The Outpost League

[ifspuds]

August 1, 2018

Team              W   L   Pct   GB   Stk   L10
Elliott Springs  42  31  .575    -    L1   5-5
Silver Beach     42  31  .575    -    L1   5-5
Lorris           41  31  .569  0.5    L2   2-8
Gentry Hills     37  35  .514  4.5    W1   6-4
Marsein          33  39  .458  8.5    W1   8-2
Allison          33  41  .446  9.5    L2   4-6
Tifton           32  40  .444  9.5    W3   4-6
Deepvale         31  43  .419 11.5    W1   6-4

League News

Not content to watch Elliott Springs and Silver Beach go toe-to-toe in another pennant race, the Lorris Greens are making it an interesting three-team battle royale atop the Bay League standings. None of the three teams are particular hot. Lorris especially has cooled down after taking over the top spot mid-month, which has allowed Gentry Hills to stand on the edge of it all and make noise about jumping in themselves.

It's hard to be sure just what the Greens are up to. Lorris was the only contender to make a trade in the month leading up to the trading deadline, and they made two curious moves in all. Early in the month, they dealt SP Carlin Bonner and a minor leaguer (2B Chris Laws) to Marsein for 3B Lamont Cadray. If you're asking "who's Lamont Cadray?", then join the legion of Greens fans that wondered how he was worth a 8-4, 3.17 ERA starter. Granted, Bonner's been shelled regularly since joining the Knights, but it doesn't change the fact that he was pitching very well for Lorris. Cadray, 27, wasn't even selected in the inaugural Bay League draft, instead signing as a free agent with the Knights. He doesn't particularly strike you as a guy you trade an established veteran starter for: including the 50 ABs he's picked up for Lorris since the trade, he has a .263/.287/.400 line in 205 Bay League at-bats.

The second trade the Greens made is a little more sensible. Lorris sent 2015 2nd round pick SP John Oliver and 2016's 4th round pick RF Monty Childress to Gentry Hills for CF Eugene Ashman. Oliver has a load of potential that he's still growing in to, but at age 26 the Greens clearly wondered if he'd ever reach it. Ashman, 26, is a solid center fielder, but may be best known for his speed (63 career SB in 83 attempts). It's not for his bat, anyway. In nearly 1000 career AB, Ashman is hitting .271/.317/.395. It remains to be seen if this will be a wise move. Oliver has the potential to be a solid #2 starter, while Ashman is one of those flashy players who looks better than he actually is.

Someone's lit a fire under a couple of underperformers. The Marsein Knights took off in July, going 13-8 to climb near the .500 mark. Some of that is due to a hot month by #2 starter Kevin Beik, who won Pitcher of the Month, and some due to a hot month by CF Travis Grawer, who hit .359/.451/.603 in July. There's still a long way to go for this to not be a completely lost season, but Knights fans have a little more to cheer about these days. You can also welcome Ace Gervin back to the ranks of the league leaders. Gervin rode a... well, Gervinesque... month (.426/.576/.809) to Batter of the Month honors and is now hitting .349/.440/.581 for the season. Too bad his Ferrymen are now the not-so-proud owners of last place in the standings.

Monthly Awards
Batter of the Month: Ace Gervin (DPV): .426/.576/.809, 5 HR, 14 RBI, 22 runs.
Pitcher of the Month: Kevin Beik (MAR): 4-0, 2.23, 4 BB, 14 K, 32.1 IP.
Rookie of the Month: Josh Perry (GEN): .338/.405/.507, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 13 runs.

