Kansas City Monarchs: A Fictional OOTP Dynasty

[JetsIn06]

1927 Season: Final Standings and Awards



Columbia League Rookie of the Year:

LF Antonio Palomon (Newark)
.274/.340/.428
16 HR/68 RBI
4.6 WAR

United League Rookie of the Year:

SS Jay Ising (New York)
.310/.326/.366
56 SB
2.8 WAR

Columbia League Pitcher of the Year:

SP Jay Bishop (Newark)
19-5
2.38 ERA 176 K/29 BB
7.2 WAR

United League Pitcher of the Year:

SP Donovan Phipps (New York)
16-10
2.44 ERA 229 K/51 BB
9.2 WAR

Columbia League Hitter of the Year:

RF Robery Wanhalla (Baltimore)
.347/.433/.467
3 HR/59 RBI/84 BB/42 SB
7.3 WAR

United League Hitter of the Year:

1B Jose Feliciano (Philadelphia)
.337.441/.615
39 HR/105 RBI
10.0 WAR

[sterlingice]

Team sucks so just let Adrian Black ride the bench so long as he keeps signing cheap contracts until he retires

SI

[JetsIn06]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

Team sucks so just let Adrian Black ride the bench so long as he keeps signing cheap contracts until he retires

SI

I just tried to low-ball him a bit. Somehow he wanted a raise over last season, and he was so pissed he won't negotiate with me any more. I'll try again in the pre-season. Hoping he retires soon.

[JetsIn06]

1928 Off-Season: Arbitration and Free Agents

We have a ton of arb-eligibles, and there's three clear non-tenders, the only one of note being SS Cristobal Campos. After two fairly average seasons, he really did terrible this year, finishing with a -1.7 WAR, hitting .197 with a .276 OBP and a .214 SLG. His defense wasn't all that great either, and that's the only thing he's supposedly good at.

We did get a breakout year from LF Brooks Bosley, who hit 29 HR and had a .288/.335/.503 line, but his defense is atrocious, so I'm hesitant to give out a long-term deal to him.

Everyone else gets a one-year extension.

As for free agents, I do want to make one note that I forgot to touch on last year, and that was the departure of SP Paul Mach, who was a top pick for us but he never really wowed us. Still, he was in the rotation for six years, and left as a Type-A free agent to the Philadelphia Athletics on a four-year, $32.8m deal.

This year, there's another small exodus, as SP Esteban Bravo, who was with us for two years, Earl Davis, who has spent his career with us, the deteriorating 2B Adrian Black, and 3B Andy Davis, who had six full seasons with us, all depart. We also lose MR Roger Bassett and RF Mike Campbell, who signed one-year deals with us last season. Campbell and Davis are Type-A free agents, while Bravo is a Type-B.

[JetsIn06]

1928 Off-Season: Overview and Outlook

Note: SP Estoban Bravo accepted arbitration, which he actually did last off-season as well, so we get him back on a one-year, $1.15m deal. Not bad.



We're back to the #1 ranked farm system, but I'm a little disappointed that many of the guys that were highly ranked aren't in the current Top-100. We could be looking to sign a long-term 3B in free agency with no one really on the horizon, but SS is also a possibility because I can move Fenner to 2B, and with that said, I could definitely upgrade in the infield. The only position I really wouldn't want to spend on is C and CF, because I really like Bartlett.

[JetsIn06]

1928 Off-Season: Free Agency

With only two of the top twenty-five free agents under 30 years old, this really isn't the free agent class for me to kickstart the rebuild. But, I still have holes to fill at 3B, SS, an infielder and outfielder for the bench, and another bullpen arm.

Our first offer is to SS Jose Gonzalez, a 31-year-old left-handed hitting shortstop who is great on defense and is a pure contact hitter. He had a down year last year, going from .316/.354/.377 with Chicago in 1926 to .280/.330/.331 splitting time between Chicago and Brooklyn last season. He could be a steal on a one-year deal for $7.5m.

3B Andy Davis is open to returning on a one-year, $1.25m deal, and 2B Adrian Black will return for the bench on a similar deal.

We also reach out to former Monarch OF Jose Mejia, who played for us back in 1925. He's a low-average, high OBP guy who plays excellent defense. He may take a starting role. Finally, we offer another former Monarch, MR Tsumemasa Tanaka, a one-year deal with a second year that vests with 35 games finished, which is very unlikely. Each year is worth $1.8m.

***

Everyone signs. See you in 1928.

[JetsIn06]

1928 Season

Bust. Lost the season because I forgot to set it to auto-save every month, and instead it saved every year. Computer crashed and it reverted back to January, so I replayed the season. Erase your mind if you read my old post!

Anyway, in the replay, I followed the original post to make all of the same trades and moves, but obviously I couldn't do that for everyone. Our result was bad in the first sim, so that's fine, but of course, the winner was not the same. Oh well.

