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Owner: fearthedoc 2024 Season; The wOBA the Hutt franchise endured a hard year in 2024, limping to a 17th overall finish, however the signs of a tidal shift are loud. The numbers under the hood suggested a more middle of the pack performance with a combined rank of 13th overall, and they performed quite admirably in their own neighborhood, finishing with a 26-24-6 record. Hitting in the land of wOBA was characterized by fairly strong ratios, ranking 10th and 11th overall in SLG and OBP respectively, with lagging counting stats that saw many categories in the bottom quadrant of the rankings. On the pitching side, the wOBA’s saw performances encroaching on the top half of the league in many categories, with only SV’s, which ranked dead last, landing in the bottom quadrant of the league. Final Standing; 17 Batting Stats; 14 Pitching Stats; 12 Combined; 13 Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Mitch Garver - Harry Ford Garver had a tough year in 2024, posting his lowest wRC+ ever, with the exception of his injury shortened 2020. He still parlayed his trademark power to a 21st overall ranking at the position, and I would have to expect better days are ahead in 2025. He also seems to be cursed with the yo-yo trend, following good years with bad, so perhaps that means he is on the upswing! The wOBAs are also counting on having Harry Ford challenging the position in coming years, who is conveniently behind Garver on the Mariners depth chart. He may not be the first up in the case of injury however, leaving the position a bit thin for the upcoming season. Verdict; Catcher will be an average position for 2025. First Base - Andrew Vaughn Vaughn has continued to be frustratingly average through four seasons of work with the Southsiders, particularly in the ratio stats. He ranked 24th overall at the position in 2024. He hasn’t shown the thump we anticipated when he was a prospect, and hitting in a poor lineup really hurts his chances to rack up counting stats. He is also the lone man on the 1st base depth chart. But on the plus side, he has proven durable so far in his young career. Verdict; First base will be a weakness in 2025. Second Base - Gavin Lux - Josh Rojas - Matt McLain Lux and Rojas put up fairly uninspiring performances in 2024, and I think the upside has mostly faded on both players. Luckily for the wOBAs, the return of Matt McLain should cure their keystone woes for 2025, bringing a mix of pop and speed while hitting in a favorable ballpark and lineup. The aforementioned players do offer some good depth options at the position. Verdict; Second base will be a strength in 2025. Third Base - Josh Jung - Josh Rojas Jung had a rotten year in 2024, with injuries starting and stopping his season several times before untimely going under the knife to end his year. If he can put together some health, the potential is most certainly still there to be an excellent bat among some good hitters in Texas. The other Josh offers competent depth at the hot corner. Verdict; Third base should be average to above average in 2025. Shortstop - Bobby Witt Jr - Matt McLain - Jordan Lawlar - Brady House Bobby Witt is poised to be a top bat in the league for years to come, ranking as the 1st overall shortstop, and 3rd overall bat for 2024. An all categories contributor, he is a cornerstone asset. Having assets like McLain and Lawler behind him on the depth chart is truly enviable depth. What else is there to say? The six is well taken care of for the wOBAs. Verdict; Shortstop will be a fantastic position in 2025. Outfield - Jackson Chourio - Riley Greene - Sal Frelick - Jarred Kelenic - Jasson Dominguez While Chourio had some early growing pains, he finished the year ranked as the 17th overall outfield, and he certainly looks poised to be a key contributor going forward. Beyond Jackson, this outfield has intriguing depth in Greene (25), Frelick (72), and Kelenic (89) who are all passable young OF’s with upside. The wOBAs also have Jasson Dominguez arriving in New York after having a great season in the upper minors. The combination of youth and upside here make for an interesting team on the grass. Verdict; Outfield will be an area of strength in 2025. Offense Overall; The offense as a whole is young and has potential at many spots, with an especially strong MIF. The wOBA organization should focus on improving some weaker positions, while banking on young players making performance gains. It’s an offense that I feel should inch into the top half of the league as early as this year, with the possibility of much more going forward. Pitching Starting Pitching - Seth Lugo - Bailey Ober - Zach Eflin - Grayson Rodriguez - Nick Lodolo - Kyle Harrison - Joe Musgrove - Trevor Rogers - Cody Bradford - Max Meyer - Kumar Rocker Seth Lugo had a monstrous year for the wOBAs, ranking as the 5th pitcher for 2024. Bailey Ober continued his quietly excellent run, ranking as the 23rd overall hurler. Beyond those two the staff was more mediocre with a disappointing season by GrayRod and Tommy John surgery for Musgrove clouding the future of the staff. They do however have intriguing arms like Max Meyer and Kumar Rocker as reinforcements on the way. The staff is missing an Ace (sorry Lugo), but has many names that most teams would love to be able to bet on. Verdict; The rotation will be slightly above average in 2025. Relief Pitching - Jeremiah Estrada - Mitch Spence - Tim Herrin - Jacob Webb - Dylan Floro - Gregory Soto - Adbert Alzolay Estrada had a breakout in 2024, ranking as the 28th overall RP despite a lower leverage roll in the Padres pen. Herrin pitched well, but was stuck in a loogy-type role. The rest of the bullpen was fairly lackluster in 2024, with players lacking prominent rolls for accruing counting stats. . Verdict; The pen will be an area of weakness in 2025. Pitching Overall; The pitching staff outperformed the offense in 2024, but overall I think it is behind the offense in terms of future potential. The wOBAs worked to address this through trades in 2024, and more work is probably needed going forward, particularly in the pen where improvements could be a big boost. Adding an Ace to the staff would certainly help stabilize the whole rotation. It does boast some intriguing names in the rotation that could turn it into a great staff if things break right. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Jordan Lawlar (9) - Jasson Dominguez (14) - Harry Ford (49) - Kumar Rocker (58) - Zach Veen (83) - Brady House (84) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 4, 24, 44, 45 Verdict; The wOBAs have top 100 prospects sprinkled all over the list, and critically most of them are close to the show. The farm will take a hit with many high profile graduations in 2025, but will be able to fill those with good draft picks in the first three rounds of a deep draft. The farm will be a strength in 2025. Activity; The wOBA organization was fairly active in 2024, making adds consistently and focusing on adding to the rotation with trades. He added his two best pitchers in 2024 via trade. The wOBAs should lean into activity as their rebuild moves into their contending window. Conclusion; The wOBA the Hutt organization has endured a fairly long tenured rebuilding phase, but appears poised to make some significant gains in 2025 and beyond. The roster is peppered with potential breakout candidates and the farm has talent knocking on the door. I expect 2025 to be a building year, where fearthedoc can focus on making improving moves while enjoying the emergence of his blossoming core. Knowing when to ‘push’ is a delicate decision, but the organization looks to be on the upswing.

