Alternate History Sports » North American Baseball Federation 2: 2104 Season/Playoffs

BDoof · 1/31/2024 1:29 pm

2104 Playoffs

Pacific Series
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The defending champs came into the season expecting success, and boy did they deliver. They had a run differential of +265. Both teams specialize in pitching, with a plethora of arms to go to in any game or situation. The main difference between them is on offense. Eureka scored almost 100 more runs due to the combined strength of Antonio Garza, Mel Velez, Jesse Haskins, and Ritter Ammann. Cheyenne has Eric Titus, doing as expected, while the rest of the offense is coming from surprise seasons from Dan Harbin, Kevin Meyer, and Dave Chatwin of all people. Despite Eureka scoring more and giving up less, Cheyenne has actually won the season series 9-6.

Game 1: CHY Jeffrey Simon (16-8, 2.79) vs EUR Felix Hernandez (23-8, 1.84)
Cheyenne finally doesn’t have to face Dakota, yet still has to face Hernandez and Denman who were both aces for Dakota in previous matchups. Both pitchers would be on top of their game, limited offense and momentum of the either team. Both teams played small ball with sac bunts and hit and runs, but Eureka would barely be able to scratch out a small, yet big, victory.
CHY 1 - 2 EUR

Game 2: CHY Rafael Santa Cruz (18-10, 2.31) vs EUR Ben Denman (25-8, 2.54)
A matchup between two Floridian aces. Santa Cruz would have a horrid first inning, giving up 3 runs. The Buffalo would try to get back but there is only so much you can do when you only get 4 hits.
CHY 2 - 4 EUR

Game 3: EUR Jake Hale (18-6, 2.71) vs CHY Marty Hodge (15-10, 2.61)
Cheyenne would finally have their game, with Hodge striking out 11 and back-to-back-to-back doubles in the 7th from the bottom of the lineup would be just enough for the Buffalo to stay alive.
EUR 2 - 5 CHY

Game 4: EUR Jeff Caron (12-12, 4.16) vs CHY Steve Francen (6-4, 2.56)
Cheyenne would hit the board early with 2 runs in each of the first 2 innings. Eureka would try a 9th inning rally but 4 runs would not be enough as the Buffalo bats woke up, winning 2 straight to tie the series.
EUR 4 - 8 CHY

Game 5: EUR Felix Hernandez (23-8, 1.84) vs CHY Jeffrey Simon (16-8, 2.79)
Now a 3 game series, it flips over with Redwoods 1-2 of Hernandez and Denman due to, both have finished first and second in the Taylor award each and every year. Cheyenne will have to find a way to scratch out at least 1 win against them. EUR Antonio Garza was a double shy from the cycle enroute to a career game.

Game 6: CHY Rafael Santa Cruz (18-10, 2.31) vs EUR Ben Denman (25-8, 2.54)
In a do or die, game 6, it looked dire for the Buffalo. Down 3-1 in the 8th with a cruising Denman on the mound. RF Kriegel would launch a lead-off double which would cause the Redwoods to put in their closer, Ryan Sumner. He would strike out 3B Morales before walking 2B Rodriguez. Then LF Horio would also strike out. Without 2 outs, SS Dan Harbin would launch a triple, scoring both runners to tie the game. Then CF Meyer would launch a nuke to left field to take the lead. They nearly tacked on more but Chatwin’s blast was caught at the warning track. Santa Cruz would stay out in the 8th and roll on. He would get 2 out in the 9th before giving up a run and Buffalo would bring in Sebastian Moore to get the last out on one pitch. It's game 7 time.
CHY 5 - 4 EUR

Game 7: CHY Mart Hodge (2.61) vs EUR Jake Hale (18-6, 2.71)
Last time out, Cheyenne would hit up Hale to take their first win. If the 112 win Redwoods lose, it would be a total disaster after being labeled the best team ever. Buffalo would strike first with some small-ball in the second. In the third, Cheyenne C Eric Titus would launch a 2-run home run, Titus would be walked for the rest of the game. Ritter Ammann would do his best to keep the Redwoods in the game with a double and a triple. In the 5th, Eureka would bring in Felix Hernandez off of 2 days of rest to keep it close, and he would. Allowing no hits in 2 innings before handing the ball off to Benjamin Platt who wouldn’t let anyone past 2nd. An Ammann triple in the 8th would bring the game to 5-3, Buffalo would go to Moore who would let in another run. Now a 1-run ball game going into the 9th. Buffalo sent out Jose Guerrero, the knuckleballer. He struck out Bobby Tippet, walked Fernando Solis, Kachmar would fly out, and Jessy Haskins would end it after swinging and missing all three pitches. Cheyenne would take down Goliath and advance to their second Championship Series! C Eric Titus would win series MVP.
CHY 5 - 4 EUR (Cheyenne wins series 4-3

Atlantic Series
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Even without Barthélémy, Trois’ offense has been as good as ever. Thompson is surrounded by all stars. Their pitching has also been great this year, though they will be missing Danny Avila for the Atlantic Series. Germantown on the other hand is almost completely different than in 2101. Back then, they were heavily reliant on their batters as they had almost no pitching. While now, they have the highest rated pitching in the Atlantic and one of the worst rated batting cores (despite having 3 players with over 20 home runs, triple what Cheyenne has). This led them to only have a +9 run differential (for comparison, Huron, whom they barely beat, had a +67). Their bullpen is also one to marvel at, with 6 of their 7 bullpen arms having an ERA under 3. Though due to an injury to Ross Whitehead, the Pretzels will have to rely on Steven Crossman to start a few games, Crossman has an ERA of 7.10… hopefully they can just give the ball to their bullpen early to help whenever he’s on the mound.

Game 1: GER Steven Crossman (6-12, 7.10) vs TR Leon Lopez (16-11, 2.62)
Unexpectedly, Crossman would give up 8 runs in the first 3 innings. Did I say unexpectedly? I meant totally expectedly. Down 8-3 in the 8th, the Pretzels wouldn’t give up, with 4 extra base hits with 2 outs helped claw the Pretzels back to tie the game. GER Anton Latorre would come in to keep it close. Latorre had left the team last off-season due to frustration with management but has come back to help propel them to a playoff berth. He opened the inning with a 4 pitch walk, following a sac bunt, the Pretzels would elect to intentionally walk Delli Santi to open up the double play. Dubois would strike out, 1 out away. Mark Chapman would smack a ball to third baseman Josh Wagoner who would bobble the ball before throwing it way over first base into right field allowing 2 to score. Germantown would be out of juice in the 9th, sealing game 1 for Trois.
GER 8 - 10 TR

Game 2: GER Ahmed Mathis (11-10, 3.26) vs TR Jorge Franco (21-5, 2.86)
Mathis, who had spent his whole career in the sketchy basement that is Baton Rouge, would finally get his first taste of playoff baseball. And he would showcase his stuff allowing only 2 runs in 7 innings. While Franco would have trouble early, giving up a home run to Paul Butler, then in the 5th Ben Cintron hit a double with 2 on to open the game up for Germantown. Anton Latorre would come in the 8th and redeem himself, allowing no hits and only 1 walk to win the game.
GER 5 - 2 TR

Game 3: TR Juan Donate (1-5, 4.52) vs GER Bernie Rosado (12-12, 2.58)
Rosado would struggle but Germantown was able to keep it relatively close until Mark Chapman hit a 9th inning grand slam to seal the deal.
TR 10 - 2 GER

Game 4: TR Billy Jones (4-1, 3.48) vs GER Adam Minke (17-15, 3.56)
GER Paul Butler would hit another first inning home run, then a 2-run double to take the lead in the 3rd. Latorre came in for another 6 out save and would walk 2 immediately, but then struck out the side and silenced them in the 9th. Germantown would tie the series up.
TR 2 - 4 GER

Game 5: TR Leon Lopez (16-11, 2.63) vs GER Steven Crossman (6-12, 7.10)
Crossman once again comes in, Pretzelheads are praying he can just give up less than 3 runs. He gave up 5, but for some reason the manager left him to pitch 8 innings instead of taking him out and relying on their amazing bullpen. Germantown’s offense could only muster a 2-run home run by Cintron, and only 5 total hits.
TR 6 - 2 GER

Game 6: GER Ahmed Mathis (11-10, 3.26) vs TR Jorge Franco (21-5, 2.86)
Germantown sits in a similar spot to Cheyenne, but defying odds is what they’ve always done this season. Teams would trade 2 run innings and would enter the 8th tied. Germantown would bring in Anton Latorre, who would give up a home run on the first pitch to Delli Santi. Latorre would struggle but get out of the inning with a double play. In the 9th now, last chance for Germantown. Lawlor’s first pitch would hit Jeremy Cooper. Then Butler would get on base due to an error. 2 on with 0 outs and the heart of the lineup. Powers would fly out, Cintron would reach on a fielder’s choice (runner on second out). 2 outs, runners on the corners, Josh Wagoner (unrelated to Matthew in Baton Rouge) would work a full count before hitting a ground ball to second, sending the Harfang to their 3rd straight Championship Series. Mark Chapman would win series MVP.
GER 2 - 3 TR (Trois wins series 4-2)

2104 NABF Championship Series

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Cheyenne allowed about 100 fewer runs and Trois scored about 100 more runs during the season. With Cheyenne winning the season series 9-5, which gives them home field advantage. Trois fans were on edge, could they really lose 3 straight championship series? Cheyenne looks to be the first franchise to win multiple Championships.
Game 1: TR Leon Lopez (16-11, 2.63) vs CHY Steve Francen (6-4, 2.56)
In the first game, Lopez would dominate, only allowing 3 hits the whole game. The Harfang offense wouldn’t do much, only barely scraping together 3 runs, but it would be enough to take game 1 of the series.
TR 3 - 0 CHY

Game 2: TR Danny Avila (11-6, 3.33) vs CHY Jeffrey Simon (16-8, 2.79)
Avila would make his playoff debut after coming back from a minor shoulder injury. Early offense would be the name of both teams. TR Dubois would set the playoff record with 4 walks. The bullpens would take over and quiet the game. Entering the 9th it was tied 4-4. Jose Guerrero on the mound for the Buffalo. With 2 outs and bases loaded, Mark Chapman would pop a ball to left but Hisato Horio would drop it! 2 would score on the play. But the damage would not be over yet, Ron Peterson would launch a triple scoring 2 more to give the Harfang a 4-run lead. Buffalo would call back with a bases loaded 2 out situation of their own in the bottom of the inning. Morales would hit single up the middle of the field to score 1. But SS Dean Monahan would fly out on the second pitch, ending the game.
TR 8 - 5 CHY

Game 3: CHY Rafael Santa Cruz (18-10, 2.31) vs TR Jorge Franco (21-5, 2.86)
The series heads to Quebec with the hometown fans in high spirits, up 2-0 in the series. Santa Cruz would be taken out of the 4th inning due to a blister, Cheyenne would have to rely on their weakened bullpen after using up most of their pitchers in the first 2 games. But it would not matter, Horio would make up for himself, scoring in the first and a 2-run shot in the 4th would capitalize a 7 run bashing of one of the Harfang’s best pitchers.
CHY 7 - 2 TR

Game 4: CHY Marty Hodge (15-10, 2.61) vs TR Juan Donate (1-5, 4.52)
Cheyenne is in a similar position as they were in the Pacific Series, with arguably their best pitcher up against their opponents worst. Both teams would trade big innings, but after a 2-run 8th by the Buffalo to take a 5-3 lead, it was down to their last 3 chances in the 9th. Jose Guerrero would take the mound, the knuckleballer has not given up a run in the playoffs thus far. He would walk the first batter, but would be bailed out by a fielder’s choice. Josh Lemon would launch a single. With the double play open, it looked like Cheyenne would tie it up. Especially with Juan Garcia up to the plate. Garcia has been replacing the injured Jason Martin for the last month or so and has only hit .231. But it wouldn’t matter, he would launch a 3-run home run that barely got over the left field wall, a walk-off home run for the Harfang, only 1 win away from the championship.
CHY 5 - 6 TR

Game 5: CHY Steve Francen (6-4, 2.56) vs TR Leon Lopez (16-11, 2.63)
Throughout the season and the playoffs, Cheyenne has struggled on the road, being only a few games over .500. If they can manage a win here, they will be able to play the final 2 games at home where they have been almost unbeatable. With hometown Steve Francen on the mound it seemed doable. Until he loaded the bases with no outs and Kyle Thompson up to the plate… Thompon would clear the bases with a double, leading to a 5-run first inning. There was pretty much nothing the Buffalo could do for the rest of the game. The Harfang finally win the Series and become the first Atlantic team to do so!
CHY 3 - 6 TR (Trois wins series 4-1)

BDoof · 2/04/2024 12:47 pm

Sorry for a bit of a delay, between work being ridiculously busy and a few hiccups during the expansion draft and 2105 season had me troubled.

2105 Expansion Teams
The NABF will be starting their first expansion, split up into 2 phases. The first phase begins this off-season. The Alaska Avalanche, playing in Anchorage, Arctic Circle Federation. The Avalanche will be the first team from the ACF to play in the NABF, and will be the furthest north team as well (by quite a bit). Snow will not be an issue as they play inside the Anchorage Biodome. The second team, the Rome Gladiators, will be Georgia’s first team. More about them and the nation of Georgia below. It was also announced that the 2nd phase of expansion will take place in 2109, 1 year after the first Baseball World Cup in early 2108. The 2 teams will be located in Mexico and the Maritimes.

Rome, despite not being the largest city in Georgia, is the capital and is seen as the main economic and cultural hub. Georgia has had a long and complicated history. After receiving independence in 1783, began to look to expand their borders. They were easily able to get to the Mississippi River, but were blocked from going further by the French controlled Louisiana and Spanish controlled Florida. To help combat this, they became the largest benefactor and producer of Caribbean and Atlantic piracy. Their efforts were so strong that in 1807, pirate Edward Teach would assassinate the Georgian King and take his throne. Despite a short and harsh rule, Teach would be one of the better rulers that century as afterwards Georgia began a truly dark turn. Splitting Carolina in half with Virginia and attacking Florida as soon as they got independence. By the 1910s Georgia had partnered with Virginia and Rupert’s Land to form the North American Coalition. The NAC would join The Great War, loosely allied with the Central Powers. While Virginia would peace out early (due to a massive campaign by Susquehanna and New England took over all of their Maryland territory, which they still hold today). Georgia would initially start strong, gaining land all the way to Texas, but then Henry Erchif would launch a rebellion in Rome that would single-handedly collapse the Empire. The Empire had themselves claimed to be the modern Rome, thus when this rebellion happened, it was seen to be like Spartacus’ Rebellion. Erchif, backed by the UNAF (United North American Federation) would begin widespread reforms across the whole nation. Their most notable contribution since, would be in the 2040s during the brutal Great African War, Georgia became one of the main benefactors in rebuilding and reunifying the continent. They are also claimed to have brought and popularized baseball to the continent, mainly Gabon and the EAF (#11 prospect Matunde Simai is from Gabon). The Gladiators will play in Henry Erchif Field, a slightly pitcher favored park.

Jerseys: Bright red hat with black brim, on a white jersey with red and copperish/gold trim designs. Road jerseys are standard gray, with more black than yellow that pairs with similar red trim. They also have a red alternate with various national symbols and say “GEORGIA” across the chest rather than Rome.

I have previously written about them and the ACF in the expansion vote post from a few days ago, look on there for more information. The Avs will play in First Biodome Financial Field, a balance stadium that heavily favors right-handed batters while limiting lefties.

Jerseys: White primaries with white hats that have a light blue brim. Roads are a darker than usual gray, with black undershirt and the white on the hats turns to gray. As an alternate they have “aurora borealis” jerseys that are full of colors and designs to represent the local cultures and the aurora borealis that is a symbol of the region.

In the expansion draft, each team could protect 15 players, with any under 1 year of pro service being automatically protected. A maximum of 3 picks from a single team as well. (a few native unranked prospects I may manually transfer as well to make sure they have enough domestic players to fill the quota). Baton Rouge and Cheyenne will not lose any players as they don’t have enough to meet the criteria.

Alaska’s picks:
SP Jake Hale, Eureka. Has been superb in the last few seasons with Eureka.
RF Sam Boyd, Germantown. Struggled the last 2 seasons, but was great early in his career.
SP Jeff Caron, Eureka. Another young arm from Eureka, has 4 years of control left.
CF Gilberto Morena, Trois Rivieres. A speedy outfielder who wasn’t given a chance in Quebec.
C Jonathan Shepherd, Huron. One of the better defensive catchers in the game but was stuck behind Kevin Magid.
1B Philippe Thomas, Huron. Has shown flashes of potential, but can never quite grasp it.
1B Sean Grant, Galveston. Similar to Thomas.
2B Marquis Kaba, Eureka. Was part of one of the first trades in NABF history.

Rome’s picks:
C Scott Vander Ark, Dakota. An average hitter and above-average defender, a rarity in the league.
CL Bob O’Brien, Trois Rivieres. Has been splendid in the Harfang pen, but looks to be the closer in Rome.
2B Dave Orns, Dakota. A defensive utility player.
3B Mario Ruperto, Dakota. A solid backup in Dakota that hasn’t had a chance.
1B Neal Sharman, Huron. A minor league legend.
SP Luke Rush, Florida. Had a 4.18ERA in Florida, which is good for Florida.

Hopefully, with some behind the scenes changes, the next expansion draft will work properly as well as figuring out a way to have talented Japanese, Korean, Taiwanese, and some European players for the world cup without having them all flood the NABF.

