It’s been about a week since the 2017 New Hampshire Fisher Cats season concluded and it’s time for one more look at things 400 miles from Toronto prior as New Hampshire baseball fans wait for next April.
Overview
The Fisher Cats’ final series against the Portland Sea Dogs over the first weekend of September was in some ways a microcosm of their season: a win, a loss, a loss that could have been a win, and a game that involved weather problems.
The September 3 game was the 14th not finished due to weather issues, adding to a franchise record set this year. However, it was not made up, the first cancellation for the Fisher Cats since August 2015.
Losing the series gave the Fisher Cats a total of 59 wins, concluding their fifth losing record in a row and the worst record in the Eastern League for 2017. With 29 wins at home and 30 on the road, that mark was ten games worse than 2016 and 2015 and set a franchise record for fewest wins in a season.
The series loss also ensured that the only winning month the Fisher Cats had this year was August.
Fisher Cats of the Year
Hitting: Richard Urena – Until earning promotion directly to Toronto earlier in the year, there was little doubt that Anthony Alford was New Hampshire’s MVP, ending April in the hunt for the Eastern League’s lead in several offensive statistics.
After an injury that limited him to just a handful of at-bats in the majors, Alford returned to Manchester later in the year. Alford still served as a catalyst during his second stint in the Granite State, but the Fisher Cats had several other weapons that remained during his absence.
An argument could be made for Tim Lopes or Jonathan Davis, Urena came close to equaling the consistency of Lopes and Davis at the plate while providing additional power.
In a year that saw New Hampshire in the lower half of the league in multiple offensive categories, Urena led the league in doubles, New Hampshire’s only leader in any offensive category.
Starting Pitching: Ryan Borucki – The five members of New Hampshire’s starting rotation ended the year without demotion, but without many superlatives. Sean Reid-Foley, Jon Harris and Conner Greene were inconsistent, while Shane Dawson and Francisco Rios were relegated to the bullpen.
If Chris Rowley spent longer in New Hampshire, he might be earning this honor, but West Point graduate’s dominance over his short stint in Manchester was so dominant that he got a chance in Toronto in mid-August.
Thomas Pannone also shined, but the bulk of his Double-A performance this year was in Akron. Ultimately, the staff’s ace going into 2018 is Borucki if the results going into the offseason are any indication, if he doesn’t start 2018 in Triple-A.
After promotion from Dunedin, Borucki flirted with complete games over his first few starts, giving up just 10 earned runs in 46 1/3 innings of work.
Relief Pitching: Andrew Case – Tim Mayza and Carlos Ramirez duplicated Rowley’s rise, with Mayza also making it to Rogers Centre prior to the end of August.
Case also briefly spent some time at Triple-A Buffalo, but returned and resumed his role along with Justin Shafer and Dusty Issacs at the top of New Hampshire’s closer-by-committee arrangement.
The Canadian native led the team in saves and posted a remarkable 1.025 WHIP.
September and Next Year
Urena has already been promoted to Toronto with the September roster expansion, and there’s an outside chance Borucki may get a taste of the big leagues since the Blue Jays are far outside of the pennant race.
At some point, Alford is likely to return to the majors as well, although his lingering health issues are likely to be the Blue Jays top priority right now.
Next year’s Fisher Cats will likely showcase a pair of teenage prodigies: Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. The two sons of former big leaguers both hit over .300 at Advanced-A Dunedin this season.