League Leaders

Batting Average                Stolen Bases
M. Richardson (ESP)   .358     C. Rock (LOR)           25
T. Smith (LOR)        .356     T. Smith (LOR)          24
J. Lutz (DPV)         .349     R. Isenhour (ESP)       21
H. Gervin (DPV)       .349
                                    
OPS                            ERA
T. Smith (LOR)       1.046     J. Thompson (TIF)     2.35
A. Strong (ALL)      1.026     M. Marek (LOR)        2.75
H. Gervin (DPV)      1.021     B. Earl (GEN)         2.82
                                
Home Runs                      Wins
W. Sebring (ALL)        18     B. Earl (GEN)           14
T. Smith (LOR)          16     F. Wise (ESP)           14
A. Strong (ALL)         15     M. Marek (LOR)          12
A. Thomas (LOR)         15
     
RBI                            Strikeouts
R. Gomes (ESP)          58     M. Marek (LOR)         163
A. Strong (ALL)         56     G. Williams (MAR)      152
T. Smith (LOR)          54     K. Richardson (ALL)    147

Runs Scored                   
W. Sebring (ALL)        60
H. Gervin (DPV)         56
T. Bohm (ESP)           54
C. Rock (LOR)           54

[ifspuds]

September 1, 2018

Team              W   L   Pct   GB   Stk   L10
Elliott Springs  54  39  .581    -    L3   5-5
Lorris           51  42  .548  3.0    W3   5-5
Silver Beach     48  45  .516  6.0    L4   2-8
Marsein          46  47  .495  8.0    W6   8-2
Gentry Hills     45  48  .484  9.0    L3   3-7
Allison          44  50  .468 10.5    W2   6-4
Tifton           43  50  .462 11.0    L2   4-6
Deepvale         42  52  .447 12.5    W3   7-3

League News

Has the magic worn off in Silver Beach? Chronic overachievers, the Whales hit the skids in a serious way last month and are managed to put themselves out of the running, thanks to a miserable 6-14 record in August. It doesn't help that Elliott Springs stopped toying around, going 12-8 to put themselves into the driver's seat for another championship. Only Lorris stands between the Tornadoes and a third straight trophy, and credit to the Greens for not folding when they were 6 games out coming into the last week of August. Lorris swept a crucial 2-game set at home against the Tornadoes, when a loss in either game would have nearly ended their season. As it is, the Greens still need help from Marsein and Allison over the last five games to keep their hopes alive. Lorris gets Silver Beach for 2 and Tifton for 3, all at home.

It's looking more and more like your Top Batter for 2018 will be the Greens' standout center fielder Tega Smith. Take a look at these numbers and where they rank in the league: .352 average (2nd), .442 OBP (1st), .620 SLG (1st), 24 HR (1st), 70 RBI (2nd), 72 runs (2nd), 30 steals (1st), 43 extra-base hits (1st) and 220 total bases (1st). Smith is a major reason -- probably the major reason -- the Greens even have a shot at the title. The consensus favorite for Top Pitcher is Elliott Springs' Frankie Wise, who's not quite as dominant on the mound as Smith is at the plate, but he's still got a stranglehold on a number of pitching categories.

Some other noteworthy events as the season winds to a close:

* Riyad Gomes, last year's Top Batter, clubbed three homers in a 7-3 win over Silver Beach on August 22nd, becoming the 5th player in league history to perform the feat. Gomes drove in 6 in the game. He's not up to his 2017 standards, but a .342/.430/.541 clip is nothing to be ashamed of.

* Gentry Hills Scouts right fielder Chauncey Butler became the first Bay Leaguer to notch 6 hits in a game, going 6-6 in a 17-3 win over Deepvale on August 22nd, clearly a good day for milestones. Butler missed the cycle by a triple, singling 4 times, adding a double and a solo homer. Butler, 29, hit well in part-time duty for the Scouts in 2017 but got shipped out to new Class A affiliate Valerma to start the season. Obliterating Class A pitching (.389/.420/.600) in 21 games, he's done nothing but rake since rejoining the Scouts (.368/.399/.485 in 231 AB).

* Adding injury to insult, Deepvale starter Isaac Black, who leads the Bay League in losses with 16, tore the bicep muscle in his pitching arm against Lorris on August 18th and will miss the rest of the season.

