After an impressive 2045 in which Boise centerfielder
Felix Roman took home his first career Sawyer Silk Award, the 26-year-old has followed up with an even better performance. Thru August 31st, Roman is slashing .356/.412/.706, which would be career-highs for all three rate stats. The lefty-swinging slugger currently sits at 9.1 WAR with a month to play, just a tick below his league-leading 9.2 WAR from last season. What makes his season so dominant his is gap of WAR behind the next best player in the league. At 9.1 WAR, Roman leads Atlantic City's Juan Rivera by a whopping 2.5 WAR so far. (Note: Charm City's Bill Constable currently has the second-highest WAR at 7.2, but this will focus on comparing offensive players against fellow offensive players.)
Here's a look at the widest margins of WAR between the top-two finishers in the Brewster modern era:
SEASON | #1 WAR (TOTAL) | #2 WAR (TOTAL) | MARGIN |
2030 | Jared Gillstrom (13.1) | Juan Escobar (8.8) | 4.3 |
2006 | Cricket Puckett (13.0) | Rogelio Moralez (9.6) | 3.4 |
2046 | (projected) Felix Roman (11.0) | Juan Rivera (7.8) | 3.2 |
2046 | (current) Felix Roman (9.1) | Juan Rivera (6.6) | 2.5 |
2029 | Juan Escobar (11.2) | Jared Gillstrom (8.8) | 2.4 |
2016 | Juan Garcia (10.6) | Kal El (8.3) | 2.3 |
2033 | Lucas McNeill (10.3) | Carlton Winson (8.1) | 2.2 |
2017 | Bruce Wayne (9.0) | Joey Rosko (6.9) | 2.1 |
1997 | Ross White (11.3) | Rafael Rodriguez (9.4) | 1.9 |
2008 | Cricket Puckett (10.8) | Bopper Kengos (8.9) | 1.9 |
2018 | Doug Glover (9.8) | Dave Pruitt (8.0) | 1.8 |
Aside from the dominance in WAR, Roman is in the running to win the Johnson League Triple Crown, barely leading Charm City's Tomas Guillen in batting average (.356 to .352), tied with Phoenix's Pedro Guzman for the most Johnson League home runs with 46, and leads San Antonio's Larry Stinson in the RBI chase by 11 (129 to 118).
Finally, Roman's projected season-end WAR total of 11.0 would be first batter to reach double digits in WAR since Hall of Famer Lucas McNeill finished with 10.2 back in 2033 for Yellow Springs.