BIG LEAGUE is entering our next season and are looking for six great owners to join our league. Our world is a no-drama, stable, fun-filled world. We have a minimum win requirement of 120 over 2 seasons.
If you're interested in joining, let me know and I'll send you the password!
AVAILABLE:
NL North - Fargo - 71-91 - 10th pick
Fargo just completed the second season of a rebuild. The team's payroll was $83 million last year, and has 53M committed last year. The team has several young players in the system and on the major league roster, with a few quality veterans that could be traded, or kept to continue stabilizing the roster. The franchise has kept all of its draft picks, and dipped its toe into the international market last year as well. An incoming owner has a good foundation, and a few different levers to pull to get this team back to the top.
NL West - Scottsdale - 70-92 - 9th pick
Scottsdale took a step back last season after hovering around .500 for a couple years. They had a modest $66M payroll last year. The major league club had the 2nd worst offence and 10th best pitching (using runs scored/against), and was ELITE on defense. The franchise payroll has 58M in committed salaries next year. The franchise has a healthy system, but has stayed away from the international market. An incoming owner will have to sort out how to solve the team's offensive woes so that the other strong aspects of this franchise can shine.
AL East - Burlington - 87-75 - missed the playoffs by 1 game
Burlington had a very competitive season and just missed out on the playoffs on the last day of the season. The team's offense and pitching staff were a little above league average (using runs scored/against), and was below average on defense. Last season, the franchise had a $91M payroll, and has $55M in committed salaries for next year. The team has its draft picks from the past couple seasons, and took a few flyers on some international players last year. The ML team has a solid core, with several young, elite players (5 players 80+ OVR, under 30) to build upon. Being near average across the board will give an incoming owner lots of flexibility in choosing how to take this good core to the next level.
AL East - London - 47-115 - 1st pick
London is rebuilding. They have the first pick in this year's draft, and also chose 1st 2 and 3 seasons ago. The team has some elite pieces in the minors, and a few high quality ML players, but is still a ways away from competing. The team has only $49M in committed salaries next year, so lots of room for IFAs or improvements to the ML roster.
AL South - Oklahoma City - 76-86 - 3 games out of division lead
Oklahoma won their division 3 straight years before taking a step back last year.. The ML payroll was only $75M last season, with $48M committed for the season ahead. Last season, the team had the 22nd best offense in the league, the 19th best pitching staff and 19th best defence. The team has held on to its draft picks, and before last season was very active in the International Free Agent market. The team has a lot of quality big league players, but has a few positions that have dragged the team down, such as the strength of the rotation after the first two guys. This team should be easier to improve than some of the others on this list, as a result of these gaps.
AL West - Boise - 81-81 - 7 games out of the playoffs
Boise won the world series 3 seasons ago, and 98 games last year. This season, the owner wanted to re-tool and made several "vets for prospects" trades to reload the system. The team had an 82M payroll last year, but only have $19.5M committed next season. Despite the trades, the ML team was still the 6th best offence by runs scored. The pitching staff was 22nd, and the defence was ok - very few errors, but also not many plus plays. An incoming owner can look to invest their payroll flexibility into pitching to help the strong offence, or can jump into a rebuilding process with the remaining vets.