With the 2056 regular season drawing to a close, it’s a good time to look over the league and see what teams are heading in what directions and what steps they need to take in my opinion to get there. This is by no means the gospel truth when it comes to each team but its pretty close to the gospel truth. This is a further continuation of that series and today we continue with our look at the AAAA side of the RLB…

Eastern Conference: Great Lakes

Akron Vulcans

Positives: This is a loaded team with very few holes. The rebuild was great and you can see that with all the depth and talent on the roster. Pitching is a lock with Scipio, Diaz, White, Feramisco, and Bourne. Hitting likewise has stalwarts like Saakdze, Rios, Thornton, Valdes and Von Lettow-Vorbeck. All are relatively young and have plenty to give this team. Finances are insanely well-controlled and the team is poised to leap into relavence for the foreseeable future. Player: Scipio Africanus is an elite level of pitcher and his performances have shown as much. He’s been rewarded with a contract that will see him stay in Akron until 61 and its not an awful deal for an ace. Look for him to lead this pitching staff hopefully until his mid-30s and hopefully to a ring.

Negatives: For a team so well-built, it’s hard finding negatives. Payroll is under great control and Brown comes off the books very soon here so it will only get better. This is a young cheap team with lots of years of team control left. The biggest negative is that there is no offensive force on the team. The best everyday hitter was Brown with a 827 ops and only Brown put up an obp above 330. With 5 hitters putting up dong numbers above 20, led by Saakdze with 43, this team live and dies by the dong machine and with that in mind they need to get a premium hitter to slot in front of these dongers who can get on base, deliver their own dongs as well as lead this offense. Those types of pieces don’t come cheap. But they are around. Player: Henry Thornton was brought in to be more of a force for this team and he didn’t really deliver. His obp dropped 30 points below his career average and he saw a career low babip. This guy needs to step up and be a force on this team offensively. You gave up your first for this guy who turned into Marvin Lawson. You need to see that return.

Dire Need: Impact hitter(s).

Chicago Railmen

Positives: This is a team that is always waiting in the shadows, a threat at any moment to compete and challenge. When you have talent like Marrero and Flynn in your pitching staff, you’re always one dong or one rally away. With the elite pitching already here, there are young pieces to get excited about in pitching like Bennett, Flynn, and Jrod. All three should put this team in a great place pitching-wise to compliment and fill out the rotation behind Marrero. Hitting-wise, this team has holes, glaring holes, but they have strong bats too. Davis, Ortiz, Frazier and Hughes all are good bats and on the young side. Frazier in particular with his great CF defense is a showstopper in the making. Player: Pablo Marrero shows no signs of slowing down, even during a down year like 2056. He has plenty of gas still in his tank and looks poised to lead this team from the mound and locker room for the next five to seven years at an elite level.

Negatives: Though this team has some bats that are young and exciting, they are few and they aren’t particularly elite. Also, the bats they do have struggle defensively. Ortiz, Davis and Hughes are all liabilities defensively and yet they all must be squeezed into the lineup. Player: Orenthal Saphire is costing 18m a year and you don’t expect him to be below league average in wRC and ZR. And then you see his 279 obp and you start to wonder if there aren’t better pieces on the FA market for a fifth of his price who can’t actually play defense and hit. This guy needs to step up or his legacy in Chicago won’t be one for the history books.

Dire Need: Impact hitter who can play a defensive position.

Cleveland Steamers

Positives: For a team about two years into a rebuild, you’re starting to get a picture of what the future Steamers will be. Cabral is still relatively young and he’s good. Marshall looks to be a top 10 SS in the league in the next few years, Gilbert and Kenney are young, impact arms who will hold down #3 or #4 spots in a rotation for 5+ years. And don’t get me started on Silva and Bland. This COF combo will be top level elite for years to come. The future is very bright in Cleveland. Player: David Bland has all the tools to be a cornerstone piece to this rebuild and lead Cleveland to a The Ring victory. COF defense is top knotch, hitting is elite. Nothing not to like here.

Negatives: The quality of their pitching in the minors isn’t what you’d like to see so far into the rebuild. Besides Kenny and Gilbert, you don’t see much there. And you definitely don’t see a #1 or #2 guy. This is a concern that needs to be addressed, especially when you consider the Steamer park and its donginess. The major league roster is in full rebuild mode and most of these guys won’t be around when Cleveland starts ticking. But if you look at how young the competition in this division, you have to worry that Cleveland doesn’t have enough in the farm yet to be a contender. Even with the studs. Player: Craig Everett is such a bum.

Dire Need: Impact pitching prospect(s) for rebuild.

Motor City Mad

Positives: For a team that seems to have started a rebuild over the last season and a half or so, they sure have some nice pieces already making a name for themselves. Beyond the obvious quality like Valentin, you’ve got young studs like Lozano, Morgan and Franklin already establishing themselves in the majors. Lots to like in the farm as well with Reese, Nunez, van Zoolingen and Riley all looking very nice. When you look at finances, they clear a ton of payroll out after 2057 and that timing could be perfect for a push into competing. Player: Hector Valentin is still only 27 but he looks great and even on an underperforming team he put up stellar numbers. This is a kid who could add to his trophy case even while the rest of the team rebuilds. Gotta respect his moxie.

Negatives: While the team is rebuilding and has strong hitting pieces downstairs in the cellar percolating, the pitching depth is where the focus needs to be. I don’t see one standout kid down there and that is worrisome when you figure this team has been in a holding pattern for awhile. Adding to this farm should be the main focus. Player: Cason Wild is 30 years old on a rebuilding team and he saw a slight jump in performance when he came from SLC but still hitting below 700, much less 670, is unacceptable. He wants a big contract and this year he needs to prove he’s worth it.

Dire Need: Impact pitching prospect(s).

Shadowlands Reapers

Positives: They have some stuff going on. Money will start clearing out soon. Garcia and Ordonez are nice hitters to have and Ordonez is only 31. Player: Ramon Garcia is a top 10 bat in this league and 24 years young to boot. Too bad he’ll forever hit 250 in Shadowlands’ park.

Negatives: Pitching is getting old. Farm isn’t very good. After Garcia, you don’t see much talent under 30. The team needs a complete teardown and yet besides for Garcia there aren’t much assets to move. Player: Evan McBridge has two more years in Shadowlands on his deal and he’s putting up not very good numbers. I think the odds of Reapers buying him out after this year are near certain.

Dire Need: Pitching and hitting to go around Garcia.