* Marsein finally gave top prospect Matt Roy a significant callup, and he took hold of the chance with both hands. One of the most heralded five-tool prospects in the game, hitting .319/.380/.417 with a couple homers. We'll be seeing more of Roy's name in the years to come.

Monthly Awards
Batter of the Month: Tega Smith (LOR): .341/.417/.694, 8 HR, 16 RBI, 19 runs, 6 SB.
Pitcher of the Month: Raymond White (DPV): 5-1, 3.05, 9 BB, 23 K, 44.1 IP.
Rookie of the Month: Matt Roy (MAR): .319/.380/.417, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 8 runs.

League Leaders

Batting Average                Stolen Bases
M. Richardson (ESP)   .367     T. Smith (LOR)          30
T. Smith (LOR)        .352     R. Isenhour (ESP)       26
A. Thomas (LOR)       .347     C. Rock (LOR)           26
                                    
OPS                            ERA
T. Smith (LOR)       1.061     J. Thompson (TIF)     2.38
A. Thomas (LOR)       .996     T. Hall (TIF)         2.90
H. Gervin (DPV)       .993     F. Wise (ESP)         2.95
                                
Home Runs                      Wins
T. Smith (LOR)          24     F. Wise (ESP)           17
W. Sebring (ALL)        22     B. Earl (GEN)           16
A. Thomas (LOR)         20     4 Tied With             14
     
RBI                            Strikeouts
R. Gomes (ESP)          78     M. Marek (LOR)         208
T. Smith (LOR)          70     G. Williams (MAR)      198
J. Sowder (LOR)         70     B. Earl (GEN)          183

Runs Scored                   
R. Isenhour (ESP)       73
T. Smith (LOR)          72
W. Sebring (ALL)        71

[Dark Horse]

[ifspuds]

It's been a loooooooooooooong time, but I got the itch to resurrect the Outpost League the other day, so here's a new post. Hopefully a few people will still read. Look for a new season to start soon!

September 22, 2018

Team              W   L   Pct   GB   Stk   L10
Elliott Springs  57  41  .582    -    L1   4-6
Lorris           54  44  .551  3.0    W1   7-3
Silver Beach     52  46  .531  5.0    W4   5-5
Marsein          48  50  .490  9.0    W1   7-3
Tifton           46  52  .469 11.0    L1   4-6
Allison          45  53  .459 12.0    L2   5-5
Deepvale         45  53  .462 12.0    W2   7-3
Gentry Hills     45  53  .459 12.0    L8   1-9

League News

It wasn't quite the exciting finish that we've seen in the last couple seasons, but the result is the same: the Elliott Springs Tornadoes are Bay League champs for the third straight season, finishing three games in front of the Lorris Greens despite a lackluster finish. "Some people think that once you win it all, you get complacent," said standout second sacker Mike Richardson, who won his second straight batting title with a .365 average. "But not here. We like winning too much."

The Tornadoes did it just the way you're supposed to: score the most runs and allow the fewest. The offense was far and away the top in the league: first in runs (508), average (.293), on-base percentage (.361) and slugging (.448). Only Lorris hit more homers, thanks in large part to Tega Smith's 24 and Aaron Thomas's 20. The pitching staff allowed the fewest runs in the league, despite finishing 4th in ERA with a 3.82 mark.

It's hard to imagine the Tornadoes hitting the skids any time soon. They have only one regular in the starting lineup over 32 (RF Jared Brown is 36) and they boast 4 regulars 26 years old or younger, with LF Tim Bohm just 22. Another squad is going to be hard-pressed to keep Elliott Springs from winning another title next year.

