It's that time of the year once again. Time to name the top players of the season for Portland from 2054. Unfortunately, this year's batch of award winners were a part of a dreadful team that lost 92 games, the most in nearly a decade. But in the spirit of doing this each season, someone has to win these awards. And this year's top reliever award goes to someone with a crazy back story.
Bryce Emery was drafted in 2043 into the GBC with Cairo. Was traded once and then became a free agent. He signed on in China before Long Beach finally gave him a shot in the BBA 2046 with a lucrative $2.5 million contract. He stayed until 2049 when he wasn't offered arbitration and signed back on in the GBC with Jerusalem. His 4 years in Long Beach were not good and he finished with a -2.2 WAR over his time there. After winning the United Cup in Jerusalem in 2050 he tried to come back to the BBA in 2051 but was only signed to a minor league deal with Sacramento, who released him a few months later. He then signed on with Phoenix who wanted to utilize his talents to win some minor league titles, which he did with the Black Hills Rally. He got another short stint in the BBA with the Talons in 2052 but was released after a negative WAR start. He'd not pitch again in 2052.
That's when Portland stepped in. Wanting to use Emery like Phoenix had, the Lumberjacks signed him to a minor league deal to pitch in Wise. They signed him in May of 2053 and he'd pitch all season in Single-A before getting a late September call-up to Portland. Liking what they saw from Emery, the club decided to keep him on the 40-man roster and give him another shot in the BBA in 2054. Emery took advantage.
The 29 year old hurler threw in 48 games for Portland this season, logging 59.2 innings pitched. Over that span, he posted a 3.02 ERA and 1.24 WHIP, both career bests. He struck out 52, and despite walking too many at 32, still managed to a post a WAR of 1.2 a career best as well as best for the Portland bullpen. He went 4-1 overall with no saves. Those are the stats that won Emery the team's top reliever in 2054.
