Mississauga Spartans 2020 Season Preview

It's a fresh start here in Mississauga thanks to the resetting of the North American Baseball League with a new owner, new GM and new players. Here's a look at the players the team will be fielding as the season kicks off in Whitby tomorrow afternoon.

Starting Pitching:
The Spartans focussed on hitters with four of their first five draft picks, the exception being Greg Fudge, and rounded out the majority of their staff in Rounds 6-10.
Greg Fudge
Farid Chijavadze
Mohamed Rodriguez
Tommy Underwood
Millard Maxwell
According to Baseball America, the Spartans also have the fifth and sixth best pitching prospects in all of baseball, Bruce Dean and Donald Iles, pitching in AAA Smoke Bay. Both 23, the team won't hesitate to bring them up if the need arises.

Bullpen:
The team selected a pair of top-end closers in the middle rounds of the draft, but effectively ignored middle relief for the rest of the draft. Closer Lawrence McCoy was selected in the 13th round of the draft and top MR Jose Chavez was nabbed two rounds later. The other five pitchers in the bullpen were all signed as free agents following the draft.
Lawrence McCoy-Closer
Antonio Lopez-Setup
Otto Proulx
Jose Chavez-Middle Relief
Brian Montgomery
Coy Cross
Charles Hughes
At least for now, we'll go with a an extra arm in the bullpen. I don't want to be short if the starters falter. If the starting staff shows resiliency, then we can add another bench bat.

Catcher:
James Carter is going to be our primary catcher, he brings great defense and an above-average bat for the position. Only 25, he could turn into the long-term answer at the position. Joel Clark is the veteran backup, who also brings a solid bat to the position and who we wouldn't hesitate to rely on if the need arises.

Infield:
Luis Guillen and Harry Lopez are going to platoon at 1B, hopefully one of them will prove they deserve the every day job. Roger McIndoe will both play second and bat second, one of the rising young stars in the game. Sergio Barrera is at SS, a brilliant defensive player with a little thunder in his bat (32 HR in AA in 2018). A natural SS, second-round pick Domingo Rodriguez will slide over to 3B and hit in the three-hole. Harry Lopez is the versatile backup.
The infield will provide the key to our season, with a couple of high draft picks. First base is a bit of a concern, but there are generally options that pop up during the season.

Outfield:
David Fisher was our first-round draft pick and he's now our centrefielder. A great eye and a great glove, he's going to bad leadoff. Juan Lopez was picked up in a preseason deal and he's going to bring some thunder to rightfield, hitting cleanup. Brenton McCoy and Tony Soto are going to share LF for now with Lois Barriere getting some time at DH.
Our outfield is still a work in progress. Michel Ben, who would be starting for us, broke his wrist in spring training and will be out for another month and he should boost our lineup when he's healthy. Also, a guy many of our fans have forgotten about is Craig Wilson. We knew he'd be out for half the season when we selected him in the fifth round, but it was a long-term decision for this 23-year-old superstar. He was the No. 16 rated prospect going into last season and put up a very nice rookie year. If we're in the race at the halfway point, he'll be a huge addition for us for the second-half.