2020-23 Quad Cup honors go to Volcanoes

They may not have won any World Series in the past four years, nor posted the league’s best record, nor did they even win a division title, but the Margaritaville Volcanoes emerged as the winner of the Quad Cup for having the best record over the past four years.

Tatooine’s World Series win brings to a close the four-year block of our present divisional alignment. New divisions take effect in 2024, where each division features two returning playoff teams.

As we look back on the 2020 through 2023 seasons, the Volcanoes edged out the Bushwood Gophers for Quad Cup honors with a record of 352-288 (.550). North Division rival Bushwood was just two games back at 350-290 (.547).

While those clubs were the model of consistency and success, the pinnacles of postseason achievement came from the West Division, where Tatooine (which was third overall in regular-season winning percentage) twice held down league best-record honors and won one World Series. Division rival Superior, meanwhile, won two World Series and captured best record one time.

Bushwood and Dyersville were the only teams to make the playoffs in three of the four years. Collectively, 13 of the league’s 15 franchises made the playoffs at least once in the quadrennial. Every franchise in the North made the playoffs at least twice.

The South Division had four different champions in four years. It also only had one wild-card representative in four years. The Greendale Zealots, who had the fourth-best overall record in the quadrennial, led that division in wins handily at 339.

Here’s a look at the numbers. A .500 record would be 320-320. Two franchises changed hands over this time period; Satellite Beach became Olympic Coast in 2021, and Destin became Carpe Diem in 2023.

WEST	2020 W	2021 W	2022 W	2023 W	Total W	WS titles	Best rec.	Div titles	Playoffs
TAT	52	113	76	105	346	1	2	2	2
DYT	89	65	93	91	338		1 (t)	1	3
SUP	96	85	89	44	314	2	1	1	2
APP	83	64	89	74	310				1
BIS	75	45	63	63	246
NORTH	2020 W	2021 W	2022 W	2023 W	Total W	WS titles	Best rec.	Div titles	Playoffs
MAR	91	84	77	100	352				2
BUS	92	87	93	78	350		1 (t)	2	3
NNY	57	97	66	102	322			2	2
DES/CDC	76	87	93	59	315	1	1 (t)		2
SAT/OCC	90	54	68	95	307				2
SOUTH	2020 W	2021 W	2022 W	2023 W	Total W	WS titles	Best rec.	Div titles	Playoffs
GRZ	84	92	85	78	339			1	1
BTH	96	86	73	73	328			1	1
WAT	74	79	81	81	315
SAV	83	70	89	69	311			1	1
SGP	62	92	65	88	307			1	2

No. 1 overall picks for these four years were Julio Rodriguez (New New York, 2023); Wander Franco (Superior, 2022); Ke’Bryan Hayes (Destin, 2021); and Vlad Guerrero Jr. (New New York, 2020). 

Superior was the Quad Cup winner for the last quadrennial, 2016 to 2019.

The Force was with the Rebels in WS thriller

In 1991, the Atlanta Braves and Minnesota Twins played one of the most memorable World Series ever. The Braves went up 3 games to 2 and were on the verge of clinching in Game Six when Kirby Puckett homered in the ninth for a walkoff win to force a Game Seven (“And we’ll see you … tomorrow night!”)

That Game Seven saw a pitchers’ duel between the Braves’ John Smoltz and the Twins’ Jack Morris that kept the game scoreless through nine innings, before the Twins broke through for a 1-0, 10-inning, Series-clinching, walkoff win on a outfield-in single with one out and the bases loaded by Gene Larkin. (“And the Minnesota Twins … are the champions of the world!”)

That is the only 1-0, Game Seven, walkoff win in baseball history to culminate a World Series, giving some perspective to the epic nature of the Tatooine-South Grand Prairie clash that the I-75 League just witnessed.

The Rebels took the crown in the bottom of the 10th in Game Seven when J.P. Crawford and Brandon Nimmo connected for back-to-back doubles off Evan Phillips to give Tatooine a 1-0 win over the Warriors and hand manager Nick Calderon and Tatooine their first I-75 League World Series title and the Pittman Cup.

“I can’t say how amazing winning it all feels,” said Nick after the title had sunk in.  “Going up against the foremost Strat-o-Matic brains in the country and coming out on top is definitely surreal.”

Adding to the drama of the series was the fact that every game was low scoring and close. The home team won every game, meaning the top-seeded Rebels went up 2-0 at home, then Garth Lewis‘ third-seeded Warriors surged in front with three straight wins at home, putting them one win away from claiming their fourth World Series crown.

But the Warriors not only couldn’t win another game, they couldn’t score another run, as Zac Gallen anchored a 1-0 Game Six win and the Rebel bullpen pitched seven innings of one-hit ball in the 1-0 Game Seven win.

“After the three games in Boston,  I thought it was over,” said Nick, referring to the Warriors’ home park. “Garth is a great tactician and he pitched starters that took advantage of my lefty-heavy lineup.  I knew I had to rely more on my bullpen, so I tightened the leash even more once we returned to Tatooine.”

It was a tough way for the Warriors to bow out, having fought their way through the Southern Division gauntlet to slip into the playoffs as the third seed despite having the fewest wins of any of the six postseason teams. The Warriors got hot in October with a 15-5 month and then knocked off No. 6 Dyersville and No. 2 New New York in five and seven games, respectively.

“We got to where we wanted to be, we just came up short when we needed a run,” said Garth. “We had a special team — scored enough throughout the season despite not being a home-run hitting team. It was a fun group and I’m disappointed in how things turned out.”

The losing team never scored more than one run in this series. Tatooine won the first two games 2-1 and 4-1; then South Grand Prairie got cooking with some home cooking and reeled off 3-0, 6-1 and 3-1 wins, setting the stage for the return to Tatooine and the back-to-back 1-0 nail-biters.

“Scoring just two runs in four games at his park was brutal,” said Garth. The Rebels played at Cleveland’s Progressive Field, a slight hitters’ park where homers favored lefties.

The Rebels were the wire-to-wire division winner of the Westbound Division and overtook New New York in the final month for the No. 1 seed with a 105-55 record. Although the No. 1 seed has only captured the World Series crown in five of 12 years during our 15-team era, that homefield advantage paid off in this postseason.

Gallen had an incredible postseason for Tatooine, allowing only one unearned run against the Warriors and posting a 0.31 ERA with 32 strikeouts in 29 innings in the postseason. “His stuff is elite and we feel like he doesn’t always get the recognition he deserves,” said Nick.

Other key factors Nick cited were Freddie Freeman (.364 in the Series), Shohei Ohtani (Game One win in the Series and a complete-game win plus a .333 average in the semifinal series win over No. 4 Margaritaville), and the 1-2 bullpen punch of Edwin Diaz and Emmanuel Clase (combined 8 2/3 innings of 0.00 ERA in the Series).

