Vol. II, Ed. III   EMOO NEWS April 29, 1998

 The 1998 EMOO draft was held April 4 at the Best Western Hotel off the I-80 and 72 St. exit. 1998 marks the first year that the league is comprised of 12 teams, an offshoot of NL expansion. After breakfast in the hotel restaurant, the 12 owners got down to the business at hand. The new owners, Joe Cox, Paul Nerz and Eric Widtfeldt were introduced to the returning league owners. The formalities such as league rules, order of selection, weekly roster moves and the like were addressed and the bidding commenced with the name Derek Bell being called by Paul Nerz. Bell went to Mike Cunningham’s Mudhens for 23 cents.

Overall, the auction and subsequent Ultra draft went smoothly. Even with twelve teams, the draft concluded at around 7:00pm, approximately seven hours after Derek Bell’s name was thrown out. This included 30 minutes for lunch. The only lull in the process came late in the Ultra phase when one or two owners began calling out names of players previously selected. Personal highlights of the day included Scott Collins and Craig Gill bidding furiously against one another for several Cincinnati Reds players, all by increments of one cent; Jim Birkel getting caught up in the bidding for Jermaine Allensworth (left unreserved in the offseason after costing 17 cents in ’97) and landing him for the landmark amount of 21 cents; and Craig Gill acquiring OF Ryan Jackson for 8 cents and attempting to pencil him in at a CR position. Newcomers Joe Cox and Paul Nerz had an entire $2.60 to spend and found it difficult to spend so much so quickly. Nerz was agressively bidding from the beginning but still left 41 cents on the table while Cox attempted to be conservative early on before realizing that he had accumulated a small fortune that was being unspent. He quickly shifted gears and managed to spend all but 20 cents before draft’s end.

Now that the draft is over, two observations. The first observation is that spending for pitchers was up this season. In 1997, pitchers accounted for 27.6% of the total league budget. In ’98, the figure rose to 31.5%, led by the Midnite XPress with $1.06 spent toward pitching. In fact, four teams spent 90 cents or more while a fifth totaled 88 cents. Last year, only one team spent more than 90 cents on its pitching staff. This points up the demand for quality pitchers in the wake of major league expansion. The early ’98 boxscores tend to bear this out. Expect pitching statistics to be exceedingly ugly this season while there’s a strong possibility that offensive numbers could reach new league highs. In fact, for this reason, teams such as the Hawaiian Laze, Scotnel Suns, Kittyhawk Flyers and Tennessee Ruxpins, that are deep in pitching, have an early leg up on the field. If they manage their staffs well and get the needed offensive points, they’ll be in the running at the end. The XPress also has built a nice staff and has supplemented it with two top prospects in Kris Benson and Kerry Wood. What separates the XPress from the other teams mentioned is its lack of offensive firepower.

The other thing I noticed was the early selections of prominent minor leaguers during the Ultra draft. With the exception of Kerry Wood, in past years minor leaguers were not selected until the five cent rounds and lower. In ’98 however, led by the Gamecox’s and Wayfarin’ Strangers’ selections of 3B Adrian Beltre and Aramis Ramirez in the 15 cent round, minor leaguers went earlier than ever before. I expect that trend to continue in ’99 as there are now more owners attempting to compete for the same number of prospects. It will only be after two years, when owners are obligated to put up or shut up with contract extensions to these players that we’ll know if the trend will become long lasting. Since it only takes one owner’s optimism toward a minor leaguer to result in that players’ selection, my guess is that we’ll see at least one or two top prospects selected early each year moving forward.

So, who won and who lost in this year’s auction? Mind you, this is one person’s take and, as I’ve said before, is not meant to insult anyone. It’s nothing more than opinion, however uneducated. But with that said, let’s take a look.

