Chasing The Storm 2045-5 Positive Performances

[njherdfan]

Now that the 2045 season is in the books, we can take a look back at the Seattle Storm's season, and examine some performances. Considering how poorly Seattle's season started, Seattle's final record of 81-81 can't be considered too disappointing; what's more, Seattle ended up with a positive run differential of 34 runs, which indicates that they were, in fact, a bit above average on the whole. Of course, run differential isn't what really matters; final records and playoff performance is where teams are judged, and this year's Storm failed to make the playoffs, so this season will ultimately be viewed as a disappointment. With that in mind, we're going to look at a few players who exceeded expectations in 2045.

This year's most positive development has been the emergence of Eric Jones. In the past, Jones had struggled to play shortstop, and some scouts wondered whether his defensive struggles were impacting him at the plate. It's hard to know if that's the case, but this year, Jones played second base exclusively, and he responded with, by far, his best offensive season. Jones posted a wRC+ of 129, and his 4.3 WAR actually led the team. Although Jones' defense was still not great, it was far better than his defense at shortstop, and it appears that he's finally comfortable and has found his place for the foreseeable future. It remains to be seen how his offense will hold up, but Seattle fans are hopeful that we haven't seen the best of Jones.

On the mound, mid-season waiver pickup Mutsuhito Imai was fantastic for the Storm. In 43 innings he had 56 strikeouts, and if not for a .409 BABIP again st him, his 4.19 ERA would have been much closer to his 2.27 FIP. Imai has a reputation as an awful clubhouse presence who has worn out his welcome in multiple other locations, but for his low salary, Seattle fans and executives will welcome him back next year and hope he can repeat his past performance

[RonCo]

Imai is an interesting case. Clubhouse issues can be managed at times, and at his best maybe he's worth it.

[njherdfan]

I hope he's worth it, and if he goes back to being terrible, he can be cut loose pretty quickly.

[HerbD]

Imai is an interesting case. Clubhouse issues can be managed at times, and at his best maybe he's worth it.

Winning solves everything