Tatooine hit just .203 in the postseason but its 2.50 team ERA was its trump card.

Paul Goldschmidt hit seven homers and drove in 17 to carry the Warriors, who hit .230 in the postseason and posted a dazzling 2.89 team ERA, but came up short by the slimmest of margins.

“I look forward to defending the title and creating an I-75 dynasty!” said Nick.

Tatooine, South Grand Prairie to meet in Series

The steady-all-year-long Tatooine Rebels and the catching-fire-late South Grand Prairie Warriors will meet in the 2023 World Series.

The series pits the division champions from the Westbound Division and the Southbound Division, and pits the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds.

It also matches up the playoff teams with the best regular-season record (Tatooine at 105-55) with the worst regular-season record (SGP at 88-72). But the Warriors of October and November haven’t been playing like the Warriors of the first seven months of the season.

SGP was just 73-67 and struggling to fend off three other teams in its own division before breaking out with a 15-5 October.

Entering the playoffs as the 3 seed, the Warriors then knocked out all remaining Renbargers, ousting Ryan’s Dyersville Treblemakers in five games, and Jason’s New New York Hypnotoads in seven games.

Warrior pitching held Dyersville to 10 runs and a .145 average in that series, and was the decisive factor against New New York too when Tony Gonsolin teamed with three relievers on a two-hit, 4-0 shutout in Game Seven. Prior to Game Seven, the home team won each of the first six games.

Tatooine had a first-round bye as the No. 1 seed, and faced No. 4 Margaritaville after the Volcanoes defeated No. 5 Olympic Coast in six games, five of which were decided by one or two runs.

The Margaritaville-Tatooine series was tied 2-2 when Rebel arms tightened the screws on the high-powered Volcano offense, holding it to one run over the final two games, with Tatooine prevailing 7-1 in Game Five and 1-0 in Game Six. Zac Gallen, Carlos Rodon and a dynamic bullpen provided the hurling heroics.

That sets up South Grand Prairie’s challenge of Tatooine in the championship. Tatooine went 7-3 against the Warriors this season.

But those games were played before October.

Thought the playoff seedings were pretty much set. Turns out all Betts were off.

After seven months of play with very little drama, our 44th season wrapped up its eighth and final month with more tension than a league should legally be allowed to have.

As it turned out, some of it wasn’t legal.

The month of October began with six teams all but assured of playoff berths and the only question remaining was the order of the playoff seedings. The expectation was there would be a battle for:

• the top seed between Tatooine and New New York, each with 92 wins
• possibly the Southbound crown, where three teams were within four games of South Grand Prairie’s 73 wins
• the order of the 4-5-6 seeds, where Olympic Coast (85), Margaritaville (83) and Dyersville (80) were the contenders.

Tatooine did its part, reeling off a 13-win month to glide into the postseason with 105 wins and the top seed.

South Grand Prairie quickly snuffed any flickering title hopes of its challengers with a 15-win month to capture the division and secure the third seed.

Olympic Coast and Dyersville did what they needed to do, locking down playoff berths with solid months: 10 wins for the Orcas gave them 95 and the fifth seed; 11 wins for the Treblemakers gave them 91 and the sixth seed.

That left the Volcanoes and the Hypnotoads and the Northbound crown. Trailing New New York by nine games entering the month (92 wins to 83), it didn’t seem fathomable that the Volcanoes could catch or surpass the Hypnotoads, who had double-figure win totals each month of the year.

But then came 4-1 series wins for Margaritaville over Bushwood and Olympic Coast, while New New York merely broke even against those two foes. That gave the Volcanoes a net gain of three.

New New York went 3-2 against Carpe Diem, while Margaritaville swept the Cardinals to pick up two more games. All of a sudden, the season was coming down to a final five-game showdown between New New York and Margaritaville. But the Volcanoes still needed an improbable sweep to sneak into first.

Four victories later, the Volcanoes had the Hypnotoads’ division title hopes on the ropes. A finish for the ages was at hand. Hollywood was alerted.

Each team had 100 wins. Entering the ninth inning of Game Five, neither team had a run. The game went extra innings. Leading off the bottom of the 10th, the Volcanoes’ Nolan Arenado poked a two-run ballpark homer off Ryan Helsley, and the Volcanoes had victory No. 101.

But hold the phone.

In that earlier New New York-Carpe Diem series it came to light that Nathan Eovaldi, who was out of innings, started and pitched a complete game 4-2 win in Game Five for the Cardinals. League officers had no choice but to award New New York a forfeit victory, giving them 101 wins.

Then it was revealed that in that Game Five of the New New York-Margaritaville series, the Volcanoes batted Mookie Betts with two out in the bottom of the ninth even though Betts had used his last at-bat for the year in the bottom of the seventh. Betts popped out in the ninth, played the field in the 10th, and was the “ghost” runner on second who scored the winning run on Arenado’s homer.

This circumstance threw the legitimacy of Margaritaville’s 101st win into question. The league officers wrestled with varying perspectives and consulted impartial managers. Everything from forgive to forfeit and everything in-between was considered. Ultimately the league took the unprecedented step of ordering a replay from the point at which Betts took his illegal at-bat.

And in that replay, pinch-hitter Albert Pujols struck out, Willie Adames hit a two-run homer in the top of the 10th for the Hypnotoads, and New New York held on for a 2-0 win.

That gave New New York 102 wins (including the forfeit win over Carpe Diem) and the Northbound crown. Margaritaville finishes with 100 wins and the No. 4 seed in the playoffs.

Had Margaritaville prevailed in the replay, both teams would have had 101 wins and the Volcanoes would have been awarded the title based on an 8-7 advantage in head-to-head play.

With all of that finally settled, the playoffs can proceed with an unparalleled field that features three teams with 100-win seasons and a sixth seed that won 91 games. The matchups are:

• No. 3 South Grand Prairie (88-72) vs. No. 6 Dyersville (91-69). Winner gets No. 2 New New York (102-58).
• No. 4 Margaritaville (100-60) vs. No. 5 Olympic Coast (95-65). Winner gets No. 1 Tatooine (105-55).

The Carpe Diem forfeit, the Margaritaville overuse of Betts that forced an unprecedented replay, and other overusages across the league also led to other postseason penalty decisions.

So a quiet season that saw an early determination of the haves and have-nots has wrapped up in the most chaotic manner imaginable.

Here’s hoping for a clean postseason settled between the lines.

Clip Files for 2023

A 9-11 October wrapped up a 74-86 season for the Clips, better than they expected but unfortunately not very successful in setting the stage for much of an improvement in 2024.

Injured and underperforming players kept the Clips languishing near the bottom of the Yahoo standings, where they finished second-to-last in homers, slugging and OPS, and dead last in WHIP.

