PANIC INDEX: THE PENULTIMATE EDITION
Jake McQuimberton, LSN Sports
We’re now 140 games into the historic first season of Llamaphant Pro Baseball, and while the Newlandian half of the league is going down to the wire, the Llamanean half is…well, all but decided. A shockingly strong Apple Valley will win the North, the defending champion Wizards will take the Central (barring a massive collapse), and the Nikcoro Suns will gut it out in the south. The two wild-card spots, as we all expected before the season started, will head to Cyclone Park and Vargas City, and the other half of the league ranges from “mathematically still contenders” to “forty games out”.
As usual, the Panic Index is an attempt to gauge the long-term prospects of each team. We start at 12, representing the team in the best shape to win a championship within the next few years, and count down to 1, representing the Peninsulara Kingfishers. Rankings depend not only on each team’s record and playoff hopes (although that’s still the most pertinent factor), but where they are in the competing/rebuilding process, and the projected future development of their players.
12. APPLE VALLEY VIPERS (95-45, -35 GB, LPB NORTH, prev: 12)Who saw this coming, huh? Certainly not any of us. The Vipers have continued to blow the socks off the collective rest of the LPB North, consistently turning in .700 baseball since the start of the season. The starting pitching may be outperforming their peripherals, but is still turning in a phenomenal performance, and a series of breakouts from the position players have made the Vipers dominant on both sides of the ball. With the Wizards six games behind and with a much tougher upcoming schedule, it’s all but certain that the Vipers will be the #1 overall seed in the playoffs. The only question is whether this success can continue into the postseason for Dinesh Mohn, Emily Innis, Emery Wu, and the rest of these stars.
KEY PLAYERS: Innis may not really be a 2.35 ERA sort of talent, but she’s anchored the Vipers rotation from start to finish, making her all-star start well-deserved. Evangeline Lu’s injury would be catastrophic for a shallow Vipers bullpen, but she’s been a shutdown reliever over her sixty-one innings already pitched (including
eighty Ks). Emery Wu, the third of three all-star game starters, has slashed .312/.375/.499 and is on pace to join the 30-30 club, and is the odds-on favorite to win the Silver Slugger.
ONES TO WATCH: Third starter Carter Wilkinson has pitched like an ace since recovering from an early injury and ensuing slow start - this year’s #4 draft pick has struck out more than a batter per inning while getting his walks under control and his ERA sub-3. Fellow first-round pick Charlie McCray has proven a steal with the twenty-ninth pick of the redraft, becoming one of three starters with an on-base percentage north of .370 (the others being Wu and Chromatika’s Rose Dawson, who has quietly put up a fantastic season in her LPB debut).
STRAGGLERS: Bullpen depth is a relative weak point, with the likes of Jake Schuster and Felicity Bang struggling all season to get out of Evangeline Lu’s monstrous shadow. And while Derrick Armstrong’s defense remains good as ever, he’s starting to catch the injury bug, and his .209 average is the worst of his career.
11. NEW LLAMA WIZARDS (89-51, -6 GB, LPB CENTRAL, prev: 11)The defending champions haven’t hit the heights of last year’s President’s Cup, but Nikki Wang and co. are still very much in cruise control despite the strength of their division. While the Lions have been starting to gain on them after a slow start, the Wizards remain firmly in control of the division and have a roster experienced with postseason glory. This side of the LPB Playoffs will be wide open, but the Wizards have as good of a shot as anybody - and while their roster is starting to feel the effects of age, smart young offseason pickups should be able to secure their long-term success.
KEY PLAYERS: Ace Kelsie Carmichael has come and absolutely lived up to the hype, finding another level recently with consecutive 7 IP/0 ER, 8 IP/2 ER, and 7.2 IP/1 ER starts (and a combined thirty-one strikeouts in said appearances). She’s not the most likely to win the Evan Masorka given Ayonara’s general existence, but would be a deserving winner in any other year. Summer Huang has continued to show why she’s the best Llamanean player in the world right now, continuing to churn out .300/.400/.500 seasons like clockwork (she’s actually hitting .329 this year). Chromatik slugger George Ducat isn’t one of the nation’s biggest stars, but the WBC52 champion started in the all-star game, is on pace for forty home runs, and is the odds-on favorite for the Gold Glove.
