Looking Ahead to 2022

With the passing of each and every series this season, it seems more and more likely that 2021 will be a lost season for the Cowtippers. We simply can't sustain a winning streak of more than two games no matter who we face. Our most recent series, resulting in a split against the last-place team in our division -- at home, against their MP, no less -- is only the latest example.

At some point, I will perform one final autopsy on this 2021 team. Today, now that the 2021 MLB season is officially in the books, we can safely look ahead to 2022. To be certain, we have a lot of holes to fill and questions to answer, but equally-certain is that we should (emphasis on "should", given what we have experienced this year) have a very strong team next season.

Our 2022 lineup includes four of the top twenty hitters in the game (ranked by WAR), including Trea Turner (#1), Brandon Crawford (#13), Shohei Ohtani (#18), and Rafael Devers (#20). We also technically still own the #11 overall hitter in baseball, Jose Altuve, but...well, we're not allowed to say.

On the pitching side of the ball, we own the fifth-best pitcher in baseball, Max Scherzer, and...well, that's pretty much it. We do, however, have a very strong bullpen to make up for our fairly weak (and usage-limited) starting rotation beyond Scherzer.

At this moment, our starting lineup against left-handers looks like this:

1. Ramon Laureano, RF: .304/.380/.478
2. Trea Turner, 2B: .392/.437/.712
3. Andrew Benintendi, CF: .303/.340/.455
4. Shohei Ohtani, LF: .263/.344/.636
5. Rafael Devers, 3B: .278/.345/.405

6. TBD, 1B
7. TBD, C

8. Brandon Crawford, SS: .244/.300/.422

We also have a monster weapon against lefties off the bench in last chapter's pickup, Lane Thomas, who hit .381/.500/.603 in 78 PA's. Yadiel Hernandez (.300/.349/.513) gives us another pinch-hitting weapon.

Against righties:

1. Trea Turner, 2B: .305/.353/.475

2. Brandon Crawford, SS: .319/.401/.560

3. Rafael Devers, 3B: .280/.357/.621

4. Shohei Ohtani, LF: .254/.388/.566

5. Andrew Benintendi, CF: .264/.318/.437

6. TBD, 1B

7. TBD, RF

8. TBD, C

As you can see, we have several holes to fill from now until Opening Day. At this moment, we have roughly $20 million to fill those holes.

Our 2022 starting rotation, to date:

1. Max Scherzer: 179 IP, 597/541 splits

2. Framber Valdez: 135 IP, 717/626

3. Shohei Ohtani: 130 IP, 733/536

4. Jon Gray: 149 IP, 730/753

We need roughly 360 more innings, which means we'll need to acquire two starters before the bell rings.

Our bullpen currently looks like this:

RH Ryan Tepera: 61 IP, 429/559 splits

LH Jake McGee: 60 IP, 496/593

RH David Bednar: 61 IP, 531/611
RH Dominic Leone: 54 IP, 501/580

RH Paul Sewald: 65 IP, 650/545

LH Gregory Soto: 64 IP, 495/696

RH Matt Wisler: 49 IP, 702/653

RH Luis Garcia: 33 IP, 864/367

RH J.B. Wendelken: 44 IP, 803/644

This gives us three right-handed closers that are effective against both lefties and righties, two lefty-killing setup men, a righty-killer setup man, and a few innings-eaters. I would feel comfortable heading into Opening Day right now with this bullpen.

Overall, I feel that we are in a better position this year than we were at this time last year. Clearly, trying to win with a roster filled with all-star-caliber starting pitchers doesn't work in the BDBL. Maybe this offense-heavy approach will work better. It will certainly be a lot more fun watching the Cowtippers actually score some runs every now and then.