BDoof · 2/04/2024 9:07 pm

2104 Off-Season Summary

2104 Awards:

Jean Frey Awards (silver slugger equivalent)
Pacific:
C Eric Titus, .320/.423/.498, 16HRs, 161wRC+ 7.4WAR (CHY) 4th consecutive award
1B Trevor Reardon, .310/.439/.488, 14HRs, 74SBs, 167wRC+, 8.6WAR (DAK) 2nd career award, first at 1B
2B Ritter Ammann, .346/.395/.499, 17HRs, 117RBIs, 6.6WAR (EUR) 2nd career award
3B Angelo Alonzo, .271/.367/.417, 18HRs, 126wRC+, 5.5WAR (GAL) 3rd career award
SS Jamie Tipton, .271/.315/.364, 8HRs, 29SBs, 96wRC+, 3.2WAR (EUR)
LF Hervé Barthélémy, .271/.376/.587, 47HRs, 116RBIs, 6.1WAR (AST) 4th consecutive award
CF Katsumi Canio, .330/.365/.418, 67SBs, 111Runs, 122wRC+, 7.7WAR (GAL) 3rd consecutive award
RF Matthew Wagoner, .250/.309/.471, 30HRs, 122RBIs, 4.0WAR (BR) 3rd consecutive award
DH Antonio Garza, .300/.383/.577, 44HRs, 115RBIs, 5.9WAR (EUR) 3rd career award

Atlantic:
C Kevin Magid, .240/.335/.360, 105wRC+, 2.3WR (HUR)
1B Kyle Thompson, .282/.393/.624, 56HRs, 140RBIs, 7.8WAR (TR) 4th consecutive award
2B Tom Phelan, .305/.353/.399, 115wRC+, 5.8WAR (HUR) 3rd career award
3B Matt Bentz, .258/.321/.438, 21HRs, 117wRC+, 3.4WAR (PLY)
SS Ben Cintron, .242/.283/.406, 22HRs, 98wRC+, 4.0WAR (GER)
LF Mark Chapman, .281/.336/.435, 119wRC+, 5.3WAR (TR)
CF Gary Urbanczyk, .222/.337/.514, 42HRs, 37SBs, 125RBIs, 8.5WAR (CHS) 2nd career award
RF Tom Mackey, .305/.376/.487, 16HRs, 150wRC+, 3.3WAR (CHS) 3rd career award
DH Justin Adler, .302/.368/.456, 139wRC+, 3.7WAR (TR)

Laurent Gervais Award (reliever award)
Pacific: Kyle McMurphy, 21 of 23 Saves, 0.96ERA (7 total runs, gave up his 2nd career home run), 10.2K/9, 396ERA+ (GAL) won 3rd consecutive award, unanimous

Atlantic: Mike Hilger, 26 of 28 Saves, 1.05ERA (6 total runs), 15.4K/9, 384ERA+ (FLA) 2nd career award, 11 first place votes
Graham Lawlor, 34 of 40 Saves, 2.82ERA, 9.1K/9, 136ERA+ (TR) 3 first place votes

Sidney Ross Award (manager award)
Pacific: Sean Goggin of Cheyenne. Finished 2nd in Pacific but took down the 112 Redwoods in the Pacific Series
Atlantic: Rob Noble of Trois Rivieres. Finished first in Atlantic and won the Championship, third straight Ross award.

Dimitri Deshayes Awards (gold glove equivalent)
Pacific:
P Josh Eastman (BR)
C Eric Titus (CHY)
1B Ray Tolbert (AST) 3rd in career
2B Dan Harbin (CHY)
3B Edgar Morales (CHY)
SS Dean Monahan (CHY)
LF Jon Magallanes (DAK) 4th consecutive
CF Katsumi Canio (GAL) 4th consecutive
RF Richard Kriegel (CHY) 2nd in career

Atlantic:
P Brian Van Winkle (CHS) 4th consecutive
C Josh Lemon (TR) 2nd in career
1B Chris Conway (CHS)
2B Juan Garcia (TR)
3B Rio Carr (HUR) 4th consecutive
SS Christian Dubois (TR)
LF Mark Chapman (TR)
CF Gary Urbanczyk (CHS) 3rd in career
RF Savion Jones (FLA) 2nd in career

Raul Hernandez Award (platinum glove award)
Pacific: SS Dean Monahan, Cheyenne
Atlantic: SS Christian Dubois, Trois Rivieres

Pedro Castaneda Award (rookie award)
Pacific: Eli Lawson 13-14, 4.02ERA, 113Ks (AST) 6 first place votes
SS Dean Monahan, .184/.257/.266, 52OPS+, 1.8WAR (CHY) won Hernandez award, 8 first place votes but less total points

Atlantic: Mike Kulbeth 19-13, 2.92ERA, 288Ks, 131ERA+, 7.1WAR (PLY) unanimous

Matt Taylor Award (pitcher award)
Pacific:
1 Felix Hernandez 23-8, 1.84ERA, 286Ks, 10.3K/9, 208ERA+ 9.6WAR (EUR) 12 first place votes, 4th straight award winner
2 Rafael Santa Cruz 18-10, 2.31ERA, 207Ks, 0.93WHIP, 166ERA+, 11WAR (CHY) 1 first place vote
3 Ben Denman 25-8, 2.54ERA, 151Ks, 150ERA+, 8WAR (EUR) 1 first place vote. At least he didn’t get second again.

Atlantic:
1 Leon Lopez 16-11, 2.63ERA, 280Ks, 0.99WHIP, 7.3WAR (TR) 8 first place votes, 2nd career award
2 Alex Garcia 16-9, 2.65ERA, 209Ks, 144ERA+, 6.8WAR (HUR) 5 first place votes
3 Mike Kulbeth 19-13, 2.92ERA, 288Ks, 131ERA+, 7.1WAR (PLY) 1 first place vote as a rookie

Willie Baxter Award (hitter award)
Pacific:
1 Antonio Garza, .300/.383/.577, 44HRs, 115RBIs, 5.9WAR (EUR) 8 first place votes
2 Eric Titus, .320/.423/.498, 16HRs, 161wRC+ 7.4WAR (CHY) 3 first place votes, 2nd straight 2nd place.
3 Ritter Ammann, .346/.395/.499, 17HRs, 117RBIs, 6.6WAR (EUR) 2 first place votes
Trevor Reardon also received 1 first place vote

Atlantic:
1 Kyle Thompson, .282/.393/.624, 56HRs, 140RBIs, 7.8WAR (TR) Unanimous, 3rd career award
2 Gary Urbanczyk, .222/.337/.514, 42HRs, 37SBs, 125RBIs, 8.5WAR (CHS)
3 Tom Paddock, .293/.377/.440, 13HRs, 32SBs, 136OPS+, 5.2WAR (PLY)

2104 Rookie Draft: (only first round)

1st Overall, Baton Rouge Cajuns select. RHP Matt Ecklund, from Great Lakes out of college. Scout Grade of 60.
2nd Overall, Florida Flamingos select. RF Adam Beyer, from Florida out of college. Scout Grade of 60.
3rd Overall, Galveston Launch select. LHP Nick Lambert from Georgia out of college. Scout Grade of 70.
4th Overall, Plymouth Pilgrims select. LHP Tim Troke from Arctic Circle out of high school. Scout Grade of 70.
5th Overall, Astoria Osprey select. RHP Chad Reichert from Cascadia out of college. Scout Grade of 55.
6th Overall, Dakota Eagles select. LHP Fritz Bresson from Quebec out of college. Scout Grade of 65.
7th Overall, Chesapeake Admirals select. RHP Thomas Legros from Quebec out of college. Scout Grade 60.
8th Overall, Huron Gryphons select. RF Jeremy Richey from Arctic Circle out of high school. Scout Grade of 55.
9th Overall, Germantown Pretzels select. RHP Heath Victory from Arctic Circle out of high school. Scout Grade of 65.
10th Overall, Cheyenne Buffalo select. RHP Tim Cote from Maritimes out of high school. Scout Grade 55.
11th Overall, Trois Rivieres Harfang select. LHP Philippe Lemaître from Quebec out of high school. Scout Grade of 60.
12th Overall, Eureka Redwoods select. 3B Carlos Escobedo from California out of college. Scout Grade of 50.
13th Overall, Alaska Avalanche select. RHP John Gillingham from Arctic Circle out of college. Scout Grade of 50.
14th Overall, Rome Gladiators select. RHP Kyle Magnani from Georgia out of college. Scout Grade ot 50.
(so I totally expected Alaska and Rome to pick 3rd and 4th, but apparently that wasn’t the case, rip them and their future. Also I did not plan nor expect all these ACF players, the ACF is actually the only nation to not have an “excellent” player rating (due to me forgetting to change it before the draft, but I guess it worked out anyway))

2104 International Rookie Signings: (just top 6)

RHP Francisco Longoria, from Dominican Republic. Scout Grade of 55. Signs with Cheyenne.
SS Masashi Miyahara, from Japan. Scout Grade of 50. Signs with Plymouth.
2B Pedro Castillo, from Curaçao. Scout Grade of 50. Signs with Alaska.
CF Urbano DeAmicis, from Italy. Scout Grade of 45. Signs with Galveston.
C Hairama Nalanie, from Hawaii. Scout Grade of 45. Signs with Trois Rivieres.
RHP Kaye Akita, from Hawaii. Scout Grade of 45. Signs with Rome.

Roster Moves:
Notable available FAs:
2B Ritter Ammann, 29 years old. Finished 3rd in Baxter voting this year, arguably the best 2B in the league.
IF Angelo Alonzo, 33 years old. Alonzo has won a Frey at multiple positions in his career.
LF Nick Parsons, 32 years old. A part of the Plymouth core that never could quite make it.
SP Brian Van Winkle, 31 years old. Finished 4 quite solid seasons in Chesapeake, underrated.
RF Tom Mackey, 31 years old. Awful fielder but possibly the most consistent hitter on the Atlantic.
LF Jon Magallanes, 30 years old. Won 4 straight Deshayes while being above league average in Dakota.
RF/1B Oscar Morales, 31 years old. Opts out of his Plymouth contract as they haven’t been as good as expected, though neither was he.
LF Paul Butler, 29 years old. A solid 3 years in Galveston before a small pit-stop in Germantown really helped him make his case.
LF David Westland, 32 years old. Career .300 hitter
1B Dave Chatwin, 29 years old. The Maritimer finally had a breakout season, and right before Free Agency.

Signs LF Paul Butler, 5 years $198k a year. Butler so far has a 140 career OPS+.
Signs 1B Dave Chatwin, 2 years $168k a year. Chatwin broke out last season with Cheyenne. Alaska is betting on him to do it again.

Alaska seems to be loading up on power hitters in order to try to make something happen. Hale, Caron, and rookie Gillingham look to make an interesting pitching staff, but they seemed to fail to sign any relievers to help it all work together.

Losses: C Armando Garcia 2.6WAR, 2B Luis Rico 2.5WAR, SP Joel Acrsio 2.4WAR, Brian Sky 1.9WAR
Signs LF David Westland, 4 years $190k a year. The Cascadia native has been an underrated part of Chesapeake’s rise, a career .300 hitter so far.

Astoria has had so many Chesapeake players on their team now (or did Chesapeake have Astoria players). Either way, Westland was an okay pick-up, though their main issue was still their pitching. Could’ve gotten Chesapeake arms Van Winkle or Richardson.

Losses: CL Angelo Juarez 1.7WAR, 2B Emilio Rodriguez 1.6WAR

At this point, since it is a rebuild, I’m not really going to say anything.

Losses: SP Matt Richardson 5.8WAR, SP Brian Van Winkle 5.5WAR, LF Mike McIntyre 4.1WAR, RF Tom Mackey 3.3WAR, LF David Westland 2.9WAR, C Alex Respighi 1.5WAR

Definitely a surprise that the Admirals didn’t sign… anybody. But with prospects like Badey, Frizzell, Campeau, and Bolen looking to finally start a full season may be able to replace some of these losses.

Losses: 1B Dave Chatwin 4.1WAR
Extends RHP Jose Serrano, 5 years $129k a year. Voids 2 years of arbitration, Serrano has been dominant for the Buffalo, 2.64ERA and 150ERA+. Has struggled to stay healthy but is lights out when on.
Signs LF Jon Magallanes, 4 years $188k a year. Despite being a Rocky Mountaineer, it will be weird for fans as he played 4 great years with Cheyenne’s biggest rival, Dakota.

Re-upped Serrano and signed a rival's top player? I’d call it a success. Much of their core is locked up long term, and the few players they don’t; they have the room to either sign or prospects to take their place.

Losses: CL Nick Hartle 3.7WAR, LF Jon Magallanes 3.1WAR
Extends 2B Jose Zarate, 4 years $100k a year. Despite being 30, Zarate still has 3 years of arbitration left.

Surprised this was their only real move. After not making the playoffs for the first time ever I thought they’d want a splash, or at least keep Magallanes.

Losses: 2B Ritter Ammann 6.6WAR, RP Benjamin Platt 1.6WAR
Extends 1B Mel Velez, 2 years with an AAV of $222k. Velez has been a cornerstone to Eureka and has spent all 4 years there so far, collecting 18.7WAR.
Signed SP Todd Luquette, 3 years $158k a year. The Californian native played the last 2 seasons in Eureka where he pitched above average.

Unfortunate losses of Hale and Caron, both Californian native, during the expansion draft. Along with Ammann really dampens their potential. But they still have enough current talent along with prospects, like 2B Cor John who will take over Ammann’s spot, to make another playoff push.

Losses: CL Mike Hilger 4.0WAR, SP Ben Nickel 2.3WAR, C Ashton Smith 1.4WAR
Signs LF/1B Oscar Morales, 2 years $170k a year. Morales spent his first 2 seasons with Florida.

Getting Morales back was a nice snag. Probably the furthest along the rebuild of any of the major rebuilding teams. Possibly only another year or two in the oven before they can begin their ascent.

Losses: 3B Angelo Alonzo 5.5WAR, SP Juan Manjarrez 3.1WAR
Signs LF Mike McIntyre, 2 years $170k a year. McIntyre had surprise showings in the last 2 seasons with Florida and Chesapeake. The Texan looks to repeat his success.
Signs RHP Brian Van Winkle, 3 years $190k a year. The Texan has consistently thrown above-average seasons with Chesapeake while also winning 4 Deshayes awards.

So I applauded Florida for their one signing, yet I was almost about to bash Galveston for spending on 2 players. Maybe I have favorites. Either way, while the Launch has good prospects, they really have not been able to develop them well. But who knows, they could all of a sudden become stars.

Losses: SP Ahmed Mathis 2.9WAR, LF Paul Butler 2.8WAR, CL Mike Kohn 2.5WAR, 1B Danny Hill 1.7WAR
Signs 2B Ritter Ammann, 7 years with AAV of $276k. The Susquehanna native has been a 4 time all-star, 2 time Frey winner, finished 3rd in Baxter voting last season, and won the Batting Title. He also has 69 career home runs.
RHP Alejandro Escarcega, 2 years $88k a year. Escarcega played 5 games in Germantown last year before being waived to Plymouth, where he would finish 3rd in the Gervais voting.
C Armando Garcia, 3 years $154k a year. The Susquehanna native played 4 years with Astoria, with his last 2 being his best. Looks to replace Keith Lopes who left this year.
Signs RHP Matt Richardson, 4 years $188k a year. The Susquahanna native put up back to back impressive years with Chesapeake.

After a surprise playoff appearance they go in BIG for free agency. I had previously expected them to go all in for Ammann, but I did not expect the other players. With 3 of them being natives it allows them to sign even more players next year and keep their young ones as well. Honestly, maybe they can finally do it… I jinxed it, didn't I?

Losses: RF Bob Beals 2.0WAR
Signs RF Tom Mackey, 5 years $205k a year. The Great Lakes native has hit .300 a year and his “worst” season was a 138OPS+.

Mackey was a bit of a surprise, yes he’s a native player but Huron already seems solid and was just missing some depth pieces. They easily will be another contender next season. Maybe they will win more than 1 single playoff game.

Losses: 1B Oscar Morales 3.0WAR, LF Nick Parson 2.1WAR
Extends 3B Matt Bentz, 5 years, $78k a year. Voids 3 years of arbitration, Bentz finally had a breakout season in 2104.
Signs IF Angelo Alonzo, 5 years with AAV of $252k. Alonzo won a Deshayes and 3 Frey awards between 2B and 3B, looks to play SS surrounded by Matt Bentz and D.W. Manning.

With Mauck coming back and another year of development for Kulbeth, Corral, and Kenney, the Pilgrims may have something to root for. But probably not, as Mauck, Benbow, and Paddock are entering their final year of control. The 2105 window they have been talking about for years has finally come… and might go without a notice.

No major FAs, which is fine. Not every expansion team needs to make giant splashes. Several Georgian players will be FAs in the coming years and even a few top players in the draft could be targets for the Gladiators to build around.

Losses: 2B Juan Garcia 2.1WAR, SP Jose Cervantes 1.4WAR

Since their team is built around a ton of youth, the defending champs don’t really need a FA haul to stay elite. However, it should be noted that while Kyle Thompson has 4 years on his contract left, this year is an option year. The slugger may exercise that option as he could easily get much more money on the open market.

Retirements

LHP Jesse Conway, Quebec, spent all 4 years with Trois Rivieres, 2103 pitched to a 20-7 record but was mostly a bullpen pitcher this last year. Combines to only an average career but did win a ring in the end.
RHP Mario Olmedo, Rocky Mountains, he was on Huron’s roster for the first 3 seasons before bouncing around last year, but due to injuries only pitched about 1.5 seasons, but was utterly dominant in that timeframe, tossing a 168ERA+.

