Game of the Week
It might be week 1 but here at SASL, teams will be coming out to show that they mean business. And for our game of the week, these 2 teams definitely will be trying to make a statement from the get go.
A revamped Young Gunz meets with a new looking Semi-Pro who are coming off a championship. Young Gunz are taking a big risk with stacking up on top and having little depth. When you have Halimi complementing on how you put your roster together, you might have some issues – but if commitment is there and if they can save themselves from injuries, Young Gunz could very well be a contender. Semi Pro may have lost last season’s MVP, Jerry, but they are attempting to fill that void with some very strategic pick ups in Naeem, Chris and Umar. All 5s level players. Question is, can Semi Pro, a team that looks to defend their title, use a pretty balanced team without too much star power to compete at the level they did last year? We think so, but let’s take a closer look:
Semi Pro continues to be led by Omar Hernandez and Mike Liang. Two guys who will barely speak and let their game and teams do the talking. Meanwhile, you have Wahid Hossein and newly appointed co-commissioner Anthony Dindyal leading the Young Gunz.
Match ups:
P / C
Young Gunz: Saiful (5) / Wahid (3)
Semi Pro: Omar (6) / Ronak (4)
Rumor has it that Saiful is injured and can’t run in the OF. If that’s the case, we will likely see him on the mound. He has solid control and is a great voice for the team there. Omar holds his own as a pitcher too. Their bats are similar, but Omar may use a little bit more of the field and because of Saiful’s injury may be able to stretch out some hits more. On the catcher’s side, typically we’d see Wahid pitch, but Saiful will need to save his legs and Ronak is moved from first to catch with the addition of Chris to Semi Pro. Ronak can be streaky and Wahid is a vet. It’s a pretty even match up with a slight edge to Ronak.
Advantage: Semi Pro
1B
Young Gunz: Anthony (6)
Semi Pro: Chris (5)
A Young Gun in Anthony verse a vet in Chris. Defensively very similar gloves, but we will give a slight advantage to Anthony may have more range. Bat wise, Chris may have a bit more power, but Anthony is coming off of a career year. We expect to see his talent continue to shine as he has less burden to carry with the addition of Dan.
Advantage: Young Gunz
2B
Young Gunz: Tyler (3)
Semi Pro: Milan (4)
Milan is coming off of a hot season and really helped Semi Pro last year as their leadoff. He has a reliable glove at second too. Tyler will give him a good challenge though as he has a solid bat that will keep the Young Gunz line up alive.
Advantage: Even
SS
Young Gunz: Dan (10)
Semi Pro: Naeem (5)
Is there really a question here? Dan is an MVP candidate every year. Great range on defense, amazing power added to the Young Gunz line up. With the loss of Jerry, Naeem has some big shoes to fill. That said, there are very few people that can match up head to head against Dan.
Advantage: Young Gunz
3B
Young Gunz: Josh (5)
Semi Pro: Adrian (5)
An interesting match up here. Defensively we feel Josh has an advantage. Bat wise, when Adrian is on, he’s on. Is it too early in the year for him to start off with major impact? Either way, with all the protection Adrian has, we are going to give a very slight edge here to Semi Pro.
Advantage: Semi Pro
OF:
Young Gunz: Chris (9), Justus (5), Dylan (3), Maury (4)
Semi Pro: Kunal (4), Mike (8), Saeed (6), Umar (5)
The fact that the Young Gunz kept Chris while adding Dan shocked some of the league. But it’s a move to show where their heads are at and that is all in. Defensively we think Mike has an edge on Chris, bat wise though Chris’ power takes reign. Umar and Kunal take advantage over Maury and Dylan. Although Dylan has shown a lot of progress and could be a breakout year for the young talent. Saeed is coming off an amazing year and he showed us in the finals that he can really play under pressure. Justus will always give you confidence in the line up but might not be enough fire power for Young Gunz overall.
Advantage: Semi Pro
This series will see two teams, built very differently, going head to head. We think it might take a week or two before the Young Gunz really show their full talent. With Semi Pro coming off of a championship and known for their even keeled play, we think they will take game 1 with Young Gunz taking game 2. We see a split.
