2057.81 Flight Log Charlotte Flyers 2057 Season Recap

[Krathan]

In this edition of Flight Log, a look at the 2057 season for the Charlotte Flyers.

Going into 2057, the Charlotte Flyers had lost 91 or more games in 3 straight seasons. The front office deemed that an unacceptable outcome for this year and spent big in free agency, taking the salary cap right up to the edge. While the team still finished below .500, with a final record of 78-84, they did improve their win total by 13 over the 2056 total of 65. Attendance at home games was up by more than 1,000,000 fans and the city was excited about the team, and had realistic hopes for a postseason berth nearing September. The team was not officially eliminated from the postseason until the last two weeks of the season. All of that was a marked improvement over recent seasons.
The biggest stories of the season generally centered around the team’s injuries. Robert Menzies and Tadataka Yoshikawa were expected to lead the offense but they each missed 75% of the season and didn’t even manage to play 1 game together after spring training. Banger Dan was acquired at the trade deadline to boost the offense but he was injured at the start of September and only played 28 games for the team. Stephen Best was brought in to provide a veteran presence to the rotation. He struggled to find consistency early and then suffered a torn rotator cuff in July. He won’t be available to pitch again until at least June of 2058. Other players made it onto the injured list as well, but those are some of the bigger names who were expected to make important contributions to the team who missed significant time. All of those improvements over 2056 occurred despite the injury problems.

Let’s take a look at some of the player who were key contributors this season.

POSITION PLAYER OF THE YEAR:

1B Manny Toledo
Toledo set the all-time single season home run record for the Charlotte franchise with 42. He drove in the 2nd most runs of any player in team history. He also led all position players on this year’s team in games played, hits, walks, runs, and WAR. Without Toledo’s outstanding performance, the Flyers would not have experienced anywhere near the success that they did in 2057.

HONORABLE MENTION:

CF Victor Frazier
Frazier debuted in 2056,playing in 99 games. He was as advertised, an excellent defender with great speed who didn’t get on base as much as you would like but could occasionally knock the ball out of the park. He homered 10 times, stole 9 bases in 10 tires, and had an OPS of .679. In 2057, Frazier improved his games in almost every way. He played in 134 games, hit 18 home runs, stole 17 bases in 20 tries, and had an OPS of .757. He also scored 60 times and drove in 76 runs. When facing right handed pitching, Frazier’s OPS was .823. Even with his improved offensive output, Frazier’s claim to fame is his defense. He was fantastic in 2057. He is a frontrunner for the Johnson League Gold Glove award in center field. Frazier was 2nd on the team among position players with 2.7 WAR. If we were awarding a breakout player of the year, he would be the position player who would win that award.

RF/LF Chris McFadden
McFadden posted the best year of his career in 2056, posting 2.4 WAR. His previous high was 1.3 in 2051. There were doubts that he could repeat his performance in 2057, but the team was committed to giving him an opportunity to try. McFadden’s offense got off to a bit of a slow start, but he still put up good numbers overall, with a wRC+ of 106 indicating that he was at least a bit above average at the plate. His defense was also improved.He played mostly RF this season, a position where he put up a ZR of -3.7 in 2056. This year, his ZR was +6.8. He is one of the frontrunners for the Gold Glove in RF this year. His WAR for 2057 was a new personal best, coming in at 2.6.

PITCHER OF THE YEAR:

SP Andres Gonzales.
Gonzales made his major league debut in 2056, finishing 5-13 with a 5.77 ERA. His ERA in spring training this year was 5.59. Gonzales started the 2057 campaign in AAA as it looked like he was not ready to step into the rotation at the big league level after the team’s off-season acquisitions.Gonzales proceeded to shut down AAA lineups through the month of April and was called up join the rotation at the start of May. From May through the end of the season,, he was definitely the best pitcher on the team, and one of the better pitchers in the league. Gonzales made 26 starts for Charlotte. Of those 26, 19 were quality starts. He won 12 and lost 6, posting an ERA of 3.23 in 167.1 innings. Gonzales had a WHIP of 1.11, a FIP- of 77, and a WAR of 4.3. He pitched 3 complete games and walked only 2.1 batters per 9 innings.

ROOKIE OF THE YEAR:

2B/SS Andy Bishop
Bishop debuted in 2056, joining the team when rosters expanded in September. He played in 24 games and looked as though he was not ready for the big leagues. He hit .194 in 72 at bats, with a wRC+ of 24 and a WAR of -0.3. Bishop did at least play solid defense at 2B during that stretch of games. This year, Bishop was invited to spring training. He was asked to work on learning to play SS to become more versatile, giving him more of an opportunity to find a way to contribute if he was called on by the big league club this season. While Bishop will never be one of the best defensive SS in the league, he did demonstrate that he understood the position and could play there respectably if needed. Like Andres Gonzales, Bishop started the season in AAA. He played well, slashing .283/.333/.434 while playing solid defense at second and short. As big league players were getting injured, Bishop waited for his turn. He got the call just a few days into May and returned to Charlotte with a desire to show that he belonged this time. Bishop did just that. He played in 111 games, slashing .287/.324/.427, with 22 doubles, 3 triples, 10 home runs, and 19 stolen bases in 19 tries. Bishop played mostly 2B, but also spent 20 games at SS. He played solid defense at second and filled in admirably at short. If Menzies and Dallas Dixon are both back with the club and healthy in 2057 then Bishop will likely see reduced playing time. However, the team knows that it can count on him when they need someone other than those two to play a middle infield position.

[BaseClogger]

Will be watching to see if Frazier gets any offensive rating bumps and/or can replicate that offensive production in 2058.