The St. Joseph Jokers continue to be defined by one statistic throughout time in the Roger Dorn Baseball League - Pitching Points. For the 7th time in eight seasons, the Jokers finished with one of the league's worst pitching staffs, this time compiling a 4.30 Team ERA and just 64 quality starts in 163 chances. Their 1,842.0 pitching points ranked 14th in the RDBL Regular Season.
The club's one trip to the RDBL Playoffs in 2018 was driven by the league's top pitching staff, the only time that unit has ranked above 9th in Franchise History. With that in mind, expect GM Rick Steen to poor his energy into arms this Winter as the club looks to return to contention in 2022.
What Went Right?
Trio of Auction Bats
Steen poured much of their salary cap space into their group of hitters and while there was a big swing and miss with their top signee, the Jokers hit the mark with Trea Turner ($49), Jose Abreu ($37) and Teoscar Hernandez ($10) who are all expected to lead the offense in 2022. Turner was among the league's best players, producing 513.5 points on the full season which ranked 4th overall while pacing all middle infielders.
Buster Posey Resurgence
One of the stories of the 2021 season was the resurgence of Buster Posey who bounced back from his decline and missed 2020 year to ranking third in catcher scoring. You can't fault the Jokers for banking on Posey's return in 2022 behind the plate at just $12, leading to Steen turning away trade offers at last year's deadline. Unfortunately for Steen and the San Francisco Giants, Posey shocked the baseball world with his retirement last month.
What Went Wrong?
Christian Yelich's Continued Decline
Yelich remains an enigma. His batting average rebounded a bit, but his power fell even further while cutting down strikeouts all while generating an extreme number of groundballs. Yelich's average exit velocity was significantly lower that 2018-19, especially on flyballs which lost six mph. Generating more grounders and a drop in flyball exit velocity are indicative of a flatter swing. The question is whether this was due to lingering back issues, and if so, are they chronic? Yelich missed over a month early with a sore back, and when he returned his production didn't improve. At $59, Yelich will be dropped this off-season and will be one of the more interesting draft values to following in March.
Cheap Staff, Cheap Results
The Jokers spent just $31 on their Pitching Staff, the lowest mark in the RDBL for 2021. Unfortunately for Steen, the bargain bin provided largely empty results as the club compiled a 4.30 Team ERA and the second lowest point total on the mound for the Regular Season. The attempt to focus salary cap space mainly on hitters looked to be a trend in 2021 as five clubs committed $61 or less to their pitching staffs. The results weren't pretty as four of those five clubs produced the worst pitching point totals last season.
Make or Break Season for Senzel
The Jokers were counting on a breakout season from long-time prospect Nick Senzel who looked set for a daily role in the Reds lineup. Injuries derailed that plan leaving Senzel with an uncertain future for the Jokers. He was limited to just 124 plate appearances in his activation season and will be a player to monitor in Spring Training as he enters his 2R/$3 option year.
2022 Off-Season Projection
The Jokers have their work cut out for them this off-season and on Draft Day to surround star Trea Turner with a contending roster but look to have the money to do so. The club has holes to fill in the pitching staff but Nathan Eovaldi and Kyle Gibson give Steen a pair of veterans to plug in for the back half of the rotation while they set their sights on premium starting pitching in the trade market and Auction.
Turner is likely to be joined by Abreu, though the latter could be a potential trade candidate if Steen wants to free up an additional $37 in cap space. Surprise contributors Amed Rosario and Nicky Lopez are both expected back on 2FA/$5 contracts, giving the club positional flexibility up the middle of the field.
Omar Narvaez is a lock to return behind the plate as one of the league's best catching keepers while the Jokers will closely monitor the development of Luis Campusano, a 2021 3rd Round Reserve selection who could contend for the starting job in San Diego. Campusano was on the big league roster to start the 2021 season leaving Steen with a tough decision on his 2FA/$5 contract.
Farm System
The Farm System looks to have a pair of key contributors on the horizon in DL Hall and JJ Bleday, though neither player looks likely to make an impact as soon as 2022. The club currently carries seven total prospects following the mid-season activations of right-hander Vladimir Gutierrez and slugger Yermin Mercedes who both at risk of being released from their 2R/$3 options.
2021 Reserve Draft pick Matt McLain looks to be a future contributor at shortstop while the club could move on from fellow prospects Kyle Wright, Adonis Medina and Magneuris Sierra.
With such a light Farm System and five of the top 36 selections in the 2022 Reserve Draft, the Jokers Scouting Department will need to be hard to work to replenish the talent pipeline for future seasons.
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