Hutch Making run @ .400

Steven Hutch Colorado Mountain Oysters Age: 30 B/T: S/R Born: Jackson, NJ Position(s): RF View Hardball Dynasty Profile

Steven Hutch, playing in his 9th season for the Colorado Mountain Oysters is having his best year. Hutch, who will be eligible for free agency this off-season, is currently hitting exactly .400 (229/572). He also has 40 HRs, 152 RBI, and 38 SBs. The career .342 is making a run at becoming only the 2nd .400 hitter in Second City history. Max Lima of the San Juan Crownrificos hit .400 in the inaugural season, by all accounts, a hitter-friendly year. Lima also holds the single season hits record from that year with 242 (since tied by Antonio Chapman. Hutch would need to average about 1 hit per game the rest of the way to break that mark.

An incredible 7 of the top 15 batting averages among qualifying players come from the Colorado Mountain Oysters. Yet, Colorado needs a miracle finish to reach the playoffs, currently sitting 7 games out of their division and 7 games out of the wild-card.

Playoff Position

Well as the season approaches the home stretch there is very little drama left in the AL and gobs of drama in the NL.

Let's start with the boring part. Kansas City is a lock to win the AL North. Monterrey is a heavy favorite to win the AL South. In the AL West, San Francisco holds a 3 game lead over Colorado. Colorado is also 3 games out of the wild card, where Scranton holds the final spot.
(Richmond leads Baltimore by 4 games in the AL East with the runner-up a veritable shoe-in for the wild-card. That means only 1 spot remains up for grabs with Scranton battling the AL West runner-up for the last spot.

Scranton has 7 games remaining with SF (3 road, 4 home), but does not meet Colorado again. Colorado and San Francisco meet by the bay for a 3 game set in the next-to-last series of the season.

#1 Picks of the Past

With the Season 7 draft just around the corner we look back at #1 overall picks of the past.

Season 1 - Francis Bird (P), Las Vegas Double Downs - After becoming the first ever Second City draft pick Bird went 40-21 with a 2.70 ERA in 4 minor league seasons. He made 7 starts in a cup of coffee trip to the bigs in Season 4. Then he took home the NL Rookie of the Year award in Season 5, going 13-6 with a 3.12 ERA in 196 IP. Bird remains the ace of the 6 time division champion Double Downs.

Season 2 - Billy Hoffman (P), Chicago Hog Butchers - Huffman landed with Hog Butchers (now the Toledo Boones Farmers). He was dealt in Season 3 by then-owner texasviking of the short-lived Minnestoa Mighty Bats. The recipient was wang35 and the San Juan Crownrificos. In return the 'rificos sent Lucas Laxton (career .270 hitter for Toledo), Omar Sosa (currently unemployed, never played in bigs), and Jarret Graves (currently at AA for Atlanta, never saw the bigs) to the Bats. Huffman, a high school pick, went 64-15 in 5 minor league seasons (2.88 ERA). Since making his big league debut in season 5, Huffman is 13-1 with a 2.70 ERA for the Crownrificos. Season 7 looks to be his first year spent entirely in the bigs as a 23 year-old.

Season 3 - Tom Davidson (2b), Colorado Mountain Oysters - Davidson, the first college junior to be drafted #1 overall, shot through the minors and made his ML debut late in season 3, hitting .364 in 77 ABs. He's never returned to the minors, hitting .347 with 103 career homers. Last year was his finest season, posting a .376 average with 29 HRs and 136 RBIs. After making 39 errors as a rookie, Davidson has become a solid in unspectacular fielder in Colorado. He signed a 5-year, $39.5M contract extension this past off-season.

Season 4 - Brett Davis (SS), Scranton Nittany Lions - The Lions have treated Davis with kid-gloves, slowly bringing along the high school pick that just turned 21. Scouts consider him a can't-miss prospect with the chance to consistently hit 50+ HR's a season. Davis has hit .329 with 94 career minor league dingers. Some scouts feel that Davis will eventually end up at 3b after a 62 error season at AA in year 5. He settled down last year making just 19 errors at AAA and is expected to make his big league debut later this season as a SS.

Season 5 - Vernon Mota (P), Texas Riders - Mota blew through the minors making the RL all-star team in Season 5 and arriving in the bigs late in Season 6 following a 10-1, 3.29 performance at AA. The Riders are counting on him as a key part of their rotation going forward, though the 23 year-old continues to struggle in a hitter-friendly park, posting a 6-4 record and 5.52 ERA so far this season.

Season 6 - Kevin Canseco (2B), Honolulu Dolphins - The high school legend from tiny Woodbury, MN made a big splash winning the rookie league silver slugger in his first professional year. The Dolphins haven't been shy, starting the precocious youngster at AA where he hit .347 in 46 games this year before a promotion to AAA. He's just 9 games in at AAA but scouts expect big things from Canseco going forward though he's probably 2-3 years from making a meaningful contribution in the bigs.

Season 7 - ????