Halfway into the 2056 simulated season, the landscape of the Professional Baseball Experience Minor League (MiLPBE) has evolved almost exactly as the Chicago Kingpins expected it would.
Having posted an impressive 33-22 (.600 winning percentage) record heading into the All Star break, the Kingpins stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the State College Swift Steeds (34-21; .618 winning percentage) as the current class of the league. Only the Florida Flamingos (29-26; .527 winning percentage) and the defending champion Kansas City Hepcats (28-27; .509) join them above the .500 mark.
“With the Hepcats heading into a rebuild, we knew at the start of the season that barring a few holes in our team that would need to be filled, this team would be able to continue competing just like it has been for the past few seasons,” said Chicago co-General Manager pauadrian.”
There is hope in the Kingpins locker room that the team will continue to pick up even more steam as the season rounds into its second half, with hopes of overtaking State College. Doing so would provide a particular sense of Schadenfreude, as the Swift Steeds have been a constant obstacle to Chicago’s championship aspirations the last few seasons.
In the 2054 season, it was the upstart version of this State College squad that upset the Kingpins in the Minor League World Series. Last season, the Swift Steeds came from behind in the East Division race to not just surpass Chicago in the standings by midseason, but to boat race them by 10 games by season’s end. Division winners earn first-round byes in the MiLPBE postseason. By failing to get the bye, the Kingpins were forced to square off against the Louisville Lemurs in the first round of the 2055 MiLPBE postseason, where they were summarily swept and sent home for the winter.
Chicago believes that 2056 is shaping up to be an about face from 2055. Instead of faltering through the summer, the Kingpins appear to be getting stronger as this simulated season marches on. They opened the campaign posting a mere 3-6 record in April, which caused anxious rumblings among Chicago faithful. But the club rebounded with nine consecutive wins to start the May, ultimately going 19-5 for the month as a whole. June was not been as hot – Chicago went 11-11 – but it would be unreasonable to expect the team to maintain its torrid May pace.
No MiLPBE team has a winning record against the Kingpins at this point in the season.
Twelve of Chicago’s remaining 18 series this season are against teams below .500. Comparatively, State College will have seven more series against teams with winning records, so based on strength of schedule there may be reason to believe the Kingpins can surmount the current single game differential in the East Division standings.
“Our biggest strength I feel is our pitching,” pauadrian said. “We’ve got a few active pitchers and as long as they can get some run support, we could make another run and have another go in the playoffs.”
At the midsummer break, Chicago ranks first among MiLPBE in starter’s ERA (3.85), runs allowed (223) and opponents batting average (.268). Kingpins pitchers have given up the fewest home runs in the league (40), the second-fewest walks (182) and the second-most strikeouts (328).
The staff has been led by second-year starter Casey Shaffer. The left-hander has posted a 3.26 ERA through 58 innings. Rookie Ruggsy Witdaheelys, a first-round pick in the S41 draft, is also 4-2 with a 3.23 ERA through 61.1 innings. Both starters have been named to the All-Star Game, along with second-year reliever Julian McMorris Jr., who is 2-1 with a 1.97 ERA out of the bullpen.
The pitching production has been an incredible boon for a staff that lost its ace, James Daly, who was promoted to the major leagues in the offseason.
Hitting has been more of a mixed bag, which has come as no real surprise to the front office.
“I was a little worried about the roster at the start of the season,” admitted pauadrian. “We lost a few players, and some, like Luigi [Lanikai], that were unexpected.”
As the team’s power-hitting first baseman, Lanikai had been the lynch pin to the Kingpins’ offensive attack the last two seasons. But he too received a call up to the majors this offseason, leaving a slugging deficiency that Chicago has not yet fully solved.
The Kingpins rank in the top third in batting average (.296), second in on-base percentage (.368) but only seventh in slugging percentage (.393). They are tied for eighth with just 100 extra-base hits through 55 games, and rank ninth out of ten teams with just 43 total home runs. Despite that lack of power, Chicago has scored the third most runs of any team this season, thanks in large part to the lineup’s ability to hit for average and to discern strike from ball. The club boasts the most walks (231) and fewest strikeouts (290) in the league.
Losing Lanikai was an immediate blow to the organization’s offensive confidence, but the front office believes it has picked up quality players through the draft and just acquired another through waivers.
Rookie first baseman Pedro Blanco, a second-round selection in the S41 player draft, has hit .319 with eight home runs and 38 RBIs, earning a selection to the MiLPBE All Star Game. Theo Allard, the club’s rookie second baseman, has hit .281 through the first 55 games. The team added another infielder, Kent Murphy II, through waivers who it thinks will make a significant impact during the season’s stretch run. Murphy has only been with the team long enough to play in seven games so far.
Major improvements by returning offensive players have also helped lift. Catcher Santiago Benito has been the biggest contributor, slashing .350/.420/.462 with a 142 wRC+ and a 2.8 WAR. Center fielder Bartholomew brown is slashing .345/.426/.438 with 22 stolen bases, a 141 wRC+ and a 2.3 WAR. Both have been named to the All-Start Game as well, as has outfielder Nate Brittles, who has added a 135 wRC+ and a 1.9 WAR of his own.
If the offense continues to grow, the sky may be the limit for this Kingpins team.
The Kingpins have made the postseason in 16 of its 22 seasons in the MiLPBE. Despite that level of consistency, the organization so far has only been able to capture one World Series crown. Though scarred by perceived consistently poor simulation results in the postseason, the front office maintains a sense of cautious optimism about the outlook for the remainder of the 2056 campaign.
“I’m hoping that this can finally be the season Chicago can win a World Series again,” pauadrian said.