Season 25 Free Agency Recap

It's time to kick off blog coverage for Season 25 with a recap of the top free agent signings this offseason!

1. Howie Lockwood, 28, RP
Previous Team: Burlington
Signed with Nashville - 5 Years, $63.8 Million

Relievers getting paid was a big theme this offseason, and Lockwood tops the list.  Looking at his ratings, it's not hard to see why, as it's tough to find any weaknesses.  He boasts a career 2.82 ERA, showing it translates to on-the-field success.  He's also just 28 years old.  Nice pickup for Nashville.

2. Gio Navarro, 28, SP
Previous Team: Albuquerque
Signed with Nashville - 5 Years, $55.8 Million

Navarro has elite ratings across the board as well.  If it weren't for one key rating, his durability, he would be a sure fire max contract player.  His extremely low durability will greatly limit his innings compared to your conventional starter (126.1 is his career high), but a 3.16 career ERA indicates those innings should be highly effective.

3. Allan Blackley, 36, SP
Previous Team: Chicago
Signed with Pawtucket - 5 Years, $54 Million

It's not often you see a 36 year-old get a 5 year deal, but if anyone deserves it, it's Blackley.  His ratings remain outstanding, Cy Young caliber even, and will be a huge boost to the Pawtucket rotation. Age-related decline may be a concern for the later years of the deal, but it may well be worth it for what he'll do the next couple of seasons.

4. Raul Alburquerque, 26, RP
Previous Team: Burlington
Signed with Syracuse - 5 Years, $54 Million

Alburquerque is the other RP to really cash in this offseason, and you can't really blame Syracuse for offering him such a lucrative deal.  He has pretty amazing ratings with no real weaknesses, and is only 26 years old.  Looks like Syracuse has found their bullpen anchor for the next several seasons.

5. Jesus Johnson, 28, SP
Previous Team: Burlington
Signed with Cleveland - 4 Years, $37.2 Million

Johnson has worked out of the bullpen most of his career, but is certainly a capable starter.  It looks like he will get that opportunity in his new home, Cleveland.   His durability is a touch low, but high stamina should make up for it, and he did go 185 innings last season.  With his excellent ratings elsewhere, there's no reason to think he won't succeed.

6. Omir Kelly, 32, SP
Previous Team: Oakland
Signed with Boise - 5 Years, $40 Million

Kelly is nice SP, with a ceiling a bit better than his 4.59 career ERA may indicate.  His RH split and mediocre out pitch seems to be his weaknesses.  Still, he should put forth solid numbers and is capable of eating a ton of innings with an excellent durability-stamina combination.

7. Juan Cervantes, 32, LF
Previous Team: Cleveland
Re-Signed with Cleveland - 3 Years, $23 Million

And a non-pitcher finally appears on the list!  Cervantes is a nice lead-off type with very nice contact and batting eye ratings with nice speed.  He's a plus LF and passable at CF.  Cleveland re-upped this solid contributor for three more seasons.

8. Hiroyuki Masato, 29, 3B
Previous Team: Boise
Signed with Durham - 4 Years, $29 Million

Masato is a plus defensive 3B, with an average bat and some nice speed.  Playing in Durham may boost the offensive stats a bit.  Overall, this appears to be a nice signing.

9. Darrel Atkins, 31, 1B
Previous Team: New York
Signed with Syracuse - 5 Years, $35.8 Million

At the plate, Atkins has a great contact/batting eye combo and a strong RH split that should lead to some nice AVG and OBP numbers.  He has a little bit of pop too.  Catcher seems to be his natural position and he's a decent one at that.  He is a bit of an injury risk.

10. Ellis Brock, 35, SP
Previous Team: Oklahoma City
Signed with Salt Lake City - 2 Years, $13.5 Million

The 35 year-old righty sports phenomenal career numbers, but there are some questions whether or not he is losing some of his effectiveness with age.  He should still be very solid, and a 2 year deal seems about right for him at this point.

