By the Numbers: Preseason Team Hitting & Pitching

Now, we have rosters. Now, we can see what's what. Well, kind of… a decent guess, maybe. That's better than nothing! We've compiled hitting and pitching numbers for each team based on the career stats of its veteran roster. (Note: rookie impact does not factor into this breakdown.) Team Hitting is simply the average of the career hitting numbers for every veteran: AVG, SLG, OBP, AB/HR, and PA/RBI. Pitching Rotation averages the pitching numbers of the two best pitchers who are registered for more than 50% of games: ERA, WHIP, BAA, K/6, and K/BB. The six teams are sized up alphabetically below.

TEAM HITTING	.264	.516	.433	14.56	5.27
	AVG	SLG	OBP	AB/HR	PA/RBI
	RANK: 2	RANK: 1	RANK: 1	RANK: 1	RANK: 1
PITCHING ROTATION	2.83	1.69	.129	14.15	1.89
	ERA	WHIP	BAA	K/6	K/BB
	RANK: 5	RANK: 5	RANK: 2	RANK: 2	RANK: 5
Pitching rotation = best two pitchers registered for over 50% of games: Chandler Phillips & Ray Brown

TEAM HITTING	.230	.411	.399	21.16	7.07
	AVG	SLG	OBP	AB/HR	PA/RBI
	RANK: 5	RANK: 4	RANK: 4	RANK: 6	RANK: 6
PITCHING ROTATION	2.82	1.43	.168	13.65	2.74
	ERA	WHIP	BAA	K/6	K/BB
	RANK: 4	RANK: 2	RANK: 4	RANK: 4	RANK: 2
Pitching rotation = best two pitchers registered for over 50% of games: Craig Skinner & Zac Adams

TEAM HITTING	.271	.489	.418	16.88	6.02
	AVG	SLG	OBP	AB/HR	PA/RBI
	RANK: 1	RANK: 3	RANK: 2	RANK: 4	RANK: 4
PITCHING ROTATION	4.48	1.98	.228	11.32	1.73
	ERA	WHIP	BAA	K/6	K/BB
	RANK: 6	RANK: 6	RANK: 6	RANK: 6	RANK: 6
Pitching rotation = best two pitchers registered for over 50% of games: Nick Braden & Stephen Werner

TEAM HITTING	.205	.405	.373	17.79	6.76
	AVG	SLG	OBP	AB/HR	PA/RBI
	RANK: 6	RANK: 5	RANK: 6	RANK: 5	RANK: 5
PITCHING ROTATION	2.63	1.40	.190	13.70	3.31
	ERA	WHIP	BAA	K/6	K/BB
	RANK: 3	RANK: 1	RANK: 5	RANK: 3	RANK: 1
Pitching rotation = best two pitchers registered for over 50% of games: Travis Strojny & Tom Zeller

TEAM HITTING	.234	.400	.397	16.50	5.48
	AVG	SLG	OBP	AB/HR	PA/RBI
	RANK: 4	RANK: 6	RANK: 5	RANK: 3	RANK: 2
PITCHING ROTATION	2.26	1.48	.115	14.87	2.27
	ERA	WHIP	BAA	K/6	K/BB
	RANK: 1	RANK: 3	RANK: 1	RANK: 1	RANK: 3
Pitching rotation = best two pitchers registered for over 50% of games: Sam Hatt & Michel Bayley

TEAM HITTING	.257	.492	.417	14.78	5.88
	AVG	SLG	OBP	AB/HR	PA/RBI
	RANK: 3	RANK: 2	RANK: 3	RANK: 2	RANK: 3
PITCHING ROTATION	2.36	1.59	.155	13.39	2.16
	ERA	WHIP	BAA	K/6	K/BB
	RANK: 2	RANK: 4	RANK: 3	RANK: 5	RANK: 4
Pitching rotation = best two pitchers registered for over 50% of games: Scott Kujawa & John Skinner