Starting from the bottom up, I’ll begin with the Wayfarin’ Strangers. The Strangers, under new league owner Eric "Easy-E" Widtfeldt, slashed payroll in the off season, creating mega cap room. However, like several others (myself included), he walked away with money on the table. And for all the talent traded away (Grace, Caminiti, Schilling, Alou, etc.) the Strangers recouped very little in return. There’s no closer, no ace starter, no big thumping bat in the lineup. The preseason prediction here is that the Strangers have the league’s worst pitching staff and the #9 offense. The Strangers have the potential to finish high in wins but last or near last in saves, ERA and CR. A decent team batting average will most likely not be augmented by much speed or many home runs and RBI. Players that are highly thought of by EMOO News, however, include Estaban Loaiza (assuming he can put together a second half to match his first half of the last two years), an improving Jason Schmidt, a healthy Paul Wilson, Joey Hamilton (with the tutelage of pitching coach Dave Stewart), Willie McGee and Jeff Reed for a penny each, young stud Derrek Lee, Jeff Cirillo, and vastly underrated Chris Stynes. On the Ultra front, Aramis Ramirez could see some time with Pittsburgh by the dog days, Bill Pulsipher showed glimpses in the spring of being healthy at last, Juan Melo has started to put average and power together, Justin Towle could compete with Eddie Taubensee by 1999 and Courtney Duncan could be the next Cubs pitcher to follow 20 year old Kerry Wood to the bigs, although not in ’98. We do not like Jeff Suppan, we wonder about Pedro Astacio’s arm right now, and we’re disappointed in Carlos Baerga and believe that he is only bringing down the team batting average while supplying no power, RBI or SB.

At #11, we have the Nerz Herders, one of this season’s two expansion teams. On paper, the Herders’ pitching staff appears to be middle of the pack in wins and saves but near the bottom in ERA and CR. On the offensive side, Mark McGwire will supply an inordinate amount of the HR and RBI. Only one other batter had as many as 20 dingers in ’97, although Greg Vaughn has the strength to reach that total if he can ever adapt to NL pitchers, something he has yet to do since his trade from Milwaukee in late ’96. We believe that Bret Boone and Devon White are due for rebound seasons. Further, we think Jorge Fabregas could develop into one of the better NL catchers. Scott Karl had a wonderful second half in ’97 while Jeff Juden had an outstanding first half before being traded to the AL. Cliff Politte is a top prospect but will probably be farmed out once all the injured Cardinal pitchers return to active duty. We believe Orel Hershiser could go either way as age is a factor but being back in the NL could be a plus for him. Cal Eldred has always been a favorite here at EMOO News but must cut down on his CR and the big inning to see improved success. Mark Langston is washed up. Pete Smith, Stan Belinda and Doug Jones are only a step behind. Chris Gomez is holding the fort for Juan Melo while Gary Gaetti has seen better days. Yamil Benitez and Roger Cedeno are wild cards. The Herders chose to go for depth on the Ultra roster rather than youth, a strategy that Owner and GM Paul Nerz said will change next year. McGwire would seem to be a logical candidate for trading after the All-Star break to a top contender in a package for young players to help in ’99.

At #10 on paper, the choice is the Dainty Hunchbacks. However, in reality, we see them at #9 due to the high number of players drafted by the Gamecox (our #9 team on paper) that are DLed for extensive periods of time. We love Chan Ho. The feeling is that he could break the recent Braves stranglehold on the Cy Young in ’98 or ’99. We also feel that Kevin Millwood could be one of the better #5 starters (or #1 starters for some teams). Jeff D’Amico, out until June or so, is a promising young pitcher who probably didn’t get the minor league innings he needed before Milwaukee called him to the bigs but who has learned well on the fly. Willie Blair broke through in Detroit last season but must prove that he can put together back to back solid seasons. Manny Aybar and Eric Ludwick are two promising youngsters. Offensively, Charles Johnson is in the top third of NL catchers and had a strong 2^nd half in ’97. Tony Graffanino put up good ML numbers before sitting the bench as a rookie last year in Atlanta. Brad Fullmer comes with much hype. Moises is one of the top OF in the NL. Chris Widger has been somewhat of a disappointment since coming to Montreal prior to ’97. Pokey Reese has not shown he’s capable of hitting major league pitching, Reggie Sanders has succumbed to injuries often making for an expensive 28 cent part time player and Josh Booty could be a candidate for 170 K and 25 HR in 2-3 years. We do feel that Todd Hollandsworth merits consideration as a strong comeback candidate in ’98. We like the pick of Jose Hernandez at 10 cents in the Ultra draft and believe Ron Wright can provide help down the road at 1B. A strong year from the pitching staff could elevate the Hunchbacks above 9^th or 10^th but the offense appears sluggish with several question marks.

