{"id":1541,"date":"2024-03-31T11:11:39","date_gmt":"2024-03-31T18:11:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/?p=1541"},"modified":"2024-03-31T11:11:39","modified_gmt":"2024-03-31T18:11:39","slug":"2024-season-preview-part-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/?p=1541","title":{"rendered":"2024 Season Preview:  Part IV"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a id=\"Z-V_bDQzSmpFH1NzheKQXg\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2115796362\" target=\"_blank\">Embed from Getty Images<\/a><script>\/\/ <![CDATA[\nwindow.gie=window.gie||function(c){(gie.q=gie.q||[]).push(c)};gie(function(){gie.widgets.load({id:'Z-V_bDQzSmpFH1NzheKQXg',sig:'prBotfTgN25N-Sgd55wWteWwNUGcHNBcARL6_48BAOA=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2115796362',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>With the first three full days of the MLB season in the books, we&#8217;re off and running.\u00a0 Mookie Betts is on pace to hit .611 with 130 home runs and 324 runs batted in.\u00a0 Let&#8217;s see if he can keep it up!\u00a0 On a negative note, four of the top twelve picks from this month&#8217;s draft have already found their way to the injured list.\u00a0 The rash of injuries is something to keep an eye on as it *seems* like there are far more than usual this early in the season.<\/p>\n<p>Now to the final part of the 2024 DTBL season preview series.\u00a0 This one will cover the three teams projected to finish at the top of the standings this year.\u00a0 As I keep mentioning, the margins between these teams and the ones covered in the most recent article are razor thin.\u00a0 Feel free to skip all the way to the bottom to see for yourself.\u00a0 It is not particularly surprising to see any of these three teams in this part of the preview as they were all among the top five finishers a year ago.\u00a0 These might be the three most balanced teams in the league as each of them are projected for at least 30 batting and pitching points, the only three teams that can make that claim.\u00a0 Without further ado, here are the teams expected to finish in those top three spots.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Jay&#8217;s Jackalope<\/h2>\n<p>Category &#8211; Projected Rank (2023 Rank)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Batting Average &#8211; 1st (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Home Runs &#8211; 5th (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Batted In &#8211; 5th (8th)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Scored &#8211; 4th (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Stolen Bases &#8211; 6th (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Earned Run Average &#8211; 3rd (9th)<\/li>\n<li>WHIP Ratio &#8211; 5th (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Wins &#8211; 6th (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Saves &#8211; 6th (4th-T)<\/li>\n<li>Strike Outs &#8211; 2nd (5th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Batting Points &#8211; 3rd (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Pitching Points &#8211; 4th (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Points &#8211; 3rd (5th)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Summary:<\/p>\n<p>The Jackalope category projected rankings point to a team that is well rounded with no obvious weakness.\u00a0 They also show a team that appears to be a little bit better than last season&#8217;s fifth place finish.\u00a0 For what its worth, they were projected to finish third last year as well.\u00a0 Offensively, they made small upgrades, but the top contributors figure to be the holdovers.\u00a0 And of course, it all starts with reigning MVP Ronald Acuna Jr.\u00a0 He is projected for a ridiculous 14.4 PAR, which I think I can safely assume is a record since I&#8217;ve started doing these pre-season projections.\u00a0 It is almost six points higher than all other hitters in the league.\u00a0 Makes sense though, coming off a record setting 18.9 PAR season.\u00a0 His Braves and Jackalope outfield teammate Michael Harris is no slouch either.\u00a0 Adolis Garica, Anthony Santander and newcomer Jordan Walker fill out what might be the league&#8217;s best outfield.\u00a0 The infield is pretty solid too with veteran Paul Goldschmidt and Josh Jung holding down the corners and Luis Arraez and Dansby Swanson up the middle.\u00a0 The catching duo of Cal Raleigh and Francisco Alvarez is back for another season.\u00a0 As long as Acuna remains healthy, it is hard to imagine this not being one of the better offensive teams in the league.\u00a0 The pitching projections may be a tad inflated though.\u00a0 They were compiled before staff ace Gerrit Cole got hurt.\u00a0 It remains unclear how much time he will miss.\u00a0 He will certainly be tough to replace.\u00a0 Luis Castillo and Tyler Glasnow are pretty solid top of the rotation pitchers in their own right.\u00a0 First round draft pick Grayson Rodriguez is an exciting addition to this group.