Tweet
04/11/2050
And here we are in the year 2050, the 72nd year of Brewers League Baseball. We'd like to welcome our newest champion...what's this...our newest repeat champion, the Los Angeles Dinos. The Dinos are the first team to go back to back since Pawtucket did it in 2013-2014. Down 3-0 in the Brewmasters to the Millers meant nothing to this squad, as they came roaring back with the delayed sweep to win their second straight Brew. Congrats to their GM and all the fans in the City of Angels.
Okay enough with the 2049 talk, on to 2050! This weeks winner is the Hartford Whalers who went 6-1 by taking two of three from Pittsburgh, then taking four straight against Santo Domingo. The Whalers broke their playoff drought last season and it looks like they are on track once again. The other top week was Batavia who went 5-1, while Dallas, Toronto, and New York all went 5-2. On the flip side Maine and Syracuse each went 1-6, with the Snappers allowing 42 runs, the most in the league. Good thing for those fans they have 155 games to go!
Power Rankings
1) Hartford Whalers (164.3, ++)
2) Batavia Red Jackets (159.0, o)
3) Dallas Drillers (135.6, +)
4) New York Cyclones (130.6, ++)
5) Toronto Canadians (130.6, ++)
6) Indianapolis Racers (123.0, +)
7) Wilmington Clowns (121.0, ++)
8) Phoenix Roadrunners (104.9, ++)
9) Pittsburgh Millers (104.9, ++)
10) Denver Bulls (102.9, --)
11) Los Angeles Dinos (102.9, -)
12) Windy City Blues (102.9, ++)
13) Pawtucket Patriots (101.9, +)
14) California Kodiaks (87.0, --)
15) Baltimore Bulldogs (77.1, --)
16) Seattle Pilots (77.1, ++)
17) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (72.1, +)
18) Montreal Exports (50.4, --)
19) Carolina Tobs (49.4, --)
20) Washington Bats (49.4, +)
21) New Orleans Voodoo (47.4, --)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (47.4, --)
23) Maine Guides (21.7, --)
24) Syracuse Snappers (14.7, --)
Performance of the Week
P Cade Hogan - There were two batters and two pitchers who all recorded game scores of 87 during opening week. The nod goes to Hogan though who on April 9th against Carolina tossed a seven inning shutout with only one hit, one walk, and 13 K's. He gets the nod because five days earlier he tossed a seven inning, three hit, no walk, 13 K performance against Windy City. For those who struggle with math that's two starts, 14 IP, no runs, one walk, and 26 K's. Denver picked up wins in both those outings and he's on pace to go 36-0 with a 20.3 WAR.
Prospect of the Week
P Bobby Ferguson - The #1 prospect in the league was the 19th overall pick by Batavia back in 2045, but traded to Santo Domingo last season for Rayburn Michel. Ferguson is 22 years old, and currently in AA after spending 2049 in A ball. He can hit 101 on the gun, throws four pitches including a devastating cutter, and has the stamina to throw 100+ pitches a game without issue. Just another young ace in the making.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The next great base stealer is upon us in Bats' second basemen James 'Turf' Goebel. Signed to a $6.2m bonus out of the hotbed of Mongolia in 2042, this will be 'Turf's third year in the league. Last year it was marred by a broken elbow that ended his season in June. At that point he was hitting .358 with 31 stolen bases and a 3.3 WAR. So far in his first week back he hit 'only' .318 while stealing 8 bases in 9 attempts. He's on pace to swipe 185 bases, and even if he just gets 50% of the way there, he'd only be a half base short of tying last years record set by Chadd Chua. Safe to say that if he stays healthy it would be a good bet that the record will be his.
2. Two free agents are still sitting on the market waiting for a call, and also in the process of finding new agents. First basemen Jaxson Neal and 1B/3B Pat 'Melody' Nunes had huge seasons last year but their agents refused to come down in price even as Spring Training approached. In the end that meant that the 32 year old Neal and 41 year old Nunes are still sitting by their phones hoping for a call. Combined last season they hit 75 HR, drove in 200 runs, had an 11.8 WAR, and were second and third in Stout Slugger voting. Some team is going to get a bargain. One free agent who did find a home is slugger Dominique Graham. He was signed by Pittsburgh on Saturday to a one year deal, and after passing his physical will make his debut today against Philadelphia.
3. Remember when everyone thought Christian Vines was done. After being the most dominant pitcher in the league when he won the 2043, 2044, 2045, and 2046 Pale Ale, he suddenly developed a case of the yips and had control issues. In 2047 he proved everyone wrong (even after seeing his ERA+ drop from the 200's to 167) by going 20-4, and finishing runner up in the Pale Ale. In 2048 he was traded to California after starting the season 7-1, and finished the year at 14-6 with a 126 ERA+, the fourth straight season it fell. This time he's finally finished right? Once again though in 2049 he started out hot at 6-1, but was traded to Toronto. Then sadly he tore his labrum after only four starts but still finished the year 7-2 with a 145 ERA+. Control issues, injuries, now the end is nigh? But no, so far in two starts he's 1-1 with a 2.51 ERA, 15 K's, and a 151 ERA+. It's time to give him the nickname 'Slasher', because Vines just won't die.
4. Is this the season that Jamie O'Hearn's career home run record of 612 falls? Currently 37 year old JD 'Hurricane' Rice is sitting at 604 and was just traded to Carolina. So far in six games he's hitting .125 but scouts still think he's a potent match-up against RHP. If he gets to play the DH role all season the record should certainly be his. Next on the list is Hartford slugger Robert 'Stretch' Jessee. The 36 year old smashed 33 HR last season, and already has one this season. He now has 579 career dingers, and is on pace to hit 22 more this season, which would give him 601. If he hits 33 like last season though he would finish just one short of O'Hearn. One way or the other we believe this record is either broken this season or the next, and we can hardly wait to be there.
5. What's on tap? Well it's only week two of the season but the IL and DL are set to do battle already. The next six games will feature the first interleague week of the year. The match-up of the week has to be none other than Toronto at Batavia. Could this possibly be a Brewmasters Cup preview, we certainly think so.
Stat of the Week
.
| More Complete Games Than Wins (Top 25 Players) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
2050 DK Season Predictions
(once again the DK takes no responsibility for trades/injuries/OOTPR and should be used for entertainment value only)
Ale
x Pawtucket
z Pittsburgh
z Maine
Hartford
Wilmington
Syracuse
Lager
x Toronto
z Montreal
z New Orleans
Indianapolis
Dallas
Santo Domingo
Stout
x Baltimore
z Batavia
z Philadelphia
z Washington
New York
Carolina
Bock
x Los Angeles
z Seattle
Denver
California
Phoenix
Windy City
______________________________________
Wild Card
New Orleans over Pittsburgh
Montreal over Maine
Washington over Philly
Batavia over Seattle
Divisional Series
Pawtucket over New Orleans
Toronto over Montreal
Baltimore over Washington
Batavia over Los Angeles
League Championship
Toronto over Pawtucket
Batavia over Baltimore
Brewmasters
Batavia over Toronto
______________________________________
Stout Slugger
Dan Jennings - Toronto
Kyle Olmsted - Seattle
Pale Ale
Dawson Lamb - New Orleans
Nathan McKelvey - Baltimore
Refreshing New Brew
Garrett Hanks - Montreal
Jerome Bergthold - Washington
.
Comment