BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
1 June 2317
The June 1 Super Post
CBO Top Performances
Hitters - Atom's McMack Bingham had May's top performance and the top performance of the season so far with a 116 game score. On May 19 at Quincy, Bingham went 5 for 6 with two doubles, two home runs, three runs scored, and seven runs batted in.
Pitchers - Harley Buechel of Goodneighbor had the top pitching performance with a score of 87. Buechel pitched a complete-game three-hitter in the Hancocks' 7-0 victory at Lexington on May 1. Buechel walked one and struck out seven in the victory. It was Buechel's second complete game of the season. He had three CGs in nine previous seasons.
CBO Players of the Month
NCA Hitter - Gavin Deux-Gas, the The Slog shortstop, certainly made a name for himself this past month. He banged out a .423 batting average with 44 hits, 7 home runs, 16 RBIs and scored 33 times.
That kind of hitting earned him the North Charles Association Batter of the Month honors for May.
Currently Deux-Gas has 10 home runs and a .365 batting average.
SCA Hitter - Atom Cats fans may just have witnessed a star player blossoming before their eyes in May.
Lee Mayhew put up a remarkable month at the age of 23 and has been named the South Charles Association Batter of the Month.
For the month, Mayhew hit .366 with 5 home runs, 28 RBIs and 31 runs scored.
In his season totals Mayhew has 6 home runs and a .369 batting average.
NCA Pitcher - The North Charles Association scribes have announced May's Pitcher of the Month and have given the award to Chad Nailgun of Cambridge. He was one tough cookie on the mound last month with a fine 6-1 mark to prove it.
The Cambridge star made 7 starts with a 3.02 ERA and surrendered 48 hits in 47.2 innings. He struck out 41 and walked 9.
Up to now Nailgun has compiled an ERA of 3.90 with a 7-2 mark over 12 starts. He has 66 strikeouts in 80.2 innings and has held opponents to a .265 batting average.
SCA Pitcher - Despite the number of years he's been in the league, K-9 Creep still gets excited when he puts together a quality stretch like he had in May. The 30-year-old starter for Atom was named South Charles Association Pitcher of the Month earlier today.
He collected 5 wins and 1 loss with 43 strikeouts in his 7 starts, putting up a fine 3.35 ERA in 51 innings of work.
To date this year, Creep has compiled a 6-3 mark with a 3.23 ERA in 12 starts.
NCA Rookie - Ty Paterson entered the month a lamb, but finished it a full-fledged lion as he received word that he had been chosen the North Charles Association Rookie of the Month for May.
In 0 starts Paterson cruised to a 1-0 record for the month, hurling 13.2 innings, striking out 11 batters and holding them to a .231 batting average.
Sunshine Tidings fans have a lot to look forward to with this guy on the hill.
This season, Paterson has recorded a 3-2 won-lost mark, pitched in 17 relief appearances and rung up 8 saves. He has a 3.68 ERA and has allowed 22 hits over his 22 innings of work, struck out 16 batters and walked 10.
SCA Rookie - Few players his age have the consistency to put a solid month together, but Spectacle Island's Travis Prescott carved up the opposition all May long and hauled off the South Charles Association Rookie of the Month award today as a result.
He sizzled last month with a 2-1 mark, fanning 5 in 11.1 innings with an ERA of 0.79 in 0 starts.
For the year, Prescott has made 20 relief appearances and claimed 13 saves. His record is 2-4 with 15 strikeouts in 19.1 innings and a 3.26 ERA.
NEBL Analysis
There have been some outstanding performances throughout the NEBL season. Some players to shout out early for their skills in the first 48 games include Braintree's (NB) Bannon Harrison. The 22-year-old former 2nd-round pick has shown some sudden pop, leading the NEBL with 16 home runs.
All divisions currently have a sole leader after the first month of the season:
Maine - Everett
Vershire - Abernathy
Mass - Brookline, Fall River, and Sandwich
Connri - Waltham
NEBL Players of the Month
PL Hitter - It's perhaps an award he'll win many more times through his career, as at age 25 Cy Sutcliff has a lot of baseball ahead of him.
But for now the young Burlington Ferals star can enjoy the numbers he put up in May, which have garnered him the nod as the Patriot League Batter of the Month.
His breakout month featured a .318 average with 9 home runs, 23 RBIs and 13 runs scored.
For the year, Sutcliff is hitting .293 with 9 home runs. His stats include 25 runs batted in and 14 runs scored.
