{"id":1584,"date":"2025-03-29T08:26:19","date_gmt":"2025-03-29T15:26:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/?p=1584"},"modified":"2025-03-29T08:26:19","modified_gmt":"2025-03-29T15:26:19","slug":"2025-season-preview-part-ii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/?p=1584","title":{"rendered":"2025 Season Preview:  Part II"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a id=\"7aFCY3lHTRxBlKmaoUr2GQ\" class=\"gie-single\" style=\"color: #a7a7a7; text-decoration: none; font-weight: normal !important; border: none; display: inline-block;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gettyimages.com\/detail\/2166188553\" 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:'7aFCY3lHTRxBlKmaoUr2GQ',sig:'ia96gc9_ZaYeGml7lVeYuFT0UlAUsw-Rfzrmtn5CcmQ=',w:'594px',h:'396px',items:'2166188553',caption: true ,tld:'com',is360: false })});\n\/\/ ]]><\/script><script src=\"\/\/embed-cdn.gettyimages.com\/widgets.js\" async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Before I get to the next set of teams in this DTBL season preview series, I want to take a moment to expand upon a passing comment I made up top in the first section.\u00a0 I was a bit pressed for time while writing that night.\u00a0 I mentioned that I was leaning towards switching away from the Fangraphs Depth Charts as the projection system of choice next year.\u00a0 The reason for this is because I think it seriously overrates players who are either injury prone or are returning from major injuries.\u00a0 As a quick refresher, Depth Charts combines two other projections systems, ZiPS and Steamer, and then adjusts for expected playing time depending on the MLB team&#8217;s current roster.\u00a0 The reason why I&#8217;ve liked this in the past is because it more accurately accounts for how much, or how little, of a role upcoming prospects might play for their teams and which guys might be stuck in platoon situations.\u00a0 However, as MLB teams are now incentivized to call up prospects earlier, this has become less useful.\u00a0 So some of the strengths of this system are being outweighed by the weaknesses in projecting playing time for injury prone players.\u00a0 Let&#8217;s take a player who wasn&#8217;t drafted this year as an example:\u00a0 Rays pitcher Drew Rasmussen.\u00a0 He has the 11th highest projected Pitching PAR of any player who was available in this year&#8217;s draft.\u00a0 The reason for that is because one projection system, ZiPS, was especially high on his performance, but in only 76 innings.\u00a0 When you extrapolate that out to Depth Charts&#8217; 125 projected innings, you get outstanding numbers.\u00a0 However, that&#8217;s not really what ZiPS was projecting.\u00a0 Rasmussen has only pitched more than 80 innings once in his career.\u00a0 So the ZiPS innings projection makes more sense to me than what Depth Charts spits out.\u00a0 There are similar weaknesses among hitters who can&#8217;t stay healthy as well.\u00a0 So I&#8217;m going to take a closer look at this next winter and possibly pick a different projection system to use for this effort.<\/p>\n<p>Anyway, as the first weekend of the 2025 MLB season gets underway, let&#8217;s take a look at a few more DTBL teams heading into the new season.\u00a0 This group is projected to finish in the middle of the pack, comfortably ahead of the four teams covered in part one, but also a decent ways behind the top contenders.\u00a0 These teams don&#8217;t have the glaring weaknesses of the teams covered in the first section, but also may need some special overachieving performances to chase for a title.\u00a0 Here are the teams projected to finishing fourth through sixth places this year.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Kat&#8217;s Komodos<\/h2>\n<p>Category &#8211; Projected Rank (2024 Rank)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Batting Average &#8211; 1st (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Home Runs &#8211; 5th (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Batted In &#8211; 3rd (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Scored &#8211; 8th (8th)<\/li>\n<li>Stolen Bases &#8211; 7th (7th)<\/li>\n<li>Earned Run Average &#8211; 6th (8th)<\/li>\n<li>WHIP Ratio &#8211; 7th (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Wins &#8211; 7th (5th-T)<\/li>\n<li>Saves &#8211; 3rd (5th)<\/li>\n<li>Strike Outs &#8211; 9th (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Batting Points &#8211; 4th (6th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Pitching Points &#8211; 6th (5th-T)<\/li>\n<li>Total Points &#8211; 6th (6th)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Summary:<\/p>\n<p>The Komodos have been quietly sneaking up the standings the past couple years and could now be in a position to break into the top half of the standings, although here they are picked to finish the same place as last year in sixth place.\u00a0 The offense is well rounded with solid, reliable contributors across the board.\u00a0 Jose Ramirez remains the star of the show and once again should be expected to be among the league&#8217;s best all around players.\u00a0 Josh Naylor is replacing Christian Walker at first base in Arizona, but both return as teammates with the Komodos where they are joined by Yandy Diaz to provide quality depth.\u00a0 Corey Seager and Anthony Volpe will anchor the shortstop position once again.\u00a0 The newcomer on the infield is Luis Garcia Jr who finally put it all together last year and is now a quality power and speed guy at a pretty shallow second base position.