The Gamecox definitely drafted with an eye toward 1999 coupled with the several All-Star players currently recuperating from injuries. It appears that the Cox could hold on to the Todd Hundleys and Eric Karros’s of the world for next season or perhaps auction them to the highest bidder later in ’98 in an effort to put together a formidable ’99 roster of young, inexpensive talent. On the pitching staff, Pete Harnisch, Jose Mercedes, Ramon Garcia, Steve Woodard, and Trevor Hoffman all are either proven or are highly thought of here at EMOO News. Rafael Medina is a good young talent who is probably being rushed by the Marlins and Scott Radinsky is a nice selection as a hedge against Antonio Osuna in LA. Several question marks abound on the offensive side. Brent Brede, David Dellucci and Todd Dunn comprise 3/5 of the outfield. None has completed a full major league season. Bobby Bonilla’s time in Florida could be short as could Craig Counsell’s should Luis Castillo ever learn to hit .270 in the bigs. We think Ricky Gutierrez will surprise both the Astros and the EMOO league with a solid offensive season. We are tired of Gary Sheffield’s antics. Shut up and play ball already. We are very bummed we could not get our hands on Sean Casey, a top young hitter who we’ll hear more from down the road. The Gamecox loaded up on top young talent in the Ultra draft beginning with what is probably the first ever 15 cent minor league player selected in Adrian Beltre. Beltre was followed by a lengthy list including Carl Pavano, Ruben Rivera, Dennis Reyes, Lance Berkman, Jacob Cruz (Berkman and Cruz are other EMOO News favorites), and Daryle Ward. While 1998 holds little excitement for the Gamecox, 1999 could be a different story.

Our preseason 8^th place pick is the Midnite XPress. The XPress have put together a strong pitching staff but will only go as far as their questionable offense takes them. A rotation of Curt Schilling, Ramon Martinez, and Todd Stottlemyre is a good way to start. Mix in closers Billy Wagner and Felix Rodriguez and the majority of the staff appears to rank with the upper EMOO echelon. Although not a hard thrower, John Halama could win some games and a healthy Donovan Osborne could do likewise. Down on the farm, Kerry Wood and Kris Benson could provide huge depth for the XPress if they get the call and perform adequately. Pete Schourek could also surprise if he can stay healthy and perform up to his ‘95-’96 standards. Offensively, there’s little to say about the catching. In the infield, Travis Lee comes with big hype but may still struggle during the early part of the season. Wilton Guerrero cannot be dismissed just yet. Edgar Renteria and Chipper Jones are excellent players to have. Charlie Hayes will put up just enough numbers to earn his 6 cents back. The jury is out on Desi Relaford. The outfield is led by Barry Bonds. Although Karim Garcia has been hyped for 3 years, he has yet to show why in the majors. This is Cliff Floyd’s put up or shut up season. Bobby Abreu was a disappointment in ’97 while Ryan Jackson is probably being rushed (how many times have we heard that about Marlin players this spring?). Mark Lewis, while a decent player, is overpriced at 13 cents. On the farm, JD Drew was a shrewd pick, worthy of an Ultra selection. Mike Judd and Wilson Delgado each show promise. Valerio de la Santos has not been able to develop the consistency needed yet to show he’s a future staff ace. However, he still ranks as the Brewers top pitching prospect.

The Mudhens land at #7. They are the antithesis of the XPress. They seem to have a world of hitting and will go only as far as their pitching can sustain them. Only Mark Gardner (12) and Al Leiter (11) won more than ten games in ’97. Mike Remlinger is making the transition from reliever to starter and is highly thought of here. Steve Trachsel is occasionally brilliant but has his troubles at Wrigley. Shane Reynolds must rebound from a disappointing 1997 season (9 wins, 4.23 ERA). Mike Grace has good stuff but has been injury prone to date. In the pen, the Mudhens have a pair of closers who carry question marks; Jeff Brantley due to a 1997 injury and Jerry DiPoto due to the high altitude of Coors Field. All in all, this staff has a high ceiling but could just as easily be run of the mill.

Offensively, the Mudhens have the potential to rank near the top. Starting at catcher, Brian Johnson had a great 2^nd half in Frisco. If that’s the real Brian Johnson, he will rank as one of the better offensive catchers in the NL. J.T. Snow had a huge year but can he duplicate it? He had a similar season for the Angels several years ago but could not. Nothing needs to be said about Craig Biggio. While Jay Bell is one of the better offensive shortstops in baseball, the thought here is that he could be hard pressed to duplicate his ’97 numbers of .291-21-92-10. In the outfield, Ellis Burks and Ray Lankford anchor the way while Derek Bell is coming off a down ’97 after a good ’96. Lance Johnson could still carry worth if he can remain on the field, something he was unable to do consistently in ’97. Todd Helton did nothing but hit in college and the minors. Playing in Colorado should provide inflated stats for him, making him a solid 1B. On the farm, Abraham Nunez could become the Pirates’ everyday SS but don’t expect great offensive numbers. Brian Meadows is one of the Marlins’ top pitching prospects. We like him. Darond Stovall has good skills but there is something about him that says he won’t ultimately be an upper tier player. A.J Zapp, Ben Davis and Ben Fleetham could all be excellent major leaguers someday. It’s doubtful that the Mudhens will still own Zapp’s rights when that day dawns. They may realize some value out of Davis and Fleetham, however. Ed Vosberg and Osvaldo Fernandez could each be out anywhere from three months to the entire season but Marc Pisciotta may be useful.

