Chasing The Storm 2054-6 Offensive Review

[njherdfan]

Now that the 2054 season is in the books, we can take a more holistic look at how the Storm fared. As we've previously discussed, Seattle showed clear signs of progress in comparison to past seasons, even if their 75-87 record left a bit to be desired. The culprit for Seattle's sub-optimal season is primarily the defense and the pitching staff, and Seattle's offense performed surprisingly well, considering the lack of fanfare that typically accompanied Seattle's hitters. Today, we're going to take a look at a few of Seattle's top offensive performers.

This season's top offensive performer was, without question, Francisco Martinez. In the second year of a three-year contract with the Storm, the 32-year old Martinez put together one of the better offensive seasons of his career. Martinez led the Storm with 31 home runs, and he also led the team with an OPS of .876. Seattle's fans and coaches were both delighted with Martinez's performance this season, and they're hoping that they can expect more of the same next season.

Any article talking about offensive performance in Seattle feels incomplete without a mention of Alexander Julyan. Even though age appears to be having some impact on Julyan's game, particularly on defense, it's still equally clear that Julyan remains an offensive weapon. This season, he led the Storm with 101 RBIs and was also second on the team with an OPS of .845. While it can be easy to overlook Julyan's game because so much of his productivity has occurred on bad Seattle teams, it's always a good time to take a moment and remind ourselves how good Julyan has been, and for how long. This has been 12 straight years where Julyan has put up above-average offensive statistics, and Seattle's fans are hoping that we will see lucky number 13 in 2055.

Finally, it's worth pointing out the production of Run-Ming Gui. Gui was always a bit of an enigma to Seattle's fans, as reports of his prodigious power were matched by concerns that he wouldn't make enough contact to become a functioning regular. It appears likely that Gui will always struggle to produce a high batting average, but this season, Gui produced enough power to finish second on the team in home runs, with 27, in only 116 games, and he produced an OPS of .818. Unlike many of his teammates, he was also an excellent defender at the hot corner. Moving forward, Seattle has to hope that his power continues to shine through and the longballs he produces will continue to make him a valuable piece of future lineups.