Power Pros Forum

UBL Inaugural Draft Recap: South Division

And finally, we are down to the last team in the draft recap, the Aurora Bats. The Bats had the 10th and 7th picks. The Bats stuck to their nickname, and picked an impressive array of hitters.

Aurora Bats
Aurora took a player who may very well be the league's brightest young star in the first round. 21 year old catcher Mitch Carpenter(79/80) is an above average contact hitter, with the potential to be the best power hitter in the game. His eye at the plate and electrifying bat make him a threat to go deep at almost any moment. At only 21 years old he is already very big league ready, and has room to get better. Aurora filled out their two middle infield positions in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, first taking 29 year old 2B Ron Krause(74/74), then 25 year old SS Michael Nixon(70/77). Krause is an impressive contact hitter with decent pop as well. Nixon is a pretty average contact guy, but has really good power. Both are good hitters, but are just slightly above average defenders, and neither runs very well. Aurora decided to go for some pitching in the 4th round, drafting 35 year old SP Harold Howell(68/68). Howell was scouted as not quite number 1 material, but it doesn't matter, as he will be the number 1 guy in Aurora. He changes speeds effectively and has plus-plus movement on his pitches, and has average control. He's a good pitcher, but not quite elite. The Bats took another SP in an effort to bolster their weak rotation somewhat, but their 5th round pick may not cut it. 35 year old SP Bill Mahoney(58/58) has inconsistent stuff, and not great movement, but can command his pitches decently, which gets him by. The Bats have the 8th ranked minor league system.


Aurora's catcher, Mitch Carpenter, has an incredibly bright future, and is certain to develop into one of the league's brightest stars. He will have to help the Bats score plenty of runs, to help supplement the weak pitching rotation.

April 1st, 2013- With Spring Training kicking off today for the newly founded UBL teams, let's take a look at some of the news that has occurred since the draft in January.

January 1st- La Crosse trades 2 prospects, 20 year old closer Carlos Sanchez(20/37) and 23 year old center fielder Joe Mumcu(36/38) to Waterloo for 22 year old starting pitcher Roy Mack(50/57). Sanchez, Mumcu, and Mack are all top 100 prospects. La Crosse GM Kilian Boland said, "This trade really helped us in the back end of our rotation. We needed one more guy who was ready to help us this year. We've got guys with the potential in the minors, but they need a few more years before they're ready to play in the big leagues. This trade will really help us."

January 4th- Rochester ace Mark Dennis(62/63) strained his hamstring when his 4 year old child ran into him with his tricycle. Dennis recovered fully, and is ready for Spring Training.

February 25th- Independence relief pitcher Kenny West(73/73) suffered a concussion when he was hit in the head by a ball in the batting cage. West is healed now, and was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

February 28th- Davenport's SS Mark White(64/67) cut himself with a knife in his kitchen, and needed 7 stitches to heal the cut. He missed 2 weeks of his off-season program, but is ready to go for ST.

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March 16th- Our scout, Bill Brown, discovered 16 year old center fielder Seiichi Sato(21/53) while scouting in Japan. Sato is years away from being big league ready, but will have the opportunity to play in the La Crosse minor league system when he is ready. He is a pure power hitter, and could be useful off the bench as a pinch hitter when he develops.

With the UBL season only 1 month away, and pre-season games starting soon, it's time for some baseball!

2013 UBL Pre-Season Recap

With the pre-season now over, let's take a look at what we saw from our first month of UBL baseball.

UBL Pre-Season Standings

NEWS
April 10th- Jefferson City traded 26 year old SS Josh Lewis(33/34) to the Aurora Bats for 32 year old reliever Ronald Reynolds(55/55) and 23 year old Johnny Gardner(22/23).

April 10th- Aurora made another trade, sending 31 year old 1B Jeff Kelley(60/60) to La Crosse, receiving 21 year old C Ed Gomez(21/22) and 34 year old SS Craig Robinson(40/40). LAX GM Kilian Boland: "When I saw that they offered us this, I couldn't really believe it. We didn't have a true first baseman on our active roster, we were playing 3B Michael Barnes there and Robinson at third. Now we can put Barnes at third, his natural position, and get a good 1B out of the deal too. Plus, ditching Robinson for Kelly will save us almost $4 million in contracts."