2019 WSEM Draft

1ST ROUND
1.		KYLE TOMLINSON
2.		TRAVIS STROJNY
3.		CRAIG SKINNER
4.		SCOTT KUJAWA
5.		MICHAEL GIGUERE
6.		DAKOTA LADOUCEUR
2ND ROUND
7.		MICHEL BAYLEY
8.		STEPHEN WERNER
9.		SAM HATT
10.		NICK BRADEN
11.		CHRIS PAQUIN
12.		RAY BROWN
3RD ROUND
13.		JOHN SKINNER
14.		TOM ZELLER
15.		JOSH NAGORSKI
16.		RJ FISHER
17.		ANDREW BRUEN
18.		GREG BRANNAN
4TH ROUND
19.		PRESTON BAKER
20.		ZAC ADAMS
21.		ALEX SHORE
22.		MARK BRANNAN
23.		JASON HEWLETT
24.		NICCO LOLLIO
5TH ROUND
--		roster full
25.		ZACH PATTERSON
--		roster full
26.		MICHAEL SESSIONS
27.		CHARLES ALONGI
28.		GRADY BAKER
6TH ROUND
29.		pass
30.		BLAKE SELL
--		roster full
--		roster full
31.		JOHN ROBERT
--		roster full

Among the rumblings around the bar pre-draft was that almost everyone expected Villarreal and the Aces to be the team to blow up the draft, likely with a surprise pick like LaDouceur and/or Greg Brannan at 6 or 7. Well, that was close. Instead of a surprise pick, it was a surprise trade that happened between Villarreal and the Stinky Nuts early in the draft. When Kujawa fell to #4 the Aces traded up to that spot giving Stinky Nuts their #6 and #7 picks in return. The deal had apparently been laid out in theory the days leading up to the draft with neither team expecting it to be a reality. The price seems heavy on paper, but when you can pull in the reigning Clown Shu it's never a bad move.

On the other side this move gave Stinky Nuts the #6, #7, and #9 picks to reach six players, having Moore and Burchfield already signed to rookie contracts. With those picks Mark Phillips didn't disappoint and still managed to drop the bomb people had been hoping for. Coming back to LaDouceur was an excellent double fake-out; we'd seen it coming, thought it was taken away, then there it was again. Bayley at #7 doubled down on the shock, and Hatt at #9 completed the trifecta. Hate to mix arsenals, but I'm pretty sure those two picks torpedoed some team's draft boards.

One last surprise in the first round (although not if you read Mike's 2.0 mock) that deserves mention was the Islanders "reaching" for Giguere with their second pick at #5. Linebrink even prefaced the pick saying, "this could be controversial... but I need a hitter." Well, that's exactly what he got. "Get what you want when you can get it," seems like a solid strategy.

Trent Steffes Mock Draft 1.0

The final mock draft before the real deal comes to us from halfway around the world. It also comes in heavy on the mock. All the way from Minnesota, compliments of friend-of-the-league Trent Steffes, here is an out of town look at the way things could go down.

1ST ROUND
1.		KYLE TOMLINSON
2.		SCOTT KUJAWA
3.		TRAVIS STROJNY
4.		MICHAEL GIGUERE
5.		STEPHEN WERNER
6.		NICK BRADEN
2ND ROUND
7.		RAY BROWN
8.		CRAIG SKINNER
9.		MICHEL BAYLEY
10.		JOSH NAGORSKI
11.		DAKOTA LADOUCEUR
12.		SAM HATT
3RD ROUND
13.		JORDAN POWER
14.		T0M ZELLER
15.		ZACH PATTERSON
16.		ALEX SHORE
17.		ZAC ADAMS
18.		GREG BRANNAN
4TH ROUND
19.		RJ FISHER
20.		CHRIS PAQUIN
21.		NICCO LOLLIO
22.		JOHN SKINNER
23.		MICHAEL SESSIONS
24.		TRENT STEFFES

Michael Giguere's Mock Draft 2.0

Ahead of the 2019 Draft we've put out the call for mock draft submissions. Our first 2.0 comes from the guy who gave us our first 1.0, Michael Giguere. He has a lot bigger draft pool to work play this time around, and he only has 4 players going at the same spot: 3 of those in the first round.

1ST ROUND
1.		KYLE TOMLINSON
2.		TRAVIS STROJNY
3.		SCOTT KUJAWA
4.		CRAIG SKINNER
5.		MICHAEL GIGUERE
6.		MICHEL BAYLEY
2ND ROUND
7.		RAY BROWN
8.		NICK BRADEN
9.		TOM ZELLER
10.		JOHN SKINNER
11.		GREG BRANNAN
12.		SAM HATT
3RD ROUND
13.		JOSH NAGORSKI
14.		ZAC ADAMS
15.		JASON HEWLETT
16.		DAKOTA LADOUCEUR
17.		CHRIS PAQUIN
18.		ANDREW BRUEN
4TH ROUND
19.		MARK BRANNAN
20.		STEPHEN WERNER
21.		RJ FISHER
22.		CHARLES ALONGI
23.		JOHN ROBERT
24.		KYLE TARCIA

"I remembered Josh this time."