BDoof · 2/07/2024 12:12 pm

2105 Pre-Season Preview
(so, somehow adding the expansion messed with the schedule and only 138 games are scheduled to be played and I can’t fix it until the off-season. I will have to come up with a lore reason as for why)
Pacific Conference

last season did not exist
13th ranked farm system (SP John Gillingham #1, SS Leland Abbott #77)
Payroll $1,228,200 - 11th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 27, Jonathan Shepherd, Great Lakes, played 50 games as backup with Huron
1B, 29, Dave Chatwin, Maritimes, .299/.354/.455, 123OPS+ with Cheyenne
2B, 25, Marquis Kaba, Louisiana, played 5 games in Eureka
3B, 23, Ryan Storch, Arctic Circle, no stats, rookie season. Unranked
SS, 22, Leland Abbott, Quebec, no stats, rookie season. 77th ranked prospect
LF, 30, Paul Butler, Rocky Mountains, .250/.341/.468, 136OPS+ with Germantown
CF, 33, Gilberto Moreno, Venezuela, played 10 games with Trois Rivieres
RF, 30, Sam Boyd, Great Lakes, .192/.253/.330, 70OPS+ with Germantown
DH, 30, Philippe Thomas, Quebec, .226/.306/.322, 83OPS+ with Huron

1 31, Jake Hale, California, 18-6, 2.71ERA, 142ERA+ with Eureka
2 26, Jeff Caron, California, 12-12, 4.16ERA, 92ERA+ with Eureka
3 22, John Gillingham, Arctic Circle, no stats rookie season. #1 ranked prospect
4 29, Ismael Nieves, Dominican Republic, pitched 3 games in 2102 with Dakota
5 31, Desmond Shannon, Maritimes, pitched 10 games in 2101 with Baton Rouge
CL, 36, Damien Byers, California, career minor leaguer
Other notably bullpen arms: no

Boyd, Butler, and Thomas have had good seasons in the past, if they can keep them they might have an interesting offense in the future, but they have major issues in the bullpen and pitching in general. Standard expansion team issues.

last season 75-87, 4th in Pacific
11th ranked farm system (SP Chard Reichert #15, CF David Westfall #25, LF Russ Pettaway #28)
Payroll $1,854,373 - 6th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 24, Joaquin Nunez, Susquehanna, .227/.289/.305 in 54 games last year
1B, 35, Ray Tolbert, Cascadia, .286/.392/.444, 140OPS+
2B, 23, Dustin Coghill, Virginia, .255/.290/.332, 79OPS+
3B, 24, Adam Moore, Virginia, .242/.335/.380, 105OPS+
SS, 26, Kevin Jones, The Dakotas, .204/.289/.313, 73OPS+
LF, 28, Hervé Barthélémy, Quebec, .271/.376/.587, 174OPS+
CF, 29, Ryan Lowery, California, .227/.308/.307, 54SBs, 78OPS+
RF, 31, Tyler Kilbarger, Susquehanna, .293/.326/.440, 119OPS+
DH, 32, David Westland, Cascadia, .297/.389/.422, 135OPS+ with Chesapeake

1 29, Andrew Redepenning, Virginia, 15-9, 3.23ERA, 214Ks, 119ERA+
2 24, Eli Lawson, Texas, 13-14, 4.02ERA, 96ERA+ won Castaneda award
3 30, Beau Schulte, Cascadia, 8-9, 4.69ERA, 81ERA+
4 26, Dusty McCord, Cascadia, 2.86ERA in 66 innings
5 24, Bart Rook, New England, no stats rookie season. #86 ranked prospect
CL, 28, Nick Ashley, Cascadia, 2.83ERA in 82.2 innings, first time as primary closer
Other notably bullpen arms: Ken Laubach and Tyler D’Orio

Astoria keeps adding bats despite lackluster pitching depth. While they could still make a surprise run, the real question is can they do enough to keep Barthélémy. He has an option to void the last 6 years of his contract, similar to what he had in Trois Rivieres and he picked the option despite making it to the championship and playing for his home nation.

last season 57-105, 6th in Pacific
6th ranked farm system (RHP Matt Ecklund #6, RHP Roth Reiter #16, RHP Daniel Ojeda #31, RF Jared Meyers #35)
Payroll $1,196,385 - 12th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 27, Kevin Edwards, Georgia, .276/.337/.344, 97OPS+
1B, 31, Jose Pineda, Louisiana, .230/.314/.377, 96OPS+ in 2103 with Huron
2B, 23, Justin Driscoll, California, 28OPS+ in 43 games
3B, 22, Jayden Royal, Florida, .223/.290/.332, 79OPS+, former #1 prospect
SS, 25, Philip Fievet, Quebec, .231/.267/.330, 72OPS+
LF, 31, Jake Herold, California, .262/.374/.514, 154OPS+
CF, 25, Joseph Wallace, Rocky Mountains, .250/.339/.387, 109OPS+
RF, 27, Matthew Wagoner, Great Lakes, .250/.309/.471, 122OPS+ won Frey award
DH, 22, Ben Black, Georgia, 11 games played, former #3 overall draft pick

1 30, Jaivin Cano, Louisiana, 10-12, 4.38ERA, 88ERA+
2 22, Mike Pope, Great Lakes, no stats, rookie season. #42 ranked prospect
3 29, Jason Skelly, Cascadia, 8-14, 5.23ERA, 76ERA+
4 21, Jim Vogel, Susquehanna, 4.40ERA in 45 innings
5 23, Chris Munden, The Dakotas, 6-19, 5.65ERA, 68ERA+
CL, 25, Jason Walker, 2.53ERA in 53 innings
Other notable bullpen arms: Prospects: Dennis Quintal, Léo Marie, Matt Ecklund, and Lorenzo Branch

Another year of the rebuild. They really need to stop calling players up early, Black, Driscoll, and Royal were all seemingly up way too soon and has messed with their confidence and potential, same will probably be said about all the young pitchers this season as well. This is Wagoner’s last year under contract, and I fully expect him to leave at the end of the season if he isn’t traded by then.

last season 100-62, lost to Trois in Championship Series
12th ranked farm system (RHP Tim Cote #12 and RHP Carlos Padilla #22)
Payroll $1,907,081 - 5th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 27, Eric Titus, Great Lakes, .320/.423/.498, 165OPS+ won Frey and Deshayes award
1B, 23, Edgar Morales, California, .204/.278/.289, 64OPS+ won Deshayes at third base
2B, 24, Dan Harbin, New England, .307/.377/.382, 119OPS+ won Deshayes award
3B, 29, Conor Rosenzweig, Texas, .216/.329/.291, 81OPS+ with Florida
SS, 23, Dean Monahan, Cascadia, .184/.257/.266, 51OPS+ won Deshayes and Hernandez award
LF, 30, Jon Magallanes, Rocky Mountains, .259/.325/.395, 107OPS+ won Deshayes with Dakota
CF, 33, Kevin Meyer, Rocky Mountains, .263/.365/.470, 139OPS+
RF, 36, Richard Kriegel, Rocky Mountains, .180/.283/.285, 64OPS+ won Deshayes award
DH, 24, Ricardo Rodriguez, California, .235/.403/.372, 125OPS+

1 27, Rafael Santa Cruz, Florida, 18-10, 2.31ERA, 166ERA+ 11.5WAR
2 28, Marty Hodge, Australia, 15-10, 2.61ERA, 147ERA+
3 37, Steve Francen, Rocky Mountains, 6-4, 2.56ERA, 150ERA+ injury shortened
4 25, Jose Serrano, Dominican Republic, 13-6, 2.43ERA, 158ERA+
5 29, Jeffrey Simon, The Dakotas, 16-8, 279ERA, 138ERA+
CL, 29, Mike Hilger, Rocky Mountains, 26 Saves, 0.86ERA, 445ERA+ won Gervais with Florida
Other notable bullpen arms: Warren Bourdon, Sebastian Moore, and Jose Guerrero

They finally stayed mostly healthy last season and it paid off with them almost winning the championship. They still have weaknesses with their offense but they are mostly offset by outstanding defense. They should be able to easily make another run for it all.

last season 78-84, 3rd in Pacific
2nd ranked farm system (LHP Fritz Bresson #3, 2B Alex Campos #32, LF Nestor Rivas #33)
Payroll $2,038,023 - 4th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 29, William Roehm, New England, .209/.277/.291, 66OPS+ with Plymouth
1B, 30, Trevor Reardon, The Dakotas, .310/.439/.488, 74SBs 167OPS+
2B, 39, Larry Adair, Arctic Circle, .297/.392/.391, 127OPS+ (will miss 4 months due to injury)
3B, 35, Chris Shepherd, Great Lakes, .235/.365/.391, 118OPS+
SS, 34, Ian Brinley, Texas, .210/.290/.337, 81OPS+ had an off season, won MVP season prior
LF, 32, Juan Adalco, Dominican Republic, only played 32 games
CF, 32, Ron Young, The Dakotas, .278/.352/.440, 127OPS+
RF, 34, Scott Purkis, The Dakotas, .264/.343/.372, 106OPS+
DH, 31, Jose Zarate, Venezuela, .242/.317/.456, 121OPS+

1 24, Bobby Brooks, Texas, 5-7, 3.94ERA, 98ERA+
2 32, Adam Harless, Great Lakes, 4-5, 4.37ERA, 88ERA+
3 22, Fritz Bresson, Quebec. No stats, rookie season. #3 ranked prospect
4 21, Danny Tatman, Great Lakes, 12-14, 4.93ERA, 78ERA+
5 33, Doug McFarland, The Dakotas, 8-19, 5.79ERA, 66ERA+
CL, 28, Nick Hartle, The Dakotas, 13-6, 8 Saves, 2.69ERA, 143ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: David Pugh, Pat Dow, Lance Ragas, Ryan Leonard, Ryan Hoskins

Dakota missed the playoffs for the first time ever last season, mostly due to underperformance and injuries to the pitching core. They lost Vander Ark and Ragallanes who had been key pieces to their success, and with Adair injured (and probably playing his last season), this may be their last chance to really make a shot. Outside of Bresson, most of their prospects are years away from the majors so they may look to rebuild depending on how well this season goes.

last season 112-50, won Pacific, lost Pacific Series to Cheyenne
7th ranked farm system (RHP Tillman Tamayo #11, 2B Cor John #17, C Ismael Mendez #21)
Payroll $2,515,978 - 1st (salary cap is 2.5million)
Lineup and Pitching

C, 28, Ogai Hara, Japan, .260/.377/.351, 111OPS+
1B, 38, Mel Velez, Guatemala, .286/.375/.473, 143OPS+
2B, 28, Jorge Rodriguez, Dominican Republic, 54OPS+ in 61 games
3B, 35, Fernando Solis, Dominican Republic, 90OPS+ in 66 games
SS, 24, Jamie Tipton, California, .247/.315/.364, 95OPS+ won Frey award
LF, 30, Jesse Haskins, California, .269/.395/.380, 124OPS+
CF, 25, Ken Kachmar, Maritimes, .208/.318/.290, 76OPS+
RF, 29, Ray Toth, Hawaii, .245/.310/.381, 99OPS+ with Galveston
DH, 32, Antonio Garza, Dominican Republic, .300/.383/.577, 174OPS+ won Baxter award

1 31, Felix Hernandez, 23-8, 1.84ERA, 209ERA+ won Taylor award
2 32, Ben Denman, 25-8, 2.54ERA, 151ERA+
3 34, Jose Lopez, 7-3, 3.47ERA, 111ERA+
4 31, Todd Luquette, 9-4, 3.64ERA, 106ERA+
5 23, Dustin Cloud, The Dakotas, former #2 ranked prospect
CL, 29, Jake Pawlowski, California, 25 Saves, 0.65ERA, 591ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: Tim Dagesse, Mel Leiva, Trent Pullin, Ryan Sumner

Despite the high payroll and the relatively high team age, there really isn’t much to worry about for the 112 win Redwoods. As the formally #1 ranked farm system is slowly starting to make their debuts while the old guard will slowly be fading out. 2B Cor John and C Ismael Mendez are expected to make debuts this year. Pitchers Dustin Cloud and Trent Pullin are already in the major league staff and expected to do well. Let alone others that haven’t been mentioned. The Redwoods are setting themselves up to be the team of the 2100s.

last season 66-96, 5th in Pacific
3rd ranked farm system (LHP Nick Lambert #4, LHP Paolo Barreau #14, LF Oscar Aguilar #26, 1B Lou Goodchild #27)
Payroll $1,412,259 - 9th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 25, David Kleinschmidt, Virginia, .158/.244/.233, 38OPS+
1B, 24, Jose Orozco, Dominican Republic, 223/.283/.395, 94OPS+
2B, 29, Bryce Cleveland, Texas, .248/.327/.304, 83OPS+
3B, 26, Cameron Bean, Great Lakes, 66OPS+ in 46 games
SS, 30, Ryan Irvin, Texas, .156/.234/.236, 36OPS+
LF, 29, Mike McIntyre, Texas, .255/.371/.427, 131OPS+ with Chesapeake
CF, 25, Katsumi Canio, Brazil, .330/.365/.418, 126OPS+ won Frey and Deshayes awards
RF, 21, Melvin Navarrete, California, .182/.246/.242, 42OPS+
DH, 33, David Moran, Texas, .300/.372/.477, 144OPS+

1 32, Brian Van Winkle, Texas, 15-14, 3.49ERA, 110ERA+ with Chesapeake
2 24, Rich Platte, New England, 11-17, 4.63ERA, 83ERA+
3 29, Jeremy Kiely, Susquehanna, 7-22, 4.25ERA, 90ERA+
4 21, Bobby Crocitto, Louisiana, few relief appearances the last few season
5 23, Joe Jones,The Dakotas, 6-10, 5.70ERA, 67ERA+
CL, 27, Kyle McMurphy, Rocky Mountains, 21 Saves, 0.96ERA, 398ERA+ 3 consecutive Gervais winner
Other notable bullpen arms: Greg Cone and Johnny Martinez

Another year, another rebuild. I have lost faith in Galveston, and so has Moran and McMurphy who will most likely be leaving this off-season. However, it does seem they have learned their mistake from calling up Crocitto, Platte, and Orozco early as they are keeping their current top prospects in the minors. Though, with good performances I could, maybe, perhaps, see them fight for .500

Atlantic Conference:

last season 82-80, 4th in Atlantic
9th ranked farm system (RHP Thomas Legros #8, CF Benjamin Whitford #29, RHP Carlos Flores #38)
Payroll $1,357,369 - 10th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 23, Stephen McMorrow, Louisiana, 36 games played last season
1B, 26, Chris Conway, Virginia, .274/.343/.369, 106OPS+ won Deshayes award
2B, 28, Ramiro Ruiz, Colombia, .213/.304/.288, 72OPS+
3B, 30, Brian Sky, Virginia, .237/.322/.366, 98OPS+ with Astoria
SS, 23, Douggie Clarke, Virginia, .206/.258/.267, 52OPS+
LF, 23, Aaron Ruggiero, Cascadia, 28 games played
CF, 27, Gary Urbanczyk, Susquehanna, .222/.337/.514, 42HRs, 37SBs, 144OPS+ won Frey and Deshayes
RF, 25, Nick Campeau, Maritimes, .246/.335/.369, 104OPS+
DH, 30, Corey Kruskamp, Rocky Mountains, .251/.312/.388, 102OPS+

1 38, Roberto Gomez, Texas, 10-13, 3.64ERA, 105ERA+
2 32, Lee Ray, The Dakotas, 11-15, 4.79ERA, 80ERA+
3 23, Keith Badey, Great Lakes, 4-11, 33 Saves, 6.06ERA, 63ERA+
4 22, Matt Frizzell, Cascadia, 3.83ERA in 56 innings
5 26, Charlie Symmonds, only 3 games last year
CL, 33, Alex Schepers, Virginia, 2.91ERA in 65 innings with Galveston
Other notable bullpen arms: prospect Geoff Bolen and C.J. Clymer

After methodically and slowly climbing the table over the last 4 seasons, it appears this could be the time to begin a full-scale rebuild. They lost Van Winkle, are soon to lose Urbanczyk, and the Lee Ray signing has not been as great as hoped. Though, they have a low enough payroll that they could keep Urbanczyk while attracting more talent, even though they haven’t really signed any major foreign FAs besides Lee Ray.

last season 59-103, 6th in Atlantic
1st ranked farm system (LHP Dan Miles #5, RF Adam Beyer #9, LHP Mario Anguiano #18, RHP Oscar Noriega #34)
Payroll $1,186,694 - 13th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 29, Danny Lemon, Arctic Circle, .234/.324/.294, 80OPS+
1B, 31, Oscar Morales, Puerto Rico, .246/.333/.448, 126OPS+ with Plymouth
2B, 34, Juan Torres, Florida, .286/.364/.375, 114OPS+
3B, 24, Chris Bachert, Louisiana, .221/.296/.351, 87OPS+
SS, 23, Tom Helms, Rocky Mountains, .168/.250/.241, 43OPS+
LF, 24, Savion Jones, Louisiana, .223/.262/.345, 42SBs, 74OPS+ won Deshayes award
CF, 33, Jerome Shackelford, Florida, .271/.356/.352, 105OPS+
RF, 23, Adam Beyer, Florida, no stats, rookie season. #9 ranked prospect
DH, 21, Tyler Hammerich, Florida, .271/.311/.400, 104OPS+

1 25, Steven Dorsey, Susquehanna, 6-23, 5.17ERA, 74ERA+
2 26, Jose Orozco, Dominican Republic, 15-16, 3.78ERA, 102ERA+
3 23, Cyrille Vincent, Quebec, no stats, rookie season. #37 ranked prospect
4 31, Craig LeBlanc, Florida, 7-10, 4.17ERA, 92ERA+
5 27, Ricky McDonald, Great Lakes, 2-9, 4.87ERA, 79ERA+
CL, 23, Bill Mowry, Susquehanna, 11-13, 5.34ERA, 72ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: just Harold Sykes who will miss entire season for Tommy John

