2034 Idaho Preview and Season Thread

[LT]

Looks like the 2034 season is off to a rough start for Idaho. Superstar Loren Dobson will miss the first month of action due to a broken hand. The toughest player on the roster to replace, we are not sure where the Steelheads will get offense from in the early part of the season.

Additionally, long time DH/1B Eric Dawson must complete his suspension so newcomer Aurelien Lelievre is going to play first base. Lelievre, a 2032 2nd round pick, hit very well in his brief stop in AAA. He has a chance to get a taste of the big leagues in 2034 and maybe take the 1B job for the foreseeable future should be perform well.

The likely opening day roster:

Batters

C - Archie Copeman, coming off a best fielder award at the C position, Copeman is a light hitting, speedy catcher. Longtime starter and last years backup Dan Dixon will be the second catcher and late inning defensive replacement.

1B - This was Eric Dawson's spot until he got suspended and Lelievre developed into a player worthy of a big league look. The 6'1" poutine loving Quebecer will get some serious playing time and may be a long term solution.

2B - A devastating injury to star Loren Dobson is forcing Idaho to use Ziven Mliss at 2B. Mliss can hit and field a little, but won't be the stud that Idaho fans are use to seeing play 2B. Hopefuly Dobson can recover quickly and contribute as soon as possible.

3B - A platoon between Ian Woods and Dan Strickland will man 3B. Both solid hitters and solid fielders will push each other for PT.

SS - 2 time defensive wizard and All Star Lucio Souza is the short stop. This year he will hit 2nd.

LF - Long time Steelhead David Pegas goes for double 400 and will try to get to 1800 hits with a full season in 2034.

CF - Mike Roy is the centerfielder. The 23 year old is coming off a strong finish to the 2033 season and the Steelheads are looking for some big things in 2034 from this young player.

RF - Jesus Hernandez is the RF. A tremendous hitter and master of the 3 bagger (82 in 8 seasons) Hernandez leads off. Hopefully he can stay healthy this year as he struggled with injuries in 2033.

The depth in the OF is provided by Shoji Chouda and the DH Ollie Little.

Pitchers

The starting rotation is the same as in 2033. Featuring some veteran pitchers like Jim Fish, Eric Price, Dan Collinsworth, and Bob Parker. Young Josh Hall mans the #5 spot awaiting his chance to move up in the rotation.

The bullpen has some new faces - new closer, Tabito Tamura was acquired in an offseason deal with New Mexico. Cesare Modica is the long new face who has had a strong spring. Some young players, Ruggles and Vazquez are key parts of this pen in 2034.

On the Farm

There are some players awaiting promotion in AAA. Doug Beynon, who had a cup of coffee in Idaho in 2032 may be ready to challenge at 3B. Maurice Wintle is going to share catching duties before long in Idaho.

Mike Mosely, Luis Leal, Greg Green, Cisco De Jesus are some young guys who have bright futures in the AFBL. There are some veterans like Derek Boyd, Doug O'Brien, Jim Smith who may be called up in a pinch...

[LT]

The following milestones may be reached by Steelhead players in 2034:

- Jim Fish is 7 wins behind all time franchise leader Zach Anderson. With his 8th win this year he will reach 139 career wins.
- Eric Price needs 18 wins to reach 100 for his Steelhead career.
- Cesar Hernandez needs to appear in 60 games to reach 600 for his career.
- Loren Dobson (798) and David Pegas (794) will pass 800 runs and could possibly get to 900 with great seasons.
- Jesus Hernandez is 173 hits shy of 1500 for his career.
- David Pegas is 12 doubles short of 400.
- Loren Dobson 36 RBI shy of 1000.
- Jesus Hernandez 33 steals from 400.
- David Pegas 53 walks from 700.

[LT]

The 2034 season is off to a rocky start - Star 2B Dobson has played in only 3 games. RF and career .313 hitter Jesus Hernandez was hurt 2 games into the season and will miss the remainder of 2034. The club is pitching well and has hung in there so far at 8-8.

Former 3rd overall pick, RF Chouda is getting his chance with Hernandez out.

While Dobson was out, a presumed drunken coach used 3B Ian Woods at 2B. He responded by making 8 errors in 13 starts.

Long time LF Pegas is struggling and whispers are abound that he may be done. Coach is sticking with him for now.

CF Mike Roy is 0-5 on stolen base attempts..

Let's see what the next couple of sims bring...

[Chappy]

While Dobson was out, a presumed drunken coach used 3B Ian Woods at 2B. He responded by making 8 errors in 13 starts.