Still looking to deal an OF and a 2B. And of course willing to deal old me.

Owner: Jaysblue 2024 Season; The Ten Cent Beer Night (TCBN) organization had a great season in 2024, finishing 6th overall and nabbing yet another playoff spot. The underlying number suggest he may have overperformed a bit, with a combined rank of 8th overall, but the team managed to parlay solid numbers in many categories into enough wins to get the job done. Strangely enough, they were roasted in their own division to a tune of 26-42-2 in their back yard. On the offensive side of the ball, the TCBN’s were close to league average in the majority of categories. The notable exceptions were OBP and SB where they surged to a top 5 finish. The package was good enough for an 11th overall rank with the bats. Things were a similarly competitive across the board on the pitching side, with a bit better performances in most categories. It was good enough for a 9th overall ranking for the staff, with the brightest spots being in HLDs and Ks. Final Standing; 6th Batting Stats; 11th Pitching Stats; 9th Combined; 8th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Joey Bart - Ivan Herrera - Hunter Goodman TCBN got surprisingly good performances from his catching core with both Bart and Herrera made the most of unexpected opportunities and playing quite well. Unfortunately both of these players have unclear roles going into 2025 that will see both of them be in competition for playing time, and both have warts in their underlying numbers. Verdict; Catcher may be a weakness in 2025. First Base - Freddie Freeman - Pavin Smith The ageless wonder Freddie Freeman has continued to be one of the very best hitters in the league, ranking as the 39th best hitter in 2024. Hitting in the uber-talented Dodgers lineup will continue to help his counting stats. His understudy Pavin Smith had a great year, albeit in a small sample size, offering some good depth if he can secure playing time in the desert. Verdict; First Base will be a strength in 2025. Second Base - Richie Palacios With changing positional eligibility the TCBN organization has been left a bit thin at second, with Palacios being the only player eligible at the position. While he managed a roughly average wRC+ last year, an improvement at this position is surely in order Verdict; Second base will be a weakness in 2025. Third Base - Jazz Chisholm - Ryan McMahon - Vark Vientos - Oswald Peraza The depth that TCBN’s lost at second was vacuumed up at third and they now have glut of options at the hot corner. Chisholm thrived back on the dirt in New York and finished the year as the 5th rank at the position and 19th ranked hitter overall. McMahon and Vientos are both viable at third as well, finishing around the 20th rank for 3-baggers with some upside to their profiles. Verdict; Third Base will be a strength in 2025. Shortstop - Xavier Edwards - JP Crawford Crawford had a very difficult 2024 with stats down across the board. Xavier Edwards hit well, but did not play enough to amass a high positional ranking. But there is optimism for both players heading into 2025. Edwards will look to leverage his contact-driven approach to similar success for a full year, and Crawford is only a year removed from an excellent campaign. Verdict; Shortstop will be an average position in 2025. Outfield - Christian Yelich - Nick Castellanos - Starling Marte - Jazz Chisholm - Pavin Smith The outfield in the TCBN’s is full of familiar names with cloudy futures. Yelich was hitting like his old self before being lost for the season with yet another back injury. Castellanos had another good - not great season, which may be his new normal going forward. And Marte may be reaching the end of his rope at age 36. None of this group however have CF eligibility. Luckily Chishom maintains his CF eligibility in 2025 and the TCBN’s have the luxury of lining him up in the OF, even if he would be more valuable at third base. Verdict; Outfield should be average to above