Sometimes I feel bad for Steven Dorsey, entered the league and won the Castaneda. Since then, Florida has used him like a workhorse and he has ended up leading the league in losses every year since. They’re still going to stink this year, but they may finally have something to build off of if Savion and Hammerich continue to develop, along with all their other prospects. It may not be forever cloudy in the empire of sunshine. At least they won’t be the worst team in the league anymore.

last season 85-77, 2nd in Atlantic, lost Atlantic Series
4th ranked farm system (C/1B Bernward Kurtz #2, RHP Heath Victory #10, C Han-seung Park #40)
Payroll $2,422,194 - 2nd
Lineup and Pitching

C, 34, Armando Garcia, Susquehanna, .254/.324/.352, 95OPS+ with Astoria
1B, 32, Bobby Russell, Susquehanna, .202/.286/.327, 80OPS+
2B, 29, Ritter Ammann, Susquehanna, .346/.395/.499, 157OPS+ won Frey award
3B, 35, Josh Wagoner, Susquehanna, .201/.317/.357, 98OPS+
SS, 27, Ben Cintron, California, .242/.283/.406, 101OPS+ won Frey award
LF, 27, George Powers, Quebec, .242/.372/.401, 127OPS+
CF, 23, Jeremy Cooper, Georgia, .224/.299/.317, 81OPS+
RF, 23, Ernest Mott, Quebec, 21 games last season former #9 ranked prospect
DH, 32, Brent Gomer, Susquehanna, .242/.328/.330, 94OPS+

1 31, Adam Minke, Susquehanna, 17-15, 3.56ERA, 106ERA+
2 32, Bernie Rosado, Susquehanna, 12-12, 2.58ERA, 147ERA+
3 35, Ross Whitehead, Maritimes, 11-11, 4.33ERA, 87ERA+
4 32, Matt Richardson, Susquehanna, 17-10, 3.02ERA, 127ERA+ with Chesapeake
5 28, Ahmed Mathis, Rocky Mountains, 11-10, 3.26ERA, 116ERA+
CL, 31, Anton Latorre, Dominican Republic, 18 Saves, 1.41ERA, 268ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: Bill Van Auken, Ian Strauss, Benjamin Platt, Alejandro Escarcega, and Josh Burford

The Pretzels have set a huge bar this season. After a surprising clinch last year, during which they signed and waived tons of pitchers and even a few batters to give them any extra chance. They kept many of those pitchers, with easily the best bullpen and potentially best all around staff in the game. Signed domestic 2B Ritter Ammann to a huge deal, speaking of. Germantown is loaded with domestic talent, easily more than any other team. 8 starters, 4 bullpen arms, and their top prospect all hail from the Susquehanna nation, which I have given all the new US/Canada nations all the same percentages and skills (besides Maritimes and Hawaii as they don’t have teams yet). It will be interesting once nations begin having multiple teams how they will then craft their teams.

last season 84-78, 3rd in Atlantic, missed playoffs by 1 game.
10th ranked farm system (RF Jeremy Richey #13, IF Ron Mudd #19)
Payroll $2,411,823 - 3rd
Lineup and Pitching

C, 31, Kevin Magid, Rocky Mountains, .240/.335/.360, 103OPS+ won Frey award
1B, 44, Dave Rhein, Great Lakes, .258/.385/.414, 124OPS+ with Galveston in 2103
2B, 29, Tom Phelan, Quebec, .305/.353/.399, 119OPS+ won Frey award
3B, 30, Rio Carr, New England, .249/.324/.328, 91OPS+ won Deshayes award
SS, 30, Mike McClary, Texas, .286/.355/.390, 118OPS+
LF, 23, Diego Lopez, California, .192/.286/.238, 54OPS+
CF, 32, Robby Roberto, Texas, .261/.315/.420, 113OPS+
RF, 31, Tom Mackey, Great Lakes, .305/.376/.487, 148OPS+
DH, 29, Fernando Criado, California, .260/.369/.435, 134OPS+

1 35, Alex Garcia, Colombia, 16-9, 2.65ERA, 143ERA+
2 27, Josh Newcomer, Great Lakes, 3.30ERA, 115ERA+
3 40, Jaylin Wallace, Great Lakes, 14-9, 3.43ERA, 111ERA+
4 30, Julio Sanchez, Dominican Republic, 9-14, 3.46ERA, 110ERA+
5 23, Brad Vedder, Great Lakes, 8-7, 11 Saves, 3.33ERA, 114ERA+
CL, 37, Philip Auricchio, Great Lakes, 1.86ERA in 58 innings with Baton Rouge
Other notable bullpen arms: Oscar Torrez, Mike Anderson, and Juan Huitz

Gryphons have easily the highest potential of any team in the Atlantic, but have not been able to really capture any of that. This will also be an important year as Sanchez, Phelan, and Garcia are on their last year of their contracts, plus Magid and Newcomer have a player option (which so far most players seem to elect for FA) and Jaylin Wallace is likely to retire (probably Rhein too, but idk he might play till 50). However, I personally do have them winning the Atlantic.

last season 74-88, 5th in Atlantic
5th ranked farm system (LHP Tim Troke $7, LF/1B Matunde Simai #24, RHP Felike Ipo #39)
Payroll $1,744,036 - 8th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 26, Philip Cordrey, Great Lakes, .206/.305/.341, 88OPS+
1B, 23, Jonathan Padilla, Texas, 31 games played
2B, 23, D.W. Manning, Georgia, .274/.410/.366, 128OPS+
3B, 24, Matt Bentz, Virginia, .258/.321/.438, 120OPS+ won Frey award
SS, 33, Angelo Alonzo, Mexico, .271/.367/.417. 126OPS+ won Frey award with Galveston
LF, 25, Josh Funk, Susquehanna, plated 21 games last season
CF, 24, Jonathan Parsons, Great Lakes, .239/.305/.363, 94OPS+
RF, 37, Tom Paddock, Cascadia, .293/.377/.440, 137OPS+ (will miss 1 month due to hand injury)
DH, 38, Bobby Clark, New England, .234/.300/.281, 70OPS+

1 23, Mike Kulbeth, Louisiana, 19-13, 2.92ERA, 288Ks, 130ERA+ won Castaneda award
2 36, Vince Benbow, Australia, 13-14, 3.66ERA, 104ERA+
3 24, Roberto Corral, Curaçao, 13-15, 4.16ERA, 92OPS+
4 30, Brent Wilson, New England, 12-6, 3.83ERA, 100ERA+ with Chesapeake
5 23, Matt Kenney, Rocky Mountains, 9-17, 4.66ERA, 82ERA+
CL, 31, Matt Mauck, Texas, 11-3, 3.06ERA, 129ERA+ in 2103 (missed 2104 due to Tommy John)
Other notable bullpen arms: #74 ranked prospect, Phil Palmer

A few seasons ago I mentioned that Plymouth was eyeing 2105 as “their year” due to Paddock, Benbow, Mauck, and Nick Parsons (who used an option to leave last season) all were scheduled free agents. They have the pieces, but I don’t see them overcoming Trois, Germantown, or Huron. But good news, Manning and Alonzo are here for a bit, while most of their young prospects are here for a long while. Another year or 2 of a rebuild and then they can definitely contend.

new team
14th ranked farm system (RHP Kyle Magnani #44 and LF Sean Khalfani #56)
Payroll $922,209
Lineup and Pitching

C, 31, Scott Vander Ark, The Dakotas, .246/.319/.324, 86OPS+ with Dakota
1B, 31, Ian Sabella, Georgia, .255/.328/.367, 97OPS+ with Chesapeake
2B, 29, Juan Garcia, Venezuela, .231/.306/.308, 79OPS+ with Trois Rivieres
3B, 30, Mario Ruperto, Cuba, played 29 games with Dakota
SS, 23, Dean Hutchence, Australia, played 1 game with Astoria
LF, 31, Ian Mosher, Georgia, .246/.310/.345, 89OPS+ with Galveston
CF, 23, Sean Dobson, Florida. No stats, rookie season. Unranked
RF, 23, Mike Nowlin, Rocky Mountains. No stats, rookie season. Unranked
DH, 25, Neal Sharman, Great Lakes, 43 games with Huron (minor league legend)

1 31, Melvin Perez, Cuba, 3.47ERA in 93 innings with Baton Rouge (out season with shoulder injury)
2 31, Matt Prunier, Georgia, 4.41ERA in 49 innings with Eureka and Baton Rouge
3 28, Luke Rush, New England, 4.18ERA in 79 innings with Florida
4 25, Sal Gomez, Dominican Republic. Threw no-hitter with Trois in 2102, has only played 2 games since
5 24, Pete Durica, Georgia, no stats rookie season. #80 ranked prospect
CL, 22, Kyle Magnani, Georgia, no stats, rookie season. #44 ranked prospect
Other notable bullpen arms: Bob O’Brien

The expansion team struggle. They will try their best, but are looking to get top draft picks to help their expansion buildup. Georgia, as a nation, really has been underrated with several top players, I’d rank the nation higher than New England, Cascadia, and maybe Virginia, which will help them in FAs and potentially the draft

last season 100-62, won Championship Series
8th ranked farm system (RHP Eddie Salazar #20, C Hairama Nalanie #23, LHP Philippe Lemaître #30, SS Enrique Deramos #36)
Payroll $1,832,189 - 7th
Lineup and Pitching

C, 25, Josh Lemon, Great Lakes, .235/.321/.343, 93OPS+ won Deshayes award
1B, 32, Kyle Thompson, California, .282/.393/.624, 191OPS+ won Baxter award
2B, 29, Jason Martin, Susquehanna, .315/.379/.409, 129OPS+
3B, 31, Andy Rico, Venezuela, .209/.316/.359, 96OPS+
SS, 25, Christian Dubois, Quebec, .235/.313/.372, 98OPS+ won Deshayes and Hernandez awards
LF, 31, Mark Chapman, Quebec, .281/.336/.435, 123OPS+ won Deshayes and Frey
CF, 24, Jon Buckley, Great Lakes, .222/.296/.321, 41SBs, 79OPS+
RF, 26, Ron Peterson, Arctic Circle, .291/.391/.460, 146OPS+
DH, 25, Joe Delli Santi, Virginia, .258/.384/.379, 122OPS+

1 27, Leon Lopez, Puerto Rico, 16-11, 2.63ERA, 280Ks, 145ERA+ won 2 consecutive Taylor awards
2 25, Jorge Franco, Panama, 21-5, 2.86ERA, 133ERA+
3 32, Danny Avila, Colombia, 11-6, 3.33ERA, 115ERA+
4 26, Billy Jones, Rocky Mountains, 3.48ERA in 85 innings
5 24, Jeremy Phillips, Susquehanna, 4.40ERA in 86 innings with Trois and Germantown
CL, 35, Ryan Nixon, Cascadia, 1.31ERA in 20 innings, injury shortened
Other notable bullpen arms: Graham Lawlor, Johan Mathieu, and Dale Patterson

Easily the most complete team in the Atlantic, potentially the entire NABF. Regardless of their season, the main objective is to either make sure Kyle Thompson doesn’t use his player option (would void 3 more years) or make sure to sign him if he does. They should also begin making room to sign and extend their young stars before they begin arbitration. However, thats mostly off-season stuff. When it comes to this season, I 100% expect them to be just as strong as last season, potentially the first team to ever win multiple championships.

2105 Pre-Season Predictions
(again, I forgot to remake the schedule and for some reason OOTP had a seizure and messed up how many games to be played. Will fix it for next season)
Pacific:
Cheyenne Buffalo 87-55
Eureka Redwoods 81-57
Dakota Eagles 80-59
Astoria Osprey 75-63
Galveston Launch 66-76
Baton Rouge Cajuns 61-78
Alaska Avalanche 38-100

Atlantic
Trois Rivieres Harfang 93-46
Germantown Pretzels 91-47
Huron Gryphons 76-63
Chesapeake Admirals 71-71
Plymouth Pilgrims 66-75
Florida Flamingos 50-88
Rome Gladiators 41-98

BDoof · 2/10/2024 12:37 am

2105 NABF Season

The 2105 season would be the inaugural season for both the Alaska Avalanche and the Rome Gladiators, but it would have to be delayed as there was a minor league player strike. The strike would only last a month, and would be announced that extra levels of minor leagues would be added next season to help players develop and would be paid more. Due to this, the season would only last 138 games this year. And, as part of the minor league expansion, anyone can give me minor league team name suggestions.

April:

Alaska would last minute sign several unsigned FAs, most notably 2B Emilio Rodriguez and 3B Franklin Hernandez. Trois would begin the season rather slow, at one point being tied with Alaska for the worst record in the league. Plymouth would start surprisingly strong and then made some waiver wire deals for relievers Van Auken and Escarcega which filled their primary weakness. By the end of the month, Trois would still be below .500, Astoria would make a surprising run to be tied in 2nd in the Pacific, and Baton Rouge would be worse than Alaska and Rome. Florida, despite being one of the worst teams, has some of the best hitters with Torres, Savion, and Hammerich all putting up league leading numbers.
Hitters of the Month:
PC: Antonio Garza .400avg, 11HRs, 26RBIs (EUR)
AC: Juan Torres .388avg, 7SBs, 14Runs (FLA)
Pitchers of the Month:
PC: Steve Francen 5-0, 1.47ERA, 25Ks (CHY)
AC: Vince Benbow 4-0, 0.75ERA, 17Ks (PLY)
Rookies of the Month:
PC: Bart Rook 2-0, 3.26ERA, 17Ks (AST)
AC: Adam Beyer .316avg, 2HRs, 9RBIs (FLA)

May:

Germantown would open up the month going on an 8 game winning streak, perpetuated by George Powers finally waking up from his 2 year cold slump, he hit 5 home runs during those games. Trois and Astoria would each go on impressive runs, both entering the playoff battle. Trois 3B Andy Rico signed a massive extension, 6 years with $190k a year. Rico has only been a slightly above average player in his career, with only 1 Frey award. Galveston would go on a run of their own, ending up being above .500 for the first time since 2101. They are led by breakout seasons from young players RF Melvin Navarrete, RHP Rich Platte, LHP Bobby Crocitto as well as strong seasons from veterans CF Katsumi Canio, 3B Jose Orozco, LF Mike McIntyre, and now DH David Moran. Not to mention a bullpen with a combined 2.11ERA. Chesapeake would also go on a tear, surpassing Germantown for the lead in the Atlantic, due to a monster breakout season from Keith Badey, who last year posted an ERA over 6, but has had an under 1.5ERA so far this season. It culminated in an 8-year extension for star OF Gary Urbanczyk. Rome would have one of the worst months possible, only winning 3 games the entire month. Also wanted to note that Cheyenne has been quietly having a great season. Their batting are lopsided with 3 hitters over .300 and 5 under .200, but their pitching is what is really crazy. They have 4 starters with ERAs under 1.8, and 3 bullpen arms under 2.2. And arguably the best defensive team as well.
Hitters of the Month:
PC: Antonio Garza .250avg, 10HRs, 28RBIs (EUR) x2 (a 164-game pace for 79HRs)
AC: Angelo Alonzo .333avg, 10HRs, 29RBIs (PLY)
Pitchers of the Month:
PC: Jose Serrano 4-0, 0.96ERA, 55Ks (CHY)
AC: Alex Schepers 8 Saves, 0.59ERA, .154OpponentAverage (CHS)
Rookies of the Month:
PC: Bart Rook 2-0, 3.94ERA, 14Ks (AST) x2
AC: Aaron Ruggiero .340avg, 2HRs, 11RBIs (CHS)

June:

Despite being 31-23, Germantown has fallen 6.5 games behind both Chesapeake and Trois Rivieres. So they started signing more unsigned FAs like usual, this time highlighted by LF Nick Parsons, he has a career 143OPS+ in 4 years with Plymouth. Nothing else major to note this month, and no moves were made at the trade deadline either.

Standings as of the All-Star Break
Pacific:
Cheyenne Buffalo 42-23
Astoria Osprey 37-25
Eureka Redwoods 37-25
Galveston Launch 33-32
Dakota Eagles 30-35
Alaska Avalanche 22-40
Baton Rouge Cajuns 19-44

Atlantic:
Trois Rivieres Harfang 42-20
Chesapeake Admirals 41-24
Germantown Pretzels 36-26
Huron Gryphons 32-31
Plymouth Pilgrims 33-32
Florida Flamingos 22-40
Rome Gladiators 16-49

In the Home Run Derby, Kyle Thompson despite not having as good of a power season as his usual, showed out and beat teammate Joe Delli Santi in the finals. Winning his second derby.
In the All-Star Game, the Atlantic would finally beat the Pacific, with Huron’s Fernando Criado winning MVP.

