Welcome to our first part of our first ever preview of the Russell Crowe Baseball Association. We’re starting with the Australian North Division.
We’ve assigned our experts to rate every team out of 10 in 10 categories we’ve deemed important. The worst team in the entire association gets a 1, the best gets a 10, and the rest fall somewhere in between.
Is this the best possible method? We don’t know. Russell Crowe invented this sport less than a year ago. Give us a break.
The Canberra Griffins will prove lethal if they can get bat to ball. Up and down their lineup, everyone has the potential to do damage. 2B Chris Cameron and 1B Jaxon Bratile will absolutely smash the ball if given the chance. RF Travis Gardner will put it where the defenders ain’t, CF Leonard Marquis will hit some sneaky doubles and triples, and SS Nick Hafner won’t swing at anything outside the zone.
But that might all prove irrelevant. There are no great fielders on this team -- and there absolutely need to be, given the pitchers they’re trotting out. No disrespect to Dunnam and Minyarrie, but they’ll need some serious defense behind them.
Like Canberra, we’ve got to show a bit of admiration for the Breakers’ ability to do damage if they can get bat to ball. Everyone brings a solid bat. SS Lewis Sykes won’t chase outside the zone, RF Liam O’Dwyer has sneaky power, and while you’ll only see him against southpaws, 1B Brent Thomas can send it out of the park.
The issue, though -- even worse than Canberra’s -- is the pitching. It’s terrible. We’ve chosen to highlight the #4 in their rotation, Slash Numbers, simply because his name is cool.
Expect some good power from the likes of 1B Mike Clarke, RF Chris Kerr, and C Jy Cremeans -- plus good contact from LF George Watson. They’ve also got OF Ronan Harvey on the bench: a solid bat at only 26 years old, but they can’t really fit him anywhere. He might become trade bait at the deadline.
Closer Shae Smith is the biggest name in the pitching staff, with a devastating fastball/splitter mix. Newcastle has also interestingly brought on 36-year-old Kiwi Oliver Ropiha to head their rotation. It remains to be seen whether he’s going to be enough.
The Newtown Jets have got to be the strong favourites to take out the Australia North title. Graham Sorrell is a legit Pitcher of the Year candidate, and the rotation behind him is solid. The danger lies in a couple of key members -- #2 Jack Buckhalter and CL Isaac Wahl -- who sometimes struggle to find the strike zone.
The batting is led by genuine superstars: 1B Jeremy Mason, C Russ Wakeford, and LF Damien Bartlett. Aside from Wakeford, don’t expect many home runs, but do expect a lot of hits. Mason, in particular, has his eye on the steals leaderboard.
First base is a bit of a weird position for the Jets. They've got Mason there already, but they also have massive 19-year-old Dan Omana (6’8”, 245 lbs) ready to take over. The Jets might be better off shifting Mason to 2B to give Omana a shot.
Leadoff man CF Miles Evans looks set to be a dangerous hitter for the Rebels -- and he’s got a dangerous crew around him. 3B Lou Deegan and 1B Ryan Parker have incredible contact ability. RF Sydney Henson and LF Kolton Miller have a great balanced approach, and SS Mark Verbic has incredible raw power if he can get bat to ball. The metrics might not be crazy about this lineup, but they can get the job done on their day.
#2 in the rotation, Boyd Dean, has the makings of a future superstar. His 99–101 mph fastball is elite, but he’s vulnerable until his changeup and sinker develop enough to complement it. Closer Bengie Nakagawa looks like one of the best in the game. Expect the deal to be done if the lead gets handed to him.
Finally, we have to mention the absolutely insane talent the Rebels have in their farm system. They’ve got 5 of the top 10 prospects per the BNN Prospect Pipeline -- and 9 of the top 25. One to watch is relief pitcher Ty Zambrano. He’s due up in 2021 and could be even more electric than Nakagawa. Meanwhile, 18-year-old and #2 prospect Jordan Dykstra is projected to arrive by next season. His power/eye combo could be devastating.
Basically, the Parramatta Rebels are set up to dominate this division -- very soon.
We finish with the Penrith Blues. They project similarly to some of the other sides in this division -- some good bats, but lacking in pitching. Nothing wrong with Cam Bowers and Louie Chester, but things turn decidedly below average with anyone else in the rotation.
The exploits of 21-year-old 1B Brendan Reilly may prove the antidote to the pitching struggles, and Oldham/Falkner around him are no slouches either. If these bats light up, there might be no issue on the other side of the ticket -- but there are going to be some brutal days when this power trio doesn't spark.