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The BLB turns 55 and the race for the 2033 Brewmaster's Cup is on. Last year ended up as the 'Year of the Bats' as Washington took their first Brewmasters Cup since 2012 and their first under their current GM. Can they repeat or will they be dethroned? In the last eleven seasons we've had ten different champions as only the Maine Guides have repeated. That sort of parity is great for fans around the league as you can never count your team out. With that being said here are the preseason predictions brought to you by the Daily Keg.
Season Standings
Ale
x Hartford
z Pittsburgh
z Maine
Wilmington
Syracuse
Pawtucket
Hartford wins 90 games and holds off Pittsburgh to take the Ale. They lead the entire DL in home runs thanks to a crushing 3-4-5 order which features Pat Walton, Ron Hutchison, and Brendan Matison who hit a combined 110 dingers and drive in 285 runs. Ian Ammons turns into a star as he records 17 wins and his ERA drops again for the 5th straight season, this time to a superb 2.75. Free agent signee Dave Teel wins 14 games with a 3.95 ERA and none of the young players can believe he was born in 1994.
The Millers trot out rookie center fielder Tom Smith who has a +10 ZR and hits .295 to go along with Robby Lee, who hits 30 HR's, and RJ Kapper, who gets hit by Maine, to provide the best defensive outfield in the DL. Dave Perry now insists on being called David and hit's 45 HR's while playing first base poorly. For the first time in a long time their pitching is the key to their success as Johnny Martin leads the team with 15 wins and I-po Chai gets 40 saves to go with his 1.80 ERA.
Maine is under new management but still boasts the best 1-2-3 starting pitchers in the game in Noel Graham, Kevin Alston, and Dave Short. They combine to win 50 games with Graham taking the Pale Ale. Meanwhile the guy the DK loves to talk about, Turrell 'Two Ton' Morris, hits over 50 HR's for the 4th straight year while Dave Tibbs continues to show why he is a top five center fielder when he hits .290 with 25 HR's with a +7.0 ZR. All these equal a wildcard birth and the Guide's 6th straight trip to the playoffs.
Wilmington broke their every other playoff year tradition last season. They went in '26, '28 and '30 but had 68 wins last season. This year they have become the Clown show and will win 83 games but miss the playoffs by two games. Jaime Rush rebounds to 2031 Rush who hit .371 instead of 2032 Rush who hit .277 and goes for the middle mark by hitting .325. They lack the power hitter they need though and finish last in the league in home runs and wreck captain JJ Plumley's career year of 20-4 with a 2.95 ERA.
Syracuse has the best young player in the league in Seth Blankenship who hits 40 home runs to go along with his +12 ZR in center field but like Rush needs both Tommy Davis and Dave Wagner to get back to 2031 where they hit .288 with 40 HR's and .345 with 13 HR's respectively. Pitching wise Micah Laird will win 15 games with another sub 3.00 ERA while Pat Moore will win 15 games with a 3.50 ERA. This team is really only a few breaks away from being a playoff team but only time will tell.
Pawtucket was 81-81 last season and went shopping this off-season in the Caribbean. They acquired Darrion Sandoval, who arrived from Cuba via free agency, and Sandy Perez, who arrived from Santo Domingo via trade, in hopes to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2028. With an aging Dave Ingram, who will turn 38 this year, as their main offensive weapon though it's going to be tough to score enough runs to keep up with the Whalers and Millers of the division.
Lager
x Santo Domingo
z Indianapolis
z Miami
New Orleans
Toronto
Montreal
No other team has had more season success and postseason failure than the Rum Runners/Scorpions. Can they be cursed after taking over the Virginia franchise that was folded by the league back in 2003? Since that time they have made the playoffs 22 times and the Brewmasters Cup four times but never won it all. Well if they are cursed this is the year the DK predicts the curse is broken! Look for SDRR to win over 100 games, get to the Brewmasters, and finally take home the long awaited cup. With Stout Slugger catcher Ian James leading the way by hitting .305 with 40 HR's and Zachary Bradley hitting .290 with 35 HR's they lead the DL in runs scored, AVG, and OBP. Tom Gowens wins 17 games, Bill Roman at 37 years old somehow wins 15 games, and Dave Finney becomes a starter again like 2027 and wins 14. Throw in Ironman closer Erik Marrella who records 50 saves and this team is stacked.