April 16th- The Chiefs lost starting 3B Carl Morris(68/68) to a fractured foot he suffered while running the bases.

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UBL Pre-Season Predictions

And with the first UBL Opening Day tomorrow, La Crosse's owner announced that he expects the team to play .500 ball. Not the most motivating expectation, but it could be worse. The pre-season predictions have the Crusaders doing exactly that, ending up 60-60, and coming in at 4th in the North Division. Hopefully the Crusaders can prove these expectations to be wrong!

La Crosse Crusaders Roster

Pitching
SP: Javier Martinez(76/77)
SP: Danny Stritch(61/68)
SP: Roy Mack(50/57)
SP: Joe Benson(47/49)
SP: Dave Blankenship(20/69)

SM: Matt Saunders(21/27)
MR: Tim Thompson(20/20)
MR: Britt Hewitt(53/54)
MR: Larry Ewing(59/60)
SU: Stu Clark(61/64)
SU: Fred Everett(80/80)
CL: Rusty Daniels(80/80)

Lineup
1. CF Ross Mullins(43/44)
2. SS Dennis Phillips(68/69)
3. RF Cecil Newton(79/79)
4. 3B Michael Barnes(69/74)
5. LF Josh Howard(55/55)[vs. RHP, Brian Villa(46/46) vs. LHP]
6. 2B Jose Avila(65/65)
7. 1B Jeff Kelley(60/60)
8. C Jim Thompson(65/65)
PITCHER

C Esteban Garcia(22/22)
2B Hugh Kimball(23/23)
3B Bob Lang(23/23)
LF Steve Miller(28/28)

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We're pretty bad... most of these guys shouldn't be on a big league roster.

my thoughts so far:

Cecil, Barnes, and Martinez are good at least. Blankenship could turn out to be solid.

Mark Dennis.. what the hell?

how were Sanchez and Mucmu in the top 100? must be a bare cupboard for prospects.

Cecil is really good, but he's 36 and costs $20 million. But he was still there in the 12th round and I couldn't resist. Martinez is a beast too. Blankenship could turn out, but right now he's my 5th starter and only 20 overall.

Sanchez is the #36 prospect, I think. Can't remember what Mumcu is. And yes, it is a very bare cupboard.

5/1: LAX 3 @ ROC 2 - Javier Martinez goes 8 IP, strikes out 7, and gives up just 1 run. Joes Avila goes 2-3, RBI.
5/2: LAX 1 @ ROC 9 - Danny Stritch gives up 5 runs in 4 IP, but only 2 are earned, due to 4 errors by La Crosse. Cecil Newton homers.
5/3: LAX 8 @ DAV 7 - Michael Barnes goes 1-3, HR, 2 RBI to propel the Crusaders.
5/4: LAX 6 @ DAV 13 - Joe Benson gives up 7 earned in just 3.1 IP in a high scoring blowout. Michael Barnes homers again, going 1-4, HR, 3 RBI.
5/5: WAT 10 @ LAX 11 - Ross Mullins goes 5-7, 2 R, 2 RBI, including a walk off single in the 13th inning. Dave Blankenship makes his first start, and gets shelled.
5/6: WAT 0 @ LAX 3 - Martinez proves to be as good as gold, 1 hitting the Admirals through 8 innings, while striking out 10. Jeff Kelley gets all 3 RBI's, going 2-3, R, HR, 3 RBI.
5/7: LAX 7 @ EVN 3 - Stritch goes 7 IP, giving up 3, with 5 K's, in a W. Avila went 3-4, scoring 3 times. Brian Villa hit a 2 run pinch hit homer in the 8th.
5/8: LAX 1 @ EVN 3 - Roy Mack pitched 6 innings, and gave up only 2 runs in a losing effort. Brian Villa started, and homered again, to score our only run.
5/9: STC 9 @ LAX 3 - Joe Benson was awful again, giving up 7 runs in 4 IP. Dennis Phillips was 2-5 with a run.
5/10: STC 9 @ LAX 2 - Blankenship gets bashed, again, giving up 7 ER in 3.2 IP. Jeff Kelley goes 2-4 in his first game batting fifth.
5/11: LAX 4 @ JEF 1 - Martinez proves to be a godsend, going 8 IP and 10 K's again, allowing 1 ER. Jim Thompson goes 2-4, R, 2 RBIs.
5/12: LAX 5 @ JEF 1 - Stritch gives up 1 earned in 6 IP. Barnes goes 2-4, 2 R, RBI, and his 4th homer of the year.
5/14: FSH 2 @ LAX 7 - Roy Mack broke through with a 7 IP, 0 ER performance, striking out 7. Michael Barnes stayed hot, going 2-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI.
5/15: FSH 5 @ LAX 6 - Benson finally got a win, barely, by giving up 5 earned in 6 IP. Cecil Newton went 2-3, 2 RBI to help Benson get it.