11. Max Acevedo, 31, 1B
Previous Team: Helena
Signed with New York - 4 Years, $26.8 Million

Coming off an outstanding run with Helena, which saw him break the World's RBI record last season and pound 62 Home Runs, Acevedo, a pure power hitter, heads to New York.  He also has great splits, but low contact and batting eye, which means a lot of strikeouts, but when he connects, look out.

12. Anthony Wilkinson, 34, SP
Previous Team: Durham
Signed with Little Rock - 3 Years, $19.9 Million

Wilkinson goes from an NL powerhouse to an AL powerhouse this offseason, as the 34 year-old righty signed with Little Rock.  He's coming off a very nice season in Durham, and his ratings are very good, so it wouldn't be surprised to continue his good fortunes in Little Rock.

13. Willy Lester, 32, 3B
Previous Team: Pawtucket
Signed with Salt Lake City - 3 Years, $18.9 Million

Lester is still a very solid defensive 3B at this point in his career, although he's been playing mostly in RF for SLC.  Nice Batting Eye, Contact and Splits, with some speed but low power.  Still a nice player to have for sure.

14. Patrick Grieve, 31, 2B
Previous Team: Louisville
Signed with New Britain - 1 Year, $6.1 million

Grieve is a terror on the basepaths with a nice batting eye and splits.  He doesn't have much power and his contact is average, but with a .371 career OBP and his baserunning and speed, he definitely adds value.

15. Sal Nelson, 36, SP
Previous Team: Honolulu
Signed with New Britain - 1 Year, $6 Million

Nelson is a nice SP, who's still going strong at age 36.  His splits are only good, not great, but other than that, the rest of his ratings are outstanding.  He's definitely capable of putting up some good number this season for New Britain.

Season 24 Wrap Up - Richmond Comes Out on Top!

Richmond Manamfasha (NL) TXLnghrn View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Richmond Wins Their Third Title in Five Seasons!

The Season 24 Playoffs were a battle yet again, and it's Richmond, ranked #7 in the final power rankings, that came out of it with their 3rd Kenny Powers title in 5 seasons.  Richmond defeated Boise in the World Series in 5 games.  Perhaps Boise didn't have much left in the tank after defeating the top 2 teams in the final power rankings, Helena and Little Rock, in the previous 2 rounds.  The Richmond bats stepped it up in the postseason, clubbing 24 Home Runs in 14 games and finishing with an OPS 77 points higher than their regular season totals.  When the bats get going for the world's top ranked pitching team, they are going to be tough to beat, which was the case during the playoffs, as Richmond's #1 staff continued their excellence with 3.06 playoff ERA.  It was an impressive run for Boise as well, as their pitching staff also majorly stepped it up in the playoffs, which allowed them to topple two 108+ win teams on their way to the World Series.  They couldn't get over that final hump, but congratulations to bubbleboy and Boise on a great run.

That does it for Season 24.  See you back soon for Season 25!

Season 24 Award Winners

Here is your Awards recap for Season 24!

MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
American League - Sherman Dunston, Boise - .335 AVG 52 HR 165 RBI
It's just another MVP trophy for Dunston, his 7th.  He did win a batting title in Season 24, the only category he led, and put up very impressive numbers; however, it seems there may have been more deserving candidates this season.  Some must auto-vote for him any time they see him on the ballot. Dunston did not earn any other honors this past season, but he was MVP nonetheless.

National League - Julio Park, Durham - .298 AVG 51 HR 151 RBI
Park, one of the elite power bats in Kenny Powers, put up stellar numbers in leading Durham to their best record in franchise history.  This resulted in him winning his 1st MVP award in Season 24.  Park led the NL in RBI, Slugging and OPS.  He made the All-Star Team, won the Home Run Derby, won a Silver Slugger award and a Gold Glove.  What a season!  He truly did it all in Season 24.

CY YOUNG AWARD
American League - Shawn Olson, Helena - 21-3 2.48 ERA 162 K
The 26 year-old lefty earned his first Cy Young award in Season 24 leading a stellar Helena staff that accumulated an impressive 108 wins.  Olson, the AL's leader in ERA and WHIP, also made his 1st All-Star team in Season 24.  It wouldn't be a surprise to see Olson compete for future Cy Young awards given his impressive ratings, age and the fact that he is on a very strong Helena team.

