Season Preview - Baltimore

2017 Record: 75-85, last in South
Key Losses: None
Key Additions: Don Drysden
2018 Prediction: 77-83

After a strong start got the fans in Baltimore excited, the Panthers did what they do best: disappoint. Jose Guttierez' squad couldn't even take advantage of the surprisingly poor year by Atlanta, and finished the year in last place. For the record, this was the 6th Last Place finish for Guttierez since taking over as GM in 2007 (to go with three 4th place and one 2nd place finish and zero playoff appearances). If you ever wondered the answer to "What happens when a rich dude from Miami buys a baseball team and installs his son as the GM?".....

The front office's cure for all of Baltimore's woes? SIGN DON DRYSDEN! That's it. Pay a middle reliever with a 4.89 career ERA nearly $5 million a year. Problem solved! First place here we come! But seriously, that's the only player move of any significance in the entire off season.

Batting Order (vs.RHP)
SS Billy Frill
2B Frank Vanderwal
1B Dallas McPherson
RF Vladimir Guerrero
LF Kieron Pope
CF Noah Lankford
3B Teddy Gammel
C Jon Poterson
pitcher

I'm too lazy to type out the vs.LHP lineup, which is pretty much 100% different. It's a crazy number of platoons, and I'm not sure it's that useful to keep them all going. Once some guys show they are better, expect them to get the bulk of the playing time. Baltimore keeps trotting out Guerrero and McPherson, refusing to trade these fan favorites at the expense of a true rebuild. Granted, McPherson defied his age by bashing 41 HR's and driving in 135, so he's hardly been a detriment. Gammel, Pope and Vanderwal all showed 20+ HR power, putting the Panthers right in the middle of the pack offensively. A pair of injured catchers has the team in the hole early depth-wise.

Pitching Rotation: Dennis Tankersly, Zach Putnam, Cole DeVries, Ben Cepeda, Oliver Perez
Closer: Don Drysden

A pair of veterans sandwich three young arms in a rotation that is trying to improve on their 14th place team ERA (4.98) in 2017. 'Tank' suffered from bad run support, going 7-10 last season despite a 3.05 ERA, where Perez went 12-8 with a 5.00+ mark. DeVries and Putnam gave the team innings (over 300 combined) and rookie Cepeda looks to make a splash after going 12-2, 3.15 in AAA Miami last season. The bullpen.....just shield your eyes and move on.

The Panthers are off to another quick start, but they probably won't benefit from another down year from the Flyers. The team can't get any lower in payroll, and fan expectations are so low that scientists can no longer measure them. Maybe the 17 people left in the ballpark will enjoy a few good games. Or not.