Chasing The Storm 2053-7 Team Awards

[njherdfan]

As we know, the 2053 season has not gone nearly as well as Seattle fans had hoped that it might. The losses piled up and the victories were few and far between. Despite those unfortunate facts, it's still probably a good idea to hand out some superlatives for the team's performances this year. While there would be ample material to focus on the team's worst performers, we're going to attempt to keep things positive, and name the team's top performers in what was an otherwise unpleasant season.

Top Hitter: To the surprise of almost no one who is familiar with the Storm, this year's top hitter was Alexander Julyan. Julyan led the team in WAR with 4.0 and he had a wRC+ of 136 and an OPS of .917. Julyan's had an interesting career arc, as has been described before, but after signing a contract at 17 as a highly touted prospect, his development initially appeared to stall in the minor leagues. Since he's established himself in the lineup as a 24 year old, however, he's never come out of the lineup and he's been consistently excellent on some consistently subpar teams. He has, very quietly, turned into one of the better position players in the history of the Storm, and Seattle fans have grown to truly appreciate all that he's contributed. Now, the fervent hope for Storm fans is that Julyan will be able to contribute to a playoff team before his career comes to an end.

Top Pitcher: Seattle had a team ERA of 5.30, so there aren't any really great options for Seattle's top pitcher. Since we have to give it to someone, though, we might as well give it to Lucio Juarez. At first (and second, and third) glance, Juarez didn't have a very good season, as his ERA of 5.51 indicates. However, if we peer a little deeper, we can see that Juarez had a bit of bad luck, as his FIP of 4.42 was significantly better than his ERA (although it still wasn't good!!). Seattle fans have to be at least a little concerned about what comes next for Juarez as he navigates the next portion of his career, but Seattle coaches and fans have their fingers crossed that better things are ahead.

[trmmilwwi]

The Eckhoff fan club is gonna be a bit mad methinks.