BNN Report
News from the CBO, MML, BMU, GBRL, and Youth Leagues
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
3 June 2307
The June Super Post, Part 1
CBO Players of the Month
NCA Hitter - Lannie Tykeson battered North Charles Association pitchers all May and wound up taking home the Batter of the Month Award.
"I've been around Commonwealth Baseball Organization long enough to know you really have to work hard day in and day out to be able to put up this kind of consistency," the 29-year-old Tykeson told reporters. "I put in a lot of work, even on the days I might not take the field, and it's always nice when everything comes together for me like it did this last month."
In 22 games, Tykeson hit .341 with 9 home runs, 25 RBIs and scored 16 runs.
Tykeson is hitting at a .341 mark this season. His stats show 18 home runs, 44 RBIs and 36 runs scored. He has played 45 games for the Assaultrons.
SCA Hitter - The South Charles Association has selected its Hitter of the Month for May and the honor went to Barker Cocoa, University Point's fine first baseman.
Cocoa was selected after batting .410, hitting 9 home runs, scoring 22 runs and driving in 32.
This season Cocoa has hit at a .394 clip and produced 60 runs batted in, 20 home runs and 45 runs.
NCA Pitcher - In May when the Bunker Hill manager wrote the name "Tonelli" on the lineup card, he knew he had a good shot at winning. Start after start in the month, Jason Tonelli took the hill, took charge and usually got the win.
He dominated with a 4-1 mark and 1.65 ERA in 6 starts. The gifted 75ers star pitched 49 innings, fanned 55 and held opposing teams to a .173 average.
For his outstanding mound performance Tonelli was named the NCA Pitcher of the Month by the baseball writers.
In 11 starts this season, Tonelli has picked up 6 wins while suffering 3 losses. He has pitched 87 innings, allowed 62 hits, struck out 107 and posted a 2.59 ERA.
SCA Pitcher - Andy Helium was the #1 pitcher in May according to the voters. He completely shut down opposing teams to win the South Charles Association Pitcher of the Month Award.
Roxbury's star reliever held the opposition to a .094 average and put up 9 saves and 12 strikeouts in 16.1 innings with a 2-1 mark and a 1.65 ERA.
Looking at his pitching stats this season, Helium has made 29 relief appearances, pitched 29.2 innings and fashioned a 2-3 record with a 1.21 ERA. He has recorded 19 saves, struck out 27 and allowed opposing clubs to hit .229 when he is on the hill.
NCA Rookie - Youngster Plain Morris emerged as the latest North Charles Association Rookie of the Month today. The young man from The Slog deserved the honor, batting .296 with 9 home runs and 14 runs batted in. Is the month of May a harbinger of things to come or just a fluke? We'll find out someday, but for now, we'll just let Morris enjoy the limelight.
This season Morris is hitting at a .233 pace with 9 home runs, 23 RBIs and has scored 22 times.
SCA Rookie - Sum Downie is still a bit shy, but then, who could blame the newest South Charles Association Rookie of the Month honoree? He hasn't been around the league long enough to fully know the ropes yet, despite the fact that he's putting up veteran-like numbers.
In May the Roxbury hitter tagged opposing pitching for a .436 average with 24 hits, 5 home runs and 14 RBIs.
This season Downie has hit at a .322 clip with 26 RBIs, 9 home runs and 27 runs scored. He has played in 42 games.
CBO Rookie Watch: CF Missile Crews, Goodneighbor
It may not be ideal for a rookie to go from the youth leagues straight to the CBO, but that is exactly what Goodneighbor decided to do when they drafted CF Missile Crews out of West Quincy of the BYDL.
In his four-year youth career with the Atomatoys, Crews hit .379 with 107 home runs and 281 RBI. He scored 298 times and stole 79 bases. His 19.34 career WAR is the best all-time in the BYDL. In other rankings, his OBP (.470) is 9th, OPS (.1.209) is 8th, SLG (.739) is 9th, total bases (785) is 4th, homers is 4th, RBI is tied for 5th, stolen bases is tied for 3rd, and times walked (180) is 9th.
Those are pretty good numbers, but they do not exactly translate to Crews being CBO-ready. However, that did not stop the Hancocks' new scouting director Clawhammer Zimmerman, hired midseason last year, from hyping him. Manager Nick Pennington and hitting coach Holger Fleming both agreed, playing Crews a lot in the Nuka Cup Tournament and then deciding in Spring Training that he may be their best player. That put Crews as the opening day starter in CF batting 3rd in the lineup.
And how has Crews awarded those decisions to play him early? A probable all-star appearance and likely top rookie award. Crews is batting .344 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI, all well on the way to leading the team. He is 12th in the CBO in batting average, tied for 10th with 62 hits, 13th with a .427 OBP, 18th with a .606 SLG, 4th in WAR at 3.1, and tied for 10th with seven stolen bases. One bad statistic common for young players is that he is 3rd with 51 strikeouts.
OSA scouts love him. One OSA scout said that he expects him to surpass great CBO center fielders like Ben Pawlak and Aesed Hayjen by 2308.
"He's elite," the scout said. "I'd put him right up there with (Nuke) Laloosh and (Diamond) Ball as the best ever #1 picks. In the end, I expect him to be the best."
CBO Statistics