OOTP 20 Franchise Progress Thread

[KBLover]

2025 Season

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Season Review

The Foxes again were in the high-90's in wins, but, again, it was not good enough to win the division. The Foxes were the first Wild Card out of the NL and will be looking to advance to the NLDS for the first time.

Pitching remained a strength amidst the injuries in the rotation. Mitch McIntyre was a solid performer, though not quite what BNN predicted. Still, he was plenty strong enough and led the way in the rotation all year. McKay suffered a long injury that caused him to miss most of the year. His slack was picked up by Sanson Faltine III, who made his rookie debut.

Faltine III by no means had a standout season, but he did what was needed and impressed enough to make him a strong candidate for the rotation next season. Jorge Rodriguez took another step forward as perhaps the young pitcher is beginning to realize his potential as a solid mid-rotation starter.

The bullpen remained the superior unit, posting a stellar 2.78 ERA as a group. Art Warren had another remarkable season, checking in with a 214 ERA+ in 79 innings of work. Jerry Ford proved a hero in his rookie season, contributing 115 innings from the bullpen with a 1.96 ERA.

Part of the pitching success is credited to the defense once again. The Foxes NL ranking was good enough for first in defensive efficiency, fourth in Zone Rating, and the 3rd fewest errors.

Offensively, things improved nicely with the addition of Duenez at the trading deadline. He hit 15 home runs in 238 plate appearances with the Foxes, continuing what was a strong season prior to the trade. He hit 44 all told, good enough to lead all of baseball.

What ever drop off BNN was expecting out of Rafael Devers did not come to pass. The 28-year-old third baseman hit 57 doubles to go with 37 home runs and piled up 6.3 WAR, a career high mark. Outfielder Juan Salas got his first taste of full-time major league work, and he did well. He batted .282/.321/.469, picking up 2.1 WAR and 119 wRC+ in 463 plate appearances. This will be enough to make him a part of the outfield.

However, there were still some issues at the plate. Wander Franco in particularly collapsed this season. After a very solid 2024 campaign, his production fell off a cliff in all areas. What was thought to be something settled at second base has just become uncertain.

Tsutsugo continues to be an unknown in terms of consistency. He's very streaky at the plate and that has held back his production overall. The team doesn't have the most options around for DH, so he's held the spot, but his performance has become decidedly less than ideal.

Franchy Cordero was part of a revolving door at left field, and the fact he was the "best" is not a good sign. His .687 OPS was below standard and his defense has kept him in the starting lineup.

2025 Postseason

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Both expansion siblings made the playoffs this season, with the Warriors making it for the first time in their history. They won their first playoff game 2-0 over the Cleveland Indians. The winner was rookie star A.J. Biggs, the Warriors' ace and former 3rd round pick out of the 2023 draft class. Biggs, 25, won 22 games and led the AL in wins, innings pitched (211), and ERA (2.38).

"Not bad for a so-called old draft pick and old rookie, huh, " Biggs commented after the game.

The Foxes also advanced to the NLDS, getting past Kershaw and the Dodgers by a 3-1 score. McIntyre pitched seven strong innings and bullpen held the lead.

The Warriors hot run continued as they swept past the Royals with little effort.

Meanwhile, the Foxes run met its end at the hands of the rival Nationals, who won 102 games during the regular season.

"It's another step forward. We have to keep improving. We're in a tough environment but winners rise through adversity. We have to keep pushing, " Hildago commented.

The Warriors actually lost a game, but still advanced once again as the surprise story of the league. They defeated the Rays 4 games to 1 to win the AL Pennant and advance to the World Series.

"We're a team of destiny, " first baseman Blaze Jordan commented, "We're not stopping until we have the championship."

The Nationals, owners of the best record in baseball, faced the Warriors in the Fall Classic.

In a thrilling seven game series, the Nationals squeaked by the upstart Warriors to win the 2025 World Series. The Warriors actually held a 3-2 lead in the series, the Nationals won the final two games at home to claim the title. Jackie Bradley, Jr. was huge in the deciding game seven, hitting three home runs and driving in five runs.

Juan Soto (Nationals) was named World Series MVP. He batted .364 with 3 HR and a staggering .533 OBP in the series.

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Offseason Ahead

The Foxes and Yo****suna Tsutsugo had difficult negotiations during the season, according to sources. The team does want him to return due to his clubhouse influence and still-decent bat, but negotiations have not gone well. The 33-year-old might be wanting a contract longer than the Foxes would prefer to tender.

