CATCHER
| BAL Stouts | I.Rodriguez | 5.0 | W.Gonzalez | 1.0 | 6.0 |
| LA Diablos | H.Blanco | 0.0 | M.Redmond | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| MIL Phantoms | C.Krueter | 1.2 | M.Difelice | (0.4) | 0.8 |
| MIN Millers | P.LoDuca | 4.6 | T.Prince | 0.7 | 5.3 |
The "F" durable I-Rod puts the Stouts in the lead with the best catchers in the division. Now it's just a matter of keeping him healthy. Walt's acquisition of Paul LoDuca last season gives him a sold guy behind the plate. LA and Milwaukee both fall short in the backstop category.
INFIELD
| 1B | 2B | SS | 3B | ||||||
| BAL Stouts | T.Helton | 7.8 | F.Vina | 2.5 | A.Rodriguez | 8.3 | D.Young | 0.9 | 19.5 |
| LA Diablos | J.Giambi | 9.1 | M.Loretta | 0.4 | R.Sanchez | 3.4 | J.McEwing | 1.4 | 14.3 |
| MIL Phantoms | C.Delgado | 4.5 | M.Anderson | 2.9 | J.Rollins | 2.4 | J.Cirillo | 4.4 | 14.2 |
| MIN Millers | F.McGriff | 3.7 | A.Soriano | 0.0 | D.Jeter | 5.2 | A.Ramirez | 4.1 | 13.0 |
The first thing that jumps out to me as I look at these numbers is the quality of 1B in this division. Reigning MVP Todd Helton leads the Stouts infield to the top spot in the category, but Giambi chimes in with the highest WAR of any position player. Walt's overall number is dragged down by 2B Alfonso Soriano, who despite having a positive offensive WAR is hurt by his defense in the overall category.
OUTFIELD
| CF | OF | OF | |||||
| BAL Stouts | J.Cruz | 2.2 | L.Walker | 7.8 | R.White | 2.1 | 12.1 |
| LA Diablos | C.Beltran | 6.4 | J.Damon | 2.4 | M.Kotsay | 3.5 | 12.3 |
| MIL Phantoms | D.Glanville | 2.1 | D.White | 0.8 | M.Lawton | 2.6 | 5.5 |
| MIN Millers | J.Pierre | 3.1 | A.Pujols | 6.6 | J.Burnitz | 2.7 | 12.4 |
Three really good OFs in this division, and one, well, not so much (sorry James). The addition of Pujols really helps the Millers, obviously. Kotsay a sneaky late addition by the Diablos. Larry Walker will pace the Stouts lineup.
BENCH
| BAL Stouts | T.Graffanino | 1.3 | T.HWorth | 1.4 | R.Fick | 2.4 | 5.1 |
| LA Diablos | M.Mora | 2.5 | B.Grieve | 1.4 | J.Uribe | 1.5 | 5.4 |
| MIL Phantoms | R.Velarde | 1.9 | M.Tucker | 1.1 | B.Abernathy | 1.2 | 4.2 |
| MIN Millers | H.Bush | 1.2 | T.Salmon | 1.2 | R.Mondesi | 2.3 | 4.7 |
Pretty decent reserves for the whole division. Todd Hollandsworth looks to kill it against RHP for 100 ABs. Melvin Mora a quality sub in both the OF and IF. Walt sitting on two big bats in Tim Salmon and Raul Mondesi.
OFFENSIVE TOTALS
| C | IF | OF | BN | TOT | |
| BAL Stouts | 6.0 | 19.5 | 12.1 | 5.1 | 42.7 |
| LA Diablos | 1.3 | 14.3 | 12.3 | 5.4 | 33.3 |
| MIL Phantoms | 0.8 | 14.2 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 24.7 |
| MIN Millers | 5.3 | 13.0 | 12.4 | 4.7 | 35.4 |
Baltimore looks to be the class of the division offensively in 2001 with good numbers across the board. Obviously the health of I-Rod a major concern. LA and Minnesota both look to like solid lineups. Milwaukee's numbers are really dragged down by the catching and outfield numbers.
