BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
25 January 2312
2312 vs 2315 Power Rankings Expectations
This offseason, we decided to take a deep dive to see where we think teams stand based on current OSA scouting reports and where teams may go. We understand that nothing is static, but it is a fun look at where we think teams will finish based on positional rankings of starters and within an organization, as well as how well we think teams will develop their minor leaguers in the next three years.
Current Power Rankings
Playoff Seeds in 2312 Based on Those Rankings
NCA
1. Nordhagen Beach
2. Starlight
3. County Crossing
4. Bunker Hill
5. Salem
6. Fort Hagen
SCA
1. University Point
2. Oberland
3. Vault 81
4. Roxbury
5. Egret
6. Spectacle Island
Why will Nahant fall from #2 to out of the playoffs?
Nahant is a talented team, but the #2 seed was probably the Celtics’ best chance to make a Sole Survivor Series in the next few years. There are a few position groups that are leading to the demise. First of all, age is a factor in two key positions: SS and C. While they have former greats in SS Jake Doucette and C Stuart Costantino, both players should be support players at this point in their careers instead of the starters. The Celtics also have one of the worst bullpens in the CBO entering the 2312 season, with the hopes that moving Nervous Patron (10-8, 5.05 in 29 starts) to the bullpen will help him and the team. The closer in 2311, Rob Hoode (41 SV, 3.41) is also hoped to be a decent pitcher out of the bullpen, but no one else steps up.
Why will County Crossing be the second-best team after missing the playoffs?
County Crossing’s pitching failed them in 2311. With the top-scoring offense, they were outscored in 2311 (700-714). With all four starters over 30 as well as the entire bullpen, who is to say the team’s pitching will recover? Well, we will. If there is any improvement at all, the Bloodbugs will win more shootouts than they lose. The offense is still stacked with the likes of RF Babs Rooth, 1B Zeldolph Violet, SS Cy Thompson, and 3B Plain Morris. The Bugs also have some emerging talent in the OF with Bumpy Redfern and Gremlin T. Squearfish ready to steal time from Kurt Kilgore and Any Why.
Does the SCA look pretty much the same?
Pretty much. University Point is again supposed to be #1 team, and Roxbury is probably still in the running for the championship. The only playoff change we see right now is Spectacle Island leapfrogging FHE at the bottom of the SCA playoffs standings. Also, we expect Oberland to move up in the standings from #6 last season to #2. The T-51s are loaded throughout most of their team with the only unit perhaps being weak being the OF. That’s because LF Wayne Lacy is starting to show his age (33) and LF/SP Zaire Inquisitor needing to rest often. Oberland may want to obtain the services of another young, versatile OF to help the championship run.
2315 Outlook
Now, want to have an exercise in futility? Try predicting what the CBO will look like in three years. Yes, there will be some semblance of accuracy for teams with lots of prospects competing for just a few spots. We know there will be teams with aging stars who will need to begin reloading to be competitive within the next few years. We also know that some of those teams are going to be too willing to give up prime prospects with hopes that they can win sooner rather than later.
With that stated, let’s rank the teams as to where we think they will be in 2315 based on their current talent along with the up-and-coming talent in their farm systems.
Egret and Easy Town are the two teams we expect to stand above the others. Egret? Weren’t they the SCA’s #2 team in 2311? Yes, they were. We also felt that they were performing to their top talent before their time and will fall back to the mean in 2312 with their players still developing and sure to experience some growing pains. We saw in the playoffs that the Ninjas were not close yet. But we are saying they should be playing for a championship by 2315.
Part of the reason we see Egret continuing to win is because the OSA scouts believe that their franchise is most likely to maximize their prospects’ talent. We can already see two young pitchers thriving for them in Hrye Caje and Lyle Pine. The only position that may be a concern is SS where Austin Engill at 34 is still the starter, but he will not be around in 2315. That and young SS Mill Walky is probably not the answer for the position.