Hitters of the Month:
PC: Hervé Barthélémy .307avg, 9HRs, 30RBIs (AST)
AC: Kyle Thompson .383avg, 9HRs, 22RBIs (TR)
Pitchers of the Month:
PC: Dustin Cloud 4-0, 2.11ERA, 43Ks (EUR)
AC: Leon Lopez 5-0, 2.53ERA, 58Ks (TR)
Rookies of the Month:
PC: Fritz Bresson 2-1, 2.03ERA, 21Ks (DAK)
AC: Adam Beyer .313avg, 4HRs, 14RBIs (FLA) x2

July:

After 2 seasons where all 4 playoff teams were basically figured out early, we finally have some interesting races. Cheyenne, Eureka, and Astoria are separated by 3.5 games, with Galveston and Dakota both above .500 and could have a shot. In the Atlantic Trois and Chesapeake have a 6 game lead over Germantown, but the Pretzels are just as solid as the leading teams. With Plymouth and Huron also around .500 and theoretically could make a late season push. There’s also been a ton of strong showings by young players this year, could be due to the offensive explosion that often follows expansions, but both leagues still have multiple pitchers dominating as well. To end the month, Trois Rivieres would set the NABF record with 15 consecutive wins.
Hitters of the Month:
PC: Hervé Barthélémy .352avg, 11HRs, 28RBIs (AST) x2
AC: Kyle Thompson .359avg, 14HRs, 38RBIs (TR) x2
Pitchers of the Month:
PC: Rafael Santa Cruz 5-1, 1.81ERA, 34Ks (CHY)
AC: Leon Lopez 5-1, 1.81ERA, 51Ks (TR) x2
Rookies of the Month:
PC: Fritz Bresson 4-0, 1.88ERA, 31Ks (DAK) x2
AC: Adam Beyer .345avg, 3HRs, 18RBIs (FLA) x2

August:

Dakota, with Larry Adair back from injury, would go on a 7 game winning streak, putting them only 3 games back from a playoff spot. The battles would heat up, by the end of the month Germantown would be 1 game above Chesapeake for the wildcard, but Huron would finish the month on a 9-2 stretch, putting them potentially in a spot for a run. Dakota would catch up to Astoria in 3rd, both sitting about 5 games behind Eureka for the wildcard. Rome looks to lose 100 games in a shortened season while Trois may win 100 games in the shortened season.
Hitters of the Month:
PC: Larry Adair .394avg, 21RBIs, 25Runs (DAK)
AC: Tom Mackey .382avg, 5HRs, 26RBIs (HUR)
Pitchers of the Month:
PC: Rafael Santa Cruz 5-0, 0.68ERA, 27Ks (CHY) x2
AC: Anton Latorre 7 Saves, 0.47ERA, 38Ks in 19.1 innings (GER)
Rookies of the Month:
PC: Lou Goodchild .349avg, 13RBIs (GAL)
AC: Aaron Ruggiero .273avg, 19Runs (CHS) x2

September:

As previously stated, there are finally playoff battles in the NABF. As well as competitive award battles as the usual winners finally have some tough competition. With about 2 weeks left, Eureka has seemingly taken a commanding lead over the Pacific wildcard, 6 games over Astoria. But looks to have a shot at the conference title as they now are only 3 behind Cheyenne. Germantown sits only 3.5 above Chesapeake and 5.5 above Huron. All 3 of those Atlantic teams have a series against Trois left that could shape their season. With 1 series left, Chesapeake sits 4 games back from Germantown and is eliminated from playoff contention. While Astoria is exactly 3 games behind Eureka. Astoria is playing Alaska while Eureka needs to just win a single game against the leading Buffalo. Unfortunately for the Osprey, Alaska takes 2 games from them. Leaving the playoffs to be virtually identical to last season, despite a close race in each league. Huron would lose their final 9 games and finish behind Plymouth. Despite a slow start to the season, Trois’ Kyle Thompson would win the triple crown for the 2nd time in his career. He has led the Atlantic in home runs every season, RBIs every season but 1, and won 3 of the 4 Baxter awards (and likely to win his 4th).
Hitters of the Month:
PC: Eric Titus .424avg, 7HRs, 19RBIs (CHY)
AC: Kyle Thompson .364avg, 12HRs, 28RBIs (TR) x3
Pitchers of the Month:
PC: Marty Hodge 5-0, 0.71ERA, 47Ks (CHY)
AC: Bill Van Auken 6 Saves, only gave up 10 hits (PLY)
Rookies of the Month:
PC: Fritz Bresson 4-1, 3.82ERA, 26Ks (DAK) x3
AC: Adam Beyer .322avg, 2HRs, 15RBIs (FLA) x3

2105 Season Standings

Also, due to the weird scheduling issue, the teams did not play an equal amount of games.

2105 Stat Leaders

Reminder, all of these stats were in a shortened season, yet are still pretty incredible.
Batting Average
PC: CHY Eric Titus .384, AST David Westland .345, GAL Katsumi Canio .338
AC: TR Kyle Thompson .352, HUR Mike McClary .342, FLA Juan Torres .340
Home Runs
PC: EUR Antonio Garza 50, AST Hervé Barthélémy 47, BR Jake Herold 38
AC: TR Kyle Thompson 47, CHS Gary Urbanczyk 40, TR Joe Delli Santi 30
RBIs
PC: EUR Antonio Garza 135, AST Hervé Barthélémy 131, BR Jake Herold 109
AC: TR Kyle Thompson 134, PLY Angelo Alonzo 107, CHS Corey Kruskamp 105
Stolen Bases
PC: DAK Trevor Reardon 73, GAL Katsumi Canio 62, AST Ryan Lowery 51
AC: PLY Jonathan Parsons 37, CHS Gary Urbanczyk 37, TR Jon Buckley 36
On-Base + Slugging
PC: CHY Eric Titus 1.120, AST Hervé Barthélémy 1.065, EUR Antonio Garza 1.031
AC: TR Kyle Thompson 1.146, GER George Powers 1.020, PLY Angelo Alonzo .939
Batting WAR
PC: CHY Eric Titus 9.8, AST Hervé Barthélémy 7.7, GAL Katsumi Canio 7.4
AC: TR Kyle Thompson 9.4, FLA Juan Torres 6.7, HUR Mike McClary 6.3

ERA
PC: CHY Rafael Santa Cruz 1.69, EUR Felix Hernandez 2.32, CHY Marty Hodge 2.48
AC: CHS Keith Badey 2.54, TR Leon Lopez 2.64, GER Ahmed Mathis 3.18
Pitcher Wins
PC: CHY Rafael Santa Cruz 19, CHY Steve Francen 18, DAK Bobby Brooks 17
AC: TR Leon Lopez 23, TR Danny Avila 19, CHS Keith Badey 17
Strikeouts
PC: EUR Felix Hernandez 253, CHY Marty Hodge 236, DAK Bobby Brooks 205
AC: TR Leon Lopez 288, PLY Mike Kulbeth 204, HUR Josh Newcomer 187
Pitcher WAR
PC: CHY Marty Hodge 8.8, EUR Felix Hernandez 8.2, CHY Steve Francen 6.8
AC: TR Leon Lopez 8.0, GER Anton Latorre 5.7 (closer btw), PLY Mike Kulbeth 5.6
Saves
PC: CHY Mike Hilger 33, EUR Jake Pawlowski 30, DAK Nick Hartle 28
AC: CHS Alex Schepers 35, GER Anton Latorre 34, PLY Bill Van Auken 30

BDoof · 2/10/2024 12:41 pm

2105 Playoffs

Pacific Series
v
A rematch of last year, though this time Cheyenne has home field advantage. Both have had outstanding seasons. The Redwoods gave up only 479 runs last season, second only to the Buffalo who gave up 404. Offensive wise, both teams are led by potential Baxter winners Antonio Garza and Eric Titus. Both teams split the season series 12-12. While Cheyenne looks to be the favorite, they will be missing both RHP Rafael Santa Cruz and RHP Jose Serrano.

Game 1: EUR Todd Luquette (15-7, 3.29) vs CHY Steve Francen (18-11, 2.66)
After a 3rd inning explosion by the Buffalo, they led the game 6-3 and would hold that lead until the end of the game where CL Mike Hilger held onto to win game 1.
EUR 6 - 7 CHY

Game 2: EUR Tillman Tamayo (2-6, 4.98) vs CHY Jeffrey Simon (12-6, 2.62)
The rookie Tamayo would get rocked with 3 runs early, but would be able to bounce back and not allow any before being relived by closer Pawlowski who would close out the game easily after the offense scored 2 runs of insurance in the 9th.
EUR 6 - 3 CHY

Game 3: CHY Marty Hodge (17-9, 2.48) vs EUR Felix Hernandez (16-6, 2.32)
The Buffalo would open the game by scoring a run in the top of the 1st. Expecting potential Taylor winner, Hodge, to put up his expected great game… but instead he totally collapsed, giving up 6 runs in 1.2 innings before being pulled for Joe Vera who in turn gave up 4 in 0.1 innings. By that point it was 10-1 after 3 innings. Buffalo would try to mount a comeback, by 4-time Taylor winner Hernandez would cruise to a statement game 3 victory.
CHY 3 - 11 EUR

Game 4: CHY Jose Guerrero (3-5, 2.18) vs EUR Ben Denman (17-11, 2.50)
The knuckleballer made only a handful of starts towards the end of the season, but was dominant out of the bullpen. He would continue that dominance in what became one of the greatest playoff games of all time. Both starters would go 7 innings with each giving up 1 run (Guerrero only gave up 2 hits). Both teams would bring in their closers, Hilger and Pawlowski. Neither could score and extra innings would be needed, both closers would stay into the 11th where both would give up 2 runs. Entering the 12th, Eureka would call on Ryan Sumner who has a chance at the Gervais award despite not being a closer. Kriegel would walk, but would be out at 2nd after Monahan attempted a sac bunt. Defensive replacement Bayona would beat out an infield single. 2B Dan Harbin would strike out, bringing potential Baxter winner Eric Titus to the plate with 2 outs. Titus would also beat out an infield hit to load the bases for Kevin Meyer. Who would smash a bases clearing double into the gap to give the Buffalo the lead! Cheyenne would bring in lefty Sebastian Moore for the 12th, Moore has had a uncharacteristically terrible season, but is still a good reliever and would be facing the bottom of Eureka’s lineup. He would strikeout of Branham and Hara before getting Vance to groundout giving the Buffalo the win to tie the series at 2!
CHY 6 - 3 EUR in 12 innings

Game 5: CHY Steve Francen (18-11, 2.66) vs EUR Todd Luquette (15-7, 3.29)
Now a 3 game series, Eureka would score first thanks to a Rodriguez double. The Redwoods would continue to tack on runs while Buffalo would be left helpless from Luquette.
CHY 1 - 8 EUR

Game 6: EUR Tillman Tamayo (2-6, 4.98) vs CHY Jeffrey Simon (12-6, 2.62)
The series transitions to Cheyenne with the Buffalo in need of 2 consecutive wins to take the series. Game 6 would be the second extra inning classic in this series alone. Tied 4-4 entering the 10th. Eureka would get a 2 out triple due to Vance. Cheyenne would choose to intentionally walk Haskins to face Tipton who would hit into a fielder’s choice. In the bottom of the inning with Pawlowski on the mound Krigel would escape an infield hit (the Cheyenne classic). Monahan would successfully sac bunt before Kriegel stole 3rd. Mshangama would fly out to right, but not far enough for Kriegel to come home. Now with 2 outs, 2B Dan Harbin would come up to the plate. Harbin would hit a ball down the first base line and would… get past Velez to score Kriegel on a walk-off hit!
EUR 4 - 5 CHY in 10 innings

Game 7: EUR Felix Hernandez (16-6, 2.32) vs CHY Jose Guerrero (3-5, 2.18)
As Joe Buck would say “It’s a must-win game for both teams”. In a replay of last year, the Redwoods and Buffalo duke it out for 1 final match. Redwoods would score first off a 3-run home run from Garza. They would also get 2 solo shots from rookie Escobedo in the 4th and 6th. Cheyenne would attempt a comeback but could not muster anything together. Despite the series loss, Cheyenne 2B Dan Harbin would get series MVP, the first loser to win the award.
EUR 7 - 1 CHY, Redwoods win series 4-3.

Atlantic Series
v
Germantown managed to just barely squeak into the playoffs for the 2nd time in a row. And again, they must face the ever imposing Trois Rivieres. Germantown has given up less runs, barely, and scored over 100 less runs. The Harfang are led by triple crown winner Kyle Thompson and breakout DH Joe Delli Santi, as well as the plethora of young talent that has surrounded the squad for the past few seasons. The defending champs are expected to get an easy victory, unlike last playoffs.

Game 1: GER Ross Whitehead (14-10, 3.21) vs TR Leon Lopez (23-3, 2.64ERA)
The Harfang would score first with 2 solo home runs by Thompson and Delli Santi. They would hold a 3-0 lead until the 7th when Germantown piled on multiple hits with a 2 run single by Cintron to close the gap. Trois LF Mark Chapman then hit a solo home run of his own to help the Harfang take a game 1 lead.
GER 2 - 5 TR

Game 2: GER Ahmed Mathis (14-9, 3.18) vs TR Jorge Franco (14-10, 4.33)
The Pretzels were able to keep it close the whole game, but were playing catch up the entire time, never holding a lead. Into the 9th, Trois had their closer on the mound and faced CF Jeremy Cooper who had struck out 3 times already in the game, but on the third pitch he would crank a ball down left field for a potential go-ahead home run! The Pretzels would quickly put in star closer Anton Latorre for the heart of the Harfang lineup. He would get Thompson to ground out, then strike out Delli Santi. Jason Martin would get a walk, but would close it out by striking out defensive replacement Ricky Morales to tie up the series for the Pretzels.
GER 5 - 4 TR

Game 3: TR Danny Avila (19-3, 3.42) vs GER Adam Minke (12-8, 3.65)
The game would be fairly close throughout, however, Minke gave up 2 home runs in the 4th (to Martin and Buckley) which the Pretzels nearly were able to come back as they had runners on 2nd and third with 1 out in the 7th, but a strikeout and fly out by Cooper and Parsons would leave them behind as Trois tacked on 2 more in the 8th to win the game on the road.
TR 6 - 3 GER

Game 4: TR Billy Jones (12-3, 4.09) vs GER Bernie Rosado (10-11, 4.26)
In the opposite of last game, Germantown would score 4 in the 3rd, but reliever Josh Burford would give up 2 runs in the 7th to give Trois a 5-4 lead, which they would be able to keep until the end of the game. Despite the close game, Trois stranded 12 runners on base. Germantown will need a miracle if they hope to win the series.
TR 5 - 4 GER

Game 5: TR Leon Lopez (23-3, 2.64) vs GER Ross Whitehead (14-10, 3.21)
A miracle would come to Germantown as Ross Whitehead whipped up some of his magic and gave up only 2 hits through 7 innings. Rogelio Victoria and Anton Latorre would close the game easily. The main issue for Germantown has been that only Parsons, Ammann, and Powers have hit, like at all. While those 3 have been hitting nearly .400, while the only daily player to even hit above .200 is Ben Cintron. As the series shifts to Quebec, the Pretzels will need the rest of their team to step up to even have a chance.
TR 1 - 4 GER

Game 6: GER Ahmed Mathis (14-9, 3.18) vs TR Jorge Franco (14-10, 4.33)
Trois would come out of the gates early with a 5-0 lead after 6. Entering the 9th Germantown would need another lick at the fan nicknamed “Pretzel Magic”. RF Lawrence would lead off the inning with a walk. 1B Russell would fly out to first. Pinch hitter Linde would single through the 3B/SS gap. C Kurtz who has been playing as an injury replacement would launch the first pitch he sees for a 2-run triple. CF Cooper would score Kurz on a sac fly. DH Parsons would get a triple of his own before being scored by 2B Ammann on a double. The Pretzels now trail by 1 with 2 outs and a runner on 2nd with their star LF Powers at the plate. Powers would smash a ball, with an exit velo of 109, but would go straight to 2B Martin to end the game and the series. The “Pretzel Magic” would end and they would lose in 6 games for the second straight year. Mark Chapman would get series MVP.
GER 4 - 5 TR, Harfang win series 4-2

2105 NABF Championship Series

Vs
After both Conference Series finishing in the same amount of games as last year, the only difference being Eureka will get the chance to dethrone Trois Rivieres. Due to the weird schedule this year, neither team has faced each other. The only real comments I can make is that Trois outscored Eureka by over 150 runs while Eureka gave up about 80 less, though both are in the top 3 in each category. Both teams look to be the first team to win multiple championships and may begin to claim a “dynasty” of their own if either wins.

