North Carolina Aviators 2017 Thread

[Chappy]

2013 - 97-70 - 2nd place
2014 - 87-75 - 4th place
2015 - 102-60 - 1st place
2016 - 85-77 - 4th place

Last season was a disappointing one for the Aviators, who hoped to repeat as PL champs only to stumble to the finish line in 4th place. 

The brightest spot for the Aviators was the play of rookie outfielder Greg Smith, who took home Rookie of the Year honors with a .292-40-118 season.

As we turn our attention to the upcoming season, expansion has led to a new division for the Aviators to call home, and a new rival to the north in Virginia.  Here's a brief look at the new division:

PL South
Georgia Titans - Expansion Team
Maryland Bridegrooms - Formerly the California Golden Eagles, coming off a 64-98 season
North Carolina Aviators - Yours truly
Virginia Diamond Club - Expansion Team
West Virginia Hollers - Coming off of a 104-58 season, should be favorites to win the PL South

In addition to the 4 opponents listed above, the Aviators will take on a bunch of familiar foes from the PL North division, including the New Jersey Athletics, New York Brewers, Ohio Knights, Ontario Blue Pirates, and the Pennsylvania Railroaders.

Right now 35 players are in Spring Training camp getting geared up for 2017, competing for the 25 spots on the active roster.  The entire starting lineup and rotation from 2016 returns, and former 1st round pick Mario Melendez is the lone rookie of interest in camp. 

Melendez will try to wrestle the starting catcher position away from Steve Wright, who hit just .184 with 9 HR and 20 RBI in 212 ABs last year.

More on ST to follow!

[Chappy]

POSITIONAL BATTLES TO WATCH

Most of the spots in the Aviators lineup are cut and dry; Rory White at 1B, Jesus Gutierrez at 3B, Curds Campos at SS, Greg Smith in LF, Crawdad Hicks in CF, Jose Chavez in RF.  However, spring training performance will go a long way in deciding who will play at the following positions:

CATCHER

Steve Wright has logged more time behind the plate than anyone else on the roster.  In 427 games, he's hit .224 with 56 HR and 182 RBI.  He was decent in 2013 and 2014, hitting .240-20-68 and .243-21-71 in those years, but has hit just .185 over the past two seasons.  Steve turns 40 on May 3rd, so it's not like he's going to get any better.  Prediction - starting C

Sid Matthews has seen time on the Aviators roster every year, and at 31 still has some miles left.  However, his best asset, his defense, has been deteriorating in recent years.  His career totals of .199-10-45 in 443 ABs are not anything to get excited about.  Prediction - backup C

Hisanobu Kawaguchi had a mere cup of coffee in 2014, going 1-for-16 (.063) with a walk and 4 K's.  The 33-year-old has a .266 career minor-league average, and offers very little more than a warm body.  I guess his '6' rating in Catcher Ability would be okay if not for his '4' rating in Catcher Arm.  Prediction - AAA

Mario Melendez may still be a season away from the bigs, but he will be tested thoroughly this spring.  He's got gobs of power; through 4 minor league seasons his 162 game average is .280-33-126.  However, he's never played above AA (where he hit 11 HR in just 157 ABs last season).  At 23, he should be close... but just how close remains to be seen.  He is average defensively, which puts him above the other characters competing to be the backstop.  Prediction - AAA/AA

SECOND BASE

29-year-old Juan Rodriguez is a defensive whiz (10 rating at 2B), a solid 3-star player, a '6' rated hitter in Contact, Gap, Eye and a '7' rated player in Avoiding K's.  He hit .320-13-70 in 2015.  Yet he's not convinced us he's the man, particularly after a lackluster campaign in 2016 where he hit just .265. 

Rodriguez is being challenged by 30-year-old Kurt Clay, a 2.5 star player whose ratings are slightly worse than Rodriguez's across the board.  However, Clay hit .306 last year and clearly outplayed Rod.  So, who gets the nod in 2017?

Well, my guess is it will be Rodriguez, but Spring Training may tell a different story.

[Chappy]

Meet Your 2017 North Carolina Aviators
stats listed are 162 game averages

1 - Crawdad Hicks - CF - 29 years old - .308-1-48 - 105 Runs, 111 BB, 49 SB

2 - Curds Campos - SS - 27 years old - .298-5-64 - 95 Runs, 65 SB

3 - Juan Rodriguez - 2B - 29 years old - .271-10-72 - 33 2B - 71 Runs

4 - Greg Smith - LF - 24 years old - .297-37-112 - 39 2B - 85 Runs

5 - Jesus Gutierrez - 3B - 30 years old - .261-24-82 - 34 2B - 71 Runs

6 - Jose Chavez - RF - 36 years old - .282-37-113 - 92 Runs

7 - Rory White - 1B - 34 years old - .271-39-108 - 90 Runs

8 - Steve Wright - C - 40 years old, going on 100 - .224-21-69 - 33 2B



1 - Norberto Leon - 28 years old - 18-7, 3.06 - 238 Ks

2 - Joe Haines - 40 years old - 15-7, 2.89 - 199 Ks

3 - Don Wilson - 21 years old - 11-13, 4.48 - 185 Ks

4 - Big Boots Thompson - 28 years old - 13-11, 4.08 - 168 Ks

5 - Jeremy Guy - 29 years old - 11-12, 4.48 - 190 Ks


MR - Hector Silva - 29 years old - 5-6-2, 3.10 - 77 Ks

MR - Tommy Blake - 31 years old - 6-11-0, 3.51 - 119 Ks

MR - Steve Scott - 34 years old - 0-11-0, 3.86 - 45 Ks

SU - Randy Duke - 33 years old - 5-4-3, 2.94 - 63 Ks

SU - Lou Roberts - 32 years old - 4-5-2, 3.39 - 63 Ks

CL - Daryl Clark - 30 years old - 5-5-36, 1.82 - 93 Ks


Top 5 Prospects

CF - Alex Benson - AAA Raleigh
LF - Jesus Rosales - R Delray Beach
C - Mario Melendez - AAA Raleigh
1B - Noel Campbell - R Delray Beach
C - Gravel Rhodes - A OBX