Indy comes in second and secures a wildcard birth based off of a power lineup that hits home run after home run. Jermaine Williams, who won the Stout Slugger last year, hits "only" 30 but so does Jimmy Edge, Pat Branum, and Fred Falloon. Ron Snider isn't the monster lefty he was in Pittsburgh's little league park (pre-renovation) but he leads the entire DL with 48 this season. The man with the hardest last name in the BLB, pitcher Ethan Braunscheidel, wins 15 games with a 3.05 ERA while Seth Rocco shows why he was 1.1 in 2030 and wins 12 games with a 3.85 ERA.
Miami sneaks into the playoffs thanks to pitching and defense. They finish 1st in runs allowed thanks to guys like Louie Reutter and Manny Cabral who each win 15 games and notch 160 K's each. On offense Geoff Dail continues to be one of the most talented base stealers in BLB history. He's now 2nd all time with 544 behind only Jerry Daly who finished with 677 before being suspended for life from the league. He's stolen 52 or more bases the last seven season and he isn't slowing down. To drive Dail in look no further than Xavier Mitchell and JR Walling who will hit 75 HR's and 200 RBI's combined. Other than that the lineup doesn't show much pop so they could possibly add a big bat to liven things up.
New Orleans will win 84 games and miss the playoffs by one game. Offensively they can hit the ball as good as anyone in the league and will lead the entire DL in average. Second basemen Jimmy Ballew will hit .300 with 30 HR's. Outfielder Zachary Schumacher will hit .315 with 35 HR's. First basemen Dave Hodge will hit .290 with 25 HR's. Center fielder Mat Weir will hit .300 with 15 HR's with a +5.0 ZR. All this is great until you get to the pitching staff which will finish almost dead last. Enrique Bernardi was outstanding for years in Seattle and Denver but is slowing down while IFA Fredrick Wilson from Mexico has been a huge disappointment. If they trade a bat for an arm maybe they win 86 games and sneak in.
Toronto went to the playoffs every year from 2019 to 2026, won a title in 2022, and then haven't been back since. Since that point they have the least wins in the BLB with 387 while Seattle has the most at 609. Some of the young talent though from picking in the top five are starting to bloom. Look for 2030 2nd rounder outfielder Roman Nichols to be a full time starter and hit .275 with 25 HR's. He'll learn the ropes from newly acquired Dusty Osteen who should hit .290 with 30 HR's. Osteen came from Batavia via free agency and will be one of the leaders in in the locker room. As for pitchers though they don't have a true #1. Pat Bice was also signed via free agency from Batavia for $3.8m but most of Toronto's off-season money was spent on international amateur free agents and giving out signing bonuses to young prospects.
Montreal finishes last which is a far cry from the run they just and where they won 91 games in 2031. They dropped to 62 wins last season and will be around that mark again. They made some bold moves a few years back which due to injuries and bad luck didn't pay off, and now they are in debt protocol. They did win a title in 2027 and that's one more than Syracuse, Pittsburgh, Denver, and Philadelphia have. Javy Gudino will continue to be the heart and soul of this team. The five time All-Star and five time Designated Driver at second will hit .300 with 25 HR's but will do most of it with another team after he finds himself traded after the All-Star break.
