30.1 - The LB Independent - Cummins Captures Gillstrom

[Lane]

November 3, 2029
Long Beach, CA

The 2029 Joe Gillstrom Newcomer of the Year Award was bestowed upon 20 year old Kade Cummins today. This is the franchise’s second consecutive Gillstrom Award, with Esteban Gil being the 2028 recipient.

Speaking with BNN from his home in Lincoln, MO, Cummins had the following to say: “It’s an honor, really. I don’t play for awards or personal recognition, I just play because I love the game. And of course I couldn’t do an of this without my teammates, so I’m very grateful for them as well.”

The Independent reached out to GM Stephen Lane for his comments: “Kade is just great. He really stepped up for us this season when we had a need. He was on board with spending more time in Santa Fe, as was the original plan, but when Mike [Love] went down with the concussion, we knew it was time to bring Kade up. We knew that he is an extraordinarily talented player, but his production this year was just unbelievable. We are savoring the 2029 season, but at the same time, we’re really excited about the future.”

Cummins joined the Surfers on April 11, following the season-ending injury to Mike Love, and hit the ground running. He was awarded Frick League Player of the Week honors on May 7, and threw in a 20 game hitting streak for good measure.

In the month of May, Cummins posted a .363/.430/.725 line with 9 HR and was honored again with the Frick League Rookie of the Month Award. June and July saw his numbers dip slightly, as Frick League pitchers started to adjust to the young rookie, but when August rolled around, Cummins adjusted right back, posting .394/.425/.679 with 7 HR, capturing another FL Rookie of the Month Award.

All told, Cummins accumulated 4.9 WAR with his .323/.369/.580 line, including 34 HR, 37 2B and 32 BB. The young lefty could stand to improve upon his 5.8% BB rate, and his numbers against lefties, but those are normal struggles for a young left handed batter.

[Dan]

Cummings looks awesome. Will be fun to watch him

[udlb58]

A 30 HR, .950 OPS player at 20.....stud.