ONES TO WATCH: Ranorian first baseman Vincent Veltrone, acquired from Newport for NT reliever Y.P. Ying, has been a revelation in his age twenty season, struggling with injuries early in the season but slugging home runs at a 35-a-year rate since then. And Bedin Egozhevy, in his first season from Delaclava, has been quietly excellent, with a sub-3 FIP and a dominant strikeout record. But those are the only core players under 25, which has to give Nikki Wang some pause.
STRAGGLERS: Cedric Wei has been in free fall over the past few seasons since his dropping from the national team, and he’s struggled to maintain effectiveness even in the LPB this season. His command remains excellent, but his stuff has become eminently hittable, and he gives up home runs at one of the worst rates in the league. Vandenberg, Scherer, and Mikkelson were billed as a shutdown top of the bullpen, but Scherer is the only one of the three to live up to expectations, which could be a weakness in the postseason.
10. NEW LLAMA CYCLONES (77-63, 12 GB, 0 WCGB, LPB CENTRAL, prev: 8)Expectations were relatively low for the LPB’s most successful historical franchise coming off of a rebuild, but the young core appears to be ahead of schedule and cruising towards the playoffs. Anchored by the best young middle infield in the league, with Lonnie Hayter and René Corbin both surpassing expectations, an experienced bullpen and outfield studded with international stars, and a rotation rapidly coming into their own, the Cyclones look as dangerous as they’ve been in a few seasons despite the younger setup. While these playoffs may be a season too early for them, the future is bright at Cyclones Park.
KEY PLAYERS: He may be a dumbass who was suspended by the team after trying to climb through the clubhouse vents and getting stuck there, but Lonnie Hayter is undeniably the Cyclones’ second baseman of the future. He hit .288, stole the most bases of any infielder in the league, and dazzled with his flashy fielding. The team’s other all-star, veteran Newmanistani outfielder Jenna Schuster, was just as good, leading the team in on-base percentage (.377), stolen bases (41), and home runs robbed at the wall (5, somehow).
ONES TO WATCH: René Corbin was a bit of a polarizing prospect entering the draft, allowing the Cyclones to trade up to take him tenth at a relatively cheap rate, but he’s silenced the doubters this season. While his approach to hitting remains a work in progress, he’s managed to hit for decent power and get on base frequently, and his defense has been elite. Also key have been the team’s second and third starters, 22-year-old Jerome Delapier and Leif Best, who have combined for thirty wins and three hundred strikeouts so far. There’s not much youth on the team, with most of the rebuilt Cyclones in their prime - but there’s a definite core to work around.
STRAGGLERS: April Bendtner hasn’t been
terrible, but her season has been plagued by injuries as well as the occasional stinker - you’d expect more than 87 innings given how much they’re paying her. While Delapier and Best have propped up the aging ace, and there’s reason to believe she’ll turn it on in the playoffs again given her track record, the Cyclones should be looking for top-end starting pitching to replace their ace in the offseason. But this team is surprisingly deep, and there have been very few weaknesses displayed this season - if their ace is back, they should be ready to at least put up a good fight.
9. XINGCHENG RENAISSANCE (71-69, 6 GB, 6 WCGB, LPB SOUTH, prev: 10)They’ve never really been convincing this season despite being neck and neck with last season’s runners-up in the division, but Xingcheng will be more than happy with this season’s progress. While their earlier lead in the division was more a function of Nikcoro’s sluggish start than anything Jacinta MacRaun’s team did, being en route to a playoff spot at the halfway point is always an accomplishment. They’ve kept up a roughly .500 pace since then, but a resurgent Suns have doomed them to be the odd team out this season. Still, their flourishing young core is far ahead of schedule, and ownership will have to be pleased with their first over-.500 season in a few years.
KEY PLAYERS: The Renaissance largely took the division lead off the strength of their pitching, with a staff anchored by TJUN-ian ace Chris Harris, who turned in a borderline all-star showing, Drawkian veteran Syd Masterson, and a shutdown bullpen. Sherpa closer Urkyen Bharadhwaj showed he doesn’t need PEDs to be dominant and Eliza Guo was as solid as ever, but the real surprise was Ko-oren’s Martiño Siquieros turning into an absolute flamethrower and earning an all-star spot as a middle reliever - his volume likely wasn’t enough to surpass Evangeline Lu in the Reliever of the Year sweepstakes, but an ERA under 1.50 has to be recognized. The offense got off to a slower start, but all-star starter Nicolas Perez proved himself worthy of the #1 redraft pick, slugging thirty-six home runs and anchoring the team’s lineup.