Baltimore defeats Minnesota, 5 games to 3!

[JetsIn06]

1928 Season: Final Standings and Awards



Columbia League Rookie of the Year:

CF Bill Adams (Baltimore)
.292/.321/.379
1 HR/44 RBI/17 SB
1.5 WAR

United League Rookie of the Year:

LF Guaire Dulhunty (Minnesota)
.280/.376/.443
14 HR/69 RBI
3.7 WAR

Columbia League Pitcher of the Year:

SP Angel Moreno (Baltimore)
16-4
2.84 ERA 143 K/32 BB
6.1 WAR

United League Pitcher of the Year:

SP Jose Arredondo (Minnesota)
17-5
2.83 ERA 200 K/79 BB
4.0 WAR

Columbia League Hitter of the Year:

LF Sheen Serjeantson (Brooklyn)
.297/.347/.595
47 HR/146 RBI
5.8 WAR

United League Hitter of the Year:

1B Jose Feliciano (Philadelphia)
.336/.445/.569
31 HR/102 RBI
8.1 WAR

[JetsIn06]

1929 Off-Season: Arbitration and Free Agents

A bunch players will be leaving in free agency:

CL Gustav Boden
CL Tusmemasa Tanaka
3B Andy Davis
SS Miark Simonson
CF Sean Basse
RF Jose Mejia

2B Adrian Black is also a free agent, but will be coming back on a one-year, $1.5m deal after a not-the-worst-player-ever season, hitting .232/.298/.286 in 122 PA.

We have eleven arb-eligibles, and the only guy we can consider signing long-term is C Edward Luxton. In three full seasons and the final month of another, he's hit 62 HR with a .243/.302/.415 batting line, but last years .225/.277/.380 was his worst. This could be our chance to get him on a low deal, so we offer him a three-year, $8.3m offer with two team options worth $3.7 and $4.7m.

We non-tender long-time 2B Louis Blake, and sign the rest to one-year deals.

[JetsIn06]

1929 Off-Season: Outlook and Overview

[JetsIn06]

1929 Off-Season: Free Agency

If we could come out of the off-season with a decent SS, LF, and a few bench bats, we actually could put together a somewhat decent season, I think. I have a lot of young guys that have their debut's under their belt, and all of them for a full season could lead to something exciting, even if it's just a .500 record.

There's literally no one interesting at the SS position in free agency, so for now, I'm moving on to LF. Our first offer is to 3B/LF Lincoln Murphy. Love the flexibility he could give us. One-year, $1m offer for him. We also offer LF Jeremy Wright, a 33-year old vet who's spent his last few seasons in Brooklyn. He gets a one-year, $6.5m offer with a team option.

We also offer SP/MR Esteban Bravo, who we had for a few years but traded in the middle of the year, to a one-year, $5.7m deal with a team option.

Finally, we offer OF Ken Price, who has a career .331 OBP, a one-year, $1.3m deal.

Now, shortstop. I was just thinking about doing some kind of crazy trade, but I'm not quite ready to start shipping off my depth and I want to give SS Kurt Fenner a chance for a full year. For now, we'll stand pat, and hope that someone becomes available next off-season, because we're probably getting to the point where we'll really start supplementing our team with big-time free agents after this season.

[JetsIn06]

1929 Season: Spring Training

8-16. Yuck.

[JetsIn06]

1929 Season: Amateur Draft

It's June 5th, 1929, and we're currently 24-38 on the season. Our offense have really stepped it up, and we're doing well in that department, leading the Columbia League in walks, and fourth in home runs. However, our pitching has been our weak point, with a United League worst .270 opponents average.

We have the 7th pick in the draft, and we go with SP Haffy Barnewall, a 6'2" flamethrower who's got the potential to be an ace, rated 6 of 8 in stuff, movement, and control potential, with three plus pitched including a splitter.

[JetsIn06]

1929 Season: Presidents Cup Series

In 1929, we'll see two new teams face off in the Presidents Cup Series, each hoping their first time playing in the series will end with a Presidents Cup lifted over their heads.

The Newark Peppers face off against the Detroit Wolves in a best-of-nine contest to determine the winner. Just a few seasons ago, Newark had never finished above third place. It wasn't until 1923 that they had a winning record, and from there, they've steadily progressed, moving from 82 wins to 84, 86, 83, 92, and a 91 win season this campaign. They're led by their dominating pitching staff that led the CL with a 3.24 ERA, and this year, their ace was SP John Elder, who went 15-5 with a 2.52 ERA.

Detroit's a very similar team, but their 3.07 ERA was good for best all-around, and their ace, SP Morann Cassie, was simply flawless. 18-6 with a 1.94 ERA, 255 K's, and just 28 BB.

