Draft's Done!

Game Date:  Jun 1 2029

The First Year Player Draft has been completed.

I was going to sim the next two weeks, but I realized that with the rookie league season starting, owners will need time post-draft to set up their Rookie League teams.

Please make sure to move all non-first-year players out of the Rookie League and into Single-A or higher.

Next sim: next Wednesday.

Blockbuster Trade Delays Draft

In a massive, last-minute deal, Seattle and Atlanta agreed to a trade that will shake up both franchises' fortunes for years to come as the Hurricanes turned in one of the most valuable trade chips in the game for a massive haul of prospects and picks. Here's the deal:

Atlanta sends star starting pitcher Ernest Metcalf to Seattle in exchange for two first-round picks (#2 and #3 overall in the draft), AAA OF Logan Francis (#5 overall prospect), and A-ball SP Rodrigo Padilla.

The trade allows Seattle to rebuild its starting rotation with a top-flight stud and gives Atlanta a chance to dramatically overhaul its system. The deal reportedly came together in just the last couple hours. 

"Tough to give up that much talent," said Seattle owner/GM Mack Shultz, "but pitchers of Ernie's quality don't come along all that often. He's under contract for four more years and our rotation needed this infusion. We're confident that Logan and Rodrigo will be stars, but this was a chance to deal from depth to improve the major league team for the next 4-5 seasons."

Atlanta is said to have its eyes on some of the excellent pitching prospects at the top of this draft class with the incoming picks, perhaps allowing them to rebuild quickly.

Sim Delay

I'm going to hold off the amateur draft until tomorrow night.  I received a last minute trade but don't have confirmation from the second participant.  Since the trade includes draft picks, I'm going to give the other owner a day to get me the confirmation.

Zev

May II Sim Done -- Amateur Draft Is Here!

Game Date:  Jun 1 2029

Who uploaded:
Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Atlanta
Brick
Maui
Mepkin Abbey
Seattle
Shackamaxon

Standings:
Adams: Mepkin Abbey leads Atlanta by 7.5 games
Zotti:  Seattle has caught up to Brick and is now tied for the division lead
Signorino:  Antelope Valley has a three game lead over Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
Shackamaxon RF Jeremy McCoullough named Player of the Week (5/21)
Seattle 2B Norman Kuhn named Player of the Week (5/28, 4th career award, 2nd award this season)
Mepkin Abbey LF Pedro Munoz named Rookie of the Month
Appalachian SP Joong-guen Yi named Pitcher of the Month
Mepkin Abbey C Miguel Ramirez named Batter of the Month.
Brooklyn's Jamie Vasquez hit three home runs in one game (5/24)

Significant Injuries:
Appalachian will be without Antonio Salinas for seven weeks, partially torn labrum.
Mepkin Abbey's Luis Romano strained an oblique.  It'll cost him 4-5 weeks.
Houston's Edgardo Rodriguez ruptured a finger tendon and he'll be gone for three months.
Seattle's Hector Valera will miss 5 weeks with a strained ACL.

Milestsones:
Norfolk's Lucio Munoz reached 1000 runs scored.

Batting Line of the Sim:
Brooklyn's Jamie Vasquez went 3-3 with a walk, hitting 3 HR and batting in four on 5/24.

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Antelope Valley's Yorikane Kichikawa threw his third shutout of the season with a three-hit, 11K, no-walk gem on 5/25.

Amateur Draft:
The amateur draft will be the next sim.  Please be sure to check the Traded Draft Picks list to make sure that you have all the picks you are supposed to have.  If you see something wrong, please be sure to email Michael and myself about it.  No claims for missed picks will be entertained after the draft.

Rookie Leagues:
Please be sure to take all second-year (and later) pro players out of the Rookie League.

Next sim: next Wednesday night.

May I Sim Done

Game Date:  May 16, 2029

Who uploaded:
Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Atlanta
Brick
Maui
Mepkin Abbey
Seattle
Shackamaxon

Standings:
Adams: Mepkin Abbey has a solid five game lead on Atlanta
Zotti:  Brick's lead over Seattle is four games.
Signorino:  Antelope Valley is three games up on Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
Maui RF Don Jones named Player of the Week (5/7)
Brooklyn RF Eric Halliwell named Player of the Week (5/14, 2nd career award)

Significant Injuries:
Norfolk 3B Ricardo Feliciano fractured his hand and will miss 8-9 weeks.
Brooklyn 1B Arthur Cain has a hamstring strain. He's out for five weeks.
Appalachian SP Antonio Salinas has a partially torn labrum.  It'll cost him about seven weeks.

Milestones:
Maui 1B David Seibel collected his 2000th career hit.
Mepkin Abbey DH Nigel Bryant reached 400 HR

Batting Line of the Sim:
Brick's Ken Reed went 3-3 (with 2 walks), 2 HR, 4 R and 4 RBI vs. Houston (5/4)

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Houston's Carlos Salazar pitched eight innings of three-hit shutout ball with eight strikeouts and no walks vs. Brick on 5/5.

Notes:
The rookie draft pool is available for your viewing pleasure.
After the next sim, any players in your Rookie League team have to be moved out.

Next sim: Next Wednesday.