Stout
x New York
z Washington
z Batavia
Baltimore
Philadelphia
Carolina
New York has been to the playoffs four straight years and won a title in 2029. This year we are predicting they finally win the Stout. The last time they won their division was 2006, when they were in the Domestic League and won the Lager. Pat Schick will win 21 games and take home the Pale Ale. Jamie Pierce will win 15 games with a 3.15 ERA and TJ Rountree will win 15 games with a 3.75 ERA. Offensively catcher Alpha McCormick goes to his 6th straight All-Star game when he hits .300 with 30 HR's. Defensively 2B Dave Bickford and SS Dave Davis are the best middle infield combo in the league. Together they have won 10 DWI's and in New York's pitcher friendly park they only make the Knight's pitching even more lethal.
Washington is loaded...again. Repeating is hard though and after winning last years title they will no longer feel the love which might be good or bad. With a title under their belt though they might easily have the confidence now to dominate everyone again and win 100+ games. This year Dave Theisen recovers from missing most of last year by winning 18 games with a 2.25 ERA. Pat Arballo wins 17 games with a 2.65 ERA. Jacob Stokes in his last season in Washington goes out winning 16 games with a 3.25 ERA and Dusty Borchers wins 14 games with a 2.50 ERA. Wait...did we pick this team to come in second? Offensively no one on this team jumps out as a superstar, but together they end up 1st overall in IL home runs. The 25+ home run club will feature 2B Dave Davidson, C Josh Allen, 1B Jamie Nickerson, CF Bert Garza, and 3B Rory Smith. Meanwhile for a guy who won't hit any home runs we'd love to see 23 year old Justin 'Ant' Babbage stay healthy but we don't think he can. He'll still hit .280 but his days of being a top prospect in center field are over.
After missing the playoffs from 2028-2031 the Red Jackets of Batavia make it back to back playoff appearances. They won 81 games last year. Then this off-season they added Dave Payette who will win 15 games with a 3.50 ERA, AJ Ingle who will record 40 saves, Harukazu Ikeda who will lock down third while hitting 25 HR's, catcher Alex Santiago who will hit .300 with 25 HR's, and 34 year old Dubal Rodriquez from Venezuela who will start in the pen but eventually move to starter and win 10 games with a 2.90 ERA. Talk about making your team better. Oh ya, we forgot to mention their new center fielder Dave Marion, the #1 prospect in the BLB. He'll start from day one and will hit .265 with 25 HR's while posting a respectable +3.0 ZR. Batavia is back baby!
Once again the IL is going to be either a lot of fun or a complete mess, however you wish to see it, coming down the stretch. As you will see Baltimore won't be the only team to win 81 games and miss the playoffs. After making the postseason for 11 straight years the Bulldogs will now miss it for the 3rd straight, something that has to drive their GM crazy. They did make some nice off-season moves though as they added Pang Shuai who will win 20 games with a 3.15 ERA and Dusty Janson who will win a DWI in right field while hitting .320 with 38 HR's. Combined with 1B Bruno Damours who will hit .325 with 40 HR's they have some big pieces, just not enough quite yet as no one else will hit over 20 home runs or drive in more than 75 runs. Look for them to struggle early then add a big piece to turn things around.
Philadelphia will be the second 81 win team to miss the postseason. After last years unbelievably bad start they finished the year with 75 wins and missed the playoffs for the first time in five seasons. Transaction wise their GM is one of the busiest in the league year in and year out. This off-season was no different and we have word the Freedom have already completed the first trade of the regular season. His second move though should be stocking up on heating pads and hot tubs for his pitching staff. The Freedom boast five starters that will all be over 30 when the season ends. The youngest at 29, Eliott Paul, was a free agent from Seattle. He won 21 games in 2030 but only seven in 2031 and was moved to the bullpen for 2032. This year back starting he wins 15 with a 3.10 ERA. Tony Castillo and Caspar Schmidt were also free agent signings and will win 16 and 14 games respectively. Offensively though is where the Freedom picked up a star in a trade with New York in Chris Pineda. He will hit .290 with 40 HR and will be a defensive force at third. Another young star is outfielder Zheng-xin Yang who will hit .290 with 30 HR's. Throw in Zach Landen who will hit .275 with 30 HR's and this team can score in a hurry.