Emilee Semeniuk's Mock Draft 1.0

Ahead of the 2019 Draft we've put out the call for mock draft submissions. Six days ahead of the draft, the fourth mock comes from Emilee Semeniuk. The rule for the mock drafts is that you can only use players whom are currently registered. So, with late sign ups coming in, Emilee's board has the potential to look a lot different than earlier mocks. The order is a snake draft. Although, I'd forgive you for not seeing that with all of the moves made in the first two rounds. These moves include: the Islanders owning the SeeYas/Redux 2nd round pick; El Diablos and Stinky Nuts swapping 1st and 2nd round picks; Islanders and King Friday swapping 1st and 2nd round picks, then King Friday turning around and trading the #5 pick back to the Islanders for the #10 and #11 picks. Follow all that? No worries if not; the chart makes it clear enough:

1ST ROUND
1.		KYLE TOMLINSON
2.		TRAVIS STROJNY
3.		SCOTT KUJAWA
4.		CRAIG SKINNER
5.		STEPHEN WERNER
6.		RAY BROWN
2ND ROUND
7.		MIKE GIGUERE
8.		NICK BRADEN
9.		DAKOTA LADOUCEUR
10.		MICHEL BAYLEY
11.		JOSH NAGORSKI
12.		SAM HATT
3RD ROUND
13.		TOM ZELLER
14.		GREG BRANNAN
15.		JASON HEWLETT
16.		JOHN SKINNER
17.		ZAC ADAMS
18.		MARK BRANNAN
4TH ROUND
19.		CHARLES ALONGI
20.		JOHN ROBERT
21.		NICCO LOLLIO
22.		ANDREW BRUEN
23.		JORDAN POWER
24.		BLAKE SELL

WSEM 200 Hit Club

#	PLAYER		HITS
1		KYLE TOMLINSON	298
2		DAVID CASTLE	288
3		DENNIS PEARSON	276
4		CHANDLER PHILLIPS	250
5		MARK BRANNAN	225
6		DYLAN BRADEN	223
7		BRANDON CORBETT	218
8		STEPHEN WERNER	210
9		EVAN BORTMAS	203

Only nine players in WSEM have surpassed the 200 hits milestone. Stephen Werner has done it in the fewest seasons (2014-present). Evan Bortmas has done it in the fewest at-bats (549). The 2,191 hits between these nine players account for 28.5% of all hits in the history of the league. Kyle Tomlinson and David Castle will both go beyond 300 hits in 2019; Kyle likely doing so in Week 1. Dennis Pearson will sit out 2019 recovering from back surgery; hopefully the rehab from that goes easy and well for him. Chandler Phillips is the only other player in reach of 300 in 2019. He's had 44 and 45 H the past two seasons, so it's not out of the question, but it will take yet another career year to get there.

Downshifting gears: so, how about the players with a chance to reach 200 hits this year?

#	PLAYER		HITS
10		GREG BRANNAN	195
11		CHRIS PAQUIN	185
12		NICK BRADEN	180
13		ALEX LINEBRINK	179
14		STEPHEN FARKAS	177
15		CRAIG SKINNER	168

Greg Brannan will easily reach 200 in 2019. He'll probably reach that number on home runs alone. Paquin isn't signed up yet, but he's never had fewer than 17 hits in a season. If he comes back, he should have no problem reaching 200. Nick Braden has gone 25 H, 23 H, 24 H over the last 3 years, so getting 20 this season seems like an easy bet. Alex Linebrink is averaging 24 hits over the last three seasons, so he's also in line to reach 200 in 2019. It appears Farkas has retired, so 177 H will be where he ends. Craig Skinner rounds out the list of hopefuls, sitting at 168 H and needing 32 more. Craig had 37 hits in the 2018 season, so it's definitely doable for him; however, he also had just 9 hits in 2017. I'll leave the call on that one up to the professional (possibly problematic) gamblers.