\u00a0 They also opted to roll the dice on a couple currently injured pitchers coming off great seasons in Kyle Bradish and Kodai Senga.\u00a0 The Jackalope do have enough starting pitching talent to survive a lengthy absence from Cole, but maybe drop the expectations a notch or two.\u00a0 The bullpen is a bit of a wild card.\u00a0 Raisel Iglesias is the only well established closer, but Jose Alvarado is likely to join him if the Phillies don&#8217;t opt to go with a committee.\u00a0 The health of the pitching staff is certainly the thing to watch early with the Jackalope.\u00a0 If they come out unscathed, this will be a very dangerous team with understandably high expectations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Kevin&#8217;s Kings<\/h2>\n<p>Category &#8211; Projected Rank (2023 Rank)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Batting Average &#8211; 5th (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Home Runs &#8211; 1st (2nd)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Batted In &#8211; 1st (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Scored &#8211; 1st (1st)<\/li>\n<li>Stolen Bases &#8211; 8th (9th)<\/li>\n<li>Earned Run Average &#8211; 5th (8th)<\/li>\n<li>WHIP Ratio &#8211; 4th (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Wins &#8211; 7th (5th-T)<\/li>\n<li>Saves &#8211; 2nd (2nd)<\/li>\n<li>Strike Outs &#8211; 7th (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Batting Points &#8211; 1st (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Total Pitching Points &#8211; 5th (5th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Points &#8211; 2nd (3rd-T)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Summary:<\/p>\n<p>The Kings already had a very good offense, but now they may have the league&#8217;s best.\u00a0 That is despite trading away their first round pick and not drafting a hitter until round three.\u00a0 Of course, it was that trade of the first round pick that netted them Bo Bichette, who gives a big boost to a position that they were lacking production from a year ago.\u00a0 The infield really has no weak spot now with Bichette at short, Marcus Semien at second, Austin Riley and Gunnar Henderson at third and the pair of Matt Olson and Rhys Hoskins at first.\u00a0 They will benefit from having Hoskins back after missing all of last season with a knee injury.\u00a0 Will Smith is one of the top catchers in the league.\u00a0 They aren&#8217;t quite as deep at that position having traded away Sean Murphy, but Logan O&#8217;Hoppe will look to replace most of his productivity.\u00a0 The outfield has been largely rebuilt.\u00a0 The two holdovers are hard to beat though with Mookie Betts and Randy Arozarena.\u00a0 The red hot Betts will most likely move to the Kings crowded infield next year as he is moonlighting as a shortstop for the Dodgers this season.\u00a0 To fill out the outfield, the Kings drafted Chas McCormick and Eloy Jimenez and brought back Tyler O&#8217;Neill later in the draft as well.\u00a0 There are probably other teams with a better group of outfielders on the whole, but Betts alone makes this a very solid group.\u00a0 The Kings also rebuilt a mediocre pitching staff.\u00a0 Gone is longtime ace Max Scherzer.\u00a0 Zack Wheeler and George Kirby are back though and should provide ace-like quality once again.\u00a0 Michael King moves into the rotation as a full time starter for the first time in his career.\u00a0 The exciting addition to this group is second round pick Cole Ragans.\u00a0 The lefty who the Royals acquired from the Rangers in a trade last year was one of the top starters in baseball in the closing months of 2023.\u00a0 Finally, the Kings picked up another Mariners starter in addition to Kirby, with Bryce Miller rounding out the rotation.\u00a0 The success of these five starters could be what determines the Kings fate this season as it is the one group that isn&#8217;t clearly among the best in the league.\u00a0 The bullpen should be excellent, at least in terms of racking up saves.\u00a0 Pete Fairbanks, Camilo Doval and Paul Sewald have solid grasps on closer roles, although Sewald is currently on the shelf with an injury suffered late in spring training.\u00a0 Hunter Harvey may even have a shot at picking up saves if the Nats ultimately decide to go with their best pitcher in that role.\u00a0 Despite pretty significant roster upheaval, the Kings should once again be in the mix for the league championship and at the very least should have an excellent chance of finishing in the top three for the fourth consecutive season.