z3r0s

it's a lot of work for general crickets, sorry bro.

meh, didn't really seem to generate much discussion after the first few.

Thanks for doing the list up DD!

I hope he's right! :p

everyone ready to draft!?!?!? WOOOOOOOOO!

I think there is a clear #1 as well, but it sounds like mine is different from yours.

Sorry, Asian guys don't count for diversity points anymore

Lots of ways the top of the draft could go. I'm a bit outside at 5, but I can't imagine I'll be disappointed with whoever drops. Any hints on how the first 4 picks will go Org, Eze, TCA, FTD?

anyone have access to the BP top 100 list?

State of the Franchise; Saskatchewan 54’s Owner: L54 2024 Season; The Saskatchewan 54’s put together an utterly dominant season in 2024. Although it ultimately culminated in a gut wrenching finals defeat, you’d be hard pressed to find a more thoroughly excellent season of fantasy play. The 54’s ranked second overall with the sticks, placing in the top five of almost every offensive category. Somehow the pitching eclipsed the offensive, ranking first in an amazing THREE categories and leading the league overall. In fact, it would be easier to count the categories that the 54’s did NOT rank in the top five of (spoiler, it was 3). Despite residing in the strongest division in the league, the 54’s managed to play even better in their neighbourhood than they did against the league overall. Final Standing; 2 Batting Stats; 2 Pitching Stats; 1 Combined; 1 Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - William Contreras - Yainer Diaz The word stacked is thrown around a lot these days… but this is pretty much the definition of a stacked position. Two top 4 catchers is just absurd, and ho-hum one of them also qualified as a top ten first baseman (and just squeaked into eligibility for 2025). There is youth on the side of both of these guys as well with both players entering their prime. This tandem is the envy of the league. Verdict; Catcher will be elite in 2025. First Base - Yanier Diaz - Yandy Diaz - Alec Burleson - Zach Dezenzo The aforementioned Diaz is likely to be the preferred starting option at first base, but the depth will not be an issue when his catchers workload pushes him to the bench. Yandy Diaz had a bit of a down year regarding pop, but was still very serviceable (with considerable upside). Alec Burleson is likely to patrol the grass for the 54’s in 2025, but offers further depth at the position. Verdict; First Base will be above average in 2025. Second Base - Jose Altuve - Otto Lopez Altuve had a down year by his standards, only finishing SECOND at the keystone. The 54’s are counting on the ageless wonder to continue his clockwork elite production for another season, as the depth at the position is a bit iffy with Otto Lopez being the only other player on the roster with eligibility for the 2025 season. Verdict; Second Base will be elite (though thin) in 2025. Third Base - Junior Caminero - Ramon Urias - Miguel Vargas It seems a bit unfair that a team this loaded has not only one, but two excellent prospects at a position that was thin in 2024. Neither Caminero or Vargas have found their stroke at the MLB level, but it seems improbable that at least one of them will hit their stride in 2025. The 54’s have at the least, put themselves in a position to succeed at the hot corner. Verdict; Third Base will be average to above average in 2025. Shortstop - Francisco Lindor - Tyler Fitzgerald Francisco Lindor was once again a top flight option at the six, ranking as the third most valuable shortstop and sixth most valuable hitter for 2024. He missed putting up a second consecutive 30-30 season by a single stolen base, and filled up every offensive category while hitting in a potent Mets lineup. Fitzgerald is a serviable backup with some useful positional flexibility. Verdict; Shortstop will be elite in 2025. Outfield - Yordan Alvarez - Kyle Tucker - Alec Burleson - Jake McCarthy - Tyler Fitzgerald - Miguel Vargas Yordan put up yet another monstrous season in 2024 and just as importantly put up the healthiest year of recent memory. Kyle Tucker battled some injuries hampering his overall production, but when he was on the field he played some of the best offensive baseball of his career. Alec Burleson parlayed a favorable position in the lineup into a great year by filling up most of the counting stats while batting for serviceable ratios. There are some concerns with center field eligibility here, but there are plenty of depth options that have some upside and flexibility. Verdict; The Outfield will be above average in 2025 Offense Overall; This offense is loaded with elite performers at almost every position, most of whom are in their prime. There is a case to be made that the lineup will be better this coming season with improved health from Tucker and an overdue breakout from Caminero. There is simply no reason to think this offense will not be at or near the top of the league for 2025 and several years beyond. Pitching Starting Pitching - Zach Wheeler - Shota Imanaga - Logan Webb - Ranger Suarez - Tylor Megill - Merrill Kelly - Trevor Bauer The anchor of this rotation is still bonafide Ace Zach Wheeler, but newcomer Shota Imanaga sure gave him a run for his money. The import put up a truly impressive rookie campaign, ranking as a top 15 player overall. Legan Webb logged another steadily excellent campaign, giving the 54’s three pitchers inside the top 20 starters. Ranger Suarez also put together a very strong year and is looking like an excellent middle of the rotation arm while playing on a strong offensive Phillies team. The 54’s are hoping to squeeze another productive season out of Merrill Kelly, who wasn’t able to take the bump consistently enough to have much of a year. He is however only a year removed from some excellent play. The depth tails off after that (until Trevor Bauer returns! :p), but that already makes for a very formidable rotation. Verdict; The Rotation will be above average in 2025. Relief Pitching - Kirby Yates - Raisel Iglesias - Kevin Ginkel - AJ Puk - Tyler Kinley - Joel Payamps - Blake Treien - Chris Martin Kirby Yates simply shoved this year, unexpectedly ranking as the 6th most valuable reliever for the year, creating a two headed monster with long standing stud closer Raisel Iglesias. The 54’s filled out the rest of their bullpen with very productive hold collecting pitchers. There were no wasted spots in this group which received above results from top to bottom. The only slight knock here is the relative ages of the relief core. If you are going to be old, the bullpen is the place to do it! Verdict; The Bullpen will be elite in 2025. Pitching Overall; The staff of the 54’s was the best in the league in 2024, fielding players that punched above their weight for their spots in the rotation / bullpen. This resulted in a rotation that is both excellent and extremely deep, making them dangerous and resistant to an injury derailing their season. This staff is poised to challenge for tops in the league for 2025. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Josue De Paula (48) - Jacob Misiorowski (80) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 19, 39 Verdict; The farm recently graduated a top 5 prospect in Caminero, and retains a few mid-range Top 100 players who really have the potential to really jump up the rankings this year with strong play. The 54’s have also managed to keep most of their draft picks, which will help to replenish the farm in a strong draft year. The cupboards certainly aren’t bare considering the strength of the big-league roster, but the farm is not currently a strength. Activity; L54 is a fairly active general manager, working more on the waiver wire than the trade block in 2024. He did however pull off one of the larger trades of the year acquiring both Wheeler and Altuve mid-season. Conclusion; The Saskatchewan 54’s are the class of the league at the moment, fielding a team that has very few weaknesses and an enviable stable of elite performers all over the diamond. They will contend for both a DDL Championship and Prime Minister’s Trophy in 2025 and beyond.

