[Izz]

2049/2050 Season - December

2049 #1 Draft Pick

Darwin had this year’s #1 pick, and went with 19 y/o SP Brad ‘The Wizard’ King. His nickname was certainly apt, as he possessed 5 pitches, and of those projected to have a plus fastball, a stellar changeup, and a good splitter and forkball. He was a hardworking kid and would start his pro career in Short Season A.

A quick look at how the previous 4 #1 draft picks were doing:

2048, Mitch Donahue: Finished 2048 at AAA and started 2049 in the bigs, though he clearly wasn’t ready for it. Was now back down in AAA.

2047, Gordon Appleby: Had a good 2048 in the majors, and was still holding down his spot this season. So far, hitting .231/.305/.385, with 6HR. Scouting reports suggested his potential had been revised downwards, and he would be solid if unspectacular at the plate. Defensively, though, he was well above average, with a +2.8 ZR at SS so far this season.

2046, Clint Aitcheson: 7-2 already in 2049, even though his ERA and FIP were a bit high. He still projected to be a star, and a 32-20 record across 2 and a bit seasons wasn’t too bad in a hitter-dominated league.

2045, Vince Hudswell: It now appeared earlier scouting projections that Hudswell would hit for average as well as power were a bit optimistic, with it now looking like he would primarily be a power hitter. He’d begun 2049 well though, his stat-line .283/.344/.493, with 9HR.

Notable Performances

1 Dec: In another extra-innings marathon, the Sluggers went down 4-3 to Christchurch to end their winning streak.

6 Dec: Terence Bansfield scooped the 1st PotW of December. He only played 4 games, but was unstoppable in those, hitting .588/.579/1.588. His 10-17 included 2 doubles and 5HR.

7 Dec: Adrian Walsh went 5-5 as the Crocs brushed off Newcastle 12-4.

8 Dec: Newcastle bounced back, just, shutting the Crocs out 1-0. Armando Velazquez was the hero of the night, allowing a meagre 3 hits while striking out 5. He induced 15 groundball outs in the game.

10 Dec: Karl Bell gave up 5 hits and 0 walks, K’ing 4, to lead Adelaide to an 8-0 pantsing of Perth.

13 Dec: Brisbane’s Harrison Jackson took out PotW with a .500/.583/1.300 stat-line. His 10-20 included 1 double and 5HR. He also walked 4 times and stole 2 bases.

14 Dec: Yong-jun Chu went 5-6 in Whangarei’s 10-9 10-inning win over Cairns.

20 Dec: Perth’s Gareth Orpen was named PotW today. The 25 y/o slugger was having a breakout year, currently sitting 2nd on the BA leaderboards, and not too far back in the HR race. In the last 7 days he hit .667/.741/1.714, 14-21, with 5 doubles, 1 triple and 5HR. He also scored 8 runs and drew 6 walks.

21 Dec: Brock Wakely became the latest hitter to reach the 400HR milestone, doing so with a solo effort in the 3rd inning of Sydney’s 7-1 victory over Newcastle. Wakely, who’d been struggling so far this season, hitting less than .200 until the 20th of December, said after the game, “I don’t know if 400 has been weighing on my mind. I don’t think it has, but maybe. Anyway, let’s see what the rest of the year brings now that this elephant has left the room.” No other players would be within cooee of 400HRs for quite some time. Then next best active player was 37 y/o Beau Riseley, with 336.

26 Dec: The Thunder plummeted to their 10th straight loss, going down 6-5 to Newcastle. Surprisingly, though, they still had a share of the lead in the East-West, with Brisbane only today climbing into a tie for 1st with a 3-0 win over Hobart.

27 Dec: Brad Baker hit .577/.633/1.038 over the past week for the Cavalry to take home PotW. Included in his 15-26 were 1 double, 1 triple, and 3HR. He also scored 10 runs and drew 4 free passes.

