The 2037 Daily Keg - The Brewski's

[Matt]

(AP)

The 2037 season is over and congratulations are in order for the Carolina Tobs! They took down Batavia 4-3, then Washington 4-3, then finally Santo Domingo in the Brewmasters 4-1 to capture their first title since 2011 and third championship in franchise history.




The Brewski's

The Daily Keg is excited to announce the 8th annual Brewski Awards show. After pouring over the season the selection committee has announced the the winners for the following awards, some serious...some not so serious. So without further delay here we go.

Player of the Year

CF Rory Elia, CAR - Injury concerns plagued the early part of his career but once again he played in over 150 games, won his second straight Stout Slugger, and helped lead the Tobs to the championship. On the season he hit .296/.372/.597 with 44 HR's and 113 RBI's while posting a +11.5 ZR in center field. The former 8th overall pick in the 2031 draft is only 24 and could be a force in this league for a long time.

2030 winner: 3B Johnny 'Big Stick' Swope, SEA
2031 winner: 1B Turell 'Two Ton' Morris, MAI
2032 winner: 3B Johnny 'Big Stick' Swope, SEA
2033 winner: C Ian James, SDR
2034 winner: 1B Johnny 'Big Stick' Swope, SEA
2035 winner: 1B Johnny 'Big Stick' Swope, CAL
2036 winner: 1B Johnny 'Big Stick' Swope, CAL

Hitter of the Year

DH Manny Quezada, WIL - He played in 161 games and hit .289/.418/.620 with 55 HR's and 134 RBI's while stealing 24 bases just for fun. His 1.039 OPS and 159 OPS+ were also the highest in the league. He won the DL Stout Slugger award which means he has now won it both in the Import (2033 - PHO) and Domestic. In league history only Jimmy Jones has accomplished that feat before.

2030 winner: 1B Turell 'Two Ton' Morris, MAI
2031 winner: RF Ron 'Vampire' Hutchison, HAR
2032 winner: 1B Jermaine Williams, IND
2033 winner: 1B Manny Quezada, PHO
2034 winner: LF Fred Falloon, IND
2035 winner: DH Ron 'Vampire' Hutchison, HAR
2036 winner: CF Rory Elia, CAR

Pitcher of the Year

P JJ Plumley, WIL - He has turned into the pitcher of the 2030's as his run on Pale Ale's and Brewski's continues. This season he captured his third straight Pale Ale after going 20-3 with a 2.49 ERA and 0.94 WHIP. He also led the DL in strikeouts and was the first pitching Triple Crown winner since Pat Evans did it in 2019 for the Freedom.

2030 winner: Manabu Hamada, DEN
2031 winner: Manabu Hamada, DEN
2032 winner: Noel Graham, MAI
2033 winner: Pat 'Baja' Arballo, WAS
2034 winner: JJ Plumley, WIL
2035 winner: JJ Plumley, WIL
2036 winner: JJ Plumley, WIL

Rookie of the Year

1B Edgar Alonzo, WAS - Considered an "old" rookie at 25 he played in 146 games and posted a .289/.335/.550 slash line with 35 HR's, 111 RBI's, and a 2.7 WAR. He was a 2nd round pick by the Bats back in 2029 and bounced around the top prospect rankings until his debut. He is every managers dream as very few outwork him, he is extremely humble, and he just wants to win.

2030 winner: 1B Pat Walton, HAR
2031 winner: 2B Alex Arana, SDR
2032 winner: 1B Dave Perry, PIT
2033 winner: 2B Tom Martin, NYK
2034 winner: CF Rory Elia, CAR
2035 winner: RF Robert 'Stretch' Jessee
2036 winner: 3B Dawson 'Wedge' Davis, WC
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All-State Hands Award
(Given to the player with the most total chances and no errors...who doesn't play primarily first base)

CF CF Rick Watson, DEN - He played for both Denver and Pawtucket and over the course of 112 games in center field recorded 357 total chances without an error. He also hit .285/.325/.446 and stole 16 bases.

