Duluth Delivers
Takanawa Times
Season Preview
April 6, 2026
by Tricia Takanawa
With opening day arriving in just hours Duluth Warriors have completed an overhaul that should have them headed to the playoffs. As long as they can steer clear of the massive amount of injuries hitting the league. League officials have yet to figure out what is wrong. Some hard core fans tried to blame the injuries on Yuma Bulldozers and their water. Either way we must avoid a serious injury this season.
Duluth won 100 games last year and they were predicted to win just over 80, however with the recent signing I can see them hitting the 90-95 game mark. We have the pitchers and we have the batters, we just have to get the wins now, with many team stacked and ready to go; let’s take a look at our lines up and pitchers for the season.
Starting Pitchers
‘Rainmaker’ joined us in a trade with Aurora Borealis and has the ability to be a team leader. He has a nasty curveball as well as a fastball that will leave hitters high and dry. He pitched a NO-HITTER last season and would have done better but injuries plagued him.
‘Dusty’ joined Duluth through a trade with the Kalamazoo Badgers. Last season he was a 19 game winner, I would love to see him it the 20 – 24 win season. He is very capable of it.
*P Rubén ‘Hollywood’ Hernández
‘Hollywood’ is just that, one word can describe him well. He does have issues in the clubhouse with another pitcher to not be named. However he should be a sub 3.00 pitcher this season. He arrived via trade from the San Juan Coqui.
Norris for a back end of the rotation guy has done very well the last few seasons. He will have to keep it up in order to keep his starting job as the pitching staff has been fighting for every inning they get. He has a great work ethic and as long as he does well the spot is his.
‘Bullfrog” did not hit it off very well when he arrived from the Kentucky Thoroughbreds in a trade. He swiped the first Hernández jersey he saw not knowing we had ‘Hollywood’ here. A mall altercation happened that quickly disappointed after player pulled them apart. Matter were not helped much when he was teased by ‘Hollywood’ for having the nickname of an amphibian.
I want to give ‘Chief’ some props here. He came in and asked to be closer. After we lost Júlio ‘Tapper’ González Chief wanted the closer position. He proclaimed that it would not only be the best choice but also help lengthen his career as a pitcher. We will see how his goes.
Mochizuki is still getting some flak for not updating his profile pic on Duluthsingles.com He chose to wear his Shin Seiki Evas uniform instead of updating it to the current Duluth uniform from 2 year ago…He has been regulated to emergency starter, not because of the uniform at all…I think…
Starting Lineup
Wallace will be leadoff hitter for most games and as the #1 ranked prospect he will have much to prove. So much he has already been offered a longtime deal that we may see agreed soon. Barry has great potential to be a top tier contact hitter, but his low IQ may hold him back, when asked why he does not wear a Duluth hat, his eyes look up and says “Cherries”, then laughs uncontrollably. Hope his matures soon.
Middleton is a top tier contact hitter and can get around the ball well. Low skill at 1B might kill his chances of having a good defensive season. Cole needs to work harder to keep his starting job.
Prat is another player that has decent contact and could get on base early in games. His average defense for the outfield is concerning. He needs to hustle more and concentrate on doing well.
Schneider has probably the best preseason of any PEBA player. He has proved so far that being traded from Aurora Borealis was for the better. There is already talk that if Schneider has a good season a bigger contract might come his way.
Gálvez is in a do or die year. His contract is a bit high and he need to pick up the slack when it comes to the lineup. He is smart and works as hard as anyone but has zero interest in being a leader.
Uribes might be in the last years of prime playing time. His contract is getting a little high for what his output is. He will have to have a much better year if he thinks of staying longer in Duluth.
McGuire will have to pull a rabbit out of his A** to keep his position on the team. .220 is not worth almost 9 mil a year, he is lucky that he even made the roster. I think his 20+ homers are what is keeping him here. The second a better option is there we should take it.
Justavo should not swing at everything he sees, if a vender tosses popcorn to a fan this guy swings in hopes of getting contact. He is the type of player that should be hitting .300 a season. He cares more about the game than money and oud onto see that often enough.
Reyes is a smart guy, so why do you not take more time at the plate and look for better pitches. With the amount of OFs in the league a cheaper option might be better if he does not bat better.
+Bonuses+
Ishikawa was a he called us type of deal. We sent out feelers around the league and got a few calls form players interested in being backup and or bench role players. He thought coming off an injury like his he would rather come in off the bench and see if his body could hold up. If we have players who can’t play well he would be more than glad to slip in the lineup.
