Roger Dorn Baseball League Rosters will be trimmed to 40 players by November 1st, officially turning the page to preparation for the 2023 Draft. With the Free Agent Class loaded with top-end talent, an active off-season is expected as clubs look to trim their Keeper Lists and potentially clear cap space for significant Auction additions in March.
Here's one burning question for each RDBL Franchise to answer this off-season.
Alamo Short Stacks: Set at Catcher?
The Alamo Short Stacks Keeper Roster is largely settled heading into 2023, but GM Greg Shelley will face a decision on Will Smith (2/$30) who fulfilled all of the club's expectations this season. Smith finished the full season ranked second in scoring behind the plate, trailing only J.T. Realmuto who is expected to return to the Burlingame Blue Ducks at $28.
The club will also have a close eye on the San Diego Padres catching plan as prospect Luis Campusano finished the season on the big league roster while hitting .348 in 23 at-bats over the final month. A timeshare between Campusano and Austin Nola could be enough for the Stacks to pull the trigger on an activation.
Asti Grape Stompers: Alvarez Activation?
Francisco Alvarez's monster home run Tuesday night highlighted the upside of the slugging catcher and gave a hint of the upside of GM Terry Shelley's top prospect. Still just 20, Alvarez looks set to have a big role in the Playoffs for the New York Mets but handing over the full-time catcher duties in a big market to a young player could be tough to count on for 2023.
One prospect who will not need to wait for an activation call is Hunter Greene who posted a 1.02 ERA with a 51-7 strikeout to walk ratio over his final six starts and has been penciled into the 2023 Opening Day rotation.
Burlingame Blue Ducks: Set at Catcher?
Decisions at catcher seem to be a theme heading into 2023. The duo of J.T. Realmuto (2/$28) and deadline acquisition Sal Perez (3/$16) finished 2nd and 4th in catcher scoring in the RDBL Playoffs, possibly giving us a preview of what's to come at the position for GM Ryan Walsh in 2023. Will Walsh be comfortable committing $44 to the position while carry Cloverdale Clovers: Which Pitcher is Out?
The Clovers will look to infuse some talent at the plate after ranking 13th in hitter scoring in 2022, but appear to be overflowing with options on the mound. The first four spots are locked in between Miles Mikolas (2D/$5), Tyler Glasnow (2/$2), Dustin May (2/$1) and Michael Kopech (2R/$3). That leaves looming decisions on Jesus Luzardo (3R/$5) and the potential activation of Edward Cabrera (Minors). Given his injury history, GM Chris Shelley could be patient with Cabrera and utilize the prized right-hander as a mid-season boost to the lineup while leaving one spot open in the rotation to be filled in Auction.
Honolulu Hammerheads: D’Backs Rookies Ready?
The Hammerheads have their top two starting rotation spots booked with Pablo Lopez and Chris Sale, while rumors continue to swirl over an all-out pursuit of Jacob deGrom in Auction by GM Ross Horiuchi. That turns all eyes to the Arizona Diamondbacks rotation plans which will be linked directly to the pre-Draft decisions from the Heads. Both Ryne Nelson and Drey Jameson finished 2022 in the big leagues with excellent results while Brandon Pfaadt, the Minor League strikeout leader, finished in Triple-A on a tear while pacing the Minor Leagues in strikeouts. Which ones break camp and selecting which ones earn an Opening Day activation could be a key to the Heads 2023 season.
Idaho Taters: Trust the Young Players?
The Taters have a stable of former top prospects who are looking to turn those future outlooks into present day points. They aggressively activated Spencer Torkelson, Jo Adell and Casey Mize in 2022 to disappointing results. They will now face decisions on Josh Jung, Nolan Gorman, Matt Manning, Matt Liberatore and potentially Brennan Davis making Spring Training an important one in the Taters organization.
Lake Merced Goutfish: Who Joins Cease and Kirby?
The Lake Merced Goutfish were in an all-out effort to lock down a Wild Card spot in 2022, landing Blake Snell (2/$10) and Chris Bassitt (2/$27) as just two of their many acquisitions last season. While the focus was on the run to the Playoffs, both pitchers pitched so well down the stretch that they are firmly in the club’s 2023 plans behind Dylan Cease and George Kirby in the Opening Day rotation. Additionally, potential activation Roansy Contreras looks set for a full-time rotation spot in Pittsburgh and could be a back-end option for GM Ryan Atkinson.