average in 2025, depending on the health of Yelich. Utility - Marcel Ozuna Not many teams carry at UTIL only player on their team, which restricts the versatility of your roster. But for a hitter like Ozuna it’s easy to see why the TCBN’s accommodate him. Ozuna had another fantastic year with great power and excellent counting & ratio stats, and seems to have a few more very productive years in the tank. Verdict; Utility will be a strength in 2025. Offense Overall; The offense for the TCBN organization has the talent to remain an average offense in 2025, so long as they address a few dead spots in the lineup. The average age of the lineup marches on into the 30’s, and one has to wonder how long it will stay competitive. But I don’t see the collapse coming in 2025. Pitching Starting Pitching - Tanner Bibee - Erick Fedde - Tyler Anderson - Charlie Morton - Bryan Woo - Jordan Hicks - Bowden Francis - Max Scherzer - Robbie Ray - Jacob Degrom This is one of the most interesting staff’s in the league. It’s full of former Cy Young winners and interesting young starters. If you racked up points for your players peak talent, this rotation would be hard to beat! But in the real fantasy world, this is a staff dogged by injury and age concerns. Bibee had a great follow-up to his breakout 2023, and Woo was otherworldly when he was able to take the bump. Fedde was a solid contributor in his return to the MLB, and Bowden Francis had a shockingly good end to his season. It’s really anyone’s guess how this staff will look in 2025, but it certainly has a lot of bullets in the chamber. Verdict; Starting Pitching may be a strength in 2025. Relief Pitching - Jeff Hoffman - Fernando Cruz - Reed Garrett - Kevin Kelly - Alexis Diaz - Edwin Uceta - Calvin Faucher - Felix Bautista The TCBN franchise got solid performances from some fairly unheralded names in 2024, placing 3 relievers in the top 40 of the rankings. The bullpen was more average than great and is in need of a top-teir stopper to be the 'tide to raise all ships'. Luckily for them, they should have just that in the return of Felix Bautista in 2025. Even with this addition, it feels like this group is a good arm away from being a shut-down group. Verdict; Relief Pitching will be average to above average in 2025. Pitching Overall; Health will be the name of the game for this staff going into 2025. They have potential and the pedigree to be a scary staff, but it’s more than fair to wonder if that health is a realistic possibility. It’s certainly a staff that’s worth riding into battle with and seeing how the chips fall. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Bubba Chandler (15) - Edgar Quero (59) Notable 2025 Draft picks - none Verdict; This farm system has been used up over the course of a long stretch of competitive baseball at the major league level. Bubba Chandler’s resurgence is a huge boost to the system. It’s also nice when your prospect performers match an area of need on your MLB roster, like Edgar Quero has done for a thin catcher depth chart. Overall the farm is an area of weakness in 2025, and depleted draft capital will not help the situation in draft this spring. Activity; The TCBN organization is one of the most active teams on the free agent stage, consistently tinkering with the margins on the roster. They are not afraid of making a big splash in the trade market either, having dealt and acquired top level players throughout the 2024 season. This activity is certainly a strength going into 2025. Conclusion; The TCBN organization is one of the longest tenured competitive teams in the DDL. The roster is aging, and trending towards more average than great, but this is still a dangerous roster. I think it’s fair to expect them to continue this into 2025. When the rebuild does become unavoidable, it looks like it will be built upon some very intriguing young arms. I expect the TCBN’s to be above average in 2025.

I would consider 4 years to be a pretty serious run in fantasy baseball.

