the plate as well as the lack of depth in the outfield.
Pitching
PEI had the best performing pitching staff in 2022 in the Fishermen League and they look better again this season. Ray Coyne was strong for the Argos in 2022 in his rookie season and polled strongly in the Fishermen's Rookie of the Year vote. Going on his spring training form PEI are expecting him to be better again in his second season. Gone from last seasons bullpen is the dependable Mc Diaz who is now retired. Diaz's retirement shouldn't upset the team however as they have ample replacements with Mike Ardley, Andrew Merlo and the emerging Doug Velez all waiting in the wings.
Overall
PEI's pitching fulfilled their role in 2022 and will again in 2023, it's only the batting that needs to maintain their upward trend and, should they avoid injuries to some key batting positions, they should win their first division pennant. West Bay however will not make life easy for PEI.
Transactions
Buechele, Nathan, Short Stop - Sent to AAA
Ardley, Mike, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Diaz, Mc, Bullpen - Retired
Greene, Stephen, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 1st
Wins: 105
West Bay Red Skulls
Division Last Season: 4th
Wins Last Season: 90
Batting
West Bay has a very experienced batting lineup that avoided retirements for 2023. They've also enjoyed life in their new stadium for the past two seasons and so they stand a very good chance of hitting over .300 this season. Also in their favour is the overall position coverage, and in their only area of weak coverage they have Lenny Bronaugh playing in their minor leagues ready to cover 3rd and 1st. We had reservations about Neil Hoppert in 2022 but he actually turned out to be a revelation for the Red Skulls, will he continue that in 2023?
Pitching
It's hard to call the West Bay pitching top class and it's even harder to tell how the retirements of Tracey Foley, Jeff Luzinski and Kyle Akers will impact the team. Luzinski pitched 200 innings in 2023 while Foley and Akers pitched 90 between them. Their retirements seem to have reinvigorated the remaining pitchers as they all looked raring to go during spring training. Max Kolb looked strong in winning 21 games in 2022 and looked even stronger in spring training.
Overall
The Red Skulls will overwhelm other teams with their batting but the pitching is definitely their Achilles heel despite the depth. Perhaps the makeup of rotation will settle in 2023 which could allow them to surprise and improve on their 2022 performance. That being said, even if they surprise they'll still struggle to get the team era under 4. Despite the pitching concerns West Bay will be in the hunt for the division pennant.
Transactions
Boland, Langston, 1st Base - Sent to AAA
Glenn, Dave, Left Field - Sent to ACT
Foley, Tracy, Long Reliever - Retired
Percival, Cliff, Starter - Sent to AAA
Luzinski, Jeff, Starter - Retired
Irwin, Jimmy, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Akers, Kyle, Bullpen - Retired
Hughson, Mort, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 2nd
Wins: 93
Fredericton Bandits
Division Last Season: Last
Wins Last Season: 51
Batting
Despite being one of the youngest and most inexperienced teams going around there's an air of optimism in Fredericton, spring training gave everyone another glimpse of a star in the making in Ramon Alejandro. The Bandits filled a hole at 3rd base when they picked up the very exciting Lance Kelly with the 1st of the supplementary draft. Jim Greenaway gets a shot in the outfield although he may struggle to get time at his favoured left field position. Like the Bandits fans we expect an all round improvement in 2023 with more the 200 balls going out of the park.
Pitching
There were no retirements in the pitching department and with a maturing crop of youngsters there's every reason to expect a better year in 2023. Adam Prozorowicz was drafted 2nd overall out of Brandon in the 2020 draft and is commanding a place in the Fredericton lineup. We're really looking forward to see how he copes. Another young player demanding a spot is last years 1st overall pick, Dusty Echard out of Saskatchewan. He's destined to become one of the youngest pitchers in the big leagues for a long time. Experienced Rudy Hitchens had a rough 2022 but with additional bullpen support he should have a far better season this season.
Overall
Fredericton still has a long way to go to catch up to the other teams but the optimism around the town is that they can lift themselves off the bottom of the pile. The team is edging towards the middle echelon of Fishermen league teams and with their rising pitching stocks we think they may just do that.
Transactions
Spracker, Mark, Catcher - Sent to AAA
Griffis, Collin, 3rd Base - Sent to AAA
Nilsson, Tracy, Right Field - Sent to AAA
Greenaway, Jim, Left Field - Sent to ACT
Hallewell, Tom, Catcher - Sent to ACT
McDougal, Lee, Centre Field - Traded to Free Agents
Williams, Raynoch, 2nd Base - Sent to ACT
Cooper, John, Middle Reliever - Sent to AAA
Silcock, Nenad, Starter - Sent to AAA
Prozorowicz, Adam, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 4th
Wins: 74
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