The St. Joseph Jokers are fresh off a last place finish while producing the worst offense and the fourth worst pitching staff in League History. Despite the disastrous season, GM Rick Steen holds the keys to the Roger Dorn Baseball League off-season thanks to a bevy of Draft picks that could make them the most active Front Office before Draft Day.
Steen's choices this off-season will tell a great deal about the future plans of the Franchise. The club holds the top overall pick in the 2023 Reserve Draft, the first of six selections in the top 29 and nine selections in the Top 44 along with as many as eight players under Minor League contracts that are knocking on the door for Opening Day activations. That group is led by Gunnar Henderson, one of the top hitting prospects in all of baseball who will a building block for the next three seasons.
Given those assets, things are certainly looking up for Steen and the Jokers, but their patience will be tested. The club could leveraging that bounty of selections and/or young assets to improve a Keeper Roster that could use some additional force, but the 2023 Free Agent Class is also the strongest in RDBL History, offering plenty of talent in its own right.
Additionally, the consensus on the top available talent in the Reserve Draft is outfielder Jackson Chourio, a stellar talent but one that had just six at-bats in 2022 above High-A and carries a 2023 Activation date in an absolute best case scenario. Could Steen conceivably move back in the 1st Round for someone that potentially values Chourio higher while aiming for more immediate help at the big league level? The options appear to be endless given their situation.
Roster Breakdown
The Jokers roster construction starts with some easy decisions at the top with shortstop Trea Turner (3/$49) set to return along with the activations of right-hander Kyle Wright (452.0 points in 2022) and Gunnar Henderson. The production of Jose Abreu (3/$37) certainly backs up the contract after producing 446.5 points while moving to the hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park in 2023 while MJ Melendez's production last season and catcher eligibility make him a lock for activation.
Rounding out the easy choices for Steen would be the retention of right-hander Ross Stripling (2FA/$5) who produced 373.0 points and is in line for a substantial Free Agent deal over the coming weeks, possibly heading to San Francisco.
This is where the easy choices end and the endless possibilities begin. Joey Bart (Minors) is the next safest bet to be on the Opening Day roster, filling both catcher spots for just $2 combined and allowing Steen to focus his spending power elsewhere. But eyes will remain on the catching situation in Toronto as Gabriel Moreno (Minors) is the best of the catching trio under contract with the Jokers and stable playing time for him could make Bart a potential trade candidate.
Matt Chapman (2/$14) likely did enough in 2022 with 330.5 points of production and 21 home runs to earn a spot back for next season, though he would likely sit at a similar contract if he returns to the Auction.
Nick Madrigal (2R/$3) is penciled in as the starting second baseman in Chicago, but has been limited to just 142 games over three seasons thus far in his career while slugging .355.
Gregory Soto (2/$4) produced a 225.0 points in the reliever slot and currently projects to return though a potential addition of holds to scoring in the RDBL could diminish his value a tad.
Spring Training will be a critical time for player evaluation internally for the Jokers as Trevor Larnach, JJ Bleday and DL Hall try and play their way into early season roles as well.
The Options
The Jokers are in prime position for off-season activity as several rosters including the Lunatic Fringe, Maltese Falcons, Lake Merced Goutfish, Burlingame Blue Ducks, Cloverdale Clovers and Alamo Short Stacks are bloated with Keeper options and likely looking for Reserve Draft capital or upper-Minors prospects in return.
While the Jokers core three of Turner, Henderson and Wright are off limits, the club would likely be open to discussions on any additional assets. While they could go with a full rebuild strategy and position themselves for a run in 2024, that's never been Steen's M.O. and is unlikely.
The more likely scenario is to hit the trade market and shop some of their early picks with an eye on not taking on too much salary given the commitments to Turner and Abreu already on the roster.
That makes the surplus of outfield options on the Falcons a logical fit as GM Gary Falzon and Assistant GM Erik Nielsen hold the rights to Andrew Benintendi (2/$10), Mitch Haniger (3/$11), Teoscar Hernandez (3/$10) and Ian Happ (2/$13) while Anthony Rizzo (2/$17) could be a logical swap out for Matt Chapman's $14 option.
The Clovers, Goutfish and Fringe boast an overflowing amount of pitching talent on reasonable deals including Jesus Luzardo (3R/$5), Lucas Giolito (3R/$5), Taijuan Walker (2D/$5) and Blake Snell (2/$10) all names that project to be available before Draft Day. The Fringe are especially overloaded with options, making prospects Josiah Gray (Minors) and Reid Detmers (Minors) potential targets that could immediately be activated and slotted in at the back-end of the rotation.
If Steen was open to adding substantial contracts this off-season and not waiting for the talented Free Agent Class, Goutfish first baseman Matt Olson (2/$46) could be a fit though he overlaps in contract commitment and position with Abreu. Josh Bell (3/$27) could also fit into that mold though his loss of outfield eligibility for 2023 hurts his value.
Summary
Steen has limitless options this Winter and could easily bank on their young assets and a deep Free Agent Class to rebuild. But with so many assets in the Reserve Draft, expect some of those second and third round picks to bring back some immediate help under reasonable contracts, giving Steen the options he prefers to chase down in Auction. The Jokers best season in Franchise History featured the league's top pitching staff, so a focus on the rotation behind Wright and Stripling could be the main area Steen targets this Winter.
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