Idaho 2033 Season Review

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With only 4 games to go, Idaho has stayed around .500 all year, currently sitting at 78-80. This is going to be a forgotten season as things never got untracked for the club. Add the fact that the FL West has three 90+ win teams who all made the playoffs. The 2033 season was marred by average performances by everyone. The club traded long time closer and fan favorite, Dan Butler, to rival Colorado in exchange for a couple of young players, 3B - Woods and A level catcher Raul Silva.

The Good
- Longtime star Loren Dobson just keep on going strong. .291-29-94 48 steals and a 5.3 WAR. Would love to see him get 1 more HR and 6 RBI in the final 4 games to reach 30-30 and 100 RBI. At age 29, he has accumulated 1568 hits, 267 HR, 962 RBI and over 350 steals.
- All time Idaho leading hit getter David Pegas has had another solid season. At 32, Pegas is approaching 1700 hits and is closing in on 400 2B. His 2.8 WAR brings him just a touch over 40 for his career.
- Young DH, Ollie Little chipped in in his first season with a nice stat line: .278-15-70.
- Derek Boyd, a 2018 draft pick, who has been a bust may have found a role as a closer. 13 for 14 in saves since Butler was dealt, maybe there is a little life left in the 34 year old former 1st round pick.
- PJ Gilmore made his first All Star appearance as a reliever and was very strong out of the BP.
- Starting pitching was solid. Parker, Collinsworth, and Price were all solid. Young Josh Hall had a promising seasons as well.

The Bad
- The offense just never came together this year. Injuries to Jesus Hernandez, Souza, Molina really handcuffed the offense at time and that left a decent starting rotation vulnerable to some low scoring losses. The starters placed 4th in ERA, but didn't get many breaks this year.
- Jim Fish, usually the staff ace had a difficult year. Notching only 15 quality starts and will end under 200 IP for the first time in his career.

The Ugly
- Luis Trujillo fell off this year. The 28 year old former starter couldn't find his stuff and is likely to end with a 14+ ERA in 19 appearances.

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The starting rotation figures to remain as is:

Fish, Price, Collinsworth, Parker, Hall. Whether that is the order or not remains to be seen. Possible challengers for a starting spot would include:

22 year old Ismael Vazquez
23 year old Cisco De Jesus
22 year old Charles Ruggles
28 year old Luis Trukillo

The bullpen should also be mostly the same, but may see some challenges from young players, Cesar Modica, Luis Leal, and Mike Mosely.

The lineup will see some changes. David Pegas figures to move down into the bottom third of the lineup while young SS Souza will hit 2nd behind veteran Jesus Hernandez. Early lineup predictions:

RF - Hernandez
SS - Souza
2B - Dobson
DH - Little
1B - Dawson
3B - Strickland/Woods
CF - Roy
C - Copeman
LF - Pegas

Chouda figures to log some time in RF and CF and Molina will continue to be a super sub in the infield. Mike McKinney, age 36, still has a lot of power and will play at 1B and DH especially against right handed pitching.

On The Farm
C- Maurice Wintle a 2nd round pick in 2027 is posied to break through and make the big club, but may be best served to do one more year in AAA.
- 1B Aurelien Lelievre has hit well at every stop thus far and awaits his chance at 1B.
- 3B Doug Beynon is pushing to play 3B and perhaps DH with the big club in 2034.
P - Luis Leal probably needs a season at AAA, but he could make the jump and challenge for a closer role.
P - Mike Mosley has progressed on the farm nicely and should be a middle innnings guy eventually.
 - 2030 7th round pick Greg Green has moved along surprisingly well and may make a AFBL appearance before too long as well.

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Idaho has focused on outfield in this draft.

First round pick, LF, Ken McCarthy is a career .420 hitter in high school, cranking 60 HR and over 200 RBI in 150 games.This 18 year old is a very hard worker and has a chance to fill out his 6'5 frame and become quite a power hitter. In 2033 he posted hitting streaks of 24 and 29 games.

Second rounder, CF, Doug Thornton is a career .385 hitter who was MVP of each high school playoff round. Idaho was surprised to find him available in round 2 and jumped at the chance to add another talented CF to the organization joining Ty Wilkerson the 1st round pick in 2032.

In the third round, Idaho was shocked to find Venezuelan RF Robinson Sanchez available. Sanchez a career .384 hitter who averaged over 1 RBI per game in his career will begin his career in rookie ball with his draft class mates and hope to represent Idaho in a few years time.

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4th round pick 2B: Michael Donovan, a left handed hitting infielder who batted .390 in high school - could this player be a long term replacement for Loren Dobson?

5th round pick 3B: Cesar Gonzalez, a right handed hitting 3B, a .369 high school hitter who struggled in his senior year, dropping from a .413 batting average down to .313 and seeing his stat line suffer across the board. Can he bounce back and have a long career?

6th round pick C: Steve Durham. Durham was used in half the games in 2033 after being the clear starter in 2032. A tremendous leader and very loyal player, Durham has an uphill climb to develop into a useful catcher, but is young enough to learn the position.