BNN Weekly Report
This Week in the CBO, MML BMU, GBRL, and Youth Leagues
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
25 June 2306
CBO Analysis
We are now at the halfway point of the season, so let's look at all of the good and the bad of what has happened in the first 60 games of the 2306 season. Twelve total teams are above .500 and 12 more are below .500, showing that there is a scaffold of tiers currently. For the NCA, 7 of those 12 teams above .500 reside there with five of them in the Brotherhood League. In the SCA, we have just five teams above .500, and those appear to be the five we will see in the 2306 postseason.
For the Top 5, guess who is at the top. If you guessed Roxbury, you would be right. The Rad Sox have been the hottest team in June, going 14-4 so far, along with a five-game winning streak and an 8-2 stretch in their last 10. The Sox split with University Point (#5), won two at Diamond City (#22), swept the Gunners (#18), and then swept Vault 81 (#9) to take a five-game lead in the Railroad League.
The team still possesses the CBO's best record, Easy Town is #2 with a 6-4 record in their last 10. The Assaultrons were swept by Sunshine Tidings (#3), won two over Salem (#12), split with Fort Hagen (#16), and then swept County Crossing (#7) on the road to stretch their Brotherhood League lead to four games.
As mentioned above, the Chemists are #3. Sunshine Tidings swept the Trons, swept Starlight (#8), got swept by the Bloodbiugs, and lost two of three at Bunker Hill (#21).
Leading the Minutemen League by a game, Jamaica Plain is #4. The Red Rockets swept the Swatters, swept Goodneighbor (#24), split at Egret (#13), and then won two of three at Spectacle Island (#6) to take hold of the ML.
University Point rounds out the Top 5 despite being behind the Reapers. The Deathclaws split at the Sox, got swept by Atom (#17), swept FHE (#19), and then swept the Cats to close this period with a five-game winning streak.
Brotherhood League
Halfway through the season, the BL appears to both be the best league and the one we are starting to think that the current standings will be the final standings with Easy Town, County Crossing, and Nordhagen Beach all in the playoffs while Salem and Finch Farm sulk in their near success.
Best player: 1B/SP Lannie Tykeson, Easy Town - We intended to list the best hitter and pitcher of each league, but Tykeson is the best overall and would win the MVP annually if there were such an award. Tykeson is 3rd in average (.352), 7th in home runs (20), and 5th in RBI (58) in the NCA. On the mound, he is 9-1 with a 3.90 in 115.1 innings pitched. His pitching numbers are not going to win him the Vim! Pitcher Award, but they are respectable all around.
Best hitter: 1B John Windman, The Slog - Windman has burst onto the scene in his third full season in the CBO. A 1st-round pick in the 2300 Rookie Draft by University Point, Windman mostly worked his way up the ladder within the Ghouls' farm system, getting called up at the beginning of 2304. he is currently batting .351 with 24 home runs and 60 RBI. Windman leads the NCA in OBP (.470), SLG (.797), OPS (1.267), WAR (4.5), ISO (.446), OPS+ (210), WPA (5.70), and wOBA (.509).
Best pitcher: SP Gavin Eviritts, County Crossing - Eviritts is one win from his seventh-straight double wins season. At 9-2 with a 3.22 ERA, Eviritts is tied for the NCA lead in complete games (4) and shutouts (2).
Institute League
Sunshine Tidings and Starlight still hold large leads over the rest of the IL despite the Killers' miserable 3-7 mark in their last 10. Concord and Fort Hagen can still be considered pretenders in the playoff race, though we could see both the Killers and the BL teams expanding their leads.
Best hitter: RF Baktu DaWell, Sunshine Tidings - The former 2nd overall pick in the 2300 Rookie Draft, DaWell remembers being disrespected as a boom or bust prospect. Well, he went the way of the boom and is now enjoying a great season, batting .339 with 27 home runs and 67 RBI. While he does not lead any category in hitting, DaWell is close, 2nd behind only the Bloodbugs' Zeldolph Violet in homers and RBI and 3rd in WAR.
Best pitcher: SP Alex Alexson, Starlight - The signing of Digger Vadim was meant to be as the best pitcher in the NCA, but Alexson is competing with his own teammate for that status. Alexson is 1st in the NCA in ERA (2.48), wins (9), WAR (3.5), FIP (3.11), ERA+ (186), rWAR (4.4), Opp. Avg. (.219), and quality starts (13).
Minutemen League
It seems that any of the top three teams could win this league, with the last hottest team likely to take it. This league is the tightest among the top three with a 1.5-game difference, whereas every other league features at least a three-game lead from 1st to 2nd.
Best hitter: 1B Barker Cocoa, University Point - Cocoa is seeking his fourth-straight Nuka Hitter Award and he is well on his way. Cocoa leads the SCA in average (.378), OBP (.537), OPS (1.288), WAR (5.0), BB (75), OPS+ (224), wOBA (.514). He already holds the single-season records for OBP, OPS, walks, and WAR, and he could be on pace to break all four in 2306.
Best pitcher: SP Glenn Patnode, Quincy - This was a tough one to pick since none of the most outstanding pitchers from the SCA in 2306 are in the ML. Patnode has been the victim of terrible run support, making his overall numbers not look as good as he has been. For example, Patnode is 5-6 but is tied in the SCA with 12 quality starts. he does not lead any other categories, but he is also 2nd in WAR (3.3) and 6th in ERA (3.49).
Railroad League
Roxbury has taken control and will probably run away with the top seed yet again with all the jostling happening in the ML. While we have our doubts about the long-term success of Vault 81, we do not see another team breaking out enough to overtake them. Diamond City is fading away and could see themselves drafting near the top of the 2306 Rookie Draft.