Slugger Aaron Judge came into October with 57 homers and he pounded four in the first 10 games, leaving him just one shy of his real-life American League record of 62. But alas he was totally blanked in those final 10 as-played games against Superior and Tatooine, forcing him to settle for a league-leading 61, which frankly was more than we were expecting given the cavernous ballpark we chose.

The strategy with that selection was to try to keep the Clips in games at home, reducing the opposition’s ability to outslug us. That paid off in the Clips outhomering the opposition 83-80 at home and surprisingly 104-95 on the road for a total homer advantage of 187-175. The homers allowed figure was 10 off from the league best.

The Clips hit a woeful .199 with 60 runs scored in October. For the year they hit a league-worst .220. Five players with 87 or more at-bats finished below the Mendoza line, including Riley Greene (.182 in 379 at-bats, 71 points under his real-life .253) and Jesse Winker (.179 in 470 at-bats). … After hitting .186 in October, Judge finished at .258 for the year (53 points under his real-life .311) with 109 runs scored and a league-high 116 RBIs. … Willson Conteras hit exactly .200 in 436 at-bats (43 points under his real-life average). He only hit 14 homers, nine shy of his 105% total of 23. His season was most notable for a league-high 30 hit-by-pitches. … Xander Bogaerts hit 48 points below his real-life average (.259 / .307) … Jon Berti got only 273 at-bats (hitting .198) but still managed to steal 31 bases. …

On the pitching side of things, no Clip pitcher reached double figures in wins. Matt Manning, acquired in a trade with an eye toward next year, made the most of his 10 innings in October with just four hits allowed, but was unable to record a win. Limited to 82 innings, Freddy Peralta had a nice year at 6-5, 2.96 ERA with just 53 hits allowed. Marcus Stroman was the only other starter who did not have a losing record, going 9-9, 3.83 in 145 2/3 innings. Dakota Hudson somehow went 5-0 out of the bullpen, including 3-0 in October. … Applegate was plus-10 in one-run games at 28-18, one of only three teams that could make that claim (New New York, West Atlanta). … Clip pitchers teamed up with Contreras and Martin Maldonado to allow the fewest stolen bases in the league (39) and fewest attempts (55).

Only one player, Eduardo Escobar, was in double figures for error total, as the Clips led the league in fewest errors at 53.

Having drafted and made trades with 2024 in mind, the Clips now fear they will have to look even further into the future. Recapping those moves:

First round: Riley Greene, decent season (.288, 11 HRs, .796 OPS) but cut short by injury (378 AB).
Second round: Joey Meneses, chosen as trade bait, couldn’t find a trade partner, now stuck with a DH with no power (.275, 13, .722)
Third round: Roansy Contreras, flamed out with Pirates.
Fourth round: Pete Fairbanks, chosen as trade bait, packaged with Byron Buxton to Margaritaville for Jarred Kellenic, who fractured his foot in a fit of anger, hit .253, 11, .746 in just 372 at-bats.
Fifth round: Mackenzie Gore, failed to blossom, 7-10, 4.42 ERA, needs more seasoning.
Sixth round: Oswald Peraza, looked like a starting SS in spring training, job went to Anthony Volpe, Peraza primarily languished in minors until garbage time, .191, 2, .539 in 173 ABs.

Besides Kelenic, the Clips picked up Matt Manning, who was having a good season (5-4, 3.58 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) when he was hit by a 119-mph line drive by Giancarlo Stanton and fractured his right foot.

And of course, Aaron Judge, the only player Clips fans pay to see, tore a toe ligament crashing into an outfield gate in Dodger Stadium and was limited to 367 ABs.

Two years ago the Clips suffered through a 64-96 season and rebounded to 89-71 in 2022. A similar 25-win improvement in 2024 seems highly improbable.

Dead heat for top seed with 20 games to go

At the seven-eighths pole of our 44th season, there isn’t much drama about the wild-card race. There’s a mammoth 10-game difference between the team currently holding the sixth playoff spot and the teams on the outside of postseason competition.

But Tatooine and New New York are neck-and-neck heading into the homestretch in pursuit of the league’s regular-season title, each with 92 wins. And the South Division, which is destined to claim the No. 3 seed in the playoffs, is a four-team horse race with 20 games to go. South Grand Prairie is on top with 73 wins, but Boulder and West Atlanta are preparing their playoff kick with 70 wins and Greendale is just one length back at 69.

But the battle for the treasured title of regular-season champion will likely come down to Tatooine or New New York, both of whom are seven games ahead of Olympic Coast (85 wins) and nine games ahead of Margaritaville (83 wins), which also have all but sewn up postseason berths.

The Rebels and Hypotoads are both on the brink of completing remarkable turnarounds from losing seasons in 2022, when Tatooine won just 76 games and New New York only 66.

Who is the favorite to hit the tape first? With intradivisional play on tap, Tatooine might seem to have the easier path, as collectively the Westbound Division doesn’t sport as many strong teams as the Northbound Division that the Hypnotoads have overcome. The Orcas and Volcanoes have the third- and fourth-best records in the league and New New York’s four opponents have an average win percentage of .521, while Tatooine’s four October opponents have an average win percentage of .405. Only Dyersville at 80-60 has a winning record, and Superior, coming off a 4-win September, is just 35-105.

Tatooine is 27-13 inside its division while New New York is 23-17.

But before we anoint the Rebels, note that Tatooine has some pitching limitations that could handcuff it. Never-used Ian Anderson is slated for two starts, trade acquisition Noah Syndergaard will make his first starts for the Rebels, and Tatooine’s other sterling starters have an average of five innings per start to work with. Its bullpen will require careful managing as well.

So we expect Tatooine and New New York to finish 1-2 in some order, and Olympic Coast, Margaritaville and Dyersville to finish 4-5-6 in some order.

The No. 3 seed will go to the champion of the South, where West Atlanta is the only contender playing like it wants to win the division. The Crush have won 13 games each of the last two months, while South Grand Prairie has won just 8 and 9, Boulder has won 9 and 9, and Greendale has won 9 and 10. Someone will prevail, but the other three have virtually no chance at squeaking in as a wild-card team.

WILD-CARD STANDINGS

DIVISION LEADERS	W	L	Pct.	GB
TATOOINE	92	48	.657	—
NEW NEW YORK	92	48	.657	—
SOUTH GRAND PRAIRIE	73	67	.521	—
WILD-CARD RACE	W	L	Pct.	GB
OLYMPIC COAST	85	55	.607	+5
MARGARITAVILLE	83	57	.593	+3
DYERSVILLE	80	60	.571	—
BOULDER	70	70	.500	-10
WEST ATLANTA	70	70	.500	-10
GREENDALE	69	71	.493	-11

How Olympic Coast Orca-strated a contender

Two-plus years ago Jamin Rader was a newbie to the league and largely to Strat. He took his lumps the first year, 106 of them (only 54 wins) and improved by 14 games (68-92) in the 2022 season.

