(AP)
Well the Washington Bats not being on top of the power rankings did not last long as they went 3-3 and still rocketed back to the top after Philly went 4-3 and fell from #1 to #4. Montreal and Denver both had the best weeks though by going 6-1, and in the process both took over their division leads by one game. On the other end of the spectrum Baltimore, Phoenix, and Pawtucket all went 1-6 while Pittsburgh went 2-5 and played themselves right out of the playoffs.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (121.8, +)
2) Montreal Exports (113.7, ++)
3) Denver BC (113.3, ++)
4) Philadelphia Freedom (110.9, --)
5) Hartford Whalers (108.5, -)
6) Seattle Pilots (108.1, -)
7) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (105.5, ++)
8) New York Knights (104.1, -)
9) New Orleans Dukes (102.9, o)
10) Maine Guides (101.7, +)
11) Miami Sharks (96.1, --)
12) Los Angeles Dinos (94.2, ++)
13) Syracuse Snappers (88.1, +)
14) Windy City Blues (87.6, -)
15) Pittsburgh Millers (85.6, -)
16) Batavia Red Jackets (85.2, +)
17) Indianapolis Racers (80.7, -)
18) Wilmington Wildcats (77.6, o)
19) Carolina Tobs (72.3, o)
20) Toronto Canadians (66.9, ++)
21) California Kodiaks (62.2, ++)
22) Baltimore Bulldogs (61.8, -)
23) Phoenix Roadrunners (61.4, -)
24) Pawtucket Patriots (56.0, --)
Performance of the Week
RF Zheng-xin Yang - The 24 year old from Canada was the 24th pick in 2027 draft and this will be his first full season in the BLB after being called up in 2029 and missing a month last year with a shoulder injury. On September 18th against Baltimore he had two home runs, drove in six, walked twice, and scored five times in an 18-5 victory. On the year he's hitting .282 with 22 HR's, 69 RBI's and a 1.8 WAR.
Injury of the Week
P Dave Finney - Last week Washington lost a valuable starter and this week the injury bug hopped on over to the DL. On September 19th against Wilmington he started the game but only made it 1.1 innings before leaving with a shooting pain in his right elbow. An MRI showed he had a torn elbow ligament and his recovery time is believed to be May next year. On the year Finney was 7-6 with a 2.26 ERA and 2.3 WAR.
Prospect of the Week
P Ed Gilbert - The 24 year old is still in AA but has put up a good season by going 6-3 with a 3.19 ERA. Drafted with the 16th overall pick in the 2028 draft he was a two time All-Star in the CCBL and finished 2nd in 2028 for the CCBL Outstanding Pitcher Award. Scouts though worry about his motivation, leadership, and loyalty so his future is still up in the air. For now though he is the 44th top rated prospect and could be in the BLB in the next season or so.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The three big races to finish the season are Montreal-Santo Domingo for the Lager, Denver-Seattle for the Bock, and Los Angeles-Batavia for who ends up the 4th wildcard in the IL and eventual Brewmaster's Cup champion. Yes we're kidding but remember the last two champions finished 3rd and 4th. Previous to that though it went 1st, 2nd, 1st, 2nd 1st, 1st, 2nd, 1st, 1st...well you get the point.
2. Just when you think Turell 'Two Ton' Morris has been replaced as the Stout Slugger of the DL he goes ballistic with a 6 home run and 13 RBI week and hits .619. He now is hitting .308 with 55 HR's and 134 RBI's which is six more dingers and 15 more runs batted in than 2nd place. He won't reach last years absurd mark of 69 HR's and 168 RBI's but at 28 years old if he keeps this up for the next five seasons or so he could reach 500 career home runs.
3. Pang 'Freeze' Shuai has now pitched nine more innings this season with Denver than he did last year with Seattle. His ERA is over a point lower, he has 19 more K's and 4 less walks, his WAR has more than doubled, and he's given up 13 less home runs. If he's worth $44 million, $11 million more than the second highest paid pitcher, will only be answered come playoff time though.
4. Mike Morla and Dylan Owens are in a battle for least cost efficient player of the year. Morla is making $32 million while Owners is making $32.5 million. Both of them have put up a 0.6 WAR this season. Dylans is 34 and has four more years then a player option on his contract while Morla is 36 and has seven more then a player option on his. Most cost efficient goes to Ron 'Vampire' Hutchison who's 6.5 WAR comes at the cost of $280k.
5. We feel like we should post something about Washington and their competitive advantage since our ad department is still drooling over the numbers it created a few weeks ago, but instead we'll talk about how Denver and Philadelphia will have a chance to break their respective Brewmaster's Cup curses. Denver went to the title game once in 2009 but was swept by the Windy City Playboys. Philadelphia has gone three times, in '84, '10 and '17, but lost 4-2 in '84 and '17 and 4-3 to Pawtucket in 2010.
Stat of the Week
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Longest Championship Drought | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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