Fort Mac Roughnecks
Division Last Season: 1st
Wins Last Season: 113
Batting
Catcher Duncan Darley retired at 40 years of age at the end of 2022. He was the 7th overall signing in the 2018 supp draft and played 404 games for Fort Mac in those 5 seasons with a career batting average of .238. He played 28 games in 2022. Fort Mac is the number one batting team in the Farmers league but they still have the same problem they had at the start of 2022, not enough depth in the outfield. Mike Camphor is back from injury he sustained leading into the playoffs in 2022.
Pitching
There were no pitching retirements during the off season and as a unit they continued to develop. Hamish Beard continues to refine his pitches and will be desperately looking to get his ERA back under 4.00 again, in fact under 3.50 should be expected. Jose Cortez also looked a more complete pitcher during spring training and should have another good season. Paul Allran gets the call-up as does veteran lefty Mike Beck. After spending 2 seasons in Lloydminster Darrold Misfeldt is also back.
Overall
Fort Mac will find it more difficult to win games in 2023 but that doesn’t mean they’ll have trouble winning the Central division. The team is too strong from top to bottom and baring injuries are about as guaranteed as you can get in baseball. Aside from the lack of depth in the outfield we could also point out the lack of a quality 5th as something that has the potential to cause problems.
Transactions
Heise, Shovel, Short Stop - Sent to AAA
Johnson, Garrick, Right Field - Sent to AAA
Jerich, Abe, 3rd Base - Released to Free Agents
Johnstone, Liam, Short Stop - Sent to AAA
Camphor, Mike, 3rd Base - Sent to ACT
Darley, Duncan, Catcher - Retired
Cruell, Boris, Centre Field - Released to Free Agents
Barthold, Rafael, 3rd Base - Released to Free Agents
Trappey, Armand, 2nd Base - Released to Free Agents
Allran, Paul, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Beck, Mike, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Misfeldt, Darrold, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 1st
Wins: 119
Calgary Remparts
Division Last Season: 2nd
Wins Last Season: 110
Batting
Retired during the off season is 2008 Rookie of the Year Shane Walters. His career spanned 15 years where he played 2004 games, scored 1251 runs, hit 383 home runs, stole 300 bases and finished with a career batting average of .280. He was the 17th overall pick by the Regina Pirates in the 2003 draft going on to play in 6 All Star games. Walters was a great performer for the Remparts and his 2022 numbers were excellent, his production will be missed. It'll be between AJ Mahoney and rookie Jamie Purdon to take the left field position vacated by Walters and perhaps Mahoney will have the upper hand because of his experience.
Pitching
Another big loss for the Remparts was the retirement of 16 year veteran Chito Berger. Having started 456 games of the 520 games he pitched Berger won 217 games with a career ERA of 3.80. His 2022 was also a very good year where he pitched 164 innings and won 11 games with an ERA of 3.68. Also retired are relieving pitchers Clark Strohmeyer and Catfish Ale. Strohmeyer was a true veteran having been drafted in the inaugural draft of 2001. In 18 seasons he pitched 722 games with a career ERA of 4.18. Ale pitched 16 seasons and 576 games for a career ERA of 4.49 collecting 111 saves and 108 holds. For both of these pitchers their careers were beginning to wind down after 2020. Calgary will be looking for Dave Satala, acquired from Port Hope at the trade deadline in 2022, to replace Berger in the rotation.
Overall
Both the batting and pitching have an awful lot of experience and will make life difficult for all teams. But while the batting remains one of the strongest in the Farmers league, the pitching is starting to slip back with the pack. The Remparts most likely won’t reach the heights of 2022 but they’ll still be strong.
Transactions
Walters, Shane, Left Field - Retired
Camacho, Ikeem, 1st Base - Sent to AAA
Eaton, Luke, 2nd Base - Sent to AAA
Montiel, Vicente, Left Field - Sent to AAA
Purdon, Jamie, Left Field - Sent to ACT
Berger, Chito, Starter - Retired
Lisi, George, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Strohmeyer, Clark, Bullpen - Retired
Boever, Derrek, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Ale, Catfish, Bullpen - Retired
Estrada, Choo, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 3rd
Wins: 92
Lethbridge Typhoon
Division Last Season: 3rd
Wins Last Season: 76
Batting
Only Bill Skinner retired at the end of 2022, he was picked up via free agency in 2022 but didn’t feature in the first team. Troy Bentsel replaces Skinner and looks to be a very good catcher who can hit the ball and get around the bases. Also Gustav Penick impressed in spring training and adds another option to the Typhoon’s outfield. Clyde Monsignor returns for a 21st season although his age is starting to tell now.