ONES TO WATCH: Schuyler Duffy has been a revelation for the Renaissance, showing genuine five-tool ability after the Renaissance traded down to take them at eighth (manager MacRaun reportedly had them first on her big board). It’s hard for a rookie to have an on-base clip north of .360, hit 23 home runs, steal 20 bases, and play elite defense at center field without winning Rookie of the Year, so…expect some silverware in Duffy’s trophy cabinet soon. Chromatik outfielder Dane Gilbert, two years younger than Duffy, also showed tremendous potential with his bat. And Solveig Jørgensen, again just twenty-one despite being a WBC starter, was somewhat inconsistent but also threw a 13-strikeout no-hitter - expect her to be the team’s ace soon.
STRAGGLERS: The hope in Xingcheng was that second-round picks Billy Kemp and Annie Wladecki could join the likes of Duffy, Perez, and Ethanian catcher Benjamin Wilden in the young core, but neither has impressed so far. Wladecki, given a rare start at first base when Perez came down with food poisoning, seemed to forget that she could step on first base to retire wily shortstop Miles Villeneuve when the latter hit a chopper down the first-base line with two outs and ran backward to evade a tag. The ensuing wild-goose chase resulted in two runs scoring, Villeneuve on third base, three injuries, and a small fire started in the outfield.
8. NIKCORO SUNS (77-63, -6 GB, LPB SOUTH, prev: 7)Despite an early challenge from the surprising Renaissance, it’s been business as usual for Michael Shelby’s young Suns. Nikcoro continue to hold serve in the LPB South, not really widening the gap between them and Xingcheng but refusing to let the Renaissance narrow it either, and are poised to cruise to a playoff berth. The magic of last season’s run to the President’s Cup finals isn’t quite there, and the core may be starting to age, but things are still comfortable for now. That being said, their sub-.500 start to the season (they were still under that watermark at the halfway point) should raise at least minor concerns, especially if the slow starts continue next season with an aged core.
KEY PLAYERS: The corner outfield spots brought a lot of joy to Suns fans this season - Tyson Long and Liam Desjardins, former partners in crime in the Tigers outfield, both got off to slow starts but had scorching second halves. Long in particular hit just nine home runs in the first half, owing to off-the-field concerns and a nagging shoulder injury, but a power surge has seen him triple that count in the last sixty games. Meanwhile, Desjardins has been the consensus pick for the Gold Glove at right-field since Game One, but a recent series of cannon throws home to beat the runner and leaping catches at the wall have cemented this spot, and his bat has woken up a bit as well. The infield pairing of Ian Hart and the timeless Momoko Komura, the team’s lone all-star, have impressed as well with their on-base and defensive capabilities, while Edward Zhuang remains a dominant top-of-the-rotation starter.
ONES TO WATCH: Ahmed Mendez wasn’t exactly a top prospect in the redraft but has eaten up innings reasonably well (although his peripherals indicate he may just be incredibly lucky). The team’s only other U-25 player, catcher Isidro Short, is slashing .187/.231/.300.
STRAGGLERS: The pitching has been relatively weak after Zhuang - Mendez has done well, but Danielle Nørregaard is beginning to decline, and the bullpen outside of Morgan Hedegaard has been atrocious - the team is well below .500 in games decided in the final three innings. It’s hard to call Tricia Moreno a disappointment given that she’s actually been doing alright with the bat, but she’s never had a reputation as a good framer or manager of pitchers, and it’s worth wondering how much of the pitching underperformance can be pinned on the team’s veteran catcher.
7. VARGAS CITY LIONS (83-57, 6 GB, +6 WCGB, LPB CENTRAL, prev: 9)Having the third-best record in the league might not sound so bad, but with the amount of offseason spending that Abraham Kakay was afforded, it’s championship or bust in Vargas City, and an underwhelming second half has fans starting to sweat. The fact of the matter is that a team with no less than seven WBC starters in the starting lineup, and a rotation frontlined by Megan Reardon, Isaac Colón, and fucking Clara Ayonara, should not be twelve games behind the Vipers. And while all this star power has gelled more of lately, and should prove more dangerous than ever in the playoffs, it’s undeniable that you’d expect the Lions to look a lot more, well, unstoppable juggernaut-y. The team is surprisingly young given the wealth of international experience they have, and there’s more than enough time for chemistry to develop. But it will take time, and unfortunately for the Lions’ hopes this season, that’s not something they can buy.
