BNN Weekly Report
This Week in the BMU
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
28 May 2300
News Around the League
23 May - 20-Game Hitting Streak for Covert: Nobody has been able to shut down Haymarket Mall Commandos left fielder Kevin Covert in recent days. The Fiddler's Green T-60s fared no better than the rest.
Today at The Trailer Yard, Covert picked up 1 hit in 5 at-bats en route to a 7-4 Commandos victory. It stretched his hitting string to 20 consecutive games.
Kevin Covert grounded out in the 1st, singled in the 3rd, grounded out in the 5th, struck out in the 6th and flied out in the 8th.
This season Covert is batting .423 with 4 home runs. His totals include 20 RBIs and 17 runs scored.
Players of the Week
Star of the Week Picked in CA: His hard work and hustle paid off this week. The hard-working and hard-playing Joe Provisioner was rewarded with the Commonwealth Association Player of the Week honors.
The scrappy Outpost Zimonja Strongbacks first baseman hit .538 while collecting 7 hits in 13 at-bats, 3 home runs and 4 RBIs.
This season Provisioner is batting .299 with 15 RBIs, 18 runs scored and 7 home runs.
Sandifer Nabs MA Weekly Award: So far in his young career, Michaelangelo Sandifer has kept a low profile, but after his performance at the plate last week, he attracted the notice of the rest of the Massachusetts Association in a big way as he was named the Player of the Week today for his efforts.
The 22-year-old Somerville Place Sentry Bots left fielder hit at a torrid .700 clip as he collected 7 hits in 10 at-bats, 2 home runs, 7 RBIs and 6 runs scored.
For the season Sandifer is hitting .372, batted in 22 runs with 7 home runs and 24 runs scored.
Prospect Spotlight
Ready Freddy: 3 Players Ready to Move Up to the CBO
This week we are focusing on three players we think are ready to make the move up to their CBO team based on ability, potential, and need by the CBO club. This is not necessarily those who lead in statistics.
For example, Boston Common's Dusty Brownell is an overwhelming favorite to win the Medford Memorial Hitter Award in the Massachusetts Association. However, the first baseman is better staying where he is because University Point already has one the best first basemen in Barker Cocoa. That could mean Brownell is good trade bait for the Deathclaws to offer when they are making a playoff push, but he is not ready to move up because of no need by the Claws.
Likewise, #2 prospect, CF Maxx Murtagh of Greentop Nursery (Nordhagen Beach) is definitely CBO ready, but who would he replace for the Party Boys? Ryan Combs (.354/2/13)? Jonathan Angelou (.303/8/21)? Michael Fogcrawler (.264/7/27)? Our answer is no one. Let him blow up as a must-have CBO player later, or trade him for help elsewhere, like shortstop. For the Boys, they would do best keeping Murtagh right where he is.
Without further ado, here are three players we at BNN think are ready to move up:
#6 Prospect - SP Nuke Laloosh, Forest Grove Pugilists (Roxbury) - 6 GS, 4-1, 2.85, 41.0 IP, 38 HA, 13 ER, 15 BB, 18 K
Analysis: Let's not kid ourselves. The 1st-overall pick in the 2299 Rookie Draft is ready for the CBO NOW! Laloosh is continuing the dominance he showed in the Boston Youth Development League last year when he had a 0.29 ERA. He is not as good as that in the BMU, but he is still dominating. Today, he would be the Rad Sox 2nd-best starter behind Beachboy Nut (5-3, 2.69), also a former #1 overall draft pick. The other three starters--Jack Arasmith (2-6, 5.60), Tyler Shuster (0-5, 6.57), and Jake Jennings (2-3, 5.96)--do not hold a glove to Laloosh. We're not sure why GM Honeycomb Halcomb has not called Laloosh up, but it should have been done 2 or 3 weeks ago.
#18 Prospect - LF Michaelangelo Sandifer, Somerville Place Sentry Bots (Egret) - 29/78 (.372), 2 2B, 7 HR, 24 R, 22 RBI, 22 BB, 10 SO
Analysis: Fresh off the Massachusetts Association Player of the Week Award, Sandifer has been hot all season. Egret decided to call up the #14 prospect, Bat Savelli, this season, but Savelli is struggling in his rookie campaign, hitting .254 as the leadoff hitter and holding on to a -0.2 WAR. Sandifer could be the player to replace Savelli, allowing the former 14th-overall pick to gain a little more pitch recognition back with the Sentry Bots.
#40 Prospect - LF Gargoyle Falcone, CIT Ruins Refractors (Fort Hagen) - 35/94 (.372), 3 2B, 3B, HR, 15 R, 20 RBI, 19 BB, 12 SO, 2 SB
Analysis: The 16th-overall pick of the 2298 Rookie Draft, Falcone has shown himself so far in 2300 to be a CBO-ready hitter. His extra-base hits are not tremendous right now, but he has a great OBP (.474, 3rd in CA) and seldom strikes out. He would replace, drumroll please, the Shroud's David Driftwood (.214/10/29) in the lineup. Driftwood is a great power hitter, but his batting average is falling each year, while his strikeouts hover around one a game. He has been a bust in Fort Hagen, and it is time for the team to move on with new blood.
Weekly Team Power Rankings
Weekly Team Power Rankings: Here are the current team power rankings for Boston Minor Union:
Teams (Total Points, Tendency):
1) Haymarket Mall Commandos (133.5, ++)
2) Fiddler's Green T-60s (119.0, -)
3) Boston Common Lead Bellies (112.5, o)
4) College Square Nerd Ragers (110.5, o)
5) Outpost Zimonja Strongbacks (110.0, ++)
6) Union Hope Lifegivers (108.0, +)
7) Greentop Nursery Night People (104.0, --)
8) Natick Banks Big Leaguers (101.5, +)
9) Somerville Place Sentry Bots (99.5, ++)
10) Charles View Cannibals (98.5, --)
11) Malden Grognaks (98.5, +)
12) Bunker Hill Gun Fu (98.0, ++)
13) Cabot House Rayguns (96.5, -)
14) Breakheart Banks Behemoths (94.0, -)
15) Galleria Robotics Experts (93.5, --)
16) Forest Grove Pugilists (89.0, o)
17) Taffington Boathouse Spy Hunters (89.0, --)
18) Corvega Flamers (72.0, o)
19) Vault 95 Robobrains (68.5, o)
20) Postal Square Action Boys (58.0, +)
21) Trinity Plaza Snipers (57.0, +)
22) Mystic Pines Raybathers (52.5, +)
23) C.I.T. Ruins Refractors (50.0, --)
24) Eastlake Aquaboys (47.5, o)
Stats and Standings