2030 winner: RF Dusty Janson, DEN
2031 winner: LF Jamie Hendon, NY
2032 winner: CF Gil Banda, SEA
2033 winner: CF Tom White, SDR
2034 winner: RF Donnie Wilson, MON
2035 winner: CF Mat Weir, NO
2036 winner: CF Ian 'Viper' Lisch, NO

Army Ranger Sniper Award
(Given to the catcher with the highest runner thrown out percentage with a minimum of 30 attempts)

C Jayden Dean, PAW - He only played in 70 games for Pawtucket but threw out 19 of 49 runners who dared to test him. His RTO of 38.8% was a rebound to his earlier seasons as in 2036 he only gunned down 3 out of 25 runner while playing for California.

2030 winner: C Micah Gordon, WIL
2031 winner: C Ian 'Pickles' James, SDR
2032 winner: C Landon McClelland, PHI
2033 winner: C Tristan Logan, SEA
2034 winner: C Dusty Akkerman, PAW
2035 winner: C Micah Gordon, PIT
2036 winner: C Sean Covington, SYR

Frank Abagnale, Jr Award
(Given to the player who stole at least 20 bases and was caught the least)

RF Riley Thomas, SEA - At 31 years old he doesn't have the wheels that he used to have but he does have the savvy. There are not many guys in the league as smart and experienced at swiping bases and it showed when he was successful 30 out of 35 times for an 85.7% success rate.

2030 winner: CF Pat Welch, BAT
2031 winner: LF Akiyuki Kimura, MAI
2032 winner: RF R.J. Kapper, PIT
2033 winner: RF R.J. Kapper, PIT
2034 winner: RF R.J. Kapper, PIT
2035 winner: CF Seth Blankenship, SYR
2036 winner: CF Marcos Savage, LAD

Ludacris Award
(Given to the player who got hit with the most pitches)

RF Hyun-seung Bark, BAT - No one quite crowds the plate like the 6'4, 215 pound Bark...some would even use the word 'engulf'. In 152 games he hit .249/.336/.417 with 21 HR's but was also hit 21 times, the most in the league. Good thing for him he recently signed an endorsement deal with Advil and has already appeared in several commercials.

2030 winner: 1B Geoff 'Mr. Reliable' Dail, MIA
2031 winner: 2B Dave 'Bulldog' Bickford, NY
2032 winner: 2B Tristan Hagen, HAR
2033 winner: 1B Joy-shan Guo, BAT
2034 winner: LF Benny Tatsuno, PIT
2035 winner: 2B Hideki Nakayama, MAI
2036 winner: RF Tony Chieregati, HAR

Broadside of the Barn Award
(Given to the player with the highest strikeouts per plate appearance)

LF Grant Hockensmith, CAR - In his rookie campaign he played in 84 games, hit .223 with 16 HR's, and struck out 126 times in 357 plate appearances for a 35.3 strikeout percentage. At only 22 years old he was the only player to be above 30% and hopefully his swing for the fences approach will improve the more he matures.

2030 winner: LF Sayid bin Sariyah, LAD
2031 winner: C Sean Gallion, SYR
2032 winner: 1B Tom Lewis, MAI
2033 winner: C Jaime 'Dodo' Bushnell, CAR
2034 winner: 1B Dave Schaefer, NYK
2035 winner: C Jaden Stills, MAI
2036 winner: 1B Tommy Spielman, LAD

Swing For Between the Infielders Award
(Given to the player with the most hits but no home runs)

RF Kam Foster, NO - We might have a new champion to dethrone 'Heartthrob' as Foster has amazing skills getting the bat on the ball but not over the wall. He is only 23 years old, played in 132 games, and hit .313/.346/.412 with no home runs and 40 RBI's. He also posted a +9.3 ZR in right field and won a DWI there as well.

2030 winner: 2B Ricky 'Heartthrob' Figueroa, DEN
2031 winner: 2B Ricky 'Heartthrob' Figueroa, DEN
2032 winner: 3B Ron Morgan, SDR
2033 winner: RF Tom Lyon, PHO
2034 winner: C Tony Solorio, HAR
2035 winner: 2B Ricky 'Heartthrob' Figueroa, WC
2036 winner: 2B Ricky 'Heartthrob' Figueroa, WC

Dickey's BBQ Beans Award
(Given to the pitcher who hits the most batters)

P Sheng 'Admiral' Jong, SDR - The 'Admiral' beaned 17 batters in 2036 and now 20 batters in 2037 to lead the league once again. The Rum Runners ace will hopefully never get traded to Batavia, and if he does he better not pitch batting practice to Hyun-seung Bark. It might turn into a bloodbath.