KEY PLAYERS: Where to start? Clara Ayonara has a sub-two ERA, over ten strikeouts per nine innings pitched, a 16-2 record, and almost certainly the Evan Masorka award. Nicole Larkin, despite playing through injuries, has thirty-one stolen bases and seems to be magnetically attracted to the ball as an outfielder. And the team sent five other players to the all-star game, including lockdown reliever Kris Headley, slugging third baseman Edith Ponce (the Chromatik looks on track to break forty home runs, ranking her amongst the league leaders), arguably the best hitter in the league in the first half, Noah Slater, and defensive dynamos Lucas Robinson and Trevor Mikkelson-Yao in the outfield.
ONES TO WATCH: Marius Mcneesh, the seventh all-star on the team, is incredibly just twenty-one years old - but hit far better than his age would suggest before a second-half slump, and should finish the season with twenty-five home runs. Ponce is just twenty-one, Rachel Estrada is probably the best defensive shortstop this side of the border (and is also twenty-three), Robinson and Mikkelson-Yao are twenty-four, Sayonara somehow twenty…this could be a bona fide murderer’s row very soon.
STRAGGLERS: The pitching outside of Ayonara and Headley has been shockingly pedestrian - NT ace Isaac Colón was saddled with a lengthy suspension for knocking out poor Jeb Ostertag when the latter charged the mound after being hit with a triple-digit fastball. Megan Reardon has been solid but slightly underwhelming, while Anna Guo has been atrocious when not injured, and the bullpen after Headley has blown a jaw-dropping number of games.
6. DENISON DYNAMO (60-80, 35 GB, 17 WCGB, LPB NORTH, prev: 5)It was never going to be Denison’s season, especially not after Apple Valley turned into unstoppable juggernauts - but there’s reason to believe in their future. Tod Pittman turned out to be a surprisingly patient power hitter, Kathryn Riggins was quietly one of the best relievers in the world, and the pitching staff was Not Terrible! There are absolutely pieces to work with here - now it’s just up to Elisa Kristiansen to put them all together, especially if the team drafts smartly over the offseason. On the field, they’re still pretty terrible, and have pretty much been playing .400 ball for the entire season - but Denison may be competitive sooner than imagined.
KEY PLAYERS: José Almas probably would’ve been an all-star if he’d pitched on any other team - his snub was a surprising show of traditionalism from the coaches, who may have been turned off by his losing record and lack of flash. Kathryn Riggins, despite the Dynamo handicap, was an all-star, and on the rare occasions when the Dynamo managed to take the lead in a game of baseball by scoring more runs than the other team, she was there to ensure it stayed that way. The offense was pretty poor across the board, but the aforementioned Pittman was a rare bright spot.
ONES TO WATCH: Megan Herrera showed good defense and a patient, consistent approach to the plate, both rarities amongst twenty-one-year-old rookie shortstops. She may not have much of a ceiling, but she can be here for a while. Rebecca Saunders had a slow start at first base, but has steadily grown into a solid starter at the LPB level. But the young core remains relatively sparse - this is definitely the start of a multi-year rebuild, not the conclusion.
STRAGGLERS: Giancarlo Ghiggia has been the Next Great Catching Prospect! for about five years now, and it may be time to admit that it’s not going to happen - his defense remains flashy but not particularly effective, and his bat has its moments but simply not enough of them. Jonathan Roe is also behind schedule - the ninth overall pick was good in limited time, but struggled with injuries.
5. KYRINSON COSMOS (54-86, 35 GB, 23 WCGB, LPB CENTRAL, prev: 6)The young core that the Cosmos assembled during the offseason got off to a slow start - but although it’s too late to salvage the season, they seem likely to turn it around if the rebuild continues to go well. They did get off to a strong start relative to expectations, buoyed by uncharacteristically good performances from the likes of Ian Zhuang, and entered the all-star break a surprisingly respectable 34-46 (just five games behind the Cyclones). But the second half has seen them enter absolute free fall, and they’ve played at a 53-win pace since the all-star break. There’s still lots of young talent to work with - but hopefully, next season looks more like the first half, and not whatever this is.
