BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, BCAC, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
12 July 2310
CYL Playoffs
It was all about winning for the Hester Mechanists -- and win they did.
There was nothing fancy in how they went about it, players said, they just prepared mentally and physically and then went out and played baseball.
"We did the little things right and we did the big things right," said first baseman Freenow Sullivan, who was named series MVP. "Now we're the league champions."
Hester, the #6 seed from the NR, defeated the West Quincy Atomatoys, the #8 seed from the SR, by a score of 5-2 at Atomatoys Factory Park to take the series 3-2.
"Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you make your own luck," said Hester manager Want Moreno. "We got lucky a few times, but mostly we did the right things by being prepared for each game and playing the game the way it's meant to be played."
Hester defeated #11 Worcester 2-0, #3 Marlborough 2-1, #2 Woburn 2-1, and #1 South Charles Bank 2-1 in the NR playoffs. West Quincy defeated #9 Sandwich 2-1, #1 Andrew Station 2-0, #5 Brown 2-1, and #3 Nauset Beach 2-1 in the SR playoffs.
MVP: 1B Freenow Sullivan, Sr, Hester
Freenow Sullivan may not be a top prospect in the 2310 CBO Draft, but the senior had a major-league impact on his team in the Commonwealth Youth Series.
Named MVP of the Series, Sullivan was 8 of 20 (.400) with two doubles, a home run, a walk, two runs, and four RBI. He was 2 for 5 with an RBI in Game 1; 1 for 3 with a walk in Game 2; 0 for 4 in Game 3; 3 for 4 with a double, a home run, two runs, and two RBI in Game 4; and 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI in Game 5.
In his four years with the Mechanists, Sullivan batted .316 in 245 games wit 138 starts with 30 home runs and 102 RBI. He hit a career-high 17 home runs and had a career-high 54 RBI this season.
The Buzz Around McDonald
Hester's junior right-hander SP Buzzcut McDonald may not have been named the Series MVP, but scouts got a glimpse of how good he can be.
In two starts in the Commonwealth Youth Series, McDonald was 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in 16.0 innings pitched. He allowed 11 hits and five earned runs, walked three batters, and struck out 13.
Scouts see McDonald as one of the top pitchers in the 2311 Draft. He is expected to go anywhere from the early to mid-1st round once he completes his youth career, assuming there are no setbacks or injuries to stunt his development.
At the same time, scouts do not consider him to be in contention for the #1 overall pick unless he makes significant progress in the next 12 months. Scouts have cited "generational" talent at pitcher to warrant choosing one over a positional player with the #1 pick. Two of the #1 overall picks who have proved that talent are Nordhagen Beach's Beachboy Nut (#1 in 2296) and Roxbury's Nuke Laloosh (#1 in 2299). Two other players taken as #1 overall pitchers are Sunshine Tiding's Eugene Gym (#1 in 2298) and Goodneighbor's Clubhouse Treelover (#1 in 2307). Gym has been a good starter in the CBO but not generational, while the jury is still out for Treelover (6-8, 4.06), who is in his first season as a full-time starter.
CBO Playoff Tree
