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🚀 2025 Rocket City Trash Pandas End-of-Season Report

Record: 71–67 (.514)
Finish: 2nd place – North Division, 4 GB
Playoffs: Did not qualify

The 2025 Rocket City Trash Pandas wrapped up their season with a strong late push, but ultimately came up just short of a postseason berth. Despite inconsistent stretches, the club showcased notable individual breakthroughs, a powerful offense, and encouraging development from several key prospects.

📈 Team Overview

The Trash Pandas were one of the best offensive teams in Double-A all season:

Offensive Rankings

1st – OBP (.371)

1st – OPS (.794)

1st – Runs Scored (757)

1st – Walks (676)

2nd – Home Runs (162)

5th – AVG (.267)

The lineup was a force, combining discipline, power, and speed. However, base running inefficiency (–33.8 BsR, 3rd worst) cost the team meaningful runs.

Pitching & Defense

ERA: 4.75 (8th)

Starters’ ERA: 4.60 (3rd)

Bullpen ERA: 4.95 (7th)

Home Runs Allowed: 153 (8th)

Opponent AVG: .280 (8th)

Defensive Efficiency: .642 (8th)

The pitching staff was durable and occasionally dominant, but too often undermined by high contact allowed and defensive struggles. The team simply gave up too many hard-hit balls and too many extra outs.

🏆 Team MVP Candidates
1. Christian Moore – 2B

.273 / .361 / .515 – 37 HR – 100 RBI – 5.1 WAR

A monster season. Moore was arguably the best hitter in the entire Southern League:

Led team in wRC, extra-base hits, and HR

Elite plate discipline and power

Only 22 years old
He firmly established himself as one of the Angels' most exciting upper-level bats.

2. Ryan Nicholson – 1B

.358 AVG – .747 SLG – 35 HR – 97 RBI – 4.8 WAR

A breakout of historic proportions. Nicholson:

Led the team in AVG, SLG, OPS, and wOBA

Crushed both RHP and LHP

Was the league’s most feared hitter for months

A 2025 revelation.

3. Denzel Guzman – SS

.290 / .374 / .402 – 66 RBI – 102 R – 5.2 WAR

Quietly the most complete position player on the team:

Above-average contact and defense

Excellent speed and baserunning instincts

Solid OBP skills

Extremely reliable SS glove
A "glue" player who performed in all facets of the game.

🔥 Breakout Players
Tucker Flint – RF

.259 / .409 / .422 – 22 HR – 80 RBI – 2.1 WAR
Finally tapped into his raw power. His patience + pop combo is now a legitimate big-league-projectable skillset.

David Calabrese – LF/CF

.287 AVG – 21 SB – .830 OPS – 3.2 WAR
Best year of his career. Showed:

Improved contact

Plus defense

Above-average speed

Real on-base gains

A future fourth-outfielder floor with a chance for more.

Alberto Rios – C/UTIL

.316 AVG – .491 SLG – 175 OPS+
Small sample, big impact. Versatile, hits for average, and has real role-player upside.

⚾ Pitching Staff Review
Rotation
George Klassen – SP1

30 GS – 9–9 – 4.49 ERA – 158 IP – 187 K – 4.0 WAR

A rock-solid season:

Elite stuff flashes

Good strikeout rates

Occasional volatility
He continues progressing toward an SP3/SP4 projection.

Henry Lalane – SP

10 GS – 5.74 ERA – 42 IP
Inconsistent but projectable. The stuff is real; command is not.

Trystan Vrieling – SP

9 GS – 2.72 ERA – 36.1 IP – 47 K
Outstanding performance. Maintained high strikeout totals and credibility as a long-term SP candidate.

Joel Hurtado – SP

10 GS – 4.27 ERA – 52.2 IP – 49 K
Underrated contributor with signs of continued growth.

Jose Acuna – SP

11 GS – 5.77 ERA
Mixed results. Hard contact was an issue, but his underlying pitch modeling shows a potential future middle reliever role with a strong FB/SL foundation.

Bullpen
Brady Choban – CL

9 SV – 3.78 ERA – 19.2 IP – 12.2 K/9
Quality closer with strikeout power.

Brett Kerry – SU

18 holds – 4.73 ERA – 114 K
Reliable setup weapon.

Ryan Costeiu

3.99 ERA – 99.1 IP
Workhorse reliever.

📉 Areas of Concern
1. Defense

Among the weaker defensive clubs in the league. Cost the pitching staff a lot of extra stress.

2. Base Running

Despite 113 steals, the team ranked near the bottom in BsR.
Speed ≠ efficiency.

3. Bullpen Inconsistency

Middle relief was the main weakness that prevented a playoff push.

🔮 Organizational Impact / Prospect Development

This team successfully developed several players who are legitimately close to MLB call-up consideration:

Christian Moore

Ryan Nicholson

Denzel Guzman

George Klassen

David Calabrese

Tucker Flint

Trystan Vrieling

Many others improved enough to maintain upward trajectory, including Anthony Scull, Bryce Teodosio, and Sebastian Rivero.

Rocket City is firmly establishing itself as one of the most productive development pipelines in the Angels system.

🏁 Final Thoughts

The 2025 Rocket City Trash Pandas season should be viewed as a success despite missing the playoffs. The offense was elite, several prospects broke out, and the rotation showed meaningful growth. With better bullpen results and defensive improvement, this club could easily win the division next year.