{"id":481,"date":"2013-04-03T20:10:25","date_gmt":"2013-04-04T03:10:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/?p=481"},"modified":"2013-04-03T20:10:25","modified_gmt":"2013-04-04T03:10:25","slug":"2013-season-preview-part-iv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dreamteambaseball.com\/blog\/?p=481","title":{"rendered":"2013 Season Preview: Part IV"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Mavericks pitcher Clayton Kershaw<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We have reached the final two teams in this journey up the projected 2013 DTBL standings.\u00a0 The two teams that remain are not huge surprises.\u00a0 Although neither of them came out on top last year (they tied for second), an argument could be made that they were the best two teams in the league as the season ended.\u00a0 The Mavericks may have won the league had they not run out of free agent signings, which caused them to play a few players short in the last several weeks of the season.\u00a0 Meanwhile, the Kings finally overcame their starting pitching problems which plagued them through the first half of the season.\u00a0 By the end of the year, their pitching was as good as anyone’s.\u00a0 Interestingly, these two teams may have helped each other claim these top spots in the projections with a trade they made during the first round of this year’s draft.\u00a0 The Mavericks dealt one of their extra first basemen, Ike Davis, to the Kings for a first round pick.\u00a0 The Mavericks used that pick to acquire another youngster, Manny Machado, to add to their impressive squad of blossoming stars.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, the standings through the first two full days of the 2013 season closely mimic the projected final standings, with the top four spots in the exact same order.\u00a0 So here are the top two teams in those projections.<\/p>\n

Kevin’s Kings
\n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Category – Projected Rank (2012 Rank)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  • Batting Average – 2nd (3rd)<\/li>\n
  • Home Runs – 5th (1st)<\/li>\n
  • Runs Batted In – 3rd (1st)<\/li>\n
  • Runs Scored – 5th (2nd)<\/li>\n
  • Stolen Bases – 6th (4th)<\/li>\n
  • Earned Run Average – 7th (8th)<\/li>\n
  • WHIP Ratio – 4th (8th)<\/li>\n
  • Wins – 3rd (4th-T)<\/li>\n
  • Saves – 4th (7th)<\/li>\n
  • Strike Outs – 4th (2nd)<\/li>\n
  • Total Batting Points – 3rd (1st)
    \n<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Total Pitching Points – 3rd (7th-T)
    \n<\/em><\/li>\n
  • Total Points – 2nd (2nd-T)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

    The Kings had the best offense in the league last year, partly due to their incredible depth.\u00a0 For example, they were so strong in the middle infield that they routinely used their DH slot there, and yet Danny Espinosa barely made the major league roster all season.\u00a0 Espinosa was a first round pick this year.\u00a0 Their middle infield is still a huge strength with Robinson Cano, Jose Reyes and Ian Desmond.\u00a0 They essentially have the same roster of hitters as last year since they used draft picks to reacquire Michael Morse and Jonathan LuCroy.\u00a0 So this should be a very strong hitting team again.\u00a0 The questions come on the mound.\u00a0 These projections have the Kings moving up to third in pitching points, which would be a significant improvement.\u00a0 Their pitching will likely go as the Tigers go since 3\/5th of their rotation is identical to Detroit’s (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez).\u00a0 If Scherzer can continue to build on his great second half of ’12, this team will be in good shape.\u00a0 The bullpen appears to be stronger now with three closers after going through most of last season with just two.\u00a0 This is the 10th anniversary of the Kings last championship.\u00a0 Perhaps this will be the year they become the league’s first five time champion.<\/p>\n

    Marc’s Mavericks
    \n<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Category – Projected Rank (2012 Rank)<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \n
    • Batting Average – 8th (8th)<\/li>\n
    • Home Runs – 1st (2nd)<\/li>\n
    • Runs Batted In – 1st (2nd)<\/li>\n
    • Runs Scored – 1st (1st)<\/li>\n
    • Stolen Bases – 5th (1st)<\/li>\n
    • Earned Run Average – 1st (6th)<\/li>\n
    • WHIP Ratio – 2nd (5th)<\/li>\n
    • Wins – 4th (4th-T)<\/li>\n
    • Saves – 9th (8th)<\/li>\n
    • Strike Outs – 1st (3rd)<\/li>\n
    • Total Batting Points – 1st (2nd)
      \n<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Total Pitching Points – 1st (6th)
      \n<\/em><\/li>\n
    • Total Points – 1st (2nd-T)<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      Summary:<\/strong><\/p>\n

      As it turns out, the Mavericks are on top of the projected standings by a fairly wide margin.\u00a0 They lead the way in batting points, pitching points, and obviously total points, ten points clear of the Kings.\u00a0 I’m not particularly surprised by this result, because as I mentioned up top, this was probably the best team in the league at the end of last season.\u00a0 It will be interesting to see if those pitching projections pan out.\u00a0 If they do, the Mavs will win this league.\u00a0 Clayton Kershaw and Stephen Strasburg are probably among the best three or four pitchers in the league.\u00a0 The rest of their rotation is loaded with potential, but is somewhat unproven.\u00a0 The bullpen is really the only weakness of the entire team, but only because it lacks well entrenched closers.\u00a0 The offense can be summed up in two words:\u00a0 Mike Trout.\u00a0 If he even comes close to matching his ridiculous 2012 campaign, the Mavericks will probably lead the league in batting points.\u00a0 But he has plenty of help.\u00a0 Jason Heyward, Adam Jones, Edwin Encarnacion and Matt Wieters will look to build upon their breakout seasons.\u00a0 Will one of their other young guys take it to the next level this year?\u00a0 There are too many candidates to name.\u00a0 By no means are they a lock though.\u00a0 Young talent is often unpredictable.\u00a0 If a bunch of these guys fail to meet expectations this season, there will be a whole slew of other teams breathing down their necks.\u00a0 But I think it is fair to say the Mavericks are the 2013 title favorites.<\/p>\n

      Here is a look at the projected standings, with team totals in each category.\u00a0 If you are wondering why the counting categories have decimal values, please go back to Part I of these previews where I explained my methodology.\u00a0 Let me know if you would like me to share the full Google Doc with you so you can see the individual player projections as well.\u00a0 Also, I apologize if the following table doesn’t look right.\u00a0 This is my first attempt at embedding a Google Doc within a WordPress blog entry.\u00a0 Hope it turns out!<\/p>\n