D-backs dream team to match with other teams in simulated tournament

Arizona Diamondback greats of the present and past will match up with other stars from teams across MLB in a simulation tournament.

The tournament, using Out of the Park Baseball 21, will be a best-of-seven game format. The schedule will begin on April 20 and conclude on May 5.

MLB.com reporters picked the 26-man rosters, consisting of 15 hitters and 11 pitchers, that will make up the 30 MLB teams, Negro League stars and the 25 and under stars.

They say pitching wins championships, so the D-backs should have a good chance to make some noise in the tournament featuring a staff of Randy Johnson, Curt Shilling, Brandon Webb, Zach Greinke, Dan Haren, Patrick Corbin and Robbie Ray.

The men entrusted with closing the games down will be Byung-Hyun Kim, Archie Bradley, Brad Ziegler and ‘Papa Grande’ Jose Valverde.

Paul Goldschmidt will once again wear Sedona Red – virtually that is – manning first base in an infield that consists of Ketel Marte at second base, Stephen Drew at shortstop, Matt Williams at third base and Miguel Montero behind the plate.

World Series hero Luis Gonzalez returns to his familiar left field spot, while Justin Upton is back in front of ‘Up-town’ in right field with Steve Finley manning center field.

A.J. Pollock will serve as the designated hitter.

The D-backs bench features Craig Counsell, Jay Bell, David Peralta, Chris Young, Nick Ahmed and Damian Miller.

The D-backs first game is a date with the Pittsburgh Pirates dream team, consisting of Willie Stargell, Honus Wagner, Barry Bonds and of course Roberto Clemente.

The matchup can be seen on MLB.com and their Twitch page on Tuesday at noon.

The tournament bracket was split by league with seeding based on World series titles won, pennants won, postseason appearances and regular-season winning percentage.

Should the D-backs knock off the Pirates, they would match up with either the Cincinnati Reds dream team or the Washington Nationals dream team in round two.

Overall, the tournament rosters include a combined 185 Hall of Famers, 115 most valuable players, 61 Cy Young award winners and 67 Rookie of the Year award winners.