BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, CYL, and CBA
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
1 October 2314
The October 1 Super Thread, Part 2
CBO Draft Preview
The 2314 Draft is just over a month away, so we are going to update update you three times in preparation for the draft. Today's quest is to identify the "CBO-ready" prospects, or the prospects we expect to start in the CBO or spend some time in it in 2315.
1. SS Evan Keel, Tufts University - Keel is one of those guys that would have been setting records in the CYL if he were in the Boston-area before he began playing youth baseball. As a college player, he enters the draft as one of the more intriguing prospects. On defense, he is elite and is good enough today to play defense at SS in the CBO. The question will be hitting, where he saw his production drop over his three seasons with the Jumbos. There were some injuries in 2314, but he saw his home run production dfrop from 20 in his freshman season to just 8 his junior season. His batting average also dropped from .337 to .293. Scouts think that those low production numbers were no big thing and expect him to mature into a power hitter at some point. Where they know he can thrive on offense is an eye that recognizes pitches well. We have little doubt that he will be the #1 overall pick.
2. 1B Jets Freud, Tufts University - Why was Tufts not the champions in 2314? With perhaps the two top picks in the draft, you would think so, yet they finished 26-34 and missed the postseason altogether. Well, Freud was not the problem, hitting .378 on the season with 12 home runs. He also missed some time (1/6 of the season), so there's that. Scouts see Freud as an elite power hitter who can knock base hits and find his way on base. While he is projected at 1B, Freud can be a fill-in at either corner OF position.
3. 2B Honker Trinkl, Boston College - From two players that missed the playoffs to the runners-up, Trinkl was a leader on a good Eagles team. Trinkl batted .371 on the season with 12 home runs. Scouts like his power just as much as Freud with the expectation that he could be a .333/30/75 type player in time. His defense could use some work, but he is a middle-of-the-lineup guy probably by the time he is 23 or 24. \
4. 2B Stud Colgan, Assumption University - Colgan is a well-balanced player who is very good at everything. Scouts have noticed that the majority of his homers were on fastballs, meaning he needs some more work generating power on off-speed pitches. That does not mean he cannot send those pitches screaming into a gap. He may never challenge for batting titles, but he will be a huge contributor to his team's offensive output. Colgan will also be one of the better defensive infielders in the draft.
5. Five closers: Hulk Martin, Greenfiueld College; Sniper O'Reilly, Boston College; D.C. Washington, Northeastern University; Neeshagh Raggett, Tufts University; and Redmond Brooks, CIT - All five pitchers will probably go in the 3rd round or later, but all five have the current skills that could see them getting a call up as early as 2315. Martin is the best of the five, leaving college with the Greenies with 36 saves and a 1.31 ERA in 75.1 innings pitched over three seasons.
CCBL Future Expansion
The CCBL has entered into a plan to add around 10 teams per season for at least five seasons, meaning the pool of teams in the CCBL is expected to grow. We already mentioned the teams joining in 2315, but we also have the complete list of teams planned to join through at least 2320. According to reports, even more higher education institutions could join the league by as early as 2318 if they meet the January 1 application deadline. Those deadlines are for three years in advance. Below is a data dump of teams known to be joining the CCBL from 2316-2320:
2316
Southern Maine Whalers, New England Nor'easterners, College of the Atlantic Black Flies, Vim! College Captains, UMass-Dartmouth Corsairs, Bridgewater State Bears, Central Connecticut State (CCSU) Blue Devils, New Haven Chargers, Fitchburg State Falcons, Salem State Vikings, Roxbury College Tigers, Post Eagles, Framingham State Rams, and Bryant Bulldogs
2317
Westfield State Owls, Western Connecticut State (WCSU) Wolves, Worcester State Lancers, Bentley Falcons, Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) Trailblazers, Worcester Poly Institute (WPI) Engineers, Bay Path Wolves
2318
Babson Beavers, Portland Engineering College (PEC) Robotists, U of Maine-Presque Isle Owls, Salve Regina Seahawks, Albertus Magnus Falcons, and Hellenic American University Greeks
2319
Maine Maritime Academy Mariners, Rivier Raiders, Elms College Blazers, and Lesley Lynx
2320
Norwich Patriots, Emerson College Lions, Johnson & Wales Wildcats, Bowdoin College Polar Bears, Brotherhood Military Academy Steelers, Husson Eagles, and Olin College of Engineering (OCE) Phoenix
As may be noticed, the CBO has also relaxed the repeated mascot rule within certain situations, which now includes the CCBL and CYL. Therefore, pre-War institutions can maintain their original mascots. One notable team in the CCBL that changed its mascot was the University of Connecticut which was known as the Huskies pre-War but changed to the Yankees in the CCBL. As of this report, UConn wanted to remain as the Yankees. Other teams have decided to have duplicate team mascots, keeping their pre-War logos.
CYL Expansion
The CYL also had a large expansion, adding 24 teams throughout the six-state Commonwealth. There were also two new divisions added: the H,W, Longfellow Division of the North Region and the John-Caleb Bradberton Division of the South Region.
Here is a list in divisional standings order of the new teams and their assigned divisions:
Boxford Packers (Emerson)
Seabrook Radstorm Chasers (DuBois)
Hampton Tailors (DuBois)
Portsmouth Canners (DuBois)
Derry Farmers (DuBois)
Nashua Zoologists (DuBois)
Kittery Skippers (Longfellow)
Far Harbor Dockdwllers (Longfellow)
Great Diamond Anglers (Longfellow)
Lewiston Raiders (Longfellow)
Bangor Wolves (Longfellow)
Portland Trappers (Longfellow)
South Portland Guns (Longfellow)
Augusta Moose (Longfellow)
Barrington Chess Knights (Adams)
Johnston Sluggers (Adams)
Scituate Racers (Alcott)
Lakeville Noobs (Morse)
Putnam Swordsmen (Hancock)
Norwich Cobblers (Hancock)
New London Poppers (Hancock)
Bristol Medics (Hancock)
Foster Stealers (Hancock)
Meriden Tinkers (Hancock)
Sherwood Manor Sasquatch (Hancock)
Forest Park Brahmiluffs (Bradberton)
Hadley Falls Reactors (Bradberton)
Northampton Beaneaters (Bradberton)
Several teams also changed divisions to better match the geographical makeup of each team. Complete divisional alignments are below.