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07/30/2040
Batavia and Indy are the pride of the league after they go 6-1 on the week. The Red Jackets are now only 2.5 games out of 1st in the Stout while Indy is only 6.5 games out of the DL wildcard. Other big weeks were Maine and Windy City who each went 5-1 as both teams continue to try and lock up playoff spots. On the other side Dallas went 0-6 and is now a miserable 2-20 on the month. Not far behind were Hartford and Philly who went 1-6, while Pawtucket and Baltimore went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) Seattle Pilots (129.9, o)
2) Batavia Red Jackets (121.7, +)
3) Washington Bats (116.4, -)
4) Windy City Blues (113.6, +)
5) Pittsburgh Millers (110.2, -)
6) Montreal Exports (109.7, ++)
7) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (107.6, -)
8) Maine Guides (105.3, ++)
9) California Kodiaks (98.0, ++)
10) Denver Bulls (97.9, ++)
11) Wilmington Clowns (94.4, -)
12) Syracuse Snappers (93.0, +)
13) Indianapolis Racers (90.4, ++)
14) Toronto Canadians (84.2, ++)
15) New Orleans Voodoo (81.1, +)
16) Philadelphia Freedom (79.2, --)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (79.2, --)
18) Hartford Whalers (77.5, --)
19) Carolina Tobs (72.3, +)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (71.0, --)
21) New York Knights (67.1, o)
22) Los Angeles Dinos (65.1, o)
23) Baltimore Bulldogs (57.4, o)
24) Dallas Drillers (35.4, o)
Performance of the Week
LF Lucas Wilkins - We spoke about Wilkins last week and he rewarded us with the #1 hitting performance of the season this week. On July 16th against Los Angeles he had four hits, three home runs, eight RBI's, and scored three times in a 17-3 Red Jackets victory. He's now hitting .297 with 37 HR's and 80 RBI's on the season. Not bad for the 74th overall pick back in 2030.
Injury of the Week
LF Richie 'Powder' van Luik - The injury bug hit the BLB hard this week. This 'award' was a toss-up between 'Powder', and California's Coleman Conaway who got beaned in the head and will miss a month with a concussion. van Luik meanwhile tweaked his ankle running the bases on a double against New York and will miss a month as well. Overall for the season the .400 champ is hitting .375/.452/.530 with 52 SB's. This is the first time since 2036 that he will miss any significant playing time.
Prospect of the Week
P Westley Whitham - He was discovered by Denver scouts out of Aruba in 2033, cut in 2034, signed by Baltimore in 2035, cut in 2038, and signed by Toronto a few weeks later. In 2039 he helped lead the Beavers to the Horizon Cup title and this season he's now 7-4 with a 3.45 ERA and 1.32 WHIP in 19 starts. He's already pitched 125.1 innings so we're not sure how much longer he'll play, especially since he is ranked the #72 overall prospect in the league, but he throws over 100 mph and has a chance to be a reliable starter.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Sneaky Syracuse is now 50-50 and sitting in the final DL wildcard spot. Considering this team won 36, 34, and 48 games the last three seasons they are trending up! The best part is that #1 pitchign prospect Christian Vines and #69 prospect Phil Curry are both still in AAA. Curry has dropped down the prospect list and at 24 years old it might be time to call him up to get that last bit of cooking to fully develop. Throw in Dominique Graham who is almost certain to win back to back Rookie of the Month awards (if not batter of the month) and this is a playoff team next year.
2. Batavia lost Tom Amesbury in late June and the collective groan from the fan base was the realization that Washington would run away with the division again. Then the Red Jackets decided to go 17-6 in July, the best record in the league. During that time they have pounded an amazing 54 home runs, fifteen more than the second place Voodoo, Freedom, and Snappers and 39 more than Dallas. Obviously we already talked about Lucas Wilkins who has 37 round trippers, but how about Marco Taylor who is now 2nd in the league with 34 home runs. Add to them former first round pick 3B Glenn Daniels, who's hitting .301 with 27 HR's and was the IL POTW last week, and you a very dangerous team.
3. It's not often you see a guy like starter Trey McCaffery stay on a team like New Orleans. Last season the Voodoo won 107 games and even though we said it was a bridge year we didn't think they would be fighting for their playoff lives come August. But yet here we are and manager Tommy Keatts keeps giving Trey the ball. How has he rewarded him...well he's 0-12 with a 7.59 ERA and 1.81 WHIP in 17 starts. Last season he was 14-7 with a 3.57 ERA and a 127 ERA+ after being an All-Star in 2038. I guess some years it's just not your year.
4. The trade block has been very quiet up to this point this season. We do have some breaking news out of Baltimore that 8x All-Star Josh Allen is on his way to Pittsburgh for a second round pick. Allen is hitting .265/.410/510 with 18 HR's and 46 RBI's and should platoon with Millers catcher Edward Cantu. Reports out of Pittsburgh were that Cantu was asking for a $100m extension and the notorious tight-fisted GM told him to take a hike. Allen is 36, has a team option for 2041, and since 2030 has accumulated the second most WAR for a catcher behind only Ian 'Pickles' James.
5. Denver said "screw you" to the playoff odds this past week by going 5-2 and going from 0% to 22.7%. What they need is for Cy Rocha to shake off that forearm injury from April and get back to winning games. In seven starts he is 0-5 with a 6.81 ERA. He has the ability to be a true #1 starter and the Bulls need him to play like one. Someone who is playing like a #1 is 22 year old Saul Wang. In his rookie season he's 6-3 with a 2.69 ERA and 2.1 WAR. With Allgood, Clewly, and Elia forming what could be the best outfield in the BLB, there is no way this team shouldn't have a solid shot to make the postseason after last seasons 91 win performance.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Years Leading The League (Top 25 Players) |
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