KEY PLAYERS: Chromatika’s Vette Beux, one of two all-stars on the team, had an excellent season, and veteran starter Davis Johnson was one of few bright spots in an otherwise patchy rotation. The infield pairing of the solid Zarah Yu, who started hot before tailing off after the all-star break (like basically everyone else), and the everyman Teijo Watanabe, who was one of few players to improve in the second half, was good as well. The real surprise, however, was young Ian Zhuang, who hit a scorching .421 in the first month of the season and was named in controversial fashion to the all-star team. He hasn’t achieved anywhere close to that since, but a .283/.345/.466 slash and good defense at the hot corner is something that can be built on.
ONES TO WATCH: The Cosmos had the third overall picks in both the amateur draft and the redraft, and it’s become clear that those picks were not wasted. Starting pitcher Madison Verdugo struck out 130 batters in 142 innings of work and managed to get her control issues fixed in the second half of the season. Meanwhile, Tikariot’s Kieran Fletcher was quietly one of the best defensive outfielders in the league, and showed more pop than expected with twenty-six home runs - but again, eighteen of those came in the first half.
STRAGGLERS: The Cosmos in the second half hit almost thirty points lower than their first-half counterparts, and it’s hard to pin that on a specific player - basically everyone was worse across the board in the summer and fall months. Fletcher and Zhuang both tailed off, turning a really promising start into a so-so season. Christian Hanks, after an excellent start to the season, tailed off and ran into injury troubles as well. And with reports of dissent in the clubhouse, Bobby Mohs - adored by fans in the first half - could be feeling his seat heat up as well.
4. EMERALD CITY GREENS (60-80, 35 GB, 17 WCGB, LPB NORTH, prev: 4)Ernest Telyatin has done a much better job of assembling talent than the record indicates - but they’re not out of the woods yet, especially not with a resurgent Vipers for the foreseeable future. But the team was expected to at least give the Vipers a fight for the top spot, even if nobody was expecting them to actually make the playoffs this season, so it’s hard to call being thirty-five games behind as anything but a failure. The team’s offense has just been proven too feckless to really compete in the new LPB, and while their surprisingly deep rotation has held firm all season, it hasn’t had much in the way of highlights to make up for the Greens’ anemia. An offensive retooling will be critical if they want to even sniff the Vipers next year - and at this point in the season, next year is the only thing they can play for.
KEY PLAYERS: Miranda Gray has quietly put in another excellent season - but with how far out of the national spotlight she is - even a .300/30/100 season with Gold Glove defense wasn’t enough to get her an all-star nod - the Greens can only hope she doesn’t try to get herself traded somewhere higher-profile. The real strength of the team has been in its starting pitching, though. Kohnhead’s Ralphie Bloggs has proven himself a bona fide ace, even if there are better ones in the LPB, and hitters have had no answer for knuckleballer Eddie Headley all season long. Backed up by the surprisingly-solid Reid and Suarez, and with stud reliever Lauren Allen waiting in the wings and a stable of excellent defenders, it’s no surprise that the Greens did such a good job at run prevention.
ONES TO WATCH: It might’ve been a season too early for Delaclav shortstop Valery Robiquet, but there’s a lot of potential in the twenty-one-year-old international, who impressed with his speed and defense, although his hit tool remains a work in progress at this level. Slugging first baseman Jason Lamb, the sixth pick in the draft, impressed as well, and at twenty-two has plenty of room to grow.
STRAGGLERS: Emerald City had high hopes for Jeb Ostertag, and the front office internally viewed him as the steal of the draft. But the most noteworthy thing the young outfielder did was get knocked out by Isaac Colón after a misguided attempt to charge the mound.
3. SOUTH FALLS ATHLETICS (57-83, 38 GB, 20 WCGB, LPB NORTH, prev: 3)Below .500 for the first time in a decade, Ruby Falls is starting to feel the pressure - and without significant offseason improvement, GM Chris Elliott and Manager Fu Webb may be on the hot seat. They’ve shown flashes all season - most notably randomly going 15-5 immediately after the all-star break, leading fans to believe they’d turned the corner before nosediving again - but just haven’t been able to put what pieces they have together. It’s hard to know where to start on a team with so many holes - but Elliott’s hopes of a quick, “in and out” style rebuild are surely gone by now, and the future of the Athletics is as uncertain as it’s been in a while.
