Quebec Bulldogs
Division Last Season: 1st
Wins Last Season: 113
Batting
With no retirements the Bulldogs are becoming a battle hardened young team. They now have enough experience to really start tearing into opposition pitchers on a more consistent basis so expect this team to hit closer to 300. Louis O'Connor was hitting the ball further in spring training and should hit 25 or more home runs this season.
Pitching
The pitching also suffered no retirements which is a good thing as despite being a very strong group it's thin on depth. Starters Tanner Franklin and Maxime Felt continued their development during the off season and are becoming increasingly important to the team. Closer Anton Shaiebly also looked very solid in his spring outings.
Overall
With no weaknesses and improving pitching this team becomes harder and harder to beat. They should canter to the division title and will be hoping for a lot more luck to go their way in the playoffs. This team should represent the Fishermen in the Battle for the Beer.
Transactions
Gardener, Marcus, 3rd Base - Sent to AAA
Collins, Jeff, Centre Field - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 1st
Wins: 114
Val d'Or Sharks
Division Last Season: 2nd
Wins Last Season: 75
Batting
Regular centre fielder and 17 year veteran Nigel Horrigan retired over the off season. In his 15 years with Val d'Or Horrigan played 1312 games collecting 652 runs along the way. In anticipation of his retirement the Sharks have been grooming Brad Trahan who is now ready for the big league. However should Trahan fail to deliver the Sharks can always turn to Mike Braggins playing in Arntfied. Expect young left fielder Corentin Milfelt to put up better numbers in 2023 after a season behind him.
Pitching
Val d'Or's pitching however suffered the high profile retirement of starting pitcher Tony Conway. It's true that his numbers started to slip over the last 3 or so seasons but it's always a difficult job for any team to replace 200+ innings per year. Conway won 157 games at 4.17 during his 16 year career. Also gone is Chris D'alcamo who was becoming increasingly important for the Sharks. In his final season he pitched 132 innings and averaged 4 innings per game in long relief. Gone too is Joong-Yang Park, who'd had many good seasons but disappointed in 2022. On the positive side southpaws Jason Leiss, who won 17 games at 3.53 in his rookie season, and Jason Ivester, who won 6 games at 3.14 pitching late, both continue their development. Surely it's only a matter of time before we see 18 year veteran Dave Culler back in the big leagues as he's one pitcher who can pitch 200+ innings for the Sharks.
Overall
We think Val d'Or has slipped back a little this year after their retirements and while there are some worthy replacements this year and last, they still need time to mature. Still, they've only slipped back a little and will be fighting for 2nd.
Transactions
Horrigan, Nigel, Centre Field - Retired
Slaton, Jonas, Short Stop - Retired
Otey, Mother, Left Field - Sent to ACT
Trahan, Brad, Centre Field - Sent to ACT
Conway, Tony, Starter - Retired
D'alcamo, Chris, Long Reliever - Retired
Culler, Dave, Starter - Sent to AAA
Park, Joong-Yang, Bullpen - Retired
Neff, Lucas, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Day, Roger, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 3rd
Wins: 73
Ottawa Milk Men
Division Last Season: 3rd
Wins Last Season: 73
Batting
Ottawa's ever present 3rd base Tome Boss finally called it a day at the end of 2022. Boss played 2340 games scoring 1059 runs at and average of .263. In his 17 seasons he hit 30+ home runs 8 times and was a 3 time all star. Called up are exciting prospects Alex Hill, the 20 year old 11th overall signing and Vince Cahill, the 25th overall signing, both from the 2022 draft. Ottawa have a wealth of talent in right field and Laurent Witkowski is making noises in Powassan, if only he could lose a few kilos.
Pitching
The only retirement from the Ottawa pitching staff was journeyman Dwight Lanphier. Lanphier was signed by Ottawa in May of last season and repaid the faith shown in him by a very good season by his standards. Ottawa are going to have a tough time finding a quality starter to support Masashi Takasu, however they do have some quality relief. Look for Paul Mankamyer to improve in 2023.