STARTING PITCHING
| BAL Stouts | LA Diablos | MIL Phantoms | MIN Millers | |||||||
| C. Park | 4.1 | P.Martinez | 5.1 | M.Clement | (0.1) | J.Burkett | 4.8 | |||
| K.Brown | 3.1 | C.Finley | (0.1) | K.Jarvis | 1.5 | R.Ortiz | 4.2 | |||
| R.Oswalt | 4.7 | S.Parris | 0.8 | T.Lilly | 0.0 | W.Miller | 5.3 | |||
| R.Reed | 2.9 | J.Suppan | 2.5 | R.Quevedo | 0.6 | M.Morris | 4.1 | |||
| B.Lyon | 1.0 | J.Garland | 1.6 | O.Oliveres | (1.6) | M.Mulder | 5.6 | |||
| 15.8 | 9.9 | 0.4 | 24.0 |
And now we see why the Minnesota Millers are the favorite to win the Continental Division, if not the entire league. Pitching. Starting pitching to be exact. All five starters with a WAR rating above 4.1. All five starters with a JAM rating. Baltimore made a necessary upgrade by acquiring Roy Oswalt, but will it be enough? Half of the Diablos rating comes from Pedro Martinez. Not a bad guy to have at the top of a rotation. The Phantoms, well, they currently have two guys in their projected rotation with negative WAR. Not good.
RELIEF PITCHING
| BAL Stouts | LA Diablos | MIL Phantoms | MIN Millers | |||||||
| J.Brower | 1.8 | J.Santana | 0.2 | D.Wright | 0.1 | M.DeJean | 1.5 | |||
| P.Wilson | 0.6 | D.Marte | 0.1 | M.Buddie | 0.3 | P.Quantrill | 2.4 | |||
| F.Rodriguez | 3.3 | J.Tam | (0.1) | A.Fultz | (0.3) | R.Rincon | 1.6 | |||
| R.Rodriguez | 0.0 | J.Smoltz | 0.8 | J.Zimmerman | 3.4 | D.Weathers | 2.6 | |||
| J.Nelson | 1.4 | M.Anderson | (0.1) | BJ.Ryan | (0.2) | J.Shaw | 0.9 | |||
| K.Sasaki | 1.1 | T.Jones | 0.0 | D.Graves | 0.9 | K.Foulke | 3.7 | |||
| 8.2 | 0.9 | 4.2 | 12.7 |
The Millers once again are the class of the division. Walt's worst rated RP, Jeff Shaw, would be the best RP on LA. If not for Jeff Zimmerman, he would be the best RP on Milwaukee as well. The Stouts have a few good arms out of the pen, but the WAR numbers don't add up. Walt's top six are almost as good as the rest of the bullpen arms in the division combined (13.3-12.7).
PITCHING TOTALS
| SP | RP | TOT | |
| BAL Stouts | 15.8 | 8.2 | 24.0 |
| LA Diablos | 9.9 | 0.9 | 10.8 |
| MIL Phantoms | 0.4 | 4.2 | 4.6 |
| MIN Millers | 24.0 | 12.7 | 36.7 |
As you can see by the numbers, Walt has assembled a pitching staff beyond compare. To put it into comparison, the vaunted 1995 Atlanta Braves staff of Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz, Avery and Mercker that won the World Series that year had a combined WAR of "only" 21.2. Add in his bullpen and there are really no holes in the staff. Baltimore tries to keep up in the arms race, but falls a full 12 WAR points short as a staff.
OVERALL TOTALS
| C | IF | OF | BN | BAT | SP | RP | PITCH | TOTAL | |
| BAL Stouts | 6.0 | 19.5 | 12.1 | 5.1 | 42.7 | 15.8 | 8.2 | 24.0 | 66.7 |
| LA Diablos | 1.3 | 14.3 | 12.3 | 5.4 | 33.3 | 9.9 | 0.9 | 10.8 | 44.1 |
| MIL Phantoms | 0.8 | 14.2 | 5.5 | 4.2 | 24.7 | 0.4 | 4.2 | 4.6 | 29.3 |
| MIN Millers | 5.3 | 13.0 | 12.4 | 4.7 | 35.4 | 24.0 | 12.7 | 36.7 | 72.1 |
In the end, Walt's Minnesota Millers grade out as the top team in the division. Baltimore comes a close second based on their offensive prowess. The LA Diablos look to finish third behind their strong offense. LB's Milwaukee Phantoms look to be a distant fourth with their current roster configuration. Here is how I project the won/loss records. It looks to be a two team race, but the beautiful thing about this game and baseball as a whole is that the predictions are meaningless. Gotta play the games. And anything can happen!!
| W | L | +/- | |
| MIN Millers | 99 | 63 | |
| BAL Stouts | 95 | 67 | 4 |
| LA Diablos | 72 | 90 | 27 |
| MIL Phantoms | 65 | 97 | 34 |
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