Part two of the 2017 DTBL season preview will examine three teams who are projected to finish near the middle of the standings. This would be a major change from last year for all three squads. Two of them would view this as a positive move in the right direction while the other would consider this to be a major disappointment after nearly winning the championship a year ago. I should mention that the projected league standings shows very little separation among these three teams in particular, but really the entire projected top seven finishers. You can even throw in the Moonshiners and have eight teams who are prognosticated to be within 20 points of first place. So it wouldn’t take a whole lot of weird stuff to happen for any of these teams to win the league. Here are the teams projected to finish in fifth through seventh place.
Dom’s Demigods
Category – Projected Rank (2016 Rank)
- Batting Average – 3rd (1st)
- Home Runs – 5th (1st-T)
- Runs Batted In – 3rd (1st)
- Runs Scored – 4th (4th)
- Stolen Bases – 10th (8th)
- Earned Run Average – 4th (2nd)
- WHIP Ratio – 4th (4th)
- Wins – 7th (2nd)
- Saves – 9th (10th)
- Strike Outs – 9th (1st)
- Total Batting Points – 5th (2nd)
- Total Pitching Points – 7th (4th)
- Total Points – 7th (2nd)
Summary:
In the Darkhorses preview, I said that I thought their projected fall from 5th to 9th was the biggest surprise we’d see. Well, here we have the Demigods falling even one spot further. But this one is less surprising, in my opinion. You simply can’t replace one of the best pitchers in the game, which is the obstacle the Demigods must overcome after the passing of Jose Fernandez. The weakened pitching prognostication makes sense. Attempting to replace Fernandez will be Aaron Nola and Matt Shoemaker. Nice pitchers, but not the same. Corey Kluber and Johnny Cueto will remain the true aces of the staff. This is still an above average rotation. However, it doesn’t appear to be elite. The bullpen remains one of the league’s worst with a pair of closers who don’t have great job security (Tony Watson and Jeanmar Gomez). What is more troubling about these projections is the offensive drop-off. But the Demigods remain a balanced hitting team with solid players in every slot. Jose Altuve, Freddie Freeman and Francisco Lindor are the stars. A key newcomer to keep an eye on is Greg Bird. If he continues his hot spring training into the regular season, there is no reason to think the Demigods couldn’t be near the top of the league in the power categories again this year. I’m sure the Demigods have much higher expectations for this season than this. There are plenty of reasons to believe they can make a run at that elusive first championship again this year.
Kelly’s Cougars
Category – Projected Rank (2016 Rank)
- Batting Average – 6th (8th)
- Home Runs – 6th (10th)
- Runs Batted In – 7th (8th)
- Runs Scored – 7th (5th)
- Stolen Bases – 7th (9th)
- Earned Run Average – 3rd (10th)
- WHIP Ratio – 3rd (9th)
- Wins – 6th (7th)
- Saves – 7th (7th)
- Strike Outs – 4th (5th)
- Total Batting Points – 7th (9th)
- Total Pitching Points – 3rd (8th-T)
- Total Points – 6th (10th)
Summary:
Here we have the most positively surprising projection. The numbers show potential for major improvement from the Cougars, who finished in last place in 2016. The improvement is especially impressive on the pitching side. Madison Bumgarner leads the way, of course, but a major bounce-back season from Chris Archer seems probable. Three interesting newcomers join the rotation too: the ageless Rich Hill, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball when healthy the past couple years, Jameson Taillon and Jerad Eickhoff. This rotation has a little bit of everything. The bullpen is respectable as well, with Cody Allen, Alex Colome and David Robertson. In order to see significant improvement from the Cougars this year, the bats will need to take a huge step forward. First overall draft pick Trevor Story should help in that regard. He and Kris Bryant form quite a duo on the left side of the Cougars infield. Underrated Charlie Blackmon leads the outfield. I think it is safe to project the Cougars to soar past their league worst home run total from last season. While it has been painful for the Cougars finishing near the bottom of the standings the past three years, it has allowed them to restock the lineup with high draft picks (Bryant, Story and Jose Abreu). Perhaps this is the year those assets start paying off.
Jay’s Jackalope
Category – Projected Rank (2016 Rank)
- Batting Average – 5th (9th)
- Home Runs – 1st (9th)
- Runs Batted In – 1st (6th)
- Runs Scored – 2nd (9th)
- Stolen Bases – 9th (5th)
- Earned Run Average – 7th (7th)
- WHIP Ratio – 8th (8th)
- Wins – 3rd (9th)
- Saves – 6th (4th)
- Strike Outs – 10th (10th)
- Total Batting Points – 2nd (8th)
- Total Pitching Points – 8th (8th-T)
- Total Points – 5th (9th)
Summary:
Here we have another projection that shows a massive improvement over last season. But unlike the Cougars, this one isn’t particularly surprising. Last season was essentially a write-off for the Jackalope. The core of the team that won the championship two seasons ago remains, particularly on the batting side where they are still one of the best hitting teams in the league, despite what happened a year ago. Paul Goldschmidt and Josh Donaldson are still two of the best players in the game. Goldschmidt had the quietest 20/30 season I think I’ve ever seen. 32 steals out of a first baseman is insane. New to the lineup is Gary Sanchez, who should give the Jackalope a huge edge over most teams at the catching position. Perhaps the most important player for this team this year will be Giancarlo Stanton. If he has a healthy, productive season, the Jackalope will almost certainly be one of the best hitting teams in the league. The pitching staff does not appear to be top notch, however. Jake Arrieta returned to being somewhat human a year ago, but still an elite pitcher. Gerrit Cole figures to be healthier and more productive in ’17. Tanner Roark and A.J. Happ give the Jackalope two of the more underrated pitchers in the game. The bullpen features just two closers, but they are among the best in the league: Wade Davis and Mark Melancon. An improvement over last season seems like a forgone conclusion for the Jackalope. But will they be a championship contender? The talent is there.