\u00a0 The Komodos outfield was a bit of a disappointment last year.\u00a0 However, on paper, this looks like a very strong group heading into this season with the addition of first round pick James Wood.\u00a0 Yordan Alvarez should be in the running to lead the league in homers.\u00a0 A change of scenery could do Cody Bellinger some good, especially now playing in the lefty hitting paradise of Yankee Stadium.\u00a0 Then there is Luis Robert Jr who is coming off of a miserable, injury plagued season.\u00a0 If he can return to form, he remains one of the highest upside fantasy stars in the game.\u00a0 A return to form could also help get him traded away from the sorry White Sox.\u00a0 These projections call for the Komodos to finish fourth in the league in batting points.\u00a0 I could see them moving up even higher than that if all goes well.\u00a0 The pitching staff will likely determine the team&#8217;s ultimate fate though.\u00a0 There is a proven track record of success from their entire rotation.\u00a0 However, I&#8217;m a tad skeptical that Shane McClanahan and Walker Buehler, with their checkered health in recent years, will accumulate 150+ innings as these projections call for.\u00a0 Framber Valdez and Tanner Bibee are the safer bets to lead this pitching staff.\u00a0 Bailey Ober is a reliable anchor and Christopher Sanchez was a nice pickup in the second half of the draft.\u00a0 Ultimately, health will be the number one factor in determining how strong this Komodos rotation will be.\u00a0 The bullpen should be outstanding.\u00a0 Devin Williams and Jhoan Duran are an excellent 1-2 punch that should ensure they are near the top of the league in saves.\u00a0 Kenley Jansen may be past his prime, but is firmly entrenched in a closer role as well.\u00a0 If Lucas Erceg is able to wrestle some saves away from former Komodo Carlos Estevez in Kansas City, the Komodos could find themselves atop the saves rankings.\u00a0 There are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the Komodos this season.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Kevin&#8217;s Kings<\/h2>\n<p>Category &#8211; Projected Rank (2024 Rank)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Batting Average &#8211; 7th (10th)<\/li>\n<li>Home Runs &#8211; 8th (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Batted In &#8211; 9th (7th)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Scored &#8211; 4th (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Stolen Bases &#8211; 5th (5th)<\/li>\n<li>Earned Run Average &#8211; 3rd (1st)<\/li>\n<li>WHIP Ratio &#8211;\u00a03rd (1st)<\/li>\n<li>Wins &#8211;\u00a03rd (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Saves &#8211; 7th (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Strike Outs &#8211; 5th (2nd)<\/li>\n<li>Total Batting Points &#8211; 7th (5th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Pitching Points &#8211; 4th (1st)<\/li>\n<li>Total Points &#8211; 5th (3rd)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Summary:<\/p>\n<p>This is as low as the Kings have been projected to finish since 2021 when they were coming off of a miserable ninth place finish in the pandemic shortened 2020 season.\u00a0 This time around, a fifth place finish would be a two spot drop from a respectable third place in 2024.\u00a0 Taking a close look at the roster, this projection makes sense though.\u00a0 The Kings entered this season with a bit of a roster construction problem as their two best offensive players, Gunnar Henderson and Mookie Betts, both moved to shortstop, leaving holes at other positions, most notably the outfield.\u00a0 Randy Arozarena was their only outfield keeper.\u00a0 So rebuilding that was job one heading into this season.\u00a0 They did that by selecting Dylan Crews and Jasson Dominguez with their first two draft picks.\u00a0 Both have tantalizing upside, but also very short major league track records, causing modest projections entering this season.\u00a0 Heliot Ramos was another youngster added to the outfield mix.\u00a0 The only &#8220;safe&#8221; addition to the group was Tommy Edman.\u00a0 So the Kings outfield has an extremely high ceiling, but also a very low floor.\u00a0 How it all works out is anyone&#8217;s guess.\u00a0 One the flip side, with the arrival of Betts, the infield is quite loaded with reliable producers.\u00a0 Betts, Henderson, Marcus Semien and Bryson Stott make up a loaded middle infield that caused them to trade away Bo Bichette for a second round draft pick that turned into Matt Chapman.\u00a0 Chapman joins Austin Riley at the hot corner and Matt Olson at the other corner.\u00a0 Other than Stott, every infielder I just mentioned is a safe bet for at least 20 homers.\u00a0 The catching duo of Will Smith and Logan O&#8217;Hoppe is pretty solid as well.\u00a0 The Kings offense is definitely capable of exceeding these modest expectations.\u00a0 It will totally depend on what they get out of their very young outfield.\u00a0 Meanwhile, they return their entire starting rotation that helped them lead the league in ERA, WHIP and total pitching points a year ago.\u00a0 Zack Wheeler, Cole Ragans, George Kirby, Michael King and Bryce Miller make up the fearsome fivesome.\u00a0 Kirby is starting the season on the shelf though, so he will be temporarily replaced by Carlos Rodon, back for his second stint with the Kings.\u00a0 Assuming Kirby&#8217;s injury isn&#8217;t a long term concern, this is as solid of a 1-5 as any team in the league.