Final League Leaders

Batting Average                Stolen Bases
M. Richardson (ESP)   .365     T. Smith (LOR)          33
T. Smith (LOR)        .358     C. Rock (LOR)           30
A. Thomas (LOR)       .353     R. Isenhour (ESP)       27
                                    
OPS                            ERA
T. Smith (LOR)       1.064     J. Thompson (TIF)     2.31
A. Thomas (LOR)      1.001     F. Wise (ESP)         2.90
H. Gervin (DPV)       .999     T. Curry (SIL)        3.03
                                
Home Runs                      Wins
T. Smith (LOR)          24     F. Wise (ESP)           18
W. Sebring (ALL)        22     B. Earl (GEN)           16
H. Gervin (DPV)         20     3 Tied With             15
A. Thomas (LOR)         20     
     
RBI                            Strikeouts
R. Gomes (ESP)          79     M. Marek (LOR)         220
T. Smith (LOR)          75     G. Williams (MAR)      200
J. Sowder (LOR)         73     B. Earl (GEN)          189
                               M. Hawkins (TIF)       189
Runs Scored                   
T. Smith (LOR)          79
R. Isenhour (ESP)       75
C. Rock (LOR)           75

[ifspuds]

2018 Bay League Award Winners

Top Batter


No one was particularly surprised when the votes were tallied for 2018's Top Batter Award: Lorris Greens standout left fielder Tega Smith. The 32-year old Smith has been one of the most consistent, exciting players in the league since its inception, but his 2018 season was easily his best, establishing career highs in average (.358), on-base percentage (.443) and slugging (.621), while swiping 33 bags in 39 attempts. No one in the league can boast Smith's combination of contact, power, discipline, speed and defense, and with this award, he's finally stepped out from the shadow cast by prodigious sluggers like Ace Gervin and last year's winner, Riyad Gomes.

Top Pitcher


25-year old Frankie Wise anchored the Elliott Springs rotation after the surprising trade of Greg Williams to Marsein just before the start of the season. Not bad for a guy who'd been a reliever for the majority of his 4 previous seasons. Wise picked up 15 starts in 2017, but he wasn't on anyone's radar as an ace candidate. The Tornadoes' brain trust, which has built 3 straight champions, saw something different, and put a huge load on the youngster's shoulders. It's hard to imagine him responding any better than this. Wise led the league in wins with 18 and finished 2nd in ERA (2.90).

Top Rookie


There wasn't a lot to cheer about in Gentry Hills, as the Scouts stumbled badly in the final month, losing their final 8 games to end in a 3-way tie for last place. One bright spot, however, was center fielder Josh Perry. The 21-year old Perry became the latest winner of Top Rookie honors, hitting .317/.361/.436 with 4 homers to win the award.

Top Leather Award Winners:
Pitcher: Bobby Edwards (SIL)
Catcher: LaVell Worden (MAR)
First Base: Aaron Thomas (LOR)
Second Base: Roland Harrington (GEN)
Third Base: T.J. Ridnour (MAR)
Shortstop: Robbie Isenhour (ESP)
Left Field: Tim Tebbs (DPV)
Center Field: Simon Burks (ALL)
Right Field: Jason Bratton (DPV)

[elmwood44]

[ifspuds]

We've finished five full seasons of the Bay League (and it seems like I should've finished a lot more than that). As I go through trying to get the pre-OOTP2007 version Catobase into OOTP 8, I'm planning on doing a five-year retrospective of each team, as well as the league as a whole. If there's any fans of a particular team out there (I know we've got some Allison Spelunkers faithful), please let me know, and I'll try and cover them in a bit more depth.

[Big Six]

Sweet. I'll be looking forward to reading those.

Go Spelunkers!

[ifspuds]

Allison Spelunkers
5-Season Record: 188-218 (.463)
Best Season: 51-47 (2017)
Best Finish: 4th (2017, 6.5 back)
Top Hitter: Walter Sebring (2015-2018: .290/.404/.493, 63 HR, 192 runs, 173 RBI)
Top Pitcher: Kyle Richardson (2014-2018: 45-54, 3.58 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 960 K in 973.2 IP)

We'll take our 5-year retrospective through the league in order of overall 5-season record. We begin our 5-year retrospective with the Allison Spelunkers, a team many have expected to put together a better run than they've managed so far. The major culprit appears to have been the pitching, as the team ERA has climbed every season, outpacing the increase in offense their batters have put together.

