Baseball season has finally come to an end. Which means it is time to review how my team performed this year. I will also do a quick preview on my thoughts on keeping that player around for the 2027 season, assuming we have a 2027 season with the potential lockout looming.
Final Standings
The goal of this year was to not get last place. I can proudly say…we finished 14th out of 15 teams! For many weeks, the Kats where the basement dweller of the league. After a few moves and some key call ups we managed to work our way up. At one point we even managed to get into 12th place for a few days. The last two weeks weren’t great for us as we slid back down. The Kats will take this finish and look to get at least 8th next year. We will keep climbing the standings while our players develop.
Final Roster
Reminder for the scoring stats for this league.
Hitters – HR, OPS, R, RBI, SB, and TB
Pitchers – ERA, Holds, K, S-BS, W+QS, and WHIP
Carter Jensen – Catcher – 27 HR, 0.790 OPS, 80 R, 81 RBI, 2 SB, 246 TB – 149 games played.
Jensen was a midseason pickup for the Kats. He had a slow start but got hot towards the end the year. He is only 23 years old and has shown he can make improvements to his game as needed. He appears to be the catching prospect of the future for Kansas City and I can’t ask for much more out of a catcher. He is showing great potential for a 30 homer, 100 run, and 100 rbi season. He batted leadoff a lot for KC because of his plate discipline. I would like to see them slide him down so he can be more of a run producer, but I can’t complain with his numbers from the catcher’s position.
TJ Rumfield – First – 16 HR, 0.843 OPS, 67 R, 73 RBI, 0 SB, 248 TB – 155 games played
Rumfield was a trade deadline acquisition. I was looking to get some major value for Alec Burleson but needed a first basemen. I sent over Seaver King to get Rumfield to take over after Burleson left. Rumfield had such an interesting year. He is a very composed batter, he is going to battle at the plate and make pitchers work. The best example being him going 1-1 with 4 walks in a game against the Nationals this year. He ended the season as a 0.300 hitter, and lead the National League in on-base percentage, something no rookie has done in a century. One thing I would love to see him do is generate more power. He plays in the friendly Coors Field, even if he is not hitting homers, I want to see him driving the ball into those gaps. If he is able to combine his incredible plate discipline with the ability to hit the gaps in the outfield, he could be a contender for the best first basemen in baseball. He will for sure be on the team, starting at first base.
Hao-Yu Lee – Second/Third – 10 HR, 0.747 OPS, 40 R, 46 RBI, 3 SB, 140 TB – 114 games played
Not much to say about Lee. I had him on my short list when looking at potential players in the draft, but he didn’t make the big league roster. He got called up pretty early into the year but never was crazy good. I added him going into the last week of the year just to have someone who was playing. Unless his advanced numbers reveal something promising, he will not be apart of the 20 man keep list.
Pedro Ramirez – Second/Third – 6 HR, 0.723 OPS, 36 R, 32 RBI, 9 SB, 97 TB – 80 games played
Ramirez is an interesting player. He has the tools to be a solid hitter, but the Cub’s roster is so stacked that his playing time was small. For some of the year he was a platoon option, only playing against lefties. This really hindered his playing time. It will be important to see how the Cub’s offseason goes and if a spot opens up for Ramirez to play every day. If he is going to be a starter, he will be in the list of 20 players I will keep. If he is going to be a platoon player, I will have a decision to make. His skillset is too good to give up on him now, but I would like someone who is being trusted by their organization.
Chase Meidroth – Second/Short – 16 HR, 0.765 OPS, 90 R, 63 RBI, 4 SB, 235 TB – 154 games played
Meidroth showed flashes of his talent this year. Especially in September, where he batted over 0.300 and hit a quarter of his home runs. Going into the last month of the Meidroth was on the bottom tier of my keeps, with the month he had it gives me hope that he could break out next season. He will be in the everyday lineup for a young and talented White Sox roster. He will be worth keeping around to see if he can expand his hitting skills.
