Hamilton: 66.7 WAR / .350 wOBA
Hamilton doesn’t fancy itself as a “player” this season but repeating IS in the realm of possibility for this team. On the positive, the offense sits about average, but their defensive ability adds to their WAR value. Hitters such as LeMahieu, Grisham and Springer are a cut above. Their pitching (Castillo, Buehler) is a smidge off from the best in the league but more than capable to keep opposing hitters at bay. With a good pick there, a good pick here, maybe even a trade thrown in, this team may prove very hard to wrestle the BDB Champion trophy from.
Madawaska: 58.2 WAR / .366 wOBA
Madawaska comes in with a strong lineup, Abreu, Story, Brantley, Hernandez, Nimmo are going to hang up a lot of runs on the board. The challenge will be, keeping the opponents off the board. Look for Madawaska to pick up some starting pitching, and you know, there may get their “Third time’s the Charm” in the Wildcard match. Needless to say, this is a very competitive team. Look for this team to pick up as many quality players right from the get go.
Langley: 50.8 WAR / .356 wOBA
One year away. That is all the least successful team in BDB needs to say to themselves, “One Year Away” – for their expected decade long run of winning. The Spartans have an incredible crew of talent (Soto, Tucker, Lewis) waiting to shine (Lux, Vlad, Moncada) , and a group of “older” guys waiting to bounce back from less than impressive seasons (think Bregman, Lindor, Bryant). Their pitching is still pretty immature, so look for more pitching to be drafted this season. They hold plenty of early round picks, so get to see what this team does this coming season.
North Bay: 39.5 WAR / .348 wOBA
This team is a train wreck. There are no two ways about it. First, they start the season off trading their ace (Bauer) away and then their very best hitter (Tatis), who could be the next AROD, their longest serving Trapper (Goldschmidt) possibly the next A ROD. For what? An injured SS in Bichette, and injured CF in Bellinger and three wild haired arms in Paddack, May and Luzardo (who really doesn’t have crazy hair). The Trappers are placing a lot of faith on a lot of returning players. The upside is Luis Robert has already been fitted for his new uniform. It’s a toss-up if Jose Ramirez sticks around.