3 Up, 3 Down: Carter Shining in MLB Playoffs for Stacks

After a long break, we are back with the 3 Up, 3 Down Series featuring some standouts from the Major League Baseball Playoffs and Arizona Fall League. Roger Dorn Baseball League Front Office are in their quiet period with evaluations of the 2023 season still in progress before teams turn the page to 2024 when the Hot Stove will quickly heat up.

Evan Carter (Minors), Stacks

The Stacks Front Office wants to take a patient approach to their strong Farm System but Evan Carter is making it difficult to not sharpie in as an Opening Day activation for 2024. The 21 year old reached base in 10 of his first 11 Playoff at-bats and enters Thursday with a 1.167 OPS while hitting in the middle of the Rangers order. Alongside Corbin Carroll and discount hitters Josh Outman and Josh Lowe, the Stacks have a strong outfield core to build around for 2024.

Kyle Manzardo (Minors), Ducks

Manzardo was a hot name entering 2023 when the Ducks selected him 11th overall in the Reserve Draft. After a season in which he slugged 17 home runs between two levels and two organizations, Manzardo has shown off his power stroke in the desert. After homering in three straight games in the second week of the AFL, Manzardo, a lefty-hitting Washington State product, slammed two more longballs on Tuesday afternoon. Not only does Manzardo currently lead the AFL in home runs, he’s one off the total of six that Tyler Hardman and Matt Mervis hit last year when they led the league. He looks set to push for a big league role in 2024 for the Cleveland Guardians.

Royce Lewis (Minors), Falcons

A 2018 Reserve Draftee, Lewis has worked his way through multiple serious injuries but looks finally set to enter 2024 healthy and ready to cash in on his enormous upside for the Maltese Falcons. He hit .309 with 52 RBI in 58 regular season games before hitting four home runs in six playoff games and looks set to be one of potentially six activations for the Falcons for 2024, headlined by Pitching Prospect of the Year Eury Perez.

Team Pitching Points

With the use of starting pitchers continue to decline on an inning per start basis, RDBL Pitching Stats continue to plummet. The RDBL Regular Season produced 32,858 Pitching Points, the second lowest of the Playoff Era and the third consecutive decline in points since 2021.

Pitching Points by RDBL Regular Season

2023 Season 32858.0

2022 Season 35424.0

2021 Season 36272.0

2019 Season 31884.0

2018 Season 37310.0

2017 Season 33510.0

2016 Season 36965.0

The only lower season was 2019 when the baseball was clearly juiced. That season produced the five highest Team Home Run Totals in RDBL History, led by the Asti Grape Stompers who mashed 350 home runs in 22 Periods.

Sandy Alcantara, Free Agent

After a ridiculous 733.0 point season in 2022, RDBL Front Offices were counting down the days until Sandy Alcantara would complete his Rookie contract with the Lunatic Fringe and reach Free Agency. A monster deal will need to wait as Alcantara underwent Tommy John surgery and is expected to miss all of 2024. He'll join Shane McClanahan, Jacob deGrom, Brandon Woodruff, Drew Rasmussen and Felix Bautista as elite arms that RDBL clubs could round out their Active Rosters with in the 2024 Auction Draft.

Jokers Pitching Depth

The St. Joseph Jokers are coming off two of the six worst pitching seasons in RDBL History in 2022 and 2023 and will need to rebuild a rotation even further following news that Kyle Wright will miss all of next season after shoulder surgery. Wright was one of baseball's biggest breakouts in 2022, posting 452.0 points with a 3.19 ERA in 180 innings of work. That was all completed while still under a Minor League deal for Jokers GM Rick Steen. Expected to be a top activation for 2023, Wright's season never got on track as he managed just 31.0 innings for -11.0 total points and now will head back into Free Agency.

As currently projected, MacKenzie Gore (Minors) looks to be the only projected starter set to return for 2024.

