We continue our State of the Franchise Series with the Cloverdale Clovers who enter their 11th Season in the Roger Dorn Baseball League with a pair of Division Titles and one League Championship to date. The Clovers are coming off an 8th Place finish in 2023, their third consecutive season missing the RDBL Playoffs while entering 2024 with high expectations yet again.
President of Baseball Operations: Chris Shelley
Headquarters: Concord, CA
Seasons: 10
Cash Finishes: 5
Division Titles: 3
Lifetime Earnings: $
Top Hitter:
Top Pitcher:
2023 Season
The Clovers produced a familiar season for GM Chris Shelley as the club produced an elite offense but couldn't match it with the 10th ranked pitching staff. It was the seventh time in Franchise History that the pitching staff has finished 10th or worse while their offense has finished seventh or better in seven seasons of those seasons.
There was plenty to like about the Clovers season with Freddie Freeman producing the fifth most points in a Full Season while Adley Rutschman posted the second best season by a catcher in League History.
Patience with their young players prospects might have been the biggest storyline of the 2023 Clovers season as Shelley let elite young assets like Anthony Volpe, Elly De La Cruz, Zach Neto, Marco Luciano and Ceddanne Rafaela cut their teeth at the big league level with eyes on Opening Day activations in 2024.
Lost to 2024 Free Agency
3B Nolan Arenado, RP Jhoan Duran, OF Alex Verdugo, RP Evan Phillips, SP Cristian Javier
Current Projected Keeper Roster Ranked by Value
1. C Adley Rutschman (2R/$3)
2. 1B Freddie Freeman (2/$57)
3. RHP Tyler Glasnow (3/$2)
4. SS/3B Elly De La Cruz (1R/$1)
5. SS Oneil Cruz (2R/$3)
6. SS Anthony Volpe (1R/$1)
7. RHP Joe Ryan (3/$9)
8. OF Bryan De La Cruz (2D/$5)
9. RP Camilo Doval (3/$5)
10. OF TJ Friedl (2/$1)
11. 2B Zach Neto (1R/$1)
12. OF Ceddanne Rafaela (1R/$1)
13. RHP Edward Cabrera (1R/$1)
14. C Elias Diaz (2/$5)
15. OF Jarred Kelenic (3R/$5)
The Clovers have a pair of difficult decisions in Pete Alonso (2/$48) and Xander Bogaerts (3/$44), with sources indicating that Shelley would prefer to shift those cap space resources to the starting rotation making each trade candidates this Winter. If the club elects to part with both and get aggressive on activations, the Clovers could have significant volatility with the ability to spend big in the Auction to pair Tyler Glasnow with a pair of suitable aces.
Rutschman and Freeman are so exceptional at the respective positions that the Clovers will likely be comfortable with some aggressive promotions, especially considering the upside of Volpe and De La Cruz after up and down 2023 campaigns.
Underrated returnees TJ Friedl and Bryan De La Cruz give the Clovers a strong duo in the outfield with strong floors to boost the offense.
Farm System
1. SS/3B Elly De La Cruz (Reds)
2. SS Anthony Volpe (Yankees)
3. RHP Andrew Painter (Phillies)
4. LHP Ricky Tiedemann (Blue Jays)
5. OF Ceddanne Rafaela (Red Sox)
6. SS Marco Luciano (Giants)
7. RHP Edward Cabrera (Marlins) 8. SS Zach Neto (Angels)
9. C Dalton Rushing (Dodgers)
10. SS Liover Peguero (Pirates)
Next Best: 1B Nick Pratto (KC), RHP Marco Raya (MIN)
Few Farm Systems possess the ability to make the impact on the 2024 Season that the Cloverdale Clovers can. GM Chris Shelley could have as many as nine prospects start 2024 in the big leagues, making their Keeper Deadline decisions one of the more interesting ones to follow.
Few players in all of baseball have more upside than Elly De La Cruz who is a lock to hold down an infield spot to open 2024 with a wave of shortstops behind him ready as well.
A pair of starting pitchers might be the ones to watch behind De La Cruz in the Farm System as Ricky Tiedemann and Edward Cabrera possess some of the biggest swing and miss stuff in the Minor Leagues. Cabrera is the more likely of the two to break camp with the Marlins but Tiedemann should be a factor at some point next season.
Off-Season Questions
1. What to do with Pete Alonso and Xander Bogaerts?
It's easy to dream on the options that $92 in Cap Space can provide for the Clovers if they move on from both Alonso and Bogaerts this off-season, but it would create a hole of 800 points that the duo produced in 2023 that will need to be replaced. A wave of shortstop ready activations and Freddie Freeman already at first base make it challenging to see a return for either at this point, with Shelley hyper-aware of his team's struggles on the mound and a likely major investment on that side of the ball.
2. Significant Trades Brewing?
When you have a Farm System that has as many as nine prospects that could open 2024 in the Big Leagues, Shelley has a bevy of options which includes packaging some of those assets for a big deal this Winter. One name that sticks out is San Mateo Oppo Tacos outfielder Juan Soto (2/$65) who is on a club strapped for cap space along with a Farm System that was gutted in 2023. Soto was also an original Clovers Reserve Draft pick before becoming one of the best activations in League History.
3. Which Free Agent Starter do the Clovers prefer?
The Clovers are a lock to bring in at least one $50+ starter in the 2024 Auction Draft with Zack Wheeler, Spencer Strider, Kevin Gausman, Max Fried and Joe Musgrove ranked as the five best currently.
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