National League - Tim Blair, Syracuse - 20-2 1.76 ERA 215 K
It's Cy Young award #2 for Blair, who also took the honors in Season 19.  The NL ERA leader tied for the 5th lowest ERA in Kenny Powers history in Season 24, also posting healthy strikeout total.  He also made his 5th All-Star team this past season.  What's even more impressive is that Blair is the career leader in both ERA and WHIP in Kenny Powers, a feat that probably better describes how stellar his career has been.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
American League - Hiram Freeman, Madison - .297 AVG 51 HR 145 RBI
It was quite the season for the Madison rookie Right Fielder, showing that the impressive power he demonstrated in the minors translates over to the big leagues.  The #2 pick in the Season 21 draft, Freeman was up for a short stint in Season 23 before getting to play the full year for Madison in Season 24.  Going forward, he's going to get a lot of K's, as he doesn't have the best batting eye, but when he connects it's a good bet the ball could be leaving the yard.

National League - Shooter Perkins, Durham - 12-4 2.67 ERA 91 K
The Durham righty earned his way into the rotation for a very good Durham team in Season 24 and he did not disappoint, taking home Rookie of the Year honors in the NL with 12 wins and a very good ERA, particularly in the hitter-friendly confines of Durham.  Perkins was the #12 pick in the Season 21 draft.  His ratings indicate he should be solid going forward.  If you were to nitpick, his LH split is average, and doesn't have that one great out pitch, but everything else looks great.

FIREMAN OF THE YEAR
American League -  Butch Gray, New York - 2.12 ERA 41 SV, 1st win
National League - Gene Bonilla, Chicago - 4.30 ERA 43 SV, 1st win

SILVER SLUGGER AWARDS
American League

DH	Wendell Myatt	Oakland	2nd
C	Richard Tateyama	Little Rock	3rd
1B	John Greer	Boston	2nd
2B	Sean Lewis	Helena	3rd
3B	Geovany Batista	New Britain	1st
SS	Delino Santana	Charlotte	5th
LF	Al Hughes	Helena	1st
CF	Brett Puckett	Nashville	2nd
RF	Ernest Hancock	Little Rock	2nd

National League

P	Nate White	Washington	1st
C	Deven Hernandez	Honolulu	2nd
1B	Julio Park	Durham	2nd
2B	Albert Valenzuela	Buffalo	7th
3B	Elmer Miller	Honolulu	1st
SS	Brendan O'Neil	Oklahoma City	3rd
LF	Damon Duran	Honolulu	2nd
CF	Norm Hodges	St. Louis	4th
RF	Vic Hall	Louisville	2nd

GOLD GLOVE AWARDS
American League

P	Che-Bang Uchida	Charlotte	1st
C	Mule Raymond	Seattle	1st
1B	Manuel Paez	Madison	1st
2B	David Meng	Little Rock	3rd
3B	Armando Vincente	Cleveland	2nd
SS	Noah Straily	New York	2nd
LF	Charles Gang	Oakland	1st
CF	Miguel Cruz	Monterrey	1st
RF	Walt Silva	Boise	3rd

National League

P	Floyd Glenn	Durham	1st
C	Alfonso Estrada	Rochester	2nd
1B	Julio Park	Durham	1st
2B	Tim Howard	Durham	1st
3B	Dingo Price	Chicago	2nd
SS	Joaquin Ugueto	Honolulu	2nd
LF	Bert Crosby	Durham	1st
CF	Saul Santos	New York	3rd
RF	Darryl Matthews	New York	1st

Season 24 Minimum Win Requirement Update

Our minimum win rule in Kenny Powers is 55 wins in one season (50 if you are a first season owner) and 185 wins over 3 seasons. You get 2 "strikes" against the policy, and on the third strike, you're out. If you don't earn any strikes over 3 consecutive seasons, all previous strikes are wiped out.

Once again, I'm happy to report no strikes were earned in Season 24 and no one has any strikes on their record.  dwrightjr5 only won 51, but the requirement for first season owners is only 50.

For next season, the following owners need to win more than the 55 minimum to reach the 185 win three season requirement to avoid a strike: breezee - 56, jnosek - 59, merott - 63

Here's the complete summary through Season 24.