Best hitter: CF Ben Pawlak, Roxbury - The former Fort Hagen star is now helping his new team toward the top. Pawlak leads the SCA in RBI (76), hits (94), doubles (26), and extra-base hits (49).
Best pitcher: SP Ronnie Messenger, Oberland - If the season were to end today, we would predict Messenger to take the Vim! Pitcher Award with other good pitchers like SP Nuke Laloosh and SP Exxie Summerset right on his heels. Messenger leads the SCA in ERA (2.08), shutouts (3), ERA+ (226), rWAR (5.6), BABIP (.222), Opp. Avg. (.208), and QS (12).
CBO Standings
CBO Power Rankings
CBO Players of the Week
June 18 - Taygun Topaloglu went on a week-long hitting spree against North Charles Association pitchers and captured the Player of the Week honors.
The County Crossing third baseman battered the opposition for 13 hits, no home runs, 4 runs batted in and scored 4 runs. He hit .500 and posted a .500 on-base percentage.
Thus far this season Topaloglu is hitting .326 with 8 home runs, 33 RBIs and 54 runs scored. He has 79 hits in 242 at-bats and has played in 57 games.
Murray Bunts of the Diamond City Swatters has just enjoyed one of the better weeks of his career. That fact was not lost on South Charles Association officials, who named him Player of the Week.
Bunts logged a .550 batting average for the Diamond City Swatters, racking up 7 RBIs and 4 home runs.
Bunts has collected 59 hits for the Swatters this year, 20 of them home runs. He has also netted 42 RBIs and scored 35 runs while batting .309.
June 25 - One of the league's most exciting young players, Orcin Cardinal of the Finch Farm Four Leafs earned himself North Charles Association Player of the Week honors with a standout performance in last week's games.
For the week the 24-year-old right fielder had a lofty .476 average (10-for-21), collecting 5 home runs, 13 RBIs and 6 runs scored.
This year Cardinal has socked 77 hits in 238 at-bats for a .324 average with 20 home runs. He is getting on base at a .378 pace and his totals also include 50 RBIs and 38 runs scored.
Diamond Ball has the tools to stick in this league for many years. The 22-year-old second baseman of the Spectacle Island Reapers had a hot bat in the South Charles Association over the past seven days and won the Player of the Week honors.
Ball batted .474 with 9 hits in 19 at-bats, 4 home runs and 8 RBIs.
Posting a .357 batting average to date, Ball has 32 home runs and 64 RBIs.
CBO Transactions
Monday, June 25th , 2306
Quincy Gunners: Activated 2B Robbie Adams from the restricted list.
Spectacle Island Reapers: Activated SP Corey Ware from the restricted list.
Sunday, June 24th , 2306
Bunker Hill 75ers: Placed SP David Coocoo on the restricted list.
Sunshine Tidings Chemists: Placed SP Mike Rubric on the restricted list.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Activated RF Deerlord Fugivmee from the injured list.
Oberland T-51s: Placed SP Ben Rodgers on the 60-day injured list.
Saturday, June 23rd , 2306
University Point Deathclaws: Placed 3B Bobb County on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/22/2306.
County Crossing Bloodbugs: Activated RP Jesse Bibeault from the injured list.
Wednesday, June 20th , 2306
Concord Radstags: Placed SP John Oldsink on the 60-day injured list.
Tuesday, June 19th , 2306
The Slog Ghouls: Activated SP Mike Cartrette from the injured list.
The Slog Ghouls: Sent SP Mike Cartrette to Triple A Burlington for injury rehab.
Egret Ninjas: Signed 2B Gil Admiral.
Easy Town Assaultrons: Signed RP Rugor Nass.
Monday, June 18th , 2306
FHE Yao Guai: Activated SP Max Thunderdome from the restricted list.
Quincy Gunners: Placed 2B Robbie Adams on the restricted list.
Spectacle Island Reapers: Placed SP Corey Ware on the restricted list.
Easy Town Assaultrons: Signed RP Jonas Laststand.
Egret Ninjas: Signed 2B Justin Veronicason.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Signed free agent 3B Flat Tire Granillo to a minor league contract.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Released RF Roger Darn.
Sunday, June 17th , 2306
FHE Yao Guai: Released LF Flat Tire Granillo.
Roxbury Rad Sox: Placed RF Deerlord Fugivmee on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/16/2306.
Egret Ninjas: Signed 3B Tony Killplenty.
Easy Town Assaultrons: Signed RP Nuvo Vindi.
Saturday, June 16th , 2306
Starlight Killers: Activated RF Jarrett Metalbox from the injured list.
Starlight Killers: Sent RF Jarrett Metalbox to Triple A Warwick for injury rehab.
Quincy Gunners: Placed RF Baywatch Fischler on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/15/2306.
Easy Town Assaultrons: Signed RP Roos Tarpais.
Friday, June 15th , 2306
Nordhagen Beach Party Boys: Placed 3B Burtie Cuttooth on the 7-day injured list, retroactive to 06/13/2306.
Oberland T-51s: CL Devon Museum becomes a free-agent.
Thursday, June 14th , 2306
The Grand Hotel Atoms traded 24-year old minor league 3B Justin Carman and 18-year old minor league LHP Hoodoo Loulou to the Nordhagen Beach Party Boys, getting 25-year old minor league RF Last Owens in return.
Tuesday, June 12th , 2306
The Diamond City Swatters traded 34-year old LF Ginger Rogers to the Jamaica Plain Red Rockets, getting 18-year old minor league LF Noah Boatman and a 6th round draft pick in return.