[franch1se]

Alright, finally ready to get my franchise underway! Spent majority of the last 2 days editing every piece of equipment for my Padres and copying/bringing over prospects from The Show 23 into 24 and finally have my roster i feel ready to go.

There are several position battles to watch heading into Spring Training with the most intriguing being who will take the #5 starting spot in the rotation as well as the OF positions. This years team has a solid mix of veterans who are hungry for more, rookies who are on the verge of making their big league debuts, and talented veterans who are NRI fighting to stay in the majors vying for the final roster spots.

The first four spots of our rotation are set, the only question is where will they slot? The top four pitchers are Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, Dylan Cease and Michael King. As mentioned about the number 5 slot, the candidates fighting for the coveted job are Jhony Brito, Randy Vasquez, Matt Waldron, and Luis Patino, who was once a highly regarded and heralded prospect within the Padres system. Patino more than likely however will serve in the bullpen and long man ala a role previously occupied by Nick Martinez. Luis Patino is also out of options which will certainly play a hand into the final roster construction as there is plenty of talent left in the only 24 year olds right arm.

The bullpen figures to be lead by Robert Suarez who looks to get the first crack at sliding into the vacant closers role left behind by Josh Hader. A couple of foreign imports with closer experience also look to be in the fold in Yuki Matsui out of Japan and Woo Suk Go out of Korea. The bullpen is boasted by a trade that brought in Enyel De Los Santos from CLE as well as Wandy Peralta. The remaining bullpen spots will be fought for by Tom Cosgrove, Adrian Morejan, Rule 5 pick Stephen Kolek, Jeremiah Estrada, Alek Jacob and Sean Reynolds. You also have to figure whoever loses the #5 starting spot may be in contention for a long role relief in the bullpen.

For the main roster, the regular starters are Luis Campusano, Jake Cronenworth, Ha-Seong Kim, Manny Machado, Xander Bogaerts, and Fernando Tatis Jr. This leaves LF, CF and DH spots open. The favorites for LF is Jurickson Profar while the CF spot looks to be a battle between Jose Azocar and top prospect Jackson Merrill who is transitioning to the OF this spring. Others in contention are Tim Locastro, Cal Mitchell and Oscar Mercado. Bench spots will be battled by Tyler Wade, Matthew Batten, Eguy Rosario and rookie Graham Pauley. Kyle Higashioka will be the back up catcher.

Top 10 prospects heading into the season are

1. Ethan Salas - C
2. Jackson Merril - CF/SS
3. Leodalis De Vries - SS
4. Dylan Lesko - RHP
5. Robby Snelling - LHP
6. Adam Mazur - RHP
7. Dillon Head - CF
8. Ryan Bergert - SP
9. Lamar King - C
10. Korry Howell - CF