The Spelunkers play in the rough-and-tumble mining capital of Allison, in the south of the Outposts, and many have suggested that it's the environment that has kept the squad from reaching their full potential. The Spelunkers are a rowdy bunch, just like their home fans, so it's probably not much of a stretch to suggest that maybe they should carouse less and practice more.

While Walter Sebring, the #1 pick in the 2015 draft, is their top hitter, it's hard to talk about Allison offense without mentioning two other players: 3B Jeff Anderson and 2B Alton Strong. Anderson has the highest career average for the Spelunkers (.326) but doesn't have a tremendous amount of power: 9 HR in 5 seasons. Still, he's one of the few steadying forces the squad has, a quiet leader that tries -- but more often than not fails -- to keep things in order in the clubhouse. Strong is different -- a player that's expected to break out every season, but until the 2018 season, had never managed to reach his enormous potential. He's 31 years old now, and many wonder whether or not his .313/.402/.539 season is something he can continue for a few more years. Still, three quality hitters isn't enough to compete with the Elliott Springs Tornadoes of the world, not when the pitching isn't a great support.

Speaking of that pitching, Kyle Richardson has to be one of the Bay League's best examples of a million dollar arm and a ten-cent head. He's a tremendous talent, and like teammate Alton Strong, is expected to break out every season. But after posting a 3.02 ERA at age 21 in 2014, he's been getting progressively worse ever since, until a disastrous 9-16, 4.14 season in 2018 that has a lot of Spelunkers fans wondering if he's done some lasting damage to his arm. He did miss a month and a half in 2017 with bone chips in his shoulder, so it's entirely possible. Bobby Edwards was a solid #2 for the Spelunkers until he was practically given away to the Silver Beach Whales before the 2018 season for old and mediocre returns. Andre Logan has been quite serviceable, but like Richardson, suffered through an uncharacteristically poor 2018 season.

The Spelunkers need everything to fire on all cylinders to have a shot, but it seems like when one half the team is up, the other half is down. They've also made some poor trades and had bad luck with the draft, keeping their fans wondering when -- or if -- they're ever going to figure it all out.

[ifspuds]

Allison Spelunkers

Draft Recap and Organization Rundown

For each team, I'll recap their first round picks and comment on any other draftees that merit notice.

2015: 1B Walter Sebring. The first overall pick and 2015 Top Rookie. This was one the Spelunkers got right. Not that it was a tough choice. Sebring came up a month or two into his first season and hit the ground running, a classic slugger with a fantastic eye who has just now developed his full home run power. And he'll only be 22 starting the upcoming season.

2nd round pick Sam Preston has slowly climbed the organizational ladder and will start at Class A North Reach next season after a nifty 1.29 ERA (0.75 WHIP, 4.5 K/9) at Class B.

3rd round pick Eric Street might make it to the Bay League some day as a back-end bullpen guy, but for now he's closing down at the Class C city league. At 25 years old, he's running out of time.

2016: SP Chezley Harris. Oh, what could have been. The 5th overall pick, Allison had higher hopes for Harris, but it was clear early on that their scouts had mislabeled him. He spent last season at Class A North Reach, where he went 3-7 with a 4.02 ERA and didn't impress much of anyone. He's unlikely to ever contribute much to a Bay League team, though at 20 years old, there's still a remote chance he could bounce back.

2nd round pick Andre Kincade (point of trivia: the Spelunkers have three starting pitchers named Andre) is turning out to be the surprise of the 2016 draft. Called up to the Spelunkers to end the season, he didn't get into a Bay League game, but he did post a respectable 3.52 ERA in 20 starts at Class A North Reach with a 1.12 WHIP. He could prove to be a useful back-end starter.

