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(AP)
The Bats move on top as their broom got a lot of work this week when they swept both Phoenix and upstart Batavia. Washington is now 14-2 in the month of May, one game better than Hartford who is 13-3. Speaking of the Whalers they went 5-1 on the week and were tied for the 2nd best record along with Philadelphia and Indianapolis. Where there is joy though there is suffering, and the mentioned Red Jackets, Wilmington, Los Angeles, and Montreal all had some suffering as they went 1-5. Some notable team stats of the week: Indy with a 1.83 ERA, Windy City who successfully stole 12 out of 13 base attempts, Maine with 41 team walks (Washington was 2nd with 27), and Carolina with only 8 walks given up in six games.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (146.6, +)
2) Hartford Whalers (133.2, +)
3) Maine Guides (111.9, -)
4) Denver BC (107.8, +)
5) Seattle Pilots (105.2, ++)
6) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (104.2, ++)
7) Windy City Blues (103.2, o)
8) Indianapolis Racers (99.7, ++)
9) Montreal Exports (96.2, --)
10) Batavia Red Jackets (94.2, --)
11) New York Knights (93.7, -)
12) Pittsburgh Millers (93.4, -)
13) Philadelphia Freedom (88.6, ++)
14) Pawtucket Patriots (81.7, o)
15) New Orleans Dukes (81.5, +)
16) Baltimore Bulldogs (80.8, +)
17) Wilmington Wildcats (75.5, --)
18) Los Angeles Dinos (70.0, --)
19) Syracuse Snappers (69.1, +)
20) Carolina Tobs (67.1, ++)
21) Toronto Canadians (66.6, ++)
22) Miami Sharks (65.0, --)
23) California Kodiaks (64.6, -)
24) Phoenix Roadrunners (60.6, --)
Performance of the Week
P Pat 'Baja' Arballo - On May 17th against Batavia the knuckle baller tossed a three hit, eight strike out shut-out against the Red Jackets as Washington won 5-0. On the season he's 6-1 with a 2.25 ERA and 1.9 WAR. At only 25 years old he still has room to grow which is a scary thought for future opponents. Combine him with 24 year old Dave Theisen who throws the ball 101 mph and it's even scarier.
Injury of the Week
P Aidan Johnson - Over the past nine season he's averaged 152 innings a year as a starter but the Freedom have him coming out of the bullpen as a setup man these days. On May 16th though he came in during the top of the 7th and faced two batters before leaving with an injury. An MRI showed a torn labrum and he'll be out 4-5 months. With Philly already losing Tyrese Carter to a CEI this will cause another reshuffle by manager Brit Potter.
Prospect of the Week
3B Jonathan Vachon - The 17 year old from Jacksonville has a three year career batting average of .332 and has a chance to be a solid third basemen. Scouts love his eye and say he has the potential to be a hard out since he has a solid eye and doesn't swing at a lot of bad pitches.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Tom Lyon of Pawtucket now has a 24 game hit streak, the longest in the BLB this season. In a career that has been shortened due to injuries he's hitting .371 this season, tops in the BLB, and has only struck out 11 times in 140 at bats. He's loved by the fans and his teammates and is a leader in the clubhouse. We'll be rooting for him to keep it going.
2. Here we go again down this road as Turell 'Two Ton' Morris continues to explode. He's on pace for 79 home runs and 179 runs batted in. The next closest projections to those categories are 48 by Robby Brooksher and 127 by Tom Lewis and Dave Ingram respectively.
3. Seattle and Windy City are both tied for 2nd in the Bock with 22-16 records. They start a three game series today, the first time they've played each other all year. So over the next 124 games these two teams play each other 18 times. It looks like the Pilots are throwing the back part of their rotation with Tom Sellers (6.52 ERA) and Pat Goldsmith (7.21 ERA) scheduled to start while Windy City is tossing Pat Fahey (2.60 ERA) and Oliver Davis (4.05 ERA) to start things off. With Seattle at home this will be a good test for the Blues after just losing two of three to Denver.
4. Dave Harmony for Maine has the longest service time in the BLB at 17 years and 77 days. The 38 year old is on his his third team (LAM/PHO, MON, MAI) and this will be his second year in the bullpen as a stopper/closer for the Guides. He's projected to pitch in 153 innings, which will be his most since 2027 when he started 29 games. Prior to last season the last time he had pitched as a reliever was in 2015 when he started 24 games but played in 27. Harmony was picked 1.2 in 2013, played one game in A ball where he faced two batters, had 12 starts in AAA, and made his BLB debut that same year.
5. Jamie 'Grumpy' Hutter stole seven bases this past week, giving him 19 on the season which is best in the BLB. The number of times he's attempted to steal a base...19. He stole 62 and 60 bases the last two seasons but is projected to reach 81.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Consecutive Seasons Without A Losing Season (Top 25 Teams) |
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