Draft is coming up quickly. Anyone want to do a bit of content for the DDL Dispatch, might get people in the mood to draft!

State of the Franchise; Burrito Boyz Owner: Havok24 2024 Season; Havok’s Burrito Boyz struggled to a 14th overall finish for the 2024 season, slightly underperforming their combined team ranking of 12th overall. It was a tale of two sides of the ball this year for the Burrito Boyz. The bats did their part, ranking 8th overall in the offensive categories. They excelled especially in the ratio stats of OBP and SLG, ranking 4th and 6th overall respectively. The counting categories were solidly average. Unfortunately that’s where the good news stops as the Boyz ranked dead last in pitching with only one category placing above 17th overall, SV’s at 8th overall. Final Standing; 14th Batting Stats; 8th Pitching Stats; 20th Combined; 12th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Austin Wells - Bo Naylor - Endy Rodriguez Austin Wells led this catching core and put together a serviceable season with average ratios and limited pop / speed, but benefitting from playing on a good club. It was good enough for an 18th overall ranking. He should have competition this year from both Bo Naylor and Endy Rodriguez, both of whom have solid upside and incentive to put down seasons behind them. Verdict; Catcher will be an average position in 2025. First Base - Bryce Harper - Nolan Schanuel - Dylan Moore Bryce Harper put together yet another excellent offensive campaign, but at a new(ish) position for the superstar. He immediately became one of the most valuable first baggers in the league, ranking 3rd at the position along with 25th for hitters overall. More importantly, it was a mostly healthy season with 145 games played. Schanuel is a serviceable backup, despite his lack of power, and ranked 30th overall with improving pop. Verdict; First Base will be elite in 2025. Second Base - Dylan Moore - Brooks Lee - Luis Rengifo - Mauricio Dubon The Burrito Boyz don’t have a ton of middle infielders who had stable roles in 2024. Dylan Moore had the best year in 2024 and he put together some stretches of really good ball, but he still ranked comfortably outside of ‘starter’ territory. Rengifo was hurt for much of the year, but actually put up some decent numbers when he was playing, offering some solid depth. Verdict; Second Base will be a below average position in 2025. Third Base - Matt Chapman - Royce Lewis - Dylan Moore - Brooks Lee - Mauricio Dubon Matt Chapman had a fantastic first season in the Bay, checking in as the 7th best at the hot corner, and a top 25 hitter overall. He wasn’t bothered by the Oracle Park weather, blasting his clockwork 27 HR’s, a total he has reached exactly in 3 of the last 4 seasons! Royce Lewis once again struggled to stay healthy and put up middling results when on the field. If he can stay on the field it could give the Boyz a two-headed monster at third as the talent is still tantalizing. Verdict; Third Base will be a position of strength for 2025. Shortstop - Dylan Moore - Brooks Lee Stop me if you’ve heard this before… The Burrito Boyz don’t have a ton of middle infielders who had stable roles in 2024. Dylan Moore had the best year in 2024 and he put together some stretches of really good ball, but he still ranked comfortably outside of ‘starter’ territory. The Burrito Boyz are of course banking on Brooks Lee securing a stable role for 2025. He struggled during his first cup of coffee, but the tools are evident and the minor league numbers back them up. Verdict; Shortstop may be either an above or below average area in 2025. Outfield - Byron Buxton - Josh Lowe - Lars Nootbar - Mauricio Dubon - Parker Meadows The Burrito Boyz outfield didn’t have a strong year in 2024. Buxton made his return to the grass but once again struggled to stay on the field. Though he was productive when he played, a relief after a disastrous 2023. Josh Lowe had a poor season compared to expectations, and Nootbar struggled to live up to his preseason hype. There is talent here, but it was not on full display this year. Verdict; The Outfield will be an average position in 2025. UT - Kyle Schwarber Carrying a DH only player can be a burden to your flexibility. But when your DH mashes like this, nobody is going to feel sorry for you! Schwarber was the 13th best hitter in baseball this year, on the strength of his dinger and RBI production. His homer total was down a bit this year, but his ratios were up across the board. Verdict; Designated Hitter will be elite in 2025. Offense Overall; This offense produced excellent results, leaning heavily on some elite performers who definitely have good years ahead of them. This was all in a season that saw several high ceiling talents have poor or injury marred years. I think it is reasonable to expect this group will be even better in 2025, creeping into the top quarter of the league. Pitching Starting Pitching - Gerrit Cole - Sean Manaea - Jose Quintana - Griffin Canning - Michael Lorenzen - Bobby Miller - Alex Wood - Kodai Senga - Hurston Waldrep Ace pitcher Gerrit Cole had a difficult year with health, but the results were there when he was able to take the ball. Sean Manaea did his best Ace impression in Cole’s stead, ranking as the 22nd overall SP, and a top 30 player overall. Beyond those two, things get less certain. Bobby Miller can’t be this bad… right? Kodai Senga looked good in limited late season action. Quintana had an admirable year and. Michael Lorenzen seemed to find a place in KC (oh and pitched a NO HITTER earlier in the year). There is some upside, but also uncertainty. There are also a lot of birthdays over 30 years ago, adding questions about the future of this group. There may be help on the way if Waldrep and Jobe can make the jump quickly. Verdict; Starting Pitching will be average in 2025. Relief Pitching - Clay Holmes - Jalen Beeks - Chad Green - Scott Barlow - Tommy Kahnle - Ross Stripling - Aaron Ashby The demise of Clay Holmes has been greatly exaggerated in Yankee-land and he should have a great year across town with the Mets. Beyond that, the bullpen lacks many high upside arms. At the time of writing this review, four of the above are actually still free agents, and none of them are on the right side of 30. Verdict; The Bullpen will be an area of weakness in 2025. Pitching Overall; I think any staff in the league would struggle if their top two projected pitchers have lost seasons. I don’t think this is a ‘worst in class’ pitching staff, but I also see a very difficult path to this becoming more than an average staff in the next few seasons. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Jackson Jobe (5) - Cole Young (38) - Daulton Rushing (39) - Travis Sykora (79) - Cam Collier (93) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 7, 26, 27 Verdict; The Burrito Boyz have talent pepper in the Top 100 lists. Jackson Jobe is a stud and will be a big part of how successful the Boyz will be in 2025. Young is close enough that he might be an option to bolster the MIF in the next few years. General Manager Havok also has several draft picks in the stacked 2025, including 7th overall which should yield a significant asset with the available combination of draftee talent and international signings. The farm is a strength going into 2025. Activity; Havok is moderately active on the waiver wire and trade fronts. He should probably lean into some additional activity to take advantage of what is a legitimate offensive group. Conclusion; I expect the Burrito Boyz to have better fortunes in 2025, finishing comfortably in the top half of the league. They undeformed slightly this past season, and can reasonably expect some bounce backs from many key players in both the rotation and lineup. However, if they do want to make a legitimate push for a playoff spot, I think the pitching staff needs to be improved to complement what is a legitimately dangerous offense. There is also a clock that looms over this team as they have several key pieces entering the evening of their careers.

