(FULL ROSTERS HERE)
1975 Record: 95-67-Click for Stats
Projected 1976 Roster:
| Rotation | POS | Lineup | |
| Bruce Kison | CA | Carlton Fisk | |
| Rick Wise | 1B | Bob Watson | |
| Jim Burton | 2B | Jerry Remy/Doug Griffin | |
| Fergie Jenkins | 3B | Jack Brohamer | |
| Dick Pole | SS | Rick Burleson | |
| LF | Jim Rice or Carl Yastrzemski | ||
| Bullpen | CF | Rick Miller or Jim Rice | |
| Skip Lockwood | RF | Dwight Evans | |
| Dick Drago | BN | Rice/Yaz/Miller | |
| Jim Willoughby | BN | Bob Montgomery (CA) | |
| Reggie Cleveland | BN | Remy/Griffin | |
| Tom Burgmeier | BN | ? | |
| Diego Segui | BN | ? | |
| Top Prospect(s): Jeff Newman (CA) | |||
Notes: The defending champions added free agent Dick Drago from the Orioles to an already strong bullpen. Bruce Kison won the CY Young award last year but struggled in the postseason. Bob Watson hit .375 and was AL MVP. Jim Rice, Carl Yastrzemski and Rick Miller will battle for playing time at LF & CF.
(FULL ROSTERS HERE)
1975 Record: 108-54 - Click for Stats
Projected 1976 Roster:
| Rotation | POS | Lineup | |
| Bill Bonham | CA | Johnny Bench / Bill Plummer | |
| Fred Norman | 1B | Mike Lum / Johnny Bench | |
| Gary Nolan | 2B | Joe Morgan | |
| ? | 3B | Pete Rose | |
| ? | SS | Dave Concepcion | |
| LF | George Foster | ||
| Bullpen | CF | Cesar Geronimo | |
| Rawly Eastwick | RF | Dave Collins, Mike Vail, Larry Biittner, Ed Armbrister | |
| Pedro Borbon | BN | Plummer / Lum | |
| Clay Carroll | BN | Rick Auerbach (IF) | |
| ? | BN | Buddy Bell (3B/OF) | |
| ? | BN | ? | |
| ? | BN | ? | |
| Top Prospect(s): Manny Sarmiento (P) | |||
Notes: The 108-win juggernaut Reds are coming off a disappointing World Series defeat to the Red Sox. Bill Bonham won 23 games for the Reds and Rawly Eastwick led the big leagues with 39 saves in 1975. 1B is an issue as incumbents Dave Collins and Larry Biittner are both only rated as outfielders in 1976. This means MVP Johnny Bench may split time between Catcher and First Base - which would be welcomed by opposing base stealers. This situation also creates a four-way battle in RF.
(FULL ROSTERS HERE)
1975 Record: 64-98 - Click for Stats
Projected 1976 Roster:
| Rotation | POS | Lineup | |
| Milt Wilcox | CA | Bill Freehan | |
| Jack Billingham | 1B | Jack Pierce | |
| Dave Roberts | 2B | Bill Madlock | |
| ? | 3B | John Knox | |
| ? | SS | Ivan DeJesus OR Tom Veryzer | |
| LF | Champ Summers, John Wockenfuss OR Chet Lemon | ||
| Bullpen | CF | Ron LeFlore OR Chet Lemon | |
| John Hiller | RF | Alex Johnson | |
| Bill Campbell | BN | Terry Humphery (CA) | |
| ? | BN | DeJesus OR Veryzer | |
| ? | BN | Mickey Stanley (UT) | |
| ? | BN | ? | |
| ? | BN | ? | |
| Top Prospect(s): Chet Lemon (OF), Mark Fidrych (P), Larry Herndon (OF) | |||
Notes: Free Agent signing Milt Wilcox lost 17 games for the equally moribund Cubs but is the odds on favourite to be the opening day starter for his new team. The Tigers are missing 48-home run man Ben Oglivie who signed with the Brewers in the offseason. Chet Lemon was the 1st pick overall in the draft.
(FULL ROSTERS HERE)
1975 Record: 83-79 - Click for Stats
Projected 1976 Roster:
| Rotatiom | Pos | Lineup | ||
| J.R.Richard | CA | Alan Ashby/Skip Jutze | ||
| Nolan Ryan | 1B | Mike Ivie | ||
| Joe Niekro | 2B | Davey Lopes | ||
| Mike Cosgrove? | 3B | Enos Cabell | ||
| ? | SS | Craig Reynolds | ||
| LF | Jose Cruz | |||
| Bullpen | CF | Cesar Cedeno | ||
| Ken Forsch | RF | Greg Gross | ||
| Rich Rhoden | BN | Ashby/Jutze | ||
| Fred Scherman | BN | Jerry DaVanon (IF) | ||
| ? | BN | Wilbur Howard (OF) | ||
| ? | BN | ? | ||
| ? | BN | ? |
Top Prospect(s): Bob Knepper (P), Joe Sambito (P)
Notes: Coming off a 348 strikeout CY Young campaign J.R. Richard will surely get the ball on opening day for the Astros. Joe Niekro spent 1975 in the bullpen but is expected to move to the starting rotation with Ken Forsch's brother Bob having been traded to St. Louis for Cesar Cedeno. Free Agent Davey Lopes joins Cedeno as new members of a Houston lineup that scored the fewest runs in the majors in 1975.
