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Nuka News Update
Reporting on the NWL, APL, NWLR, and BBL Leagues
by Evan Guy
5 May 2313
PAM's Picks in 15th NWL Season
As we enter our 15th NWL season, the excitement for the new season abounds while the anxiety of the changes in the NWL and the Season Pass Association has people abuzz.
Looking at the history of the NWL, with Cherry's championship last season, the Ghoulrillas are now tied with Victory for the most titles (4). With two championships, Quantum is the only other team with more than one. Grape, Orange, Quartz, and Wild have all won one championship, and Dark has not won any with only one appearance in the Nuka Series.
This season, PAM predicts that Cherry and the Cave Crickets will battle it out in the Nuka Series for the right to win a fifth championship. PAM has the Ghoulrillas (53-37) finishing with the best record, followed by a tie by the Cave Crickets and Orange (49-41) for the second-best record. Grape (38-52) is predicted to have the NWL's worst record.
In the battle for top hitters in the NWL, Cherry's LF Everlast Barron is expected to win the award. Other competitors include Wild 2B Bubba Shrimp, Ghoulrillas 2B Tick Garrett, Victory 2B Due Crymes, and Dark 3B Curt Toth. RF Genius Jerry Kordic of Cherry was the 2312 winner. Toth (2310) and Shrimp (2311) were the two winners before Kordic. Ah Oona of Grape had won the previous four seasons (2306-2309).
On the mound, Quartz's SP Shady Sand is the expected winner. Other contenders are SP Fick Aragvsky of Cherry, SP Tumble Viera of the Nukalurks, and SPs Melvin Teacup and Mucky Timmons of Victory. Last season, Quantum SP Cameron Biehler was the Nuka Cannon Award winner. The previous three in descending order are Viera (2311), Ed Homestead of Dark (2310), and Steven Nebraska of Grape (2309).
Looking at another area of interest, it's time to publish the annual BNN Top 100 Prospects list. This year, 21 year-old RHP Fastball Freddie Kingston of the Wild Gatorclaws is the #1 prospect overall.
Here is the top 10:
1) RHP Fastball Freddie Kingston, 21, Wild Gatorclaws
2) 1B Baby Bull Cepeda, 20, Grape Painted Ghouls
3) 1B Coal Weedeater, 23, Wild Gatorclaws
4) 2B Waggs McBiskitt, 24, Victory Cave Crickets
5) 3B Radfish Hunter, 20, Orange Tourists
6) LF Treetime Wilcox, 23, Quantum Nukalurks
7) RHP Alex Branch, 23, Cherry Ghoulrillas
8) LHP Petyr Littlefinger, 19, Dark Bloodworms
9) 1B Vern Turnburner, 19, Quartz Star Force
10) 2B Lakehouse Calculator, 24, Victory Cave Crickets
Finally, for the 50-man minor league rosters in the new one affiliate system, these are the affiliates in the Amusement Park League for each team:
Cherry - Grandchester Flying Ants
Dark - Nuka Plant Electrics
Grape - Red Rocket Radrats
Orange - Dunmore Ferris Wheels
Quantum - Nuka Bottling Plant Pack
Quartz - Galactic Zone G-Force
Victory - Nuka Jolly Elves
Wild - Junkyard Space Cadets
Vim! View
Veracious, Vivacious, Vainglorious Vision of the Vim! Leagues
by Vikky Vail
5 May 2313
Echo Lake, Far Harbor Expected to Battle for Vim! Series Crown
In what is expected to be a tight race to the finish, PAM has tagged both the Echo Lake Harbormen and Far Harbor Ghoul Whales to win their divisions and compete in the 2313 Vim! Series. From there, PAM has the Harbormen winning their fourth championship and second in three years.
The Harbormen trail only Dalton Farm (4) in number of championships. Other multi-championship teams are Grand Hotel and National Park. The Gulpers won their second last season. Far Harbor won the first championship in 2301 but has gone 0-5 since in the Vim! Series. Acadia, Cranberry Isle, and Eden Meadows have neither won a championship- nor appeared in the Vim! Series in the first 12 seasons of the league.
Looking more closely at PAM's picks, the Anglers are expected to keep it tight with the Harbormen, picked just two games back in the battle of 50-win teams. The Ghoul Whales are expected to have an even tighter race, picked to best the Atoms by a game. Dalton Farm is expected to be at the bottom of the standings.
For top picks in the hitter race, Far Harbor has two players competing for the Vim! MVP Award: 1B Hazmatt Zuniga and RF Adam Crewmate. Other competitors are Eden Meadow's 1B Gyro Olly, RF Chris Knickerbocker of Echo Lake, and the Ghoul Whales' CF Teig O'Kane. Bobba Fette of Cranberry Island was the surprise winner last season. Knickerbocker won the award the season before that.
The Harbormen's SP Jason Woods is the pick to win his fifth Vim! Top Arm Award. Other competitors are Phil Cecil of Dalton Farm, Wearya Going of Acadia, Kap Kooke of the Ghoul Whales, and Steady Mike Holmes of the Anglers. Kooke was last season's winner. Woods won the three prior years and four of the five seasons from 2307-2311.
The minor league season is about to start, so it's time to publish the annual BNN Top 100 Prospects list. This year, 20 year-old 1B Terrific George Seaver of the Eden Meadows Anglers is the #1 prospect overall.
Here is the top 10:
1) 1B Terrific George Seaver, 20, Eden Meadows Anglers
2) 1B Bobby Packer, 20, Echo Lake Harbormen
3) LF Cori Smuh, 22, Grand Hotel Atoms
4) 1B Big Ticket Garnett, 20, Eden Meadows Anglers
5) 1B Camp Buddy, 20, National Park Gulpers
6) LF Maygun Topaloglu, 20, Dalton Farm Fog Crawlers
7) RHP Dolf Steak, 25, Eden Meadows Anglers
8) RHP Meden Maren, 19, Acadia Acadians
9) LF Brutto Bronson, 19, National Park Gulpers
10) 1B Corey Perryman, 23, Far Harbor Ghoul Whales
With the rearrangement of minor leagues, Vim! League teams are down to one affiliate. With some rearrangement, here are the affiliates:
Acadia - MS Azalea Shipwrecks
Cranberry Island - Cliff's Edge Actors
Dalton Farm - Rayburn Point Patcheyes
Echo Lake - Rock Point Barnacles
Eden Lake - Nucleus Radchickens
Far Harbor - Brooke's Head Lights
Grand Hotel - Haddock Cove Engineers
National Park - Kitteredge Rad Rabbits