Here are the first power rankings of the season. Like I’ve done recently, I’m only going to rank the top half of the league. The next power rankings will be published right before the first Wednesday night games, May 5th.
9. Harris- I was between several teams for the final spot in the top 9. Lapine has gotten a lot of early praise, but I think their defense is going to set them back. Early scrimmage buzz is that Conti can be a team to watch, but I want to see some positive results first before I change my original thinking that they’re going to come up short offensively. The team I keep coming back to is Harris, who also gets my award for Most Overly Criticized Write Up. They check off many key boxes. Great outfielders in Callow and Bykofsky, strong shortstop in Gluck, solid vetran pitching with Mike Seidel. Scoring can be an issue, but the veteran presence and solid defense should keep them in games.
8. Goldfarb- When was the last time Goldfarb went through the first five rounds without drafting a “young stud”? Alex proved last year he can hold his own at short and with one of the best pitchers in the league(Drapkin) and one of the best LCF(Peragine), they have a solid core at the three key positions. Last year, Goldfarb’s lack of offense was a problem foreseen as soon as the draft ended, but picks like Dinapoli, Corde, and Pargament will help ensure a repeat of 2020 won’t happen. I think Joe Pargament will take a big step in his development as a star in the league, and the Grants help give the team a spark that all great teams need. I like this team more than their draft recap and captains poll, but the 12-10 predicted record could become reality as a result of being in such a tough division.
7. Ferrarese- I look at this team and see a bunch of guys I’d love to play on the same team with plus Mike Ferrarese. The first three picks(Sandler, Juska, Rosenthal) are three guys who have made a big impact in the league and yet haven’t reached their potential yet. Chase won MVP yet I think he’ll continue to improve defensively. Juska has rightfully established as the DJ Lemahieu of the league- a hit machine who can play any position on the infield at an elite level- and yet he didn’t even hit .500 last season(Side note: Now that the Yankees have resigned him to a long contract, I have to learn how to spell Lemahieu’s name without resorting to google). And Evan Rosenthal is young enough to increase his power numbers as he enters his third season. Add Hor, Loconte, Applebaum, Thomas, Sherman to the mix and this could be the deepest lineup in the league. I think they’re one player short defensively, so that might pose a problem. Mike is improving as a pitcher though, and as long as his OF can make the basic plays, they should be fine.
6. Seidenberg- With all due respect to all other rookie captains, Seidenberg had far and away the best draft of any newbie. As Scotty Podcast aptly pointed out, picking last ended up being an advantage. In fact, the last slot in the draft has actually produced two champions since 2010(2010 Lapine and 2018 Applebaum). And while I continue to (rightfully) argue that power is overrated in this league, it does not hurt to have the double UH threats of Fradkin and Seidenberg. Darren Kay will prove to be the make or break player on this team, and if he is even 80% of the defensive player he was when he last played in the league then this will be a tough team to beat all season. I’m sure there will be much analysis on Team Seidenberg throughout the season as the rumor is Scott is devoting 5 minutes of each podcast to a segment called “So what do you think of my team?”.
5. Larocca- Last year it was so easy to write my pre-season power ranking entry for Lorocca’s team. 9 out of 10 of Larocca’s first 10 picks in 2020 were on his 2019 roster. This year, it’s only Frank and the Carlins left from the 2020 team. The biggest change comes at the top, and while it’s not a grand statement to say the first round pick will have a major impact on their team’s success, I think this is true in Frank’s case more than most. Every year there is so much buzz surrounding a team or a player where their success seems like a given. I remember two years ago it was how dominant Team Brock looked and how we were all playing for second place. Last year it was the arrival of the Blackburns and how they would almost double handedly propel Marrone to the finals. As we can see sometimes what the league deems a given works out and sometimes it doesn’t. This year the pre-season buzz is that Phil Saglietto will be a top 3 hitter in the league. After seeing him the second half of last season and hearing about his fall league exploits, the chatter seems like it will be substantiated. Frank’s team will go as far as Phil’s bat takes them. Elsewhere, Jordan Rosenthal steps up to a third round selection and if he can start hitting for an above .500 average then he and Sag can end up being one the top 2-3 duos in the league. Also, JZ in the fifth round is one of the biggest steals in the draft; I don’t care if he’s first base only.
4. Pollock- Speaking of people who love talking about their team! What I love most about our club is the defensive flexibility. Any given game we can miss a key defensive player and not have a gaping hole in their spot(OK, so no one can really place Martino but he won’t miss any games: knock on wood). Not having to throw away any games due to missing players will be one factor in having a successful regular season. Besides depth, this team can hit up and down the lineup, led by Valentino, who will likely lead all leadoff hitters in OBP. And while we may not have any hitter “that really scares anyone”, we DO have guys who can put it over the fence in a big spot. The one concern compared to last year is we’re going from Peragine to me in LCF, but I think we’ll average more runs to make up the difference.
3. Marrone- While my brother and I have a pretty firm rule about not drafting rookies with the top pick, Mike Caputo would have been our choice had Martino not been available. After playing with him in the Fall league, I can confirm he is THAT good. Drafting Amadeo in the second let Marrone get a 1-2 combo that can make up for not getting the Blackburns. The Silverbergs as a 3-4 are a bargain, Difedele is coming off surgery but reports are that he looks great, Dynov is a dynamic defensive player who keeps improving offensively, and Zack Kane started hitting better in the playoffs and will provide a big boost towards the end of their lineup. Bottom line, this team has speed, power, pitching, great defense at key spots. The top three on this list are all close, and I can easily picture Marrone being the #1 team at some point this season.
Softball trivia: Who has appeared in the most semi-finals since 2014? Answer: David Unterweiser(5).
2. Wallman- The league is split evenly between the captains either in their first or second year having a team and the veterans who are going on three plus years. With all the new blood managing teams, one big storyline will be can Wallman or Marrone, the two longest running captains who haven’t managed a championship team, finally win the trophy. The quick analysis for this year’s Wallman’s team is they are just like last year’s club but with a steady shortstop and all the Manochios. After making defensive changes last year, they went 9-4 the rest of the way. And while some questioned whether team chemistry would be an issue last season, no one is questioning their comradeship this year. If there is a big question mark on this team, it’s whether age will slow down their performance being that they are the oldest club in the league. I don’t see it being an issue. Clamp is one of the biggest difference makers in the league, Lugos is still one of the top 3 defensive outfielders, Younger is one of the top clutch performers. Plus although I was initially surprised Wallman didn’t move to second base after moving away from SS last year, he’s a very good left fielder. Finally, Tony Rogiers is a self proclaimed MVP candidate. If he makes the leap to the elites then this team will win 15-17 games.
1. Steinberg- Going by the Captains’ Poll results, Team Steinberg enters the season as the most underrated team in the league. What sometimes gets lost in analyzing pre-season rosters are A) The value that a smart captain adds and B) the almost guaranteed successful recipe of bringing back the key players from a championship team. The only three times a championship winning captain brought back seven or more players the following season were 2012 Pollock(17-5) 2014 Jacoby(16-6) and 2018 Pollock(18-4), three obviously successful teams. Bringing back the top four picks is uncharted territory, but I’m almost positive it will add to this winning trend. In fact, this team looks even better than last year’s winning club. The key difference between this team and last year’s winning group is they have an upgrade at pitcher. Also, Feingold is an underrated outfielder, Cotter is an underrated third baseman, and Persily is a very good hitter who gives the lineup nice pop at the bottom. Winning back to back championships is obviously difficult, but Steinberg looks to be in a great position to go deep in the playoffs.
