Vote for August POTM

The first month of the Maui Adult Baseball League’s Summer 2024 season is in the books, and in the early going pitching has dominated! After 4 weeks of games, the league batting average is a meager .221, well below last season’s .268 average (at least half of this drop off can probably be attributed to the departure of hit-machine Frank Lettieri — pitchers rejoice!). With this in mind, the five candidates for the August 2024 MABL Player of the Month poll were chosen from a very-deserving pool of pitchers. In addition, performances from the Labor Day Weekend Interisland Tournament were considered, as four of the candidates were involved in the MABL’s strong showing last weekend. And everyone who loves velo will be happy to hear this exclusive MABL Insider report: there’s one guy who has more than 16 K/9 with at least 35 career innings, and he is allegedly making his MABL return this month, stay tuned as this story develops!

The Player of the Month award for August 2024 is presented by Ali’i Nui Sailing Charters! Looking for fun & relaxation? Experience Maui like never before with Ali’i Nui Maui. Participants in the MABL Golf Tournament on November 16 will have multiple opportunities to win a trip on their luxury catamarans to embark on one of their many sailing charters, as Ali’i Nui has returned as a 2nd year sponsor for this event! The Maui Adult Baseball League is grateful for the Ali’i Nui’s continuing support.

Dreyson Cordova turned in a complete game victory in his first start with his new team, leading the Lahaina Warriors to a 4-1 victory over the West Maui Brewers on August 4. Dreyson carries a 1.00 ERA over 9.0 innings of MABL regular league play, but also earned the victory over the Honolulu Baseball League’s Division 2 All-Star team as the game 1 starting pitcher for MABL’s Team Mauka during the Labor Day Weekend Interisland Tournament. Including tournament play, Dreyson is hitting .368 (7 for 19) with a .455 OBP and 5 runs scored over 6 games.

Lefty Mike Gilligan has been a huge part of the La Perouse Pirates’s 3-1 start to the season, going 1-1 with a 1.93 ERA and 13 strikeouts over 14.0 innings of work. In the Pirates’ win over the Warriors on August 18, Gilligan started the game — holding the Warriors to 1 run over 5 innings — and then re-entered in the 12th after co-ace Joe McFarlin turned in 6 scoreless innings. Gilligan also came within 1 out of a complete game shutout against the HBL D2 team on Aug 31, limiting the Oahu squad to 1 run on 8 hits while striking out 9 over 9 innings.

Brandon Gonsalves has been lights out to start the season, going 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA over 11.0 innings of league play. Opponents are hitting just .132 against the veteran right-hander, and per usual, Gonsalves is leading the league with a minuscule 2.5% BB-rate, contributing to an outstanding 0.55 WHIP. Facing the HBL Open Division All-Star team during the Interisland Tournament, Brandon held his opponents to 2 runs over the first 5 innings before the Oahu hitters broke through during the second half of the game.

The two-time reigning MABL Cy Young award winner, Ian Josh, is showing why he lays claim to that distinction, picking up where he left off, with a 0.00 ERA, .081 opponents average (2nd in the league), 0.42 WHIP (1st), and 22 Ks (2nd) over 19.0 innings of work to open the Summer 2024 season. With appearances on the mound in all 4 of the Centipedes’ games, Josh’s longest outing of the season so far came against the Brewers on August 18 when he struck out 10, holding Brewers hitters to 3 hits over 8.0 scoreless innings. Pitching for Team Makai during the Interisland Tournament, Ian earned the win in both games against the HBL Open Division All-Star team, allowing just 3 hits, 1 walk, and 0 earned runs while striking out 4 over 6.0 innings of work. On the offensive side, Ian leads the league with 3 doubles over 4 games.

Working hard to immediately avoid any notion of “PO” status, Brewers’ rookie Lance Simpson put up big numbers on the mound and at the plate during his first month of MABL action. Simpson allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks over his first 8.0 scoreless innings of work, good for a league-best .077 opponents batting average, and a 0.50 WHIP (ranking 2nd). His 13 Ks are good for a whopping 44.8% K-rate, which tops qualified pitchers. At the plate, Simpson went 6 for 10 with a double and tripe in three games. He currently leads the league in hits (6), RBIs (4), total bases (9), and each of AVG/OBP/SLG (.600/.667/.900). For those with a preference for sabermetrics, Lance was good for a 6.4 RC over the first month of the season, nearly 2 runs higher than the next closest batter.

Check out the stats and advanced stats pages for complete hitting and pitching stats for every player in the league, and cast your vote below for the MABL Player of the Month for August 2024. The poll will remain open through September 10, and as always, Player of the Month voting is open to players, fans, and family, and is limited to 1 vote per individual.

Vote for the MABL Player of the Month

• Brandon Gonsalves (47%, 135 Votes)
• Lance Simpson (40%, 116 Votes)
• Dreyson Cordova (7%, 19 Votes)
• Ian Josh (4%, 11 Votes)
• Mike Gilligan (2%, 6 Votes)

Total Voters: 287

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