The Tobs are trending up and even though they are at the bottom of this division they will end up with 75 wins, equal to 2032, and should be a playoff team in a season or three. They already have a young staff with 23 year old JP Gardner leading the way. He will notch 13 wins this year with a 3.05 ERA while fellow 23 year old Gil Emmett will win 10 games with a 3.90 ERA. To close things out will be 24 year old Omari 'Razor' Beamon who will record 30 saves with a 2.20 ERA. On offense outfielder Dave Hoyt will hit .300 with 25 HR's while rookie Valentin Bastide will hit .275 with 15 HR's while stealing 30 bases. What should really excite the fans though is who they have coming up. Center fielder Rory Elia, third basemen Phillip Klopf, center fielder Chet Sanchez and outfielder Martin Christensen all look like top prospects. This team is going to be dangerous very soon.
Bock
x Seattle
z Windy City
z Phoenix
Los Angeles
California
Denver
Seattle is all in after going to the playoffs the last 11 seasons but only coming away with one championship back in 2026. This off-season they signed closer Kevin Hurley who will record 40 saves with a 2.75 ERA, starter Manabu Hamada who will win 12 games with a 3.90 ERA, catcher Landon McClelland who will hit .260 with 12 HR's, second basemen Hideki Nakayama who will hit .240, and outfielder Josh Wright who will hit .250 with 30 HR's. Combine that with Joey Seymour who will win 17 games with a 2.75 ERA and Johnny Swope who will win the Stout Slugger by hitting .320 with 45 HR's and 115 RBI's and the Bock belongs to the Pilots again.
The Blues fans have been blue lately waiting for the rebuild to come to fruition. After going from 68 to 76 wins in 2031 they dropped back down to 68 last season. This year though they shoot back up to 83 wins and sneak into the playoffs. Outfielder Ricky Pizarro finally breaks through and hits .300 with 50 HR's and earns his 1st All-Star invite. Jamie Hutter leads the entire league in average by hitting .350 and steals 60 bases while first basemen Zach August proves he was worth $840k in free agency when he hits 35 HR's. Dusty Dills continues his quest to becoming an ace and wins 18 games with a 2.90 ERA, Pat Wilder shows why he was a 1st round pick when he wins 15 games with a 3.25 ERA, and free agent signee Tom Jensen saves 35 games with a 3.05 ERA.
Phoenix is in the midst of the IL mess of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and California in teams that are all around the 80 win mark. The Road Runners though will win 82 games and sneak into the last playoff spot, making it back to back playoff appearances for the first time since '23-'24. Dusty Schmidl finally takes over this team by hitting .315 with 45 HR's and falls just short of the Stout Slugger. Manny Quezada struggles with average when he hits .250 but doesn't struggle when he hits 40 home runs. RJ Blewett follows up his 2032 Wildcard MVP outing by hitting .300 with 20 HR's. Phoenix ends up scoring a lot of runs which is good because their pitching might be a little suspect.
Making the playoffs seven out of the last eight years has moved LAD to 4th overall in budget and 6th in payroll. This year their free agent class though just consists of 40 year old Hoon Park, and the ageless wonder will still manage to win 12 games with a 3.70 ERA. With Wes Perry finding his groove again and winning 18 games with a 3.50 ERA they just need a Erik Harrell to be a solid #3 to make a playoff run. On offense Robby Brooksher will hit .290 with 30 HR's and post a ZR of +7.0 in left while CJ Stripling will hit .300 with 30 HR's while playing right. If Robby Caddell and Ted Christopher can stay healthy they will be fun to watch.