Overall
Ottawa surprised in 2022 and it's hard to say whether that was a lucky season or not. The batting has probably slipped a little on the retirement of Tom Boss and also with the over supply of out field talent some good bats aren't getting game time. Pitching will be reliant on relievers holding the opposition as they play catch up on the scoreboard. The team will most likely slip a little in 2023.
Transactions
Benner, Dan, Right Field - Sent to AAA
Boss, Tom, 3rd Base - Retired
Hill, Alex, 1st Base - Sent to ACT
Cahill, Vince, Left Field - Sent to ACT
Kennedy, Barton, 3rd Base - Sent to ACT
Lanphier, Dwight, Starter - Retired
Fitt, James, Middle Reliever - Sent to AAA
Tarrant, Elwood, Long Reliever - Sent to AAA
Neufeld, Andrew, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Godsmark, Josh, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 4th
Wins: 69
Port Hope Battery
Division Last Season: 4th
Wins Last Season: 66
Batting
There were no batting retirements from the Battery after the end of 2022. One very interesting player who is yet to see time with Port Hope is 3rd base Rob Lee, he currently has path blocked by Tim Atchley and Brook Serafani. If the remaining senior players can have good years we'd expect a similar year to 2022 from Port Hope, a lot is resting on the shoulders of Brent Ponson though.
Pitching
Chris Schlei retired during the off season and was a surprisingly good reliever when given a chance. New comers to fill in the shoes of Schlei are Billy McCoubrie and 20 year old Sherry Whittle. Getting a chance in the starting rotation is Sukhyum Harris and while he's improved over the off season he most likely will end up in relief.
Overall
The team hasn't changed much over the off season and with the additional pitching depth they could be considered a little stronger. That being said, Port Hope won't be as strong compared to the overall team they had in 2022.
Transactions
Stubenrau, Wyatt, Short Stop - Sent to AAA
Brown, Paul, Catcher - Sent to AAA
Evers, Ozzie, Centre Field - Sent to ACT
Spalding, Turkey, Short Stop - Sent to ACT
Schlei, Chris, Starter - Retired
McCoubrie, Billy, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Harris, Sukhyum, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Whittle, Sherry, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 5th
Wins: 57
Cobourg Stampeders
Division Last Season: Last
Wins Last Season: 50
Batting
The only retirement for the Stampeders during the off season was Barry Burall who was a solid player when called upon but didn't feature highly in his 4 years with the team. Gavin Felsenau had a great spring training and Cobourg will be expecting him to make a major contribution to the team in 2023. Likewise is fellow 2nd year player Kirk Swihart who also looks like a stronger player in 2023.
Pitching
Cobourg lost no pitchers to retirement and, as with a young team, they look better for another season of learning. Hugo Jetton looked more composed in his spring starts playing well while rising star reliever Frank Hearn had his slider working extremely well. Young starter Bevan Campos gets a call up after a good last season playing in Hull.
Overall
This is a really difficult one to pick, or rather to say, because the predictor thinks this team will go pretty well … however we're not really sure how. So here goes … the team has definitely improved in the batting department and it could be argued they have several players of real quality now. The major improvement though appears to have been attributed to the pitching where there's been plenty of maturing improvement, but it's hard to attribute this much to them. So if there was to be improvement attributed to somewhere I would also have to say they had a terrible 2022.
Transactions
Burall, Barry, Left Field - Retired
Corning, Troy, 2nd Base - Sent to AAA
Felsenau, Gavin, 2nd Base - Sent to ACT
Shepperd, Asa, Left Field - Sent to ACT
Chiaramonte, Russ, Left Field - Sent to ACT
Garcia, Peter, Bullpen - Sent to AAA
Headrick, Mike, Bullpen - Sent to AAA
Hitchell, Tony, Bullpen - Sent to AAA
Moore, Darnell, Bullpen - Sent to AAA
Campos, Bevan, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Dove, Trevor, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 2nd
Wins: 92
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