I can see it now! Thanks!

Weird, but I can't see that. Only things in Misc are 'Other Sports' and 'Jays Centre Issues & Suggestions' Also just noticed that the description in the Misc Forums says Miami Marlins

Any chance you can let me know where the board fantasy threads have been stuck? One of the members sent me a link, but it appears to have moved since then. The Darrell Dynasty thread in particular.

That's it for 2024 folks. We'll pick it up in 2025 with my run the Monte Cristo. Thanks again for the great work Stang! Please like, comment, and subsc...errr and engage! Are we on the mark, or out of touch! And feel free to jump onto the team and do something cool like an analysis of the strength of each position going into 2025! (or farm strengths, or division vs division strengths or whatever!)

Owner: Dr Dinger Author: Stangstag 2024 Season; The 2024 season didn’t turn out quite as well as 5YP likely hoped. He finished 10th overall which was actually good enough for 2nd in the division, narrowly missing a playoff spot. Many trades were made mid-season to offload players, and I have to wonder if it would have been better to hold and possibly nab a playoff spot. Nonetheless, this team seems to have a definite direction to rebuild. The Five Year Plan starts now. Final Standing; 10th Batting Stats; 9th Pitching Stats; 15th Combined; 10th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Patrick Bailey Bailey had a very successful 2nd season in the majors. He’s a defensive wizard, though unfortunately that doesn’t mean much in fantasy. He still provided value, grading out as the 18th most valuable catcher last season by Fantrax points rating. Unfortunately he’s just not a starting catcher on a playoff team. Verdict; Catcher will be weak in 2025 First Base - Vladimir Guerrero Jr - Spencer Torkelson This is a great combo. Vlad had a major resurgence last year, to the tune of 165 wRC+ and 5.5 WAR, and graded as the top 1B on fantrax. He also played enough 3B to be eligible at the position, making him an extremely valuable player. Torkelson has been extremely underwhelming as a whole, but has shown some signs of life in short stints. He’s still young and worth rostering for a non-competitive team. Verdict; First Base will be a major strength in 2025 Second Base - Leo Jimenez - David Hamilton - Brooks Baldwin Jimenez held his own in his first MLB stint, though didn’t exactly look like a fantasy asset. Brooks Baldwin is similar. David Hamilton had some sneaky speed, stealing 33 bases. Not much else really inspiring about these 3 here. Verdict; Second Base will be very weak in 2025 Third Base - Vladimir Guerrero Jr - Ernie Clement Vlad is obviously elite here, though he likely gets more playtime at 1B on this roster. Ernie Clement should be the primary 3B, and he had a decent year in 2024. He doesn’t really do anything special, but I think he’s perfectly serviceable as a bench piece. Verdict; Third Base will be below-average to average (depending on how many reps are given to Vlad) Shortstop - Leo Jimenez - Ernie Clement - David Hamilton Again, this group is not exactly exciting. Probably all serviceable backups at best and not worth roster spots at worst. Verdict; Shorstop will be weak for 2025 Outfield - Kerry Carpenter - Daulton Varsho - Heston Kjerstad - Joey Loperfido - Rece Hinds - Kevin Alcantara - Javier Sanoja This outfield actually is a bit promising. Carpenter didn’t play a ton, but when he did he was excellent. Varsho had a decent year for a CF, though the power numbers have been trending down. Kjerstad had an okayish year, though the power numbers were extremely lacking. Hinds looked exciting in a small sample size. Loperfido has shown flashes of potential but looked pretty underwhelming overall. This outfield is fairly young, and I could see the power numbers shooting up next year. And that’s the main thing lacking here. Some SB would also be welcome. Verdict; Outfield will be weak for 2025 Offense Overall; The offense overall doesn’t look too hot. It's kinda the Vlad show + scrubs, though there are a few guys like Kjerstad, Torkelson and Varsho that could provide value. A breakout from one of those guys is sorely needed for this offense to not drown completely. Pitching Starting Pitching - Spencer Arrighetti - Patrick Sandoval - Alek Manoah - DJ Herz - Valente Bellozo - Landon Knack - Andre Pallante - Cody Poteet Spencer Arrighetti and DJ Herz are keepers, but the rest are pretty meh. No real exciting top-rotation potential arms in this group unfortunately. I like Pallante/Sandoval/Bellozo as depth but not as bulk guys without a true ace to support them. This doesn’t look like a competitive starting rotation. Verdict; The rotation will be weak for 2025. Relief Pitching - Ben Joyce - Jairo Iriarte - Garrett Cleavinger - Gregory Santos - Hunter Bigge - Grant Holman - Porter Hodge - Kyle Nicolas - Andrew Walters Ben Joyce is absolutely electric, though he didn’t get many save opportunities last year. And unfortunately he plays for the Angels so that might hold true for 2025. Cleavinger was a useful arm, netting a good number of holds and Ks. Not much else to get excited about here. Porter Hodge and Gregory Santos are alright. Landon Knack could also slot in as a reliever next season. Verdict; The bullpen will be weak for 2025. Pitching Overall; Overall, the pitching aint great. There’s a couple decent arms, but unfortunately nobody with real ace upside. The staff desperately needs an ace and a fulltime closer. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Chase Dollander (20) - Colt Emerson (27) - Xavier Isaac (36) - Colson Montgomery (37) - Thomas White (46) - Lazaro Montes (47) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 13, 15, 31, 38 Now this is where things are starting to look up. 6 guys in the top 50 is definitely something to get excited about, and several of these guys should be arriving next season. A few of these guys like Dollander, Montgomery and Isaac could help this team immediately next year (but probably more for 2026). There’s quite a lot of upside here and 5YP should be able to bolster the farm even further with 2 picks in the first round and 2 in the 2nd. Verdict; The farm is a major strength for 2025 Activity; 5YP was pretty active on the trade market, making some big deals for some big name players. He acquired Verlander and Bellinger in exchange for Sandy Alcantara and a 1st rd before the start of the season, though it didn’t work out and by midseason 5YP was selling like a madman. He offloaded: Edwin Diaz Ha-seong Kim Justin Verlander Marcel Ozuna Carlos Correa Michael King Bellinger Rafael Devers Giancarlo Stanton Lance Lynn Charlie Morton Framber Valdez George Srpinger Whew what a list. This team is clearly embracing a full rebuild, though I might have held onto some younger guys like Devers and King if it were me. Some notable players acquired include: Spencer Torkelson Diego Cartaya Alek Manoah Orelvis Martinez Heston Kjerstad Colt Emerson Spencer Arrighetti Conclusion; This team is clearly in full rebuild mode. I think there could be some improvements to the MLB roster with some shrewd waiver pickups, though it would most likely not be enough to make a meaningful difference. The farm looks great, and it should after all those trades made mid-season. Reinforcements should begin arriving late 2025/2026, and lets hope this doesn’t actually end up being a 5 year rebuild. I could see this team being competitive within the next couple years, but it largely hinges on the development and performance of top prospects. The 2025 draft will also be important for this roster.