After four games, Newark is on fire. After losing Game 1 9-2, they went on to win the next three games, and head back to Detroit up 3 games to 1. They win Game 5, in Game 6, they're down 5-3 in the top of the 9th.

They weren't ready to call it a day, however, when back to back walks led off the inning, and a single loaded the bases. After a fielders choice scored a run, CF Jim Powell laced a double to the outfield wall, scoring two, giving Newark the lead.

With a one-two-three inning in the 9th, Newark defeats Detroit, 5 games to 1.

We end the season at 64-90.

[JetsIn06]

1929 Season: Final Standings and Awards



Columbia League Rookie of the Year:

SS Emilio Contreras (Pittsburgh)
.308/.322/.376
1 HR/39RBI/51 SB
2.5 WAR

United League Rookie of the Year:

3B Manuel Gonzalez (Detroit)
.292/.306/.367
4 HR/60 RBI/57 SB
3.2 WAR

Columbia League Pitcher of the Year:

CL Emmitt Jenkins (Brooklyn)
42 SV
0.43 ERA 113 K/13 BB
3.3 WAR

United League Pitcher of the Year:

SP Morann Cassie (Detroit)
18-6
1.84 ERA 255 K/28 BB
10.8 WAR

Columbia League Hitter of the Year:

2B Art Fox (St. Louis)
.315/.405/.527
26 HR/77 RBI/29 SB
5.0 WAR

United League Hitter of the Year:

LF Bill Clark (Brooklyn)
.356/.473/.506
12 HR/72 RBI
7.2 WAR

[JetsIn06]

1930 Off-Season: Arbitration and Free Agents

We have a ton of guys hitting free agency, most notably 2B Adrian Black, who will be brought back again to ride the pine, hopefully into retirement, and LF Brooks Bosley, a guy we drafted back in 1921 in the supplemental round. He's been pretty unspectacular, and if my team was any good in the last seven seasons, he'd probably not have stayed with us. But we needed the bodies. He hit .244/.315/.405 in his time with us, but was very poor defensively and at 30, he's not improving in that area. SP Esteban Bravo is once again a Type-B free agent, and knowing his track record, he might actually accept arbitration. I could live with him on another one-year, $5.7m deal, and the possibility of an extra pick is worth the risk of him accepting. He wasn't all that good, but he did eat 188 innings and that does have some value.

There's a bunch of other guys leaving, but they're not worth mentioning.

In arbitration, backup C Mauro Veldez will be let go, along with 1B/3B John Cooper, both of whom struggled the last two seasons.

One long-term candidate is SP Jay Ernst, a former first-round pick who's been very good for us in his first three full seasons. with an overall ERA of 3.32 and 502 K's to just 127 BB with 12.3 WAR. He's very open to signing, and will do it on the cheap. He's already 29, so I don't want to go too long. It's a three-year deal with two team options tacked on and some incentives, and it could be worth $24m over that time. It's a bargain that should help quite a bit as we (hopefully) start spending some money to get ourselves back into contention.

***

SP Esteban Bravo, as expected, accepts arbitration, so he'll stay with us for one more year.

[JetsIn06]

1930 Off-Season: Outlook and Overview

The bullpen is left blank, because my pitching is a complete mess. I have so many starting pitchers. Let's just call it a fluid situation for now.



We have somewhere in the neighborhood of $35m to spend in free agency, which could go up if something really interesting happens. The top four players in free agency are all under 30, as is much of the free agent class, so this could be our chance to make a splash. I could use a starting pitcher, which could allow us to trade off some of our excess average pitchers to fill a different position. We're also looking for a long-term SS, 2B, and OF.

[JetsIn06]

1930 Off-Season: Free Agency

Despite the top four free agents being under 30 (with one being just 26), they're not without their flaws. The top OF available has a very bad injury history already, and the best available SP has a very concerning stamina issue.

However, there is 26-year-old CF Antonio Guererro. He'd let us move OF Albert Bartlett to LF and really solidify our defense. He's asking for a five-year, $98m deal. I can live with the years, but negotiate him down to $81m.

We also make an offer to SS Jose Olvera, who is coming into the league from Cuba. He gets a one-year, $4.5m offer with a second year team option.

While it's not a major move, we also make a one-year, $4.5m offer to SS Jose Gonzalez, a former Monarch, as infield insurance. There's not much else out there, unfortunately.

***

CF Antonio Guerrero signs! Olvera and Gonzalez sign a few days later.

***

Big trade. We have a good amount of spare parts to work with, so we're going to pull the trigger on SP Vince Adames, a 24-year-old who's put up three straight seasons of sub 3.00 ERA, with 209 K/40 BB last season, good for 7.7 WAR. We'll do our best to lock him up long-term.

