Preseason Team Snapshots: Toutle Lynx

Management

Brandon Viale (49% Owner, GM)

JoLynn McCully-Gibson (51% Owner)

Depth Charts

Lineup (S = Constant Starter)

S. Josh Burckhardt

S. Tegan Connors

3. Nick Miller

4. Alan Luff

Pitchers

1. Tegan Connors

2. Josh Burckhardt

3. Nick Miller

4. Alan Luff

Fielders

1. Alan Luff

2. Nick Miller

3. Tegan Connors

Strengths

On paper, as well-rounded of a roster as you can find in the league. Burckhardt (.379 last season) and Connors (.346 last season) are hitting machines that regularly connect for extra bases and give pitchers the added discomfort of constantly alternating between facing a righty (Burckhardt) and lefty (Connors). At pitcher, Connors combination of speed and movement, particularly his sinker, make him arguably the hardest guy in JAL to put the ball in play against. Additionally, the Lynx have great depth with Luff and Miller as bench batters, Burckhardt and Miller as backup arms and a playmaking fielder in Luff to handle dirty work in the field. An extra, subtle strength of this team is that they know exactly who they are (no depth chart competitions/experimenting) and have playoff experience. Lastly, Brandon Viale is arguably the best non-local (lives in California) team manager in the league who does a nice job communicating strategy and motivating his players prior to games.

Concerns

For whatever reason, Toutle hasn't been able to reach their full potential in the "Connors era" and pressure to change that narrative gets heavier to carry and harder to ignore for him each new season. Getting the lineup and Connors pitching to click simultaneously has been an issue for multiple seasons. Too often they lose by Connors beating himself in the circle, or by the lineup failing to meet the moment in a pitching duel. Finally, outside of Viale, Toutle lacks leadership and (because Viale isn't present at games) has no natural leader on the field. This is, perhaps, a good reason why they struggle to stay consistent and often struggle against momentum swings.

Grades

Batting: A-

Pitching: A-

Fielding: A-

Management: A-

Roster Sturdiness: A

Overall: A-

Plan (probably)

Focus on staying focused. Last season they never developed a rhythm due to jarringly inconsistent performances (nearly lost to non-playoff teams Lawmen 27-22, Sasquatches 20-15 and Waves 15-14, lost to Wrecking Crew 13-14 in reg. season but dominated them in playoffs 8-1, outplayed Bambinos in reg. season split 14-0 and 8-9, but got smoked by them in playoffs 1-7). When favored to win or winning by a comfortable margin, trying to run up the score isn't a bad way to stay sharp for the next game.

Opponents

Wrecking Crew x2

Bambinos x2

Lawmen

Sasquatches

Express

Rapids

Projected Wins

5.0