Owner: Speedy Author: Stangstag 2024 Season; Speedy finished the year 12th overall, and that fell pretty much in line with their combined points total standing of 13th. Clearly better on the pitching side, ranking 11th overall vs the hitting which ranked 17th. For pitching, Speedy excelled in ERA (6th overall) and OBP (7th overall). He could definitely improve in the Ks department where they only ranked 16th. For hitting, Speedy's strongest category was SLG where they placed 7th overall. Final Standing; 12th Batting Stats; 17th Pitching Stats; 11th Combined; 13th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Jacob Stallings Not much going on here. Stallings had a good season in 2024, but it was likely an outlier and he’ll be 35 going into next season. He’s also a backup. This roster could definitely use an everyday catcher. Verdict; Catcher will be weak in 2025 First Base - Ryan Mountcastle - DJ LeMahieu Both these guys faced injuries in 2024, but I think it's a decent tandem. Mountastle projects well for 2025, but it's hard to know if LeMahieu has much left in the tank. A bit more power here would be welcome. Verdict; First Base will be below average for 2025 Second Base - Jonathan India Jonathan India was acquired mid-season, and proceeded to have a very solid year. He ranked as the 14th best 2B by Fantrax score rankings, and steamer projections think he will be even better next year. My main concern here is that the roster doesn’t have any suitable backup options. Verdict; Second Base will be average in 2025 Third Base - Jose Miranda - DJ LeMahieu - Addison Barger Miranda had a decent year, but really lacks the power you normally like to see at 3B. Addison Barger didn’t look good in his first stint in the majors, though he’s still young. It's possible he gets moved off the position starting next year. DJ LeMahieu looks old and not sure there’s much left there. Verdict; Third Base will be below-average in 2025 Shortstop - Corey Seager - Marco Luciano Seager is still an excellent player, but unfortunately the SS position is stacked. He provides some much-needed thump in this lineup, though he severely lacks the SB you normally see from the position. Still one of the best hitters in the game at SS though. Marco Luciano is a decent backup if he gets the playtime, but I'd like to see a more solid option considering Seager’s injury history. Verdict; Shortstop will be above-average for 2025 Outfield - Wyatt Langford - Garrett Mitchell - Tyler O’Neill - George Springer - Jo Adell Wyatt Langford had a pretty damn good season for a guy who was only 22 years old and had less than 50 professional games under his belt coming into the season. Though he fell short of expectations, he was able to hold his own. He definitely still has the possibility to develop into a monster with the bat. Tyler O’neill had an excellent year though he missed a month or so due to injuries. Even if he regresses somewhat, he’s still a great bat. Similarly, Garrett Mitchell looked stellar last season though its doubtful if he can keep hitting at that level. Springer is a backup at this point, but he could have a bit of a bounceback year. Adell still hasn’t been able to put things together. Overall this outfield looks extremely solid. Verdict; Outfield will be above average in 2025 Offense Overall; Overall, the offense is middling at best. Strong spots would be OF and SS, maybe 2B, but everything else can be improved upon. I think this offense will be better than they showed in 2024, though I wouldn’t bet on them being in the top 10 overall stats-wise. Pitching Starting Pitching - Jack Flaherty - Shane Bieber - Mackenzie Gore - Justin Steele - Zack Littell - Rhett Lowder - Tyler Holton - Ryan Feltner - Edward Cabrera Flaherty had an excellent year, finishing his season with the Dodgers asa the 16th best SP by Fantrax ranking. Though its questionable if he will be able to repeat his success. Shane Bieber spent most of the year on the DL, undergoing tommy john surgery early in the season. He won't be available to start the season, but he should be a huge boost for this roster next year. Steele and Littell both had great years, and Gore was much-improved in his 2nd MLB season. Rhett Lowder is an exciting prospect that should get the opportunity to start full time next year. Overall a very solid group of guys. Verdict; The rotation will be above average for 2025 Relief Pitching - Orion Kerkering - Tayler Scott - Nate Pearson - Danny Coulombe - Tyler Holton - Derek Law - Hogan Harris - Jorge Lopez Kerkering, Coulombe, Holton, Law and Lopez are all pretty good arms, and should provide a good number of holds. Good ERA, good K numbers, K/BB, OBP, the only thing the pen is really lacking is saves. I think this pen desperately needs 1 big closer to round things out. Verdict; The bullpen will be average for 2025 Pitching Overall; Overall this group of pitchers looks good. They should be improved from 2024 thanks to the return of Bieber and the potential of Lowder, though it’s not certain Flaherty will continue pitching like a top of the rotation arm. The pen has some good arms but is severely lacking saves. Speedy should be looking to add a true closer to rack up SV. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Aidan Miller (26) - Druw Jones (82) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 9, 29, 30 Verdict; This farm only has 2 top 100 guys, but still has a good handful of mid-floor guys that got a taste of the majors like Amador, Luciano, and Hancock. Trading DeLauter definitely hurts the farm a ton. I like the strategy of keeping a stable of position players over pitching prospects, especially since the MLB rotation is pretty solid and fairly young. Aidan Miller should be an exciting player to follow. Druw Jones unfortunately hasn’t lived up to the hype of being a no.2 pick though he put together a much better season in A ball last year. Speedy should be able to add a few interesting guys with the 9/29/30 pick in this upcoming draft. Activity; Speedy made a few trades during the season, their biggest one being a deal to acquire Jonathan India, Garrett Mitchell, and Shane Bieber in exchange for Chase DeLauter and Nolan Gorman. Bieber should be a big boost for the rotation for 2025 and Mitchell and India could prove to be sneaky pickups. They also acquired George Springer and Orion Kerkering for Spencer Horwitz and Robert Stephenson in the offseason. Conclusion; Overall the team looks decent. I can’t get too excited about the offense aside from the outfield which looks pretty good. This team’s strength definitely lies with the pitching, and I think that will be the story for 2025. The pitching staff is solid enough to be competitive but I don’t think the offense is. It's hard for me to see this team finishing any higher than 10th overall without some additions to the offense.

