Triple-A, 50 game review
With a lot of returning players on the Coyotes roster sporting their Championship Rings there was high hopes that Albuquerque could hit the post season trail again. So far though in 2044 it has proved to be an inconsistent season for the defending champions.
Coyotes started well going 9-5 in the opening two weeks before it turned right around in the final weeks of April, they went 4-9 leaving them one game below .500 and more importantly leaving them in fourth place in the RL Western, three and a half games back. They’ve knuckled down now though in May and turned in a 15-8 month with a week to go. The Coyotes are now 28-22, just a game and a half back of division leaders Victoria. On an 11-3 streak Albuquerque face a three-game set in Victoria next giving them the chance to put the Canucks in their rear-view mirror.
A big disappointment this season has been top OF prospect 23-yr-old Chris Jenkins. Expected to be in his finishing school prior to his BBA debut he left Aviators spring camp early with a quadriceps strain which affected him through the season’s opening weeks and he just hasn’t recovered from that. His batting average has dropped from .288 to .142, his HR & RBI totals are projected to have halved and his 4.8 WAR in 2043 will drop into negative territory if he doesn’t pick up. LF Aloisio Prudente has also been missing for the best part of a month or more with a hamstring strain. The healthy member of the outfield, Luis Ayla, might only be hitting .249 but he’s on course to make big advances in homers, RBI and walks as well as pushing his WAR from below one to near three.
2042 #1 draft pick Chris Sackett probably isn’t improving as much as he should be but he’s still got a healthy 3-2 W-L record, is on course for a second straight 100K season, has a 1.05 WHIP and opponents are hitting just .192 off of him currently. The whole pitching staff has in fact got an ERA lower than five, which may not sound great, but if you look at previous Albuquerque staffs you’ll see that’s a big deal here. 22-yr-old Augusto Ramirez, who has just come up from short season Springfield is being tried as the teams stopper, lefties are currently hitting .176 off him and righties just .157 off him. He has 70 K’s in 35.1 innings pitched and a 2-2 record alongside three saves from four opportunities.