Apr II Sim Done

Game Date:  May 1, 2029

Who Uploaded:
Antelope Valley
Appalachian
Atlanta
Brick
Highland
Maui
Mepkin Abbey
Norfolk
Seattle
Shackamaxon

Standings:
Adams:  Mepkin Abbey leads Atlanta by three games.
Zotti:  Brick is two games ahead of Seattle
Signorino: Antelope Valley is three games ahead of Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
Seattle 2B Norman Kuhn named Player of the Week (4/23, 3rd career award)
Shackamaxon LF George Hendricks named Player of the Week (4/30, 2nd career award)
Brick RF Salvador Velasquez named Batter of the Month (second career award)
Shackamaxon SP Toyoshige Takahashi named Pitcher of the Month (third career award)
Highland RF Lorenzo Hernandez named Rookie of the Month

Significant Injuries:
Mepkin Abbey will be without Tian-bai Chen for 2-3 months (rotator cuff inflammation).
C Tony Cannon will be absent from the Lenape for 2-3 weeks (calf strain)
Antelope Valley 3B Andreas Velasco has a calf strain and will miss 3 weeks.
Brooklyn OF Lou Sharp has a knee sprain. He's out for 5-6 weeks.
Shackamaxon Pitcher of the Month Takahashi will miss four weeks with a shoulder inflammation.

Batting Line of the Sim:
Appalachian's Arturo Sanchez went 3-3 3 runs scored and 4 RBI vs. Highland (4/19)

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Antelope Valley's Yorikane Kichkawa pitched a five-hit shutout vs Brooklyn while striking out 13 and walking none (4/29)

Next sim:  Next Wednesday night.

... And, We're Off! Apr I Sim Done

Game Date:  Apr 16, 2029

Who uploaded:
Appalachian Valley
Atlanta
Brick
Highland
Maui
Mepkin Abbey
Norfolk
Seattle
Shackamaxon

Standings:
Adams: Highland is one game ahead of Atlanta
Zotti:  Brick is one game ahead of Seattle
Signorino:  Antelope Valley holds a single game lead over Maui

Awards & Accomplishments:
Brick RF Salvador Velasquez named Player of the Week (4/9, 2nd career award)
Brick SS Javier Chalen named Player of the Week (4/16)

Significant Injuries:

• Appalachian Valley:  2B Michael Lambert has a hamstring strain.  He'll be gone for four weeks.
• Appalachian Valley:  SP Dane Long stretched his elbow ligament in his very first major league start.  He's done for the season.
• Appalachian Valley: CF Randy Dixon strained his hamstring.  He's out for two months.
• Appalachian Valley: SP Shawn Macneill tore a labrum.  He's finished for the year. 
• Antelope Valley:  LF Jeremy Reed fractured his wrist.  AntVal will be without him for 6-7 weeks.
• Atlanta: SS Ben Taylor fractured his rib.  He's out for four weeks.
• Atlanta:  LF Mike Peoples tore his ankle ligament.  The team will miss him for 3-4 weeks.
• Atlanta: SP Curtis Black tore a flexor tendon and will miss the rest of the season. 
• Houston:  RF Orlando Borges tore a posterior cruciate ligament.  His season is over. 
• Norfolk:  SS Carlos Gomez broke his kneecap and will be out 5-6 months.
• Shackamaxon:  SS Dewey Wilson fractured his jaw.  He's out for four weeks.

Milestones:
Brooklyn SP Emelio Romero reached 2000 strikeouts.
Antelope Valley 3B Andreas Velasco slugged his 400th home run.

Batting Line of the Sim:
Antelope Valley's Ray McJannett went 5-6 with 2 HR and 5 RBI vs. Norfolk on 4/6

Pitching Line of the Sim:
Seattle's Toyoshige Takahashi pitched 8 innings of 4-hit shutout ball, striking out 10 and allowing no walks vs. Highland on 4/6.

Next sim:  Wednesday night.

One More Time....

At one owner's request, we're going to delay the sim one more time, to Saturday night.

Thanks for being patient.  In the meantime, keep on trading! :)

Commissioners Swap Prospects

The Brooklyn Wolves announce their first trade in a long time, as owner Zev Steinhardt swaps prospects with his fellow commissioner, Michael, owner of the Shackamaxon Lenape.

The Brooklyn Wolves are sending top relief prospect Anthony "Meat" White and outfielder John Willis to Shackamaxon in exchange for slugging outfield prospect Lou Sharp, starter Arturo Trejo and reliever Zach Sullivan.

Going to Shackamaxon:

Anthony White, 22, is a left handed relief monster with a super nasty changeup and a nearly-as-nasty slider.  Selected in the first round of the 2027 draft, White has worked his way up through Double-A.  He is projected to be one of the top relievers in the league in years to come.

John Willis, 25, made people look up and take notice when he burst on to the major league scene last season.  Drafted in the second round in 2024, he worked his way up the minor league ladder before finally arriving at the show early last season.  Since donning the Wolves uniform, he managed to hit .358 in 61 games, with four home runs, 36 RBI and an OPS+ of 119.

Arriving in Brooklyn:

Lou Sharp, 24, is a young outfielder with a powerful swing and monster arm.  Drafted in the second round by the Seattle Monarchs in 2024, Sharp has actually been a part of several deals.  He now lands in Brooklyn where his bat and outfield arm will be put to good use.  Over the last two seasons, he has put up some amazing numbers in the minor leagues - chief among them his 1.057 OPS for AA Olympis in AA in 2027 and his 1.001 OPS for Beulaville in AAA.

Arturo Trejo, 22, was Shackamaxon's second round pick in the 2028 draft.  He started the season in the Rookie League, dominating the batters there and earning a promotion to A-ball after five games.  In A-ball, he pitched well (2.76 ERA in five games) but failed to secure a victory.  He'll be put to work in the Brooklyn system and looked to for join the rotation in the future.

Zach Sullivan, 25, is a right-handed reliever who will be joining the Wolves' bullpen.  Taken in the 21st round of the 2025 draft, he worked his way through the minor leagues.  He spent last year with the Brick Barracudas, getting into twenty games and pitching to a 7.53 ERA.  However, the Wolves are hoping that he grows into that tremendous fastball that he has and becomes an essential component in the pen.