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04/15/2058
And we are off as the 2058 regular season is a go. After a postseason that saw the Wilmington Wildcats capture the franchises third title (and update their logo and uniforms), an off-season that saw a new GM on scene in Santo Domingo, and a preseason that had some big injuries...well we are back for the 80th season of Brewers League Baseball. So far it looks like the year of the Tobs. With sweeps of California and Philly the Tobs had the 7-0 'unicorn' that every organization hopes starts the year. Next up was the defending Ale champion Syracuse, who went 6-1, while New York rounded out the top three by starting off the year 5-1. On the other side of life Pittsburgh, Windy City, and Seattle all went 1-6. At least they get first dibs on the waiver wire we suppose.
Power Rankings
1) Carolina Tobs (194.0, ++)
2) Syracuse Snappers (158.3, ++)
3) New York Cyclones (157.0, ++)
4) Washington Bats (134.6, ++)
5) Hartford Whalers (133.6, +)
6) Indianapolis Clowns (133.6, +)
7) Montreal Exports (132.6, ++)
8) Philadelphia Freedom (107.9, ++)
9) Baltimore Bulldogs (106.9, --)
10) Batavia Muckdogs (106.9, --)
11) New Orleans Voodoo (102.9, +)
12) Dallas Drillers (101.9, --)
13) Toronto Canadians (89.0, ++)
14) Phoenix Roadrunners (87.0, +)
15) Los Angeles Dinos (73.1, --)
16) Maine Guides (59.0, --)
17) Pawtucket Patriots (49.4, --)
18) Wilmington Wildcats (49.4, ++)
19) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (46.4, -)
20) Denver Bulls (45.4, --)
21) California Kodiaks (43.4, --)
22) Pittsburgh Millers (19.7, --)
23) Windy City Blues (17.7, +)
24) Seattle Pilots (15.7, --)
Performance of the Week
LF Damon Casebier - The first pick of the 2053 draft continues to play like it after he blitzed Indy on April 12th. In four at bats he smacked three home runs, drove in six, and scored four times himself as the Rum Runners won 14-7. His game score of 110 was the only triple digit one of the week, and we expect him to remain first for quite some time.
Prospect of the Week
C Andy 'Turk' Christman - The minor league schedules begin this week and Christman is still the #1 overall prospect in the land. The 18 year old moved up to A ball at the end of last year after hitting .338 with 14 HR and 37 RBI in 45 Rookie League games last season. The first overall pick of last years draft is without a doubt the highest ranked catcher the league has seen in quite some time. Where he goes from here no one knows, but we're sure excited to watch.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Forty year old Colby 'Mirror' Hullinger found a home this past week as Montreal signed him to a 1 year/$2.4m deal. Many thought he would retire after 2056, but when he finished the season hitting .257 with 20 HR and 69 RBI while playing 98 games at third, he told reporters he thought he had one more in him. Originally drafted third overall in 2035 by New Orleans, he is one of the most accomplished players in league history. He's a 4x Stout Slugger, 10x All-Star, 9x Designated Driver, 3x DWI, and has been the MVP in six postseason series. He also won the title in 2045 with New Orleans.
2. In the same game Casebier smacked three home runs against Indy, Clowns pitcher JaQuan Wamugunda didn't even make it out of the first inning. After giving up a double to Ronald Anderson, he allowed the first of Casebier's home runs on a 3-2 slider. Bad blood has existed between these two teams since Wamugunda left Santo Domingo in 2055, and he promptly beaned Rum Runners outfielder Kolby Carter on the next pitch. The benches cleared as fist-a-cuffs flew around the diamond. After order was restored Wamugunda and Carter were both ejected, and later received six and three game suspensions respectively.
3. Dwan Tamarovsky helped take Phoenix to the Brewmasters Cup last season, and then he opted out of his contract and became a free agent. Talk about loyalty! To be fair to Dwan he was traded twice last season in a matter of three weeks, so he more than anyone understands the business of baseball. He was quickly scooped up by Denver though for the low price of $145 million over six years, as the Bulls look to form a super 1-2 combo of him and Levi Brown. The 31 year old is already on his sixth BLB team, has been a 4x All-Star, won the 2052 Pale Ale, and helped lead Los Angeles to back to back titles in 2048 and 2049.
4. Thirty-two year old Neall Rabah shows no signs of slowing down as he's on pace for 116 HR and 185 RBI while putting up a 29.6 WAR. After a blistering first week that saw him hit .586 with 5 HR and 8 RBI, we're not sure if can keep producing at that rate. We'd probably take the under, but this is Washington after all. Rabah is in a contract year so to speak, since he has the option to opt-out after the season. He's only making $16m currently, but is due to make $19m next season if he opts in. He does turn 33 on June 15th though, so who knows what his future holds. For now though he looks as if he will continue being the best third basemen in baseball.
5. What's on tap? This week we get some interleague action as the Domestic and Import do battle. The series of the week has to be 6-1 Syracuse at 7-0 Carolina. Snappers pitcher Blake Visco is 2-0 on the season, after winning 36 games over the last three seasons with the Tobs. He came over via FA as Syracuse added him, short stop Damian Goranson, and Bailey Feder this offseason. Meanwhile Carolina still has Charlie Spence and Martin Hoffman on the mound, with Evan Turner and Val Schmit in the outfield. Throw in rookie slugger Trent West and offensively not many teams are better. They did lose starter Chase Vaughan in March though. He'll be out at least five more months with a partially torn UCL, but the good news for his family is that he signed a $124,200,000 contract three days after injuring himself.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Postseasons Played In (Top 25 Players) |
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2058 DK Season Predictions
(once again the DK takes no responsibility for trades/injuries/OOTPR and should be used for entertainment value only)
Ale
x Indy
z Syracuse
Maine
Hartford
Pittsburgh
Pawtucket
Lager
x Dallas
z New Orleans
z Wilmington
z Montreal
Toronto
Santo Domingo
Stout
x Washington
z Carolina
z Baltimore
z New York
Philly
Batavia
Bock
x Los Angeles
z Seattle
Phoenix
Denver
California
Windy City
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Wild Card
New Orleans over Montreal
Syracuse over Wilmington
Carolina over Seattle
Baltimore over New York
Divisional Series
New Orleans over Indy
Dallas over Syracuse
Washington over Baltimore
Carolina over Los Angeles
League Championship
Dallas over New Orleans
Carolina over Washington
Brewmasters
Dallas over Carolina 4-2
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Stout Slugger
Lon Leseberg - New Orleans
Neall Rabah - Washington
Pale Ale
Ken Burns - Santo Domingo
Charlie Spence - Carolina
Refreshing New Brew
Chase Calhoun - Toronto
Trent West - Carolina