P2Daily: Tsung-Che Cheng Led the Way For Bradenton This Year

Sunday seemed poised to be a very exciting day of baseball, especially in Bradenton, where the Marauders were still fighting for a playoff spot. Greensboro, on the other hand, was playing to not end the season on a losing streak, losing the previous four against Bowling Green.

Instead, rain got ahold of them and canceled both games without a makeup date.

Due to a tiebreaker (counting back the amount of games they had played on the schedule and taking the head-to-head in account), Bradenton would have not only needed a win but also a Dunedin loss for them to pull ahead. The Blue Jays had won five of the nine games against Bradenton during the second half of the season.

It’s a disappointing end to the season for Bradenton to have their playoff hopes taken out of their hands, and ends quite the run that they were on.

After a 29-36 record in the first half of the season (with a -27 run differential), Bradenton went 38-26 down the stretch (+26 run differential). The Marauders had some great performances throughout the year, including recording a no-hitter for the second consecutive year, and here’s a look back at some player notes from the 2022 season.

— Even with missing some time, it would be hard to argue against Tsung-Che Cheng being the team’s MVP, especially once Jase Bowen moved on to Greensboro. Cheng led the team in hits, stolen bases and runs, and had the highest qualifying batting average of players remaining.

His 104 hits put him in a tie for fourth in the Florida State League, and his average was the second base among players who finished the year in the FSL – the fourth highest among all qualified. He was also fourth in the FSL when it comes to walks. Cheng was certainly one of the best leadoff hitters in the league.

— Jase Bowen remained the team leader in home runs despite the promotion, but the way that Rodolfo Nolasco was hitting the ball when he went down with an injury, you would have to think he would have been able to make up the difference of three.

— Po-Yu Chen finished 1 1/3 innings away from topping the century mark, and finished in the top 10 in the FSL when it comes to strikeouts.

— Sergio Campana had one of the more interesting seasons for the Marauders, as he wasn’t really known for his power but when he made contract, it was strong. He belted seven home runs on the season and remained one of the better exit velocity hitters on the team, but the strikeout issue continued to grow as he finished with 150 on the season.