LATE ADDITIONS: AVAILABLE FRANCHISES
NL East: former Iowa Huskers Franchise (CLAIMED)
"That's my family, Kate. That's not me."
Oh, please… that's TOTALLY you. Play all cute and cuddly and nice, then WHAM. The competition is crippled and dispatched in a stroke. This team hasn't made a big splash in the playoffs yet, but not because it isn't ready. It's really, really ready; just lulling the competition into a false sense of security.
Legendary HBD GMs sermonauthor and shesaid did a masterful job mobilizing the latent talent in the franchise, building a dominant team strong in pitching and offense, employing a mix of prospects, rising stars and elite vets.
Can you believe this guy, the reigning NL MVP is only 28 y.o. and has hit 389 HRs? And that he's got a 94-overall rating and could legitimately play SS? This other guy is only 26, with most of his ML service time still ahead, and poised to be a regular all-star/gold glover at 3B.
Pitching? Easy: It starts with an elite one - two - three combo in the rotation, and the kid in the 4th slot is no slouch either. And the bullpen is anchored by an absolute stud.
This is by no means the extent of the depth in this franchise. Just for kicks, check out the ML-ready talent hanging out at AAA and mopping up in the bigs, and count the trade chips available to you. I won't list them all, but only because pasting these links into the post is tedious.
Summary: ready to win-now, and still stocked with talent and trade chips to sustain the operation long-term.
Premium franchise available to a veteran GM.
2. NL South: former Louisville Boneless Chickens franchise (CLAIMED)
OK, let's face facts: Carlo, you messed up. You messed up real bad. Have you considered other career options? Or Family affiliations?
Actually, this is overstating the problem. This re-build is hardly ready to compete right now, but it's got no albatrosses or traps.
Here we find a very low payroll and almost non-existent future contract obligations and a high draft pick in the upcoming amateur draft (pick #6). Thus, you can legitimately plan to immediately tailor this roster and farm system to your own specs without any hangover from the previous regime.
As mentioned before, the team is free of most contract commitments, but a couple roster highlights include
a solid 25 y.o. RF/3B and a solid, well-rounded 27 y.o. 3B , and a young toolsy LF. Last year's Rule 5 pick is a legit rotation piece., and last year's amateur draft pick should be a top-of-the-rotation guy. The previous top draft pick should also give you a powerful switch-hitting bat in RF for years to come.
Rome wasn't built (or re-built) in a day, after all. Neither was Detroit. This franchise has big dreams, and it's already got a lot of pieces together for cost-controlled building and winning. Don't get impatient Carlo; stay on track and you'll go far in the Family Business.
AL East: former Kansas City Bush Leaguers franchise (CLAIMED)
"Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."
Ah, lovable, wise Clemenza. Does he look that threatening? Nah. But not only can he teach you the secret to a perfect marinara sauce, he can run a criminal organization and calmly take a roadside relief break as a guy gets whacked. Yeah, its mid-whack urination. Did
you hear the slightest interruption in the stream? Exactly. You can't phase this guy. He's made for this job.
This franchise comes to you from the capable hands of Schmidt legend chadrader, who build a perennial ~.600 playoff squad with a combo of deep, elite pitching and brutal, savvy offense. Examples? A starting rotation anchored by a
young, perennial Cy Young contender, then followed by
Parker Bradley,
Phil Rivers, and if
this guy is your SP4, you're doing a lot of things right. On offense, there's reigning Rookie of the Year DH
Red Poole, who's an absolute beast with elite power and eye.
Steve McPherson is another young, elite power bat who plays a skill position (3B). Elite vets are here too, like
Sherry Lorin and
Denny Turner.
It's a tough division, but this team is still loaded and ready to win. Or if you prefer to re-load, the talent on this squad won't be hard to move.
NL East: former Baltimore Dark Horses franchise (CLAIMED)
"Tell Mikey it was never personal…"
Of course it wasn't, Salvatore; it never is. But business is rough. Tessio is the smart one, and he's been around long enough to know when it's time for [divisional] regime change and how much preparation goes into making a strong move.
This franchise has a somewhat odd history in having a series of good GMs take good care of it for the last 7 to 12 seasons, but no one ever committed to "winning now."
Very good players are on the roster and on the farm, and while there are no over-the-top superstars, there's a lot here with which to work. Young position prospects I really like include sophomore SS
Pedro Colon who made his first all-star team as a rookie and won the first of a long career of gold gloves. There's young all-around offensive threat LF
Yorvit Vincente—don't ask me why he's underachieved the last 2 seasons, because with his speed, contact, power, eye, baserunning, splits and left-handed bat, he should be a regular offensive stud. Veteran RF
Luis Nieves is a model of graceful aging and has been a 30-40 HR anchor. And do you want a catcher who regularly pushes .400 OB%?
Brian Locko is a rare item. The pitching staff is very solid, led by 28 y.o. ace
Vic Ordaz, followed by more young, controlled, above-average ML SPs:
Benito Torres and
Bart Francis. The bullpen is anchored by stud workhorse
Pedro Canseco
And then there's the farm. In short, it's been regularly stocked and rarely raided for win-now trades. Observe:
Jeremi Walker is ML-ready and will be a high avg / on-base machine for years to come.
Walter Clark is a cost-controlled utility guy.
Raymond Hutton is a plus-play SS who is probably a trade chip, given that Pedro Colon has the ML roster spot locked down.
Dan Rolen could contribute right now, while recent first round picks
Alex Hannity and
Ryan Drese still needs some seasoning. Pitching is stocked with solid prospects, both starting (
Willard Cradle,
Joaquin Sierra,
Esmerling Marichal,
Darwin Knotts, and
Frank Zhang) and in relief (
Vic Sappelt,
Brent Zobrist, and
Benny Marichal).
None of those prospects are world-beaters, but there's organizational depth of players with projectable ML careers.
Did we mention the franchise has
one of the lowest payrolls in the league? Only young stud pitcher
Vic Ordaz is making any serious money, which leaves financial flexibility to rebuild or restock to suit your taste. Start with the
#16 draft pick in this season's draft, which means it's protected when you consider signing free agents.
So, this franchise is well-rounded, cost-controlled, and offers lots of flexibility for a resourceful GM. The NL East has been in flux for several seasons now after a bellwether franchise lost control of the division. Take control.
To inquire about any of these franchises, you may either post below or sitemail the Schmidt world commish / pseudo-Godfather (me: zzookeepp). Thanks for reading, and hope you were entertained.