A surprising second half surge resulting in a trip to playoffs followed by a colossal choke job... That summarizes the Steelheads 2037 season.
A 48-34 stretch from Aug 1 through the end of the season propelled the Steelheads into their 3rd ever playoff appearance. After a sluggish 22-28 start, the club got healthy and hot and was able to sneak into the wildcard spot.
Idaho took a 3-2 series lead against eventual runner up Kentucky. Kentucky won game 6 and in game 7, Idaho jumped out to a 5-1 lead. The bullpen found a way to blow it in the 8th and 9th innings and the game was lost in 13 innings.
Onto the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of 2037.
The Good
- The club made its 3rd ever playoff appearance.
- 1B Damian Lipton and DH Ollie Little both played in every dame, each hitting 31 home runs.
- Lipton and 3B Strickland each came within 2 hits of 200 for the year, Lipton with 199 and Strickland with 198. Both posted 4.0 WAR.
- Outfielders Wilkerson, McCarty, and Sanchez all had very productive seasons and should be integral parts fo the foundation moving forward. Wilkerson is 23 and both McCarty and Sanchez are 22.
- Juan Guevara looked like a future ace posting a 10-6 2.84 and over 9K /9IP.
- Anibal Gonzalez had a great year as the closer, sporting a 1.51 ERA.
- Jim Fish and Ismael Vazquez continued to be solid at the top of the rotation, both eclipsing 200 IP.
The Bad
- Loren Dobson seems to have begun his decline. Idaho's all time leader in hits, runs, HR, RBI, Steals had his worst season since his rookie year, .240-21-55 with 25 steals. His concact is down to 4 and his defense has backed off to a 7 at second base. The almost 34 year old has 2103 hits, 1080 runs, 370 home runs and 1266 RBI to go with 447 steals. He figures to get first shot at being the starting 2B in 2038, but there is some young competition coming through the farm system.
- Hector Gonzalez a supremely talented young SP has proven to be quite injury prone and Idaho cannot be sure he will ever reach his potential because of his propernsity to miss long stretches of time.
- Cesar Hernandez, the clubs all time leader in games pitched had a poor season and one has to wonder if after 776 games his arm is almost worn out. We'll have to see what he brings next spring, his 15th season with the club.
The Ugly
- Blown save in game 7 of the playoffs is never good. Anibal Gonzalez, potential reliever of the year, couldn't get it done under the pressure and one has to wonder how this might impact him moving forward.
All in all a great year in Idaho and the future looks quite bright as the core of the team is very young and the club sports the top farm system in AFBL with several high end prospects on their way.
Congrats to North Carolina and Kentucky for making the finals and North Carolina for winning a classic series.