2017: SP Russell Hawkin. One classic example of why Allison has the worst 5-year record and Elliott Springs has the best. Hawkin was dealt on draft day to the Tornadoes straight up for shortstop Adam Foreman, who was 32 years old at the time and has OPSed about .570 in 200 ABs for the Spelunkers since the deal. Meanwhile, Hawkin went 10-8 with a 1.16 ERA (0.80 WHIP, 128 K in 218 IP) for Elliott Springs' Class B city league team.

Allison did salvage something out of the draft, with 2nd round pick Carlos Figueredo, a crafty middle infielder with a bit of speed. Taking full-time 2B duties in 2018, Figueredo hit a respectable .290/.347/.372 with 4 steals in 269 AB. Exactly what you should be getting out of your lower round picks: capable players to fill gaps.

2018: SP Tyran Rowe. Maybe the Spelunkers should just stop drafting pitchers in the first round. Rowe was well-regarded coming out of the draft, and while he pitched well at Class B (6-10, 1.15 ERA, 0.87 WHIP), the scouts are worried that his ceiling is nowhere near as high as it used to be. Rowe will have to prove them wrong.

Top Prospects:
1. SP Tony Jones: Fat Tony might actually make it to the bigs after all. He just turned 25 and pitched well at Class A North Reach last season (12-8, 2.31 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 5.3 K/9). Jones is the 5th ranked prospect in the Bay League (3rd pitcher).

2. CF Nate Brennan: An undrafted free agent in 2014, the 22-year old Brennan is a free swinger with some pop. He's a natural right fielder, but he's been picking up time in center on his journey through the organization. He hit just .251/.292/.355 at Class A North Reach last season, so he's still got something to prove. 33rd overall prospect.

3. 2B/SS Carlos Figueredo: Discussed above. 37th overall prospect.

4. SP Sam Preston: Discussed above. 48th overall prospect.

5. SP Jarvis Hinton: 21-year old finesse righty. 10-8, 1.01 ERA (0.73 WHIP, 3.72 K/9) at Class B and 3-2, 3.22 ERA at Class A last season. Projects, like Preston, as a back-end starter or swingman. 49th overall prospect.

[ifspuds]

Tifton Generals
5-Season Record: 189-217 (.466)
Best Season: 46-52 (2017, 2018)
Best Finish: 5th (2018, 11.0 back)
Top Hitter: Steven Underwood (2016-2018: .342/.423/.571, 54 HR, 162 runs, 149 RBI)
Top Pitcher: Juggie Hawkins (2014-2018): 49-49, 3.70 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 1063 K in 1023.0 IP)

Even though the Allison Spelunkers have a worse overall record over the five years of the Bay League, the Tifton Generals are almost certainly the most downtrodden franchise. The Generals have never posted a winning record, and only once have they finished better than 6th place. There's muttering around the city of Tifton, home to the gateway between Earth and the Outposts and the de facto capital of the Outposts, that the team's poor fortunes are manufactured by owner and league founder John Baxter. The conspiracy theorists claim that Baxter is keeping his team down in the standings until he feels the league is secure enough, thinking that if the league founder's squad becomes dominant, it could damage the long-term future of the Bay League. Baxter has always refused to comment on the allegations, other than to laugh and say that people give him too much credit.

The Generals are supposedly rivals of the Silver Beach Whales, thanks to a long-standing feud between Tifton owner Baxter and Silver Beach owner Michael Hernandez. But if that feud has trickled down to the players, it's been a one-sided rivalry to date. Tifton is showing signs of improving, though. The trade of SP Mike Woollum (31 years old, career 3.45 ERA) to Lorris for the younger, highly talented Shawn Dawson (25 years old, 10-7, 3.59 for Tifton last year, Top Rookie in 2017) was indicative of a forward-looking philosophy that's got Tifton fans excited for the first time in franchise history. Pairing with veteran gunner Juggie Hawkins, equally exciting 25-year old Jordan Thompson (who they also received from Lorris via a 2016 trade) and former 1st round pick Ahmad Reese, the Generals look like they're going to have one of the top rotations in the league for a number of seasons. And we haven't even mentioned top prospect Darius McKie.