						Wins
American League					3-Season	Needed in
Team	Owner	S22	S23	S24	Win Total	S25 for 185
Boise Taters	bubbleboy	88	85	95	268
Boston Red Sox	dwrightjr5			51
Charlotte StarLords	goodtymes31	78	82	96	256
Cleveland Rocks	scotsmet			76
Helena Bighorns	bluebaran	98	107	108	313
Kansas City Monarchs	spcaesar			71
Little Rock Little Necrophiliac Nine	ab90		108	112
Madison Milk Stouts	fireattack			86
Monterrey Charros	sethstorer			65
Nashville Neutron Bombs	Ghostrunner	75	88	86	249
New Britain Frothing Walruses	merott	106	63	59	228	63
New York Yankees	grissom97	73	81	83	237
Oakland Invaders	jnosek	72	58	68	198	59
Seattle SuperSonics	alogman1	88	93	86	267
Tampa Bay Sunherd	Frozenherd *	82	89	68	239
Wichita Wankers	jamesp469	89	95	85	269
						Wins
National League					3-Season	Needed in
Team	Owner	S22	S23	S24	Win Total	S25 for 185
Buffalo Tiny Chickens	AceCards	88	78	73	239
Burlington Giant Pumpkins	breezee	67	60	69	196	56
Chicago White Sox	slashtc	92	106	91	289
Durham Screwballs	oakman310	79	96	104	279
Honolulu Tiki Gods	dodgersrays	84	84	88	256
Houston Hounds	jjcq3f			69
Las Vegas Crap Shoot	pbsilver11	81	87	88	256
Louisville Sluggers	yanks21	88	87	92	267
New York Empire	tmfran		76	64
Oklahoma City Bombers	tisi29	84	86	74	244
Richmond Manamfasha	TXLnghrn	100	101	94	295
Rochester Garbage Plates	jimt14120	78	75	82	235
Salem Ducks	trimhunter99	72	79	76	227
St. Louis Gunners Er' Back	cosborn	84	90	78	252
Syracuse Blizzard	groth911	88	91	89	268
Washington D.C. Senators	hrrng_dnn			66

Season 24 League Leaders

Here's a recap of the Season 24 League Leaders!

All-Time Top 5 Performances in Season 24
RBI - Max Acevedo, Helena - 183 - New Kenny Powers Record
Shutouts - Jarred Denham, Madison - 7 - New Kenny Powers Record
Runs - Ernest Hancock, Little Rock - 149 - 2nd All-Time
Shutouts - Ham Sampson, Seattle - 6 - Tied for 2nd All-Time
RBI - Angel Perez, Little Rock - 172 - 3rd All-Time
Innings Pitched - Boomer Lange, Chicago - 279.0 - 4th All-Time
RBI - Sherman Dunston, Boise - 165 - 5th All-Time
Strikeouts - Boomer Lange, Chicago - 269 - 5th All-Time
ERA - Tim Blair, Syracuse - 1.76 - Tied for 5th All-Time
Wins - Orlando Lee, Little Rock - 24 - Tied for 5th All-Time

Multiple Category Leaders
Boomer Lange, Chicago (NL) - 4 - Wins, Strikeouts, IP, QS
Max Acevedo, Helena (AL) - 3 - HR, RBI, SLG
Julio Park, Durham (NL) - 3 - RBI, SLG, OPS
John Greer, Boston (AL) - 2 - Hits, OPS
Nicholas Gil, Las Vegas (NL) - 2 - Wins, WHIP
Shawn Olson, Helena (AL) - ERA, WHIP
Jarred Denham, Madison (AL) - 2 - CG, Shutouts
Ham Sampson, Seattle (AL) - 2 - IP, CG

