Bay League Preview, 2017 Season
Here's a quick rundown on the Bay League teams, their stars, their prospects and their hopes for a good season in 2017. In order of 2016 finish, we'll start with the champs from Elliott Springs.
Elliott Springs Tornadoes
Last Season: 42-28, 1st place
Top Hitter: After two seasons of wondering why he wasn't dominating like everyone expected, 1B
Riyad Gomes finally put together the sort of season expected of him... and it wasn't that much better than the last two. See what playing for a champion will do for perspective? Gomes hit a career low .293, but slugged a career best .552 thanks to 14 homers and 25 doubles.
Top Pitcher: He isn't just the Tornadoes' best pitcher.
Jamie Wilder capitalized on his enormous promise to put together the best season ever by a Bay League pitcher, and didn't even enter the starting rotation until the end of May. Just to remind you, Wilder went 15-2 with a league record 1.90 ERA and struck out 192 batters in 175 innings. And he's still just 21 years old.
Top Prospect: As good as the Tornadoes were, you might expect that their city league teams are tapped of talent. Not so, though a number of young players made huge contributions to the Tornadoes. The most notable name is
Damian Latimer, an extremely talented pitcher that the Tornadoes can't seem to decide on a role for: starter or reliever. He's been working on his endurance, and it seems to have him a little off his game this spring, with his fastball flattening out. But he's still got every bit as great an arm as any pitcher in the game.
Forecast: It will be a tremendous surprise if the Tornadoes don't become the first repeat champions in the Bay League. In fact, it will be a tremendous surprise if they don't become the league's first dominant dynasty. They're that good and that young.
Marsein Knights
Last Season: 40-30, 2nd place, 2 games back
Top Hitter: The incredibly talented
Mario DeGray. The only thing he can't do is steal bases. After a bland debut in 2015, all DeGray has done is hit .372/.490/.611 and .374/.465/.638 in back-to-back seasons that saw his Knights finish just short of the title. He draws a ton of walks (a league record 58 in 2015) and almost never strikes out (17 times last season against 44 walks).
Top Pitcher: For a team that finished 2nd in runs allowed, there are few standout stars on the staff, just a lot of solid arms.
Ken Bennett, who spent time in and out of the rotation, probably had the best season: 8-3, 2.63 ERA. But he's a surprise and may not be able to repeat those numbers again next year.
Quentin Stallworth (6-9, 3.35) and youngster
Josh Ray (13-11, 3.51) are the most talented pitchers on the squad.
Top Prospect: Selected 2nd overall in the 2015 draft,
Matt Roy is starting to put his enormous talent to work, hitting .300 with power at mid-level city league play. He could move quickly this season.
Forecast: After two seasons of finishing just short of the title, the Knights could really use a breakout season from Roy to provide offensive support for Mario DeGray. Their pitching staff is also unpredictable. Anything could happen here.
Deepvale Ferrymen
Last Season: 37-33, 3rd place, 5 games back
Top Hitter: They might just name the award for the league's best hitter after
Ace Gervin. He's the only player ever to win the award, after all. Take note of his career line: .371/.453/.688. His average dipped last season, but he hit for plenty of power, and easily led his team at the plate. Too bad he didn't have much help.
Top Pitcher: For a guy that had started all of 2 games in his Bay League career,
Bo Dissinger surprised a whole lot of people by going 11-11, 2.67 with a 0.96 WHIP in 2017. Great control made a big difference, and he was able to pitch plenty of innings as a result. This was the Bay League's best pitching staff last season, and between Dissinger,
Jason Grant and
Isaac Black, they could be the best again next season.
Top Prospect: With former top prospect
Mike Dodson unable to get himself out of mid-level city league play,
Melvin Fay becomes Deepvale's best prospect. Another terrific control artist, Fay should be a dependable starter for the Ferrymen in a couple of seasons.
Forecast: Deepvale needs more hitting. Ace Gervin can only do so much, and while catcher
Johnny Wright is capable of putting together great numbers, another bat or two would complement that brilliant pitching staff very nicely. It looks like another year of near-misses in Deepvale right now.
Silver Beach Whales
Last Season: 36-34, 4th place, 6 games back
Top Hitter: The Whales get a lot out of some surprising quarters. Their most talented hitter,
Carlin Chadwick, has never put together the sort of season expected of him, but they get efforts like a .320/.359/.452 line from first baseman
Jason Walton, who was their best hitter last season, following in the footsteps of the surprising
Josh Sowder the year before. Manager Jim Latimer deserves loads of credit for getting this team to perform the way it does.
Top Pitcher: As good as their hitters were, the Whales' pitching collapsed behind a subpar year from
Hawkeye Odle. Consider that the 12-11, 4.23 ERA season from Odle still made him Silver Beach's best pitcher, and you get an idea of what sunk the Whales in 2016. Odle's hit rate went way up, from a .201 mark in his 2015 Top Pitcher season to .233 in 2016. They need him to bounce back if they're going to compete. He's just 28, so that wouldn't be a huge surprise.
Top Prospect: There's not a lot in the stable, but right fielder
Ben McAfee is the best of an average bunch. McAfee will be up with the Whales at the start of '17. He's got big-time power, slugging .704 in a short stint at the mid-level city league last year. Just 19 years old, the Whales think he's got a bright future. It's too bad he can't pitch too.
Forecast: The Whales challenged for the title in the latter half of the season before falling off the pace. If Odle is back to form, and one of their other pitchers steps up, this could be the dark horse candidate for the 2017 championship. Of course, the hitters might realize they really aren't that good...