2030 winner: P Nate Bettis, PHO
2031 winner: P Pat Burgess, PIT
2032 winner: P Robby 'Bruiser' McEvoy, BAL
2033 winner: P Jarrod Peacock, PHI
2034 winner: P Robby 'Bruiser' McEvoy, BAL
2035 winner: P Erik Martin, NYK
2036 winner: P Sheng 'Admiral' Jong, SDR

The Milton Swingline Stapler Award
(The player who earned a check without deserving one)

P Jarrod Peacock, PHI - Signed to a three year contract worth $57 million by Seattle in 2036 he was placed on waivers and claimed by Philadelphia in September last year. Making 'only' $11 million this season he went 3-5 with a 5.44 ERA and 1.49 WHIP while missing six weeks with a sore shoulder in the early part of the season. He's due to make $23 million next season so Philly might be looking to kick him down the road.

2030 winner: P Jerrod Blick, TOR
2031 winner: P Jerrod Blick, TOR
2032 winner: 1B Dylan Owens, TOR
2033 winner: 3B Erik Redding, CAL
2034 winner: 1B Dylan Owens, TOR
2035 winner: 1B Joy-shan Guo, BAT
2036 winner: SS Pat Pierce, CAR

[Matt]

Better late than never?!?

[Carlos]

Imagine?
"The Rum Runners ace will hopefully never get traded to Batavia, and if he does he better not pitch batting practice to Hyun-seung Bark. It might turn into a bloodbath."

[PaulC]

Thank Matt! Love the Brewski's! Nice to see some former Kodiaks getting some love...

Hopefully Peacock doesn't end 2038 with the award... That would be bad!

[Pat]

Better late than never.

It does feel good to have a player make the Brewski's again as we haven't been a "winner" since Johnny Swope in 2034.

CF Riley Thomas has such an interesting history for a player who quite frankly, has never been that great. The 20th overall pick back in 2023 and once rated as high as the #5 prospect in baseball, his best season he posted a 2.5 WAR for Montreal in 2031. His rather pedestrian career didn't stop him from being the center piece to multiple big trades: in 2030 California sent him to Montreal for two 1sts, two 2nds, the #67 prospect in CF Jimmy Spargo, Montreal's 1st round pick that year in OF Norm Cupp and 1st round pick in the previous season SP Johnny Luker. Fast forward two years later, he is sent to Hartford in exchange for a 3rd round pick and the #33 prospect Kahron Reyes who is now arguably the best shortstop in baseball. Fast forward yet again to 2036, where Hartford sends him and expiring SP Javier Rueda to Syracuse for a 1st round pick and a former 2nd round pick. That off-season he signed with Seattle and is your 2037 Frank Abagnale, Jr Award winner.

[PaulC]

Better late than never.

It does feel good to have a player make the Brewski's again as we haven't been a "winner" since Johnny Swope in 2034.

CF Riley Thomas has such an interesting history for a player who quite frankly, has never been that great. The 20th overall pick back in 2023 and once rated as high as the #5 prospect in baseball, his best season he posted a 2.5 WAR for Montreal in 2031. His rather pedestrian career didn't stop him from being the center piece to multiple big trades: in 2030 California sent him to Montreal for two 1sts, two 2nds, the #67 prospect in CF Jimmy Spargo, Montreal's 1st round pick that year in OF Norm Cupp and 1st round pick in the previous season SP Johnny Luker. Fast forward two years later, he is sent to Hartford in exchange for a 3rd round pick and the #33 prospect Kahron Reyes who is now arguably the best shortstop in baseball. Fast forward yet again to 2036, where Hartford sends him and expiring SP Javier Rueda to Syracuse for a 1st round pick and a former 2nd round pick. That off-season he signed with Seattle and is your 2037 Frank Abagnale, Jr Award winner.

He always looked so damn promising!