LEAGUE LEADERS

Offense
American League
Batting Average	Sherman Dunston	Boise	.335
Home Runs	Max Acevedo	Helena	62
RBI	Max Acevedo	Helena	183
Stolen Bases	Manuel Paez	Madison	101
Hits	John Greer	Boston	214
Runs	Ernest Hancock	Little Rock	149
OBP	Delino Santana	Charlotte	.418
SLG	Max Acevedo	Helena	.670
OPS	John Greer	Boston	1.061
National League
Batting Average	Deven Hernandez	Honolulu	.325
Home Runs	Elmer Miller	Honolulu	62
RBI	Julio Park	Durham	151
Stolen Bases	Howie Hooper	Burlington	62
Hits	Andy Minor	Honolulu	208
Runs	Bert Crosby	Durham	125
OBP	Albert Valenzuela	Buffalo	.386
SLG	Julio Park	Durham	.642
OPS	Julio Park	Durham	.999
Pitching
American League
ERA	Shawn Olson	Helena	2.48
Wins	Orlando Lee	Little Rock	24
Strikeouts	Everth Almanzar	Helena	176
Saves	Ubaldo Jose	Tampa Bay	41
	Butch Gray	New York	41
WHIP	Shawn Olson	Helena	0.97
Innings Pitched	Ham Sampson	Seattle	267.0
Quality Starts	Ned Perez	Helena	24
	George McCartin	Seattle	24
Complete Games	Ham Sampson	Seattle	7
	Jarred Denham	Madison	7
	Maicer Gil	Kansas City	7
Shutouts	Jarred Denham	Madison	7
National League
ERA	Tim Blair	Syracuse	1.76
Wins	Nicholas Gil	Las Vegas	21
	Boomer Lange	Chicago	21
Strikeouts	Boomer Lange	Chicago	269
Saves	Gene Bonilla	Chicago	43
WHIP	Nicholas Gil	Las Vegas	0.94
Innings Pitched	Boomer Lange	Chicago	279.0
Quality Starts	Boomer Lange	Chicago	29
Complete Games	Zach Wainhouse	Durham	9
Shutouts	Floyd Glenn	Durham	4
	Norberto Morales	Richmond	4

Season 24 Final Power Rankings

As the playoffs start up, it's time to check in with the final power rankings of Season 24.  At the top, it's pretty much a dead heat between Helena and Little Rock, but we give the ever so slight edge to Helena, as we know the back-to-back champs bring it come playoff time.  No change at #3 and 4 either as Durham and Charlotte both finished off tremendous seasons strong.  Louisville surges up 5 spots to #5 as we enter the playoffs, and that wraps up the top 5.   Here are the biggest climbers and biggest falls since the last rankings!

Biggest Climbers: #12 Wichita (+7), #18 Kansas City (+6), #25 Tampa Bay (+6), #5 Louisville (+5), #7 Richmond (+5)

Biggest Falls: #31 Washington (-8), #14 Nashville (-7), #20 New York (AL) (-5), #23 Buffalo (-5)

It should be quite the interesting postseason.  Will Helena dominate again?  Will Little Rock continue their surge?  Or will another team surprise?  Good luck to all the playoff teams, here are the complete final rankings!

					Pitching		Offense		LAST 40
	Team	W	L	PREV	Rank	Chg	Rank	Chg	W	L
1	Helena	108	54	1	3	-2	2	0	28	12
2	Little Rock	112	50	2	8	-1	1	0	29	11
3	Durham	104	58	3	5	0	9	-1	28	12
4	Charlotte	96	66	4	15	-2	3	4	23	17
5	Louisville	92	70	10	11	5	8	2	27	13
6	Boise	95	67	9	22	0	4	1	26	14
7	Richmond	94	68	12	1	2	24	3	27	13
8	Chicago	91	71	6	2	0	11	0	19	21
9	Honolulu	88	74	5	14	-3	5	-1	18	22
10	Las Vegas	88	74	11	6	0	19	-3	21	19
11	Syracuse	89	73	8	7	1	20	-1	21	19
12	Wichita	85	77	19	18	0	13	3	23	17
13	Seattle	86	76	13	11	3	22	0	21	19
14	Nashville	86	76	7	25	1	7	-4	20	20
15	Madison	86	76	16	19	1	21	2	23	17
16	Rochester	82	80	14	3	1	23	-4	17	23
17	Oklahoma City	74	88	20	20	-1	14	-2	21	19
18	Kansas City	71	91	24	23	1	10	-1	23	17
19	Salem	76	86	21	9	0	28	0	21	19
20	New York (AL)	83	79	15	11	4	27	-1	19	21
21	St. Louis	78	84	17	10	-1	30	1	21	19
22	Cleveland	76	86	22	24	4	15	0	20	20
23	Buffalo	73	89	18	15	-3	26	-1	17	23
24	Burlington	69	93	26	17	0	29	1	20	20
25	Tampa Bay	68	94	31	30	0	18	0	18	22
26	Houston	69	93	28	28	-2	17	4	16	24
27	Oakland	68	94	25	29	0	15	-2	16	24
28	New Britain	59	103	32	31	0	11	2	13	27
29	Monterrey	65	97	29	27	-2	24	-1	14	26
30	New York (NL)	64	98	27	21	-1	31	0	15	25
31	Washington	66	96	23	25	-2	32	-3	11	29
32	Boston	51	111	30	32	0	6	0	4	36

