Slightly different approach to this season's preview, and I don't really care if you like it or not. OK, maybe I care if you like it, but I don't care if you don't like it.
Madison made arguably the most noise in free agency this winter, signing maybe the weakest hitting 3B in the history of BPF to a 4-year deal worth almost $12M/yr for the first two years, and then about $10M/yr in the final two seasons, with no option on the final year. The guy is a gold glove 3B, but a career sub-.260 hitter with no pop. Fortunately, they also pulled in a C/DH who can play all 162 games, and hit right around .300 while averaging about 20 HR's per season over the last ten that he's played. Only two years at about $2.6M/yr is a bargain for a guy like that, but giving up that second round pick for the Type A FA is rough. Milwaukee was the only other team that was active in the "big names" of free agency, taking a Type B 3B for $5.2M/yr for two years. A decent glove and a .277 career hitter, he'll fill a role, but won't exactly fill Lance's cleats. The market for 3B's must have been rough this season.
Maybe the lightest trading season ever for the AL North, Milwaukee made two trades, while the other three mostly sat on their hands. And those two trades brought Milwaukee a DITR catcher and a 20-25 innings/season relief pitcher, while shipping off a 2nd round CF, a serviceable DH, and a backup CF. I can't believe you guys made me look at those trades.
The biggest transaction of the winter for this division really happened in the "fall" of last season. Between his no-trade clause and high salary, moving Lance was quite difficult, so Milwaukee ultimately put him on the waiver wire without the option to revoke him after the trade deadline. He was claimed by KC, which meant that Milwaukee was free of the massive contract, but the Ueck's would see no compensation for the exchange. Watching it play out was fascinating, and the subsequent attempts by KC to trade Lance this winter were equally entertaining. Let this be a lesson to all of you young owners out there. Don't give a guy a no-trade clause unless you either plan on keeping him forever, or you plan on being really bad and actually give yourself teams to trade him to.
Anyway, as per usual, I think Milwaukee is the team to beat in this division. One of the best young talents in all of BPF is going to debut in CF on opening day for the Ueck's, and he could be an MVP candidate before he's even eligible for arbitration. It worries me that he might be their best hitter already, but other than maybe Madison, nobody else in this division can compete with them at the plate. Just for argument's sake, we'll give the nod to Madison, followed by Milwaukee, then Minny, and finally Fargo.
I would love to say one squad is the clear-cut leader when it comes to defense, but they're all just kind of average. Minnesota has a seriously legit SS with Maholm, who was a gold-glover back in S26, and was a fucking comp pick. But after that, they're average to above average at every other position, nothing too crazy. It's a similar situation in Milwaukee, where Calixte not only could be a silver-slugger in CF, but could also pull in some gold gloves. And then the rest of the defense is average to above average. The aforementioned expensive 3B in Madison might actually end up playing SS, but he's a career .950 fielder in that spot. Former first-rounder Merv Harris fielded at a .970 clip last year, so maybe he will continue in the SS position. CF and 2B are okay, but not great, yet better than most every other team so far. Fargo won't have any gold-glovers anywhere, but they're decent all around the diamond. Defensively, I'd go Madison, Fargo, then a coin toss between Milwaukee and Minny.
It's the pitching in this division that really gets me hot and bothered. Specifically the pitching for Milwaukee and Madison. While most of the studs for Madison are coming out of the bullpen (like Crawford and Jensen), their starters are not slackers either, with Piersoll and Priest leading the way. But in Milwaukee, the studs come from all areas. Starting, middle relief, late inning guys, it doesn't matter. Their fifth starter would be a number two or three for a lot of teams in this world, and their worst setup guy would be a closer for half of the teams here. Fargo and Minnesota are similar in that they both have one or two studs, either starting or in the bullpen, plus a handful of serviceable to average guys, but both squads pale in comparison to Madison, and can't hold a candle to Milwaukee.
Overall, as mentioned previously, Milwaukee has to be the favorite to win the division. After that, I think Madison won't be too terribly far behind the Ueck's, and could fight for a wild card spot. Sorry Fargo and Minnesota, thanks for playing, and maybe next year.
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