The issue will be with offense. While Steven Underwood is a beast and still just 20 years old, he's surrounded by capable hitters, but no stars. Renaldo Wright is a career .315 hitter with a solid eye at the plate, but like most Generals hitters outside of Underwood, he lacks power (career .411 slugging). And there's not a lot coming up through the organization in terms of bats: this is a team that's going to live or die by pitching, unless they can work some more astute trades and bring in some hitters to rival the exciting young pitchers they have.

This is a team on the rise. It wouldn't be a surprise to see Tifton finally manage that elusive winning season next year. What the conspiracy theorists will do then is anyone's guess.

[ifspuds]

Tifton Generals

Draft Recap and Organization Rundown

2015: SP Ahmad Reese. The #3 overall pick, and first pitcher selected in the '15 draft. There were questions about Reese's ability to pitch deep into games, and indeed, for a time it looked as if the Generals were converting him to a reliever, but after 26 games in the pen in 2017, the 24-year old Reese made 23 starts and went 6-10, 4.95 as a starter. He's still got a bit of work to do on his control and he's still perfecting an out pitch, but he projects as a front-line starter going forward.

3rd round pick Derion Trask might turn out to be a useful middle reliever, but he has to be wondering what else he can do to get a call up from the low-end Class C city league. He went for a 1.88 ERA in 38 IP last season.

2016: 1B Steven Underwood. One cocky SOB, and he's got a right to be: all he did in 2016 was hit .389/.475/.681 in 185 AB. He hasn't been quite that good since, but a .959 and .944 OPS in his next two seasons is nothing to sneeze at. The consensus top pick in the 2016 draft, he has hardly disappointed.

3rd round pick Charles Dye took over as the starting backstop midway through 2017, but he hasn't hit well and his defense isn't likely to carry him too far. He's only 21, so he could improve, but he'll have to start hitting better or he'll be a prime candidate for a replacement.

2017: 1B Ralph Duell. Hard to say what the Generals had in mind, drafting Duell when they had one of the top first basemen in the league already. Of course, they dealt him almost immediately to the Lorris Greens for 34-year old right fielder Justin Hunter, who OPSed .650 for the Generals. This was one whole sordid story the Generals probably wish they could erase entirely.

Two other picks in that draft, SP Maurice Cox and CF Connor Spears have seen time in the Bay League, and Cox could spend some time at the back of the Generals rotation next season. Spears is nothing special, a decent defensive outfielder with some speed but no smarts on the basepaths. Still, getting anything out of a 3rd round pick is a bonus.

2018: SP Darius McKie. Now this is one talented right-hander. Here's a kid who allowed opponents to hit a miniscule .150 splitting time between Class B and Class C. At age 23, you might think he's too advanced for the league, and you might be right. A lot of Generals fans expected to see him called up to Class A Haystack, but Tifton's keeping him in the city leagues for now. Overall, McKie went 9-3, 0.62 (0.67 WHIP, 91 K, 130 IP) at Class C, 5-5, 1.61 (0.84 WHIP, 48 K, 98.1 IP) and Class B.

Top Prospects:
1. SP Darius McKie: Discussed above. 9th overall prospect.

2. SP Mike Hughes: A soft-tossing lefty, Hughes is deceptive and careful, but relies on excellent control to keep him in games. 2nd round pick in the '18 draft, went 9-12, 1.88 (0.89 WHIP, 58 K in 219.2 IP) at Class C. 18 years old. 15th overall prospect.

3. SP Cleveland Kelly: The 22 year old pitched well in Class C, 9-7, 1.21 (0.81 WHIP, 73 K in 185.2 IP). He's a jack of all trades but master of none, but he throws hard and a lefty with a 95-mph fastball's a reasonable commodity. 25th overall prospect.

4. SP Maurice Cox: Discussed above. 29th overall prospect.

5. C Charles Dye: Discussed above. 44th overall prospect.