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Preseason Team Snapshots: New York Cobras

Management

Cale Johnson (Owner)


Depth Charts

Lineup (S = Constant Starter)

S. Colton Carlson

S. Cale Johnson

3. Darrin Waller

4. Keegan Hammer


Pitchers

1. Darrin Waller

2. Keegan Hammer

3. Colton Carlson


Fielders

1. Colton Carlson

2. Darrin Waller

3. Cale Johnson


Strengths

With the exception of Cale Johnson, the Cobras are a pretty young and developing team, both age-wise and experience. Darrin Waller (who was signed as recent as yesterday) has two seasons of experience, but JAL 24 will be his first attempt at being a pitcher. Colton Carlson was brought in near the end of last season and proved to be a solid hitter who the Cobras hope will breakout into a legitimate weapon in JAL 24. Keegan Hammer had a strong end to JAL 22 at pitcher and thus was the team's ace in JAL 23, but had a rough go. His numbers ranked last or near the bottom of key pitching statistics among other aces in the league, forcing the team to search for other options this offseason — ultimately leading to the Waller signing. New York expects to begin the season with Waller as the No. 1 arm and see how that progresses, making Hammer a relief option. When Hammer plays well, he is capable of competing with mid-level teams and at least now gives the Cobras some pitching depth and a quality backup. Given Hammer's youth and bright moments, the Cobras aren't ready to give up on his potential yet. Overall expectations are pretty low for the Cobras, which often times can actual be beneficial for a team who's immediate priority is discovering their players abilities and developing those skills.


Concerns

The Cobras are in a "wishful" state heading into the season. They are "hopeful" Waller turns out to be a competitive pitcher, "hopeful" Carlson has a breakout batting season and "hopeful" Hammer shows signs of improvement at pitcher. If none of these things pan out, New York could very easily be finishing at the bottom of the National Conference again. A second concern is the batting lineup in general. Even if Carlson has a great season, Cale Johnson is only a decent, on-base type of batter at best these days, Keegan Hammer does not hit and Darrin Waller was originally dropped by the team after two seasons (JAL 21-22) because his lack of production started weighing down the lineup at the time. It seems like a safe bet that New York is going to struggle to score runs.


Grades

Batting: D+

Pitching: C-

Fielding: B

Roster Sturdiness: A

Management: B


Overall: D+


Plan (probably)

Darrin Waller is doing bullpen practice on a regular basis and the team is planning to get him some live exhibition game reps before the season begins. There's likely to be rocky innings and a learning curve in his first few starts, but the Cobras are hoping that my mid-season he's proving to be reliably solid arm they feel is worth continuing to develop. On offense the team probably needs to try and find another new hitter with more talent potential than Cale to bat alongside Carlson — moving Cale to a 3rd "optional" man they can rotate into the lineup when needed. By season's end, if the ace pitcher situation is still a liability toward success, the Cobras would likely get a head start on continuing the hunt for their arm of the future.


Opponents

Bison x2

Waves x2

underdogs

Rapids

Fog

Express


Projected Wins

2.4

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