Season 24 Power Rankings #3

It's time for the stretch run in Kenny Powers Season 24, but first, it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings!  At #1, Helena continues their reign at the top of the rankings, tying for the best record since the last rankings.  Little Rock remains at #2 once again, still putting up impressive numbers.  Up 2 to #3 is Durham, and at #4 is the team that tied for the best record since the last rankings, all the way up from #12, it's Charlotte.  Honolulu rounds out the top 5, climbing one spot from the previous rankings.  Now for the biggest climbers and biggest falls since the last rankings!

Biggest Climbers: #7 Nashville (+13), #4 Charlotte (+8), #17 St. Louis (+8), #23 Washington (+8), #8 Syracuse (+6)

Biggest Falls: #24 Kansas City (-11), #14 Rochester (-10), #19 Wichita (-10), #29 Monterrey (-7)

Here are the complete rankings, good luck to all during the playoff push!

					Pitching		Offense		LAST 40
	Team	W	L	PREV	Rank	Chg	Rank	Chg	W	L
1	Helena	80	42	1	1	2	2	0	30	11
2	Little Rock	83	39	2	7	3	1	0	27	14
3	Durham	76	46	5	5	0	8	2	28	13
4	Charlotte	73	49	12	13	0	7	2	30	11
5	Honolulu	70	52	6	11	0	4	0	23	18
6	Chicago	72	50	3	2	2	11	0	20	21
7	Nashville	66	56	20	26	3	3	9	27	14
8	Syracuse	68	54	14	8	-2	19	4	23	18
9	Boise	69	53	8	22	4	5	-2	21	20
10	Louisville	65	57	11	16	5	10	-3	21	20
11	Las Vegas	67	55	7	6	1	16	-1	19	22
12	Richmond	67	55	10	3	-2	27	0	21	20
13	Seattle	65	57	17	14	2	22	3	23	18
14	Rochester	65	57	4	4	-2	19	-7	17	24
15	New York (AL)	64	58	15	15	-2	26	-2	23	18
16	Madison	63	59	19	20	3	23	-2	23	18
17	St. Louis	57	65	25	9	3	31	1	24	17
18	Buffalo	56	66	18	12	3	25	-5	21	20
19	Wichita	62	60	9	18	-10	16	-2	16	25
20	Oklahoma City	53	69	16	19	-2	12	-4	16	25
21	Salem	55	67	21	9	0	28	1	18	23
22	Cleveland	56	66	23	28	-3	15	1	18	23
23	Washington	55	67	31	23	4	29	2	22	19
24	Kansas City	48	74	13	24	-4	9	-3	10	31
25	Oakland	52	70	27	29	2	13	4	17	24
26	Burlington	49	73	30	17	2	30	-2	18	23
27	New York (NL)	49	73	32	20	4	31	-1	21	20
28	Houston	53	69	24	26	-4	21	-2	16	25
29	Monterrey	51	71	22	25	-7	23	3	15	26
30	Boston	47	75	26	32	0	6	-1	15	26
31	Tampa Bay	50	72	29	30	0	18	4	17	24
32	New Britain	46	76	28	31	-3	13	5	16	25