2020 Predicted Order of Finish:
- Yorkshire Moor Hens (90-72)
- Sacramento Plaidsox (90-72)
- Nassau Sharks (78-84)
- Fort Worth Parrots (77-85)
The Yorkshire Moor Hens 2019 Version: 96-66 – Walker Division Champion
In case you haven’t been paying attention there is a new power in the “Far” East. No, it is not Bristol – but Yorkshire. For the past few years, through adept drafting and trading the Shawn Mosher has built for himself a team that is contending now and should be fighting for Top Spot for several years to come. The team is not build for a one year run, this team is built for the long haul. Many of their top performers are youngsters who hold to more promise in the future than the present.
Last season saw the Hens make the playoffs for the first time in a few years, and lose to eventual Champion (and future trading partner) the Hamilton Redbirds. With a ten-game buffer in the division, they managed to take two games away from Hamilton in the Semi-Finals.
| Cole | 18-6 3.65 |
| Verlander | 13-9 3.92 |
| Buehler | 11-13 5.04 |
| Giolitto | 8-9 5.06 |
| E. Rodriguez | 9-10 6.00 |
| Narvarez | .278-28-84 |
| Bell | .280-40-105 |
| McNeill | .283-21-82 |
| Urshela | .306-19-51 |
| Rosario | .284-4-35 |
| Yelich | .304-41-108 |
| Soler | .254-68-145 |
| Acuna | .248-45-91 |
| Machado | .301-11-32 |
The 2019 Team featured strong hitting throughout the lineup, with MVP Candidates Christian Yelich (.304-41-108) and in Jorge Soler (.254-68-145) – who had one of the greatest HR hitting seasons in BDB History – supported by Josh Bell (.280-40-105) and youngster Ronald Acuna jr (.248-45-91) — and on the other side of the coin — the 1-2 punch of Gerrit Cole (18-6 3.65) and Justin Verlander (13-9 3.92) was one of the best in the league, especially with their wins protected by Giovanny Gallegos (27 saves) out of the pen.
The 2020 Version of the Yorkshire Moor Hens: 90-72. The Hens will be neck and neck with the Sacramento Plaidsox, and took a dip from their incredible great run over the last five seasons. They will certainly be in the big dance at the end of the season, they just don’t know if they will be there as Division Champion or Wild Card entrant.
| Dylan Bundy | 5.4 |
| Lucas Giolito | 5.4 |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | 4.9 |
| Gerrit Cole | 4.1 |
| Julio Urias | 3.5 |
| Drew Smyly | 1.1 |
| Freddie Freeman | 8.9 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | 7.8 |
| Manny Machado | 7.0 |
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | 6.5 |
| Miguel Rojas | 4.3 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | 4.3 |
| Giovanny Urshela | 4.3 |
| Alex Verdugo | 4.3 |
| Jeff McNeil | 3.2 |
| Tommy La Stella | 3.2 |
| Kevin Pillar | 3.0 |
| Alex Dickerson | 2.2 |
The lineup is going to look a lot different going into this season. Gone are the two MVP Candidates Yelich and Soler, and 40 HR 1B Josh Bell, and welcome BDB Champion Firstbaseman Freddie Freeman (.341-35-144) and oft injured Shortstop Fernand Tatis Jr (.278-46-122) and welcome back Manny Machado (.304-44-127) from a couple of off par seasons.
The lineup is not the only place on this team to see change. Although Cole is still around, he won’t counted as the Ace of the staff, instead that will be a battle between surprising youngsters Dylan Bundy and Luca Giolitto and Korean import Ryu.
Look for this team to continue tinkering with their lineup and rotation in order to get the best winning combination for this season, and maybe the next two after.
The 2021 Version of the Moor Hens: 86-76. Continued rise of Tatis jr, Acuna Jr, continued support from Machado and Freeman. Look for Giolito to take the help as top pitcher over these next coming years.
| Lucas Giolito | 5.8 |
| Gerrit Cole | 5.7 |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | 3.3 |
| Dylan Bundy | 2.5 |
| Julio Urias | 2 |
| Kris Bubic | 1.6 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | 5.8 |
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | 5.6 |
| Manny Machado | 4.6 |
| Freddie Freeman | 4.5 |
| Jeff McNeil | 3.3 |
| Luis Arraez | 2.9 |
| Alex Verdugo | 2.7 |
| Giovanny Urshela | 2.5 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | 2.3 |
| Miguel Rojas | 2.2 |
| Carson Kelly | 1.7 |
| Tommy La Stella | 1.6 |
The 2022 Version of the Moor Hens: 87-75 – Tops in Division – See above for reasons.
| Lucas Giolito | 5.4 |
| Gerrit Cole | 5 |
| Dylan Bundy | 2.1 |
| Hyun-Jin Ryu | 2.5 |
| Justin Verlander | 2.7 |
| Julio Urias | 2.2 |
| Ronald Acuna Jr. | 6.5 |
| Fernando Tatis Jr. | 4.7 |
| Freddie Freeman | 3.6 |
| Manny Machado | 3.4 |
| Luis Arraez | 3 |
| Jeff McNeil | 2.8 |
| Giovanny Urshela | 2.3 |
| Alex Verdugo | 2 |
| Rowdy Tellez | 1.7 |
| Miguel Rojas | 1.7 |
| Carson Kelly | 1.6 |
| Travis d’Arnaud | 1.5 |
Hope for the Future: Fernando Tatis Jr is 21, Ronald Acuna is 22 – The future rests with these two hitters. Jaime Berria and Julio Urias will most likely provide trading chips for immediate talent for their next three-year run. Look for a tinker there, and tinker there … but there won’t be much hope on youngsters for tomorrow, but proven veterans.