\u00a0 Like the outfield, the Kings also had to do a nearly complete rebuild of their bullpen.\u00a0 Jeff Hoffman is the only returner.\u00a0 Trevor Megill joins him to give the Kings two solid closers.\u00a0 They hope to lock down a majority of the Phillies saves with Jordan Romano and Orion Kerkering.\u00a0 However, early indications are both might be setting up for Jose Alvarado.\u00a0 It seems unlikely the Kings will be able to finish as high as third in saves again this year.\u00a0 The Kings infield and rotation are as good as it gets, but major questions in the outfield and bullpen make this an extremely difficult team to predict.\u00a0 Fifth place would be a disappointing finish for them though.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Dom&#8217;s Demigods<\/h2>\n<p>Category &#8211; Projected Rank (2024 Rank)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Batting Average &#8211; 5th (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Home Runs &#8211;\u00a02nd (5th-T)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Batted In &#8211;\u00a02nd (3rd)<\/li>\n<li>Runs Scored &#8211;\u00a02nd (2nd)<\/li>\n<li>Stolen Bases &#8211; 4th (1st-T)<\/li>\n<li>Earned Run Average &#8211; 7th (4th)<\/li>\n<li>WHIP Ratio &#8211; 9th (9th)<\/li>\n<li>Wins &#8211; 6th (1st-T)<\/li>\n<li>Saves &#8211; 8th (9th)<\/li>\n<li>Strike Outs &#8211; 8th (4th)<\/li>\n<li>Total Batting Points &#8211; 2nd (2nd)<\/li>\n<li>Total Pitching Points &#8211; 7th-T (5th-T)<\/li>\n<li>Total Points &#8211; 4th (4th)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Summary:<\/p>\n<p>In a world in which the Mavericks didn&#8217;t exist, we would be talking more about how great of an offensive team the Demigods were a year ago and how good they should be again this year.\u00a0 The Demigods have above average hitters at pretty much every position.\u00a0 Willson Contreras and Yainer Diaz project to be the best catching duo in the league, with this likely being Contreras&#8217; last season at catcher in this league.\u00a0 Speaking of guys changing positions, this also figures to be Jose Altuve&#8217;s last season anchoring second base for the Demigods.\u00a0 Francisco Lindor&#8217;s incredible 2024 season got overshadowed by a few other players having historic campaigns.\u00a0 He and Freddie Freeman give the Demigods a pair of MVP candidates on the infield.\u00a0 A lot has been said about Isaac Paredes having the perfect swing for his new ballpark home in Houston, so that makes him an exciting addition to this already strong group.\u00a0 Then there is first round pick Jordan Westburg who is only beginning to scratch his potential in Baltimore.\u00a0 The Demigods outfield is perhaps not quite as deep in talent as the infield, but it does contain a pair of players who are capable of carrying the load in Corbin Carroll and Fernando Tatis Jr.\u00a0 Carroll is coming off a slightly disappointing season, in which he still hit 22 homers and stole 35 bases.\u00a0 Once again, the Demigods will hope for a healthy season from Byron Buxton to give this group an extra boost.\u00a0 If that doesn&#8217;t happen, it may expose the only apparent weakness with the Demigods offensive roster:\u00a0 a lack of depth in the outfield.\u00a0 The Demigods will be looking for a better season from their pitchers if they hope to win their second title in three years.\u00a0 These projections don&#8217;t quite see that happening though.\u00a0 The best pitching projection belongs to second round pick Shota Imanaga, who could immediately become the staff ace in a group of solid veterans.\u00a0 Max Fried is taking his talents to New York.\u00a0 Zac Gallen and Aaron Nola continue to do their thing too.\u00a0 The Demigods no longer get to deploy Reynaldo Lopez as a reliever, but he&#8217;s still a nice fit in the rotation.\u00a0 All five of these guys have projections hovering around 4 Pitching PAR.\u00a0 That&#8217;s incredibly valuable.\u00a0 However, they do seem to lack a true Cy Young contender.\u00a0 Traditionally, the Demigods tend to punt the saves category.\u00a0 They may have assembled a group that can scrape up a few points in that category this year though.\u00a0 David Bednar is the only returner.\u00a0 They added Pete Fairbanks and Aroldis Chapman in the draft as a pair who should be able to grab some saves as well.\u00a0 They are also hoping for a repeat of the Lopez experiment last year, with another Braves rotation piece occupying a relief pitcher slot on their roster.\u00a0 This year&#8217;s version is Grant Holmes.\u00a0 If he makes the All-Star team like Lopez did last year, we may be able to tag this as a foolproof plan.\u00a0 The Demigods have all of the pieces to contend again this season.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Embed from Getty Images Before I get to the next set of teams in this DTBL season preview series, I want to take a moment to expand upon a passing comment I made up top in the first section.\u00a0 I was a bit pressed for time while writing that night.\u00a0 I mentioned that I was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,9,31],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1584","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-demigods","category-kings","category-komodos"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1584","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=1584"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1586,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1584\/revisions\/1586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}