Owner: Stangstag 2024 Season; The Stangstag organization was purchased and relocated this season at what was a real bargain given the position of the franchise. Stangstag finished 3rd overall and the underlying numbers make it clear that this was no mirage. Their 3rd overall combined ranking matched their final standing. He was similarly dominant in division play, racking up a 36-16-4 record. Stangstag dominated on the offensive side of the ball, ranking 1st or 2nd in a staggering five categories. The only weakness in their game was speed, as they ranked 19th in stolen bases. This was clearly the best offensive in the league, and it wasn’t particularly close. That isn’t to say they were slouches on the pitching side, where they rolled to a 4th overall ranking. They finished top 5 in several categories, and well enough in all of the others to be a consistent threat in every category week-to-week. Final Standing; 3rd Batting Stats; 1st Pitching Stats; 4th Combined; 3rd Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher- Will Smith The Fresh Prince of LA had another solid season for Stangstag, ranking 7th overall for the position. He did continue his gradual decline from his peak in 2020 and you have to wonder if his work behind the dish is catching up to him. Regardless he is still a strong hitter in a great line and should be productive for years to come. Depth is a concern at the position as he is the only catcher on the roster. Verdict; Catcher should be an above average position in 2025. First Base - Pete Alonso - Josh Bell Alonso had another fantastic season, improving some ratio stats at the expense of some counting stats. However he did it, it was good for a 4th overall ranking at 1B, and the 26th rank for hitters overall. Bell offers a fine insurance option in case of injury, ranking just outside of the top 20. Verdict; First Base will be a strength in 2025. Second Base - Ketel Marte - Miguel Rojas - Edmundo Sosa Ketel smashed his career bests this year (by wRC+) en route to a 1st overall ranking for second base, and a top 20 hitter overall. He’s been around so long, you could be forgiven for forgetting he is only 31 years old. Depth behind Marte is shaky at best however. Verdict; Second Base will be a strength in 2025. Third Base - Max Muncy - Miguel Rojas - Edmundo Sosa Muncy didn’t play enough to rank highly in the 3rd base category, but when he played he was just as potent as ever, with solid walk rates and power. The depth here is the same as it was for second base, which is to say shaky. Verdict; Third Base will be above average in 2025. Shortstop - Ezequiel Tovar - Carlos Correa - Miguel Rojas - Edmundo Sosa It might surprise you to think of Tovar’s 2024 as a breakout given the 95 wRC+, but 26 homers and solid R/RBI numbers had him surge to the 8th overall Shortstop in 2024, and the 35th most valuable hitter overall. Correa didn’t play enough to achieve those kinds of value, but when he was on the field it looked like the Corrrea of old, hitting as well as he ever has. It must be nice to have two starting cable players at the 6. Verdict; Shortstop will be a strength in 2025. Outfield - Aaron Judge - Mike Trout - Brandon Nimmo - Taylor Ward - Jorge Soler Judge was the best outfielder in baseball this season with an absolute monster of a season. That could carry an entire outfield itself, but Stangstag also received fine performances from Nimmon and Ward who chipped in a solid mix of power and speed. While Soler wasn’t able to repeat his 36 HR performance from 2023, he had a monster second half and escaped the Bay Area. None of this is to mention to Trout in the room… Verdict; Outfield should be dominant in 2025. Offense Overall; This offense is dotted with monsters from top to bottom. It was easily the class of the league even after losing Trout early in the season. The majority of the key contributors are in their prime and will be good for years. The only minor gripe is a lack of depth in the infield (boo hoo). Pitching Starting Pitching- Dylan Cease - Michael King - Pablo Lopez - Luis Castillo - Tyler Glasnow - Marcus Stroman - Hayden Birdsong This staff is anchored by a very strong top 3 who all ranked in the top 10 for starting pitchers. You could argue that Lopez had a down year and was still an elite starter. If Glasnow could ever stay healthy and Castillo has a normal year, this will be a scary group. Verdict; Starting Pitching will be a strength in 2025. Relief Pitching - Bryan Abreu - Nick Martinez - Matt Strahm - Justin Martinez - Craig Kimbrel - Paul Sewald - Brooks Raley - David Bednar The bullpen is not as star-studded as the rotation, but they offered some solid performances in 2024. Abreu clocked in at the 8th most valuable reliever, and Nick Martinez parlayed an unconventional role into a ranking of 10th in bullpen arms. Stangstag recently acquired Bednar in the offseason to bolster the saves category, though it's unclear if he will bounce back after a rough 2024. There is some good stuff in this pen, but it's fair to wonder about usage and roles going into next season. Verdict; Relief Pitching should be average in 2025. Pitching Overall; The quality and depth of the starting staff is truly enviable. I think the bullpen, particularly in the SV and HLD categories, is holding the staff back from being the class of the league. Regardless, there are few teams that can rival this pitching core. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Max Clark (6) - Ralphy Velazquez (98) - Felnin Celesten (66) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 10 Verdict; Considering the product at the major league level this is a very respectable farm system. Bringing in Max Clark and the 10th overall pick really helped to punch up the farm. These assets could be used to bolster the roster going into 2025 or to patch up any injuries throughout the season. Activity; This is a hard category to judge given the recent change in ownership. It’s hard to disentangle what ownership group did which deals, but suffice to say, the franchise is an active one and consistently looking to improve. Conclusion; There are few teams in the league that are as healthy as the Stangstag organization. There are few weaknesses on the roster, the players are still in their prime for the most part, and they have assets with potential down on the farm. This team should expect to be at the top of the league for years to come.