State of the Franchise: Honolulu Hammerheads

We continue our State of the Franchise series with the Honolulu Hammerheads who finished 2023 in 10th Place, completing a frustrating season that saw most of their rotation knocked out by injuries. GM Ross Horiuchi joined the Roger Dorn Baseball League in 2014 with a pair of cash finishes and one Division Title to date in Franchise History.

Franchise History Page

President of Baseball Operations: Ross Horiuchi

Headquarters: Honolulu, HI

Seasons: 9

Cash Finishes: 2

Division Titles: 1

Lifetime Earnings: $400

Top Hitter: Jean Segura, 396.5 (2016)

Top Pitcher: Chris Sale, 539.0 (2017)

2023 Season

The Honolulu Hammerheads were the first casualty of the earlier Roger Dorn Baseball League Trade Deadline as GM Ross Horiuchi was teetering between buying and selling in mid-July. The club decided to push their chips in and go for it which ultimately proved to be the wrong move as the Heads faded down the stretch, finishing in 10th place with expiring contracts like Austin Riley and Paul Goldschmidt sitting on the roster instead of bringing back a potentially large return.

The Heads used a RDBL Record 73 players on their Active Roster, highlighting a series of injuries to the starting rotation (including Jacob deGrom, Ryne Nelson, Kris Bubic, Chris Sale and Michael Wacha) as well as a revolving door in the bullpen. Despite the turnover, the Heads enter 2024 with a bevy of rotation options that should give GM Ross Horiuchi some tradeable assets this off-season as they look for a return to the Playoffs.

2024 Pending Free Agents

1B Paul Goldschmidt, 3B Austin Riley, OF Dylan Carlson, IF Brendan Donovan

Current Projected Keeper Roster Ranked by Value

1 RHP Tanner Bibee (2R/$3)

2. RHP Sonny Gray (2/$2)

3. OF Jarren Duran (2R/$3)

4. RHP Michael Wacha (2/$1)

5. SS Ezequiel Tovar (2/$8)

6. OF Seiya Suzuki (3/$22)

7. LHP Chris Sale (3/$1)

8. C Tyler Stephenson (3R/$5)

9. C J.T. Realmuto (3/$28)

10. RHP Reese Olson (2FA/$5)

11. OF Leody Tavares (2FA/$5)

12. 1B Alex Kirilloff (3R/$5)

The Heads didn't have a pick until the 3rd Round of the 2023 RDBL Reserve Draft but nailed their selection of Tanner Bibee who enters 2024 as their top asset. Bibee is followed by a number of affordable rotation options with Sonny Gray a lock to return while Michael Wacha, Chris Sale, Reese Olson and Bailey Ober battle for the remaining spots while Brandon Pfaadt

Ezequiel Tovar and Jarren Duran give the Heads a pair of high-upside young assets while Seiya Suzuki's 2nd Half performance likely locked in his return for his final season of control.

Provided the Heads bring back both J.T. Realmuto and Tyler Stephenson, Horiuchi should still have substantial cap space to add some firepower on offense with a reunion between the club and Austin Riley already heavily rumored no matter the cost.

Farm System

1. RHP Brandon Pfaadt, ARI

2. OF Benny Montgomery, COL

3. C Drew Romo, COL

4. RHP Gordon Graceffo, STL

5. RHP Quinn Priester, PIT

6. OF Robert Hassell, WSH

7. RHP Drey Jameson, ARI

The graduation of Tanner Bibee, Jarren Duran and Ryne Nelson left the Hammerheads Farm System quite shallow but help could still be on the way in 2024. Brandon Pfaadt was hardly efficient in 2023, posting 85.0 points in 96.0 innings of work, but five 20+ point starts and the trust of the Diamondbacks to hand him the ball consistently in the Playoffs is a great sign for the future.

Rockies outfielder Benny Montgomery is a toolshed of a prospect and finished the year on a tear at High-A while currently excelling in the Arizona Fall League. Drew Romo will be another name to watch as he likely reaches Colorado in 2024 with a chance to be a solid Opening Day activation behind the plate for 2025.

