The Mean Team!
A look Back At 2019:
This is a brand new team…MonStars…but with all familiar faces. The team is led by Salman Quader/Sajeel Haque; both have been in the league for about a decade. The team is full of veterans and almost all of them have championship experience. 10 of the 15 players have championship rings.
A Look Ahead at 2020:
The team is a mixture of players from Bats and Ducks with a sprinkle of HeavyHittaz. The Bats, HH and Ducks had full teams ready to go in March, but due to the ongoing Covid concerns a bunch of players dropped from each team. So it was only natural these teams merged. The team, from looking at the roster, has a very 2018 Ducks feel to it. No upper tier superstars, but average/above average in every position.
In the Outfield it looks like an outfield of Sajeel, Haaris, Moiz, Shane, Kunal. All 5 are good with solid arms. Sajeel and Haaris should be manning the center fields and they have a lot of range. In the Infield, they will be led by new addition Vinny who has rookie of the year potential at SS. Surrounding him are Zeeshan, Faizan, and Shimmy. This can be a little weak with range and can be exploited by the good teams. Nabeel at Pitcher is as good as it gets on both sides of the ball.
Veteran presence of Usman, Naveed, Ahmer, Uzi round out the roster. Salman/Sajeel has a team with a lot of veterans, so it should be smooth sailing during the season. The talent, chemistry, IQ are all there for a successful season. Besides Vinny and Moiz, there doesn’t seem to be any big boppers in the lineup however. We can see it now; the team slogan will be “SINGLES AND WALKS!”
Our Prediction:
Of the 12 teams in the league this year, 8-9 of them are in contention for the chip this year. MonStars are no different. They have a shot at it but they need a lot of breaks to make it happen. Can they survive without much fence clearing power? With a team that is 15 deep, who will start in crucial games? Will that cause any friction? In Year 1, they will end in the middle of the pack with a semifinal showing as the best possible outcome, according to our crystal ball.
Best Players:
We already spoke of Vinny, who should be one of their better players if not the best player. Kunal Sra is a former multiple time MVP who should anchor the lineup. The rest are all very similar in talent and you can pick any of them. Sajeel, Moiz, Haaris, Shane, etc. but we will go with Moiz as he had a phenomenal year last year with NWO.
Players To Watch For:
Nabeel is perennially underrated. He has turned himself as one of the best pitchers in SASL and has a solid bat as well. Will this be the year Haaris firmly plants himself as an elite player after years of being in the edge of it?
Hear It From The Captain: Salman Quader
1. What do you enjoy most about your role as team captain?
—I actually don’t enjoy being captain. This was done by the league. I think one thing that’s enjoyable is learning about all the different characters on a team and getting to know more people.
2. Who do you think will be your toughest competition this season?
—Honestly every team looks good. We were looking at the schedule and only circled a couple weeks which we thought alright these weekends could be sweeps for us.
3. What do you think are your team’s strong points? Weak points?
—Our teams strong points are: everyone is very familiar with each other so we won’t need too much time building chemistry. The other things are we have guys who can play multiple positions very well along with some really solid hitters. Some things we are in need of are some big bats who can swing for the fence and maybe age lol.
4. How do you see your teams season play out this season?
—We are going to win the championship and going to be celebrating with Lebron and lakers in Disney world.