Owner: Linc 2024 Season; The Real Baseball Guys finished in the 13th spot overall, overcoming a shaky pitching staff to overperform their expected finish of 16th. It was much of the same within the division, finishing 20-33-3 in his neighborhood. Their offense clocked in at a commensurate 13th overall. However this was buoyed by a performance for the ages in the SB category (leading it by a country mile), while finishing solidly below average in all other categories. The pitching staff delivered below average performances in each category, with five categories being amongst the bottom of the league. Final Standing; 13th Batting Stats; 13th Pitching Stats; 17th Combined; 16th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Gabriel Morano - Alejandro Kirk Going into 2025 the Real Baseball Guys must have felt pretty positive about their catching situation. Neither Moreno or Kirk played particularly well, and neither managed to get enough starts to be viable players. They ranked 26th and 27th overall for the catcher position. There is still reason for optimism with both of these players as both have prospect pedigree and Moreno improved several of his underlying metrics when he was on the field. Verdict; Catcher will be a question mark in 2025. First Base - Matt Olson - Ty France It was a disappointing year for Olson at the plate, which still equates to an above average season, ranking as the 8th overall first basemen (and 43rd overall hitter). However the Real Baseball Guys were certainly planning on getting more production from the star one bagger. They will hope that Olson’s historical yo-yo in performance means a bumper year ahead in 2025. Ty Fance had a similarly down year. Perhaps the move the Cincy will revitalize this bat. Verdict; First should be an area of strength in 2025. Second Base - Brice Turang - Edouard Julien - Austin Martin The Real Baseball Guys entered 2025 with expectations that Julien would man the keystone and make it a position of strengths. Unfortunately Edouard had a disastrous season, spending a significant stint in AAA (where he didn’t exactly dominate). On the bright side Brice Turang improved his game in every aspect, throwing down 50 steals and ranking as the 5th overall second basemen in 2025. Even if Brice takes a step back, there is room for Julien to regain his form. Verdict; Second should be slightly below average in 2025. Third Base - Alex Bregman There isn’t much to say about third base in the Real Baseball Guys organization. Bregman did Bregman things in 2025 and put up good but not great numbers, ranking as the 11th overall 3B. His numbers were down slightly this year, but I expect that is just year to year variability. Depth could be a concern as Bregman is the only 3B eligible player in the orgnazation. Verdict; Third base should be above average in 2025. Shortstop - CJ Abrams Abrams had a solid sophomore season for the Real Baseball Guys, slightly improving his ratio stats across the board. He continued to provide his signature blend of pop and speed, even if he failed to take a large step forward in any area. The performance was good for the 9th overall shortstop rank, and a solidly top 50 rank for hitters overall. At 24 with an improving lineup filing in around him, I would say there are bright days ahead. Depth issues are also a concern at shortstop in the organization Verdict; Shortstop should be an area of strength in 2025. Outfield - Jarren Duran - Lane Thomas - Alex Verdugo - Jesse Winker - Pete Crow-Armstrong - Chase McCormick - Evan Carter There’s all the depth! Duran had a monster year to follow up his 2023 breakout, contributing in every category. It was good for the 3rd overall outfield spot and the 9th hitter overall. The Real Baseball Guys had 3 more top 60 players patrolling the grass and have a whole outfield of intriguing names that didn’t make an impact in 2024 in Crow-Armstrong, McCormick, and Carter. Verdict; Outfield will be an area of strength (and potential depth trades) in 2025. Offense Overall; The Real Baseball Guys probably got the short end of the stick in 2025 as I think the offense has lots room to rebound in 2025. They do seem to be light on some power, but have speed for days. I expect they will be around the middle of the pack in 2025. Pitching Starting Pitching - Colin Rea - Luis Severino - Jake Irvin - Spencer Schwellenbach - Mitchell Parker - David Peterson - Bailey Falter - Dane Dunning - Chris Paddack - Gavin Williams - Walker Buehler - Jack Leiter - Jose Urquidy When Colin Rea is your most productive pitcher, you know it’s a tough year. Not to be down on Rea, he put together a hell of a year considering the profile (ranked 29th overall as a starter). Severino had a solid (and more importantly healthy) year. It was a challenging season for most of these pitchers, and many of them have cloudy futures. The Real Baseball Guys can look for Buehler and Urquidy to have healthier years in 2025 and have some young players with upside left, but there is work to do on the starting staff. Verdict; Starting Pitching will be a weakness in 2025. Relief Pitching - Jose Alvarado - Jose Butto - Tejay Antone - Drew Rasmussen This is, uhh… well this is not a very good group. The Real Baseball Guys are obviously punting relief while they focus on finding starters. But this bullpen will need to improve vastly when it comes time to contend. Verdict; Relief Pitching will be a disaster in 2025. Pitching Overall; The Real Baseball Guys have some real challenges in both their rotation and bullpen. They have some players with potential, but are sorely lacking for top end talent. It will likely be a multi-year effort to improve the staff across the board. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects Walker Jenkins (2) Marcelo Mayer (7) Kevin McGonigle (31) Cade Horton (42) Jackson Ferris (78) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 8, 28 Verdict; This farm system is very solid with two no doubt top ten prospects and players peppered through the top 100 list, and the Real Baseball Guys will look to add to this with the 8th overall pick. Help is on the way in the organization. Activity; The Real Baseball Guys made some free agent moves throughout the year, but finished the season with only two trades (late round draft pick swaps). This organization really needs to be exploring ways to improve the team and an increased trade presence is an avenue to be improved. Conclusion; The Real Baseball Guys organization is firmly in the rebuilding phase, especially on the pitching side of the roster. It will be an uphill battle for them to rebuild the staff in time for a contending window with some of their older hitting stalwarts like Olson and Bregman. 2025 is shaping up to be another rebuilding year with a finish in the bottom half of the standings.

