As part of the lead-in to Season 4, BBL News Center will provide previews of each division, doing analysis on each team’s 9-kid roster.

American League West

Oakland Orioles
Coach: Mavfatha (Season 3 veteran)
Home Field: Casa de Pablo
First Draft Pick: Sarah Maxwell (#23 overall)
Last Draft Pick: Lance Lambert (#138 overall)
Why they’ll do well: Some killer arms paired with solid bats. The Orioles have no less than four arms rated at 5, as well as a 4.5. Those arms are included among all three outfielders plus the shortstop, which will lead to throws coming back to the infield in record time, making it much harder to swipe extra bases. All that and the O’s can hit too – seven of their nine players have batting of 7 or higher, which should help in their endeavors on offense.
Why they won’t do well: There’s a lot of low fielding ratings, and laser arms have their own problems. Overthrows are very much a peril of having such strong arms, and the low fielding that a lot of players have could result in a lot of close, hard throws being dropped. Also, while the outfield is completely killer, the O’s infield has some pretty slow players in it. The arms should help make up for that pitfall, but the extra seconds spent getting to the ball can sometimes be crucial.
The X-factor: This team seems to have been built from the start with defense in mind, but the last three players don’t look so great in that regard: a 4-fielding, 3-arm, a 6-fielding, 2-arm, and a 1-fielding, 2-arm. Will Mav be made to pay for including these holes in his defense?

Super-Duper Melonheads
Coach: Eauxps I. Fourgott (Season 3 veteran)
Home Field: Sandy Flats
First Draft Pick: Maria Luna (#5 overall)
Last Draft Pick: Fabienne Callahan (#201 overall)
Why they’ll do well: Big Bats at Sandy Flats. I came to the conclusion that the best way to find success at my home field is to hit the ball deep into that sandy expanse, and each and every one of the Melonheads is capable of driving the ball a long distance (if some more than others). That skill is also transferable to other fields, and the Melonheads just might be able to start playing some Bomberball on the road. They also have a pretty solid complement of arms, and like the Orioles have a killer outfield that will get balls in quickly.
Why they won’t do well: When the bats don’t hit as hard, the team may be in trouble. Five players have running ratings of 6 or lower, and so weak hits could prove a significant impediment to the Melonheads’ rallies. The fielding ratings also aren’t the most impressive – only boosted Maria Luna and Lena Ng have fielding of 7 or better, and the Melonheads might suffer from their share of dropped throws. Between slower speed, weaker arms, and some inconsistent gloves, the infield might struggle to keep opposing hitters under control.
The X-factor: Will Pink Maria live up to the hype? I picked her fourth/fifth overall this season to get her boost in play, and I’ll be counting on her to be a linchpin of the team. If she doesn’t perform up to snuff, the Melonheads will be looking much worse.

Humongous Fishes
Coach: Señor Pablo (Season 3 veteran)
Home Field: Playground Commons
First Draft Pick: Julie Dunkel (#2 overall)
Last Draft Pick: Petra Chekov (#211 overall)
Why they’ll do well: Good speed coupled with a decent defense. Seven Fishes have running ratings of at least 7, with five of those even faster than that – they’ll be moving around the diamond more efficiently than either the Melons or O’s. And while their defense isn’t quite as fearsome as their division rivals’, it’s still nothing to mess with. It’s still mostly strong arms, and if the fielding ratings are an indication then the gloves are much better than their rivals’ – only two fielding ratings lower than 7 on the team. Coupling this with the solid speed could possibly make the Fishes’ defense stronger on the whole than the Orioles!
Why they won’t do well: I’m not too keen on the way the teams’ offense is mixed up – most of the team has weaker hitting and stronger running, but the last two players are both slow players with big bats, and I’m not sure how that will mesh with the rest of the team. Molly and Petra are also two of the teams’ weakest fielders, and form a line at second and right that could be a critical hole in an otherwise exemplary defense.
The X-factor: In some ways, Señor Pablo is the most mysterious coach in the league, since he’s not actually on our Discord but is assisted by his son psanchez55. He didn’t put up great results last season, but his teams then were weaker and he was still able to secure some wins. With extra advice and a team mostly drafted by last season’s star coach, how much better will his results look?

Junior Brewers
Coach: jibbodahibbo (Season 3 veteran)
Home Field: Scrapco Field
First Draft Pick: Nomar Garciaparra (#28 overall)
Last Draft Pick: Judy Abwunza (#153 overall)
Why they’ll do well: The Brewers are a very solid all-around squad. In hitting, there are six kids with batting ratings of 8 or better. In running, there’s a lot of players with a speed of 7, but only one who’s slower than that. In pitching, there’s no superstars, but there are four different pitchers with a rating of 7. In fielding, every single player has an arm rating of at least 3 (average). This is a team with no big holes.
Why they won’t do well: Like the Orioles and Fishes, the Brewers do have the issue of a lot of low fielding ratings. The good arms will help on defense, but when six players have fielding of 5 or below you have to figure that there will be a lot of dropped hits and throws. Dmitri Petrovich at catcher is also looking like a potentially nasty issue with defense – his arm is okay, but not elite, and he’ll tire out quickly, leaving him helpless to accomplish much more at the position.
The X-factor: Jibbo mostly went for solid all-around players, but one sticks out like a sore thumb: Jennifer Goodfellow, who has a monster bat and okay arm but is terrible at everything else. Will this injection of power be just what the Brewers need in their offense, or is this deviation from the picking pattern going to bite Jibbo hard?

Eauxps’ Predicted Division Standings

4) Super-Duper Melonheads. Ultimately, I don’t think the Melonheads’ offense has the consistency it needs for them to do too well, and there’s also a lot of potential for disaster in their defense. Faced with a tough set of division rivals, I’m doubting they’ll be able to stand up to the pressure.

3) Oakland Orioles. Laser arms are nice, but they also carry their own risks, and I think that combined with the three weaker fielders might make this defense play out as too inconsistent, and thus a little less imposing than it looks at first glance. Offense is decent (hence their ranking above the Melonheads), but I don’t think they’ll be able to keep up with the competition.

2) Humongous Fishes. On the whole, the Fishes might have the best defense in the division. In any event it should be more consistent than that of the O’s or Melonheads, and an offense that leans a bit less heavily on unreliable power hitting should be able to do all right as well.

1) Junior Brewers. The Brewers are just such an all-around solid team that it’s hard to imagine them messing this up. No weak corner of the field to hit balls to for easier hits, combined with an offense that should be the most consistent in the division by far, will make for some tough division rivals indeed. It may very well be Jibbo who goes the rags-to-riches route this season.