Owner: Carlos Danger Author; Stangstag 2024 Season; Pending Danger placed 15th overall in the 2024 season, barely beating out (insert clever name here) due to a tie-breaker. Fortunately for him (or unfortunately) he actually placed higher than his combined points total which was dead last in the league. Lots of room for improvement here for 2025. Final Standing; 15th Batting Stats; 16th Pitching Stats; 19th Combined; 20th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Dillon Dingler Not much to say here (other than wow what a name). Dingler is not a roster-worthy catcher in this league, and the fact that he’s the #1 here is troubling. There are a handful of better options on the waiver wire right now. Verdict; Catcher will be a major weakness for 2025 First Base - Jeimer Candelario - Tyler Soderstrom - Juan Yepez Candelario did not have a good year after signing a sizable deal with the Reds. He’s not really close to starter material as a 1B, though his utility as a 3B gives him some value. He could also bounce back next year and be a decent piece. Soderstrom had a decent year though didn’t get much play time. Could be a piece to build on if he gets a full season of playtime, he is projected for around 25 homers. Juan Yepez is also in the same boat. Verdict; 1B will be below-average for 2025 Second Base - Zack Gelof - Nolan Gorman - Willi Castro Willi Castro had a pretty solid year, coming in at number 11 for 2B fantrax score, while Gelof was 18th overall. A pretty good tandem, though no flashy numbers immediately stick out. Gorman is also a great bench piece that managed to pop 19 homers and 50 RBI in only 350 plate appearances. Verdict; 2B will be above-average for 2025 Third Base - Connor Norby - Willi Castro - Jeimer Candelario Connor Norby is a very intriguing piece, though his numbers probably would look better with the Os. At least he has a clear path to everyday playtime in 2025. His value will ultimately rely on him developing enough power for the position, but he hit 9 homers in about 200 plate appearances which is a good start. Candelario could also be a great piece if he can bounce back next season. Willi Castro provides good insurance. Verdict; 3B will be average to above-average in 2025 Shortstop - Bryson Stott - Luisangel Acuna - Trey Sweeney Bryson Stott was 20th overall for SS score by fantrax. His average and slugging dropped quite a bit from 2023 to 2024, but he still provided value with R-RBI-SB. Luisangel Acuna looked great in his 2-week stint in the majors, though it's hard to see him getting much playtime at SS with Lindor signed long term. He likely needs another season or two of adjusting to more difficult pitching. Verdict; SS will be average to below average for 2025 Outfield - Brenton Doyle - Colton Cowser - Wenceel Perez - Willi Castro Brenton Doyle ranked 6th on fantrax as far as center fielders go for the 2024 season. A major breakout season for him, and we will see if he can keep it up. Colton Cowser also had an excellent first full season in the majors, ranking 46th overall for OF. He projects well for 2025 so it should be sustainable. Wenceel Perez is more of a bench piece, and Willi Castro provides some nice insurance/flexibility if needed. 1 more decent bat in the OF would be welcome. Verdict; OF will be below average for 2025 Offense Overall; Overall, the offense is pretty underwhelming. There isn’t a starting catcher, the only positions that look somewhat formidable are 2B and 3B, and there is a lot of hope being placed in unproven rookies and veterans having bounceback seasons. Lots of room for improvement here across the board. Pitching Starting Pitching - Ben Lively - JP Sears - Josh Winckowski - Tobias Myers - Joey Estes - Cade Povich - Logan Allen - Alec Marsh Myers and Sears looked pretty good in 2024, though obviously neither is an ace on any roster. Still, a decent start to the rotation. Both guys ranked in the top 80ish spots for SPs on fantrax. Lively, Marsh and Winkowski are another set of decent arms in the next tier below. Cade Povich is someone to watch in 2025. Not much else to discuss here, a few lottery tickets. This staff really needs a bonafide ace or Ks guy to help anchor it. Otherwise it's solidly meh. Verdict; SP will be below average for 2025 Relief Pitching - Josh Winckowski After trading away Tanner Scott and Ryan Thompson before the deadline last year, Josh Winckowski remains as the only RP on the roster. Danger should look at picking up some arms on the waiver wire, because this isn’t even a fieldable bullpen at the moment. Verdict; RP looks extremely weak for 2025 Pitching Overall; No superstars, nothing very shiny here. A lot of work needs to be done to the bullpen or else this staff might actually be worse than they were in 2024 and finish dead last. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Matt Shaw (22) - Chase DeLauter (41) - James Triantos (55) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 6, 86 The farm is nice, there are 3 very intriguing pieces there that should be graduating next year to provide some relief and boost the offense a bit. A couple other intriguing guys like Roby, Frasso, and Bloss to potentially help on the pitching side. Danger should be praying he hits big with that 6th pick, because the farm could be empty come this time next year. Verdict; The Farm will be a strength for 2025 Activity; Danger went through an absolute firesale over the course of the 2024 season, pretty much selling and trading away anything not nailed to the floor. I see no less than 20 trades over the course of the year. Here’s a list of names he traded away: - Shane Bieber - Oneil Cruz - Ozzie Albies - Kodai Senga - Jordan Walker - Adolis Garcia - Lourdes Gurriel - Anthony Volpe - Jonah Heim - Ryan Thompson - Tanner Scott - Luke Raley - Michael Wacha - Tyler Rogers - Tylor Megill - Nick Castellanos - Jonathan India - Tony Gonsolin - Jeremy Pena - Matt Brash And yes, there’s more I left out. A truly wild list of names. He was not very active on the waiver wire, and seems to be fully embracing the tank. Conclusion; Overall, this team isn’t very hot. The offense should improve with some graduations from the farm in 2025, but it still won’t be enough. I think Danger went a bit too crazy with the firesale and doesn’t have a whole lot to show for it. However judging from the look of the bullpen, it looks like the tank is still on for 2025. And that may not be a bad thing, because it's hard to see this team competing next year.

