Knox officially arrived in 2037. He started the season as a looming threat to Evas 1B Scotty Weeks. Weeks responded to the pressure with a career year (.301\.342\.938, 32HR, 117RBI). Knox answered in kind. He dominated AAA (.322\.385\.977 and 3.4 WAR in 296 PA). That force the hand of the Eva front office. He got the call in June, and never looked back. He was nothing short of excellent (.331\.370\.968 and 2.2 WAR in 270 PA). That earned him a handful of ROTY votes, even if he didn't stand a shot of winning it due to when he was called up. He will start 2038 as the Evas' starting 1B at only 22 years old. The sky is the limit for him offensively. He might be capped out defensively as a 1B, but he is solid there. He can play 3rd in a pinch, but his glove is a liability there, so he will likely only see action there a handful of times a year at the PEBA level.
SS 2037 Minor League Pitcher of the Year RP Mike O'Halloran (A)
O'Halloran started the year in A ball in the rotation. He started 16 games, with his advance metrics (2.15 FIP and 3.3 WAR in 83 IP) outpacing his standard stats (3.90 ERA, 4-7 record). His scouting assessment and advanced metrics earned him a promotion. He skipped the pandemonium in AA Seoul and went straight to AAA Kyoto. The SS remained high on MOH's potential, but saw his best use as a high volume reliever, rather than a SP. He didn't seem to quite have the stamina that would be needed, averaging just over 5IP per start. As a reliever, he blossomed in AAA, posting a solid 2.35 ERA in 12 appearances. At only 22 years old, he is young for AAA, and likely needs some more seasoning. But he should have a shot at debuting in the majors in 2038 if he continues to progress.
Follow Up on 2031's winners:
- C\1B Manny Lara seems to have taken multiple steps back, posting a terrible -1.1 WAR in 2037 in ARL. He has one more guaranteed contract year in 2038. Unless he steps things up in a big way, it could be his last chance in the bigs.
- SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi was dealt to KEN at the deadline for an armada of young talent and picks. It was not an easy decision to move him. Players with his talent do not come around often and SS was loathe to move a young starter like him. But ultimately, the Evas came to the conclusion that he was just not going to be able to reach his considerable potential in SS and that all parties would be better off with him getting a chance to start over elsewhere. So far, that seems correct. Yi performed much better after the trade (130 ERA+ in 11 GS in KEN vs. 75 ERA+ in 20 GS in SS). Hopefully he continues to shine in 2039.
- LF Cris Krebs was solid again in 2037, but no star. He wasn't even especially great vs. LHP As he advances in arbitration, and his salary increases, it is more and more likely that he is dealt to a team that can play him every day. He has the talent to be a consistent starter. But he is unlikely to get that chance in SS with Ortega and Takahashi firmly entrenched in the OF corners vs RHP.
- SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi - See above.
- 1B/3B Scotty "The Grinch" Weeks bought himself a lot of runway in 2037. His career year (.301\.342\.938, 32HR, 117RBI, 4.9 WAR) left his critics with little to say. He seems likely to place 2nd in the MVP race. Hard to argue against that. His defensive flexibility will help him too. He is serviceable at 3B, if not amazing. But good enough if he is hitting, at least against RHP. Weeks will certainly feature prominently on the 2038 Evas and likely beyond.
- SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi - See above.
- DH António Gómez - Gomez performed well in ARL vs. RHP when he got opportunities (.318\.438\.907), but he only got 80 PA's vs. RHP all season. Hopefully he get more regular playing time in 2038. Scouts still think he has talent.
- SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi - See above.
Knox and O'Halloran repeated as winners in 2037.
Historical Winners:
Shin Seiki Minor League Hitter of the Year
2037: 3B Doug Knox (AAA)
2036: 3B Doug Knox (AAA)
2035: DH António Gómez (AAA)
2034: DH António Gómez (A)
2033: 3B Scotty "The Grinch" Weeks (A)
2032: LF Chris "No Trump" Krebs (AA)
2031: 1B Manny "Manimal" Lara (A)
2030: 1B Jeremy Craig (AA)
2029: C Connor Clavell (A)
2028: C Bob Peña (A)
2027: 3B Chor-min Park (AA)
2026: SS SS Bryant 'Mjølnir' Yamada' Hawkins (AA)
2025: 2B Errol Landry (AAA)
2024: 2B Errol Landry (AAA)
2023: RF Rowan 'Bleeder' Stuart (SS-A)
2022: RF Rowan 'Bleeder' Stuart (SS-A)
2021: SS Torazo Kodama (SS-A)
2020: SS Torazo Kodama (SS-A)
2019: 2B Takane Chikafuji (A)
2018: 3B Kiyohisa Kudo (AAA)
2017: 1B Hidemichi Okubo (AAA)
2016: 2B Shihi Suzuki (AAA)
2015: 1B Mitsunari Suzuki (AAA)
2014: LF Ryozo Takeuchi (AAA)
Shin Seiki Minor League Pitcher of the Year
2037: RP Mike O'Halloran (A)
2036: SP Mike O'Halloran (A)
2035: SP Félix González (AAA)
2034: SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi (AAA)
2033: SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi (A)
2032: SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi (SS-A)
2031: SP Dong-hak "Entrop" Yi (R)
2030: SP Takesi Ishikawa (R)
2029: SP Andrew Thornton (AAA)
2028: SP Sandy Garza (AAA)
2027: SP Orlando Trujillo (AAA)
2026: SP Jorge Castillo (AAA)
2025: SP Soetsu Hirai (AAA)
2024: SP Soetsu Hirai (AAA)
2023: RP Millard Norman (SS-A)
2022: RP Juro 'Tempo' Sumita (SS-A)
2021: SP Arinori Mochizuki (AAA)
2020: SP Arinori Mochizuki (AAA)
2019: SP Hideyori Tanaka (A)
2018: SP Eitoku Tamura (AAA)
2017: SP Eitoku Tamura (AAA)
2016: SP Noboru 'Hack' Sakamoto (AAA)
2015: SP Koki Watanabe (AAA)
2014: SP Kawanari Masuda (AAA)