The Daily Jumper - 2033

[MikeB]

Coqui Catchers More than Glove Men

When it comes to the Coqui lineup, the catcher spot in the order isn’t the one that drives fear into opposing pitchers but while stats say Dan Collins (.222) and Ju-chan Park (.183) are easy outs, a deeper look shows they are doing some damage.

The two have combined for 20 doubles, 11 home runs, 39 runs and 36 RBI this season. Not bad for guys who generally hit ninth while providing good defense at a key position.

Collins is hitting .250 and slugging .438 in high leverage situations while Park, in limited at bats, is hitting .357 and slugging .429 in the same situations. Four of Park’s five home runs are solo shots but he is hitting .265 with men in scoring position.

Defensively, while neither may take home the All-Leather Aware, they are fifth and sixth in the IL in fielding percentage and fourth and sixth in throwing runners out. Park is second in catcher’s e.r.a. (2.60).

[MikeB]

Bats Explode As Coqui Begin to Look Like A Contender

On an 11-2 run, the Coqui have managed to climb among the big three in the IL, even now with West Virginia in the win column. And, being just six games behind division-leading Havana, the IL has the closest thing to suspense the league has had the second half of the summer.

Confidence is building among fans for another reason as well. This season San Juan has feasted against everyone other than the IL’s three division leaders, playing .714 ball, but lately, the team has been showing it might have a chance in the playoffs as well. After beginning 2-12 against Florida, Havana and West Virginia, the Coqui are 8-11 since. They have a two-game winning streak against Florida and defeated the Alleghanies in their last matchup so trending upward.

The bats are waking up as well. Three times in a four game stretch last week San Juan put up double figures in runs.

Catcher Dan Collins hit .311 in August, and, with a .316 OBP for the season, is finally looking like the player the team dealt for three seasons ago. He tied a club record with three doubles in a game against Kentucky last week. Harley Schneider, who has come alive in September the last two seasons, hit .346 in August. Kelvin McDonald (.305, .374, .444) is proving last season was no fluke. Wally Glasser is hitting .300 as the everyday centerfielder and six of his career high eight home runs have come since July 4 (his previous season high was three). Leadoff hitter Jose Aguillera has hit .317 since June 29. Mirred in a slump after injuries piled up, shortstop Roberto Salazar now has an eight-game hit streak, batting .371 over the span.

[MikeB]

Coqui Clinch Postseason; Division Title Still Possible

Marcel Osterhaut may have come up short throwing a complete game one-hitter in a week that saw two PEBA no-hitters but the Coqui continued its torrid march toward the postseason.

San Juan has won eight-of-nine, including taking two-of-three from West Virginia, which had dominated the matchup since the Coqui’s upset sweep In the 2031 playoffs. By winning three of its last four against the Alleghanies and its last two against Florida, San Juan has elevated itself into the IL pennant conversation.

The Coqui have three viable starters in Fernando Castro (15-5, 3.05), Osterhaut (13-9, 2.19) and Seong-chae Somun (11-1, 2.83); one of the top closers in José Gómez (9-3, 1.26, 41 saves); and offensively is second in the IL in runs scored. Who the fourth starter will be and the bullpen setup men is something the team will have to guess right on.

While the team formerly clinched a playoff berth last week, something that has not been in doubt for at least a month, the division title is also still within reach. San Juan has closed to within five games of Havana. They have only two games remaining against each other so the Coqui will also need, most likely from Scottish which are 5-1 against the Leones this season and play them six more times.

One of the hottest September bats has been - no surprise - Harley Schneider. The third baseman was a hot player down the stretch to get the Coqui into the 2031 playoffs and also slugged 8 doubles and 10 (of his 21) home runs last September. Schneider has six of his 17 home runs already this month.

“He’s September Schneider for sure,” said Manager Sergio Manetti.

[MikeB]

San Juan Earn 100 for the Season

With five games to play, San Juan is sitting at 100 wins, a new milestone for the franchise. It has hit triple digits in losses before, once in Kawaguchi, once in Rio Grande (123!) and once in San Juan, but 90 in wins it only has passed twice, the year of the Cinderella championship run in 2031 (95) and the last season in Rio Grande in 2023 (91).

Other new territory sees the team being second in the PEBA power rankings on the late date of September 26. At 123.6, it sits just ahead of Havana at 122.2, which has yet to clinch the Trans Atlantic division title, leading the Coqui by four games.

“We’ve been plugging holes and adjusting matchups all season but stayed steady,” says General Manager Mike Best. “And now we seem to be playing our best baseball of the year.”

Rookie António Àvila, who has shored up a shallow bullpen, got his first PEBA start last week, pitching two-hit shutout ball for seven innings. San Juan staggered its staff to set up a couple pitchers in its two-game series with Havana that starts tomorrow. Three starters have fared well against the Leones this season, all lefties, although likely coincidental. Two of them, Seong-chae Somun (11-1) and Masaru Kouki (9-4), are due to start in the series.

Kouki, who has reached 8 wins by August in each of the past four five seasons, has failed to finish in double figures in the last four.

The 100 wins have brought another unusual occurrence as five pitchers have passed that mark: Fernando Castro (15-5), Marcel Osterhout (14-9), José Gómez (11-3), Tetsuzan Shimada (11-6) and Somun.

San Juan has also set an attendance record with 4.3 million tickets sold, the third consecutive year over 4 million. However, the team stands to lose close to 22 million this season and reports are that, at the moment, the team is unable to negotiate deals with Manager Sergio Manetti and upcoming free agents Castro and Kelvin McDonald, the team’s best pitcher and hitter this year.