La Crosse is right in the divisional race so far, falling in at 3rd place, just 1 game back of Eau Claire. They've been hot lately though, winning 4 in a row, and 7 out of their last 10.

Through the first half month of the the Crusaders' campaign, Javier Martinez has been an absolute beast. He's 3-0, with a 0.75 ERA, and his K/9 is just over 10. Jeff Kelley, who La Crosse acquired from Aurora, has been a huge help as well. He leads the team with a .360 batting average, and has 3 HR's and 5 RBI's too. His play resulted in him being moved from 7th to 5th in the batting order on May 10th. 3B Michael Barnes has been playing well too, leading the team with 5 HR's and 9 RBI's, and also hitting .278 in the process. After allowing runs en route to his first two saves, closer Rusty Daniels has now gone five straight scoreless appearances. His ERA was 13.00 after Opening Day, but has it trimmed to 3.38, along with his 5 saves on the season.

Also, here is the South Division standings:

The inconsistency in the logos makes me irrationally angry

You mean you'd rather have them all circles?

If you don't know who a team is(ROC is Rochester, for example), feel free to ask. I think most are pretty self explanatory though.

Also, should I demote Blankenship to AAA and bring up some other scrub? I feel like it's probably not good for his development to be giving up 7 runs in 3 innings every time he pitches, due to being in the big leagues.

May 16th, 2013- Before today's game, La Crosse sent rookie Dave Blankenship(0-1, 12.96 ERA) down to AAA. Blankenship was scheduled to start today. Kilian Boland said that, "We really like what Dave brings to the table, it's just that we don't think he's ready to bring it at the big league level. He'll be back and better one day, but he needs time to mature in the minors. It was hard to watch him play with us and struggle. He needs to be playing against players of his own current skill level to develop properly." Emergency SP Matt Saunders(21/25) will instead be starting today for the Crusaders, and will take over the role of 5th starter. 25 year old righty Randall Jones(22/24) was called up from AAA to take over the swing man job in the bullpen. The Crusaders could really use some decent games out of the back end of their rotation, so hopefully Saunders can keep the damage to a minimum.


Matt Saunders is now the 5th starter in La Crosse's rotation.

5/16: LAX 4 @ AUR 2 - Matt Saunders gave it all he had, going 5.2 innings and giving up just 1 run, striking out 7. Barnes hit his 6th homer of the year.
5/17: LAX 8 @ AUR 7 - Martinez- 7 IP, 8 K's, 3 ER. Bullpen gives up 4, resulting in a no decision. Barnes goes yard again, Villa ends up 3-5, 2 R.
5/18: LAX 12 @ FTW 1 - Stritch gives up only 2 hits in 7 IP. Phillips explodes, going 4-4, HR, 3 R, 2 RBIs.
5/19: LAX 4 @ FTW 3 - Roy Mack kept the Crusaders in it, going 7.2 IP with 3 ER, in a no decision. Josh Howard goes 2-3, RBI. Rusty Daniels picks up save #7.
5/20: EAU 0 @ LAX 2 - In a miracle game, Joe Benson shuts out the Badgers! 6 IP, gave up 1 hit, and struck out 10! Cecil Newton was 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R.
5/21: EAU 6 @ LAX 5 - 9 game winning streak snapped. Saunders did amazing again, giving up 1 ER in 6.2 IP. Larry Ewing lost it, giving up 3 ER in 2 IP. Ross Mullins- 2-5, 4 RBI, R.
5/22: LAX 3 @ APL 1 - Martinez pitching=Crusaders winning. 8 IP, 1 ER, 5 K's. Daniels notches 9th save. Jose Avila- 1-4, 2 RBI, R.
5/23: LAX 6 @ APL 7 - Stritch was chased after giving up 3 ER in 4.2 IP. However, the bullpen is at fault in this game. Phillips was 2-5, HR, 2 RBIs, 2 R.
5/24: CNV 5 @ LAX 3 - Mack gave up 3 ER in 5.2 IP. LAX loaded the bases in the 10th with 0 outs, but couldn't score. Didn't have much going offensively for them.
5/25: CNV 10 @ LAX 7 - Benson couldn't come through this time, giving up 4 ER in 4 IP. Avila was 2-5, RBI R.
5/27: LAX 6 @ BLM 5 - Saunders does okay, giving up 5 R, only 3 ER. The bullpen does great, giving up nothing. Barnes comes through by going 2-3, HR, 2 RBI, R.
5/28: LAX 4 @ BLM 3 - Martinez went 7.1 innings, giving up 2 ER, but in a no decision. Brian Villa hit a clutch go-ahead, pinch hit homer in the top of the 9th to win it.
5/29: SPR 5 @ LAX 3 - Stritch went 8.1 IP, giving up all 5 runs, including 2 in the 9th in a 3-3 tie. Avila was 3-4, 3 R.
5/30: SPR 4 @ LAX 2 - Lost in the 9th inning again. LAX bullpen blew it. Mack gave up 2 ER in 7 IP. Barnes was 2-4, RBI, R.
5/31: LAX 9 @ IND 7 - Benson does it again, going 6 IP, giving up 2 ER. Ewing gives up 4 ER in .2 innings of relief. Newton did well, going 2-5, HR, 5 RBI, 3 R.