This year he’s already surpassed that total with 72 wins, following a 13-7 August that allowed his Olympic Coast Orcas to leap over Margaritaville for both second place in their division and fourth place in the wild-card standings.

And furthermore, the Orcas are just five games back of New New York for the Northbound Division lead, as Tatooine has established itself as the division leader that is a lead-pipe cinch to win a division title, a mantra that seemed certain to reside in New New York after the Hypnotoads’ 31-9 start. Tatooine has opened up a 13-game lead in the Westbound Division over Dyersville, while South Grand Prairie clings to a three-game lead in the struggling Southbound Division.

The Orcas recorded three 4-1 series wins in August, including one such outcome in an intradivision showdown with Margaritaville on the road. Olympic Coast coasted past South Grand Prairie and Bismarck by the same margin.

“I think August play highlighted how much luck plays into these matchups,” said manager Jamin of his Orcas. “In the series against Margaritaville and the Warriors, it really felt like one split could have changed the outcome of each game.”

The Rebels provided a bit of a reality check though, as Tatooine turned the 4-1 tables on the Orcas. “The losses to Tatooine didn’t feel nearly that close — Nick is fielding a team that should have a lot of luck in the playoffs, unless, of course, the curse continues,” Jamin said.

The Rebels did enjoy the league’s best month at 14-6, solidifying their status as the projected postseason No. 1 seed with an 80-40 record, three better than New New York.

But the Orcas look to be on target for 90 or more wins, with the potential to do some postseason damage.

“I am confident that the Orcas have a shot at the Pittman Cup this year,” Jamin said, “but we still have holes, most notably at shortstop against reverse righties and we lack any of the best relievers in the league.

“The trade deadline pickups of (Jeff) McNeil and (Gio) Urshela will make a big difference. We are crossing our fingers that luck stays on our side through the playoffs. Winning the whole thing is always the goal, but winning a series will be celebrated almost as much.”

Even making the postseason for the first time would seem to be an accomplishment on what might appear to be an accelerated pace for the franchise in only its third season. Jamin stepped into a managerial vacancy in May of 2021, so he’s had only two drafts and two trade deadlines to fashion his club into a contender.

“Our sights have really been set on the 2024 season,” admitted Jamin. “Being in a playoff spot this deep into 2023 is exciting, but I’ve had to remind myself that we aren’t going for just one year. We traded away some really good young talent in Logan Webb, Nolan Gorman and Keibert Ruiz (who got hot right after the trade), but thanks to bounce-back seasons from Cody Bellinger and Corey Seager, I think we are in a good place moving into 2024.” 

Jamin said that not being in contention the first two years enabled him to sell at those trade deadlines, and build a formidable pitching staff that is second in the league in ERA (3.66) to Tatooine (3.29). Alec Manoah, drafted as the third overall pick in 2022, leads the league in wins (16) and is second in ERA (2.69).

“Next year looks like it will be the exact opposite, as we have a decent pitching staff and some really good batters, particularly against righties,” Jamin said.

But with the Orcas having a whale of a season in 2023, he’s in it to win it this year as well.

“Heading into the final 40 games, it would be nice, but not expected, if we were able to claim first in the Northbound Division,” said Jamin. “Avoiding the Rebels in the playoffs (for as long as possible) and getting a bye would help, especially since the games will largely be won (or lost) on luck.”

The field is beginning to separate heading into September, as wild-card leaders Olympic Coast (72), Margaritaville (69) and Dyersville (67) are a hefty six games or more ahead of Boulder (61) for the final playoff spot. Longshots Greendale (59), West Atlanta (57), Bushwood (57) and Applegate (57) are even more unlikely to leap into the playoff picture. Boulder, Greendale and West Atlanta are closer to a division title in the South than they are a wild-card berth, with the Crush coming off a 13-7 month to draw five games closer to the Warriors.

In a showdown of division leaders and potential World Series preview, Tatooine dispatched New New York 3-2. Those teams are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds if the season were to end today, which it won’t. The Rebels’ 14-6 month was even more impressive considering it came against three teams that are likely to make the postseason tournament.

Rebels With a Cause: Postseason Redemption

A lot can happen in a 20-game month, as the Tatooine Rebels found out in June. The Westbound Division leaders paid a visit to mighty Margaritaville, and Tatooine manager Nick Calderon reported of the 1-4 outcome, “The series against the Volcanoes did not go well, to say the least. We were outhomered 13-5, outpitched (7.00 to 4.31 ERA), and basically left to wonder if this was the beginning of the end.”

But the Rebels managed to right the ship the rest of the month, posting a 12-8 record for July that was good enough for a 66-34 record after 100 games, overtaking New New York for the league’s best record by one game.

Tatooine spanked Savannah 5-0 and went 3-2 against both Bismarck and Southbound Division-leading South Grand Prairie to boost its division lead over Dyersville to eight games.

Nick said after the Margaritaville series he briefly “began to panic with memories of the 2021 postseason sweep,” but the Rebels bounced back behind Freddie Freeman, Shohei Ohtani and Adley Rutschman. Freeman, who leads the league in hitting at .324, hit .400 and .526 against Savannah and SGP respectively. Ohtani had seven homers and a 2.63 ERA, and Rutschman had his first month hitting over .300.

“Overall, we put it together and showed the resilience we’ll need to go far in the postseason,” said Nick.

To that end, the Rebels have already begun fine-tuning their roster, strengthening their pitching staff via deals with Bismarck and Savannah. The Bismarck deal netted study lefty Carlos Rodon and famed righty Noah Syndergaard, while the Savannah swap secured stud reliever Jordan Romano.

“After reviewing our stats this month, we did notice that (Gerrit) Cole was having major issues with the longball,” said Nick, referencing 26 homers allowed, second-most in the league. “We worried that he would cost us games in the playoffs. During our series with the Bombers, we were very impressed by Rodon’s performance. To keep it short, we believe Cole can help Bizek next year and Rodon can help us get to the Pittman Cup this year. The other players (Jon Gray and Harrison Bader) were there to help ease Steve’s iron grip on Mr. Rodon.”

The Rebels are still shopping for a righty-hitting shortstop, but otherwise are hopeful this postseason can erase the bad taste of the 2021 collapse, when they won the Westbound Division by 28 games with a league-best 113 wins but suffered a sweep at the hands of the Destin Beach Bums in the semifinals. Destin went on to win the World Series that year.