Hey All, I'm going to be saying my goodbyes to this league and was wondering if someone was looking for a spot. The league is as healthy as it's been in a while with good engagement, so it'll be a good one for someone to join. The team isn't barren and I know that a more involved owner can improve it quickly! I'll stay on until a new owner is found/is ready to take the reigns. Spanky is getting some irons in the fire regarding other possible owner pools. Thanks for all the good times gents!

I hope ya'll are enjoying the Darrell Dynasty Dispatch so far. We'll be done the first half of the State of the Franchise articles by +/- the Christmas break. There are still lots of topics that are sitting there waiting for an author, including some that won't be weekly. Things like divisional reviews, positional reviews, and I'm sure some other topics. I'd love to get some other authors on the team, so hit me up if you want to contribute!!

Thanks for the awesome writeup Stang!

Owner: z3r0s Author; Stangstag 2024 Season; (insert clever name) finished 16th overall and last in his division. I'm going to refer to him as z3r0s from here on out, since the team name is a bit weird to insert into the middle of a sentence. z3r0s finished dead last in hitting, though the pitching fared a bit better being 13th overall. If we were looking for a bright spot, he actually ranked 3rd overall in Holds and 9th in ERA. Unfortunately on the hitting side, his highest ranked category was 9th place for stolen bases. Most of the hitting categories looked quite grim. Final Standing; 16th Batting Stats; 20th Pitching Stats; 13th Combined; 19th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Gary Sanchez - Henry Davis Gary Sanchez had a decent year, though most teams would be rostering him as a backup. As an everyday C, the numbers just don’t cut it in a 20-team league. Henry Davis tore up AAA but once again faced major struggles in the bigs. Probably not worth a roster spot in fantasy right now unless you believe he will put things together soon. Verdict; Catcher is a weak position for this team, though good things could be coming with Sam Basallo and Kyle Teel. First Base - Paul Goldschmidt - Jonathan Aranda Goldy struggled this year, and his numbers have been trending in the wrong direction for 2 straight seasons now. Age may be catching up to him. Still, he wound up as the 10th best 1B by Fantrax rankings. I don’t think he should be a starting 1B on a competitive team, but as a backup he should provide value. Jonathan Aranda showed some promise this season in limited playing time. We need to see a full season from him to really determine his worth, not sure he has the power to be a valuable 1B. Verdict; 1B looks to be an average/weak position next year unless Goldschmidt can have a bounceback season. Second Base - Jackson Holliday - Nick Gonzales - Isaiah Kiner-Falefa - Ronny Mauricio - Will Wagner Jackson Holliday is a potential superstar, though he struggled mightily at the MLB level. It will be interesting to see how he handles his struggles, since this is the first time he’s faced adversity at any level. Nick Gonzales and IKF put up decent seasons and should serve as good bench options. Will Wagner looked brilliant in his first handful of games, though it's hard to think he will maintain the same success over a full season. Verdict; 2B should be anywhere from average to above-average for this team next year, but it really all hinges on how well Jackson Holliday adjusts to major-league pitching. Third Base - Joey Ortiz - Yoan Moncada - Isaiah Kiner-Falefa Ortiz looked pretty good in his first full season, though the power is a bit lacking. He managed to rank as the 22nd best 3B by fantrax point rankings. Moncada is a bit of an enigma. He looked good before missing the rest of the season due to injury, but the results the past couple seasons haven’t been good. Still, he’s a potential bounceback candidate. IKF had an overall decent year and he’s a good bench piece. Verdict; 3B should be average to below-average for 2025. Shortstop - Jacob Wilson - Isaiah Kiner-Falefa Jacob Wilson has been absolutely tearing up the minors, and he finally debuted late in 2024. He struggled, but I would still wager a guess he will put up strong numbers in 2025 playing in… Sacramento. IKF should serve as a strong bench piece. Verdict; SS should be average to above-average in 2025. Again, a lot of variance here relying on 2 rookies in Jacob Wilson and eventually Carson Williams. Outfield - Corbin Carroll - Ronald Acuna Jr. - James Wood - Bryan De La Cruz - Dylan Crews - Esteury Ruiz - Jerar Encarnacion Ok, this outfield is sick. Tons of potential and huge upside. Caroll struggled terribly in 2024, though he still managed to provide value in HR and SB. We know what he’s capable of. Acuna missed most of the year due to injury. But again, we know what he’s capable of. James Wood looked good in his first half-season, and he has crazy power potential. Dylan Crews is a top 5 prospect who should get a full season in the bigs next year. I don’t even need to mention anyone else, this outfield is nasty and has the potential to be the best outfield in the league as soon as next season. Verdict; OF will be a strength in 2025, and potentially elite. Offense Overall; Overall, the offense doesn’t look great. But one thing it has going for it is youth and upside. Mainly in the Outfield. But there’s a lot of great names here, Jackson Holliday, James Wood, Dylan Crews, Jacob Wilson, and then some veterans in Goldschmidt, Acuna and Carroll. This offense suffered a lot of injuries and underperformance in 2024 and should definitely be better in 2025. The prospects waiting on the farm will have a lot to do with the offense being successful in 2025. Pitching Starting Pitching Matthew Boyd Mitch Keller Clarke Schmidt Dustin May Gavin Stone Drew Thorpe Austin Gomber Mike Clevinger This rotation didn’t throw many innings in 2024, but when they DID pitch they mostly looked good. Mitch Keller, Austin Gomber, and Gavin Stone are the only starters here that pitched over 100 innings. Keller had a great season. Stone looked excellent in his first full season in the majors. Gomber is a cromulent back-end piece. Boyd looked fantastic in his last few weeks of the season. This rotation should get a healthy boost from Dustin May next season. And maybe Drew Thorpe can turn things around. Verdict; SP will be average in 2025. Relief Pitching - Tanner Scott - Yenier Cano - Adrian Morejon - John Schreiber - Pierce Johnson - Erik Swanson - Yimi Garcia - Lou Trivino There’s a few really good arms here. Tanner Scott had a fantastic year, ranking as the 2nd best RP on fantrax, though there’s not many saves in the pen beyond him. Cano and Schrieber are great setup/holds guys. Morejon and Johnson are 2 more valuable arms to have. Yimi Garcia and Erik Swanson are 2 guys that could also put up good numbers in 2025, but neither is a sure thing. Verdict; (what does 2025 looks like) Pitching Overall; Overall, the pitching looks decent. Nothing to boast about, but there’s a few good pieces, a few young pieces, and a few returning from injury. The pitching should be comfortably average in 2025. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Dylan Crews (1) - Cason Williams (4) - Samuel Basallo (13) - Noah Schultz (16) - Kyle Teel (25) - Andrew Painter (32) - Caden Dana (68) - AJ Smith-Shawver (97) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 1-5 (5), 2-5 (25), 2-17 (37) Verdict; Nasty. This is probably the best farm I've seen for any team in fantasy ball, and it definitely makes up for the poor performance of the main roster. This isn’t even including recent graduates such as Jackson Holliday and James Wood, who were both top 10 guys. There’s a few strong arms in here as well, and most of these guys are close to debuting either in 2025 or 2026. This farm should be pumping out top-quality talent in the very near future. The farm is a major strength for 2025. Activity; z3r0s is extremely active on both the waiver wire and trade front. He picked up Will Wagner on the waiver wire towards the end of the year, an excellent addition. And he’s made a ton of trades to help bolster his farm. The biggest impact trade he made was selling Skenes and Gimenez for Acuna. Time will tell on that move. One excellent trade he made was selling high on Colton Cowser and acquiring Tanner Scott and Jacob Wilson. Conclusion; The main roster isn’t super strong, but the farm is probably the best in the league. This team will be very scary very soon, and could potentially hold several top 10 players at the same time. I am excited to follow the development of this team rising from the bottom to become a powerhouse in the near future.

