Maple Marauders Update

Big Club UPDATE:

Maple jumped out in front in the Billy Martin Division in the TML very early on and appear destined to win another division title.  We have a 7.5 game lead over Jersey and despite a recent tail spin the pitching should no doubt carry this club into the playoffs.  South Carolina and San Francisco are both double digits behind as we near the Allstar game.  Maple has had some lineup inconsistencies, however; we are getting healthier despite Bill Nelson OF going on the 60 day DL this past SIM.  What has been a great surprise has been our over matching pitching in both the starters and bullpen.  We are 1st in the TML in ERA, Starters ERA, Bullpen ERA, RA, HA, Opp AVG and Ks.  The bats though are pretty much in the middle of the pack if not lower in major hitting categories.

We are doing well equally vs. southpaws and RHP.  We are doing great in 1 run games 18-14 with our only poor record coming in Extra Inning games at 3-6.  Our Winning Pct though has been dropping each month from .750, .643 to .571.  In July we are sitting 2-1, .667 but it is still early.  We suffered a huge sweep vs. Portland that has sent the team in a bit of a tail spin at 3-7 in our last 10.

Our best bat has been Arama "Valley" Huanu OF, .332 AVG, 16 HR, 61 RBI, 9 SB.  Our best arm has been Maurice "Doughboy" Gould SP, 11-4, 2.34 ERA, 1.04 WHIP and 8.46 K/9.  John Jones from the University of South Carolina (Gary thanks) - has been dominant in the CL role, 4-2, 2.09 ERA, 21 SV, 0.98 WHIP and 15.28 K/9.  The staff features 2 other star SPs in Jose "Smooth" Ramos and Jake "The Snake" Nelson each with ERA well below 4.00.

Amateur Draft Summary:

Round 1 #15 overall

Srinivasan Shubhashish, SP

He is currently starting in A Ball for Kingwood but, will most definitely anchor a bullpen in the near future for Maple.  He is elite in all categories including 2 elite pitches.

Round 2 #44 overall

Felipe Navarro, CF

He is currently playing in A Ball for Kingwood.  Not sure he will ever make it to the ABL level unless he improves his contact.  His defense at a hard to play position in the ABL may see him as a 4th OF type.

Round 3 #73 overall

Greg Green, RF

He is currently playing in A Ball for Kingwood.  We like his batting abilities and especially his power to all fields.  He needs to work on his defense otherwise he may end up as a DH only in the ABL.

Round 4 #99 overall

Wayne Soileau, 2B

He is currently playing in A Ball for Kingwood.  Very similar to Greg Green we love his bat and also his speed.  He will need to work on his defense if he wants stick with a middle infield position at 2B in the ABL.  If not, he might be a DH type player.

Farm System:

Astoria AAA is in 2nd place 3.5 games back while Sandy Springs AA and Kingwood A are both in 1st place in their respective divisions.  The Maple farm system has been one of the best in terms of results the past several years and this year we look to be in position once again to possibly send all three minor league affiliates to the playoffs.

The OSA ranks the players within our organization in dead last #24 overall.

Key players include:

Dustin "Bird" McMahon, 3B (#49 ranked) - acquired from Duke City recently, this hot corner man has been promoted to Maple and is seeing full time play.  A .521 OPS is not a great start by any means but, we are going to give him more than a fare shake at keeping this job.  To make room for him on the roster, Garrett Bennett was demoted to AAA.

Loeck "No Name" Jurgens, SP (#87 ranked) - discovered in the Netherlands and promoted to A ball from the International Complex this SP has been effective with very average statistics.  4-3, 4.32 ERA in 17 GS, WHIP 1.65.  We love his change up and control and based on that we feel he will be at the ABL level within the next 3 years.

Close but no cigar...

Maple's run at a league championship ended in 5 games vs. SoCAL.  We were just over matched by a better club in all areas.

It was a great run by a team that has rebounded nicely after a few seasons of horrible baseball.  The owner is happy, the fans are happy and more importantly #GOLDI is happy with the teams' direction for the 2021 season.

Maple ownership made $62+ M last year and set an attendance record at 4,559,305 fans.  Maple also set a team record for team batting avg at .283 and BABIP at .328.  The 2020 season was the 5th time in 9 years that Maple has made it to the playoffs.  The 4 time division champs made it in this season as wild card losing the division title to SF by 1/2 game.

We were very happy with the 2020 Amateur draft results as well.  Pitchers:  Durrani, Stroud, Hanson & Hastings all look to have a chance to make it to the ABL one day!

Meanwhile in the farm system, Single A Kingwood won their 3 straight league championship and AAA Astoria and AA Sandy Springs were eliminated in Round 1 of the playoffs.  It was the 2nd consecutive season in the ABL that the Maple organization sent 4 teams to the post season.  Last year we won 3 minor league titles and were knocked off in the ABL playoffs by Jacksonville.

One area where we have slipped is in the minor league rankings.  Maple currently sits at #24 with 0 points.  We have been promoting some of our youngsters especially in the OF to cover for injuries of late and have made some risky trades to improve now thus, this has hurt our overall minors system ranking in the ABL.