For Easy Town, they are expected to make the biggest jump of all teams. Currently ranked #26 in the preseason rankings, the Assaultrons have a bunch of guys they expect to be competing for and winning starting jobs. Some of those players include 2311 1st-round pick, CF Eden Babz, who could potentially be the Trons’ starter this season or at least move to a corner OF spot. We predict that he will be there. They also have another dynamic OF in Johntel Lechea who hit .310/6/31 as a rookie in 2311. Other young contributors by 2315 include C Jasha Varnikov, SS Swayne Pringle, 1B Tiger McQuaid, RF Aaron Mackey, and 3B Bo McBean.
We are not sure yet where the Easy Town pitching will come from, but there are some prospects who could contribute by 2315. Current youngsters Scott Fuhr (25) and Hitman Medicman (22) may be the 3rd and 4th starters by then since neither seems to have the stuff to become an ace. SPs Tarzan Rogers (19) and Malcolm Stein (20) may have it, with 4th-round pick in 2311, Seymour Socks (18), being a highly volatile possibility to break into the rotation by 2315.
The Imminent Downfalls of Nordhagen Beach, Roxbury, University Point, and Oberland
They are high, but there is little chance they remain yearly championship contenders. That’s because they are teams built strongly on a heavy amount of aged veterans to lead them and a few youngsters to keep them fresh.
The Party Boys have been the CBO’s best team at recognizing when it is time to move on from a veteran and to find a replacement that will outshine that departed veteran. Because of that, the Boys are still expected to be playoff contenders by 2315. There is no Beachboy Nut in the Nordhagen Beach farm system, but they have a few players who could still be good future starters in the CBO: Denaria Kee, Dixie Williams, Eddie Housey, and Mihai Comanita among them. The Boys also have four young guys who will probably rule the roost by this season: 3B Jacob Tarberry, C Clownie Blammo, LF Gorgeous DiGiacomo, and 1B Mountainside Rockhand. The middle of the IF is aging but there are no good options currently with the team. The same is true at CF behind Maxx Murtagh. A couple guys could compete to overtake Young Goodman and Jonathan Angelou, including Bipp Islander (19), Jim Fry (24), and Demon Serafin (21).
Based on the current Roxbury roster, only two guys will be under 30 and are expected to be key contributors in 2315: SP Oliver Oil and CL Professor Harriel. In the lineup, the only guys who may still be with the Rad Sox by 2315 are 2B Emerald Sapphire (27) and LF Sum Downie (29). Otherwise, the Sox’s 2311 championship was likely their last best shot for a decade. It does not mean they cannot repeat in 2312, but with most of the roster well over 30, the Rad Sox will need to reload before they are the best team in the CBO again.
Like Nordhagen Beach, University Point seems to be a team that is always playing for a league championship. Interestingly, the Deathclaws have never repeated as the Minutemen League champions with their league titles coming in 2301, 2303, 2305, 2307, 2309, and 2311. Since it’s 2312, it must be another team’s turn despite us picking the Claws to win it all in 2312. By 2315, though, we expect the Deathclaws to regularly start finishing below .500. Part of that is going to be the inevitable retirements of aged stars 1B Barker Cocoa (33), CF Aesed Hayjen (34), RF Tomas Jones (34), and LF Chris Hirshfield (33) along with the rest of their lineup other than SS Rock Rampage (22). They will also be down all four starters: SP Tony Bertha (35), Joey Dimes (34), Alex Alexson (32), and Lawdog Whipple (32). There are almost no starting pitchers in the minors, with a few positional players who can step up though at a lesser value in 1B Chris Neverson (19) or Eddie Furnace (17), RF Wee Willy Warrington (24), C Sparky Henderson (19) or Slitter Faith (18), and LF Javen the Raven Coleman (19).
Oberland may be in the worst shape of the four powerhouses mostly because scouts do not like the chances of most of their minor league players being CBO-ready by 2315. Four players who they do expect to play in the CBO are P Chemmix Tailorman (22) who may be a starter or closer, 1B Bull Lozano (17), 2B Odd Todd Walker (17), and LF Dude Lebowski (17). Other players still expected to contribute by 2315 include LF/SP Zaire Inquisitor (26), 2B Da Game (29), 3B Joe Malone (29), SS Stormin Normin MacDonald (27), and RF Orcin Cardinal (29). As you can see, though, most of those guys will be over 30 by 2315.