First observation about foreign players*: they’ve dominated the shortstop position, accounting for 86% of innings played: Crawford in La Rochelle, Ruiz in Metz, Velazquez in Montigny, Bustamante / Spring in Montpellier, Defries in Rouen, Tissera in Savigny, Perdomo in Toulouse have left little for French players. The exception comes from Sénart with a seasoned veteran, Felix Brown, and a rookie, Tristan Laufebuchler. But overall, the lack of French depth at this position remains very concerning. There’s a certain balance in three other positions: catchers, first base, and third base, with a slightly favorable distribution for foreign players, but it’s clear that these are important positions, and France struggles to produce talents who consistently stand out. The French are more present at second base and in the outfield in general.

Where we can be worried is the statistical dominance of foreigners. Somewhat, it’s normal, if you bring in « imports », it’s for them to have an impact, and it proves that the recruitments are successful. But we’d also like to see more French players in the top-10 of the main statistical categories.

It’s not too bad for RBIs, with 5 French players in the top 10 (but the 1st is only 5th), or for stolen bases, also 5 French players. It’s much more complicated for batting average (3 French players), power (3 French players), on-base percentage (3 French players), OPS (3 French players). They are also 3 in the top-10 for the lowest strikeout percentages. If we look at some advanced statistics, notably BABIP (batting average on balls in play), we still find 3 French players or 2 in wOBA (weighted on-base average). The only categories where a French player is in first place are the number of doubles (Jiminian), triples (Brossier and Brionnes), hit-by-pitch (Kovacs), or the average with runners in scoring position (Esteban). Let’s say the balance remains average. The departure of Bastien Dagneau, who was one of the few who could rival the big foreign hitters, certainly hurt, but here too, we expect to see more French players taking charge of their team’s offense. The national team needs it.

On the pitching side, we’ve talked a lot here about the JFL and all the good we think of the measure. We know it will take a few years to fully reap the benefits, but at least there are no more bullpens made up entirely of foreign players, which could hide the weaknesses of some clubs and distort the picture. Many young French arms have been in the spotlight. Maybe a bit too early for some of them, it’s possible. We’ll have to closely follow the technical and physical progress of these young arms, we’ve often seen in the past talents wasted by poor management of the number of pitches or innings played, and Ben Couvreur’s injury should remind everyone how important it is to approach learning with caution.
Foreign pitchers have been dominant, like Vincent and Igami (Rouen), Rojas (Toulouse), Lopez (Montigny), Canelon (Montpellier), Orozco (Savigny), Paredes (Metz). Esteban Prioul confirms year after year, despite injuries that still hinder him a bit, that he is among the top pitchers in the championship, Franklin de la Rosa has taken a new dimension this year, Mathis Nayral, during his short stay in France, was very solid, and we can only rejoice at having seen the Game 3 of the championship final started by two French players (Coste and Moulin).

Now let’s take a look club by club.

La Rochelle.

If Gonzales has been very effective defensively, he hasn’t weighed enough on his club’s offense, with only a .229 average. His 15 RBIs are positive, but he clearly lacked power in the heart of the Boucaniers’ lineup. Arriving mid-season, Johnston brought that power; he was one of the best signings of the year. Crawford had his worst season, with a very low .163 average. On the mound, Izquiedro only had one good outing, during the 2nd matchday against Rouen, before fading away. Escorcha was useful in relief, but only pitched 30 innings, which isn’t enough. Nieves, also arriving mid-season, brought a lot in relief, without allowing La Rochelle to make a path in the playoffs. La Rochelle must absolutely improve its foreign contingent next season.

Metz.

A success with an Algeni very interesting at the plate, even if he declined in level throughout the season, and a Ruiz always as solid, the best shortstop of the season. Partington brought solutions thanks to his speed, and Murray was sorely missed at the end of the season, during the final sprint. On the mound, Paredes brought his experience, Quiroz was effective in thankless relief missions, Priest closed the door a few times successfully. Overall, a good foreign recruitment for Metz, which must now move on to the next step: continue to strengthen intelligently, while giving more and more responsibilities to its young French players. The Cometz are still under construction.