 

[LT]

The following milestones may be reached by Steelhead players in 2034:

- Jim Fish is 7 wins behind all time franchise leader Zach Anderson. With his 8th win this year he will reach 139 career wins.
- Eric Price needs 18 wins to reach 100 for his Steelhead career.
- Cesar Hernandez needs to appear in 60 games to reach 600 for his career.
- Loren Dobson (798) and David Pegas (794) will pass 800 runs and could possibly get to 900 with great seasons.
- Jesus Hernandez is 173 hits shy of 1500 for his career.
- David Pegas is 12 doubles short of 400.
- Loren Dobson 36 RBI shy of 1000.
- Jesus Hernandez 33 steals from 400.
- David Pegas 53 walks from 700.

Both Dobson and Pegas reached 800 runs.
Hernandez will not reach either milestone in 2034 as he is out for the season...

[LT]

Tough start for Idaho. Sitting 5 games under .500, struggling to score runs Idaho has made some changes to the big league roster and the AAA roster.

Don Ashley has been demoted. He had been platooning with struggling David Pegas and has been replaced by 2031 3rd round pick Puck Schenkevelt. Puck and Pegas will share duties in LF.

Vic Taylor has struggled and has suffered and injury and has been placed on the 60 day DL. Former 4th round pick (2028) Mike Mosley has been called up for relief duties.

Mike Minor, Mike Lewis, and Ernesto Garcia have been released from AAA Idaho Falls. Former #1 overall pick, Brad Allen has been released as well. GM LT quoted "It is tough to release a former 1st overall pick (2021) but Allen just doesn't hit the ball anymore. A hip injury a few seasons ago slowed him down and the end of the line is near. It is time to promote some younger players and allow them to develop. We thank Brad for his service to the team and wish him the best in the future."

Longtime organization member and current AAA pitcher Jim Smith has suffered a potential career ending arm injury and has been placed on the DL. At 32 he has suffered the dreaded ulnar nerve injury - who knows if he ever pitches effectively again.

Former FA find SP - Osamu Takuda has been promoted to AAA. Leo Pellerin, 3B, also a FA find has been promoted to AAA.

Numerous other organizational changes have taken place.

[LT]

Loren Dobson has shaken off the hand injury from the preseason and has returned to his usual self. This Sim he reached the 1000 RBI mark.  Congrats to Idaho's allstar second baseman!

[LT]

In a bit of a surprise, Idaho shipped out veteran SP Eric Price in exchange for 20 year old prospect Rod O'Colgan Jr.

In the days since that move, veteran catcher, Dan Dixon and long time 1B Mike McKinney have been released from the organization.

Struggling veteran LF David Pegas is going to share time in LF with young Puck Schenkvelt, and AA C Antonio Jiminez is set to make his AFBL debut as backup to Archie Copeman.

Could more moves be in the works prior to the trade deadline?

[LT]

Idaho moved on from former #3 overall pick, Shojiro Chouda. He was traded to Colordao inexchange for 21 year old 1B Damion Lipton and SP Rick McAfee.

Cisco DeJesus was demoted after yet another horrendous start - the 24 year old has great stuff, but has not put it together yet going 0-4 8.81 in 6 starts.
Young RH starter Rueben Martinez has put together back to back solid starts and is now 2-3 with a 4.40 ERA.
New RF, Ron 'Deez Nuts' Shepard has been productive driving in 6 runs in his first 7 AFBL games. He has only 5 hits in 26 at bats, but is showing some promise in RF.

This is a lost season in Idaho, but with some exciting players in the minors hopefully the club is building back to contention in the next 2-3 seasons.

[LT]

The following milestones may be reached by Steelhead players in 2034:

- Jim Fish is 7 wins behind all time franchise leader Zach Anderson. With his 8th win this year he will reach 139 career wins.
- Eric Price needs 18 wins to reach 100 for his Steelhead career.
- Cesar Hernandez needs to appear in 60 games to reach 600 for his career.
- Loren Dobson (798) and David Pegas (794) will pass 800 runs and could possibly get to 900 with great seasons.
- Jesus Hernandez is 173 hits shy of 1500 for his career.
- David Pegas is 12 doubles short of 400.
- Loren Dobson 36 RBI shy of 1000.
- Jesus Hernandez 33 steals from 400.
- David Pegas 53 walks from 700.

Both Dobson and Pegas reached 800 runs.
Hernandez will not reach either milestone in 2034 as he is out for the season...

Dobson has passed 1000 RBI and Pegas has passed 400 Doubles.

Eric Price was traded so he won't get to 100 wins in a Steelhead uniform.

Pegas is 4 walks shy of 700.
Dobson is 13 HR short of 300 for his career.
Lucio Souza is 2 SB short of 100 for his career.

