Notes on the All-Braeland Team:
It wasn’t a particularly strong season for 3B; but selecting the top shortstop was quite challenging.
The top three position players right now in the ULB are all shortstops, namely:
1) Gary Watkinson – Sherburn - .344/.446/.466, 8 HR, 71 RBI, 124 R, 102 BB, 39 SB, 7.8 WAR;
2) Okura Ito – Kingston - .333/.378/.557, 29 HR, 103 RBI, 126 R, 44 BB, 8.2 WAR;
3) Katsunan Chikafuji – Queensland - .317/.374/.538, 29 HR, 100 RBI, 105 R, 59 BB, 7 SB, 7.2 WAR.
Ito definitely benefited from the teammates surrounding him in collecting his stats. Having Fergus Chitty batting behind you certainly doesn’t hurt.
Watkinson, the batting champion in the WL, led the entire ULB in batting average and stolen bases.
Ito, on the other hand, led the ULB in WAR, hits (216) and total bases (361).
Both players were fairly similar on defense (Chikafuji was the strongest of the three in that department).
Ultimately, I went with Ito, but it was a toss-up for me.