2011 Major League Central Wrap-up

Denver Rabbits 93-69: Denver was expected to win the central and did so in dominating fashion, winning by 11 games. Alex Maldonado hit 30 HRs, and Stan Marsh had a fine season going .300-.381-.481. Joey Renseller had a nice season in his opt-out year, going .277-.366-.478. Late in the season, Denver made some shocking moves to try to position themselves to win the title this season. They acquired RF Geoff Favre and CF George Rivera, mainly just for this postseason.

On the mound, the aces were lefties Kei Ijawa and Ruben Ramirez. Ijawa went 14-8 2.88 ERA, with 171 IP, 153 hits, 45 BB, and 142 K’s, while Ramirez went 14-4 3.00 ERA, with 204 IP, 163 hits, 76 BB, and 143 K’s. Paul Williamson had an excellent season as the closer, finishing with 49 saves and a 3.05 ERA in 56 IP.

St. Louis Robins 82-80: All in all, St. Louis has to be happy by finishing over .500. They do have some solid young players, with more talent in the farm system. The top players were Robert The Bruce (.263 with 28 HR), Cody Fett (.304 Avg and great defense at Catcher), and Derek Tufnel (.297-.394-.399 but only 283 at bats). Fidel Duenas had a nice renaissance season, hitting .258 with 22 HR and a .472 SLG, while playing good defense at shortstop.

On the mound, Brian Hastings had a nice season, going 12-3 3.12 in 213 IP. Brad Pearce was also solid, going 9-13 3.14 ERA in 194 IP. Mark Pressley had a great year in his first season as a closer, going 1-2 2,94 ERA, 43 saves in 52 IP.

Alaska Snow Sox 76-86: Much more was expected from Alaska this season. Kana Wake was acquired to be the missing part of this team, and he did not deliver in the final year of his contract, struggling to a stat line of .240-.312-.428 and 21 HR in 538 at bats. Reggie Stocker completely regressed this year and barely slugged .400 (.235-.309-.409). George Herman Frog had a great year behind the plate, hitting .260 with 20 HR, and 68 BB. That was good for a line of .260-.375-.457.

The team MVP was without a doubt Andy Roughton. Roughton was the best pitcher on the staff, going 15-7 3.35 ERA, 193 IP, 162 Hits, 57 BB, 185 K’s. To top it off, Roughton hit 5 HR and slugged .453 in 64 at bats.

Detroit Devils 66-96: Jason Gonzalez was a find at 2B, going .292-.359-.468 with 22 HR and 37 2B. Jermaine Moore was hoping for a midseason trade to a contender that never happened, and sulked to a .225-.313-.435 season. Marcel Johnson had a terrible season at first, hitting only .258. He’s more of a single-hitting first baseman, so when he doesn’t hit for average, he isn’t helping the team. Geezer Jimmy McGuiness must have found the fountain of youth, going .302-.354-.459 in 222 at bats backing up Marcel Johnson at first base.

Rookie of the year candidate Ryan Freeman turned in the best season on the team. The 2010 draftee hit .304-.363-.507 in 404 at bats at 3B. He also had 36 2B and 14 homers. The Devils are hoping some of those doubles turn into HR’s in a few years and that he can anchor the middle of the order for some time.

Green Day Dukes 66-96: Jek Lewis was an absolute monster this season, producing a fairly unique and productive season. Jek hit .290-.368-.479, and had 47 2B, 11 3B, 14 HR, 108 runs scored, and 120 SB. BJ Lewis was awful, hitting .221 but stealing 50 bases. Ezekiel Duke had a solid season, hitting .272-.348-.455 with 15 HR and 39 SB in 393 at bats.