Minor League roundup (2036-11)

[Fat Nige]

In general, despite the trials of their BBA team, the minor league affiliates of Louisville had a decent season.

Triple-A Missouri finished two games back from division leading Lincoln after a poor start with a final record of 71-64. It’s the third year on the trot that the Blues have failed to reach the post season but the total attendance of 745,043 was the highest since they last passed 1,000,000 through the turnstiles (1,000,553) in 2032. Ramon Gaza was the best pitcher with a 13-5 record in 23 starts with a 3.37 ERA, 92 K’s and 3.1 WAR; he also owned a lot more of the team’s 2036 pitching records. Sean Gardner, in his first year at AAA, started the most games (27) and pitched the most innings (157); he also struckout the most (115) while allowing the fewest homers.
Scott Martin who spent 2035 in the BBA led the team with 22 homers and 68 RBI while Joey O’Brien had 119 hits, 100 of which were singles. Centrefielder Juan Trevino hit for the best averages in the team but his lack of a decent defence will prevent any further progression in the organisation. Phil Dand, another CF, was patient enough to earn 52 walks and has the defence to die for but just can’t consistently hit for average.

Double-A Louisville Fire had a successful first season in Louisville following their move from Alabama. Their 77=54 record was enough to win their division and book their first post season outing since 2033. They did progress one round but then lost the ‘Series of Accountability’ 2-1 to Compton. Sluggers top pitching prospect, Augusto Sanchez, played at this level and posted a 9-7 record with a 4.86 ERA but there was a lot of coming and going amongst the pitchers as is common at this level. Masahiko Ito who arrived with the franchise from Hawaii in 2034 pitched 154 quality innings to lead the team, led also in hits allowed, homers allowed, strikeouts, WHIP and games started but still lost the most games for the Fire as his record was 5-8. 21-yr-old 1B Dany Charpentier’s 112 team leading games saw his slugging prowess and his patience at the plate drawing 51 walks but his 24 homers was eclipsed by 22-yr-old OF Damien Mayne’s 30. Mayne has been turning up his CF skills at the Florida Prospect League and will probably start next season in Missouri.

A-Ball Ocala had the worst season of the regular minor affiliates finishing fourth in their division with a 64-67 record. 21-yr-old 1B Yoshitake Saikawa who arrived in an August 2035 trade with Wichita led the team in triple slash averages, hit 101 singles and 28 doubles as well as stealing a team leading 19 bases in 27 attempts. His leadership skills and intelligence could well see further progress up the minor league ladder. 22-yr-old Felix Garcia, a 2031 17th rounder, led the team in most stats 29 starts, 177 IP, 14 wins, 197 K, 2.44 ERA, 0.86 WHIP etc, etc. As he heads for Double-A next year it will be interesting to see how far his top-rated fastball, curveball and slider can take him as he has no movement on his pitches and throws them straight down the pipe.

Low-A Caracas 47-23 record was enough to win their division for the first time since 2028 and their first post season outing since 2031. Their post season didn’t last long as they lost both their first-round games and to be honest there wasn’t a lot at this level that were genuine candidates to progress further.

It was the Rookie League affiliate’s second season in Bowling Green and their 35-25 record was enough to win their first division pennant since 2014 and only their sixth ever post season trip. The Corvettes made it all the way through to the Spike Nolan Championship Series but went down 1-3 to Berkeley in the end. 2036 ninth round pick 19-yr-old RF Antonio Lopez led the team in batting averages as well as homers (11) and RBI (28). 20-yr-old Tom Morgan, a 2036 18th rounder, was another star leading the team with 59 appearances, 57 hits and 34 runs.
20-yr-old Ryan Wilson, a 2034 ninth rounder, led the team with an 8-2 record and 1.75 ERA, 69 strikeouts, 69 K’s, 82.1 innings pitched as well as two complete games and a shutout. Unfortunately, he is another who will have to develop some sort of movement on his pitches if he is to have much of a career. 18-yr-old Toshikazu Kojima was taken in the 12th round of the 2036 draft and led the team with 27 outings, saved nine games and only surrendered a best team best eight homers.