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(AP)
Washington stays atop the standings even after a 4-3 week. They are now 18-5 in the month of May and their entire pitching staff seems to be en fuego. With five games to finish the month against Windy City and California they should end up with a 21 or 22 win May. Montreal had the best record of the week by going 5-1 after sweeping Miami and taking two of three from Syracuse. They now hold a one game lead in the Lager over the Rum Runners. Other good weeks belong to Philly, Indy, Denver, and Hartford who all went 5-2. Meanwhile Syracuse, who got swept in a four game series by Pittsburgh, went 1-6 and are now 15.5 games back in the Ale. Some leaders in the team stats: Montreal hit 13 HR's, Philly racked up 73 hits and stole 11 bases, the Rum Runners had a 1.83 ERA, and Washington only gave up 2 HR's.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (131.0, o)
2) Hartford Whalers (127.0, o)
3) Denver BC (118.5, +)
4) Montreal Exports (112.5, ++)
5) Indianapolis Racers (110.0, ++)
6) Maine Guides (109.5, --)
7) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (107.4, -)
8) Seattle Pilots (102.3, --)
9) Philadelphia Freedom (100.1, ++)
10) Windy City Blues (94.2, --)
11) Batavia Red Jackets (93.2, -)
12) Pittsburgh Millers (93.1, o)
13) New York Knights (89.0, -)
14) Pawtucket Patriots (80.8, o)
15) Baltimore Bulldogs (79.7, +)
16) New Orleans Dukes (78.7, -)
17) Los Angeles Dinos (74.3, +)
18) Wilmington Wildcats (68.0, -)
19) Toronto Canadians (67.5, +)
20) Miami Sharks (67.2, +)
21) California Kodiaks (66.5, +)
22) Phoenix Roadrunners (66.0, +)
23) Carolina Tobs (65.5, --)
24) Syracuse Snappers (57.4, --)
Performance of the Week
SS Bing-zhang Lopan - The 28th overall pick by California in the 2026 draft had a big game in a 9-5 win over Pawtucket on May 24th. He had four hits, two home runs, drove in six, and scored twice himself. On the year he's hitting .298 with 6 HR's, 19 RBI's, and a 1.3 WAR. So far in 19 games for the Rum Runners he's hitting .394 and looks like a steal.
Injury of the Week
P Tom Gowans - In the same game that Lopan dominated, Gowans made it 5.2 innings, giving up two runs and striking out eight, before he had to leave with an injury. He was diagnosed with an arthritic elbow and will be out for 3-4 months. Not a good sign for a 23 year old that was a 7th round pick by Maine back in 2025. On the year he was 4-3 with a 3.06 ERA and 1.7 WAR.
Prospect of the Week
1B Nicodemus Franklin - The 17 year old for the Seton Hall Pirates plays both pitcher and at first. We don't think his future is in the field though even though he did hit .357 in 10 games this season. Pitching wise in 33 games he has a 5.50 ERA and struck out 39 in 34 innings pitched.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Hartford is 31-14, leading the Ale, and has the 2nd best record in the league. They are first in the DL in home runs, extra base hits, OBP, SLG, and OBS. One of the main reasons is DH Ron Hutchison who leads the league with 10.1 runs created per 27 outs.
2. From 2025 to 2030 the New York Knights lead the league with 943 stolen bases with a 75% success rate. The Hartford Whalers were last with 249 and a 66% success rate. New York won the 2029 Brewmaster's while Hartford won the 2030 Brewmaster's. Different strokes for different folks.
3. The IL playoff race is a long way from heating up but right now we have seven teams with 23 or more wins. Washington, Denver, and Seattle seem to be the locks right now. Who's the odd team out between Batavia, Philly, and New York? Do we dare count out Baltimore and LAD a quarter way through the season? In the DL the odds show the six teams of Hartford, Maine, Pittsburgh, Montreal, Santo Domingo, and Indy all making it. Pawtucket, Wilmington, and New Orleans though are only a few games back from the #6 spot though.
4. We like seeing these guys...Washington this year is 6-0 against Batavia and 6-0 against Phoenix. Hartford is 6-0 against New Orleans. Santo Domingo is 6-0 against Syracuse.
5. Since the BLB is currently in the midst of the 2031 draft we looked back at some former NCAA stars. From 1997-2000 two players fought tooth and nail for the lead in WAR. Ted Carr finished with a 14.3 WAR, tied for #1 all-time with Dave Piekarski. Fred Schubert finished with 14.2 WAR, good enough for 3rd all-time behind the two mentioned. In the BLB Carr was picked 1.4 in 2000 and played in 693 games and hit .221/.279/.378 with 51 HR's and 192 RBI's and a 1.0 WAR. Schubert was picked 1.2 in 2000 and played in 1893 games and hit .274/.357/.477 with 288 HR's, 1008 RBI's, and a 66.2 WAR.
Stat of the Week
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