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Bay League Preview, 2015 Season

Let's take a look at the big names on each team and do a little prognostication for the second season of the Bay League. We'll take the teams in order of the 2014 finish, starting with the first four finishers.

Lorris Greens
Last Season: 41-29, 1st place
Top Hitter: CF Tega Smith. Smith came on strong at the end of the season, finishing at .308/.400/.512 and led the league in stolen bases with 22 in 29 attempts. He and LF Cliff Rock make a potent 1-2 punch in the lineup, but the 28-year old Smith is the clear leader of this lineup.
Top Pitcher: Dennis Phillips. The 30-year old Phillips won honors as the Top Pitcher in the league in 2014, going 17-10 with a 3.19 ERA and ranking 3rd in the league in strikeouts with 227 in 251 innings.
Top Prospect: SP Jordan Thompson. Though Shawn Dawson, another starting pitcher, is also talented, Thompson is far closer to pitching for the Greens. Thompson tossed 89 innings in Lorris City League action last season and put together an ERA of around 3.50. He'll have a tough time cracking Lorris's talented rotation, however.
Forecast: There's no reason the Greens won't continue to be one of the top teams. They have four quality hitters in the lineup, one of whom (C Kory Jackson) underperformed last season. Add to that a collection of 3 starting pitchers that could start for any team in the league, and you've got the potential for a dominating squad.

Deepvale Ferrymen
Last Season: 39-31, tied for 2nd place
Top Hitter: Do you really need to ask? Ace Gervin isn't just Deepvale's top hitter, he's the best hitter in the Outposts. Gervin was named the Top Batter for 2014, after blistering Bay League pitchers to the merry tune of .371/.456/.723. He won the batting title, clubbed 20 homers, drove in 44 and scored 50 runs (leading the league). He can just about do it all.
Top Pitcher: Isaac Black. Black finished 3rd in the Bay League in wins with 15, and posted a 3.10 ERA as well. He's very well liked among his teammates and is a vocal leader. The 28-year old hurler doesn't throw hard, but he's good at keeping hitters off balance, and he doesn't give away many free passes.
Top Prospect: SP Nik Tillman. Tillman's 24 years old and flashed some occasional dominance in city league games, but the Ferrymen don't seem to have a lot of confidence in him despite the fact that he went 12-7 with a 1.88 ERA in the Deepvale City League.
Forecast: Any team with Ace Gervin is always going to be in the hunt. The real concern, however, is the pitching staff. The Ferrymen finished 7th in the league in runs allowed, and unless 24-year old Jason Grant raises his game, they're not going to improve that mark very much this season.

Elliott Springs Tornadoes
Last Season: 39-31, tied for 2nd place
Top Hitter: RF Jared Brown, the best hitter in the Bay League last season not named Ace Gervin. Brown led the Bay League in homers (22) and RBI (57), an impressive feat for a guy who only hit .256 on the season.
Top Pitcher: The aptly named Eddie Hope, who went 16-7, 3.03 in 2014. Hope is capable of absolutely dominating, as echoed in his numbers. In 234 innings pitched, he allowed 198 hits and walked a meager 21 batters, while striking out 214. Had the Tornadoes pulled out the league title down the stretch, it wouldn't have been a surprise if Hope had won Top Pitcher instead of Dennis Phillips.
Top Prospect: SP Jamie Wilder. Wilder is considered one of the best young players controlled by any Bay League team. In city league action last season, the 19-year old hurler went 7-7 with a 2.27 ERA, striking out 124 in 150 innings.
Forecast: It's hard to believe that a player who hit .335/.412/.524 last season was a disappointment, but 1B Riyad Gomes was nonetheless. He's that talented. Jared Brown was a phenomenon at the plate, but the Tornadoes need Gomes to step up and be the Ace Gervin clone everyone thought he'd be. The pitching is solid, if 34-year old Eddie Hope can fight off decline. They could challenge Lorris for the Bay League crown.

Gentry Hills Scouts
Last Season: 35-35, tied for 4th place
Top Hitter: First baseman Tarise Ellis. Ellis is a brilliant fielder, as evidenced by his Top Leather award last season, but he's no slouch with a bat in his hands either. He cracked 20 homers, tied for 2nd place in that category with the incomparable Ace Gervin, and scored 49 runs, also tied for 2nd place in the league. Overall, Ellis hit .260/.363/.560 last year, and he's just 27 years old.
Top Pitcher: Broderick Earl, though 21-year old Jon Britton might steal that title from him this season. Earl went 11-10, 2.77 in 2014, striking out an even 200 in 214 innings. At 27 years old, the Scouts look to have a bright future in the rotation.
Top Prospect: 1B Brandon Dixon. Dixon, a hometown boy, has an extreme line-drive swing and rarely hits the ball over the fence, but some Scouts fans swear that he could rip the glove off a fielder's hand, he hits everything so hard. Just 18 years old, there's plenty of time for him to hone his skills. Tarise Ellis can also play the corner outfield spots, so Dixon may have a spot waiting for him.
Forecast: Who finished 1st in the league in runs scored in 2014? Lorris? Maybe Elliott Springs, or Deepvale? None of the above. It was the Scouts, thanks to a combination of power, speed and average unrivaled in depth anywhere in the league. That should remain true in 2015, and with the very talented Jon Britton and Broderick Earl in the rotation, this ought to be a very good team.