We are excited entering the 2021 season with stars ready to go;  Maurice Gould will again anchor the starting rotation with Jake Nelson as the #2 man.  The batting lineup is again loaded with Bill Nelson, Bartolo Valentin, Brad Thomas and Ronnie Talley leading the way.  Watch out for 2nd year players Pete Moore and Arama Huanu in the OF to step up big time in 2021.  Blake Reynolds at 1B and SS Sardeson now don't have to feel all the pressure in performing at a high level.

Maple makes it to the POST SEASON!

Maple needed 163 games to make it and they did!  After going 0-7 in the sim prior to the final week of the season;  the fans weren't holding their breath.  However; the team pulled off a 4-2 final week despite losing on the last day to end up tied with Kansas City to force a 1 game tie-breaker for the TML Wild Card spot.  San Francisco who was a dark horse all year came through with the Billy Martin Division title ending up 1 game ahead of the Marauders.

Maple had their best month in August going an incredible 21-6! but cooled off in September with a 15-13 record and then finally in October going 3-2 including the win vs. KC in Game #163.  This was by far the most balanced team we have coached said, #GOLDI after the win at home vs. KC.  The team in both hitting and pitching was in the top half of the TML including;  3rd overall in the ABL in FIP.  The acquisition of Maurice Gould SP really paid off this year as he led the ABL in Ks with 249 and WINS with 21!  Bill "THE SINGER" Nelson OF also tied Oliver North for the league lead in SBs at 60!  Very unusual to see individual stat leaders coming from Maple.

Jake #THE SNAKE Nelson pitched the playoff clincher for Maple in a 3-0 shutout win at home in front of 52,092 fans.  Jake was acquired from Eureka via trade the year before.  Jake (14-14) will now get a chance to face the team that dealt him away in Round 1 of the TML playoffs.

Maple for the 2nd consecutive season will have playoff teams at all levels in the ABL.  Astoria (AAA), Sandy Springs (AA) and Kingwood (A) all qualified by winning their respective divisions.  Last season the minor league affiliates all won their league titles but, Maple was eliminated in Round 1 vs. Jacksonville.

Maple poised for another division title....

Maple is starting to play some good baseball as we enter mid-August of the 2020 season.  The Marauders sit in last place in the TML Billy Martin Division at 4 games back of Jersey.  In addition to playing some better baseball through the summer months, they also have the experience of "being there" when it counts.  We don't expect Jersey to hang around when October comes along.  In August so far Maple has a 6-2 record.  In tonight's sim we have 4 at home vs. Jersey and 2 at home vs South Carolina.  This will be another big sim in this division with a target number of wins set to be 85 in order to win this division again this year.  The team has recently called up two future stars of the ABL in Pete Moore OF and Arama Huanu OF.  The free spot on the roster became available shortly after Marty Silver hit the DL before the trade deadline.

A great addition to the offense has been Bartolo "LEGACY" Valentin OF who probably will be a Super 2 this year and seek a big contract.  He has a 5.7 WAR after 91 games.  The big ?mark for him will be health.  He has missed big chunks of games before and has already seen the DL this year.  Watch out this year for the speed game from Maple who feature Top 3 SB man Bill "THE SINGER" Nelson with 32 swipes so far this season.

A great addition to the pitching staff has been Jose Ramos, SP who was recently acquired from Mile High.  He is on FIRE right now after his two impressive starts with Maple vs. Mile High and San Francisco going 2-0.  Quietly Maple is #2 in the TML in FIP as well.  Lets not forget about Maurice Gould, SP as well.  Maple may have its better staff since the inaugural season in the ABL.

Down on the farm, Maple's organization is in 1st place at the AAA, AA and A levels.  We have a ton of players asking for promotions but, nowhere to play them :-(  We were hoping to make 1-2 more deals at the deadline but, activity this year was "quiet".

We remain confident that we will be on top by seasons end in the Billy Martin division.  We have better hitting, speed and pitching vs. last years club.  We also feel with some luck we could be representing the TML in the World Series.

Maple heads into the Allstar break in 3rd place in the Billy Martin Division, 3.5 GB of San Francisco.  The team troubles vs. Southpaws is becoming a big concern for management.  Currently, Maple is 11-18 vs. Lefties on the season while 31-29 vs. Righties.  Maple also has been subpar on the road at 17-25 while 25-22 at home.  Our record vs. Lefties and on the road will need to improve if we are going to win this division again this year.

Entering the trade deadline, Maple will be on the market for a SP and will be looking to trade from one of the deepest farm systems in the league.

Maple for the first time, will feature two of its top prospects in the OF in Arama Huanu and Pete Moore due to injuries suffered by Bill Nelson and Marty Silver.  We are excited to see what these kids can do up with the big club.  Another surprise this year is the bullpen.  Currently, the pen is 3rd in ERA at 4.09 and improving each month.  Joshua Goldberg who struggled poorly as a Starter is showing signs of bouncing back for a decent year in the pen as a long reliever.  Kent Tukulve Jr. has also been a nice surprise.  Kent is the son of the former MLB submarine closer of a team called the Pirates.  I wonder what happen to that league?  I'm glad the ABL exists!