“As for the postseason, well, quite frankly everyone is a threat,” said Nick. “You don’t get there by accident in this league. Hopefully our pitching staff stays strong and Jedi Master Freeman will keep us strong in the force.”

One team that is becoming a stronger threat with each passing month is Margaritaville, which had July’s top performance at 14-6 to climb within five games of first-place New New York in the North. The Volcanoes clubbed 53 homers — yes, 53! — while scoring 140 runs. For those bad at math, that’s seven runs per game. Leading the way was newly acquired center fielder Byron Buxton, who bashed 10 homers in 62 at-bats and drove in 23.

Margaritaville won all four of its July series, taking three of five from the Hypnotoads on the road to help narrow the gap in that division and overtake Olympic Coast for second place. The Volanoes and Orcas rank No. 4 and No. 5 in the current wild-card standings.

All five teams in the nasty Northbound Division posted double-figure win totals in July, from Margaritaville (14) to never-say-die Bushwood (13) to gritty Olympic Coast (12) to both New New York and Carpe Diem (10 each).

In the Southbound Division, Boulder sliced one game off of South Grand Prairie’s lead, trimming the margin to four games while going 10-10 to the Warriors’ 9-11. Greendale remains six games back, unable to make up any ground with a nine-win month.

Dyersville went 11-9 and it currently holds the sixth spot in the wild-card standings at 58-42, six games ahead of Boulder and eight ahead of Greendale in the bid for postseason entry.

 

16-win June puts Warriors in a golden state

One minute the South Grand Prairie Warriors are treading water, bobbing along in third place just two games over .500 at 31-29. And the next minute they are on a 94-win pace and leading the Southbound Division by five games.

A 16-4 month will do that as the Warriors posted an eye-opening June mark to stake their legitimate claim as a postseason threat behind their dominant starting pitching staff.

SGP’s 3-2 series wins over Greendale and Applegate were commendable, its sweep of Bushwood improbable, but its sweep of previously invincible New New York can only be rated as incredible. As in, difficult to believe. But it’s true. “Amazing pitching,” said Warriors manager Garth Lewis of the conquest. “I believe we had a 1.40 team ERA in the series. We were getting enough timely hitting and they weren’t hitting a thing.”

The Warriors went from two games behind to five games in front in the South, shooting past Boulder and trading places with Greendale in the standings. Lefty Nestor Cortes leads the staff with an 11-1 mark and 3.14 ERA, well supported by Cristian Javier (8-3, 2.70), Tony Gonsolin (6-3, 2.82), Dylan Cease (7-6, 3.50) and Matt Manning (4-3, 3.38).

A huge factor has been SGP’s home-field advantage, playing in Fenway Park, which helps mitigate any power advantage visitors might have had. “Being 33-12 at home (best in the league) has been huge,” said Garth. “And the fact we’ve actually outhomered our opponents at Fenway is pretty telling considering we’ve been outhomered by 25 on the road.”

Garth added he expected his starting pitching to be strong going into the season, with four top-flight starting pitching cards. “But after starting the season 8-12, I wasn’t so sure this bunch had it in them to be worth anything. But the bullpen settled down and the bats were good enough.”

First baseman Paul Goldschmidt leads the league in hitting at .322 and in runs scored with 68. He is fourth in doubles and sixth in homers with 22 in each category, and is fifth in both RBIs (57) and walks (42).

And now we face the pivotal month of July, with a trade deadline coming up and interesting matchups on tap. Garth says the Warriors would like to beef up the bullpen but isn’t looking to make any sweeping changes. And on the heels of its knockoff of league-wins-leader New New York (55), SGP gets another chance to prove its mettle with a visit to Tatooine, which posted a 17-win June and is suddenly nipping at the heels of the Hypnotoads for best record (54).

The Rebels actually have pitching that can go toe-to-toe with the Warriors and then some, with a league-best ERA of 3.05 (to SGP’s third-best 3.70). Tatooine swept Greendale in June on the road, and went 4-1 against Boulder, Superior and Bushwood to pad its lead in the Westbound Division to a comfortable seven games over second-place Dyersville, which lost five games in the standings despite a 12-win month.

A game to watch in that SGP-Tatooine series: Game 2 pits Nestor Cortes against Shohei Ohtani. The Rebels are 12-6 against lefties, tied for the league’s best percentage in that category with New New York (10-5).

If the season ended today, 47-win Dyersville, 47-win Olympic Coast (13 of those in June, including a sweep of Superior) and 46-win Margaritaville would be the other postseason entrants, but Boulder (42) and Greendale (41 after its first losing month of the year) are just one jumbled month away from reinserting themselves into the top six.

Some other noteworthy occurrences in June:
If SGP’s sweep of New New York rates as incredible, then what do you call Carpe Diem’s sweep of the Volcanoes in Margaritaville? Unfathomable perhaps? The Cardinals went homer-crazy and used the sweep to post their first winning month at 12-8, while the Volcanoes were held to a 9-11 mark.

If SGP’s sweep of New New York rates as incredible, then what do you call Carpe Diem’s sweep of the Volcanoes in Margaritaville? Unfathomable perhaps? The Cardinals went homer-crazy and used the sweep to post their first winning month at 12-8, while the Volcanoes were held to a 9-11 mark.

Savannah got in on the sweeping fun with a 5-0 blitz of Bismarck en route to a 14-6 month that allowed the Scorpions to lift themselves out of the South cellar, one month after going 5-15.

New New York’s 16-15-14 trend blew up with just 10 wins, thanks largely to getting swept by the Warriors. The Hypnotoads are still on pace for 110 wins and 318 homers, even after mustering just four homers against Applegate (mashing 25 doubles instead).

Aaron Judge is on pace to exactly match his American League record 62 homers at the season’s halfway point with 31, but Boulder’s Mike Trout is on pace for 70 with 35 already. Trout only has 192 at-bats remaining though to Judge’s 305.

With so many legitimate contenders jockeying for position, July shapes up as an intriguing month for trade possibilities as well, with the deal deadline coming up prior to August play.

May is ‘Moving Month’ as races tighten

If Saturday is ‘Moving Day’ on the PGA Tour, May was ‘Moving Month’ in the I-75 League as two divisional races tightened and six teams posted win totals in the teens.

South Grand Prairie’s 13-win month turned the Southbound’s two-team race into a three-team race, while Dyersville’s 14-win month in the Westbound Division trimmed Tatooine’s previous four-game lead in half despite its own 12-win month.

Meanwhile in the Northbound Division, Margaritaville racked up a 14-win month only to gain absolutely no ground at all on frontrunning New New York, which matched that win total to maintain its eight-game lead. And despite Olympic Coast’s eye-popping 15-win month, which included a 5-0 sweep of Savannah, the Orcas still stand 11 games back of the Hypnotoads.