28 Dec: The Thunder broke out of their 11-game losing funk, beating Whangarei (on a slide of their own) 7-6.

29 Dec: Brad Acheson restricted the Blue Sox to 6 hits, 1 walk, and 0 runs to lead the Pioneers to a 9-0 victory. He struck out 7 along the way.

29 Dec: Keiran Pickford boosted his way to a 20-game hit streak.

31 Dec: Pickford’s streak ended at 21 games.

Notable Injuries

1 Dec: The Thunder would be without regular catcher Jacob Lindner (.325/.370/.548, 10HR) for the rest of the season after he tore a posterior cruciate ligament.

2 Dec: Blair Wurfel’s (2-5, 3.92 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 1.26 WHIP) season was over. The runner-up in the 2048 HotY standings had a torn labrum.

6 Dec: That latest pitcher to find himself on the DL was Brisbane’s Lance Ralston (5-3, 2.51 ERA, 3.39 FIP, 1.30 WHIP). He would only be on the DL 3-4 weeks though, team doctors reckoned, while he recovered from a rotator cuff strain.

12 Dec: Vince Hudswell (.288/.349/.500, 9HR) would be out around 5 weeks with a fractured finger.

15 Dec: Bad news for Auckland and closer Hayden Henderson (2-4, 17 sv). He’d torn an ulnar collateral ligament, so needed Tommy John surgery. He’d likely be on the DL 13-14 months.

Notable Trades/Signings

2 Dec: The Heat were desperate to resurrect their season, and had worked out a trade with Newcastle that they figured might help them do so. They’d acquired 28 y/o LF Jayden Pye (.305/.406/.460, 9HR) and some cash in return for 30 y/o pitcher Brock Wanhalla (1-0) and a minor league outfielder. While this move certainly shored up their hitting, offense wasn’t so much the problem in 2049 as defense, thanks to their 2 best starters being on the DL.

17 Dec: Perth made another move today, sending 36 y/o Connor Rowling (.250/.348/.500, 6HR in 115PA) and cash to Cairns. They got 29 y/o OF Martin Brewster (.330/.372/.410, 2HR in 218PA) and a pitching prospect in return. The Heat were now 13 games back in the Coastal and word was they were now looking to rebuild for next year.

2049 All Stars

Australian All Stars

SP Bob Davies - SYD - 9-3, 2.52 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 1.07 WHIP
SP Chong-yee Zhou - AUC - 10-3, 5.09 ERA, 3.43 FIP, 1.50 WHIP
SP Luke Bodkin - HOB - 3-5, 2.88 ERA, 3.19 FIP, 1.15 WHIP
SP Allan Spear - WHA - 7-6, 3.98 ERA, 3.79 FIP, 1.33 WHIP
SP Roger Mangan - WHA - 8-9, 3.54 ERA, 3.90 FIP, 1.26 WHIP
SP Cooper Gerlach - DAR - 8-6, 3.47 ERA, 3.92 FIP, 1.21 WHIP
SP Carlo Avery - PER - 4-9, 3.68 ERA, 3.88 FIP, 1.27 WHIP
MR Brendan Knopp - ADE - 4-0, 1 sv, 1.54 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 1.06 WHIP
MR Alastair Lapthorne - WEL - 2-2, 1.13 ERA, 2.67 FIP, 1.06 WHIP
CL Rhett Thurley - CEN - 3-4, 17 sv, 1.67 ERA, 2.51 FIP, 1.19 WHIP
CL Gordon Anderton - WHA - 1-4, 16 sv, 2.57 ERA, 2.81 FIP, 0.79 WHIP
CL Matthew Taintey - WEL - 2-1, 10 sv, 1.57 ERA, 2.85 FIP, 0.99 WHIP
C Jacob Blanksby - MEL - .342/.434/.684, 24HR
C Zachary Woollett - CAI - .355/.435/.594, 16HR
1B Brendon Stennings - AUC - .380/.412/.585, 15HR
1B Benjamin Ziersch - ADE - .331/.396/.607, 24HR
1B Ed Geoghegan - CHR - .311/.364/.559, 21HR
1B Brad Baker - CAN - .347/.415/.531, 12HR
2B Owen Delaney - HOB - .303/.328/.424, 4HR
3B Bradley Courcha - NEW - .308/.422/.428, 3HR
SS Andre England - NEW - .324/.399/.427, 3HR
SS Cody England - MEL - .316/.339/.436, 5HR
LF Gareth Orpen - PER - .355/.452/.656, 19HR
CF Alan Sneddon - WHA - .313/.475/.430, 4HR
CF Christos Hutchinson - WEL - .339/.386/.391, 0HR
CF Trent Allan - SYD - .319/.425/.502, 11HR
RF Sean Carr - CEN - .332/.394/.525, 14HR
RF Roland Beckett - AUC - .301/.337/.556, 22HR