[LT]

Dan Strickland has a shot at 200 hits. If he gets there he will be the 3rd Steelhead to accomplish that feat. He also has a chance to have the best BA for a full season. He is currently at .343 and the team record is .345. He currently has 33 doubles and has a chance to tie or break the team record of 45.

Ollie Little is on pace for 50 doubles, which would be a team record.

[LT]

A 75-87 season for Idaho. Disappointing yes, but the 19-12 finish in Sept and Oct bodes well for 2035. RF Jesus Hernandez will be back for the 2035 campaign which will provide a real boost to the offense.

Now a review of 2034:

The Good

Hitting:

- DH Ollie Little played in all 162 games posting career highs across the board. The 23 year old looks poised to enter a strong 4-5 year run as an offensive force hitting .280-21-80 with 44 doubles.
- 3B Dan Strickland busted out with 197 hits and a .343 average. With 42 doubles and solid D at 3B he is a fixture in the lineup for the foreseeable future.
- 3 time all star Lucio Souza playes SS.He hit .293 with 44 steals. This 23 year old continues to grow as a hitter and is already a 2 time gold glover.
- Don't tell Loren Dobson that he is slowing down. He did miss 25 games this year but still managed .265-29-88 with 28 steals.
- Newly acquired 1B Damian Lipton looks to be a keeper. In limited action he was a 2 time rookie of the month and posted .293-9-31 in 47 games.

On the pitching side a pretty solid season was had by the Steelhead staff.
- Jim Fish bounced back and posted 9-9 3.69 and 2.9 WAR.
- Dan Collinsworth completed 3 games, posted a 10-13 record with a 3.18 ERA.
- Bob Parker was 14-7 with a 3.65.
- New closer Tabito Tamura had 37 saves and struck out 97 batters in 80 innings of work.
- Gilmore, Hernandez, and Modica all posted ERAs below 3.

The Bad

- Once RF Hernandez got hurt the team struggled to replace him. Shojiro Chouda was serviceable before being traded to Colorado.
- 1B Eric Dawson struggled and was replaced. Not sure he has a place on this team any longer and at 29 may be moved on. He can still hit and could help a club out at DH.
- CF  Mike Roy played good defense but struggled to a .240-12-57 season. He is keep CF warm for 5 star prospect Ty Wilkerson who figures to take the CF job in the next 1-2 seasons.
- Cisco DeJesus struggled to figure it out at the big league level.  The 24 year old was 1-6 with a 6.61. He faired better out of the BP and figures to be in the conversation for 5th start in 2035.

The Ugly

- Hernandez's injury. The RF was 4-6 with 2 steals when he went down for the season with a fractured hip. Who knows if/how he recovers. In 6 or his first 7 seasons he hit > .300 and stole almost 400 bases.
- David Pegas suffered through a horrendous season. Although he passed 1700 hits and 400 2B, he finished the year with a pathetic .188 average and his outlook for 2035 is questionable. Young Puck Schenkvelt, potential LF Ian Woods and Doug Beynon will battle for playing time next season.

A look Ahead
The lineup figures to be much the same, but should get a boost from oft injured Hernandez. 20 year old catcher Antonio Jiminez made a little splash in 15 games hitting .313 with 2 home runs. He will play more and try to hold off Maurice Wintle who hit 30+ HR in AAA.
As for pitching, promising Rueben Martinez was 5-6 in his debut season and figures to be the #4 starter. Josh Hall, DeJesus, McAfee all figure to battle for that last starter spot.

Milestones in 2035

- Jim Fish is at 140 career wins, 150 is certainly reachable.
- With a healthy season Fish will make his 400th career start towards the end of 2035.
- With 107 Ks, Fish will pass 2000 for his career.
- Cesar Hernandez will appear in his 600th game the third time he pitches in 2035.
- Dobson is at 873 runs. Health permitting he will pass 900 in 2035.
- Dobson at 297 HR, so he will pass the 300 mark.
- Dobson is 26 steals short of 400.
- Hernandez is 31 steals short of 400.

Hopefully the 19-12 finish sparks the club to come out strong in 2035 and compete for a playoff spot.

[LT]

Idaho had the 7th pick in each round in the 2034 draft.

1st Round

Idaho selected Jose Gonzales. This versatile 18 year old shows huge batting potential and versatility to play almost anywhere on the diamond defensively. It will be interested where he is groomed defensively as Idaho has a multi time all star SS who is only 22, but has an aging 2B in Loren Dobson and some potential questions in the outfield.

2nd Round

Pitcher Jorge Reyes was chosen. The youngster with a nickname "Crack and Hookers' likes to have some fun, but he got serious in the senior year at Houston High School setting career bests across the board. This lefty is working on developing 4 pitches and while it figures to take some time, Idaho sees a future top of the rotation guy here.