They are just prone to mania in LA. Is that so much of a surprise?

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Owner: Rob Greenwood 2024 Season; Greenwood finished in 9th overall, but clearly deserved better as his ranking based on the results say he should have finished closer to 6th. He finished slightly below .500 in division play. He was top 10 in every hitting category with the exception of SLG (for which he was 11th), but he did not eclipse the top 5 in any category. His consistency across categories drove him to a 6th overall ranking for offense. His pitching was also quite strong, finishing in the top five of five different pitching categories (ERA, OBPa, K:BB, W, HLD). His performance lagged behind in SVs and Ks, but his excellent performances across several categories saw him rank as the 5th overall staff in 2024. Final Standing; 9th Batting Stats; 6th Pitching Stats; 5th Combined; 6th Roster Analysis; Position Players; Catcher - Danny Jansen - Freddy Fermin The numbers show catcher as a weak position with the 24th and 39th ranked players for 2024. Danny Jansen still has some upside if he can ever marry his hot streaks to a string of health. Fermin is a journeyman who doesn’t have a significant track record of success in the minors and will likely be dropped if Jansen is healthy. Verdict; Catcher is an area of weakness in 2025. First Base - Josh Naylor - Isaac Paredes Naylor had a real breakout this season, ranking as the 5th best at the position for 2024, finally tapping into the raw power his frame promised. It was enough to rank him as the 28th overall hitter for the year. At only 27 and hitting in a potent Cleveland line-up, Naylor should be in a good position to continue his success. Isaac Parades will also maintain his eligibility at the position, offering some injury insurance. Verdict; First should be an area of strength in 2025. Second Base - Luis Garcia - Maikel Garcia This pair of Garcia’s both had good years for Greenwood. Luis Garcia managed to parlay his mix of pop, speed, and serviceable ratio stats to be the 9th ranked 2B for 2024, and a top 100 player overall. Both the speed and pop were a bit of surprise, but he is young enough to hope on, and could be a valuable all-stats contributor for years to come. The position is also backed up by the other Garcia, offering good injury insurance. Verdict; Second should be an average position in 2025. Third Base - Maikel Garcia - Isaac Paredes Maikel may be a bit of a one trick pony, but for now, it's a good trick. The stats outside the speed (and accompanying runs) are shaky, but they were good enough to make him the 12th overall 3rd base. Greenwood also has Isaac Pardes at the position, who has some better potential for ratio stats and power. And once again, having two decent bats eligible for 3rd helps to absorb potential injuries. Verdict; Third base should be an average to below average position in 2025. Shortstop - Zach Neto - Jeremy Pena Neto had a great sophomore season with a combination of pop and speed propelling him to the 7th most valuable shortstop. He is young and you have to believe there is room to improve on some of the ratio stats. Jeremy Pena is more than a back-up option, also being a solid contributor in a lot of categories (good for 13th overall for shortstops). Not much more to say here, shortstop is in good hands in Greenwood land. Verdict; Shortstop should be an area of strength in 2025. Outfield - Brent Rooker - Jurickson Profar - George Springer - JJ Bleady - Steven Kwan Brent Rooker followed up his breakout 2023 with an even better 2024, vaulting to one of the most valuable players in the league as the 4th most valuable outfielder and 11th most valuable hitter overall. Profar had himself a career year in his age 31 season. Springer, Bleady, and Kwan all had top 40 (ish) performances for the outfield position as well, making this a deep group. Kwan in particular had a fantastic first half before being derailed by injury and struggling in the second half. The only concerns here are only one of the above is a CF, and there are several