Kansas City Monarchs 2017 Overview
In NJDevs26's first season as an owner, he looked to put together a balanced roster. All in all the Monarchs probably wound up slightly better on the pitching side but they should have enough speed and power to be able to compete with almost any offense as well. I'll try to keep this brief as I already linked to the roster up above and that links to all my detailed writeups of players in that post.
Position overview:
Catcher - Potentially the Monarchs' riskiest or most undervalued position depending on your point of view. King Kelly brings a .300+ average and the likelihood of 50+ steals to the ATD. He also brings a good enough throwing arm to keep the running game honest and versatility to stay in the game at other positions if late-game pinch-hitting and substitutions require it. Backup catcher Louis Santop is largely an unknown factor in the ATD, but with an intriguing skillset as a feared left-handed hitting fill-in on Kelly's off days (which will generally be against RHP), and also enough athleticism to play multiple positions.
First Base - Not much needs to be said here. Lou Gehrig's the best of the best by just about every standard offensively and his durability ensures he never has to be taken out of the lineup. Having Rafael Palmiero as a backup/bat off the bench is a nice bonus, not many people can say they have 1000+ HR's out of the first base position.
Second Base - Professional utilityman Pete Rose and Bobby Grich provide a nice complement toward each other, where Grich's better splits against LHP enable him to spell Pete (or free him up to fill in at other positions) against lefties, and in late-game defensive substitutions - while Pete still gets to play the long side of the platoon where he's dynamite as a LHB (.307/.384 average and OBP) and also has the ability to fill in at other positions as a RHB.
Third Base - Not much needs to be said about Brooks Robinson, clearly the best fielder at that position (if not any position) of all-time and enough power to provide a nominal threat out of the #8 spot in the batting order. Brooks's most immediate backup is Pete, who can shift over to give the perennial gold glover an occasional day off while Grich plays 2B.
Shortstop - Nomar Garciaparra gives the Monarchs an underrated threat offensively out of the #6 hole and above-average defensive play at his peak. Of course Nomar'll probably miss some games during the season, that's where El Diablo comes in, with Willie Wells' five-tool skillset he should be more than capable of filling in for Nomar here and there for rest days and perhaps as a late-inning pinch-runner off the bench as well.
Outfield: With 1195 career home runs between Frank Robinson and Sammy Sosa, power's the name of the game out of the corner outfield for the Monarchs, while in between them lightning fast Cool Papa Bell provides a different kind of threat at the top of the order, and also the ability to cover ground between two average, not especially quick fielders in the corners. Ducky Medwick and Earl Averill both provide solid all-around bats off the bench. Between them and others who can also play in the outfield, there should be no shortage of players to fill in when one of the starting three needs a day off or get subbed out for pinch-running/defense/double switches late in games.
Numbers vs. LHP (BA/OBP/Slugging)
C. Bell (NA - Negro Leagues)
Kelly (NA - LH and RH splits weren't kept in his day)
Gehrig (.313/.420/.613)
F. Robinson (.295/.406/.541)
Sosa (.296/.389/.558)
Nomar (.312/.367/.525)
Grich (.271/.383/.438)
B. Robinson (.279/.336/.416)
Numbers vs. RHP
C. Bell (see above)
Kelly (see above)
Gehrig (.355/.465/.653)
F. Robinson (.294/.380/.535)
Averill (.326/.407/.553)
Nomar (.313/.360/.519)
Rose (.307/.384/.419)
B. Robinson (.263/.316/.394)
Bench/Defense: All in all I have three LH and three RH bats off the bench, and at least a couple of them are good fielding replacements. I didn't prioritize speed off the bench since I already had two rabbits in the lineup but El Diablo will probably serve as my top option pinch-running unless one of the top two in the order get a day off. Defensively the Monarchs are probably pretty average overall, with the strength of the defense clearly on the left side of the infield and the ground Cool Papa can cover in CF, along with Grich when he plays. Not a lot of outright butchers either other than Pete and maybe Kelly who isn't a particularly great fielder. I didn't prioritize D overall but wanted it to be largely a neutral-slightly positive factor in general and I think it is.
Starting Pitching: Most experts will probably see this area as the strength of the Monarchs with fireballing legends Sandy Koufax and Bob Feller headlining a rotation that goes five deep, with Bert Blyleven providing a nice change of pace as the #3 starter, but still with the ability to strike guys out. Catfish Hunter provides a solid option as a #4, while David Price is capable as a #5, and balances out the rotation with a second lefty to go with the other three righties.
Bullpen: While the starting pitching looks top-notch, the bullpen isn't a pushover either with Goose Gossage anchoring the bullpen as a flamethrowing multi-inning closer. Backing him up is setup man Koji Uehara, who's more than capable of filling in as the primary closer if Goose needs a day off, and Koji's certainly no slouch in the K department either. Other short, situational relievers include lefty BJ Ryan, and submarine righty Steve Cishek. While the fireballing Ryan's certainly the top option against a string of lefties late in games, Cishek is more of a threat against righties, and in situations that call for a groundball - though he can also get a K if that's what you need. Rounding out the bullpen are two solid old-school relievers that can go multiple innings or even be spot starters in lefty Bobby Shantz and righty Ellis Kinder.
Overview: While the batting order isn't perfect, it is particularly dynamite against lefties while most of the RH batters can hold their own against RH pitchers. KC's offense can win you games more than one way - either with smallball at the top of the order with Cool Papa and Kelly out of the 1-2 hole, or with sheer power in the middle with Gehrig, Robinson, Sosa and Nomar who bring a combined 162-game average of 35 HR's and 119 RBI's out of the 3-6 spots in the order. Rounding out the lineup are Pete/Grich who are both capable options out of the 7 spot, and Brooks in the 8 spot. Pete would likely move to the 2 spot in the order if one of the top two get a day off. Pitchingwise you're going to see a lot of strikeouts and a lot of different looks out of the Monarchs' staff, which has the collective bullpen ability and stamina to be able to handle just about any late-game emergency. Manager Alston knows how to handle big personalites and can win with pitching, power and speed - all of which the Monarchs possess.