YL Hitter - Bannon Harrison made his presence known as one of the best young stars in the Yankee League this past month.
The Braintree Robobrains shortstop shined through the month of May and has won the Batter of the Month award.
The 22-year-old hit .356 with 11 home runs, 27 RBIs and 18 runs scored.
Looking at his present stats, Harrison has compiled a .323 batting average in 44 games with a .370 on-base percentage, while hitting 16 home runs and driving in 40 runs.
PL Pitcher - Felix Robles of Abernathy had a tremendous May with a 5-0 mark and was chosen the Pitcher of the Month in the Patriot League.
Robles restricted opposing hitters to 26 base hits and a .203 batting average. He rang up 19 strikeouts in 34.2 innings of work, surrendered 6 walks, and crafted a 2.60 ERA.
For the year, Robles has compiled a 7-0 record with a 3.20 ERA.
YL Pitcher - It was a monstrous May for the Yankee League Pitcher of the Month award winner, Lucas Frost of the Sandwich Bay Snakes. He put up some mighty scary numbers.
Frost recorded 4 wins and 1 loss in 6 starts. Throwing a total of 39.2 innings, he yielded 26 hits, mowed down 36 on strikes, gave up 6 walks and put up a solid ERA of 2.27 in a stellar month on the mound.
For the year, Frost has a 6-3 record with a 2.83 ERA in 10 starts.
MML Analysis
If the MML is not the toughest of the minors to play in, we do not know what tough is. While Hull of the SL is slightly dominating, every other division is tight.
Division leaders are:
Boggs - Marblehead
Murtagh - Revere Beach
Williams - Hull
Yastrzemski - Hartford
MML Players of the Month
LL Hitter - Regan Prezzton has a lot going for him. The Sanctuary Hills first baseman just broke into the majors this year and now the Legends League has just picked him as its top hitter for May.
In 26 games last month this outstanding rookie batted .373 with 6 home runs, 16 RBIs and 19 runs scored.
This season, Prezzton is batting .333 with 7 home runs. His totals include 24 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
SL Hitter - At only 22 years of age, Speedy Conejo could very well have many more months like this last one during his career.
That would be great news for fans of the Newton Behemoths, as May was one to remember for the third baseman and he has captured the Stars League Batter of the Month award.
On the month he hit .375 with 10 home runs, 22 RBIs and 15 runs scored.
This season in 29 games, Conejo is batting .345 with 12 home runs, 26 RBIs and has scored 18 times.
LL Pitcher - Kit Kauffman really put his best foot forward in May with 5 wins and 1 loss and walked off with the Pitcher of the Month honors in the Legends League. When he got the start for the Tenpines Bluff Manta Men, it was good news for his club, but bad news for the opposition.
In 35.1 innings of work, Kauffman limited opposing batters to 26 base hits and a .197 batting average. He notched 27 strikeouts, issued 10 walks and had a 1.27 ERA.
This season, Kauffman has compiled a 5-1 mark, 1.27 ERA and made 6 starts.
SL Pitcher - There's something about a young rookie winning the Stars League Pitcher of the Month trophy that sends shock waves through the league. Such is the case with Arnold Welsh, a 22-year-old starter for the Hull Lead Bellies.
In May, he topped off the month with a 5-0 mark and 0.50 ERA in 5 starts, tossed 35.2 innings, fanned 31 and held opposing teams to a .179 average.
This year, Welsh has worked 42.2 innings with 39 strikeouts en route to a 5-0 record and a 0.84 ERA.
BMU Analysis
The BMU is pitching centric, including only two players hitting above .300 in the Commonwealth Association. In the other association, Abington's Rapp Unzelle (.381/2.1 WAR) has been a pitcher's nightmare.
There are four division leaders:
Dark Hollow Pond - Parsons Asylum
Cambridge - Stratford
Downtown Boston - DB Tech
Glowing Sea - Meriden
BMU Players of the Month
CA Hitter - Oz Rodriguez may be much younger than other hitters in the Commonwealth Association, but he performed like a seasoned veteran in May to win the Batter of the Month award.
The 20-year-old Melrose first baseman hit .433 with 4 home runs, 19 RBIs and 10 runs scored.
This year, Rodriguez has collected a .433 batting average to date with 26 hits in 60 at-bats, 19 RBIs, 4 home runs and scored 10 times. He has played in 21 games.