Las Vegas Aristocrats: Cap Space Strategy
The Aristocrats hold the most projected cap space at $197 with both catching spots and a strong trio of starting pitchers locked up. The 3-man Front Office the ‘Crats now employ are likely to focus on the offense which needed a late run to finish 11th in hitter scoring last season. While the Free Agent Class is the strongest in recent memory, there appears to be significant cap space across the league which might make an off-season trade an easier path to an initial offensive upgrade.
Lunatic Fringe: Pitching Patched Up?
The Fringe struggled to pair Pitcher of the Year Sandy Alcantara with competent rotation mates behind him, posting the second worst ERA in the RDBL at 4.00. GM Tony Guglielmi has patched up that issue with their deadline acquisition of Lance McCullers and the activations of Triston McKenzie and Reid Detmers. With Michael Wacha (2FA/$5) potentially in the mix as well, expect Guglielmi to use a good chunk of their projected $193 in cap space to find another elite arm to pair with this group.
Maltese Falcons: Roster Crunch
The Falcons might face the most difficult decisions this off-season as a deep crop of Keeper worthy players will force the Front Office to part with at least one solid contributor. The current race for two spots appears to be catcher Jonah Hiem (2FA/$5), outfielder Teoscar Hernandez (3/$10) and reliever Scott Barlow (2/$5) with the club likely to exhibit patience with Gavin Lux (2R/$3) who has yet to breakout in Los Angeles. The club will also keep a close eye on potential activation Triston Casas who showed flashes of star-power in Boston late in 2022.
Meinert Hops: Ready for Rookies?
The Hops are already locked into the activation of Hitting Prospect of the Year Michael Harris III, but will closely monitor the off-season activities of the Washington Nationals and New York Mets as they make their plans for CJ Abrams and Brett Baty. Being able to count on one or both would be a major help to the Hops’ salary cap situation with Shohei Ohtani a lock to return at $88. Expectations will be raised for Andrew Vaughn (3R/$5) and Luis Robert (3R/$5) who both enter their final year of control and look to help fill the void left by the departed Free Agent Mike Trout.
Mission Viejo Maulers: Rotation Help?
The Maulers are set to return many of the key pieces on an offense that ranked second in scoring in the 2022 RDBL Regular Season but will have to deal with significant turnover in the rotation with only Justin Verlander (3/$5) and Nathan Eovaldi (3/$1) currently projected to return. GM Chris Ferraro could wait until Draft Day to address the need, but expect him to explore the off-season market for at least a third starter.
Mt. Diablo Devils: Are Greene and Franco Ready for Steps Forward?
Wander Franco (2R/$3) and Riley Greene (Minors) have topped prospect lists in each of the last two seasons and have had enough big league at-bats to have the pressure turn up a bit for significant 2023 production. The Devils finished last season ranked 10th in offensive scoring with GM Jason Watson’s preference to spend a significant chunk of their salary cap space to address the league’s 13th ranked pitching staff.
St. Joseph Jokers: How does Steen Leverage Draft Picks?
The Jokers are fresh off 14th, 12th and 15th place finishes over the last three seasons after finishing in the cash for the first time in 2018. That has the pressure building on GM Rick Steen who is facing the league’s most interesting off-season. On one hand, Steen has done a strong job building up a Farm System that looks ready to activate as many as six players in Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Wright, MJ Melendez, Joey Bart, Trevor Larnach and JJ Bleday with Gabriel Moreno not far behind. They also hold the first overall pick in the 2023 Reserve Draft along with six of the top 29 and nine of the first 44 selections. Will Steen take a patient approach and continue to build from within or look to pair Trea Turner (3/$49) and other holdovers with more proven Keepers through the trade market by moving some of the crop of picks they currently hold.
Spokane Fightin’ Fish: Bieber over Cole?
The Fightin’ Fish enter an ideal off-season as they enter 2023 coming off five cash finishes in six seasons and thirteen viable Keepers or activations due $5 or less next season. With so much cap flexibility, the club will face the decision on who they deem to be their ace as they hold options on Gerrit Cole (3/$73) and Shane Bieber (2/$58) with Martin Perez (2FA/$5) and Drew Rasmussen (2D/$5) the other likely holdovers in the rotation.
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