Few teams were hurt more by the COVID-shortened season than the Burlingame Blue Ducks who were trying to defend their 2019 Roger Dorn Baseball League Title. With a veteran pitching staff that boasted significant depth in their Playoff run, the 2020 season saw significant declines in performances from the likes of Mike Minor, Matt Boyd, Jake Odorizzi and Dinelson Lamet. Despite their declines, the club elected to bring the bad back together for the full 2021 season which ended with a Franchise high 4.26 ERA and the league's worst pitching staff and an 11th Place finish overall.
What Went Right?
Resurgence for Goldschmidt
The Ducks offense was strength in 2021, finishing 8th in scoring at the plate led in large part to the resurgence of Paul Goldschmidt. Goldy paced the club with 363.0 RDBL Regular Season points while slashing .287/.353/.478 and should be back in 2022 on a solid 2/$35 contract.
A 1st Rounder Well Spent
Framber Valdez had significant helium heading into the 2021 Auction and was expected to be among the first starting pitchers off the board before a late Spring Training finger injury that was a potential season ender. The Ducks still used their 1st Round Reserve Draft selection on the left-hander and it certainly paid off. Valdez would go on to be the club's most productive starting pitcher with 273.0 points and a 2.91 ERA in 17 RDBL Regular Season starts.
What Went Wrong?
A Pre-COVID Trade of Lance Lynn
The Ducks 2019 run was highlighted by a dominant and red-hot pitching staff which forced some difficult decisions heading into 2021. The club elected to trade Lance Lynn in January of 2020 to the Lake Merced Goutfish in exchange for a 3rd Round Pick, favoring the likes of Minor, Boyd, Odorizzi and Lamet who were all on similar contracts. Lynn would go on to post a 3.32 ERA in 2020's skipped season only to back it up with a 2.69 ERA as the ace of the champion Lake Merced Goutfish.
Injuries Derailed Pitching Depth
As we highlighted above, Walsh was dealt a rough hand as they tried to piece together a starting rotation throughout the season. The result was just 142 games started, the second lowest mark in the RDBL while their 921 2/3 innings pitched was the second lowest mark in League History.
2022 Early Off-Season Projection
With several veterans under contract, Walsh looks ready to infuse some young talent into their lineup as the club could activate a trio of young players with significant upside. That group is led by 2021 Pitching Prospect of the Year Alek Manoah who showed plenty of promise to be an immediate impact for the Ducks.
Second baseman Jazz Chisholm will solidly hold down the starting spot in Miami and should be in the Opening Day roster as well for Walsh. Chisholm shot out of the gates quickly, looking like a surefire Rookie of the Year candidate in the National League before an injury took him out of rhythm when his still developing eye at the plate caught up to him (.228/.278/.383 after the AS Break). The talent is certainly there and a more refined approach could provide significant upside of the three years of team control.
Rounding out the group of potential activations is Joey Bart, the 2018 Reserve Draft 1st Overall selection by the Ducks. With Buster Posey's unexpected retirement, Bart is the current bet to take over the starting job in San Francisco where he provides plenty of power to be a top 10 player at the position in 2021.
The outfield names don't jump off the page, but the trio of Kyle Schwarber (2/$6), Robbie Grossman (2FA/$5) and Ramon Laureano (3/$1) provide strong value against their cap hits for 2021. Grossman was an underrated star last season, posting 398.0 points while posting 23 home runs, 23 doubles and 20 steals. Laureano is expected back in Oakland following a season-ending suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
Jordan Hicks will be one to watch in Spring Training and he looks to build his way back from Tommy John surgery with an eye on starting.
Farm System
With the likely graduation of Manoah, Bart and Chisholm, the club is expected to lose three of their top four prospects from the system. That leaves 2021 3rd Round Pick Reid Detmers, the selection they received in return for Lance Lynn, as the top prospect in the Farm System. Detmers flew through the Angels Minor Leagues, earning five big league starts but will likely need more seasoning following a 7.40 ERA in 20 2/3 innings. The stuff is certainly there as evidence by his 6.0 inning, 1 run outing against the Astros as Walsh and the club hope he can force the Ducks hand early in 2022.
Nolan Jones is another player knocking on the big league door after spending all of 2021 in Triple-A. He slashed .238/.356/.341, continuing to show a strong eye at the plate that has led to a .398 OBP in his Minor League career. A return to Triple-A to start 2022 is likely after posting 122 strikeouts in 341 at-bats.
Luis Garcia is yet another potential 2022 option for Walsh having spent 70 games in the big leagues last season and already notching 370 big league at-bats despite being just 21 years of age.
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