The fate of Franchy Cordero is very much in doubt. With other defense-first outfielders in the organization, such as Kevin Alcantara and Joe Berrera, and prospects like Luke Leto and Nick Bitsko looking ready, it will be hard for Cordero to argue for a spot.

Farm Report

Pitcher Jorge Lerma got a little time in the majors in September, and command is still a big issue for him. This will likely keep him in AAA, though he'll get spring action in all likelihood. He was strong in AAA everywhere except the command, which is some good sign at least.

Teenage sensation Alfred Montero didn't get any major league action, but that will probably change next season. Montero has flown up the minor league ladder and found himself with a .294/.359/.466 batting line in AAA in 163 at-bats. Spring training action is a given at this point and he may well contend for a major league roster spot.

Luke Leto is looking like he will stick at the majors as a starter. The question will be: where? Is he at second base after Franco collapsed, or does he take a corner outfield spot with Juan Salas?

Nick Bitsko is also looking more and more like a major league hitter. He could complicate things for Tsutsugo at the bargaining table, and perhaps for the roster as a whole. If he gets a corner outfield spot, does that force Leto to DH if the team stays with Franco one more year?

[KBLover]

2026 Foxes

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Some new faces in the lineup as the next batch of talent graduates, and hopefully sticks, at the majors.

There are some reasons to be concerned across the board with the team's spring training performance. Leto and Montero had terrible springs, both batting under the .200 mark and for a while Leto was under .150. McGuire again battled injury but came back in time to start the season with the squad. Still, he missed weeks of spring action.

The pitchers had struggles as well. McIntyre looked out of sorts all spring long while McKay's pitches seemed flat and lifeless. Jorge Rodriguez might have performed the worst of all the starters. He was simply hit hard all over the field. Not so many home runs, but shots into the gaps and unable to work out of any trouble at all.

"You don't want to read a lot into these games, but you never want to look bad and out of rhythm. I think we'll be fine, though, " manager Hidalgo commented.

BNN agrees, putting the Foxes and Nationals in the same pitched battle at the top of the division with the winner being up in the air once again this season.

One interesting thing is that only a single Foxes player is on either of the projected top players lists: SP Mitch McIntyre, whom BNN is expected a step back from, projecting his ERA to climb into the low 3's.

On the farm, scouts are starting to side with the critics in regards to Masashi Asai's future. While overall positive, scouts have come down significantly on the future grade they assign to Asai and he has plummeted to barely being on the top 200 in BNN's prospect rankings.

[KBLover]

2026 Season

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The Foxes had their offense come online this season with Devers catching most of the attention with his surprising 51 home runs.

Surrounding Devers is a collection of young hitters that could be together for years to come, and Devers isn't exactly old himself. The interesting thing about this whole lineup is, that at least by WAR, they don't stand out, and there really isn't much that jumps off the page.

"Outside of Devers and perhaps Montaro because he seems to have no ceiling right now, this crew doesn't get much attention. But when you add them all up together, it's like 'wow this is a scary lineup' and they quietly are top 3 in run production, " one MLBN analyst commented.

Alfredo Montero, a 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic, burst onto the scene in his rookie campaign. He hit 32 HR on his way to a .509 slugging percentage and a 128 OPS+. Juan Salas, technically not a rookie, had a strong first full campaign, also hitting 30 HR and posting an over-.500 slugging percentage.

Nick Bitsko's rookie campaign was also strong. He posted 4 WAR to go with his 25 home runs, 39 doubles (most on the team), and a 129 wRC+.

Rookie of the year voting will be interesting. The two Foxes teammates might split the vote.

Witt Jr. moved from SS to his native third base, but that didn't stop his offensive rhythm. He hit 28 HR and posted a 136 OPS+. He also had .328 BABIP, making him and Royce Lewis the top two Foxes hitters in the stat. Lewis led the team with a .340 BABIP.

On the pitching side, the bullpen had the better ERA but both units were 2nd in ERA in the NL. The rotation, though, was led again by McIntyre, who proved again his worth as a starting pitcher. He had the best ERA in baseball by .01 over Bobby Rodgers from the Blue Jays. The rest of the rotation was decent, but nothing special. Jorge Lerma got his first taste of the majors. It was a struggle, but, as 5th starter, it didn't hurt the team.