Outside of Pfaadt, it was a largely forgettable year on the mound for the club's pitching prospects as Gordon Graceffo (4.92 ERA, 1.53 WHIP), Quinn Priester (7.74 ERA, 1.70 WHIP in 10 big league outings) and Drey Jameson (Tommy John) all took hits to their value.

Off-Season Questions

1 Approach to the rotation?

The Hammerheads season has been derailed in back to back seasons by the health of the rotation with Chris Sale and Jacob deGrom manning a third of the group in each season. Horiuchi's approach to the rotation behind Bibee and Gray will be interesting to watch as the club has the cap space available to add an elite arm like Zack Wheeler, Spencer Strider or Kevin Gausman to turn the group from a plus to one of the league's best.

2. Moving on from Alex Kirilloff?

The Heads have been the leaders of the Alex Kirilloff fan club for years, and for good reason given his potential. But injuries continue to derail his career with his latest shoulder injury in the post-season requiring off-season surgery that could effect his availability to start 2024.

3. Approach in the outfield?

Seiya Suzuki finished 2023 on a tear and looks like a strong bet to return at 3/$22. That leaves the potential for the Heads to shop George Springer (2/$31) who is coming off a solid, yet unspectacular 374.0 point season. The emergence of waiver claim Leody Taveras and rise of activation Jarren Duran make this a strong group heading into next season.

4. A return for Realmuto?

The Free Agent catcher market is surprising healthy for the 2024 Draft with Willson Contreras, Cal Raleigh, Sal Perez, Jonah Heim and others available that put up similar production to the $28 Realmuto. Could the Heads look to free up additional cap space by moving Realmuto this off-season or stick with him to pair with Tyler Stephenson (3R/$5) for 2024.

Executive of the Year: Michael Tirabassi, Fightin' Fish

The Spokane Fightin' Fish knew something had to change in 2015 as they were set to finish their third season of RDBL play without a cash finish. An overhaul in player strategy followed, prioritizing overall upside in all acquisitions while aggressively prioritizing the Active Roster while dangling Draft picks and prospects along the way. What has followed is the most dominant run we have seen in League History as the Fightin' Fish have finished in the money in six of seven seasons with two League Championships, two Regular Season Titles and five Division Titles.

Another dominant season in 2023 earned President of Baseball Operations Michael Tirabassi the Executive of the Year Award, his second of his career, matching a RDBL Record. The Fish won the Regular Season by 461.5 points, the third largest margin in League History as Tirabassi's roster finished 1st in both Hitting and Pitching, joining the 2021 Lake Merced Goutfish and 2019 Asti Grape Stompers as the only Franchise's to accomplish that feat.

While the club came up short in the 2023 Playoffs, finishing second to the Lake Merced Goutfish, the Fightin' Fish led all teams in Full Season points for the fourth time since 2016. It's a remarkable, yet frustrating feat for Tirabassi who has only been able to win the League Title in two of those seasons.

Typically driven by star performers historically, the Fightin' Fish had the most balanced offense in League History with no player exceeding 387.0 Regular Season points yet still pacing the RDBL in scoring. Activation of the Year Runner-Up Julio Rodriguez led the way, slashing .281/.342/.472 while Corey Seager returned to the Franchise that originally activated him to slash .342/.409/.643 around IL stints.

Off-season additions Justin Verlander and Aaron Judge also battled injuries, but managed to dominate on the field with Verlander pacing all Fish pitchers in points while Judge posted a 1.025 OPS.

The Fightin' Fish set or matched seven Roger Dorn Baseball League Records in 2023 and now hold 22 Records overall, the most in the League including $4,990 in lifetime cash winnings.

Tirabassi joins Greg Shelley (2022, 2018), Ryan Atkinson (2021, 2014), Terry Shelley (2019), Jason Watson (2017, 2015), and Nick Holz (2013) as winners of the Executive of the Year Award.

Ryan Atkinson (Goutfish), Jason Watson (Devils) and Chris Ferraro (Maulers) also received votes.