Carson Benge – Outfield – 20 HR, 0.776 OPS, 86 R, 65 RBI, 22 SB, 256 TB – 156 games played
The player I am most excited about for next year. Benge was acquired early in the season via a trade and he took off after that. He was able to break the Met’s single season rookie hit record and finished with a 20-20 season. Benge’s downfall is that he is a streaky hitter. He needs to create more consistency at the plate. The Mets were also batting him cleanup a decent bit this year, I would prefer him to bat in the 2-spot in their lineup, but with the other star players they have, that is unlikely. Benge looks to be a consistent 20-20 player, so he will be on my roster for a very long time. I would love to see him get to 80 RBIs next year. Having a 20-20 player with 80-80 (runs-rbis) potential really helps out in this format.
Jake McCarthy – Outfield – 15 HR, 0.809 OPS, 80 R, 83 RBI, 32 SB, 260 TB – 147 games played
I added McCarthy about halfway through the season and he was great for me. After a few disappointing years in Arizona, it felt like he was finally able to put it together this year. He got to the 80-80 club that I am looking for, and he was able to add over 30 stolen bases as well. Playing in Coors also let him almost double his career high in homers and triples. The only downside is that McCarthy will be turning 30 next season and his game relies so much on his speed. He still should have a few good years left, especially playing in Colorado. I plan on keeping McCarthy around for at least next season and then re-evaluate him.
Ryan Waldschmidt – Outfield – 3 HR, 0.693 OPS, 30 R, 22 RBI, 7 SB, 92 TB – 82 games played
Waldschmidt was the big piece of the Alec Burleson trade. He is only 23 years old and at the beginning of the year was the Diamondbacks number one prospect. He had a very down year after getting called up. He just couldn’t find it at the plate. His defense was still excellent and that led to him getting playing time late in a lot of games. He ended the 2025 season in AA with a 0.921 OPS which shows his potential. In AAA in 2026 he had a 0.897 OPS. The bat is clearly there, it will just be about finding it at the major league level. I have to give him an opportunity to do that, so he will be on the 20 keep list for next year.
Josue De Paula – Outfield (minors) – 1 HR, 1.081 OPS, 7 R, 7 RBI, 1 SB, 18 TB – 11 games played
It was a surprise to me that De Paula got a callup in September. Not because he didn’t deserve it, but because it seemed like the Dodgers were slow rolling him up. Josue De Paula is currently the number 6 prospect in all of baseball. During his brief window in the big leagues he played like it. Having over a 1.000 OPS is incredible. It is a very small sample size of only 11 games, but it is a huge confidence booster for the kid. De Paula may be a Dodger next year, but he will for sure be a Kat for many years to come.
Cam Smith – Outfield – 21 HR, 0.669 OPS, 67 R, 56 RBI, 12 SB, 199 TB – 157 games played
There were some stretches were it felt like Cam Smith had finally figured things out, those of course were the weeks I didn’t start him in my lineup. Smith is still very young and his elite defense will keep him up in the major leagues. He has elite speed, but doesn’t steal a ton of bases. I was ready to deal with the low contact numbers if it meant I got a 20-20 player. However, Cam Smith makes it hard to justify a spot on this team, especially with so many other young guys. I want Cam Smith on the team next year, just incase he figures it out, but I will take my chances on him in the draft. I believe I could get him cheaper than the 12 salary he would cost if I kept him.
Xavier Edwards – Second/Short – 6 HR, 0.730 OPS, 61 R, 52 RBI, 21 SB, 192 TB – 142 games played
The other half of the package for Burleson. Edwards seemed to start trending down after joining the Kats. Most of this was from dealing with various minor injuries. He finished with 6 homers, he hit 1 in April, 5 in May and then didn’t homer the rest of the year. He batted 0.319 in April and then every month after that his average decreased. For now, I plan on keeping Edwards around, he still does lots of things well for a Roto league. I will be interested in his advanced metrics to see if anything stands out as to why he struggled so much. If anything reveals itself I will have a tough decision to make.
Ceddanne Rafaela – Second/Outfield – 16 HR, 0.761 OPS, 67 R, 70 RBI, 17 SB, 239 TB – 138 games played
Ceddanne was on pace for a 20/20 season before a hamstring injury derailed the end of his year. I expect him to get to that 20/20 mark next year and be in the 80/80 club as well. I wish we had points for defensive metrics as well because Ceddanne plays a crazy good center field. I don’t have any worries about him heading into next season. Having the dual eligibility between second base and the outfield will also help with our lineup construction. Ceddanne will for sure be on the roster next season.