In 6^th place is the Kittyhawk Flyers. They’re strength is starting pitching (Carlos Perez, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Francisco Cordova, Dustin Hermansen). Javier Jazquez could develop into a fine young pitcher but we won’t begin to see it until the 2^nd half of ’97 at the earliest. Mel Rojas and John Frascatore could pick up a save or two but Rich Loiselle is the single legitimate closer on the Flyer roster.

Offensively, we feel that Carlos Hernandez might be an undiscovered find while Greg Colbrunn is not a bad pick in that the Rockies’ starting 1B is a rookie, after all. Jason Bates and Walt Weiss are not the types one brings home a championship with normally. The rest of the IF is solid with Caminiti, Matt Williams and Royce Clayton. In the outfield Rondell White is a player and we all know about Sammy Sosa. Marc Newfield has a world of talent but seems unable to harness it. Jon Nunnally needs to show that 1997 was for real.

As for Ultra selections, Luis Castillo and Orlando Cabrera are the same player. Heck, one could include Kevin Gibbs with them. It seems as though speed as definitely the order of the day. Milton Bradley is also fast. It’s still a little too early to know what else he brings to the table. Brian Bohanon and Kerry Ligthenberg will be useful. Adam Butler shows promise. Danny Bautista can fill in for injuries but we’ve never been keen on Dante Powell. He strikes us as another in a long line of skill athletes who could never quite master the game. While we do like Randall Simon quite a bit, he has two strikes against him at the moment: one is that Andres Galarraga stands between him and an everyday job in Atlanta and will likely do so for another two years; the other is that he detests taking a walk. Against the better major league pitching, this will be used against him as pitches will find the corner more often than dust in the closet. The Flyers closed out the Ultra draft with six consecutive OF selections. Geoff Jenkins can still be considered a prospect but must act fast to beat the clock. Julio Ramirez is a player to keep an eye on and Preston Wilson may have turned the corner at last. Damon Hollins will never be an All-Star but could yet be a starting OF somewhere. Lastly, Tike (Julian) Redman did not impress last season in A ball.

The Mooners (preseason 5^th place) are EMOO’s version of Jason from Friday the 13^th. They refuse to go away and die. With their track record of dealmaking, it’s little wonder why. Based on their 1998 opening day roster, they would appear to be fairly balanced. On the mound, they go solid four deep with Mark Clark, Brett Tomko, Andy Ashby and Mike Hampton. Sean Bergman will win a few games, too. In the pen, Ricardo Rincon, is underrated while Jeff Shaw and Mark Wohlers each came to the Mooners via trades just before the auction. Offensively, Brad Ausmus is worthy for his SB if for no other reason. Andres Galarraga will see his numbers drop off slightly being in Atlanta and a year older. He’s still a top notch first baseman, however. We’ve never liked Quilvio Veras for some reason. Todd Zeile fought off a major slump in early ’97 to post fine numbers. He is worth 15 cents in ’98 but for how much longer? He’ll be pushed soon by Adrian Beltre. Mark Grace will always help a team’s batting average and is a nice player to have around if you don’t expect or need 25 HR from him. Bill Mueller is a fine player for a penny. In the outfield, Steve Finley once again posted nice numbers in ’97 although his average trailed off a bit. Jose Guillen be begin his sophomore season hoping to avoid the slump that so often hits second year players. Tony Gwynn and Jim Eisenreich are consumate professionals, each of whom hits for average. Gwynn has recently added run production to his game.

The Mooners opted for major leaguers on the Ultra roster, most likely for depth and to barter them to the high bidders as injuries occur and other teams begin feeling antsy. We won’t delve into them in any great detail other than to say that Curtis Pride could be a sleeper and Rigo Beltran and Odalis Perez have potential. Everyone else may make a contribution for the Mooners or someone else at some point in ’98.

