2047-1 Pioneers Setting Prairie on Fire

[indiansfan]

Pioneers Setting Prairie on Fire

The Calgary Pioneers are off to their best start in memory and the JL is feeling the heat. At 27-10, Calgary is not only leading the Frontier Division, but the entire BBA. The team went 20-7 on April and so far in May is 7-3 for the month.

“I couldn’t understand why some teams underestimated us after we went to the championship last season,” said GM Kevin Dickson. “Yeah, our season won-loss record wasn’t great, but we were still playing when everyone else was home watching Netflix.”

One of the reasons people may have underestimated the Pioneers is because they are a team with no real offensive stars. They have a very balanced lineup, but right now have nobody on the Johnson League batting leaderboard. However the team is 2nd in runs scored, with 191, despite ranking 11th in OBA and 5th in OPS. The team is leading the league in extra base hits and is 3rd best in strikeouts, so I guess if you move the players around the bases you end up scoring runs.

The big surprise, to folks outside of Calgary, is the pitching staff and the depth of the staff. The team is carrying essentially 8 starters, with 3 pitching from the bullpen. This gives the team some options regarding matchups and giving some arms extra rest. Additionally the team has 6 regular relievers making it a total of 14 pitchers on the roster. Waiting in the wings are 4-5 pitchers on the AAA roster that should be in the BBA and several were up with the team last season.

The teams leads the JL in fewest runs given up at 131, lowest ERA at 3.40 and fewest walks with 72. The rotation is 4th in ERA, the bullpen is 1st. Bench coach Steve Thomas and pitching coach Silas Thompson have worked wonders with the staff this year.

So why does Calgary have the best record in baseball? Simple math. You score 191 runs and give up 131 runs, you win. The Pioneers are averaging 5.2 runs per game while their opponents are scoring 3.5. A difference of 1.7 runs a game is a pretty big difference and things are looking pretty good in Calgary.