Pitching
Also retired is relieving pitcher Kaktus Kolsch. Kolsch had a very good 2022 where he pitched 53 innings for an ERA of 2.55. Kolsch was very effective in the relieving role and will be missed despite the strong pitching staff at Lethbridge. Hard throwing Dean Lawrence has been added to the bullpen to replace Kolsch and gets a chance in setup. After a good spring training look for Demarcus Schaaf to get more opportunity in 2023.
Overall
Lethbridge faded towards the end of 2022 but they are good enough to go close again in 2023. Their strength continues to be in their pitching while their batting is a mix of youth and experience. We think they could surprise themselves and finish stronger in 2023.
Transactions
Newman, Andy, 3rd Base - Sent to AAA
Hollis, Reggie, Short Stop - Sent to AAA
Penick, Gustav, Centre Field - Sent to ACT
Skinner, Bill, Catcher - Retired
Kolsch, Kaktus, Middle Reliever - Retired
Funaro, Jarrod, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Lawrence, Dean, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 2nd
Wins: 93
Cold Lake Mud Cats
Division Last Season: 4th
Wins Last Season: 65
Batting
The Mud Cats suffered a big blow when centre fielder Milt Blair announced his retirement shortly before the 2023 season. Blair was the 25th overall pick in the 2005 draft and spent his entire career with the Cold Lake franchise. He played 2260 games, scoring 1417 runs, hitting 353 homer runs, stole 517 bases and had a career batting average of .260. 2022 was a particularly good season for Blair and his presence in the batting lineup and centre field will be missed by the Mud Cats. However all is not lost as Bruno Glassgow is a ready made replacement, albeit lacking experience. Lanny Geiss, Josue Mahon, Moujirou Saitoh and Donny Brennan all performed well in spring training and earned their call-up to the first team. James Case remains in Timmins but can’t be far away.
Pitching
There were no pitching retirements but it’s still a very young group with a long way to go. The 2nd overall pick in this season’s supp draft assumes the role of the staff ace and appears capable of doing a good job. The Mud Cats will also be looking for Simon Wye and Nigel Lutui to transfer their good spring form into the new season.
Overall
Despite the wealth of new talent the Mud Cats have they’re still in for a tough 2023. We could see a slight continuation in the improvement of the team’s batting average but that is more likely to happen in 2024. We should definitely see the team’s ERA continue to go down as the young staff continues to mature and they also have plenty of up and coming arms ready to bolster the bullpen.
Transactions
Byrdak, Ismael, 1st Base - Sent to AAA
Gruber, Jake, 3rd Base - Sent to AAA
Garcia-Sol, Capiel, Left Field - Sent to AAA
Betten, Donnie, Short Stop - Sent to AAA
Daniels, Darrell, Right Field - Sent to AAA
Blair, Milt, Centre Field - Retired
Core, Brian, 3rd Base - Related to Free Agents
Thompson, Dallas, 1st Base - Related to Free Agents
Dupuoy, Hai, 2nd Base - Related to Free Agents
Liddy, Neil, Starter - Sent to AAA
Prediction
Division Place: Last
Wins: 59
St Paul Pride
Division Last Season: Last
Wins Last Season: 58
Batting
St Paul lost the services of the well travelled Pablo Astacio during the off season. An All Star in 2016 Astacio spent his last 3 seasons at St Paul and was a key performer with the bat for the team. Also retired was Butch Davis who played his only full season in 2021 and didn’t feature in 2022. Rutger Giles impressed with the bat in spring training and deserves his call up from Destruction Bay but he’ll be hard pressed to move established catcher Bubba Weiss out. Perhaps Giles will have to be content with the DH role until his catching improves.
Pitching
The Pride lost no pitchers in the off season however they also weren’t exactly spectacular in spring training. Darrell Walsh was one player who did impress however whenever he did get his change up and curve ball on the spot, it’s a shame that he typically struggles to put the ball in the strike zone. Deniz Mahony and Kevin Deninno both looked very good and deserving a spot however they’ll both start the season in Destruction Bay.
Overall
St Paul had a terrible time in 2022 and while the team has improved slightly over the off season the bulk of their potential improvement will come from having better luck. Their pitching is the worst in the Central division, you could even argue the entire Farmers league, however they do have a lot of good arms just waiting for their chance.
Transactions
Astacio, Pablo, Left Field - Retired
Bedwith, Antone, Short Stop - Sent to AAA
Hawkenberry, Dave, Catcher - Sent to AAA
Giles, Rutger, Catcher - Sent to ACT
Chumley, James, Centre Field - Sent to ACT
Bottomley, Adam, Centre Field - Sent to ACT
Davis, Butch, Right Field - Retired
Bowman, Dan, Catcher - Released to Free Agents
Galbraith, Kevin, 2nd Base - Released to Free Agents
Mote, Erik, Setup - Sent to AAA
Donovan, Fred, Bullpen - Sent to ACT
Prediction
Division Place: 4th
Wins: 67
|
