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08/24/2048
Denver wins the week by going 6-1 and moving above .500 for the first time since June 3rd. Throw in New York and Montreal who each went 5-1, while Baltimore and Wilmington went 5-2...and those five teams are peaking at the right time. Those who fell off the peak are Santo Domingo, Batavia, and Seattle who went 1-6, while Indy and Pittsburgh went 1-5. Of those teams only Batavia has a chance for the playoffs as the playoff probability chart has them at 1%. So you are telling me there's a chance!
Power Rankings
1) Montreal Exports (113.7, +)
2) Toronto Canadians (111.7, ++)
3) Wilmington Clowns (111.7, +)
4) Pawtucket Patriots (108.7, -)
5) Los Angeles Dinos (105.2, --)
6) Denver Bulls (103.7, ++)
7) California Kodiaks (101.4, -)
8) Maine Guides (100.0, ++)
9) New York Cyclones (99.0, ++)
10) Dallas Drillers (96.9, o)
11) Phoenix Roadrunners (96.9, -)
12) Baltimore Bulldogs (94.6, ++)
13) New Orleans Voodoo (94.4, +)
14) Philadelphia Freedom (93.1, --)
15) Windy City Blues (89.9, --)
16) Syracuse Snappers (86.7, ++)
17) Washington Bats (85.9, -)
18) Carolina Tobs (74.6, ++)
19) Batavia Red Jackets (73.0, --)
20) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (72.8, --)
21) Seattle Pilots (70.6, --)
22) Pittsburgh Millers (66.5, -)
23) Indianapolis Racers (59.1, o)
24) Hartford Whalers (45.9, o)
Performance of the Week
1B Jaxson Neal - On August 21st against the hapless Millers, Neal pounded three home runs and drove in all six runs in a 6-1 victory. On the season the 30 year old, who was signed as an IAFA in 2034 for a cool $5m, is hitting .301/.377/.564 with 28 HRs 94 RBI, and an OBS+ of 160. He was selected to his fourth All-Star game this year and has the fourth highest ZR for first basemen.
Prospect of the Week
P Justin Martines - The 'new age' of the BLB seems to be dominated by guys who can throw the fastball by you, and Martines fits the bill. The 21 year old was a second round pick in 2044 by Baltimore and he's blossomed into a 101 mph fireball throwing strikeout machine. In 21 A ball starts this season he's 7-9 with a 3.60 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and a 110 ERA+. Scouts think his 'stuff' and control can even get better, and if they do watch out.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. In the defensive stat of the week let's look at California second basemen Caron Wilson. The 6'5, 200 pounder from Hopkinsville, Kentucky was drafted by Philly in the 8th round of the 2037 draft. He was released in 2042 and signed by the Kodiaks a month later. He debuted in 2044 but didn't start playing full time until 2045. Since then he's played in 489 games and is hitting a paltry .204/.277/.272. No on cares about that though because his glove is by far the best in the league. This season alone he has a +31.2 ZR overall, with a +28.7 at second base. The second best player in ZR is Carolina's centerfielder KJ Avery at +16.6. The highest ZR ever recorded for a single season was done by HoF outfielder Rex Knight, who put up a +42.3 in 1991 while playing 157 games in centerfield for the Indianapolis Clowns. We don't think Wilson will quite get there but what a showing.
2. Speaking of Rex Knight, in 1991 he also hit .286/.394/.565 with 37 HR, 126 RBI, and 30 stolen bases while putting together an 11.5 WAR. The 11x All-Star and 8x DWI winner did not win the Domestic Stout Slugger either. That went to Finley Kinsey who hit .362/.425/.579 with 28 HR and 102 RBI. It was Kinsey's second Stout Slugger of his career as the 6x All-Star is another BLB HoF inductee. Anyways back to 'Thrifty'. How good was he in the field? In the top five best seasons for zone rating, Knight owns four of them. His career ZR of +335.8 is second to only Steve Suarez who's +396.7 might never be broken.
3. The minor leagues regular season will be over September 5th as most teams only have 11 games to play. Looking around the leagues how about the Vancouver Mounties. They are currently 88-21 and have by far the best record of any minor league team. They are first in nearly every offensive and pitching category, lead their division by 22 games, and show only future promise for the Toronto franchise. Those same Canadians have a 1.5 game lead in the Lager, and have the 5th best system in the league. Toronto hasn't been to the playoffs since 2039, they might go every season for the next decade.
4. How will the injury bug affect the stretch run of September in the BLB? We had two big ones recently as Dallas lost Collin 'Reach' Makuch for the next three weeks, while Pawtucket lost Jordan 'Rascal' Reeves for the rest of the season. Throw in Montreal catcher Evan James, who's day to day with knee tendinitis for another three weeks, and there is going to be some shuffling. Who's had the worst luck this season? Well New York leads in days lost, with 539. Philly meanwhile leads in players lost, with nine. Dallas though has had $12.55 million on the IL throughout the season, and that's only going to go up with 'Reach' making $6m this season.
5. What's on tap? Talk about a big week heading into September as the playoff scenario is anything but settled. In the beginning part of the week we have second place New York traveling to first place Philly, second place Wilmington traveling to first place Pawtucket, and finally first place California traveling to second place Los Angeles. Goodness, it's not often we have three division match-ups between the first and second place team when they are all only separated by 1.5 games...in September!
Stat of the Week
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| Most Losses The Season After Winning The Pale Ale Pitcher Award (Top 25 Players) |
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