2010 player rankings
Hitting
1. Matt Martiny
After last season a couple of things are clear. Matt still has all, if not more power that he's had since taking off, and he still has no life. With the inclusion of the new strike zone, every one's batting average has took a hit. Matt finished third with a .595 average but tore the power numbers apart with 40 home runs and 86 RBIs, proving once again he is still top of the class when it comes to hitting.
2. Kyle Monsees
Kyle's average took a hit as well due to the strike zone inclusion, but that may not have been the main factor he had a down year, finishing second in BA with a .598. He got off to a very slow start to the year, in both hitting and pitching, and he had to climb out of a hole. And though it took him until the very last game to finish second he did, once again finishing in the top three in batting average, as well as regaining his #2 status on all time home runs.
3. Jon Monsees
If someone was not hit by the new strike zone it was probably Jon. He batted .611, .002 points higher than his career average. And though his slugging percentage was a bit less, he earned a reputation for coming up with timely hits (thank you to MVP baseball 2005 for that analogy)And although he only hit 17 home runs over the coarse of 144 at bats (as opposed to 16 in 76 at bats in '07) his league leading batting average more than made up for that.
4. Josh Pedersen
Josh showed us last year that he was not happy with his #6 ranking as a hitter and hit a .520 batting average with 5 home runs and 16 RBIs in 50 at bats. The real question facing Josh is if he's graduated into the top tier of players in the NWBL. He's shown glimpses of greatness, lets see if he can put it all together.
5. Nate Monsees
Though Nate seemed to regress in 2009, he still see's himself above his last years ranking. Nate ended up with a .463 batting average with 4 home runs and 19 RBIs in 155 at bats. He was also one of those players that was hit hard by the inclusion of the strike zone, his power numbers went from 8 home runs to 4 home runs despite having 66 more at bats, and his batting average fell .018 points. But this was felt league wide so Nate is not the only exception. Could he be a break out player this year? We'll find out.
6. Luke Ray
Luke was the biggest disappointment of the 2009 season going from a .611 BA all the way down to .462 batting average. I have a very good feeling that most of this was due to his partner in crime, Abe Alani. When Luke played he lacked focus (even more than usual) and it showed in his game. He only hit 1 home run over the course of the season and finished below Nate in both slugging percentage and batting average for the first time. He also lost the interest of other players with his annoying shenanigans. If Luke doesn't shape up his behavior, he could have very limited playing time, if any.
8. Abe Alani
Despite being a catalyst for distracting Luke, Abe had himself a good year for his talent level. He still has yet to hit a home run but I've got a feeling he's still got one in him. Abe hit .412 in 34 at at bats and 3 RBIs, which was more than many people expected him too. He's still probably the worst hitter in the league, but the difference is not as great as previously thought; his .412 batting average was only .050 percentage points lower than the next player. Abe can still improve as he has never been on a baseball team. He will have to do so in game though, as he's too lazy to practice.
Pitching
1.Kyle Monsees
After a slow start, (gave up a walk off homer and other difficult outings) Kyle settled in and adjusted to the new strike zone and was just as dominant as ever, posting a 0.79 RPI with a 6 and 3 record and 39 strike outs. Although he didn't have the innings pitched he usually does (19, 14th in the league) he still was by far the most dominant earning him the top spot in the rankings.
2. Matt Martiny
Matt has impressed with his pitching to go back to the number 2 sport for the first time since 2005. He finished second in both RPI (1.03) and strikeouts (39) and finished first in wins (7). His (my) stuff has seemed to improve and he's feeling more confident with his pitches. He went one game striking out Kyle, RJ, and then Kyle again before his fielding behind him failed him. Is this a one year thing though? Only time will tell.
3. Jon Monsees
Jon was once again stellar on the hill, and this time it translated to RPI. He finished third in the league with a 1.10 RPI and also led the League in strike outs with 40. There was one game that he was pitching a perfect game/no hitter (same thing) and was literally unhittable until Matt would not let the game end and said to play another inning. Matt finally got a hit to break it up. Jon more than likely will continue his dominate play on the mound, though there is always a chance that he doesn't.
4. Josh Pedersen
Josh had a pretty good year statistically,posting a 1.43 RPI with 2 wins and 1 loss. He had one bad performance during this stretch however, and he would have been absolutely filthy had it not been for that. He put in one game where he moved the ball all over the place and drove Matt batty with his nasty pitches and shut him and Jon out. Can Josh replicate his solid year? Opposing hitters hope not.
5. Luke Ray
While Luke's play overall decimated, his pitching was one area where he remained consistent. While he still doesn't have great stuff, he still seems to get guys out. He has tended to do something that is frowned upon by the league however, his quick pitches have been used quite often to get players out and they remain effective, perhaps to much so.(stay up to date on whether or not this will be illegal) He still throws strikes though and he puts enough mustard on the ball that it isn't the easiest ball to crush and with a 1.98 RPI, he has shown that he is capable of getting the job done.
6. Nate Monsees
Nate once again led the league in innings pitched with 31 1/3, but he also was last in the league with a 2.68 RPI. He was however, better than his two friends who played with us, Bryce Boyda and Ryan King who had a 3.00 and 4.67 RPI respectively. Nate gets down on himself when he doesn't throw strikes, which the strike zone does not help him with, so confidence issues are a problem. Overall Nate has shown some talent, and even hints of greatness, but he still needs a big year.
8. Abe Alani
He's not even worth commenting on. If you let him pitch in a game you need to have your head examined.
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