BIG props to our other author Stangstag, who will be tackling le Division Reuben. Thanks for the awesome write-up!

Owner: Abomination Author: Stangstag 2024 Season; Abomination finished the year 8th overall, though he was 1st place in his division. In the playoffs he managed to pull off a pretty big upset by knocking out the 1st place team, True Cardinals. However, the team wasn’t strong enough to pull off another upset and they were knocked out in the 2nd round by Saskatchewan 54s, the 2nd place team overall. Still a very respectable year for Abomination. Abomination's hitting and pitching stats line up with his overall season standings. For overall Batting, he finished 6th overall. A quick glance at the individual categories for hitting shows that Stolen Bases were a major weakness for Abom, finishing 18th overall in steals. He was exceptional in the Hits category however, managing to have the 3rd highest hit total. On the pitching side, Abom finished 8th overall. Most individual stats ranked between 5th-10th with no major weaknesses. If we were to point a finger at the weakest categories, Abomination only ranked 11th in both ERA and OBP. Final Standing; 8th Batting Stats; 6th Pitching Stats; 8th Combined; 7th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Willson Contreras - Connor Wong Connor Wong put together a very strong season, finishing the year as the 10th best catcher under Fantrax’s scoring system. Willson Contreras was acquired just prior to the deadline, and ranked as 17th best catcher. It's hard to determine how Wong will perform in 2025, but the addition of Contreras gives the C position for Abom a very high floor next year. Contreras looked stronger than ever with the bat in 2024. It's hard to see both Wong and Contreras getting significant playtime on Abom’s roster due to having 2 natural DH/UTs on the roster already. And Contreras could potentially lose C eligibility after the 2025 season depending on what the Cards decide to do with him. Verdict; Catcher will be a strong position for Abomination in 2025 First Base - Cody Bellinger - Connor Wong Already mentioned Connor Wong, so I will focus on Bellinger here since I believe he fits this roster best as a primary 1B. Cody Bellinger had a much weaker season in 2024 compared to his resurgent season in 2023. However, the numbers haven’t regressed to his 2021-2022 period and are still good enough for him to rank as the 15th best 1B on Fantrax. He also maintains CF eligibility and is still under the age of 30 which makes him a valuable asset. It's hard to determine what the performance will look like for Bellinger going forward, but Abomination should be able to get decent production from 1B with Wong serving as backup. More HR from the position would be desirable. Verdict; First base should be average for 2025 Second Base - Brendan Rodgers - Santiago Espinal - Mookie Betts Mookie Betts is obviously an amazing player, though I don’t think he gets any playtime at 2B since he’s the only SS on the roster. Still an excellent backup option. Brendan Rodgers and Santiago Espinal are the 26th and 51st ranked 2B in the format. Either player would be a serviceable bench option but neither inspires much confidence as an everyday option for 2B. Verdict; 2B will be a weakness in 2025 (unless a new SS is acquired and Mookie is pushed to 2B) Third Base - Austin Riley - Santiago Espinal - Matt Vierling Austin Riley is an absolute powerhouse at 3B, and although he had a down year in 2024 including an injury that kept him out several weeks, I'm willing to look past that. He ranked as the best 3B in 2023 and top 5 in 2022, I would expect similar production from him for 2025. Matt Vierling also provides an adequate insurance option in case Riley suffers another injury and has to miss some time. Verdict; 3B should be strong in 2025 Shortstop - Mookie Betts It's Mookie Betts, what else is there to say? He missed several weeks due to injury in 2024 so his ranking is low. However in 2023 Fantrax had him ranked as a top 5 hitter overall, and I would still expect that going forward. Mookie is easily a top 20 player in Fantasy due to his combination of speed, power, and positional versatility. Oh and also he hits between Ohtani and Freeman so the counting stats will remain elite. The only issue I see is that the roster currently has 0 SS options besides Mookie, so an injury would leave Abomination having to pick the waiver wire or make a desperate trade to find a replacement. Verdict; SS should be a position of strength in 2025 Outfield - Heliot Ramos - Cody Bellinger - Wilyer Abreu - Seiya Suzuki - Matt Vierling A few solid options here. Heliot Ramos had a massive breakout season in 2024. Projections don’t necessarily think he will repeat his success but he should still be an above-average CF. Wilyer Abreu put together a solid season. Seiya Suzuki had his best season so far in the MLB, ranking as the 22nd best OF even though he missed about a month due to injury. Matt Vierling and Cody Bellinger are great backup options. Overall power is slightly lacking here, and it feels like the OF is missing that one “big bopper”. But overall still solid. Verdict; OF should be above-average for 2025 UT - Joc Pederson - Masataka Yoshida Having 2 players as strict UT options isn’t