The bullpen, on the other hand, wasn't as consistent from top to bottom, despite the strong ERA. Jerry Ford and Sergio Correa were dynamite out of the bullpen to anchor the unit. The bullpen usage was the same as the last few years with minimally defined roles and no set closer. No one on the team had more than 9 saves.

One interesting combination was the mix of having the most pitching K's in the NL along with the best defense in the NL.

"Putting the ball in play does less against the Foxes and that's really help get them on these rolls where you get nothing at all unless you hit a home run at the right time, " one scout spoke.

Playoff Run

One thing about the Foxes' style of play has been a lack of playoff success.

This year, at least, the Foxes advanced to the LCS - though it was a hard, five-game series with the Mets. The teams traded wins until the final game where the Foxes won game 5 to move on.

In the LCS, the Cardinals tried to answer the Foxes offense with pitching. In the first four games, the two teams were deadlocked 2-2. Then the Foxes' pitching came to the forefront, throwing back-to-back shutouts to advance to team to their first World Series appearance.

In the World Series, the Foxes faced the Mariners, who owned the best pitching staff in baseball.

The Mariners staff proved a match in the first five games with four of those games decided by one run, including a heartbreaker for the Foxes in game five when a four-run rally in the 9th left the team short by one in a 7-6 defeat. That game gave the Mariners a 3-2 series lead.

Back at home, the Foxes tossed a 7-0 shutout win to give the team a chance at a decisive game seven.

In that game seven, the pitching again rose up, holding the Mariners to just two runs. The offense kicked from the start with Devers delivering a bases-loaded, 2-run double in the first to cap a 3-run inning. The pitching made that hold up on the way to a 5-2 win and a Foxes World Series victory.

The players poured on the field, many of them having just a small taste of baseball, let alone playoff, experience.



"Winning it all will be something they can look to their whole careers. It's something that can keep them going and staying determined knowing they've already climbed the top of the baseball mountain, " manager Hidalgo commented.

[canes21]

To keep the trend going with the Bravos, I just signed Johan Camargo to a 5-year $35 million deal keeping the young talent on the roster around at relatively low costs.

[KBLover]

Two more teams are joining my league. I got no organic expansion in my Angels game last year until very far down the road.

I get organic expansion here before year 10 lol. Enter the Charlotte River Rats and the Jacksonville Jet Hawks.

The Foxes lost a few players - most notable was Michael Doolin - a 65 Power third baseman/infield utility player. He wanted to be a starter and the Foxes had no room to consider protecting him and him starting with Witt Jr and Devers around is a no go.

Meanwhile, the Foxes signed a defense-first backup to a minor league+majors option contract (that will get filled in all likelihood) to replace Doolin.

The 24-man rosters pretty much require players like this, which is probably why Doolin went 1st overall in the expansion draft. Several other players were selected with position utility in mind by both squads.

One thing that hasn't changed - posted players. Got another posting from NPB after the KBO was hogging the posting news for a while.

[KBLover]

In what's been a sleepy free agent class this year, Aaron Judge made the biggest move, departing the Yankees to play for the Astros. The Astros signed him for "only" $22 million per year, less than the rumored $26 million he was seeking.

Judge, now 34, went through a few years between 2022 and 2025 where whispers of a decline in the making. He refuted that with an AL-leading 47 HR and 5.2 WAR in his contract year. Scouts have always stayed on his side, still regarding him as a 70-80 grade power talent with no signs of slowing down.

On the Yankees side, they may be relying on 29-year-old Michael Flames to make good on what scouts think is a breakthrough season. Reports are that his swing is finally gaining more consistency while showing no drop off in his batted ball and launch angle metrics. In addition, international signing Juan Palz is starting to come online and he might be a 21-year-old stud, according to scouts.

The only other "name brand" free agent, a declining Nolan Arrenado, remains on the market. While he's slowing down (as opposed to Judge, so far) in his mid-30's, scouts do think he's still a quality, potentially above average, major league player.

[bravo2208]

Quote: Originally Posted by canes21

To keep the trend going with the Bravos, I just signed Johan Camargo to a 5-year $35 million deal keeping the young talent on the roster around at relatively low costs.

I offered him 3 years, 13 mil with another 3 mil in incentives not really expecting him to sign. I was pleasantly surprised and happy because I thought I had a cheap replacement for Donaldson. Then he sprained his knee the same day he signed. This game is cruel lol.

[canes21]

Haha, he has remained healthy along with the rest of my team through May so far. I'm sure the injury bug will bite me sometime soon.