Greendale needed just 10 wins to leapfrog the slow-rolling Boulder bunch in May after the Huggers’ eight-win struggle, which included 1-4 outcomes against nasty New New York and average Applegate. Thus just two wins separate the Greendale-Boulder-South Grand Prairie threesome.

New New York has now gone 16-15-14 to open the season, so there might be hope for the rest of us if that trend persists and we were to play 13 more months, but alas there are just five.

Tatooine only won two of its four series, but one of those was a 5-0 whitewashing of Applegate where the Rebels outscored the Clips 41-9, hitting .325 and posting a 1.20 ERA. But the Rebels went 2-3 on the road in their big showdown with the unstoppable Hypotoads. Dyersville gained ground by winning all four of its series.

In June, New New York will get another challenge from a first-place team when Greendale pays a visit. The Zealots also have first-place Tatooine on their schedule in a home series, as well as division rival South Grand Prairie and suddenly-hot Olympic Coast.

Meanwhile, Bushwood and Carpe Diem kicked off the trading season with a seven-player swap anchored by Jacob deGrom and Carlos Correa.

It’s the second time the Gophers have traded away deGrom, and the Cardinals will be the sixth uniform worn by deGrom in the I-75 League. Here’s his transaction history:

DeGrom was drafted by the Chatfield Choo-Choos, a franchise managed by Phil Roselli, in 2015 as the first pick of the second round. Roselli dealt him to Wisconsin, a franchise managed by Dan Wilson, in a 3-for-5 deal near the trade deadline in July, and Chatfield went on to win a league-best 103 games, one of 15 trades Chatfield made that season between December and July. Here’s the 3-for-5 deal:

July 17, 2015 — Chatfield sends P Jacob DeGrom, OF Jay Bruce and SP Bartolo Colon to Wisconsin for OF Corey Dickerson, SP Matt Garza, RP Joaqiun Benoit, RP Fernando Abad and RP Neil Ramirez.

When Chatfield, Hickory and Wisconsin all exited the league at the end of 2015, Dyersville, New New York and West Atlanta came on board, and New New York made deGrom its first pick in the three-team 2016 dispersal draft. Subsequent to that:

June 19, 2017 — New New York sends SP Jacob deGrom and 3B Mike Moustakas to Bushwood for 3B Jake Lamb and SP Sonny Gray

Dec. 20, 2019 — Bushwood sends SP Jacob deGrom, pick No. 53 and pick No. 113 to Boulder for 3B Yoan Moncada, pick No. 14 and pick No. 29.

July 28, 2022 — Boulder sends P Jacob Degrom, P Ryan Tepera, P Tanner Houck and OF Brett Phillips to Bushwood for DH Yordan Alvarez and P Kyle Hendricks.

May 27, 2023 — Bushwood sends P Jacob deGrom, OF Joey Gallo and IF Kevin Newman to Carpe Diem for SS Carlos Correa, SP Lance Lynn, RP Chris Martin and 1B Tristan Casas.

Correa, if you’re curious, was the first pick in the 2016 draft by the Destin Beach Bums, which retained his services until the franchise was taken over by the Carpe Diem Cardinals.

NNY continues to Hypnotize, mesmerize opponents

Even New New York Manager Jason Renbarger knew a 16-win pace was not sustainable throughout the season.

“Even I knew a 16-win pace was not sustainable throughout the season,” said Renbarger after his Hypnotoads exploded out of the gate with a 16-4 March.

So it came as no surprise that in the month we celebrate Earth Day the Hypnotoads came back down to earth.

To a 15-5 record in April.

If you’re scoring at home, that’s 31-9 at the quarter pole, a pace for 124-36, which would topple the league’s win mark of 123-37 set by Phil Roselli’s Littleton Lumberjacks in 2005.

But Jason isn’t thinking that big. “I figured out if I go .500 for the rest of the season I still will end up with 91 wins on the year,” he said.

Jason, don’t let the Strat gods hear ya. Even a .500 month isn’t guaranteed. Look no further than:

• The 2022 Savannah Scorpions, who followed up a 14-7 June with a 7-13 July.
• The 2018 Bushwood Gophers, who negated a 14-6 June with a 4-16 July.
• Or even the 2021 Hypnotoads, who posted a 7-13 clunker in the same year as a 17-3 sparkler.

Still, 31-9 is the best March/April record any team has posted as far back as we have such records (2014). New New York’s 15-5 April featured 4-1 road wins over South Grand Prairie and Bismarck, a 2-3 setback at the hands of the Olympic Coast Orcas, and a 5-0 sweep of the Dyersville Treblemakers. That series saw No. 1 overall pick Julio Rodriguez go OFF, to the tune of six homers, a double, a triple and a .500 batting average. Rodriguez alone outhomered Dyersville in that series, as the Treblemakers were held to five while New New York exploded for 19.

Fast facts on NNY’s fast start:

• Rodriguez now has 18 homers on the year (one behind league leader Mike Trout) with eight doubles, two triples, eight stolen bases and a slash line of .298/.353/.735/1.088. His 111 total bases lead the league.
• The Hypnotoads lead the league in homers with 90 and runs scored with 246, while posting the second-lowest ERA at 3.60.
• The Hypnotoads’ top three relievers (Ryan Helsley, David Bednar and Yancy Almonte) have a combined 43 innings pitched with 59 strikeouts and only four earned runs allowed for a 0.84 ERA.

New New York opened up an 8-game lead in the Northbound Division after April, despite three other clubs (Margaritaville, Bushwood and Olympic Coast) all notching 11-win months.

There was a change at the top of the Southbound Division though, as Boulder escaped the grips of Greendale to surge one game ahead at 24-16 with a 13-win month to the Zealots’ 12. A 5-0 conquest of Carpe Diem highlighted a Tree Hugger month that otherwise was a mix of 3-2s and 2-3s. Trout’s 45 RBIs already puts him on pace for 180; he also leads the league in homers with 19 while hitting .316, fourth in the league.

One back of Boulder is Greendale at 23-17, riding the hot bat of Jose Ramirez, who leads the league in batting average (.339), hits (58) and doubles (15).

In the Westbound Division, Tatooine holds first place with the league’s second-best record at 25-15 following an 11-win month that no team in the division was able to improve upon. A glittering 3.00 team ERA and .214 batting average against have been the Rebels’ early hallmarks, along with allowing the fewest homers and walks in the league and striking out the most. The Rebels’ hot start comes in spite of a dismal offensive showing by Shohei, hitting .203 with three homers.

May’s marquee matchup will see the league’s top two teams (by record) squaring off as Tatooine (25-15) visits New New York (31-9). The Hypnotoads will be further tested by road challenges at Boulder (24-16) and Bushwood (21-19) along with a home series versus West Atlanta (17-23).