Our preseason choice for 4^th place is the Smart Alecs. The Smart Alecs bring back the offensive nucleus of a club that ranked near the top of the league in offense in ’97. So why isn’t this team ranked higher? The pitching staff, the focus of the team entering this year’s auction, continues to be the focus of the team. The Smart Alecs mismanaged their budget and came away with little more pitching than they entered the auction with. If the staff surprises, they could contend. Otherwise, they’ll have to settle for an upper division finish. The staff is anchored by three quality starters in Denny Neagle, Shawn Estes and Matt Morris though Estes must cut down on the number of free passes he gives out. Ugueth Urbina, the first MLB player ever to have a first name and last name both starting with the letter U, is improving with experience and will provide some saves although not as many in Montreal as he would in, say, Atlanta. The Alecs’ staff is the epitomy of a major league staff. After the top three starters and the closer, there’s little to cheer about. Alex Fernandez could be a steal at four cents—in ’99. He does nothing for the here and now except to perhaps serve as trade bait for a building team in the league. Steve Cooke showed glimpses of being a solid pitcher in ’97 but the jury is still out on whether or not his arm is now sound. Dave Mlicki followed up a mediocre 1^st half in ’97 with a strong 2^nd half and John Thomson is often talked about in baseball’s inner circles as a top young right hander but he has the misfortune of playing in Colorado. Scott Sullivan pitched over 100 innings in ’97 with a solid ERA (3.24) and outstanding ratio (1.12). If he can duplicate those numbers, he’ll take the edge off of Estes’ walk totals. There’s not a lot of pitching help on the Ultra roster. Gabe White had a few decent outings late in ’97 but, as a soft tossing lefty, he’s prone to shellshock when he’s not painting the corner. David Weathers will never be confused for Brett Tomko. Turk Wendell has a knack for accumulating a small number of wins and saves each year and Steve Reed could be a sleeper back in San Francisco, where he began his major league career. Paul Wagner is a question mark. In the minors, Scott Elarton ranks behind Matt Clement for young prospects nearly ready and Ed Yarnell could be a nice surprise later in the year or in early ’99.

Offensively, the Smart Alecs’ combined 1997 stats among it’s 1998 roster are .283-263-949-173. It’s anchored by three 30-30 players in Jeff Bagwell, Raul Mondesi and Larry Walker. Walker, however, is coming off of offseason elbow surgery so he bears watching. Alecs’ management extended the contracts of Willie Greene and Neifi Perez. As such, they need to prove they merit the money. Jeff Kent had a huge 1997 (29 HR, 121 RBI) though his batting average was only .250 while Kevin Young, at one cent, batted .300-18-74-11. Newcomer Carl Everett will try to be this year’s Kevin Young. Last season, Everett batted .248-14-57-17 while earning the league minimum. Rookie Paul Konerko comes with much acclaim and does OF Mark Kotsay. Other Ultra players worth noting include Chad Hermanson, George Lombard and Eli Marrero.

The Suns are the early pick for 3^rd this season. They have a nice blend of pitching and offense. The primary question marks center around the team’s youth. Greg Maddux heads the starting staff and is followed by Bobby Jones, Jeremi Gonzalez, Kirk Rueter, and Yoshii, the Japanese import. Gonzalez had a solid rookie year but must now follow it up a second time through the league. Kent Mercker made strides in ’97 toward finding his mechanics once more. In the pen, Robb Nen is one of the best although he occasionally will fall into slumps. Jay Powell will, coincidentally enough, try to fill Nen’s shoes in Florida this year. With his two cent pricetag, it’s a win-win situation for the Suns.

Offensively, the Suns match up well with the rest of the league. They have the league’s best catcher in Mike Piazza, while Eddie Taubensee is no slouch either. Around the horn, John Olerud is well priced at 15 cents, Tony Womack swiped 60 SB last year, Scott Rolen was NL rookie of the year and Rico Brogna hit 20 HR and had 12 SB of his own, above par for a 1B. The team may very well win it or lose it in the OF this year. Andruw Jones and Vladimir Guerrero, former Smart Alecs draftees, are being counted on to develop into the all-stars many predict of them while Michael Tucker will try to add production (14-56 in ’97) to his .282 average of last season. Melvin Nieves (.228-20-64-1) and Rich Becker (.264-10-45-17) each move over from the AL. Not to be forgotten is Edgardo Alfonzo, still a very young player who continues to improve (.315-10-72-11).

