New Hampshire Prospectus Spring 2018

These are two words that have not been heard in Portsmouth since the team moved to the coastal town of New Hampshire.  The fans that have filled Leary Field the last few years have been patient and as April comes to an end, the hometown team is in first place in a division that is very tight from top to bottom and certainly feels like it will be a dog fight all year. 
 

This years team is built around its pitching staff and it has been pretty good.  The offense has not been bad. Its defense, there are some serious holes especially at first. The front office has been talking with any team that will listen to find a 1b that can, well, do everything, hit, play defense, leap tall buildings in a single bound. The Cats did not expect to find that player in its own division.  The Portsmouth Herald has learned that Philly and the Cats came to terms and submitted a deal pending league approval.  NH gets one of the best defensive first baseman in the game in Eric Hosmer and adds another strong piece to its bullpen with John Brebbia.  It came at a cost  as Philly gets coveted prospect Ryhs Hoskins and former top prospect Jurickson Profar.

Hosmer will make an immediate impact, he is a big bat with a high obp, good average and power as well as gold glove potential. Brebbia not only adds significant depth to a strong pen but make that pen even stronger. 
As a front office official said  "We made our team better today and improved our chances in this tough division.  We would love to add another top starter and that search continues".
 

Have the Wildcats turned a corner?  After years of futility in taking over a tanked team and the ups and downs of finding good players, this year looks like a chance to make a run at an actual playoff spot.  The pitching is a strength for once with starters like Grienke, Paxton, Lynn and Ray  The bullpen is also very strong.  We will need that as the offense may still have some holes.  Defense is a concern at 1b and corner outfield.  If the playoff are not in this team future this year certainly soon as this team has some very solid core.   With budding star like Ryhs Hoskins, Addison Russell, Eugeno Suarez, Mitch Haniger, Paxton, Ray.   With a few young guys picked up in this years draft, like Antonio Sentazela and Mackenzie Gore, who Keith Law says remind him of Kershaw the Wildcat fans have something to cheer about in the near term.  If we miss the playoffs in this competitive division we are going to make life very hard for other contenders.