No matter what happens at the Winter Meetings, the draft is where teams are built. While the Springfield Flying Squirrels of Republic had a great Winter Meetings, the draft didn't go nearly as smoothly and while the team should still be a strong contender, the poor performance at the draft has left the Squirrels as just that...contenders. With better drafts in North Texas and Julian, the Squirrels project as a Wild Card team at this point, and that is IF the division doesn't beat each other up too badly.
It was a story of waiting just a touch too long...and it happened again and again and again. An unexpected run on closers left the Squirrels with one legitimate closing option. Waiting around cost the Squirrels a decent catcher and waiting around cost the Squirrels any real depth in the infield. The strengths appear to be in the OF and SP where the Squirrels host a good but not great amount of talent.
Best Case: Jeter comes back in his 2012 form, Valverde and Bell end up closing, the SPing is as stellar as their names suggest, Freeman and Moustakas take another step forward, Trout, Jones, Willingham, and Konerko perform similarly to 2012, and the Squirrels stomp everyone in sight and take the championship.
Worst Case: Jeter hobbles around ending in his retirement, Valverde and Bell inflate team ERA and WHIP, the SPing proves to be nothing but a collection of big names, Freeman, Moustakas, and Trout take a step back, Jones, Willingham, and Konerko regress or stay the same, and the Squirrels miss the playoffs.
Prediction: Jeter is decent, but not great. Valverde closes somewhere, Bell sets up...ERA and WHIP are still inflated. The SPing is good. Freeman and Moustakas improve. Trout regresses, but only slightly. Jones and Konerko hold their numbers. Willingham returns to injury form. Squirrels earn the 4th seed in the playoffs and take 3rd...AGAIN.
Current Depth Chart
C: Jarrod Saltalamacchia
1B: Freddie Freeman
2B: Robinson Cano
3B: Mike Moustakas
SS: Derek Jeter
OF: Mike Trout
OF: Adam Jones
OF: Hunter Pence
OF: Josh Willingham
UTIL: Paul Konerko
SP: Felix Hernandez
SP: Adam Wainwright
SP: Roy Halladay
SP: Dan Haren
SP: Mike Minor
RP: Jason Grilli
RP: Joakim Soria
RP: Eric O'Flaherty
RP: Santiago Casilla
RP: Heath Bell
Bench: OF- Drew Stubbs
Bench: OF- Domonic Brown
Bench: 3B- Lonnie Chisenhall
Bench: 2B- Donovan Solano
Bench: SP- Trevor Cahill
Bench: SP- Wade Davis
Bench: RP- Jose Valverde
Think you would have to have a lot go wrong to miss playoffs. Bench needs some help but as long as the majority of your team healthy you should make playoffs.
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