(AP)
Mighty Baltimore is no longer the king of the hill as the Millers barely squeeze by them with a 5-2 week. The best record though belonged to Pawtucket who went 6-1 and are now 26-18 and only 3.5 games behind Pittsburgh in the Ale. Other 5-2 weeks belong to Washington (finally their fans can breathe), Hartford (who at 24-20 is in 5th in the Ale) and Phoenix (who is now leading the Bock!). Denver struggled mightily this week by going 0-6 while Montreal went 1-5 and Wilmington went 1-6.
Power Rankings
1) Pittsburgh Millers (128.0, +)
2) Baltimore Bulldogs (126.7, -)
3) Pawtucket Patriots (111.4, ++)
4) Phoenix Roadrunners (110.0, ++)
5) Miami Sharks (108.3, +)
6) Philadelphia Freedom (106.3, -)
7) Hartford Whalers (106.2, ++)
8) Maine Guides (104.3, --)
9) Syracuse Snappers (103.0, --)
10) Windy City Blues (102.3, --)
11) Batavia Red Jackets (98.2, -)
12) New York Knights (91.0, ++)
13) Los Angeles Dinos (88.1, +)
14) Indianapolis Racers (86.9, -)
15) Washington Bats (86.8, ++)
16) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (82.9, --)
17) California Kodiaks (77.3, o)
18) New Orleans Dukes (74.2, -)
19) Carolina Tobs (74.0, o)
20) Toronto Canadians (70.0, ++)
21) Seattle Pilots (69.6, +)
22) Wilmington Clowns (51.4, o)
23) Montreal Exports (50.4, -)
24) Denver BC (47.3, --)
Performance of the Week
1B Joy-shan Guo - On May 19th against Batavia he had two home runs, drove in four, and scored three times in a 9-2 Batavia victory. On the season the $40 million man is hitting .253 with 10 HR's, 22 RBI's and a 0.7 WAR.
Injury of the Week
P Jahlil Stright - On May 21st against Miami he came in during the 7th and made it to the 8th but then left the game favoring his side. He was diagnosed with an oblique strain and will be out for several months. The 33 year old was a 4th round pick in 2020 and has bounced around the league with the Clowns being his fourth team. So far this season he was 2-0 with a 2.67 ERA and 1.05 WHIP in 30.1 innings.
Prospect of the Week
CF Jordan 'Rascal' Reeves - The 6th overall pick by Windy City in the 2030 draft is currently in AA and hitting .302/.376/.463 with 3 HR's and 28 RBI's in 38 games. He was named the #53 prospect to start the season and is ranked #51 now. He is blazing fast on the bases and is slowly learning the center field position. Coaches say he's already a fan favorite at only 20 years old and his work ethic is off the charts.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The Millers trotted Mel Fagnini out to the mound on the 18th even though he was nursing a day to day bicep injury and trainers suggested otherwise. He promptly gave up 10 hits and 10 runs in 3.2 innings in what turned into a 14-1 Syracuse victory. Fagnini was quickly placed on the DL at the end of the week as his ERA went from 3.20 to 4.81.
2. On May 15th Carolina and New York squared off in more ways than one. In the top of the 6th Carolina sent Norm Ducko out to pitch and Tom Martin immediately cracked a two run shot off of him. The next batter was Jamie Hendon who took a strike then took a 90 mph pitch to his back. Hendon charged the mound and the brawl was on. It took over five minutes to get order restored and in the end the 6'2 Ducko and 6'3 Hendon both looked worse for the wear. Ducko was still angry after the game and was quoted by local media as saying "talk s***, get hit!" They were both suspended for four games by the league.
3. The DL has six teams above .500 and five of them are in the Ale. If the playoffs were to start today Pittsburgh would win the division and Pawtucket, Maine, Syracuse and Hartford would be the four wild card teams.
4. Redford Jeralds of Montreal is 1-7 with a 3.32 ERA and 1.21 WHIP because his run support is at 1.3 runs a game. Kaleb Raymond of Syracuse is 6-2 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.37 whip because his run support is at 6.9 runs a game. Three of his victories this year were 16-0, 18-3 and 16-4. After reading about the 16-0 victory Jeralds was found sobbing at his locker.
5. Dave Maldonado now has 270 career home runs with Montreal and 1 with Baltimore. The 5th overall pick in the 2022 draft spent his entire career with the Exports before being traded on May 16th for several prospects as well as Josh Sanders and defensive stud Alexis Pena. He won the 2027 Brewmasters with Montreal, has been to five All-Star games, and has won both the DWI and DD twice each. For the last eight seasons he has averaged 32 home runs a year and his agent stated he was looking forward to playing for the first place Bulldogs and at Phillips Field.
Stat of the Week
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More Home Runs Than Strikeouts (Top 25 Players) |
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