Game 1: EUR Ben Denman (17-11, 2.50) vs TR Leon Lopez (23-3, 2.64)
Antonio Garza would set the tone with a first inning home run. But The Harfang would come right back with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning. Another in the third and that would be it, both teams pitchers would hold down the rest of the game.
EUR 1 - 4 TR

Game 2: EUR Todd Luquette (15-7, 3.29) vs TR Danny Avila (19-3, 3.42)
The game would begin scoreless with both pitchers dominant, until Danny Avila came out of the game early due to an ankle problem after stepping off the mound weirdly. In the 5th, Eureka would score 2 while Trois got one of their own. But the floodgates would open in the 7th, Eureka would score 9 runs. The Redwoods could cruise to a victory after that. Stunning the hometown crowd.
EUR 11 - 4 TR

Game 3: TR Jorge Franco (14-10, 4.33) vs EUR Felix Hernandez (16-6, 2.32)
Entering the bottom of the 8th, game was tied 1-1. Haskins would open it up with a single and Franco would get pulled from the game and replaced with Graham Lawlor. Who would hit Tipton with the first pitch. He would get Garza to fly out, but Velez would get a single to score the speedy Haskins. With a full count, Toth would hit a ground out to third. Rodriguez would reach on an error due to a wild throw from 2B Martin, advancing each runner and scoring Tipton. Lawlor would get Solis to strike out to avoid any more damage, but overall 2 would score making it 3-1. Feelings were mixed going into the 9th, but catcher Josh Lemon would launch a moonshot on the first pitch followed by a single from Peterson. Quickly, the home fans began to worry. Dubois would lay down a sac bunt, to bring up Kyle Thompson who would… strike out. Delli Santi would hit a weak pop up to third to end the close game.
TR 2 - 3 EUR

Game 4: TR Billy Jones (12-3, 4.09) vs EUR Tillman Tamayo (2-6, 4.98)
Kyle Thompson would make up for the previous game with a nuke in the first inning. However, Eureka would have another one of their patented 11-run slugfests. Escobedo would hit a grand slam in the first followed by a 2-run double by Toth and a solo shot by Tipton in the 2nd. It wouldn’t matter anyway as Eureka rookies Tillman Tamayo and Dustin Cloud clipped the wings of the Harfang offense, only allowing 2 runs the entire game.
TR 2 - 11 EUR

Game 5: TR Leon Lopez (23-3, 2.64) vs EUR Ben Denman (17-11, 2.50)
After scoring 25 runs over the past 3 games, Eureka would be shut down by Lopez, unable to score a single run. In an interesting way, Trois would score 3 runs but only have 1 RBI. One would score on a balk in the 1st and another during a double play in the 8th. Really the only interesting thing to note about this game.
TR 3 - 0 EUR

Game 6: EUR Todd Luquette (15-7, 3.29) vs TR Ricky Hernandez (11-3, 4.58)
Due to Avila’s sore ankle, Trois would have to rely on Ricky Hernandez in this do or die game 6. Hernandez so far this playoffs has a 81.00ERA in 2 bullpen appearances. Throughout the game both teams would trade home runs. Garza hit a 3-run homerun in the 5th. Andy Rico would follow it up with a 2-run homerun for Trois. Mel Velez would hit a 2-run jack in the 7th, and Trois would score 1 of their own. Eureka would call on Pawlowski for a 6-out save, ‘The Butcher’ as he’s known as, has a career 1.40ERA and historically is just as dominant in the playoffs. He would give up a hit to Peterson and have a bad pickoff attempt moving him to 2B. But Pawlowski would come back and strikeout Thompson, Delli Santi, and Andy Rico to win the Championship Series! The Redwoods become the first franchise to ever win multiple Championship Series
EUR 5 - 3 TR. Redwoods win series 4-2

BDoof · 2/14/2024 1:21 am

2105 Off-Season Summary

2105 Awards:

Jean Frey Awards (silver slugger equivalent)
Pacific:
C Eric Titus .384/.484/.636, 21HRs, 209wRC+ 9.8WAR (CHY) 5th consecutive
1B Trevor Reardon .281/.402/.433, 12HRs, 73SBs, 136wRC+ 5.5 (DAK) 3rd in career
2B Dan Harbin .313/.384/.402, 4HRs, 119wRC+, 4.6WAR (CHY)
3B Chris Shepherd .309/.449/.572, 19HRs, 181wRC+ 5.4WAR (DAK) 3rd in career
SS Kevin Jones .282/.365/.444, 12HRs, 34SBs, 121wRC+, 3.9WAR (AST)
LF Hervé Barthélémy .290/.419/.646, 47HRs, 18SBs, 187wRC+, 7.7WAR (AST) 5th consecutive
CF Katsumi Canio .338/.370/.443, 4HRs, 62SBs, 126wRC+, 7.4WAR (GAL) 4th consecutive
RF Ray Toth .286/.363/.459, 15HRs, 129wRC+, 2.7WAR (EUR)
DH Antonio Garza .284/.398/.633, 50HRs, 181wRC+, 6.8WAR (EUR) 4th in career

Atlantic:
C Armando Garcia .262/.334/.405, 11HRs, 105wRC+, 2.1WAR (GER)
1B Kyle Thompson .352/.461/.685, 47HRs, 209wRC+, 9.4WAR (TR) 5th consecutive
2B Juan Torres .340/.432/.472, 6HRs, 149wRC+, 6.7WAR (FLA) 2nd in career
3B Matt Bentz .273/.370/.411, 12HRs, 116wRC+, 3.6WAR (PLY) 2nd in career
SS Angelo Alonzo .309/.396/.543, 29HRs, 155wRC+, 6.3WAR (PLY) 4th in career
LF George Powers .305/.452/.568, 27HRs, 177wRC+, 6.1WAR (GER) 2nd in career
CF Gary Urbanczyk .249/.370/.550, 40HRs, 37SBs, 138wRC+, 6.1WAR (CHS) 3rd in career
RF Kevin Campeau .284/.401/.509, 24HRs, 143wRC+, 4.3WAR (CHS)
DH Joe Delli Santi .311/.451/.602, 30HRs, 188wRC+, 5.3WAR (TR)

Laurent Gervais Award (reliever award)
Pacific: CHY Mike Hilger 33 of 40 saves, 1.79ERA, 16.8K/9, 228ERA+ 3rd consecutive (first in Pacific) 13 first place votes
GAL Kyle McMurphy, 21 of 23 saves, 0.67ERA (4 runs all season), 10.8K/9, 604ERA+ 1 first place vote

Atlantic: GER Anton Latorre 34 of 35 saves, 0.89ERA, 18.8K/9, 455ERA+ 2nd award in career, unanimous

Sidney Ross Award (manager award)
Pacific: Eureka’s Melvin Hernandez, 82-56 record, 2nd in Pacific, won Championship Series
Atlantic: Trois Rivieres’ Rob Noble, 100-38 record, first in Atlantic, lost Championship Series. 4th consecutive award.

Dimitri Deshayes Awards (gold glove equivalent)
Pacific
P Jake Hale (AK)
C Eric Titus (CHY) 2nd in career
1B Edgar Morales (CHY) 2nd in career
2B Dan Harbin (CHY) 2nd in career
3B Jayden Royal (BR)
SS Dean Monahan (CHY) 2nd in career
LF Jesse Haskins (EUR) 2nd in career
CF Katsumi Canio (GAL) 5th consecutive
RF Tyler Kilbarger (AST) 2nd in career

Atlantic:
P Keith Badey (CHS)
C Josh Lemon (TR) 3rd consecutive
1B Dave Orns (ROM)
2B Jason Martin (TR)
3B Rio Carr (HUR) 5th consecutive
SS Douggie Clarke (CHS)
LF Aaron Ruggiero (CHS)
CF Gary Urbanczyk (CHS) 4th in career, 3rd consecutive
RF Kevin Campeau (CHS)

Raul Hernandez Award (platinum glove award)
Pacific: SS Dean Monahan, Cheyenne. 2nd award in career, first to win 2 straight
Atlantic: CF Jeremy Cooper, Germantown.

Pedro Castaneda Award (rookie award)
Pacific: EUR Dustin Cloud, 14-11, 4.54ERA in 200 innings, 155Ks, 90ERA+ 7 first place votes
AST Bart Rook, 7-2, 3.09ERA in 93 innings, 133ERA+ 5 first place votes
GAL Josh Peppers, .212/.316/.388, 12HRs, 95OPS+ 2 first place votes

Atlantic: FLA Adam Beyer, .307/.397/.468, 12HRs, 137OPS+, 4.4WAR unanimous
Even though Beyer won unanimously, wanted to shout out Rome’s Sean Dobson and Chesappeake’s Aaron Ruggiero who both finish around 100OPS+ and probably would’ve won it in the Pacific.

Matt Taylor Award (pitcher award)
Pacific:
1 CHY Rafael Santa Cruz, 19-4, 1.69ERA, 1.01WHIP, 242ERA+ 7 first place votes
2 EUR Felix Hernandez, 16-6, 2.32ERA, 252Ks, 176ERA+, 4 first place votes (first time not winning the award)
3 CHY Marty Hodge, 17-9, 2.48ERA, 0.89WHIP, 236Ks, 165ERA+ 2 first place votes
(Eureka’s Ben Denman also received 1 first place vote)

Atlantic:
1 TR Leon Lopez, 23-3, 2.64ERA, 288Ks, 1.02WHIP, 156ERA+ 13 first place votes, 3rd consecutive award
2 GER Anton Latorre 34 of 35 saves, 0.89ERA, 18.8K/9, 455ERA+
3 CHS Keith Badey, 17-7, 2.54ERA, 162ERA+

Willie Baxter Award (hitter award)
Pacific:
1 Eric Titus .384/.484/.636, 21HRs, 209wRC+ 9.8WAR (CHY) 13 first place votes
2 Antonio Garza .284/.398/.633, 50HRs, 181wRC+, 6.8WAR (EUR) 1 first place vote
3 Hervé Barthélémy .290/.419/.646, 47HRs, 18SBs, 187wRC+, 7.7WAR (AST)

Atlantic:
1 Kyle Thompson .352/.461/.685, 47HRs, 209wRC+, 9.4WAR (TR) Unanimous, 4th in career
2 Joe Delli Santi .311/.451/.602, 30HRs, 188wRC+, 5.3WAR (TR)
3 George Powers .305/.452/.568, 27HRs, 177wRC+, 6.1WAR (GER)

2105 Rookie Draft: (only first round)

1st Overall, Rome Gladiators select. SS Kyle Belew from Susquehanna out of college. Scout Grade of 60.
2nd Overall, Baton Rouge Cajuns select. RHP Wayne Hamel from Arctic Circle out of college. Scout Grade of 70.
3rd Overall, Alaska Avalanche select. OF Talbot Boulet from Quebec out of high school. Scout Grade of 55.
4th Overall, Florida Flamingos select. RHP Juan de Loera from Florida out of college. Scout Grade of 60.
5th Overall, Galveston Launch select. 1B Chris Caron from Texas, out of college. Scout Grade of 60.
6th Overall, Huron Gryphons select. IF Philip Brawner from Arctic Circle out of college. Scout Grade of 55.
7th Overall, Plymouth Pilgrims select. RF Devin Lamar from Georgia out of college. Scout Grade of 55.
8th Overall, Dakota Eagles select. RHP Ryan Reimann from New England out of high school. Scout Grade of 55.
9th Overall, Chesapeake Admirals select. RHP Nick Grueneich from Virginia out of college. Scout Grade of 60.
10th Overall, Astoria Osprey select. 3B John Ard from Florida out of high school. Scout Grade of 50.
11th Overall, Germantown Pretzels select. LF Zack Joyner from Florida out of high school. Scout Grade of 45.
12th Overall, Eureka Redwoods select. C Donald Oakes from Quebec out of college. Scout Grade of 50.
13th Overall, Cheyenne Buffalo select. CF Bill Bonjour from Rocky Mountains out of high school. Scout Grade of 45
14th Overall, Trois Rivieres select. SS Patrick Moreau from Quebec out of college. Scout Grade of 55.
(There were 3 different 2-way players that were selected, TR Gary Hamilton, DAK Yin-reng Fa, and FLA David Castillo. The only one I’m aware of in the NABF is CHS Charlie Symmonds who hasn’t found success from either side. )

2105 International Rookie Signings: (just top 10)

RF Juan Castillo out of Cuba. Scouting Grade of 65. Signs with Baton Rouge.
1B Humphrey Grant out of Germany. Scouting Grade of 60. Signs with Galveston
CF Luis Delgado out of Puerto Rico. Scouting Grade of 55. Signs with Astoria.
SS Luis Laboy out of Puerto Rico. Scouting Grade of 55. Signs with Germantown.
LHP Abe Martinez out of Dominican Republic. Scouting Grade of 55. Signs with Florida.
CF Habrão Amaro out of Brazil. Scouting Grade of 50. Signs with Germantown.
2B Thierry Charles out of Luxembourg (with dual-citizenship with Germany). Scouting Grade of 50. Signs with Galveston.
SS William Garcia out of Venezuela. Scouting Grade of 50. Signs with Eureka.
RHP Dragutin Ostrozinka out of Bulgaria. Scouting Grade of 50. Signs with Huron.
RF Eiji Ikeda out of Japan. Scouting Grade of 50. Signs with Huron.
IF Sosa Jouon out of Japan. Scouting Grade of 50. Signs with Chesapeake.

Roster Moves:
Best FAs available

LF Hervé Barthélémy, exercised his opt-out after his 2nd year (again)
RF Matthew Wagoner, 21.6WAR in 5 seasons with Baton Rouge.
SP Steve Francen, 59-41, 2.99ERA in seasons with Trois and Cheyenne
CL Mike Hilger, 136 Saves with Florida and Cheyenne, 3 straight Gervais awards
LF Jesse Haskins, 153SBs with Florida and Eureka, above average hitter with 2 Deshayes awards
1B Mel Velez, 39 years old, 129HRs with Eureka
CL Kyle McMurphy, 144 Saves with Galveston, given up only 2 home runs in career, 3x Gervais winner
LF/1B David Moran, 21.8WAR with Galveston, had his worst year last year with only 128OPS+ would benefit from a DH role
2B Tom Phelan, 931 Hits, 26.7WAR with Huron, 3x Frey winner
SP Josh Newcomer, 64-43, 3.06ERA in 4 seasons with Huron
SP Vince Benbow, despite a lackluster last few seasons, Benbow is still an imposing figure, winning the Taylor and 2101 (and should’ve won it in 2102)
IF Jason Martin, 21.1WAR, 61 Triples, and a clutch hitter. Martin is definitely an underrated player
1B Kyle Thompson, exercised his opt-out, won 4 out of the 5 Baxter awards, easily the greatest player in the league. The Californian has talked before about playing in his home country, but Eureka is already near the salary cap.

Losses: 3B Franklin Hernandez 2.7WAR, SP Jake Hale 2.6WAR, 2B Emilio Rodriguez 2.5WAR
Signs SP Josh Newcomer, 5 years with AAV of $222k. Newcomer is 64-43 with 129ERA+ with Huron.

The Newcomer signing was a bit of a surprise. But they will need more than that if they want a quick turnaround (there are still plenty of unsigned FAs as of the start of the season though)

Losses: LF Hervé Barthélémy 7.7WAR, SP Beau Schult 3.2WAR, CF Ryan Lowery 3.1WAR
Extends RHP Andrew Redepenning, 4 years with AAV of $248k. The Virginian is 71-44 with 132ERA+ in 5 years with Astoria
Extends CL Nick Ashley, 3 years with AAV of 84k. Ashley broke out with the team in 2101 and has posted good numbers. Voids 1 year of arbitration.

The loss of Barthélémy was unavoidable, and he will probably hit the market again in 2 years anyway. Redepenning and Ashley were good resignings but no additions is underwhelming for a team that nearly made the playoffs.

Losses: RF Matthew Wagoner 2.6WAR

The rebuild continues to continue.

Losses: SP Roberto Gomez 3.2WAR
Signs SP Steve Francen, 2 years with AAV of $196k. Has a sub-3ERA but will be entering his age 39 season.

Replaces a pitcher with another pitcher. Not the best but they do have some good prospects to rely on to help with another run.

Losses: SP Steve Francen 6.8
Signs SP Ahmed Mathis, 6 years with AAV of $201k. Mathis had a bad start to his career in Baton Rouge, but seemingly figured it out and posted 2 great years in Germantown.
Signs CL Kyle McMurphy 1 year $58k. McMurphy along with Hilger combine to have won 6 Gervais awards.

Still have a bad offense, but when you have the best rotation and bullpen, it may not matter… unless they all get injured like 2103.

Losses: no one major
Signs CL Angelo Juarez, 3 years with AAV of $124k. Easily the most “under the radar” CL, has 141 saves with Astoria, Baton Rouge, and Huron.

Bullpen was their main issue last year as they kept dealing with injuries. Their fans are growing restless as Dakota was so dominant for the first few seasons but have fallen to mediocre at best.

Losses: LF Jesse Haskins 4.5WAR, RF Ray Toth 2.7WAR, 1B Mel Velez 2.4WAR
Signs 1B Kyle Thompson, 5 years with AAV of $278k. The Californian has 267 career home runs, won the triple crown twice, Baxter 4 times, and a career 203OPS+.

Thompson is younger and better than Velez for only a bit more. Toth and Haskins are bitter pills to swallow, but they have a pretty deep farm, so they should be able to manage that without a huge issue. Can they truly create the first dynasty with 3 in 4 years?

Losses: SP Jose Orozco 2.2WAR
Signed 2B/IF Jason Martin, 5 years with AAV of $235k. Martin has led the league in triples 3 times while being a plus hitter and fielder.

They started the off-season on a high note with signing one of the best free agents. Then drafted Floridian Juan de Loera who is a NABF ready talent and looked to potentially even by their ace. But then de Loera dropped a bombshell that he will not play professional baseball and instead professional golf. Can the Flamingos ever have nice things?

Losses: CL Kyle McMurphy 3.3WAR, LF David Moran 2.3WAR
Signs SP Alex Garcia, 3 years with AAV of $198k.
Re-signs LF/1B David Moran, 4 years with AAV of $170k. Moran had been the face of Texas baseball and Galveston but slightly fell off last year, looks to potentially stay his whole career in the Lone Star Nation.

I am honestly surprised they were able to keep Moran. The veteran Garcia looks to help them build a formidable pitching rotation with all their young prospects as Galveston has a ton of untapped potential. While they won’t be able to challenge Cheyenne and Eureka yet, they should be able to be above .500 for what feels like the first time in forever.

Losses: SP Ahmed Mathis 3.6WAR, LF Nick Parsons 2.0WAR, RP Josh Burford 1.8WAR, RF/1B J.D. Linde 1.6WAR
Extends CF Jeremy Cooper, 6 years with AAV of $106k. The former first overall pick finally had a breakout season last year. Voids 3 years of arbitration.
Extends CL Anton Latorre, 3 years with AAV of $95k. Latorre has 147 Saves, career 18.1K/9 and has finished 2nd in the Taylor twice and won the Gervais both of those years.
Signs LHP Matt Mauck, 2 years with AAV of 55k. Mauck was a starter for 3 years in Plymouth, posting a sub-3ERA but after an oblique injury took him out for nearly 2 seasons he turned to a bullpen arm, continuing his dominance.
Re-signs RP Josh Burford, 3 years with AAV of $118k.

The bullpen that keeps building. They clearly have found success with building up the offense through the farm system and adding a ton of FA bullpen pitchers. So far the formula seems amazing but they still haven’t been able to win it all yet.

Losses: 2B Tom Phelan 5.7WAR, SP Josh Newcomer 5.2WAR, SP Alex Garcia 2.8WAR, SP Julio Sanchez 2.5WAR, Jaylin Wallace 1.9WAR, C Kevin Magid 1.1WAR
Signs SP Vince Benbow, 2 years with AAV of $206k. The Gryphons hope he can tap into the fountain of youth to give them at least 1 more shot.
Signs LF Matthew Wagoner, 6 years with AAV of $226k. The Great Lakes native had 165 homers and won 3 Frey awards in Baton Rouge.