KEY PLAYERS: Savanna Wladecki was the team’s lone all-star, but even on a team that wasn’t contractually obliged to send someone she would’ve likely made the trip to Cyclones Park. The former Rookie of the Year may be an Evan Masorka dark horse next season after a strong all-around performance. Joseph Edward Jr. played well as the closer, while Hapilopper’s Bill Parent was easily the team’s best position player.
ONES TO WATCH: Sylvi Vermark raised some red flags despite being considered a blue-chip prospect for much of the college season, allowing the Athletics to swoop in and grab her with the #13 pick. But she showed a lot of promise, especially in contact hitting and defense, and should be a part of this team for years to come. Wayne Dawson, already on his second LPB team at age twenty, was surprisingly good as the team’s third starter, and may be moving up in the rotation very soon.
STRAGGLERS: One never would’ve expected Simon Chu, already a national team pitcher by the age of sixteen, to be a worse pitcher seven years later for no obvious reason. But the youngster has clearly stagnated and fallen into old habits this season, walking over five batters per nine innings pitched and seeming to lose his touch for inducing soft contact, and it’s harder than ever to imagine him becoming a star. His stuff still plays nicely as a reliever, but the Athletics won’t be satisfied with a long reliever after all they’ve invested in the former phenom.
2. SOUTH BRYANT CHARIOTS (47-93, 30 GB, 30 WCGB, LPB SOUTH, prev: 2)The midseason firing of Erick Iglesías has led to a bit of a dead cat bounce, but the 47-93 Chariots are still playing much worse than expected. Iglesías was fired after an abysmal 27-63 start to the season, and while they haven’t played well since his departure, they’re at least not on track to be one of the very worst Llamanean teams of all time. That - and the bad luck that went into a start where they won just thirteen of their first fifty games - are some of the only good things we can say about them. At least they have the #2 pick next year?
KEY PLAYERS: Ethane’s Daniel Peterson was probably only an all-star because someone had to be, but the reliever had a quietly excellent season and will attract plenty of interest from within the league next season. Haakon Kalberg also pitched well after a brief adjustment period - but the Quodite did demand a trade before Iglesías was fired, and could be on the move as well. In the field, the lone bright spot was up the middle, where Koari Yutani and Miles Villeneuve both displayed defense, impressive speed, and on-base ability at the top of the order.
ONES TO WATCH: The pair of twenty-two-year-olds in the starting rotation, top-15 picks Adam Freeman and Jarred Li, both turned in respectable debuts. There are issues to be worked on - Freeman’s lack of control, and Li’s desperate need of a third reliable pitch - but both have the potential still to develop into aces.
STRAGGLERS: Victoria Irving was fine, but the Chariots were expecting stardom from the Drawkian right-fielder, and it’s hard to say that that’s what they got, as the outfielder blew hot and cold all season. Third baseman Alec Christopher was a prized prospect mocked in the top five just a year ago - but his underwhelming rookie season is just the latest event in his steep decline.
1. PENINSULARA KINGFISHERS (41-99, 36 GB, 36 WCGB, LPB SOUTH, prev: 1)Well, at least they’ve got the number one pick, right - they what?
It’s impossible to see the Emil Hurley trade as anything but a complete miscalculation by Kingfishers management. Giving up a first-round pick to upgrade from Will Rentería to Hurley in the outfield is fine if you’re a middle-of-the-pack team looking for the final piece to compete, but inexcusable when you should be rebuilding and have one of the worst rosters in the entire LPB. The Kingfishers thought they were the former but immediately proved themselves to be the latter, at no point seriously threatening to even get to .500. The future is bleak, despite excellent seasons from Hurley and Alana Gonzalez. The team is bad now, has little young talent, and help is, after that trade, no longer on the way.
KEY PLAYERS: Hurley and Gonzalez are both likely to win Silver Sluggers in addition to their all-star nods. They’re likely to combine for north of sixty-five home runs, and are arguably the only two good players on the current roster. Both of them would like to be traded as soon as possible, although given the contract situations Gonzalez’s departure looks more likely.
ONES TO WATCH: First-round pick Harry Bond has shown promise in center-field, especially defensively. His bat has taken some time to develop, but there’s every reason to believe he has a future with this team, or preferably any other one. Redraft picks Oliver Landry and Terry Myers have been Fine.
