08/25/2036
(AP)
The Racers move into the top spot by 0.10 of a point as they go 3-3 while the Rum Runners went 2-4. Indianapolis is now only 1.5 games back from Santo Domingo for the Lager lead. The big weeks belonged to Seattle and Washington who each went 6-0 while Windy City and Phoenix went 5-1. The Pilots are now only 5.5 games back in the Bock, the Bats have won nine straight and are once again 2nd in the Stout, and the Blues and Roadrunners are above .500 and right on the heels of Carolina for the 4th IL wildcard spot. Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Millers went 0-6, are now an amazing 4-17 in August, and have gone from the division lead to seven games back from Syracuse. Just another famous 'Millers Meltdown'.
Power Rankings
1) Indianapolis Racers (123.0, +)
2) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (122.9, -)
3) Batavia Red Jackets (121.5, o)
4) Washington Bats (119.4, ++)
5) Seattle Pilots (118.8, +)
6) California Kodiaks (111.7, -)
7) Syracuse Snappers (108.4, -)
8) Phoenix Roadrunners (101.7, ++)
9) Windy City Blues (99.7, ++)
10) Wilmington Clowns (99.7, o)
11) Baltimore Bulldogs (99.2, -)
12) Carolina Tobs (95.0, --)
13) Miami Sharks (90.9, +)
14) Hartford Whalers (85.9, ++)
15) Los Angeles Dinos (84.8, +)
16) Toronto Canadians (84.0, +)
17) Pittsburgh Millers (81.1, --)
18) New Orleans Dukes (78.8, --)
19) Philadelphia Freedom (71.8, ++)
20) New York Knights (66.8, o)
21) Maine Guides (66.2, -)
22) Montreal Exports (53.0, -)
23) Denver BC (50.1, o)
24) Pawtucket Patriots (27.5, o)
Performance of the Week
LF Trey Eubanks - No one cracked the Top Performances of the season this past week but 23 year old Eubanks had a nice showing on August 24th. In five at bats he had five hits, one home run, three RBI's and scored twice. It was all for naught though as Denver lost 16-7 to Toronto after they gave up 11 total runs in the 8th and 9th inning.
Injury of the Week
P Noel Graham - On August 22nd against Miami he lasted 2.2 innings before having to leave with shoulder pain. He was diagnosed with a Rotator cuff strain and will be out the rest of the season. The 33 year old was acquired via trade from Maine earlier in the season and had gone 4-1 with a 3.92 ERA for the Roadrunners. This is a major blow for a team that is 64-59 and only three games back from a wildcard spot.
Prospect of the Week
P Evan 'Moby Dick' Penn - Maine has six pitchers in the Top 100 prospects and Penn looks to be the best of them. At 21 years old the former 1.8 of the 2033 draft was 2-1 with a 3.02 ERA before having shoulder inflammation end his season back in May. His 2035 season was marred by a fractured shoulder blade, and his 2034 season featured a strained forearm that kept him out almost two months. Not a good sign for a guy that is currently ranked the 6th best prospect in baseball. If 'Moby Dick' can stay healthy he has the potential to be a future BLB All-Star.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Seth Blankenship once again leads the DL in both home runs (36) and stolen bases (31) and is on pace for a 47/41 season. Manny Quezada meanwhile has 33 HR's and 26 SB's and has a chance to be the 21st player in BLB history to record a 30/30 season.
2. Two of the best in the league meet this week thanks to interleague as Batavia travels to Indianapolis. A possible Brewmasters Cup matchup preview? Batavia is 83-40 while Indy is 82-41. Another good matchup is Seattle at Pittsburgh as the Pilots have a six game winning streak and the Millers have a six game losing streak. After that we have some great IL matchups later in the week as Cali travels to Batavia, Seattle travels to Washington, and Baltimore travels to Windy City.
3. Marco Taylor is hot and the rest of the league better watch out. The 23 year old phenom for Batavia hit five home runs this week, giving him 11 for the month, and he now leads the entire league with 42. He's been left out of the Stout Slugger talk thank to Elia and Swope having monster years but when you just turned 23 and are hitting .336/.405/.672 with 42 HRs, 102 RBI's, a 177 wRC+ and a 5.2 WAR you are more than special. Between him, Blankenship and Robert Jessee will 2031 be the greatest 1-2-3 draft class of all-time?
4. The fights continued this week as Indy's Manny Padilla and Carolina's Tom Benjamin got into a benches clearing brawl in the 2nd inning of their August 22nd game. Benjamin gave up a long shot to Kaden Gaston then beaned the next batter who happened to be Padilla. Manny did not take kindly to getting drilled in the back and the fight was on. Benjamin ended up getting six games off while Padilla got three. This is the 7th ejection and suspension in the BLB this month alone.
5. Congrats to the Omaha Blackbirds of the Rookie League who captured their first ever Rookie Cup by defeating the Rochester Monarchs two games to one. With the RL wrapped up for another season that means it's the beginning of the AAA, AA, and A playoffs. Eight teams each will play 3, 3, and then a 5 game series to determine the next champion.
Stat of the Week
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