As of writing this, Phelan, Sanchez, and Wallace are all FAs and could resign. But even if they don’t, Benbow and Wagoner are great signings that fill in some gaps and allow more room for prospects to help their window a little longer. They look to compete again after a disaster of a season last year.

Losses: SP Vince Benbow 4.4, RF Tom Paddock 1.8WAR

Still rebuilding despite only being 1-2 pieces away. Clearly they are impacted by New England being the worst of the nations in terms of talent and amount of players (this is something that will inevitably affect each team as there’s so many nations that the odds of a nation not having any top draft prospects for multiple years will happen, and will likely affect each team at some point. Each nation (besides Maritimes at the moment) has the same generation% and skill level in the draft, but the odds will always negatively affect some teams. Dakota has been feeling it recently as well, but Dakota already have some top native players unlike Plymouth which has none.

Losses:
Signs 1B Mel Velez, 2 years with AAV of $166k. Has 129 home runs and 21WAR with Eureka.

Rome seems to be going the classic expansion team route. Though they have been drafting mostly college players and haven’t been too active in the IFA market compared to Alaska. I’m definitely more curious about their build-up than Alaska’s.

Losses: 1B Kyle Thompson 9.4WAR, 2B Jason Martin 5.8WAR
Extended RHP Jorge Franco, 4 years with AAV of $83k. Franco has been great so far in his career, though did not have a good 2105. Voids 3 years of arbitration.
Extended C Josh Lemon, 4 years with AAV of $65k. Lemon won the Castaneda and 3 straight Deshayes awards. Voids 3 years of arbitration.
Extends CL Ryan Nixon, 2 years with AAV of $79K. Nixon has 135 Saves in 5 years with the Harfang.
Extends RP Graham Lawlor, 2 years with AAV of $90k. The Quebec native has been a mainstay in the back of the pen, even stepping in while Nixon was hurt 2 seasons ago.
Signs LF Hervé Barthélémy, 8 years with AAV of 303k. His second 8 year contract with Trois, this one again has an opt-out after 2 seasons, many fans still do not trust him.

Essentially traded Thompson for Barthélémy. While Martin was a great player, Trois had several native middle-infielders that could step up to fill the gap quite well. Also got a steal in the draft with 2-way player Gary Hamilton as he’s a native and NABF ready.

Retirements

1B Dave Rhein, Great Lakes. Rhein played 3 years with Galveston and 1 with Huron, all while over the age of 40. A career slash of .255/.386/.400 and a Frey and Deshayes to go along with an impressive career.
LF Bobby Clark, New England. 5 year career, 3 with Cheyenne and 2 with Plymouth. Due to a poor stint with Plymouth he only had a career 99OPS+ but was a key part to Cheyenne’s early success in the NABF.
CL Ken Laubach, Virginia. 101 Saves, 2.75ERA (mostly due to a bad final season). 10K/9, 147ERA+, finished 2nd in the Gervais voting twice. Spent 3 years with Baton Rouge and 2 with Astoria.

ZO82 · 2/14/2024 2:03 pm

How's the attendance at Baton Rouge? I getting the feeling that the Cajuns ownership may sell the team to new owners who want to move the team to a major city.

BDoof · 2/14/2024 4:42 pm

ZO82 wrote:
How's the attendance at Baton Rouge? I getting the feeling that the Cajuns ownership may sell the team to new owners who want to move the team to a major city.

Good question, I hadn't actually checked before. Their attendance and total revenue is quite bad. This season they averaged less than 10k a game and pulled in only 70% of what next worst Alaska pulled in from gate revenue. While the ownership group is concerned, they also happen to be backended by one of the largest corporations in Louisiana, so them leaving the nation would be extremely unlikely. As for relocation within Louisiana, there aren't many choices as they have the lowest population of any of the new nations (besides the Maritimes I believe). The only cities that are similar in size to Baton Rouge are Springfield and Little Rock, with the former still being considered "small" in the NABF and the latter being a roughly equal size. Between the salary cap, large financial backing, and one of the newest and largest stadiums a relocation is unlikely, as they will always make a profit. Though, an attempt could be made by Springfield if they can whip up a large enough financial backing to buy the team (which would likely result in a Browns/Ravens or A's/Royals type situation).

I am also a season ahead and can confirm their attendance does get better, mostly due to a lot of exciting youth to attract people to the park.

On another note, I found it peculiar that Rome actually had the 2nd lowest attendance despite being an expansion team which often leads to a higher attendance in the first few seasons in OOTP, I should keep an eye on that. For comparison, Alaska finished in the top half of the league.

On another another note, since there's a salary cap, it enables every teams to essentially always make a profit, and naturally, Baton Rouge is near the bottom, but not last. Strangely, Huron has the worst financials, by a lot. They are the only team with a negative balance, they are bleeding about as much as Baton Rouge is positive. I'm not entirely sure why. I am viewing it from a season ahead but that shouldn't effect it that much.

BDoof · 2/17/2024 12:33 pm

2106 Pre-Season Preview

last season 49-89 6th in Pacific.
13th ranked farm system (C Czar Artemenko #18, LF Talbot Boulet #21
Payroll $1,492,850 - 9th
Lineup and Pitching

C 28, Jonathan Shepherd, Great Lakes, .262/.330/.317, 80OPS+
1B 30, Dave Chatwin, Maritimes, .270/.325/.417, 106OPS+
2B 26, Marquis Kaba, Louisiana, .259/.313/.337, 81OPS+
3B 24, Ryan Storch, Arctic Circle, only 36 games
SS 23 Leland Abbott, Quebec, .248/.285/.328, 70OPS+
LF 31, Paul Butler, Rocky Mountains, .327/.405/.559, 166OPS+
CF 23, Bob Brushett, Arctic Circle, only played 35 games
RF 31, Sam Boyd, Great Lakes, .185/.248/.268, 44OPS+
DH 31, Philippe Thomas, Quebec, only played 27 games

1 28, Josh Newcomer, Great Lakes, 12-13, 3.33ERA, 123ERA+ with Huron
2 23, John Gillingham, Arctic Circle, 25 Saves, 3.97ERA, 103ERA+ as closer
3 27, Jeff Caron, California, 4-18, 5.51ERA, 74ERA+
4 31, Luis Hernandez, Puerto Rico, 8-19, 5.19ERA, 79ERA+
5 22, Sonny Jang, Cascadia, no stats, rookie season. #100 ranked prospect
CL 36, Pat Paul, Florida, 4.26ERA in 38 innings with Rome
Other notable bullpen arms: Mel Leiva and Jonathan Masden

Sophomore season now for the Avs. Several of last years rookies look to have betters seasons and underperforming pitchers Caron and Hernandez shouldn’t be as bad, as a lot of their “failures” were due to a high BABIP. Paul Butler nearly won awards, and could have another shot depending on how things go.

last season 80-59, 3rd in Pacific.
14th ranked farm system (CF David Westfall #28)
Payroll $1,762,238 - 7th
Lineup and Pitching

C 25, Joaquin Nunez, Susquehanna, .218/.328/.310, 78OPS+
1B 36, Ray Tolbert, Cascadia, .247/.392/.438, 131OPS+
2B 30, Bryce Cleveland, Texas, .226/.318/.297, 73OPS+ with Galveston
3B 25, Adam Moore, Virginia, .251/.348/.379, 102OPS+
SS 27, Kevin Jones, The Dakotas, .282/.365/.444, 125OPS+ won Frey award
LF 34, Josh Hernandez, Mexico/Cascadia, only played 40 games
CF 20, David Westfall, Texas, no stats rookie season. #28 ranked prospect
RF 32, Tyler Kilbarger, Susquehanna, .284/.331/.388, 100OPS+ won Deshayes award
DH 33, David Westland, Cascadia, .345/.416/.490, 152OPS+

1 30, Andrew Redepenning, Virginia, 15-6, 2.58ERA, 158ERA+
2 27, Dusty McCord, Cascadia, 14-6, 4.13ERA, 99ERA+
3 25, Eli Lawson, Texas, 11-10, 3.30ERA, 124ERA+
4 25, Jason Weatherford, Great Lakes, no stats rookie season. Unranked prospect
5 25, Bart Rook, Florida/New England, 7-2, 3.09ERA in 93 innings
CL 29, Mike Kohn, Cascadia, 1.93ERA in 9 innings
Other notable bullpen arms: Nick Ashley, Mike Anderson, Tyler D’Orio, Oscar Torrez, and former top prospect Chad Reichert

Astoria is a really hard team to judge. They lost some top talent and were able to keep some. They have some good prospects (Westfall and Reichert), but also not a lot. They could either spend and compete or rebuild as several players are either going to FAs this year or the next. Also David Westfall and David Westland are going to be hell for me to remember who’s who.

last season 46-92, 7th in Pacific.
2nd ranked farm system (RHP Wayne Hamel #5, RF Juan Castillo #16, RHP Daniel Ojeda #23)
Payroll $1,251,210 - 13th
Lineup and Pitching

C 28, Kevin Edwards, Georgia, .223/.296/.259, 56OPS+
1B 35, J.D. Linde, Louisiana, .273/.366/.466, 130OPS+ in 81 games with Germantown
2B 24, Justin Driscoll, California, .247/.288/.302, 65OPS+
3B 23, Jayden Royal, Florida, .266/.318/.355, 88OPS+ won Deshayes award
SS 26, Philip Fievet, Quebec, .208/.281/.304, 63OPS+
LF 26, Joseph Wallace, Rocky Mountains, .256/.335/.382, 100OPS+
CF 24, Milt Scovell, Great Lakes, 99OPS+ in 50 games
RF 23, Ben Black, Georgia, .282/.356/.427, 118OPS+
DH 32, Jake Herold, California, .293/.401/.582, 172OPS+

1 22, Jim Vogel, Susquehanna, 9-11, 3.70ERA, 110ERA+
2 22, Matt Ecklund, Great Lakes, 4-8, 5.24ERA, 78ERA+
3 23, Mike Pope, Great Lakes, 4-15, 5.84ERA, 70ERA+
4 25, Eddie Melsom, The Dakotas, 5.81ERA in 48 innings
5 31, Jaivin Cano, Louisiana, 3-13, 6.34ERA, 64OPS+
CL 24, Lorenzo Branch, Rocky Mountains, 3.94ERA in 61.2 innings
Other notable bullpen arms: Rogelio Rodriguez

They did worse than an expansion team… Though, they have a lot of potential on their team. The outfield tandem of Wallace, Scovell, and Black may be absolutely terrifying once they develop. Driscoll and Royal in the infield as well. Edwards has shown to be able to hold his own as well. Pitching wise it's a bit more work, though Vogel, Ecklund, and Pope are still seriously young. Hamel and Ojeda could both make debuts this year as well. Herold still has 5 years left on his contract, so they could potentially all hit their peaks while he’s still around to help. But, they will have to begin signing players soon as they brought many of them up too early and are nearing free agency. It will be seen as a win if they don’t lose 100 games this season.

last season 90-51, 1st in Pacific. Lost Pacific Series in 7 games to Eureka.
11th ranked farm system (RHP Tim Cote #13, RHP Carlos Padilla #17, RHP Chris Keon #22)
Payroll $2,130,979 - 4th
Lineup and Pitching

C 28, Eric Titus, Great Lakes, .384/.484/.636, 211OPS+ won Bater, Frey, and Deshayes awards
1B 24, Edgar Morales, California, .206/.243/.252, 38OPS+ won Deshayes award
2B 25, Dan Harbin, New England, .313/.384/.402, 120OPS+ won Deshayes and Frey awards
3B 24, John Baldwin, Arctic Circle, only played 27 games
SS 24, Dean Monahan, Cascadia, .203/.279/.265, 53OPS+ won Hernandez award
LF 25, Hisato Horio, Japan, .220/.319/.263, 64OPS+
CF 34, Kevin Meyer, Rocky Mountains, .265/.366/.406, 38SBs, 115OPS+
RF 21, Yekuno-Amlak Mshangama, Zambia, 68OPS+ in 70 games
DH 31, Jon Magallanes, Rocky Mountains, .297/.376/.415, 121OPS+

1 29, Marty Hodge, Australia, 17-9, 2.48ERA, 0.89WHIP, 236Ks, 164ERA+
2 28, Rafael Santa Cruz, Florida, 19-4, 1.69ERA, 241ERA+ won Taylor award
3 30, Jeffrey Simon, The Dakotas, 12-6, 2.62ERA, 156ERA+
4 26, Jose Serrano, Dominican Republic, 5-6, 3.14ERA, 130ERA+
5 29, Ahmed Mathis, 14-9, 3.18ERA, 128ERA+ with Germantown (out 3 months due to severed fingers)
CL 30, Mike Hilger, Rocky Mountains, 33 Saves, 1.79ERA, 277ERA+ won Gervais award
Other notable bullpen arms: Kyle McMurphy, Jose Guerrero, and Warren Bourdon

Easily the greatest pitching staff put together. Hilger and McMurphy have 6 Gervais awards between them. The entire rotation has a potential Hall of Fame plaque waiting for them. Batting is weak, though Titus won the Baxter and Magallanes had a career year. They also have an insane defense, while they are not all great hitters, some still have potential to become one. If everything clicks they could easily be a 100 game winner.

last season 73-65, 4th in Pacific.
6th ranked farm system (RF/RHP Yin-reng Fa #8, RHP Ryan Reimann #15, RHP Quan Hang #32, LF Nestor Rivas #39)
Payroll $1,982,270 - 6th
Lineup and Pitching

C 26, Mike Wautlet, Virginia, only played 34 games last year
1B 40, Larry Adair, Arctic Circle, 157OPS+ in 48 games
2B 24, Carlos Dominguez, Louisiana, .203/.281/.272, 55OPS+
3B 36, Chris Shepherd, Great Lakes, .309/.449/.572, 184OPS+ won Frey award
SS 35, Ian Brinley, Texas, .255/.348/.422, 114OPS+
LF 31, Trevor Reardon, The Dakotas, .281/.402/.433, 73SBs, 133OPS+ (now finally free of 1B)
CF 33, Ron Young, The Dakotas, .300/.375/.457, 131OPS+
RF 35, Scott Purkis, The Dakotas, .289/.376/.405, 118OPS+
DH 32, Jose Zarate, Venezuela, .300/.388/.538, 157OPS+

1 25, Bobby Brooks, Texas, 17-7, 2.85ERA, 143ERA+
2 23, Fritz Bresson, Quebec, 13-8, 4.37ERA, 93ERA+
3 22, Danny Tatman, Great Lakes, 10-13, 4.72ERA, 86ERA+
4 23, Alex Carrillo, Mexico, no stats rookie season. Unranked prospect
5 21, Jerry Plunkett, The Dakotas, no stats, rookie season. Unranked prospect
CL 29, Nick Hartle, The Dakotas, 28 Saves, 2.08ERA, 196ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: Pat Dow, Ryan Hoskins, Angelo Juarez, Ryan Leonard, Aaron Odle

After losing all their pitching in 2103, they underwent a small rebuild/retool for their pitching core. Brooks, Bresson, and Tatman look to be the real deal. And most of their relievers are also young and are already showing signs of greatness. This could be the final year for Adair as well, and with how well their offense was last year they could easily finally be back in the playoffs. Something the die-hard Dakota fans have been missing since 2103.

last season 82-56, 2nd in Pacific. Won Championship Series
10th ranked farm system (C Ismael Mendez #19, SS William Garcia #27, RHP Greg Hicks #36)
Payroll $2,485,924 - 1st
Lineup and Pitching

C 29, Ogai Hara, Japan, .233/.343/.344, 92OPS+
1B 33, Kyle Thompson, California, .352/.461/.685, 212OPS+ won Baxter
2B 29, Jorge Rodriguez, Dominican Republic, .272/.360/.406, 114OPS+
3B 24, Carlos Escobedo, California, .232/.283/.293, 61OPS+ hit 4 homers in the playoffs
SS 25, Jamie Tipton, California, .257/.334/.362, 94OPS+
LF 27, Jonathan Humphrey, California, .216/.301/.308, 70OPS+
CF 26, Ken Kachmar, Maritimes, only 21 games last season
RF 23, Tyler Noble, New England, only 39 games last season
DH 33, Antonio Garza, Dominican Republic, .284/.398/.633, 184OPS+ won Frey award

1 32, Felix Hernandez, Dominican Republic, 16-6, 2.32ERA, 176ERA+
2 33, Ben Denman, Florida, 17-11, 2.50ERA, 163ERA+
3 24, Dustin Cloud, The Dakotas, 14-11, 4.54ERA, 90ERA+
4 32, Todd Luquette, California, 15-7, 3.29ERA, 124ERA+
5 30, Antonio Madrigal, Colombia, no stats rookie season. Unranked prospect
CL 30, Jake Pawlowski, California, 30 Saves, 1.63ERA, 250ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: Ryan Sumner, Rogelio Victoria, and Trent Pullin

Won the Championship then signed the best player in the league? Didn’t they do this after the 2103 championship too? At least 5 guaranteed Hall of Famers on their team. Plus a solid bullpen and good prospects. The only real concern could be the depth, mainly in the outfield. But could easily still make a run for their record win total.

last season 66-75, 5th in Pacific.
4th ranked farm system (LHP Paolo Barreau #4, 2B Thierry Charles #24, LHP Jim Gutsch #34)
Payroll $1,469,481 - 10th
Lineup and Pitching