Montigny.

Difficult to find positives, like Lot-Martins who completely missed his season (.174). Velazquez was solid in defense and offense (.314), but still below the best shortstops in the championship. On the mound, Lopez had a less decisive season than in the past (1.19 ERA, but only 53 innings) and Mastre, after a very ordinary start, found all his momentum at the end of the schedule, but a bit too late. It will be interesting to see what choices the Cougars make for D2. A Lopez will be too strong for this level of championship, and he will certainly allow his club not to stagnate in the lower division.

Montpellier.

The arrival of Spring didn’t produce all that was expected. His speed was interesting at the start of the championship, but he finished with only 14 stolen bases, and his defensive errors weren’t compensated by his offense (.282 average). Bustamante came at the beginning and end of the season, also not decisive at the plate (.239). It’s the eternal Douglas Rodriguez who put everyone in agreement, hitting above .400 and being dangerous in all circumstances. But will he still be a Barracuda next year? On the mound, Canelon seems to be declining, and Bello had the merit of winning the Challenge final, while Gosselin completely failed his year (1-5, 6.28). The Barracudas didn’t succeed in their recruitment.

Rouen.

The Smith-Defries duo put everyone in agreement. Like all the Huskies, the start of the season was difficult, but when the two got going, they carried the club on their shoulders, in power, speed, and efficiency. The tall Quebecer JC Masson was a bit less effective, but he piled up RBIs with a lot of regularity. His home run in the 8th inning of the final suggests that if he had been as powerful all season long, Rouen would have been unbeatable. Note that the Huskies started the season with the Canadian veteran Mike Blanke, but he returned home without playing a single inning, which proves that it’s never guaranteed to find the right pieces. On the mound, Igami was very solid, especially in relief, and finishing the season with an ERA below 1 (0.97 exactly) demonstrates his dominance. After a short adaptation period, Vincent was untouchable, or almost (0.70 ERA, 44 K in 38.2 innings). Last season, the Huskies paid dearly for a failed South American recruitment. They managed to right the ship this year.

Savigny.

The Lions had bet on the experience of the French championship: it was relatively effective with Tissera at shortstop, who was decisive in a few close games, but whose .243 average is insufficient. It was catastrophic with the former puciste Romero on the mound, quickly disappearing after 8 appearances and a stratospheric 7.04 ERA. The two best foreigners of the Lions were regulars: Acuna, the best hitter in the championship for five seasons, always as effective, and Orozco, who was decisive every time he was called upon, even in very complex situations. Will the Lions try to bring in two or three big reinforcements next season?

Sénart.

It’s the Japanese pipeline that has settled in the Paris suburbs. Ogawa played an important role, with very solid defensive play and good performances at the plate (8 doubles, .315 average). He even pitched a few innings. Typically the profile of a complete player who suits a young team. It would have been even better if Nakamura had performed a bit better at the plate (.273, only 3 extra-base hits), but he worked well behind the plate. On the mound, Kurima wasn’t dominant: a 4.80 ERA for a foreign player isn’t enough. But he closed the door in the face of the Cougars in the play-downs, and that’s what mattered most. As for the Ukrainian Hrytishvili, he was one of the best players at the start of the season, before falling back into line and especially experiencing very painful outings on the mound.

Toulouse.

Rojas’ injuries weighed heavily throughout the season, all the more so as Garcia-Delgado, after wearing the uniform of the best reliever in the championship, completely collapsed at the end of the season. They are faithful in foreign recruitment in Toulouse with the trio Soriano-Mendoza-Perdomo. The first two did their job correctly, .300 for Soriano, .277 for Mendoza, but Perdomo had his worst season in his career. The Stade seems to be at a turning point, its foreign players are aging, it may be time to change perspective, go looking for new blood to continue to stay in the top of the standings.

*We have only taken here foreign players in the sense of « passport », without distinction JFL / non-JFL, and we have only considered the regular season for statistics

F.C.