By Andrew Marcus
Sportswriter for Montgomery Media
 |
Follow me on Twitter @amarcus515 |
To help pass the time between now and the start of the 2012 Major League Baseball season I am going to be examining a different team every day. Starting with the Astros, working toward the Phillies. I will give you my projected starters, breakout and bust players, each team's X-Factor and top prospect.
PROJECTED LINEUP
SS Yunel Escobar
CF Colby Rasmus
RF Jose Bautista
1B Adam Lind
3B Bret Lawrie
DH Edwin Encarnacion
C J.P. Arencibia
2B Kelly Johnson
LF Eric Thames
PROJECTED ROTATION
Ricky Romero
Brandon Morrow
Brett Cecil
Henderson Alvarez
Dustin McGowan
Ricky Romero
Brandon Morrow
Brett Cecil
Henderson Alvarez
Dustin McGowan
PROJECTED BULLPEN
Closer - Sergio Santos
Set-up - Francisco Cordero
Closer - Sergio Santos
Set-up - Francisco Cordero
Top Prospect - Travis d'Arnaud(c)
Breakout
Brett Lawrie - The 22 year-old Canadian not only has a chance to make his home country proud, but a chance to sky rocket to stardom. All the Ryan Braun and David Wright comparisons have been made, (Braun because his defense is questionable) and he should make a good Blue Jays lineup, lethal. In his first full season Lawrie should approach 25 homers and 100 RBIs.
Bust
Brett Lawrie - The 22 year-old Canadian not only has a chance to make his home country proud, but a chance to sky rocket to stardom. All the Ryan Braun and David Wright comparisons have been made, (Braun because his defense is questionable) and he should make a good Blue Jays lineup, lethal. In his first full season Lawrie should approach 25 homers and 100 RBIs.
Bust
Francisco Cordero - I think Cordero needs the adrenaline of the ninth inning to pitch effectively after all those seasons as a closer, so being the eighth inning guy behind Sergio Santos to start the year may cause some problems. It might be an easy fix and they could end up swapping the back-end men, or the signing of the 36 year-could just blow up in their face.
X-FACTOR
Brandon Morrow - The Jays probably need more than Ricky Romero to contend in the tough A.L. East and Morrow taking the step would not hurt. They are probably two starters away from a playoff team. If Morrow and/or one other arm can become a solid top-of-the-rotation guy, the Jays have the offense to be in the hunt. On 3/14 rumors continue to swirl around about trading for a starter. Morrow needs to improve his command to go deeper in games and become the ace everyone thought he could be.
LAST YEAR'S RECORD: 81-81
 |
| An improving Jays team puts Joey Bats in the MVP talk |
PROJECTED FINISH: 4th in the American League East
***THANKS FOR READING MY TEAM BY TEAM OUTLOOKS TO HELP PASS THE TIME
***THANKS FOR READING MY TEAM BY TEAM OUTLOOKS TO HELP PASS THE TIME
Check back tomorrow for the Miami Marlins
No comments:
Post a Comment