Colt Emerson – Third/Short – 8 HR, 0.581 OPS, 24 R, 23 RBI, 3 SB, 74 TB – 69 games played
Emerson’s season ended early, which could have been a good thing for him. It was announced that he was being sent down to the minors after a terrible slow start to the year. Instead of getting sent down to the minors, the Mariners ended up adding him to the IL. This progressed into a season ending injury for Emerson. This will allow him to get mentally ready for next year without having to worry about performing for what was a potential playoff team. Even with the struggles he had at the plate, I will need to keep Emerson around. He was a top prospect in baseball last year and I can’t give up on him after only 69 games. I am excited to see how he does next season.
Braden Montgomery – Outfield – 6 HR, 0.662 OPS, 47 R, 38 RBI, 1 SB, 113 TB – 93 games played
Braden started his career off hot, with a walk off home run. It did not live up to that hype afterwards. He proved to be an incredible fielder, but he needs to work on his bat. If he was in another organization I don’t believe he would have been called up as early as he was. The White Sox really needed outfield help at the time and Braden was their best option. Hopefully, the playoffs will give him confidence at the plate and then he can spend the offseason working on his bat to ball skills. I would like to keep Braden around, but he may be a guy I need to drop and then try to regrab in the draft.
Sean Burke – Starter – 3.34 ERA, 0 Holds, 185 K, 0 S-BS, 22 W+QS, 1.20 WHIP – 27 starts and 5 relief appearances.
During the summer months it felt like Sean Burke was the best pitcher on the planet. I may be biased because I had him on my team, but it felt like he was striking batters out like crazy and giving up little runs. The last starts of the year were not as good for Burke. His ERA exploded and he was not efficient with his pitches. That is the big thing for him, his efficiency with his pitches. He needs to be able to go deeper into games to make him worth keeping around. I really want to keep him for next year, but we will need to see what his advanced numbers reveal. I am worried next year we will get some of the worse of Sean Burke rather than the better.
Noah Cameron – Starter – 4.11 ERA, 0 Holds, 158 K, 0 S-BS, 20 W+QS, 1.23 WHIP – 30 starts and 1 relief appearance.
Cameron started the year very poorly. So poorly that I was able to get him in a trade from another team. After that he turned things around. It all came together in August, where he posted a 1.87 ERA over 33.2 innings. The big change was that he started calling his own pitches. There wasn’t any bad blood between him and the catchers. Most of the time they would have called the same pitch. When Cameron calls it though, it gives him conviction, it is his pitch and he made the call. He doesn’t second guess anything. I believe they will let him continue this process next year and it will lead to a strong year by the lefty.
Nate Pearson – Reliever – 4.11 ERA, 6 Holds, 41 K, 2 S-BS, 3 W+QS, 1.37 WHIP – 42 relief appearances.
Nate had a weird year, starting with the Astros and ending with the Royals. His stats aren’t the best, but really he only had a few bad outings which inflated those numbers. He isn’t a guy I will keep around, but he is a guy I want to keep an eye on if he gets a bigger role in the bullpen.
Roki Sasaki – Starter/Reliever – 4.49 ERA, 1 Hold, 123 K, 0 S-BS, 12 W+QS, 1.32 WHIP – 23 starts and 3 relief appearances.
Roki was dropped midseason by another team and I immediately picked him up. He had an okay year when he was on my team. He had some control issues he needs to work on, but he has the stuff to be elite. I am still fully convinced that he should be turned into a high leverage reliever. We saw how good he was in that role last postseason, and the Dodgers are planning on using him that way again in the playoffs. He pitches so well out of the bullpen that he could be a top tier holds/saves guy in our league. I plan on keeping him around to see what the Dodgers do with him.
Noah Schultz – Starter/Reliever – 5.57 ERA, 1 Hold, 67 K, 0 S-BS, 6 W+QS, 1.33 WHIP – 14 starts and 5 relief appearances.