(FULL ROSTERS HERE)
1975 Record: 79-83 - Click for Stats
Projected 1976 Roster
| Rotation: | Pos | Lineup | |
| Bill Singer | CA | Glenn Borgmann OR Jose Morales | |
| (Mike Marshall?) | 1B | Rod Carew | |
| ? | 2B | Pete Mackinin (cast of others) | |
| ? | 3B | Eric Soderholm | |
| ? | SS | Chris Speier | |
| LF | Lyman Bostock | ||
| Bullpen | CF | Larry Hisle | |
| Tom Johnson | RF | Dan Ford | |
| Mike Bacsik | BN | Borgmann/Morales | |
| Vic Albury | BN | Steve Brye (OF) | |
| (Mike Marshall?) | BN | ? | |
| BN | ? | ||
| BN | ? |
Top Prospect(s): John Verhoeven (P)
Notes: Bill Singer, Tom Johnson and Mike Bacsik were the only Twins with sub 4.00 ERA's in 1975. Many other Twins pitchers are returning and will battle for roster spots in spring training. Mike Marshall came over from Texas in a trade for Mike Cubbage and it's undetermined whether he'll start or relieve for his new club. The Twins are returning the AL's 2nd most productive offense and have added Chris Speier in Free Agency. Rod Carew won a batting title and Larry Hisle topped 40 Home Runs. Only 2nd base appears to be a question mark position offensively.
(FULL ROSTERS HERE)
1975 Record: 69-93 - Click for Stats
Projected 1976 Roster:
| Rotation: | Pos | Lineup | |||||||||
| John Candelaria | CA | Gary Carter | |||||||||
| Steve Rogers | 1B | Andre Thornton | |||||||||
| Bill Lee | 2B | Pat Scanlon OR Pepe Frias | |||||||||
| ? | 3B | Larry Parrish | |||||||||
| ? | SS | Tim Foli | |||||||||
| LF | Jim Wohlford | ||||||||||
| Bullpen | CF | Jerry White | |||||||||
| Dale Murray | RF | Rusty Staub | |||||||||
| Wayne Granger | BN | Tim Blackwell (CA) | |||||||||
| Dennis Blair | BN | Dan Driessen (1B/OF) | |||||||||
| Woodie Fryman | BN | Scanlon/Frias | |||||||||
| Chuck Taylor | BN | ? | |||||||||
| ? | BN | ? | |||||||||
| Top Prospect(s): Ellis Valentine (OF), Warren Cromartie (OF), Bill Almon (SS) | |||||||||||
Notes: Young John Candelaria and Dale Murray emerged as starting and relief aces in the 2nd half for the Expos last season. Dennis Blair is coming off a quietly strong season in the Padres bullpen. Starting pitching was a problem last year, and even penciled in starters Steve Rogers and Bill Lee are coming off difficult campaigns. Offensively the Expos have a lot of youth that may need another season or two to develop before they can be taken seriously. 2nd base and overall depth are particular areas of concern heading into 1976. Ellis Valentine was the 3rd pick overall in the draft.
(FULL ROSTERS HERE)
1975 Record: 77-85 - Click for Stats
Projected 1976 Roster:
| Rotation | Pos | Lineup | |
| Jon Matlack | CA | Jerry Grote | |
| (Craig Swan?) | 1B | Joe Torre | |
| (Tom Seaver?) | 2B | Mike Phillips? (Felix Millan) | |
| ? | 3B | Mike Phillips? (John Stearns, Jack Heidemann) | |
| ? | SS | Mike Phillips? (Jack Heidemann, Sergio Ferrer) | |
| LF | Ed Kranepool | ||
| Bullpen | CF | Jerry Martin, Bruce Boisclair OR Pepe Mangual | |
| Bob Apodaca | RF | Jose Cardenal | |
| Ray Sadecki | BN | Mike Jorgensen (1B/OF) | |
| Rick Baldwin | BN | John Stearns (CA/1B/3B/LF) | |
| Ken Sanders | BN | ? | |
| Seaver/Swan? | BN | ? | |
| ? | BN | ? | |
Notes: The Mets lost 1975 ace Mike Torrez in Free Agency and will likely have 19 loss Craig Swan and 5.54 ERA man Tom Seaver in the rotation to begin the season. Joe Torre is shifting from 3B to 1B which moves Ed Kranepool to the Outfield. These may not prove to be transitions that help this team defensively. Free Agent Jerry Martin was re-signed because New York didn't have many other options in CF. Mets fans are hoping some youngsters turn heads in St.Pete to provide some optimism going forward.
(FULL ROSTERS HERE)
1975 Record: 88-74 - Click for Stats
Projected 1976 Roster:
| Rotation: | Pos | Lineup | |
| Steve Carlton | CA | Tim McCarver, Dave Roberts OR Jim Essian | |
| John Denny | 1B | Del Unser/Tom Hutton | |
| Jim Lonborg | 2B | Terry Harmon OR Dave Cash | |
| ? | 3B | Mike Schmidt | |
| ? | SS | Terry Harmon OR Larry Bowa | |
| LF | Greg Luzinski | ||
| Bullpen | CF | Garry Maddox | |
| Tug McGraw | RF | Del Unser/Sixto Lezcano | |
| Gene Garber | BN | Hutton/Lezcano | |
| Doug Bird | BN | Cash/Bowa | |
| Tom Hilgendorf | BN | Tony Perez? (1B) | |
| ? | BN | ? | |
| ? | BN | ? | |
| Top Prospect(s): Sid Monge (P), Jim Essian (CA) | |||
Notes: Steve Carlton and John Denny combined for 32 wins but it was the bullpen trio of Tug McGraw, Gene Garber and Doug Bird that kept the 88-win Phils in the hunt until the season's final week. McGraw won the NL Fireman of the Year award for his efforts. Philadelphia was a curious bunch offensively. Mike Schmidt and Greg Luzinski had underwhelming seasons and Tony Perez was an outright bust. Balancing this was surprising outputs from Del Unser and Terry Harmon - who finished the season on a 25 game hitting streak. Perez will need a very impressive spring to regain his 1B position for 1976.
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