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There used to be a time in Moose Jaw that you could count on two things. Long cold winters and the Moose Jaw Dragons being playoff contenders.
Lately the Dragons haven't been contenders or even winners. After winning the CBL Championship in 2011 the Dragons were competitive for quite a while but retirements and many seasons of mortgaging the future by trading draft picks for veterans left the Dragons in dismal shape. The Dragons have had five losing season in a row and this looks like it will be their sixth but since bottoming out in 2018 with just 38 wins the team has steadily improved and lately looks poised to break out.
Franchise player Johan Hayworth is finally starting to live up to the hype that surrounded him when he was drafted first overall in 2019. It is only August but Hayworth has already set career highs in homers and RBIs and his batting average has gone up dramatically. He is now in the top ten in the Farmers League in batting average, slugging, hits, homers, RBI and runs created. Still not convinced he is seeing the ball well, he has more home runs than strikeouts.
Hitting isn't the only area of improvement. Rookie starter Kalen Parkman is making a case that he should be the ace of the staff. Parkman has won his last five starts including a fine showing against the extremely potent Fort Mac offense. Allowing just 2 runs in 6 innings. Over his winning streak Parkman has allowed just 6 earned runs in those 5 starts. And at just 22 years old Kalen has his best years ahead. Dragons pitching coach Clifton Saban thinks that Parkmam will be even better next season, "Kalen is still young and his control needs to improve. Once he brings his walk total down he is going to be tough to beat."
Dragons fans also have some more up and comers to look forward too. First round pick Brad Wilson will be joining Parkman and Raphel Brown in the Dragons rotation soon and slugging SS prospect Jonathan Knowles, also a first rounder, will be making his debut soon also.
The Dragons probably won't have a winning record this season but the days when they are serious contenders for the playoffs once again are just around the corner.
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