Who's That Draftee!?

As our regular season comes to a close and the Pittsburgh Pioneers are rung in as our inaugural champions, we have to have a sense of scale: these are the minor leagues - the SBLM. All of the crazy feats, even by the best pitchers, clutch batters, dynamic fielders, and sneakiest base runners will be hard to directly compare to the guys in the pros.

With all things considered, we have some SBLM teams that will be saying goodbye to more than just a couple of members - especially the Chicago Storm - and one player who immediately and directly applied for the pros without any consideration for the minor league.

So for all of those who follow pro ball but not the minors... who the heck are these guys?


No, seriously... who is this guy? As of a few days ago, quite literally nobody in the SBL had ever heard of Eddie Donovan -- unless you're also a fan of the Simulation Basketball Association (SBA), in which case of course you've heard of the ultra-dynamic guard extraordinaire. Immediately upon retirement, the veritable all-star immediately declared his eligibility for the SBL -- skipping the SBLM entirely in the process and foregoing an entire year of development - to become one of the most hotly debated points of conversation in SBL's short history.

"Is anyone good enough to just outright skip the minor leagues?"

"Who is this guy?"

"Can we even draft him?"

These are all valid questions - but as of a couple of days ago, all of them were answered: he doesn't give a damn about your minor league, he's gonna play himself some professional baseball. And the fans are going to love this gung-ho attitude. A classical, ever-patient power hitter, Donovan will have the benefit of the 150 boost as he declares... which might put him on par with some of the better minor leaguers before their uncap season.

This is a fascinating experiment. But who is this guy?


Thus far, there’s no team hurt worse by draft declarations than the Chicago Storm. They’re losing their ace, power pitcher Magnus Coretti. That’s a difficult pill to swallow on its own, especially since he’s contending for the Pitcher of the Year award. In most efficiency ratings – WHIP, hits/9, IP, opposing average, BABIP, and opposing OBP, SLG, and OPS – he fell very neatly within the top five, and was a direct competitor to other top pitchers like Ezekiel Bridges, Mario McRlwain, Nate Nitro, James Boxman, and Captain Hook. But there are plenty of other clubs losing their top pitcher(s) – including three of the five I just mentioned. So what’s the big deal?

Well, Chicago’s losing their entire infield. From true first baseman and hitting star Carlos Delgado @oilmandan, ‘round all their other bases through to catcher Wayne Taylor, Chicago now needs players at literally every infield position. It’s fair to say that the Storm have a replacement for @prezzys , in a sense – what with mostly-inactive third baseman Tyler Martinez still on the books. But the value brought by stellar contact hitter Prezzy Jr. @prezzys , even while forced to field out of position, is substantial and measurable through both phases of the game. He owns the batting average title for the inaugural season (.317), and is top five in multiple categories – especially those relating to contact. The Storm also lose two prominent defensive members on their team in star second baseman Delvin Rooks @AW13 and likely perennial Golden Glove candidate Sphyrna Lewin @Troutstrong.

Every SBLM team will be hurt by draft declarations on a seasonal basis, but the Storm have quite a few spots to fill. Indeed, the only remaining members of their starting lineup are outfielders Ashweather Cett and Ajay Krishna, and their center fielder (and bot) Screw the Brigade. What does this mean come draft time – when Best Pitcher and fellow S0 Storm member Ezekiel Bridges is swept away to the SBLM Draft?

To put it simply, Chicago would become another hotspot for post-draft selections and a highly desired playing time location for prospective draftees. A brand-new player would be entered in the Storm locker room as a plug-and-play (really, a plug-and-start), which should make them a no-brainer for newly created players. After all, the high starting number of active users pushed some to create a pitcher over a fielder of their choice. With most starters out of the way, the appeal of first and third base – high priority offense-focused positions – as well as their defensive counterparts in second base and shortstop should catch quite a few eyes in player creation.