NZ & Overseas All Stars

SP Logan Neilson - ADE - 8-6, 2.34 ERA, 3.27 FIP, 1.11 WHIP
SP Jay Cummins - WEL - 11-6, 2.68 ERA, 3.58 FIP, 0.98 WHIP
SP Sterling Dunlop - KUN - 7-4, 2.39 ERA, 2.93 FIP, 0.99 WHIP
SP Edwin Kerr - CEN - 6-7, 3.13 ERA, 3.48 FIP, 1.17 WHIP
SP Randall Gulledge - KUN - 8-6, 3.71 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 1.37 WHIP
SP Wilson Lara - WHA - 9-5, 3.85 ERA, 3.97 FIP, 1.29 WHIP
SP Karl Bell - ADE - 6-3, 3.16 ERA, 3.82 FIP, 1.12 WHIP
MR Kade Clark - SYD - 4-1, 3.89 ERA, 3.44 FIP, 1.51 WHIP
MR Francisco Martinez - PER - 3-1, 1 sv, 2.32 ERA, 3.04 FIP, 0.91 WHIP
CL Cody Sutcliffe - ADE - 3-1, 10 sv, 2.16 ERA, 3.32 FIP, 0.87 WHIP
CL Rex Herbert - CAI - 3-4, 14 sv, 2.45 ERA, 3.09 FIP, 1.25 WHIP
CL Mauro Contreras - PER - 0-1, 12 sv, 3.47 ERA, 3.03 FIP, 0.94 WHIP
C Greg Bricknell - SYD - .275/.350/.531, 18HR
C Danny Goodwin - KUN - .273/.337/.511, 15HR
1B Terence Bansfield - AUC - .337/.400/.679, 22HR
1B Ismael Aguirre - BRI - .357/.418/.599, 18HR
1B Patrick Maggs - WHA - .303/.390/.544, 20HR
1B Manny Gallo - CAI - .326/.363/.533, 17HR
1B Matt Panther - PER - .287/.422/.453, 9HR
2B Angelo Rankin - CHR - .303/.330/.451, 6HR
3B Rick Clohessy - CAN - .299/.317/.521, 19HR
SS Manuel Salinas - CAN - .323/.431/.454, 3HR
SS Gordon Scammell - AUC - .271/.336/.409, 6HR
LF Keiran Pickford - ADE - .323/.394/.542, 15HR
LF Esteban Madrigal - KUN - .276/.377/.500, 18HR
CF Rob Lane - MEL - .319/.391/.577, 14HR
RF Juan De La Hoya - KUN - .293/.358/.472, 9HR
RF Maximo Moreno - DAR - .293/.313/.376, 1HR

Month Awards

Rookie of the Month: Roland Beckett made it back-to-back RotM awards, winning this time on the strength of a .312/.367/.560 stat-line. He was 34-109, with 19 runs scored, 7 doubles, 1 triple and 6HR hit, and 31 runners driven in. He drew 8 walks and stole 1 base. He now had 23HRs on the year, putting him 3rd on that leaderboard.