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Dom&#8217;s Demigods<\/h2>\n<p>Category &#8211; Projected Rank (2023 Rank)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Batting Average &#8211; 4th (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Home Runs &#8211; 6th (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Batted In &#8211; 7th (2nd)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Scored &#8211; 3rd (2nd)<\/li>\n<li>Stolen Bases &#8211;\u00a03rd (2nd)<\/li>\n<li>Earned Run Average &#8211; 1st (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>WHIP Ratio &#8211; 2nd (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Wins &#8211; 1st (1st-T)<\/li>\n<li>Saves &#8211; 7th (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Strike Outs &#8211; 6th (9th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Batting Points &#8211; 4th (1st)<\/li>\n<li>Total Pitching Points &#8211; 3rd (2nd-T)<\/li>\n<li>Total Points &#8211; 1st (1st)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Summary:<\/p>\n<p>The Demigods finally won their first DTBL championship last season, doing so by being good at pretty much everything.\u00a0 They finished in the top three of the league in every category except for saves and strikeouts.\u00a0 These projections show them once again being strong across the board, but maybe taking a small step back in a few categories.\u00a0 The trio of Freddie Freeman, Fernando Tatis Jr and Corbin Carroll all head into this season as potential MVP candidates, at least if Ronald Acuna doesn&#8217;t have another season like last year.\u00a0 Carroll won the Rookie of the Year award and finished second in MVP voting.\u00a0 He and Tatis lead a very strong outfield that brings back almost everyone from a year ago, although Tatis is actually new to the outfield in this league this season.\u00a0 Seiya Suzuki and J.D. Martinez are back.\u00a0 The one key addition is Brandon Nimmo.\u00a0 The infield will once again be anchored by Freeman, Francisco Lindor and Jose Altuve, three guys who have been making the Demigods infield a strength for many years.\u00a0 It is unlikely they will get the same kind of production from their first round draft pick as they did a year ago with Carroll, but Spencer Steer is that guy this year.\u00a0 They do have a bit of a problem with another draft pick, third baseman Noelvi Marte receiving an 80 game PED suspension.\u00a0 Replacing him will be the same person who will be asked to replace him for the Reds, Jeimer Candelario.\u00a0 Marte&#8217;s second half return could give this infield a big boost though, assuming his prospect pedigree wasn&#8217;t enhanced unnaturally.\u00a0 The Demigods should get nice production from their catching duo of Willson Contreras and newcomer Yanier Diaz.\u00a0 The Demigods have had a strong pitching staff for quite some time now and that should be the case again this season.\u00a0 Their entire rotation from last season is back.\u00a0 Zac Gallen, Max Fried and Aaron Nola have been reliable mainstays.\u00a0 Joe Musgrove has been excellent when healthy too.\u00a0 And last year&#8217;s breakout star was Justin Steele, who unfortunately suffered a hamstring injury on Opening Day.\u00a0 When healthy, that&#8217;s as strong of a 1 through 5 rotation as you will find.\u00a0 I don&#8217;t want to say the Demigods punt saves, but filling their bullpen with closers has never really been a priority for them.\u00a0 They do bring back the excellent David Bednar and added Adbert Alzolay in the draft.\u00a0 Like the Choppers, the Demigods will start the season with two actual starting pitchers filling relief slots with Reynaldo Lopez and Garrett Whitlock.\u00a0 This could give them an advantage in wins and strikeouts that isn&#8217;t really captured in these projections.\u00a0 While the margin is extremely tight, it is not surprising to see the defending champions at the top of these projections.\u00a0 The Demigods are looking to be the first team to successfully defend their DTBL title since the Kings in 2019.\u00a0 They certainly have a roster capable of doing just that.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And with that, we have completed the 2024 DTBL season preview.\u00a0 Here are the full projected standings and team point totals for the ten categories:<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/spreadsheets\/d\/e\/2PACX-1vTjSON4Kjdk2kfI9nus7oBORwS5_4ZK3piExChtX1F0c2yzEslnITpuCM4jDTbFVsgdiPFuJ3TmF4Zr\/pubhtml?gid=13&amp;single=true&amp;widget=true&amp;headers=false\" width=\"440\" height=\"510\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Good luck to everybody this season!\u00a0 Happy Easter!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images With the first three full days of the MLB season in the books, we&#8217;re off and running.\u00a0 Mookie Betts is on pace to hit .611 with 130 home runs and 324 runs batted in.\u00a0 Let&#8217;s see if he can keep it up!\u00a0 On a negative note, four of the top twelve [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-demigods","category-jackalope","category-kings"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1541"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1545,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1541\/revisions\/1545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}