Maple overall is more balanced as a team so we remain confident we can make the playoffs again this year and hopefully get past the 1st round.

Down on the farm;  Astoria in AAA, Sandy Springs in AA and Kingwood in A ball all lead their divisions.  We have a ton of prospects ready for the promotion but, really no where to put them.  Our best SP prospects Rick Hill and Gabresilassie Cherono have pitched well.  Unfortunately, Rick "BOY" Hill went down with an injury last sim and will miss some time.  Good news is nothing serious about this injury the doctors say;  just a sore shoulder.

This years draft pick is turning heads - John Stroud in A Ball Kingwood.  Stroud has posted a 2-0 record in 4 GS with a 3.28 ERA in 24.2 IP.  We loved him out of College and was really happy to see him slip to us in Round 1 Supplement Pick #2.  This kid is a winner at Auburn and a former allstar caliber player.

We end July with some big series;  4 @ South Carolina, 3 H vs. Jersey and 1 H vs. San Francisco  prior to the Trade Deadline.

Maple is in 2nd place in the TML Billy Martin division 5 games behind San Francisco.  Maple is used to coming from behind to win the division so there is no real panic with just over 100 games left in the 2020 regular season.  Maple has improved each month so far early in the season posting 10-13 opening April result, followed by a 13-15 May and an early 4-3 start in June.

Statistically speaking, Maple ranks no worst than 8th in the TML in any batting category.  3rd in Stolen bases & 8th in Bavg is their best and worst mark in the TML.  Pitching wise, Maple's staff has struggled with BBs (12th in the TML) meanwhile the team is 1st in Strikeouts and 2nd in Bullpen ERA.  Compared to the past few seasons, the overall statistics for Maple have improved relative to the other contenders in the TML.

Down on the farm system, the once top rated minor league crop is now ranked 20th.  The former R1 phenom Rick "BOY" Hill has slipped considerably this year to #45.  Meanwhile Cherono SP has moved up quite rapidly to #38 and is simply dominating with the Ks this year in A Ball Kingwood.  SP Capel has been in and out of the top 100 the past few sims and currently sits #99.  Both Cherono and Capel were highly bid on by Maple in the inaugural INT FA frenzy in the ABL.

Injury wise, Maple remains pretty healthy at this point in the season with only Domingo Pena MR and Ju-wei Yuan MR on the DL both due back within the next 3-5 weeks.

The farm system features 3 first place teams - Astoria AAA, Sandy Springs in AA and Kingwood in A Ball.

Watch Outs - OF Arama Huanu and OF Pete Moore are waiting in the wings for a shot at the ABL.  There is a big log jam in the OF in Maple right now so look for a move or two depending on Maples' position come late July.  SS Christian Rivera in AAA is also receiving alot of interest from fellow ABL teams.  The jury is still out on C Dean Smith and OF Dominic Owens both in AAA ball too.

It should be another fun season in the TML - Billy Martin division where things are usually settled in the last sim of the season!

ABL - 2020 Season - Year IX - Maple Marauders Opening Months

Maple had high hopes entering the 2020 season after finishing strong last year to win the division and make the playoffs.  The major additions late last year of SP Maurice Gould and SP Jake Nelson combined with the off season acquisition of LF Marty Silver positioned Maple to be one of the favorites in the competitive TML Billy Martin Division.

However, Maple sits 13-19 after the first month and half of ABL play, 2.5 games back of rival South Carolina in 3rd place in the division.  The pitching has been average and the bats have been really inconsistent to start the season.  Maple is 9th in runs scored and 7th in runs against.  Maple has been known in the past to be a team that can hit the long ball but, this year we have hit 24 blasts which is ranked tied for 10th in the TML.  One bright spot has been the speed game where Bill Nelson leads the team with 11 swipes of Maples' 28 in total to tie for 2nd in the TML.

Brad "Super Man" Thomas is our best hitter so far batting .359 bavg, 6 HR & 22 RBI.  Maurice Gould to no surprise is our best pitcher, 3-1 record, 3.65 ERA, 49.1 IP, 40 HA, 2 HRA, 15 BB, 40K with a 1.11 WHIP.

Maple has been fairly healthy to start the year with only minor bumps and bruises so far.  The spotlight for the rest of May will be on once prized prospect SP Joshua Goldberg.  The son of the owner has been up and down throughout his minor league career and has struggled in the rotation at the ABL level.  He has the stuff and movement to be effective at times but, he just can't seem to throw strikes with any of his pitches.  Joshua will move from the rotation to long relief and hopefully this will give him some shorter outings without the pressure of taking the ball in the starting role.

The minor league system continues to dominate with AAA Astoria, AA Sandy Springs and A Kingwood all leading their divisions.

The prospect watch has seen R1 phenom SP Rick Hill drop from the top 10 list to #45 meanwhile IFA acquisition SP Gabresilassie Cherono has climbed the Top 100 chart to #52.  SP Hayden Capel is ranked #98 and made his first appearance in the Top 100 this past week.  He was another one of the expensive IFA's that Maple went after in year 1 of IFA.