On the farm, the Suns are chock full of prospects. Included are Hiram Bocachica (just moved to CF), Aaron Boone, Matt Clement (perhaps the best minor league pitching prospect of the bunch), Richard Hidalgo (better than Bobby Abreu or Brian Hunter but hwo much?), Jesus Sanchez (we like him), Brett Butler (we love him but unless his development is accelerated, the Suns will be forced to make a decision regarding him after the ’99 season), Derrick Gibson, Grant Roberts, Robbie Bell (another in a long line of Brave pitching prospects) and Buddy Carlyle (just traded to SD).

Placing 2^nd is the Hawaiian Laze (gosh, the process of elimination only leaves one more team—see below). Statistically, the Laze bring 1997’s best pitching to the table and the 6^th best offense. Despite that, there are legitimate questions surrounding several of the starting pitchers. Can Andy Benes be effective in Arizona and can Daryle Kile’s curveball curve in the high altitude of Colorado? Can Livan Hernandez be effective over an entire season and did we see the real Rick Reed in ’97? We know that John Franco and Rod Beck are good for a combined 60+ saves this year. Terry Adams could grab a few in Chicago. On the farm, Jose Lima will start out the year in the Houston rotation while Ramon Garcia and Chris Holt are in extended spring training recuperating from injuries. Marc Valdes has been a disappointment for two organizations but Felipe Alou envisions him helping Montreal out in the pen. Bruce Chen is perhaps the top young pitcher in the Braves farm system but is probably two years away yet.

Offensively, there’s little at catcher. Tom Pagnozzi is most likely running out the string in St. Louis this summer and can be expected to play, at most, half time assuming he’s even healthy enough to do so. We doubt Wally Joyner will quite duplicate last year’s figures. We love Delino DeShields and believe that his ’97 season was the true gauge of his abilities. Vinny Castilla is a proven commodity and continues to be a steal at 12 cents. We also think the league will come to appreciate Jose Valentin. In the outfield, Dante Bichette continues to put up strong numbers and we think Ronnie Gant is due for a rebound if healthy. Stan Javier is a solid role player, providing SB and a solid average. We are not impressed, however, with either John Mabry or Trinidad Hubbard. On the farm, we think Mike Kinkade could be a sleeping giant. He has the makings of a .300 hitter with plus gap power, the occasional HR and a few SB. We always liked Tony Eusebio and felt he’s never been given a fair shake by the Astros.

And finally, the preseason pick for EMOO champ in ’98 is the Tennessee Ruxpins. The Ruxpins bring the best overall balance among the bunch. In the pitching staff, Alan Benes, Hideo Nomo, Ismael Valdes, Kevin Brown and Darren Dreifort combine for a formidable rotation while Ricky Bottalico and Antonio Osuna a pair of closers. Osuna, of course, must be sure to not play his way out of the role. Additionally, Greg McMichael should be worth a few saves over the course of the season. The Ruxpins have collected a stable of relievers on the farm. Russ Springer can bring heat and our personal favorite is Chad Fox. Braden Looper is no more than a year or a Jeff Brantley injury away from St. Louis.

In the batter’s box, the Ruxpins have perhaps the best catching combo around in Javy Lopez and Mike Lieberthal (a combined .269-43-145-4; which actually demonstrates Mike Piazza’s worth). Butch Huskey has begun to come into his own although he cannot be considered as one of the best 1B in the NL at this point. Eric Young provides 45 SB and even hit 8 HR last year (albeit some of the production was in Coors) while Mike Lansing’s move to Colorado will increase his already significant value. A healthy John Jaha will show he’s a quality 1B and he, like Jeff Bagwell, provides the added benefit of the SB on occasion. The outfield is average. The best of the bunch is Jeremy Burnitz who blossomed into a star in ’97 and will duplicate the numbers-watch. Al Martin is "Joe Six Pack". He just gets the job done. We appreciate that. We think Brian McRae will rebound in ’98 and believe that Gerald Williams is a nice insurance policy in the event that Atlanta has problems with either Michael Tucker or Andruw Jones. Jermaine Allensworth is hugely overpriced at 21 cents. On the Ultra level, Ben Petrick could pick up where Lopez or Leiberthal leave off although not for 1 ½ years. Alex Gonzalez could be the next solid offensive SS in the bigs. His time is coming. The Marlins have only to decide if he stays at SS or if Edgar Renteria gets moved to make way. We also think highly of John Roskos but are bummed that he’s stuck behind Charles Johnson.

A quick look at the preseason standings (based on this year’s opening day rosters vs. each player’s 1997 stats):

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