STRAGGLERS: The two internationals (Chicote and Cicerón) have been passable, but…basically everybody else.
LPB LLAMANEAN: FINAL STANDINGS
LPB NORTH
--- APPLE VALLEY VIPERS: 105-55 (+172 RD)
--- EMERALD CITY GREENS: 72-88 (-47 RD)
--- DENISON DYNAMO: 66-94 (-154 RD)
--- SOUTH FALLS ATHLETICS: 64-96 (-100 RD)
LPB SOUTH
--- NIKCORO SUNS: 90-70 (+148 RD)
--- XINGCHENG RENAISSANCE: 78-82 (-33 RD)
--- SOUTH BRYANT CHARIOTS: 58-102 (-179 RD)
--- PENINSULARA KINGFISHERS: 49-111 (-263 RD)
LPB CENTRAL
--- NEW LLAMA WIZARDS: 102-58 (+154 RD)
--- VARGAS CITY LIONS: 95-65 (+176 RD)
--- NEW LLAMA CYCLONES: 89-71 (+43 RD)
--- KYRINSON COSMOS: 62-98 (-161 RD)
bolded teams advance to the playoffs as division winners; italicized teams advance to the playoffs as Wild Cards.LPB LLAMANEAN: AWARD WINNERS
SILVER SLUGGERS
C: Joe GREGORY (Wizards, TJU)
1B: Alana GONZALEZ (Kingfishers, SLL)
2B: Emery WU (Vipers, SLL)
3B: Edith PONCE (Lions, CMT)
SS: Summer HUANG (Wizards, SLL)
LF: Tyson LONG (Suns, SLL)
CF: Jenna SCHUSTER (Cyclones, NEW)
RF: Emil HURLEY (Kingfishers, SNL)
DH: Noah SLATER (Lions, SLL)
GOLD GLOVES
C: Derrick ARMSTRONG (Vipers, SLL)
1B: Nicolas PEREZ (Renaissance, SNL)
2B: Lonnie HAYTER (Cyclones, HAP)
3B: Miranda GRAY (Greens, SLL)
SS: Rachel ESTRADA (Lions, SLL)
LF: George DUCAT (Wizards, CMT)
CF: Lucas ROBINSON (Lions, ETN)
RF: Liam DESJARDINS (Suns, SLL)
P: Cedric WEI (Wizards, SLL)
MVP: Summer HUANG (Wizards, SLL)
Huang hit .336 with twenty-nine home runs, thirty-six stolen bases, and near-flawless defense, leading her Wizards to a 100-win season and the division title just a year after their President's Cup trophy. The star shortstop continues to be one of the most polished and talented shortstops that the league has ever seen, and although she already has three MVPs, we wouldn't be surprised to see a fourth in the near future - baseball is a Summer sport, after all.
Evan Masorka Award: Clara AYONARA (Lions, CMT)
A sub-two ERA, eighteen wins to just two losses, and well over two hundred strikeouts as the linchpin of the Lions' rotation? Yeah, it's safe to say that this wasn't much of a contest. And the voters agreed: the first Evan Masorka award winner in the LPB era was a unanimous one.
Rookie of the Year: Schuyler DUFFY (Renaissance, SLL)
A trailblazer on and off the field (as the first non-binary Renaissance player); Duffy hit twenty-three home runs, stole twenty bases, reached base consistently, and adapted to a new outfield position on the fly. The future is bright in Xingcheng.
Manager of the Year: Dinesh MOHN (Vipers, PHR)
It's almost easy to forget that the world-beater Vipers weren't particularly favored at the start of the season. But while some pundits didn't even have them leaving the weak LPB North, former Sherpa Empire NT coach Dinesh Mohn led his team to a dominant 105-win season. Mohn's man-management and development capabilities have earned serious plaudits; he could have a legendary career with this Vipers team.
Reliever of the Year: Evangeline LU (Vipers, SLL)
ninety-two strikeouts is a decent return for a starter, so to reach it as a reliever is patently ridiculous. Combined with a sparkling 1.26 ERA, it's safe to say that Evangeline Lu had one of the most dominant seasons from a reliever in recent memory. While the Vipers' bullpen depth was tested at times, Lu was an absolute anchor who shut down every game she entered.