California hasn't been in the postseason since 2023 but made a run last season and fell one game short. This off-season they signed 33 year old outfielder Benny Tatsuno from Italy who will hit .275 with 20 HR's and starter Erik Wilmes who will win 10 games with a 4.00 ERA. It won't get them over the hump though. What will though is the seven extra picks in the draft this season, including two 1st rounders, as well as the four extra picks next year with one of them a fiirst rounder. If they keep calm and cool by the time Mike Morla, who will hit .300 with 15 HR's, and his contract expire after 2038 they will be in the postseason running year after year.
Denver is still heavily in debt after going for it all in 2031 and dropped to 75 wins last season. It was a bold strategy and almost paid off, but now they must deal with the consequences. Pitching wise they have lost a lot of talent but 25 year old Sheng Jong is their next hopeful ace. After winning 10 games last season with a 3.65 ERA he will win 15 this season with a 3.25 ERA. After him though we're not sure who is going to pick up the slack. Maybe Tristan Kendrick will try when he wins 13 games with a 4.00 ERA. Another promising youngster is closer Garret Clausnitzer who will save 38 games with a 3.05 ERA. When at bat Dave Grubel is one of the bright young stars in the entire league. This year he will hit .335 with 25 HR's and be selected to his first All-Star game. We don't see anyone else reaching the 25 HR mark though as this team will continue to rebuild through the draft.
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Wildcard
Maine over Indy
Miami over Pitt
Batavia over WC
Phoenix over Washington
Division
Santo Domingo over Miami
Hartford over Maine
New York over Phoenix
Seattle over Batavia
LCS
Santo Domingo over Hartford
New York over Seattle
Brewmasters
Santo Domingo over New York in 6
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Awards
Stout Slugger
Ian James, SDR
Johnny Swope, SEA
Pale Ale
Noel Graham, MAI
Pat Schick, NYK
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Up and Comers
Dave Gurbel, DEN - He hits .330 with 25 HR's and makes his 1st All-Star game
JP Gardner, CAR - 13-6 with a 3.05 ERA
Pat Smith, BAL - The 23 year old hits .315 with 20 HR's and steals 30 bases
Tom 'Tarantula' Kastner, HAR - The 2nd round pick in '27 saves 45 games with a 2.60 ERA
Matt Weir, NO - With a +5.0 ZR in CF he also hits .300 with 15 dingers
Spence Perry, BAT - 10-6 with a 3.80 ERA
Dave Davidson, WAS - Holds down second while hitting .250 with 30 HR's
Jayden Adams, CAL - Coming from AA last season he goes 10-8 with a 4.00 ERA
Jimmy Downey, SDR - At 23 he plays well in right and hits .275 with 25 HR's
Time to Say Goodbye
Marco Rosaro - 731 games, 376 saves, 2.23 ERA, 1.07 WHIP
Jimmy Maggio - 397 games, 126-135, 4.02 ERA, 1.28 WHIP
Pat 'K9' Cinelli - 425 games, 160-116, 3.03 ERA, 1.07 WHIP
Dave Schneider - 1663 games, .257/.324/.440, 224 HR's, 721 RBI's
Jarrod Blick - 404 games, 130-100, 3.50 ERA, 1.26 WHIP
Dave Webber - 1616 games, .259/.329/.489, 373 HR's, 957 RBI's
Erik 'Trucker' Surmeier - 1376 games, .329/.390/.469, 121 HR's, 640 RBI's, 220 SB's
Erik Parham - 348 games, 135-85, 3.25 ERA, 1.15 WHIP
Marques Edwards - 2267 games, .262/.323/.467, 436 HR's, 1305 RBI's
Dusty Orbon - 449 games, 191-125, 3.16 ERA, 1.11 WHIP
Dave Seibert - 1606 games, .264/.321/.401, 173 HR's, 657 RBI's
Joey 'Beanpole' Kopp - 378 games, 118-103, 3.57 ERA, 1.07 WHIP
Edwin Carrasco - 812 games, 396 saves, 2.43 ERA, 1.08 WHIP
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P Dusty Dills, Windy City Blues
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Thanks for reading, good luck to all and thanks for making the BLB the best league in baseball.
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