As a starter, Noah got rocked. He was very wild and couldn’t limit his walks. This resulted in over a 6 ERA before he was sent back down to AAA. His numbers in Triple A weren’t great by any means, but he got called back up in September for a White Sox team that was in the playoff hunt. He worked out of the bullpen and looked great. He only allowed 2 runs over 9 innings. Most importantly he had 8 strikeouts and 0 walks. I don’t think they keep him as a reliever next season, but this spurt should give him the confidence he needs. If they do make him a full-time reliever next year, he will be an interesting piece. The stuff he has could play as an elite closer, but he has the length to go multiple innings. Regardless, I plan to keep him around next season.
Hagen Smith – Reliever – 1.29 ERA, 2 Holds, 41 K, 0 S-BS, 3 W+QS, 0.96 WHIP – 1 start and 17 relief appearances.
Hagen Smith had to wait awhile for his call up this year, and rightfully so. He was pitching okay in Triple A, but not crazy good. Eventually, the White Sox decided to bring him up later in the season when they needed pitching help. He wasn’t brought up to start, but to pitch out of the bullpen. I figured that wouldn’t go over well, but he was incredible out of the pen. He even got a start as an opener after he proved himself in the pen. With a 1.29 ERA and 41 strikeouts he was simply unhittable. We will see if the White Sox try to convert him back to a starter next year, or if they let him continue to be elite in the bullpen. Either way, he will be on the Kats next season.
Jonah Tong – Starter – 3.82 ERA, 0 Holds, 34 K, 0 S-BS, 3 W+QS, 1.24 WHIP – 4 starts and 3 relief appearances.
When given the chance, Tong was very good this year. He spent a lot of the year in the minors were he had okay numbers. He feels like he could be a top of the line starter next season. It will be interesting to see how the Mets handle this offseason. They have a lot of pieces that signal a ‘win now’ mode, but after the failure of this last year we will see how much they dive into that. Tong should be a starter for them next year, or at least in the bullpen. I would like to keep him around if possible, but he is on the lower end of my keep list at the moment.
Bubba Chandler – Starter – 4.62 ERA, 0 Holds, 140 K, 0 S-BS, 13 W+QS, 1.40 WHIP – 30 starts and 1 relief appearance.
Chandler had an okay year. He had a big issue with his command. Walks hurt him and caused high pitch counts limiting his innings. He was able to make a full year’s worth of starts which is a good sign. he is another guy that I want to keep around, but with his struggles and the other young talent on the team it might be hard to do so. The Pirate’s radio broadcast seemed to think that Chandler would be better off in the bullpen. He has issues early because he is trying to save his stuff for later in the game. If he was out of the bullpen, that wouldn’t be an issue. We will see if the Pirates show any indication this offseason as to what his role will be in the future.
Blake Snell – Starter – 1.90 ERA, 0 Holds, 55 K, 0 S-BS, 8 W+QS, 1.10 WHIP – 9 starts.
Blake Snell was given to me as part of a package just to make salaries work. I tried to trade him after he came back the first time. Then when he got hurt, I was offering him up for basically nothing. When he came back the second time he was incredible, but after our trade deadline. When Snell was pitching he was easily the best pitcher on my team. I do not want to keep him around though. He is old, not just in baseball teams but ancient for this team. He is still incredible good, so I would hate to just drop him for nothing. I am going to be exploring trades for him this offseason, even if I don’t get a lot back, it will be better than getting nothing for him when he gets dropped. If he can stay healthy, Snell would be a great addition to a team that is already ready to compete.
Jamie Arnold – Starter (minors) – Arnold was a late addition to the team as I was looking to grab an arm with some upside. I added him right after he was called up to Triple A, and unfortunately he was hit by a liner in his second start. This resulted in facial fractures ending his season. In his first professional season he went 7-6, with a 3.50 ERA striking out 130 batters over 118.1 innings. This was over the course of 25 starts. If we ignore his last start where was unable to record an out before leaving with an injury, he averages almost 5 innings per start. This is great to see for his future as a starter. He has a lot of upside on an A’s team that struggled with pitching this year. He has a shot to make the opening day roster. If he doesn’t make it on opening day, he has a clear path to make his major league debut next season, assuming we have baseball.