Hurler of the Month: Venom SP Karl Lang won this award. He was 5-1 in December, with a 1.83 ERA, 3.29 FIP, and 1.15 WHIP. He fanned 35 in 44.1 IP but despite his impressive month didn’t make the NZ & Overseas All Stars.

Slugger of the Month: Jacob Blanksby had started the year off slow by his standards, but cut loose in December, hitting .389/.468/.697, 37-109, with 22 runs, 8 doubles, 10HR, 28RBI, and 14BB. He led the league in slugging, OPS, ISO (.332), and XBH (46). His 24 homers put him 2nd in the league.

Other Notes

6 Dec: Perth’s season was rocked by more bad news today, with 26 y/o backup outfielder Byung-ho Moon (.255/.321/.316, 1HR in 110PA) suspended 80 games for illegal drug use. The drug in question was not revealed, with some anonymous sources claiming it wasn’t a PED but rather a recreational drug.

#

Coastal Division: There was no stopping the Venom (21-8) who raced away to a 15-game lead. None of their division rivals were near the .500 mark.

East-west Division: Thanks to Central Coast’s mini-slump (10-19), Brisbane (15-14) crawled into the lead, ahead by 2 at month’s end. Kununurra (14-15) were tied with the Thunder for 2nd, both on exactly .500.

NZ Division: The Metros (17-12) pulled away once more from the Sluggers (12-17), opening up a 6-game lead over their streaky rivals. Wellington, also 12-17, dipped below .500.

Southern Division: Sydney (17-12) extended their divisional advantage to 9 games, with Canberra (17-12) having a good month to pull within 2 games of the .500 mark.

Wildcard: The Sluggers had a 2-game lead in one slot, while Central Coast and Kununurra were tied up in the 2nd spot. The Cavalry and Fury were a further game behind.

#

Brendon Stennings (.380/.414/.592, 16HR) still led the BA boards. He’d also recorded the most hits (136), and rounded the most bases (212).

Benjamin Ziersch (.330/.396/.608, 25HR) held a slender 1HR advantage in the HR race.

Alan Sneddon (.313/.469/.428, 4HR) was on track to obliterate the existing season record for walks. He had 87 so far, putting him on track for 164. The current record was 137, recorded in 2035 by Ramiro Madrigal. His 33 steals also gave him a chance to break that season record (61 - Blair Stewart, 2030). As well as leading the league in OBP, steals, and walks, he had scored the most runs of any AUNZBL player, with 74.

Gareth Orpen (.350/.444/.646, 20HR) was having a year nobody had predicted. He led the league in weighted OBA (.448) and WAR (5.4).

As much as was possible for him, Ismael Aguirre (.363/.422/.622, 20HR) had spent the 1st half of the season flying under the radar. However, by the end of December (he hit .404/.454/.667 during the month) he was beginning to feature on a few leaderboards. He had the 3rd-best BA, 4th-best SLG, 4th-best OPS, 5th-best wOBA (.423), 2nd-most hits (122), 3rd-most doubles (23), 3rd-most RBI (70), 2nd-most XBH (45), 2nd-most bases (209), and 2nd-best WAR (5.2).

Sterling Dunlop (8-4, 2.31 ERA, 2.85 FIP, 0.98 WHIP) led the league in ERA, FIP, WHIP, BB/9 (1.31), K/9 (9.10), K/BB (6.94) and WAR (4.1).

Jay Cummins (11-6, 2.68 ERA, 3.63 FIP, 0.99 WHIP) had the most wins of any starter, was conceding the least H/9 (6.86), and was therefore also leading the league in OAVG (.212). He’d also thrown the most innings, having notched up 137.2 so far this season.

Gustavo ‘Boomerang’ Ortiz had returned to the AUNZBL after a solitary season in 2042. He was leading the league in saves, with 20, but somehow hadn’t made the All Star Game.

Standings, Jan 1