2023 JLB Season Preview: The Stantonians

The very first thing the Stantonians did in the JLB was draft Anthony Volpe.

Today, that first move paid off.

The Stantonians, who found themselves in last place on the S-Scale, know that those projections used do not include the soon-to-be All-Star shortstop who was added to his active roster today.

OK, so maybe he's not an All-Star, but the way Yankees fans are reacting, you would think he's the next Jordan Walker or something.

The Stantonians, unlike their fellow Yankees fans, are realistic about it.

"We went to see him play in Trenton and nothing stood out," Josh said. "We still can’t understand it, but if there’s any team that would value him becoming the new Jeter, it’s us. The Yankees need to play their youth. Donaldson and Hicks should be playing old man softball at this point."

The stats agree with Josh's assessment: Volpe only batted .249 last season in Double-A and Triple-A with 18 homers, 60 RBIs, 71 runs and 44 stolen bases. His Steamer projections for a full season mirror those numbers: (.231 with 16 homers, 54 RBIs, 77 runs and 23 stolen bases).

So he's projected to not be a savior, but he's definitely going to help out.

And he's one of three guys at SS for the Stantonians as they still have Tim Anderson and Carlos Correa. There will be many days where both utility spots will feature a shortstop.

"Shortstop has been deep the last few years," Josh said. "Correa feels like a guy whose brand is bigger than his stats, but we’re hopeful. Anderson is straight fire."

Anderson missed some time last year, but still batted .301 with 100 hits, 50 runs and 13 stolen bases. He doesn't have much power, but with the new rules, he should really be a factor in the run game.

Correa, who didn't steal a base last season, will handle the power department, and Stantonians will need it. Mike Trout and Giancarlo Stanton are the only projected 30-plus home run bats on the roster, and they've been struggling to play full seasons of late. 

Stanton hasn't put it what we'd consider a full season since 2018, and believe it or not, Trout hasn't done it since 2016. He came close in 2018 when he played 140.

"Trout was a bit of an ass-hat last year turning all his production in after we were eliminated," Josh said. "I think he’ll be solid per usual, but the bigger question mark that could propel us to our first championship is Stanton. He cannot put up another dud like last year. If he has a solid year, the Stantonians will be like the ’96 or ’98 Yankees."

That's quite the confidence. I like it.

It will take a bit more than confidence to take down the juggernaut pitching staffs at the top of the National League. Dude, Cheese and Nutz all have rotations that are loaded up.

I'm still trying to figure out how I can compete.

"We have the best pitching in the league," Josh said. "People will dread playing us this year."

OK, then. Maybe confidence is all it takes.

Yu Darvish and Blake Snell headline the staff. Darvish went 16-8 last year with a 3.10 ERA and 197 strikeouts and he shows no signs of slowing down. Snell started horribly but went on a tear to put him in good position to be a fantasy ace once again.

Snell had a 5.22 ERA with a 1-5 record in the first half. I remember it fondly because I actually tried to trade for Snell at that point when I read something about him being ready to turn it around.

I figured what the hell.

But I sure as hell had no expectation of the kind of turnaround he would have. I can't imagine the Stantonians expected it either. Snell went 7-5 with a 2.19 ERA in his final 14 starts, striking out 105 and walking just 20.

If he can do that for both halves of this year, we'll be talking about a second Cy Young for the Padres pitcher.

Nestor Cortes was in that Cy Young conversation for a bit last year, and Clayton Kershaw may not make that conversation, but the three-time Cy Young winner returned to All-Star form a year ago with a 2.28 ERA, going 12-3 in 22 starts.

Marcus Stroman, Charlie Morton and Drew Rasmussen round out the starters who also boast projected ERAs in the 3s.

But they are not the guy the Stantonians believe is going to step up and be in that Cy Young conversation. 

"It’s pretty clear Clarke Schmidt is going to be in the Cy Young discussions," Josh said. "I think we have the best starting pitchers in the league, which is odd, because we rarely value pitching."

This all doesn't even include Grayson Rodriguez who may get the nod for Opening Day roster here soon, and if not, he'll be up very quickly.

All-in-all, maybe the Stantonians are on to something here. Maybe the S-Scale is completely wrong and they do have the best pitching staff in the JLB.

Or maybe, they're just Yankees fans buying tickets to Volpe's Hall of Fame ceremony in 2048.