ideal. Pederson’s stats for 2024 were excellent, though he was more of a platoon/bench player. Surprisingly, he posted a 151wRC+ in his role, good for being the 11th best hitter in all of baseball if you were to lower the threshold to 400 plate appearances. He’s not an ideal fantasy UT however due to the counting stats being on the lower end. Yoshida only played 100 games due to injuries, and he’s a bit hard to gauge. He hasn’t hit for much power so far in his MLB career, which isn’t ideal if he’s a fulltime DH going forward. A trade could be in order here before the start of the year, since rostering both guys would be a bit constraining. Verdict; UT should be average in 2025 Offense Overall; Overall I would expect the offense to be better in 2025 than it was previously. A full season of Austin Riley, Willson Contreras, and Cody Bellinger should do wonders for improving the results from 2024. My main concern here would be with the SS/2B situation. I think an addition at one of those spots (with Mookie covering the other) would really boost the floor of this offense. I also don’t like the lack of flexibility with the UT spot, with neither option being a superstar bat like Ohtani or Ozuna. Pitching Starting Pitching - Chris Sale - Carlos Rodon - Blake Snell - Jon Gray - Brady Singer - Justin Verlander - Lance McCullers - James Paxton Chris Sale had a monstrous season, and Rodon bounced back from his terrible injury-plagued 2023. They were ranked 2nd and 9th best SPs respectively on Fantrax for the 2024 season. Brady Singer was also solid, ranking 51st for SP on the year. Snell is another high-ceiling guy that put up good numbers but missed some time due to injuries. Paxton and Grey round out the rotation as solid back-end guys, with Paxton netting 9 wins in just 100 IP. The real wildcards here are McCullers and the newly-acquired Verlander. If both those guys put up good numbers next year, this rotation would easily rise to the top as one of the best in the league. Along with the two aforementioned wildcards, Sale and Rodon are major injury risks. Snell has pitched over 130 innings just ONCE since 2018. A lot could go wrong here, but if everyone is healthy this rotation will put up great numbers. Verdict; Starting pitching will be a strength in 2025 Relief Pitching - David Robertson - Jojo Romero - Ryan Thompson - Kyle Finnegan - Kenley Jansen - Colin Poche - Drew Smyly Though Luke Weaver was just dealt, this RP staff still looks solid. Kyle Finnegan notched 38 saves last year, good for 3rd in MLB. Kenley Jansen continues to look solid, and although he’s getting up there in age he still managed 27 saves. Robertson, Romero and Thompson are looking like a 3-headed dragon, all 3 guys are among the top 15 in holds (88 combined). They also all have ERAs in the low 3s and great K/BB numbers. The staff is rounded out with Colin Poche and Drew Smyly. I don’t dislike any of these pitchers Abomination has here. Looks like a very solid staff. Verdict; RP should be at least above-average in 2025 Pitching Overall; Overall, I really like the staff Abom has put together here. I think he addressed some weaknesses in the RP side during the season last year, and those moves should continue to help him in 2025. The performance of his pitching will hinge on the health of guys like Sale/Rodon/Snell, and whether or not McCullers and Verlander can bounce back. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects Sadly, there are no top 100 guys in the farm Notable 2025 Draft picks - 73? Verdict; I really don’t have anything good to say about the state of the farm here. It's somewhat of an…. abomination. There are no guys even bordering on being top 100 prospects, and I don’t think there is a single guy that has a FV higher than 40. The highest pick Abom has in the upcoming draft is in the 4th round. There’s a lot to worry about here, and I think Abom might want to think about trying to restock the farm even a little. I might even suggest a shotgun approach of amassing a bunch of cheap/late-round picks and hoping to hit big on one. Activity; Abomination has been very active with waiver claims, making several adds each week. He has also been active in trades, managing to acquire Cody Bellinger, David Robertson, Wilson Contreras, and Ryan Thompson during the 2024 season. Most recently, he traded Luke Weaver for Justin Verlander. It remains to be seen how that one will play out, but he definitely dealt from a position of strength. Selling high and buying low. Unfortunately, most of these trades came at the cost of decimating what was left of his farm system and draft picks. Conclusion; Lots to like about this team, and the roster is definitely looking stronger at the start of 2025 than it was at the start of last season. Full seasons of Bellinger and Contreras and a bounceback from Riley should boost the offense quite a bit. The pitching has some injury and age concerns, but if healthy will put up great numbers. I would argue that this is one of the stronger rosters in the league, though not exactly poised for long term success. The farm is absolutely barren and several key pitchers are closer to age 40 than 30. All in all, this roster should be competitive in 2025 and could easily do damage in the playoffs if the right guys get hot.