MA Hitter - Rapp Unzelle put together a good May to earn the Massachusetts Association Batter of the Month prize. A virtual unknown, he made the most of his chance to prove to Abington officials that he belongs on the big league roster.
The Patriots left fielder posted a .380 batting average with 2 home runs, 13 RBIs and 24 runs scored.
Unzelle is hitting .381 for the season with 2 home runs, 13 RBIs and 25 runs scored. He has 37 hits in 97 at-bats and played in 30 games.
CA Pitcher - Most of the time the starting pitchers get the glory, but not this month. A reliever, Florent Poda, has been named the Pitcher of the Month in the Commonwealth Association.
In May, the Greentop Nursery bullpen ace starred with 1 save in 11 relief appearances, logging 24.1 innings, 11 strikeouts, 14 walks and a 2.59 ERA. Poda finished the month with 5 wins and no losses -- and captured the trophy as the league's number one pitcher.
This season, Poda has made 11 relief appearances and has 1 save. His record is 5-0 with 17 strikeouts in 34.1 innings with a 2.62 ERA.
MA Starter - May was a very good month for Garth Fitzgerald V of the Eastlake Aquaboys. He held opposing hitters for a .221 average and took home the Massachusetts Association Pitcher of the Month award.
In 5 starts he claimed a 5-0 record as he put up a 1.35 ERA and struck out 35 in 33.1 innings.
This year, Fitzgerald V has made 8 starts, thrown 54.2 innings, fanned 57 batters and walked 6. His won-lost record is 6-1 with a 1.15 ERA.
GBRL Analysis
The Augusta Harpooners (NB) is the top team in the GBRL through 46 games. Augusta lost the 2317 Rookie Series in their only previous playoff appearance.
Division leaders in the GBRL through 16 games are:
Northeast - Augusta
Northwest - Beantown
Southeast - Duxbury
Southwest - Waterbury
GBRL Players of the Month
NL Hitter - Even though he is a newcomer to Greater Boston Rookie League, Downey Moore put up some good numbers in May and earned the NL Batter of the Month award.
He was one of Diamond Island's offensive leaders with a .402 average in 26 games. He also racked up 12 home runs, 31 RBIs, and 25 runs scored.
So far this season, Moore has put up a .364 batting average with 56 hits, 13 home runs and 38 RBIs.
SL Hitter - Woonsocket Butchers fans believe they've got a talented young star in Aurie Fubini.
He did nothing to dissuade that notion in May, as he hit .378 with 12 home runs, 36 RBIs and 27 runs scored.
The end result was the third baseman being named the South League Batter of the Month.
Thus far this year, Fubini has hit .399 with 19 home runs and 52 RBIs.
NL Pitcher - The North League announced the winner of the Pitcher of the Month Award. It went to bullpen ace Peet Rodney of Switchboard for his outstanding work on the mound.
During the month, the Gun Fu star stood out with 1 save in 1 save opportunity, a 0.00 ERA and 3 wins and no losses. In 16.2 innings he struck out 18 and gave up 11 hits and 8 walks.
This season, Rodney has been credited with 1 save. In 19 relief appearances and 23.1 innings he has a 3-1 won-lost mark, a 7.71 ERA and 27 strikeouts.
SL Pitcher - When Copay Roach takes the mound, a Danbury victory is usually the result. At least that's the way it was in May.
He excelled with a 5-1 mark and a 2.13 ERA in 7 starts, tossed 38 innings, fanned 46 and held opposing batters to a .191 average.
That's why the Gazelles starter was honored today as the Pitcher of the Month by the South League.
This season, Roach has fanned 65 in 59 innings and collected a 5-1 record with a 3.20 ERA.
CYL Playoffs Update
This is the time of the baseball season when grown men are reduced to tears. This year, the Worcester Crows were shedding tears of joy and the Pawtucket Paw Sox those of sorrow.
The Crows topped the Paw Sox today 10-5 at Paw Sox Field and locked up their 2nd Commonwealth Youth League Youth Series championship, winning the series 2-0.
"To come this far and leave empty-handed is not easy," said Pawtucket manager Marcus Pizza.
Series MVP, Early Duvet of Worcester, was 2 of 4 with a home run, a walk, two runs, and two RBI. He finished 5 of 8 (.625) in the series, including scoring two runs in Game 1 on 3 of 4 hitting.
The Crows finished the regular season in the North Region Benjamin Franklin Division with a 30-19 record, ending up in third place in the division standings.