Hungry, hungry Hypnotoads munch through March

Remember 2019, when the New New York Hypnotoads posted the league’s best record (102-58), one year after the most miserable season in I-75 League history (36-124)?

No. 1 seed New New York captured the Northbound Division and “league’s best record honors” with 102 victories, a mere 66-win improvement from its historically inept 36-win total of the 2018 season. That’s a climb from a .225 winning percentage to .638, or an improvement of .413. The biggest one-season leap in MLB history is owned by the Arizona Diamondbacks, who went from .401 in 1998 (65-97) to .617 in 1999 (100-62), a gain of just .216. Jason Renbarger’s Hypnotoads nearly doubled that. (Source)

That epic turnaround has served as inspiration to generations of rebuilding teams. Is this year’s 16-4 March blast a sign of a new New New York leap from last?

The Hypnotoads’ rump resided in the basement of the Northbound Division at 66-94 last year, which was only the league’s third-worst record, so the parallel isn’t perfect. And besides that, manager Jason Renbarger took stock of the potential powerhouses in his division and elsewhere before the draft, and decided to play for a strong hand, but not one that was “all-in.”

“This doesn’t really feel the same as my worst-to-first teams because last year I didn’t go full rebuild and was planning on coming in middle-of-the pack until I sold off some pieces at the deadline due to a slow start to the year,” said Jason, the tallest of the junior Renbargers when hair frizz is factored in. “Then this year I didn’t go all-in for this team, taking prospects in keeping the first overall pick for Julio (Rodriguez) and then taking (Vinnie) Pasquantino, (Vaughn) Grissom and (Shea) Langeliers as well as holding on to (Dylan) Carlson instead of trading him for a draft pick.”

So you’re saying you didn’t really mean to be this good? Other teams shouldn’t give up their dreams of league-best-record 20 games in? So you’re telling me there’s a chance?

Intentional or not, the Hypnotoads walked all over their March opponents, going 3-2 vs. Carpe Diem and South Grand Prairie, and a perfect 5-0 vs. Superior and Margaritaville.

“Overall I really am happy with how my team came together in the draft and it definitely worked out in March play,” Jason said. “My main goal this year was to make sure I had a really strong bullpen, and that definitely was accomplished with a 1.30 ERA, 11.7 K/9, and 5.5 K/BB for the month. Lots of close games all around which lead to 10 saves on the 16 wins, and a 5-1 record in one-run games thanks to the bullpen.”

Those sweet sweeps weren’t equally astonishing however, as Superior is facing a less-than-superior season, while Margaritaville boasts a prolific offense, deep bench and lights-out bullpen, as evidenced by its 4-1 record in its other three series of the month.

“The series against the Volcanoes had me on the edge of my seat the entire series,” said Jason. “I don’t think there ever was more than a two-goal separation between us until the seventh inning of Game 5, when the ‘Toads managed to put up eight runs in the inning. The key in this series was the same as it was for the whole month — timely hitting and a shutdown bullpen.”

The Hypnotoads clubbed 40 homers in March and posted a league-high 116 runs, along with a 3.26 team ERA that was the league’s second-best.

It gave New New York a four-game lead in the Northbound Division over Margaritaville, which rode a league-high .291 team batting average to a 12-win month.

Elsewhere around the league, Tatooine posted a fabulous 14-6 record despite having just one series at home, reeling off 11 road wins with a league-best 3.10 team ERA on the month, giving up a league-low 14 homers as well.

Managers go prospecting to kick off 44th season

I-75 Leaguers attend a Yankees spring training game to whet their appetite for the draft to start our 44th season.

The prospects are good for another exciting I-75 League season after managers raced through a prospect-laden draft in a record 4 1/2 hours on March 5 in Tampa, Fla., to kick off our 44th season. (View draft grid here.)

Seven managers ventured to South Florida for our first in-person convention since 2020, while eight more drafted via the internet. The first round was more like a lightning round than a contemplative round, as mock drafts before the event seemed to have managers well-positioned to know who would be available and who they wanted.

We welcomed new manager George Scienski to the fold, and the Carpe Diem manager seized the moment, drafting like a seasoned veteran rather than a Strat newbie.

New manager George Scienski in his draft war room.

Our proximity to George Steinbrenner Field offered the chance to take in two Yankee games, and a road trip to Lakeland for a Tigers game enabled some of the veteran managers with Michigan connections to wax nostalgic. Meals at traditional eateries such as Sonny’s and Shell’s completed the convention checklist.

At a predraft meeting, new divisions were drawn to take effect for the 2024 season, and plaques were distributed to 2022 champions.

As for those prospects, Julio Rodriguez and Adley Rutschman went 1-2, as anticipated, to New New York and Tatooine, respectively. A pair of budding Braves superstars in Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II went 3-4 to Boulder and Greendale, respectively, leaving the studly card of veteran Justin Verlander available at No. 5 for West Atlanta.

West Atlanta manager Jeff Richards studies his predraft worksheets.

At No. 6, Margaritaville snagged 2B Andres Gimenez, anticipating the Marlins will be moving the Volcanoes’ current second sacker with limited at-bats, Jazz Chisholm, to center field. That was followed by a trade, with Boulder sending LHP Shane McClanahan — who’d only been a Tree Hugger for a few days — to Tatooine for the seventh pick, in order to get a 1-rated left fielder in Steven Kwan, fortifying a position where the Tree Huggers were lean. After South Grand Prairie chose high on-base all-purpose man Brendan Donovan at No. 8, Savannah manager Steve Hart claimed the prospect haul of the draft with back-to-back selections of left-side infielders Bobby Witt Jr. and Gunnar Henderson. Two days earlier, Savannah had shipped LHP Carlos Rodon to Bismarck for pick No. 9.

Volcanoes manager John McMillan attended in full Cardinals uniform and chats up Superior manager Mike Renbarger in moments leading up to the draft.

Pleased to see OF Corbin Carroll still available at No. 11, Superior began its reload by snagging the D-Backs outfielder regarded by some as the fastest player in baseball and many services as the top prospect in the game who hasn’t achieved rookie status. At No. 12, Applegate went for one of last year’s top 5 prospects who is first-time carded in Tigers center fielder Riley Greene. Carpe Diem’s debut selection was Houston shortstop Jeremy Pena at 13, while Dyersville went after a big gun in Reds pitcher Hunter Greene at 14. Bushwood closed the first round by getting a big bat and superior fielder at first base in Christian Walker.

Savannah and Superior kick off the 2023 season, with managers Steve Hart and Mike Renbarger eager to see their new clubs in action.

When it was all done, just about every manager in the league was left with either hope for the coming season, or hope for the future, thanks to one of the best prospect pools in recent memory.

