#3. May 8th, 2028
All teams showing that .500 style baseball as we hit around the first month of their seasons but that might well drop again next time as the injuries cause more promotions through the levels. Three more players are also promoted from the International Complex, two to Waikiki and one to Cheyenne. Talking of Waikiki, all attention focuses there as the scouting team assemble and are locked in the war room. With the draft fast approaching they need to sort out the players we hope to draft, complicated of course this year by Hartford not having a pick until the 56th overall.
Triple-A Lincoln Emancipation 14-15, 3rd RML North (1 ½ GB)
A run of five straight losses from the last day of April into May ruined Lincoln’s standing but to be honest the batters haven’t been preforming up to scratch. In a lot of the stats categories Lincoln ranks in the bottom three or four out of the 13 teams in the RML. 14 homers in 29 games is only good enough for 11th highest and their 73 runs scored is 11th best as well; their 89 runs allowed meanwhile is the fifth highest total. The pitchers are trying to hold their end up, most categories are firmly in the top half of the RML and indeed the rotation’s ERA of 2.30 is the third best but the bullpen is looking shaky; their 3.63 has a familiar 11th highest ranking. The defensive efficiency of .731 is saving some runs, being the fourth best in the RML.
The injury to Zambrano has meant starter
Ralph Morris (4-1, 1.32) will head to Hartford for around a month which will put more pressure on but
Mike Smock has finished his Triple-A rehab stint and has now been optioned to Lincoln full-time. He will continue to shuffle around the diamond improving his defence as
Ramon Guzman hasn’t responded well to his demotion to Double-A. He is back with Lincoln for a final attempt to show he can master the second base role there, Smock will be casting envious eyes on the role if Guzman can’t live up to his undoubted talent. 30-yr-old
Scott Wilson is settled at the hot corner, his fourth season there, hitting .299/.385/.373 but with no hope of promotion as Cedeno is in such fine form. 26-yr-old left fielder
Howard Harper leads the team in homers (4) and RBI (16), he still has a squeak of a chance of a PEBA cup of coffee if the right injury comes along. Behind him in both categories is 25-yr-old middle infielder
Frandszk Kreisky who is Lincoln’s starting shortstop this season, he might be an option for Hartford if the club don’t manage to sign Mark Edwards to an extension. A sixth round draft pick in 2024, the Polish-born player needs to show a bit more in defence if he is to stop Hartford looking in the FA market instead.
26-yr-old starting pitcher
Kojiro Hirose finished 2027 with a four appearance cup of coffee out of the Harpoon’s ‘pen posting a 2-1 record and has carried that hope into this season where he has a 3-0 record in five starts with a 0.81 WHIP. Another 2027 PEBA cup of coffee pitcher doing well is reliever
Javier Garcia who hasn’t allowed a run in eight innings of work this year.
Double-A Laval Islanders 15-17, 4th PCAL Maple Leaf (4 GB)
Laval too have been inconsistent, swept at Gatineau in late April with three two-run losses they finished the month with a 13-13 record, but have only won two of May’s six games so far. In transaction news
Ramon Guzman, the PEBA’s 23rd ranked prospect, has headed for Lincoln after failing to really settle in Laval and going with him was reliever
Cliff Geldoff (1-0, 3.12) as an injury replacement. Coming in from Lincoln is second baseman
Tommy McKnight, displaced there by the arrival of Smock & Guzman. Third baseman
Gil Reid arrived from Cheyenne after passing his 25th birthday with 23-yr-old
SantiagoVelazquez heading to A-ball to make roster space for him.
Hard-working 24-yr-old left-fielder
Ryan Brown is the star of the show in Laval so far, hitting .283/.324/.616 with nine homers & 20 RBI. He has five successful steals from six attempts and looks to be headed back to Lincoln, where he spent most of 2027, very soon. 20-yr-old
Taylor Titmus, born the year of the PEBA’s inaugural season, is getting time all round the diamond in his first season at Double-A level but he isn’t performing well with just one hit from his ten AB’s so far. Expect a big shakeup in the off season as at least 13 of the roster will be 25 or more and the organisation would like to substantially reduce that. 24-yr-old
Dylan Underhill started the year in Triple-A but after a poor start finds himself back in Double-A where he has a solid start with a 1-0 record and a 1.67 ERA. That’s backed up with a 23/8 K/BB ration as well as a 0.85 WHIP. Another pitcher doing well is 22-yr-old
Ippei Takeuchi who played in London’s organisation in 2026 and is now trying to make a comeback. He’s got a 1-2 record with four saves as a closer/stopper and so far has kept it tight with a 0.89 WHIP as well as 25 K’s in 27 IP.
A ball Cheyenne Frontier 9-9, 1st AWL Big Sky (- GB)
After going 8-5 in April and opening May with a 10-1 win at Govan are now in the midst of a four-game losing streak that has sent their record back to .500, above Rapid City who are 8-8. Cheyenne’s best batter so far has been 23-yr-old right-fielder
Young-chul Han He was a 10th round pick by Kentucky in 2023 but didn’t make the grade. He drifted out of the PEBA into the WIL with Manchester but was eventually cut by them too. He’s now in his second year in Laval playing reasonable defence whilst leading the team with four homers, 12 RBI and a .279/.324/.500 triple slash. 23-yr-old catcher
Jim Weatherstone currently has an 1.162 OPS thanks to his patience at the plate where he has drawn 10 walks in 43 PA’s to go with his 10 hits. 22-yr-old
Hyeon-uk Pak was a March minor league free agent signing after Florida cut him and his triple slash of .346/.462/.519 helped him to win the NAFTA AML player of the week award on May 1st. He spent most of 2027 at Double-A and will be keen to continue to press his claim to return to that level. Star man of the mound has been
Nichola Casiraghi who was pretty commanding in his first three starts winning them all but was poor in his last start when Utrecht put five runs on the board and chased him from the game after three innings. His 22 K’s in 20 IP is pleasing but his 12 walks will have to come down. 22-yr-old stopper
Dave Allen has had ten outings so far, posting a 1-0 record with two saves and a confident 16/2 K/BB ratio in 12 innings pitched. 23-yr-old
Tim Corona has pitched 12.1 innings out of the bullpen and has recorded two wins and a save with a 0.41 WHIP after allowing just two hits.
SS-A Waikiki Coconuts ---, --- HL Aloha (–GB)
With the 2028 Entry Draft fast approaching the returning Waikiki players are slowly reporting back to Hawaii. With 37 on the roster currently and probably around 10 or so arriving from the draft there will have to be some rigorous pruning of the squad before Opening Day. Currently the best player in their ranks is 18-yr-old Scottish pitcher
Tam Lochhead who was drafted 14th overall in 2027. His first pro season didn’t go too well though as he posted a 2-9 with an ERA of 7.34 in 21 appearances (17 starts). He gave up 107 hits and 54 walks in 79 innings while striking out just 39, he’ll have to do better this year to progress. High things are also expected from 22-yr-old Chinese pitcher
Wing-kit Da who has signed his first pro contract as a minor league free agent late March. He’s got a real arsenal full of decent pitches including a knuckleball but will have to work on their movement if he’s to make the most of his chances. 20-yr-old left fielder Dong-won Pong was signed out of South Korea in 2024 and has been promoted this year to Waikiki for his first pro season. He’s fast, looks sound in Left with a bit of pop in his bat but will really have to work on his contact swings if he’s not going to stink the place out.