La Crosse Crusaders UBL Transactions
May 26th- Demoted MR Tim Thompson(1-2, 6.75 ERA). Called up 24 year old MR Jesus Portillo(29/34). Thompson received the loss in both of the Coon Valley games on May 24-25. He was promptly dropped to AAA Oakville.

UBL Players of the Month(May 2013)
Hitter-Tim Hudson(St. Cloud): .361, 11 HR's, 26 RBI, 23 R
Pitcher-Javier Martinez(La Crosse): 4-0, 46.1 IP, 1.55 ERA, 47 K's
Rookie-Bill Davis(Waterloo): .347, 3 HR's, 7 RBI


La Crosse has surprised the league in their first month, going 18-11, and ending in 2nd place, just 1 game back. They've cooled off since their 9 game winning streak in the middle of the month, but are still playing well enough to contend for a division title. Oddly, the Crusaders are just 5-7 at home, but 13-4 on the road.

Javier Martinez has continued to impress, winning the Pitcher of the Month award for May, and tearing it up in all of his starts. Roy Mack(2-1, 3.43 ERA) and Danny Stritch(3-2, 3.65) have also been good. Matt Saunders(0-0, 2.76 ERA, 3 starts) has been a real surprise for La Crosse as the #5 starter. Not much was expected out of him, but he's given the Crusaders a chance in every game he has pitched. Rusty Daniels(2.08 ERA) is 12/12 in save opportunities, and leads the UBL in the category.

3B Michael Barnes has cooled off over the last few weeks, but still has 9 HR along with 17 RBI and a .221 average. RF Cecil Newton now leads the team in RBI, at 22. He also as 8 HR and a .271 average. 1B Jeff Kelley has also cooled off, but is still hitting .276. LF Brian Villa(.340, 3 HR, 7 RBI) has been excellent in his platoon role, starting against left handed pitchers and making an impact pinch hitting otherwise. Speed has been lacking in La Crosse, as expected, as the team only has 3 stolen bases all month. However, they are 2nd in the UBL in home runs(43), and 4th in runs scored(145), even though they are 13th in team batting average(.243).

Team Stats - La Crosse really hasn't been too impressive overall in their team stats, but they're finding ways to win, and that's what counts.
Batting Stats
Pitching Stats

In the South Division, Fishers has really turned it around, and have vaulted into 2nd place.

Is everyone who is following liking this update style just fine? If you have any requests, please let me know.

I like the update style! I didn't know Tim Hudson was a hitter though.

Okay. And yeah, he's a darn good one, too!

