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Monday, July 16th, 2035
(AP)
The Syracuse Slammers...er...Snappers jump back on top with a 7-0 week. They swept Miami and Santo Domingo and scored 53 runs while hitting .322 this past week. California jumped to the top of the Bock after going 6-0 with sweeps of New York and Baltimore and only allowed an amazing 10 runs during those six games. Meanwhile Denver, LA, New Orleans, and Maine all went 0-6. The Guides are 11-29 since June 1st while LA is 13-27 during that same stretch.
Power Rankings
1) Syracuse Snappers (136.7, +)
2) Indianapolis Racers (122.3, o)
3) Washington Bats (117.4, +)
4) California Kodiaks (112.1, ++)
5) Hartford Whalers (111.1, +)
6) Pittsburgh Millers (110.2, -)
7) Carolina Tobs (108.4, -)
8) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (106.1, --)
9) Seattle Pilots (106.1, ++)
10) Baltimore Bulldogs (98.1, +)
11) Wilmington Clowns (98.0, --)
12) Miami Sharks (96.1, -)
13) Windy City Blues (96.1, +)
14) Philadelphia Freedom (93.0, ++)
15) Batavia Red Jackets (90.0, --)
16) New York Knights (87.1, --)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (86.0, --)
18) Pawtucket Patriots (73.8, +)
19) New Orleans Dukes (70.9, -)
20) Toronto Canadians (67.7, ++)
21) Los Angeles Dinos (59.6, --)
22) Maine Guides (48.4, -)
23) Denver BC (33.0, -)
24) Montreal Exports (28.7, o)
Performance of the Week
1B Tommy Davis - Skipped over for the All-Star roster the 29 year old took it out on SDR on 7/11 by hitting two home runs and driving in seven during a 16-5 Snappers victory. On the year he's hitting .291/.355/.523 with 21 HR's and 64 RBI's while posting a 2.1 WAR.
Injury of the Week
P Pat Wilder - On July 8th against Wilmington he made it six innings before having to leave the game with severe shoulder pain. An MRI later showed he tore his rotator cuff, will require surgery, and is lost for the season. On the year he was 5-4 with a 2.93 ERA and 1.12 WHIP in 15 starts. This is a huge loss for a team that just got Manny Solis back and is in the midst of a division that is very winnable.
Prospect of the Week
CF LaVernus Contreras - Picked in the 2nd round of the 2034 draft by LAD the 21 year old is hitting .293/.358/.454 with 9 HR's and 40 RBI's in 86 A ball games this year. He's another in the line of good center fielders who can both hit and field as he's also posted a +6.7 ZR in center. He was a 2034 NCAA All-Star and Platinum Stick winner with Oregon State and is currently the #66 prospect in the BLB.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Hats off to Manny 'Big Cat' Nieto who hit his 400th career home run this week. On July 12th against Batavia he cranked a solo shot 372 feet off of Tom Neubacher to give Seattle a 5-3 lead. Coming into the league in 2021 from Puerto Rico he was signed by Seattle and helped lead them to a 2026 Brewmasters Cup championship. He then played for Indy, Death Valley, Denver, New York, Philadelphia and Maine before signing a minor league contract with Seattle, being released, and then being signed again nine days later with a $75k bonus. After making $41,000,000 in 2027 he's now being paid $280k. For his career he's hitting .276/.359/.523 with 402 HR's, 1032 RBI's and a 57.9 WAR.
2. The All-Star game selections have been made and the game will be played tomorrow. Congrats to everyone including these first time All-Stars: SP Pat Moore (SYR), SP Javier Rueda (HAR), SP RP Sid Ennis (IND), RP Tatsuya Okinaka (WIL), C Sean Covington (SYR), 2B Edwin Meck (SYR), 2B Pat Schneeweiss (WIL), 3B Wilson Jerez (NO), SS Dusty Kocurek (NO), and RF Robert 'Stretch' Jessee (TOR) from the DL. For the IL these first timers get a chance to play: SP Jamie Allen (CAR), SP Barton Mejia (WC), RP Tom Amesbury (BAT), RP Tom McGuffin (SEA), C Jimmy Welborn (CAL), 1B JD Rice (BAL), 2B Jimmy Brabec (BAT), 3B Phillip Kloph (CAR), SS Killian Pena (WAS), LF Justin Babbage (WAS), RF Norm Cupp (CAL), RF Dave Hoyt (CAR), and RF Rod Mason (DEN). Meanwhile it will be C Ian James from the Rum Runners 11th time.
3. With the IAFA's coming into the league this week we had a few big signings. SP Maynor Franco from Guatemala was signed by Montreal for $7.5 million while Melchior Galasso from Italy was signed by Seattle for $5.5 million. Looking back on the history of IAFA's the biggest success so far has probably been Justin 'Ant' Babbage who was signed by Washington for a tad over $5 million back in 2027 at 16 years old. He's now 24 and as mentioned above was just selected to his first All-Star game after hitting .350/.437/.478 for the Bats so far this season.
4. In the "We Like to See These Guys" all-star edition the Philadelphia Freedom are 8-0 against Denver, Batavia is 7-0 against Denver, Phoenix is 7-0 against Philly, Baltimore is 7-0 against LAD, Syracuse is 7-0 against both Toronto and Montreal, and Hartford is 7-0 against Montreal.
5. In over 55 season of BLB play we've never seen anything like Montreal. Going into the break they are 15-73. They have the worst team ERA at 5.29 and the worse average/OBP/SLG at .236/.288/.346. They are on pace to shatter the 1981 California Wildfire loss record of 123 games and might not even reach 25 wins. The good news for Montreal is they currently have the third best minor league system and both the AAA and AA team have winning records. There is light at the end of the tunnel!
Stat of the Week
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