ages in that group starting with a 3. Verdict; Outfield should be an area of strength in 2025. Offense Overall; This offense is a bit of a ‘death by 1000 cuts’ situation, with many players chipping in over many categories. It had a few star level performances in 2024, but it seems like it’s lacking any superstar players (unless Rooker cements that status in 2025). There is room for some regression for players both up and down in 2025, but it’s a deep lineup with contributors at most positions and categories. Pitching Starting Pitching - Tarik Skubal - Ronel Blanco - Jose Berrios - Nick Pivetta - Joe Ryan - Lance Lynn - Jonathan Cannon - Keider Motnero - Grant Holmes This rotation is anchored by Ace Tarik Skubal who was one of the best pitchers, neigh Players in the 2024 season. He ranked as the number 1 pitcher, and 2nd overall ranked player for the year. Ronel Blanco and Jose Berrios both had great years, ranking in the top 20 SPs. While their FIP metrics don’t paint as rosy a picture, that is a trend for both pitchers. The rest of the rotation had mixed successes, but will presumably get Joe Ryan back for the 2025 season. A great rotation starts with an Ace and works backwards! There is both depth and upside here, but staff would probably feel better with one more high end arm. Verdict; Starting Pitching should be above average in 2025. Relief Pitching - Ryan Walker - Hunter Gaddis - Tyler Rogers - Bryan Hudson - Evan Phillips - Carlos Estevez - Dennis Santana Ryan Walker quietly ranked as the #1 overall RP and 5th most valuable player overall this season. Gaddis had a breakout season and Greenwood got solid counting stat performances from Rogers, Estevez, and Phillips (even in a down season by Phillips). While the group lacked the ratio stats to be truly elite, everyone contributed on the counting side. There is room for negative regression with Walker and Gaddis, but also better days for guys like Phillips Verdict; Relief Pitching should be above average in 2025. Pitching Overall; Depth is the name of the game with this staff. It has proven contributors up and down the depth chart, as well as some young talent that Greenwood hopes will make good on their 2024 breakouts. The staff isn’t loaded with aces or lock-down RPs, but it’s solidly above average. Farm Strength; Top 100 Prospects - Moises Ballesteros (44) - Ryan Clifford (87) Notable 2025 Draft picks - 14, 52 Verdict; The Greenwood farms is not star studded with only a pair of mid-to-back end top 100 prospects. However, even if they aren’t all household names, his farm team generally played well in 2024 and mostly raised their stock. The farm will not be a strength in 2025. Activity; Greenwood is easily one of the most active members in the league, and it shows. He’s collected contributors up and down his lineup with little to no dead spots. Conclusion; While the final standings in 2024 were a disappointment, the Greenwood organization is heading into 2025 is a very healthy spot. The team is very deep and has plenty of young talent that can help keep them competitive for the near future. In a perfect world they would add a star offensive contributor and an additional pitcher to the top of their rotation, but it’s not clear they have the assets to add this via trade. I expect the Greenwood organization to compete for a playoff spot in 2025 and over the course of the next several years.

The Darryl Dynasty Dispatch launches tomorrow with our 'State of the Franchise' series. We'll be starting with the Cheesecake Division with releases every Thursday, so tune in! The 'State of the Franchise' articles will go over each team in the league and review how a team performed in the past season and how the team is looking going into 2025 on a position by position basis. In terms of methodology, we'll be using a combination of actual stat results and ranks from the Fantrax 'score' system in 2024, contrasted by a bit of context provided by power rankings and stats from the old Fangraphs pages. It's going to be a fuzzy and light analysis, so I want to hear all the ways we are wrong (and right)!