6/1: LAX 4 @ IND 7 - Matt Saunders gets shelled, going 2.2 IP and giving up 6 ER. Jeff Kelley was productive, going 2-4 with 2 runs.
6/2: ROC 3 @ LAX 6 - Martinez gave up 3 earned in 7.1 IP, striking out 9, and earning his 5th win of the year. Ross Mullins was 3-4 with a run scored.
6/3: ROC 6 @ LAX 2 - Stritch gave up 4 earned in 5 innings, and was handed his 3rd loss. Cecil Newton has been hot lately, and was 2-4, HR, 2 RBI, R.
6/4: DAV 6 @ LAX 7 - Mack went 4.1 innings and allowed 3 ER. Brian Villa started and went 2-5, RBI, 2 R, and a walk-off homer in the 10th. Villa has been very clutch this year.
6/5: DAV 1 @ LAX 8 - Joe Benson was amazing, going 8 IP and only allowing 1 ER, striking out 9. Jeff Kelley was 1-4, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R. The home run was a grand slam, in the 8th inning.
6/6: LAX 5 @ WAT 1 - Saunders turned it around from his last start, going 8 impressive shutout innings. Ross Mullins scored twice and was 2-4.
6/7: LAX 6 @ WAT 3 - Martinez gets win #6, going 7 innings and giving up 2 ER. Barnes has been slumping, but hit a 3 run homer in the 8th to win it. He was 1-3, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R.
6/9: EVN 2 @ LAX 1 - Stritch only went 3 IP before straining an abdominal... out for 3 weeks. Gave up 1 ER. Newton was 1-4 with a homer, scoring the Crusaders' only run.
6/10: EVN 4 @ LAX 13 - Mack gave up all 4 runs in 4.2 innings. The offense was led by Jim Thompson, who was 4-4, 2 RBI, 2 R. Barnes may be heating up, he was 3-5, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R.
6/11: LAX 3 @ STC 5 - Benson gives up 3 ER in 6 IP. Michael Barnes was 1-4, and homered again.
6/12: LAX 8 @ STC 3 - Matt Saunders pulls off a mircale, beating St. Cloud's ace. Kelley went 2-5, RBI, 2 R. Barnes was 1-2 with a run, and is hopefully pulling out of his slump.
6/13: JEF 2 @ LAX 9 - Martinez gave up only 1 ER, through 7 inning with 7 K's. Barnes homered again, and Cecil Newton was 3-5, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R. Josh Howard had 3 RBI as well.
6/14: JEF 5 @ LAX 7 - Blankenship gives up 4 ER in 4 IP in his return from AAA, earning no decision. Barnes knocked in 2 RBI and was 1-5, while Howard was 2-3, R, RBI.
6/15: LAX 1 @ FSH 2 - Mack goes 6 innings and only gives up 1 run, but La Crosse can't score enough to win, losing on a walk-off single. Barnes was 2-3.

La Crosse Crusaders UBL Transactions
June 9th- Placed SP Danny Stritch(63/68), who is 3-3 with a 4.00 ERA through 8 starts, on the 15-Day DL due to a strained abdominal muscle. He is expected to miss 3 weeks. Called up SP Dave Blankenship(40/68) to replace him in the rotation. Blankenship started 3 games early in the year for La Crosse, and was 0-1 with an 11.68 ERA.


The Crusaders have upped themselves into a tie for first place with St. Cloud in the divisional standings. They've been doing just fine to start June, going 9-5 in the first half of the month. They went 2-2 in their first four games, but have gone on to win 7 out of their last 10, including a series split with the Chargers.

Javier Martinez has continued to be absolutely dominant, and is now 7-0 through 9 starts, going 67.2 innings, with a 1.86 ERA and 67 strikeouts. Roy Mack is the only other SP with an ERA under 4.00, as he checks in at 3.81, and is 2-1 on the year. Closer Rusty Daniels has also been on lock-down, going a perfect 15/15 in save opportunities thus far, and also posting a 1.54 ERA. Joe Benson has been able to post a 4-2 record, even though his ERA is 6.02. 1B Jeff Kelley continues to lead the Crusaders in batting average, hitting .296 with 7 HR and 21 RBI. RF Cecil Newton is just behind that, hitting .293 with 11 HR and a team best 33 RBI. 3B Michael Barnes was mired in a slump that saw him hitting .207 at its lowest point, but has been pulling out of it recently, and now has his average up to .238, along with the team lead in homers with 13 and also 29 RBI. The rest of the lineup has been doing fine, and most are hovering in the .250-.260 range in the batting average category.

Springfield has started to run away with the South Division, but there is time for the others to catch up.