Seth Hernandez – Starter (minors) – After a blistering start to the year in A ball, Seth got the promotion to High A. The start in High A was not great, but he figured it out as he went. His year was cut short by an injury. He probably could have came back by the end of the year, but the Pirates are being cautious with this flamethrower. This year in the minors he posted a 6-1 record, with a 2.43 ERA striking our 118 hitters in only 74 innings. He averaged just over 4 innings a start, so there is some work that will be needed to lengthen him, but his arm will gain strength as he ages. He is only 20 years old. I doubt the Pirates rush him up next year, I could see him starting in Double A with a fast promotion to Triple A if he looks good. If the Pirates are contenders, and Hernandez is pitching well, he could be a September call up for them. That is being optimistic on my part. My plan is to keep him around for awhile, even if he is working in the minors.
Cade Horton – Starter – Cade got one full start under his belt this year, and then hurt his arm in his second start. His season ended there as he required Tommy John Surgery. He will more than likely miss the beginning of next season. The Cubs do not want to rush him, they still see him as a front of the rotation piece for many years to come. Having Tommy John Surgery is not as big of a deal as it used to be. He should be able to come back at almost 100% of his former self. Since we are not worried about winning next year, we can work with Horton’s slow return next year. There is no reason to drop him at this point, we will see how he progresses with his return and make a decision towards the end of next season.
Thomas White – Starter (minors) – Thomas had a down year compared to 2024 and 2025. He was only able to start 7 games and had a 4.01 ERA. Injuries derailed his season. He was projected to make his big league debut in early June, when the Marlins were facing a ton of injuries to their pitching staff. However, the injury bug must have heard White was going to get called up because he ended up having a left shoulder sprain that ended his 2026 campaign. White is only 21 years old, so he has a lot of room for improvement. The biggest thing for him will be his health. I think the Marlins took a good approach in shutting him down for the season, even though he could have came back for a few starts at the end of the year. That shows me that they are also high on him. Assuming he doesn’t have a terrible spring training, I expect him to be on the opening day roster for the Marlins. Assuming he has no offseason issues, he will be on my keep list for this year.
Spencer Schwellenbach – Starter – Spencer sat out the entire year after having a minor set back during his return from tommy john surgery. He will focus on coming back at full strength next season. If he gets back to his 2025 form he will be a much needed ace to this rotation. He will for sure be around for next season and hopefully many more to come.
Potential Keep List
Name – Position – Updated Salary
Seth Hernandez – Pitcher – 4
Thomas White – Pitcher – 7
Cade Horton – Pitcher – 7
Spencer Schwellenbach – Pitcher – 8
Carter Jensen – Catcher – 7
TJ Rumfield – First Base – 4
Pedro Ramirez – Second/Third Base – 4
Chase Meidroth – Second Base/Short Stop – 4
Carson Benge – Outfield – 7
Jake McCarthy – Outfield – 4
Ryan Waldschmidt – Outfield – 4
Josue De Paula – Outfield – 7
Xavier Edwards – Second Base/Short Stop – 10
Ceddanne Rafaela – Second Base/Outfield – 13
Colt Emerson – Third Base/Short Stop – 7
Braden Montgomery – Outfield – 4
Noah Cameron – Pitcher – 7
Roki Sasaki – Pitcher – 13
Noah Schultz – Pitcher – 10
Hagen Smith – Pitcher – 6
Jonah Tong – Pitcher – 7
Bubba Chandler – Pitcher – 10
Sean Burke – Pitcher – 4
The three players I would leave out without researching – Xavier Edwards, Jonah Tong, and Bubba Chandler.
Total projected salary of the remaining 20: $131 leaving us $169 to play with in the draft/take on salary in trades.
What’s next?
My potential keep list is at 23 players, so I will need to cut out at least 3 players before the deadline, but I assume there will be trades that happen that will complicate things.
I am going to take the players I plan on keeping, plus anyone I am on the fence with and do a deeper dive into their advanced metrics. I will post that data when it is done. I want to take those stats and help predict any growth or regression we may see.
I am going to take the winning total for each of our scoring categories and see where my team’s projection puts them. This will help see what kind of players we need to target in the next draft. That is a long way away, but I don’t expect my deep-dive to happen quickly.
