BNN Report
News from the CBO, Minors, CCBL, and CYL
by Nat Wright-Kawolski
28 October 2318
CBO Draft Preview
We are just over a week away from the 2318 Rookie Draft, with the pool of 3456 players awaiting word if they will be one of the 560 players selected.
This week, we are going to look at some high level youth league (CYL) players who were not discussed in the Top 5, but are possible picks in the Top 10. This season's draft is considered CYL-heavy for the available talent with many more CYL players predicted to go early than CCBL players. Here are five we're watching starting in 2319.
1. 1B Grizz Cunningham, Littleton Beasts - Cunningham saw a productivity drop off in 2318 after hitting 32 bombs in 2317. Part of that was that pitchers pitched around him more, evidenced by the 42 walks in 2318. Cunninghman has been consistently good, though, and scouts think that he could develop into an elite power hitter. He is also good at 1B and could play anywhere in the infield in a pinch due to his strong throwing arm.
2. C Griff Hope, Plymouth Hunters - Guffy Verizon is the catcher getting the most attention, but two on this list shows that teams needing catcher prospects will have plenty to choose from. Hope is one of those prospects who appears to be the most well-rounded. What he is not is a power hitter, racking up just 21 in four seasons in Plymouth. He did finish with a .420 batting average splitting time with another talented catcher in Snoopy Barron. Hope is also a good defensive catcher, though he is much better handling and framing pitches than throwing out runners.
3. 2B Florante Lisao, Nauset beach Lurk Hunters - Lisao is someone you would call a surprise power hitter. He finished tied for 7th all-time in home runs (110), just 17 behind the all-time leader Sluggo Luge. In the past two seasons with the Lurk Hunters, he hit 33 and 35 homers, respectively. Scouts think that he will be a great SLG hitter and think that could raise him into the Top 10. He is a pretty good 2B and could slide to 1B if needed.
4. SP Mad Dog Waqanitoga, Kittery Skippers - One thing will hold back a very talented pitcher in Waqanitoga: health. Scouts have expressed that the talent is there but the body may not hold up. Especially concerning is that Waqanitoga missed time in 2318 with back issues. When he is on the mound, though, he can reach 100 MPH with a killer fastball. He has a four-pitch repertoire with really good forkballs and sinkers. Batters hit over the top a lot and hit a lot of easy grounders to 2B and SS. Waqatinoga finished 18-8 with a 2.20 ERA in 43 career starts and 270.0 innings pitched with Kittery. He struck out 317 batters and walked 33. His ratio of 1.10 BB/9 is the all-time best in CYL history. 0.39 better than Mister Burns (2304-2305) as the 2nd-best.
5. C Carl Ireland, Lexington Minuteboys - While Hope is not a power hitter, Ireland most certainly is. Scouts think that he will be among the best of catchers in home run totals. He may not be Red Jay Jones level, but Ireland is still expected to bat in the middle of the lineup at whichever level he plays. In four seasons with the Minuteboys, the 6'9" Ireland saw his home run numbers climb from 12 his freshman season to 27 his senior season for 80 total. He is also a good defensive catcher with a strong arm to throw out runners at a decent rate. He will be an everyday player in the CBO sooner than later.
More of the draft pool's top prospects:
CBO Top Ten Prospects, 2318 Offseason
Now that the season has finished, it's time to look forward to the future, and what better way than to look at the brightest future stars of the league, courtesy of BNN. This year, 18 year-old CF Walker Cress of the Concord Radstags is the #1 prospect overall.
Here is the top 10:
1) CF Walker Cress, 18, Concord Radstags
2) C Peter Krenwinkel, 19, Bunker Hill 75ers
3) C Rad Malina, 18, Glowing Sea Radscorpions
4) LHP Stlee Jensen, 22, Easy Town Assaultrons
5) RF Edan O'Dwyer, 20, Lexington Synths
6) 2B Heady Stepniewski, 18, Spectacle Island Reapers
7) LHP Key Nam, 20, Sunshine Tidings Chemists
8) SS Early Duvet, 19, Diamond City Swatters
9) RHP Talley O'Reilly, 18, Sunshine Tidings Chemists
10) RHP Alex Moon, 22, Malden Grognaks
CBO Offseason News
We are still awaiting some of the changes to take place. Commissioner Jason LaRue did not allow players from the entering CCBL and CYL leagues to enter the draft, citing that none of the 10 incoming CCBL institutions nor any of the 12 incoming CYL teams had players scouted to be drafted in the 20 rounds. Speculation is that scout time was devoted to the currently 3456 players in the draft pool for the current CCBL and CYL teams. Apparently, this class is so good that scouts did not seek out "diamonds in the rough." They are content with the current talent pool.
What we do know is that there will be plenty of movements sometime after the draft into early 2319 season. Apparently, the CBO is rearranging some of its minor league affiliations with a lot of that movement coming this offseason and then completing a lot more following the 2319 season to set up for the four new franchises.
Some of the things we have gotten word on so far is this:
The Slog has announced a uniform change that will scrap the same uniforms they used since 2296. We expect to see the uniforms around draft time. All we got word of is that the team is adding a third color, black, to its dark moderate blue and white colors.
There are a few relocations of minor league teams. Thus far, we know of three:
Castle Strength (Southie) -> Concord, NH and now the Capital City Conquerors.
Winchester Bashers (Diamond City) -> Amherst, MA and now the Amherst Bashers
Neponset Park Criticals -> Peabody, MA and now the Peabody Criticals
Supposed realignment of minor league divisions will take place in January.
CBO Stats 2318
Here are the final stats for offense and defense in the CBO.
