Shooter McGavins: This is Shooters Tour!
A Look Back At 2019:
In 2019, they were a rookie team led by Ronak Jain and Aasheesh Shravah- two newcomers to captaincy. Pre-season, they weren’t expected to make much noise in the NL division. Most pegged them as a middle of the pack contender who would get bounced in the first round. They had a bunch of solid players but didn’t seem to have any high end players to lead them.
During the regular season, they proved ALL the doubters wrong by finishing as the second seed. They finished with a 18-6 record, second best offense, and the third best run differential. Led by National League MVP Mike Velez, defensive studs Khurram Syed, Nick Tamayo and others, they looked ready to roll come playoffs. While Mike Velez was their lone All Star, they got production from up and down their lineup. They were truly a 15 man deep roster. Their outfield of Mike, Nick, VJ, Jojo was one of the best in the league. Rich, Khurram, Waqas and Ronak made up a formidable infield as well.
The playoffs started well enough with a relatively easy sweep against The Ones. Round 2, they were facing defending champs Hit Squad. Game 1 they won and looked to sweep with a commando lead in game 2. That’s when the wheels fell apart and Shooter McGavins let the game and the series slip away. Was it nerves of being a rookie team? Was it a choke-job against the defending champs? Whatever it was, we can surely bet they are hungry as ever to put that bad taste out of their mouth this season.
A Look Ahead at 2020:
2020 brings this team a much needed fresh start. They made a change at the top by bringing in Zulfikar Musliwala as the captain (Savages captain past two years) while retaining Aasheesh Shravah as the other captain. The move paid of big time right away as the duo was able to secure the services of 2019 Rookie of the Year Tom Kahl.
TK is a top 5 player in the league as his second highest rating of 12 suggests. TK will immediately create a vaunted “No Fly Zone” with Mike, Jojo, VJ and Nick in the outfield. We suggest this is the best defensive and offensive outfield in the league-and it’s not close.
Adding TK meant they had to trim their roster; but they still have a very good infield with Zulfikar, Khurram, Rich, Ronak, Joel, and Ali rounding out the roster. If there is any weakness, it will be at the pitcher position where Aasheesh has a tendency to walk a lot players in pressure situations. Can they coax a strong season out of him? Do they have a backup pitcher this year with Gage no longer in the team?
Our Prediction:
Shooter McGavins, barring injury and attendance issues, have a top 3 roster. They added a top 5 player to a team that finished last year as the second seed. But they did not address their biggest Achilles heel which was pitching. We expect them to be finish in the top 4 in the regular season. However, we expect them to flame out in the Semifinals when the pressure mounts.
Best Players:
Best player will be 2019 SASL AL Rookie of the Year Tom Kahl. Mike Velez, 2019 NL MVP, should have another outstanding season. And if we have to pick another player as their top 3, we will go with Nick Tamayo. He is a OBP threat, with speed, and IQ. But his best ability is his sweet glove and sublime arm. Extremely underrated.
Players To Watch For:
Don’t forget Ronak Jain made the NL 1st team at second base. Granted it was weak competition, but he had a very good season. We expect Rich to be back in a big way from his sub .400 batting last year. And lastly, we will go with Khurram to be back to his all star days. He is still a top 5 defensive SS, and his bat won’t be far behind.
Hear It From The Captain: Zulfikar Musliwala
1. What do you enjoy most about your role as team captain?
—Harassing people for money.
2. Who do you think will be your toughest competition this season?
—I’d have to say teams that have benefited from the Savages being broken up (The North, Dothrakis). Championship players cannot be replaced.
3. What do you think are your team’s strong points? Weak points?
—We have some former Savages as well so that championship mentality exists but overall we will have to work on chemistry with some of the new guys.
4. How do you see your teams season play out this season?
—I certainly think we will have a strong season, and by that, I mean we will be in the Finals. Shooters gon shoot.