C 26, David Kleinschmidt, Virginia, .177/.276/.260, 50OPS+
1B 23, Lou Goodchild, Quebec, .259/.303/.361, 85OPS+
2B 25, Josh Peppers, Great Lakes, .212/.316/.388, 96OPS+
3B 25, Jose Orozco, Dominican Republic, .252/.305/.407, 98OPS+
SS 31, Ryan Irvin, Texas, .199/.300/.287, 65OPS+
LF 30, Mike McIntyre, Texas, .244/.368/.459, 130OPS+
CF 26, Katsumi Canio, Japan/Brazil, .338/.370/.443, 62SBs, 127OPS+ won Deshayes and Frey awards
RF 22, Melvin Navarrete, California, .235/.302/.383, 91OPS+
DH 34, David Moran, Texas, .296/.391/.428, 129OPS+

1 33, Brian Van Winkle, Texas, 17-11, 3.52ERA, 116ERA+
2 25, Rich Platte, New England, 11-17, 3.38ERA, 120ERA+
3 36, Alex Garcia, Colombia, 11-12, 4.27ERA, 96ERA+ with Huron
4 30, Jeremy Kiely, Susquehanna, 9-9, 4.27ERA, 95ERA+
5 24, Nick Lambert, Georgia, 10-16, 6.28ERA, 65ERA+ former top prospect
CL 25, Greg Cone, The Dakotas, 1.12ERA in 24 innings, first gig as closer
Other notable bullpen arms: Alain Thomas

It seems so far away since 2101 when they lost a game-163 to Cheyenne to miss the playoffs. Been nothing but losing since. They are in a similar spot to Baton Rouge, lots of prospects and potential. But Galveston has more star power and NABF ready prospects (both Barreau and Gutsch should debut this year, plus a few more in the minors that aren’t listed as prospects after a “cup of coffee” last season). They should fight for .500 at the very least.

last season 79-62, 3rd in the Atlantic
9th ranked farm system (RHP Carlos Flores #25, RHP Nick Grueneich #26, SS Sosa Jouon #33, 2B Benjamin Whitford #38)
Payroll $1,594,343 - 8th
Lineup and Pitching

C 24, Stephen McMorrow, Louisiana, .205/.273/.278, 51OPS+
1B 27, Chris Conway, Virginia, .239/.319/.340, 81OPS+
2B 29, Ramiro Ruiz, Colombia, .226/.336/.317, 80OPS+
3B 29, Bobby Tippett, California, only played 14 games with Huron
SS 24, Douggie Clarke, Virginia, .258/.312/.372, 87OPS+ won Deshayes award
LF 24, Aaron Ruggiero, Cascadia, .251/.363/.357, 98OPS+ won Deshayes award
CF 28, Gary Urbanczyk, Susquehanna, .249/.370/.550, won Deshayes and Frey awards
RF 26, Kevin Campeau, Maritimes, .284/.401/.509, 149OPS+ won Deshayes and Frey awards
DH 31, Corey Kruskamp, Rocky Mountains, .277/.321/.467, 114OPS+

1 38, Steve Francen, Rocky Mountains, 18-11, 2.66ERA, 153ERA+ with Cheyenne
2 24, Keith Badey, Great Lakes, 17-7, 2.54ERA, 163ERA+
3 23, Matt Frizzell, Cascadia, 3.88ERA in 62.2 innings
4 33, Lee Ray, The Dakotas, 12-14, 3.87ERA, 107ERA+
5 23, Nick Grueneich, Virginia, no stats rookie season. #26 ranked prospect
CL 34, Alex Schepers, Virginia, 35 Saves, 2.69ERA, 154ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: young arms or prospects; Geoff Bolen, C.J. Clymer, Mal Holder, Jonathan Latham, Thomas Legros, and Charlie Symmonds

The definition of so close, yet so far. They have finished 3rd three times now. They have potentially the best bullpen in the league if they all develop. On offense Ruggiero and Campeau have been surprise developments landing starting spots after being late round picks. A few seasons back I mentioned they suffered from lack of domestic talent but now they have Clarke and Conway who have been underrated, plus Schephers and Clymer in the pen, and now with Grueneich who is possibly the most hyped prospect ever. His jersey sales are third in the league. Either way, the starving fans hope he can finally bring playoff baseball to the nation.

last season 52-86, 6th in Atlantic
1st ranked farm system (LHP Dan Miles #1, LHP Abe Martinez #3, LHP Mario Anguiano #14, RHP Oscar Noriega #29, LF David Castillo #29)
Payroll $1,301,134 - 12th
Lineup and Pitching

C 25, Ethan King, Georgia, .215/.320/.295, 70OPS+
1B 32, Oscar Morales, Florida/Puerto Rico, .286/.381/.526, 147OPS+
2B 30, Jason Martin, Susquehanna, .318/.391/.479, 138OPS+ won Deshayes award with Trois Rivieres
3B 25, Chris Bachert, Louisiana, .170/.265/.238, 39OPS+
SS 24, Tom Helms, Rocky Mountains, .228/.298/.303, 65OPS+
LF 26, Jake Longshaw, Virginia, played 50 games between Plymouth and Florida
CF 25, Savion Jones, Louisiana, .211/.249/.350, 63OPS+
RF 24, Adam Beyer, Florida, .307/.397/.468, 136OPS+ won Castaneda award
DH 35, Juan Torres, Florida, .340/.432/.472, 148OPS+ won Frey award

1 26, Steven Dorsey, Susquehanna, 12-16, 3.87ERA, 107ERA+
2 22, Ted Bass, Virginia, 2.56ERA in 63 innings
3 24, Cyrille Vincent, Quebec, 9-12, 4.80ERA, 86ERA+
4 24, Jacob Woods, New England, 5.15ERA in 73 innings
5 22, Edgar Sierra, Texas, no stats rookie season. Former #73 prospect
CL 24, Bill Mowry, Susquehanna, 10 Saves, 4.25ERA, 97ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: Wilson Velasco

Florida, the gift that keeps on giving. They were able to snag Juan de Loera in the draft who could’ve easily been their #2 pitcher this year, but he declined to play pro golf. Then they outwardly blasted Savion Jones for why they did so bad last year, which pissed off the former 1st round pick. While the Martin signing looks great, it also means that DH Tyler Hammerich who had a breakout season last year now has nowhere to play. At least for now, both Torres and Morales will also be gone next year and they have been the only things keeping this squad from absolute misery for the past several seasons. Outside of #1 Dan Miles, none of their other prospects are even really close to the majors, they will really have to hope Dorsey, Bass, and Vicnent can develop successfully which so far has not seemed the case.

last season 80-58, 2nd in Atlantic, lost Atlantic Series to Trois Rivieres
3rd ranked farm system (RHP Heath Victory #6, SS Luis Laboy #10, C Han-seung Park #20)
Payroll $2,397,245 - 2nd
Lineup and Pitching

C 35, Armando Garcia, Susquehanna, .262/.334/.405, 105OPS+ won Frey award (former #1 prospect Kurtz is backup this year)
1B 33, Bobby Russell, Susquehanna, .229/.315/.384, 94OPS+
2B 30, Ritter Ammann, Susquehanna, .263/.338/.405, 106OPS+
3B 36, Josh Wagoner, Susquehanna, .188/.307/.376, 89OPS+
SS 28, Ben Cintron, California, .222/.264/.373, 76OPS+ (will split time at 3rd in a weird platoon)
LF 28, George Powers, Quebec, .305/.452/.568, 183OPS+ won Frey award
CF 21, Ivan Najera, Dominican Republic, played 2 games last year
RF 24, Jeremy Cooper, Georgia, .250/.344/.422, 112OPS+ won Hernandez award
DH 22, Zack Joyner, Florida, no stats rookie season. #41 ranked prospect

1 32, Adam Minke, Susquehanna, 12-8, 3.65ERA, 112ERA+
2 33, Bernie Rosado, Susquehanna, 10-11, 4.26ERA, 96ERA+
3 36, Ross Whitehead, Maritimes, 14-10, 3.21ERA, 127ERA+
4 33, Matt Richardson, Susquehanna, 7-8, 3.55ERA, 115ERA+
5 23, Micah Gregory, New England, no stats rookie season. Unranked
CL 26, Eric Reed, Susquehanna, 2.03ERA in 44 innings (interesting that theyd put the young Reed over Latorre)
Other notable bullpen arms: Anton Latorre, Jason Walker, Ian Strauss, Bob Molina, Josh Burford

I could probably say this about every team, but if they click they could be unstoppable. But thats if they click. All their players have a history of being streaky. But their bullpen is at least solid. The only thing that might worry their fans is the age of their rotation. But that shouldn’t come to matter for another year or two. For now they have to win it all, they’ve been on the cusp so many times yet have not been able to actually achieve anything.

last season 69-69, 5th in Atlantic
5th ranked farm system (RF Jeremy Richey #11, SS Philip Brawner #30, RHP Dragutin Ostrozinska #37)
Payroll $2,065,112 - 5th
Lineup and Pitching

C 30, William Roehm, New England, .206/.304/.282, 64OPS+ with Dakota
1B 23, Ron Mudd, Florida, .268/.334/.355, 91OPS+
2B 30, Fernando Criado, California, .245/.351/.444, 119OPS+
3B 31, Rio Carr, New England, .230/.292/.318, 69OPS+ won 5 consecutive Deshayes awards
SS 31, Mike McClary, Texas, .342/.417/.464, 143OPS+
LF 28, Matthew Wagoner, Great Lakes, .271/.327/.464, 119OPS+ with Baton Rouge
CF 33, Robby Roberto, Texas, .261/.324/.415, 103OPS+
RF 32, Tom Mackey, Great Lakes, .291/.349/.485, 129OPS+
DH 23, Bob Heath, Quebec, had 4 plate appearances last season

1 37, Vince Benbow, Australia, 10-9, 3.30ERA, 125ERA+ with Plymouth
2 24, Brad Vedder, Great Lakes, 10-9, 4.08ERA, 101ERA+
3 41, Jaylin Wallace, Great Lakes, 9-7, 3.57ERA, 115ERA+
4 22, David Stone, Texas, no stats rookie season. #81 ranked prospect
5 24, Francisco Garcia, Dominican Republic, no stats rookie season. Unranked
CL 22, Ivan Ramirez, Virginia, 4.57ERA in 21 innings
Other notable bullpen arms: Roberto Velez

After their worst finish since their inaugural season, the Gryphons begin a process of retooling before their window closes. The loss of pitchers Newcomer and Sanchez are huge. Especially since they have probably the worst bullpen of the potential competing teams. Wagoner is a nice addition, but at the cost of Phelan who had been their leadoff man for 5 years may not be the best play (granted, Phelan is still a FA but likely will sign elsewhere). Benbow and Wallace are question marks due to their age and have been showing signs of regression the last few seasons. This could be their last chance, but McClary, Wagoner, Criado, and Mackey all have large contracts so they could go and get FA pitching but not with that limited cap space.

last season 73-68, 4th in Atlantic.
8th ranked farm system (LHP Tim Troke #2, SS Masashi Miyahara #40)
Payroll $1,416,641 - 11th
Lineup and Pitching

C 27, Philip Cordrey, Great Lakes, .217/.298/.330, 73OPS+
1B 24, Jonathan Padilla, Texas, .320/.375/.473, 133OPS+
2B 24, D.W. Manning, Georgia, .292/.414/.359, 115OPS+
3B 25, Matt Bentz, Virginia, .273/.370/.411, 116OPS+ won Frey award
SS 24, Eric Gildo, Cascadia, no stats rookie season. Unranked
LF 25, Bobby Swanson, Great Lakes, .249/.333/.374, 95OPS+
CF 25, Jonathan Parsons, Great Lakes, .240/.316/.329, 37SBs, 79OPS+
RF 26, Josh Funk, Susquehanna, .245/.317/.310, 74OPS+
DH 34, Angelo Alonzo, Mexico, .309/.396/.543, 157OPS+ won Frey award

1 24, Mike Kulbeth, Louisiana, 12-13, 4.05ERA, 204Ks, 102ERA+
2 24, Matt Kenney, Rocky Mountains, 6-14, 4.94ERA, 83ERA+
3 25, Roberto Corral, Curaçao, 7-7, 5.58ERA, 74ERA+
4 22, David Ramirez, New England, no stats rookie season. Unranked prospect
5 26, Ben Mann, Susquehanna, 4.41ERA in 16 innings
CL 33, Bill Van Auken, Susquehanna, 30Saves, 3.09ERA, 133ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: Johnny Martinez, Benjamin Platt, and Phil Palmer

As mentioned at the beginning of last season, 2105 had been their “goal” year since the beginning. They finally reached it and were above .500 for the first time ever. And with a solid young core of Manning, Bentz, Padilla, Parsons, and Kulbeth. What could go wrong? Well, for starters lack of domestic talent, due to the foreign player limit, the Pilgrims do not have top prospect Lamar or Simai in the majors and only have 23 players instead of the max 27 due to only having 3 domestic players (most teams have 6-7 and Germantown has 14). They don’t even have a New Englander batter. Cordrey and Bentz are both nearing FA, it will be interesting to see what management decides to do, it could be a huge blow up. But for now, they may be able to pull something together, their bullpen is quite nice and we all know that is required to do good.

last season 33-105, 7th in Atlantic
12th ranked farm system (SS Kyle Belew #7, RHP Matt Atkinson #35)
Payroll $1,134,481 - 14th
Lineup and Pitching

C 32, Scott Vander Ark, The Dakotas, .243/.312/.331, 76OPS+
1B 39, Mel Velez, Guatemala, .265/.364/.434, 122OPS+ with Eureka
2B 23, Nick Spivey, Great Lakes, no stats rookie season. Unranked
3B 26, Ajani Jones, Georgia, played 13 games last season
SS 24, Dean Hutchence, Australia, .188/.242/.295, 46OPS+
LF 24, Dal-soo Song, Cascadia, no stats rookie season. Unranked
CF 24, Sean Dobson, Florida, .264/.364/.397, 108OPS+
RF 23, Samuel Binns, Australia, no stats, rookie season. Unranked
DH 32, Ian Mosher, Georgia, .290/.361/.410, 110OPS+

1 32, Matt Prunier, Georgia, 3.69ERA in 61 innings
2 27, Billy Jones, Rocky Mountains, 12-3, 4.09ERA, 101ERA+ with Trois Rivieres
3 24, Alfredo Jimenez, Cuba, no stats rookie season. Unranked
4 30, Juan Donate, Mexico, 3.82ERA in 33 innings with Galveston
5 29, Luke Rush, New England, 9-19, 5.34ERA, 78ERA+
CL 23, Kyle Magnani, Georgia, 14 Saves, 3.62ERA, 115ERA+
Other notable bullpen arms: Philip Auricchio and #35 prospect Matt Atkinson

They are going the much slower expansion team route than Alaska. Dobson and Mosher were surprises last year, looking for continued development from Magnani and both Jones’. Top prospect Belew may make his debut later this year as well. Other than that, another tank job is in the works.

last season 100-38, 1st in Atlantic, lost Championship Series to Eureka
7th ranked farm system (C Hairama Nalanie #9, RHP/OF Gary Hamilton #12)
Payroll $2,191,641 - 3rd
Lineup and Pitching

C 26, Josh Lemon, Great Lakes, .224/.302/.314, 70OPS+ won Deshayes award
1B 35, Justin Adler, Quebec, .294/.372/.423, 118OPS+ as infield utility
2B 30, Ricky Morales, Guatemala, only played 14 games
3B 32, Andy Rico, Venezuela, .230/.327/.382, 95OPS+
SS 26, Christian Dubois, Quebec, .243/.332/.330, 83OPS+
LF 29, Hervé Barthélémy, Quebec, .290/.419/.646, 194OPS+ won Frey award with Astoria
CF 25, Jon Buckley, Great Lakes, .211/.300/.394, 36SBs, 90OPS+
RF 27, Ron Peterson, Arctic Circle, .287/.387/.406, 119OPS+
DH 26, Joe Delli Santi, Virginia, .311/.451/.602, 188OPS+ won Frey award

1 28, Leon Lopez, Puerto Rico, 23-3, 2.64ERA, 156ERA+ won Taylor award
2 26, Jorge Franco, Panama, 14-10, 4.33ERA, 95ERA+
3 33, Danny Avila, Colombia, 19-3, 3.42ERA, 120ERA+
4 31, Brent Wilson, New England, 8-8, 5.49ERA, 75ERA+ with Plymouth
5 25, Jeremy Phillips, 4.26ERA in 67 innings
CL 35, Graham Taylor, 17 Saves, 2.36ERA in 42 innings (main closer, Ray Nixon out for 4 months)
Other notable bullpen arms: Dale Patterson, Johan Mathieu

Thompson leaving was inevitable, but in the long run it may have been a smart decision. So far their only young player with a “long-term” contract is C Lemon with a super cheap 4 year deal. While Barthélémy signed 8 years, he will likely leave after 2 just like he has done multiple times before, in that season the Harfang will have many young players in need of contracts; Peterson, Dubois, Lopez, and Franco (not counting Dubois, Delli Santi, Patterson, and Avila the following year). Clearing cap space from Thompson and Barthélémy (most likely) will grant them enough space to hopefully be able to keep the roster together for longer to hopefully build a Quebecois dynasty.

2106 Pre-Season Predictions
Pacific:
Dakota Eagles 98-64
Cheyenne Buffalo 95-67
Eureka Redwoods 95-67
Galveston Launch 87-75
Astoria Osprey 78-84
Alaska Avalanche 72-90
Baton Rouge Cajuns 57-105

Atlantic:
Trois Rivieres Harfang 107-55
Chesapeake Admirals 87-75
Germantown Pretzels 85-77
Huron Gryphons 84-78
Plymouth Pilgrims 76-86
Florida Flamingos 69-93
Rome Gladiators 46-116

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» Baseball
» North American Baseball Federation 2: 2104 Season/Playoffs

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