Don’t sleep on the final-round picks

By Jamin Rader

Two teams, South Grand Prairie and Olympic Coast, purged themselves of their 14th- and 15th-round picks during the flurry of trades that preceded the roster cutdown deadline. The final two rounds, usually reserved for unheralded prospects and comeback-hopeful veterans, offer a low-risk opportunity to take a chance on players. Last year, four teams took full advantage of their picks in the final two rounds.

1. West Atlanta Crush
   The Crush boasts the best late-round performance of the 2022 draft. This trio of picks is headlined by NL batting champ 2B Jeff McNeil, who boast a strong two-way card and dependable defense at second. McNeil is joined by all-star C William Contreras, who comes with one of the best offensive card for catchers, and RHP Corey Kluber, who pitched 172 league-average innings.
2. Bushwood Gophers
   En route to a second consecutive Fall Classic, the Gophers selected a quartet of strong pitchers in the final two rounds. RHP Edward Cabrera and RHP Brady Singer will offer reliable pitching for the Gophers in 2023, while LHP Martín Pérez (since traded to Applegate via South Grand Prairie) and RHP James Karinchak (Olympic Coast) are staged to contribute with their new clubs.
3. Destin Beach Bums
   With their final pick of the 2022 draft, the Destin Beach Bums, now the Carpe Diem Cardinals, selected C Travis D’Arnaud. The 33-year-old attained 426 plate appearances, the most of his 10-season career, and an all-star selection to boot. D’Arnaud is set to serve as the Cardinals’ primary backstop in 2023.
4. South Grand Prairie Warriors
   Both of the Warriors’ final two picks in 2022 made it through the roster cutdown. RHP Camilo Doval comes with a strong card against righties, 70+ innings, and a closer 6 rating. OF Chas McCormick is prepared to crush lefty pitching while offering solid defense across the outfield. 

As you continue preparing your draft strategy, please heed this public service announcement and don’t sleep on the 15th round.

Draft Day now less than four weeks away

This is when it starts to feel real, as the dates on the calendar in February start matching the dates on the calendar in March when the convention and draft are held.

If today is Sunday, Feb. 5, then we’re exactly four weeks away from Sunday, March 5, when we’ll hold the I-75 League’s annual draft to kick off our remarkable 44th season.

Convention lodgings have been secured in Tampa. Flights are booked, spring training game tickets have been purchased, and now all that remains is four weeks worth of draft cramming. Studying up on the talent available in this year’s draft pool, and studying up on your opponents’ strengths, weaknesses and likely draft needs.

By now you should have already downloaded the Strat ratings spreadsheet or ordered the book and are busy manipulating numbers. Strat has also opened up pre-orders for the actual game, which is useful if you’re also ordering the physical player cards, but not really necessary to take action on if you’re only ordering this year’s computer game and card images. (Be sure to order the card images in addition to the game. The two of them together will cost $70 plus tax. Also don’t check the option for the CD to be mailed to you, you will want to be able to download the game when available.) The release date for the computer game is Feb. 21.

Start thinking about whether you want to retain or discard your ballpark for 2023. In about a week we will begin that declaration process, followed by the ballpark draft for teams that decide to discard.

Here are some random observations based on early number-crunching:

It’s a great draft for prospects! Not only prospects who made their debut in 2022, but prospects who still have rookie eligibility for 2023 but received cards.

That having been said, it will be a shock to this reporter if anyone other than Julio Rodriguez goes No. 1 — a five-tool player with speed, power, average, on-base ability on both sides of his card and strong defense as well.

Aaron Judge is a beast as expected, with 12.6 homer chances against righties plus eight diamond chances, plus eye-popping average and on-base numbers and a 1(-4)e0 rating in right field. How can the Paperclips protect him in the lineup is the question — if he even remains a Paperclip?

Arguably, Matt Carpenter has an even better hitting card than Judge, depending on how you do your calculations. But he’s a 5 in the outfield, a 4 at the corners, and only gets 134 at-bats. How soon will he be selected?

Joey Meneses is this year’s Frank Schwindel. An over-30 first baseman with a crazy card but an uncertain future.

The craziest one-side of a card award goes to South Grand Prairie’s Paul Goldschmidt, who destroys lefties to a degree previously not witnessed — starting with a .611 batting average against southpaws according to the way we calculate cards. It goes on to .712 on-base, 1.313 slugging and 2.025 OB+slug. Pretty darn good against righties too, and a 1e1 at first base for the NL MVP.

While there are lots of hitters in the pool to get excited about, the same can’t really be said for pitchers. The ageless marvel Justin Verlander will be a sure-fire first-rounder as he sports the best card among all starters, not just available ones. Spencer Strider is just as great but with fewer innings (139), and as a starter/reliever offers the tantalizing possibility of being this year’s right-handed version of Ranger Suarez, who was used so effectively in a middle-inning role by Dyersville last year (22-3, 2.51 ERA). But if you miss the boat on those guys, as 13 teams will, the starting pitching talent pool dissolves quickly into mediocrity, once you get past another starter/reliever in Ross Stripling (141 innings) and draft-me-if-you-dare lefties Tyler Anderson and Jose Quintana.

Drafting relief pitching may become more of an exercise of getting enough innings as opposed to getting great cards. There are so many guys who rode the Triple-A shuttle and ended up with between 20 and 40 innings that it will be harder than ever to fill out a pen.

Sportswriters like to play the “if the season ended today” game to project playoff pairings late in the season. It’s only February here, but if the season started today with just our 18-man rosters, we’d have to project Tatooine and Margaritaville as the best bets for finishing with the league’s best record. Both have already stockpiled talented starting pitching depth and have at least 4-5 players with elite-level offensive cards. On top of that, the Rebels now own two of the top seven picks in the draft thanks to their recent trade with Olympic Coast. The Rebels will still have to find a way to shake the curse that they believe has befallen them ever since their playoff loss in 2021.

As part of our preseason assessment we grouped all 15 teams into three tiers of five teams each for offense and pitching. Tatooine and Margaritaville were the only two teams that came out in the top tier in both categories. The other teams (alphabetically) in the top tier for offense were Applegate, Boulder and West Atlanta; the other teams in the top tier for pitching were Olympic Coast, Savannah and South Grand Prairie.

There could be a wholesale changing of the guard this season as many of last year’s playoff participants don’t have nearly the firepower of 2022. Another interesting stat is looking back at last year’s first round, Superior picked No. 1 and went all the way to the World Series title, but the teams picking 2-3-4-5-6 all missed the playoffs, while the teams picking 7-8-9-10-11 all made them.

Since this is the fourth year of our four-year divisional cycle, the night before the draft we will be redrawing the divisional alignments for the 2024 season. This is done by randomly picking team names out of a hat.

Just one more thing to look forward to from the 44th consecutive Best Convention Ever!