To get him, we send SP Esteban Bravo, CL Xisto Candeias, C Bernardo Figueroa, CF Shane Carleton, and LF Francisco Flores, with $5m in cash. That's four young, promising prospects, but we have young guys currently playing good baseball at all of those positions other than closer, but I never mind dealing relievers in trades.

[JetsIn06]

1930 Season: Spring Training

In the middle of the spring, we extend SP Vince Adames with a six-year, $87m contract. He still has two more years of arbitration, so this buys out two of them and we get his first four free agent years at a decent price. If he continues the way he's been pitching, it will be a steal.

We finish the spring with a record of 12-12.

[JetsIn06]

1930 Season: Amateur Draft

Alright! Despite a four-week injury to new signee CF Antonio Guerrero, we're 39-22 on June 5th, 3.5 games up on Baltimore.

We have the third pick in the draft, and hopefully we won't be picking this high for a while. There's a few choices, but there's one guy I can't pass up. CF Joe Mertens has a combination of speed and power that you don't see that often. The speed hasn't translated to elite outfield range, but he's a good fielder, but I'd prefer to see him in left.

[JetsIn06]

1930 Season: Vince Adames Out For Season

Noooo! We specifically went after Adames because of his durability, but the injury bug has hit him. It's July 5th, and he'll be out for four months. This is a big blow to our chances.

[JetsIn06]

1930 Season: The Final Stretch

On August 1st, we were 4.5 games up on Newark. It's two weeks later, and we've gone 2-9 so far in August, have lost our last three, and are one game behind them. We have a four game series coming up against the last place St. Louis Terriers, and we absolutely need to take three of four.

We split, but are now tied for first place. However, we are two back in the loss column, and we have a three game set with Brooklyn coming up. We win the first, but Newark matches with a win of their own. The second and third game will be played as a double header.

We win both! But again, Newark matches, and we gain no ground. We have a two-game series against 7th place Pittsburgh, and then a four-game set against Newark, which will be our last games against them.

We split, but Newark wins their games, and we're now three back in the loss column, with a four-game series against them coming up.

Wow! Game 1 is a 14-inning epic, and we win with a walkoff single from CF Antonio Guerrero! We lose the second game, and now it's September 1st, so we can call up some reinforcements.

Third game is another loss, and we almost have to win this next game to have a chance. We do, and we remain three games back in the loss column. We have a three-game series against 3rd place Baltimore, a three-game set against 5th place Washington, and finish the year with four games against 4th place Brooklyn.

Of course, Newark gets to play six games against the 7th and 8th place teams, along with a series against Brooklyn and Baltimore.

With four days to go, we haven't gained any ground, and remain three games back. We lose, and Newark wins, and we miss out on what looked to be surely ours.

[JetsIn06]

1930 Season: Presidents Cup Series

We finish with a 88-66 record. A good start to a hopefully long run of success, but we could have done much better.

In the Presidents Cup Series, Newark returns to face off against Chicago. I'd like to say it was exciting, but Chicago simply dominates the series. Chicago defeats Newark, 5 games to 0!

[JetsIn06]

1930 Season: Adrian Black Retires

It's sad to see him go because he was the first draft pick in league and Monarch history, but he's been absolutely terrible for the last four years.



His 1,926 career hits are good for 11th most in league history.

[JetsIn06]

1930 Season: Final Standings and Awards



Awards soon.

[JetsIn06]

1931 Off-Season: Arbitration and Free Agents

We have three free agents, IF Jose Gonzalez, MR Walton Magee, and MR Dan Rowe. Rowe made $3.1m, and he's interested in staying. Last season, he finished with a 3.47 ERA over 90.2 innings with 92 Ks and 30 BBs. He gets a two-year, $6.1m deal with a team option tacked on to the end for a third year.

There are six arb-eligible players, and the only guy we'd be interested in singing long-term is LF Albert Bartlett. The 25th overall pick in 1925, Bartlett has played two 2.1 WAR seasons in a row, but his offense was down slightly last season, going from .266/.358/.397 to .233/.317/.403. His HR total jumped from 7 to 15, and his defense improved dramatically by moving to LF. He is a super-two, so that means this is his first of four arbitration seasons. He's not interested in a deal at first, but we make him an offer for four-years, which buys out his arb years at $3m, $3.5m, $4m, and $4.75m, with two team options worth $6m and $6.5m and some incentives. In total, the deal could be for six-years and just $30.8m, which will bring him through his age 33 season.

We also sign former starter MR Ryan Douglas to a two-year, $6m deal.

Everyone else gets one-year offers.

[JetsIn06]

1931 Off-Season: Overview and Outlook



We have about $22m in budget room left, and we could really use a third baseman. We don't really need the power either, but could use a speed and on-base kind of guy, which may let us get some better value at the position.