I'll be releasing the first 'State of the Franchise' post next week and I hope to do one per week until the start of the season. (with a planned break around Christmas time). It won't be the deepest analysis you've ever read (20 is a lot of teams lol), but it should give us something to talk about! Stangstag and me may tag team these, or he might do a project/series of his own, yet tbd. We're still recruiting writers, so hopefully after a few of these come out and we get chatting about them, more people will want to put their two-cents in with a series. I really like some of the series ideas like a positional review discussing the strength and depth at a given position, what teams are strong/weak in those spots. Just seems fun.

Hey Guys! It's not a great revelation that the DDL has been a bit sluggish the last year or two. Probably a bit of a symptom of the board in general not being in great health (or maybe it's just me who has not posted much lately). Either way, I was thinking that punching up the DDL thread might help to get us all engaged a bit more. I was hoping I could recruit a few members to write something on a scheduled basis about the league to try and keep up engagement. My hope is that having some content in here every week might also lead to some review/analysis/back and forth, kinda like the old days. Some ideas that come to mind are; - Team review / state of the franchise (20 teams = 20 weeks worth of posts) - Positional reviews (10 positions = 10 weeks, how each position is looking relative to others, maybe what team is strong or weak at that position (on farm or roster?)) - Farm reviews (20 teams = 20 weeks) - Draft reviews (20 teams = 20 weeks) - League updates (maybe monthly or per quarter of the season do a little write-up on how the races are going) - Division reviews (4 divisions = 4 posts over the season writing about the state of the division this year and how it looks going forward) - Playoff previews & reviews (some late-season content after the above has been exhausted, could be split between a couple guys) - League awards (like the old forum awards, once a year thing) I think there is lots to write about, but anyone who wanted to contribute would only need to write either a few posts a season, or ~20 posts a season for the more ambitious (only amounts to about a post a week). These don't have to be novels or anything, but something that we can talk about an engage with. If I can get a few guys to help I think it's worth a shot. Beyond that my only ask would be for everyone to at least try to engage when someone puts something out. What do ya'll think? If you are interested in helping just reply or shoot me a message on Fantrax

And then there was two... GL GB, L54

Not to get into the OS while the playoffs are on, but I'm fix'n to be busy. Let's do it! WANTS; - Trade lottery ticket 2B's for lottery ticket SPs - Trade CF/OF for another position - Long term solution at 1B - Trade my old men THE PITCH(es); The 2B thing - I've got luck with a few pickups at 2B and unlucky with the fact Holliday looks destined for 2b. Gonzales or Wagner have both been decent with some lottery ticket vibes. I'd like to trade those tickets for SP tickets. The CF / OF thing - I've got to many OF's, bully for me. Starting lineup next year is Acuna, Carroll, Wood. Leaving a range of blue-chip, lottery ticket, and role-players on the outside looking in. Guys like Crews, Mullins, Ruiz , De La Cruz on the outside looking in. Would like to trade 2-ish of them at least. Open to lots of ideas in terms of return here, commensurate to the caliber of player. The 1B thing - I got no real 1B. I'm willing to roll with Goldy and look for the dead-cat bounce, but a real solution will be needed at some point for me. No specific ideas here, but I'm in the market. The old man thing - As much as I am hopeful about my roster, I'm not there yet. I can admit that. I'm 100% open to trading older players for 'futures'. Guys like Boyd, the aforementioned Goldy, Garcia, Cano, Scott, P-Johnson, Clev, etc. 'Futures' is a pretty loose term. I'm open to p-much anything, including incremental improvements for my team.

Would have been a funner deal if his name was Harry Jay... oh well.

As someone who drafted him with a late pick in dynasty, I totally believe in Clase. But for real, he's got good pop, great speed, and has always been able to take a walk. If he can just straighten out the most important tool, he could be great.

He very well might be. But I pretty much had no choice when the idea of getting Acuna came up. Gotta shoot for the big get's when you have the chance.

Just that I don't think people had the expectation he would be at otherwordly ace level when he signed, did they?

Who the hell is Shota Imanaga. Guy has been on fire to start his career.

My buddy sent me this and I literally couldn't help myself but post it here. Forgive the stupid bars, I couldn't be f***ed to find out where he got it for a better link.

god knows taxes ought not to pay for them!

Wtf is going on with Esteury Ruiz? Hits we'll, gets sent down, starts randomly hitting jacks like he never has in his life. Including MLB jacks in the last few games

Is Matt Manning such a AAAA guy that he can strike guys out in AAA all day, but can't ever produce decent K numbers in the show... Looking more likely by the minute.

oh s***! The season started! *oh s***, this might be the only time in the year I'm beating BTS.

I am still rebuilding. Don't have a true #1, but could be involved