The 2051 Daily Keg - Week 5

[Matt]

05/15/2051

The Miami Muckdogs...Riders...Red Jackets...Sharks went 7-0 this week to go shooting up the Power Rankings. With sweeps of Washington and Denver they have won nine straight and now find themselves only a half game back from Baltimore for the Stout lead. The other big week was California who went 6-1 by sweeping Phoenix and taking three of four from Philly. They now lead the Bock by 1.5 games over Seattle. I guess we shouldn't forget about Pawtucket who also went 6-1. They are now a leagues best 26-6 and lead their division by double digits...in the middle of May! They already have a max win projection of 118 games and 99.9% chance of making the playoffs. Not a bad start.

Power Rankings

1) Pawtucket Patriots (156.2, o)
2) Miami Sharks (126.1, ++)
3) California Kodiaks (119.5, ++)
4) Dallas Drillers (114.2, o)
5) Baltimore Bulldogs (109.2, --)
6) Seattle Pilots (106.9, --)
7) Toronto Canadians (103.2, +)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (102.6, --)
9) New York Cyclones (98.6, -)
10) Washington Bats (96.2, --)
11) Wilmington Clowns (93.0, o)
12) New Orleans Voodoo (85.4, ++)
13) Philadelphia Freedom (85.4, o)
14) Pittsburgh Millers (84.4, -)
15) Syracuse Snappers (83.7, +)
16) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (76.4, +)
17) Windy City Blues (70.8, ++)
18) Carolina Tobs (69.1, +)
19) Maine Guides (68.1, --)
20) Indianapolis Racers (67.5, +)
21) Denver Bulls (66.1, --)
22) Hartford Whalers (63.9, --)
23) Phoenix Roadrunners (63.5, o)
24) Montreal Exports (50.0, -)

Performance of the Week

1B Dalton Hamilton - The former second round pick from 2043 has turned into quite a first basemen for the Cyclones. In 2049, his first full season, he won the DWI at first. In 2050, he was an All-Star and Designated Driver. This season he's hitting .341 with 4 HR and 11 RBI, and on May 10th turned in the 7th best performance of the season against Baltimore. In five at bats he had four hits, two home runs, and drove in three during an 11-2 victory.

Prospect of the Week

1B Kyle Levin - The 16 year old is raw but has scouts drooling with his potential to put the bat on the ball, then drive the ball over the outfield fence. He's a 2x HS All-Star, who somehow didn't get selected this season while hitting .358/.434/.604 with 9 HR and 33 RBI in 40 games. At 6'7 he's slow and can't field, but his bat more than makes up for it.


Five Things We Think We Think

1. Congrats to Dominique Graham for smashing his 400th career home run this past week. The 34 year old is the 55th player to reach this milestone in BLB history, and doesn't appear to be slowing down yet. Drafted 1.21 by Baltimore in 2037 he was traded to Syracuse in his rookie season before being traded to Maine in 2048. He then played for Toronto before signing with Pittsburgh last season. The Millers let him walk in FA but then resigned him in February to a 3 year/$75m deal. So far this year he's hitting .229 but seven of his 27 hits have gone out of the park. Does he have a shot for 500?

2. Congrats to Chase Johnson. Not quite the household name but the 26 year old hit his first BLB home run this past week on May 13th against Baltimore, and then followed it up with his second in the same game. Drafted 1.17 by Seattle in 2042 he is making his major league debut this season. So far in three games he has two home runs and two RBI...not a bad start.

3. The Maine GM has always been known for defense and it shows again this season. So far the Guides are the only team with a double digit ZR as they sit at +10.31. On the other end of the spectrum is Montreal who comes in with a -12.51 ZR. Sadly for them their SS/2B/3B are -11.61 of that. The Exports went to the playoffs every season from 2039 to 2049, and won the 2044 Brewmasters Cup, but sadly all good things must come to an end as they appear to be in rebuild mode.

4. With the BLB draft upcoming that means the 'feeder' leagues are in playoff mode. In the NCAA we are in the Regionals as only 16 teams remain. The Pacific Tigers had the best record during the season at 36-12, and promptly got bounced by Cal State in the Sweet 16. It's anyone's guess as of now. In the Cape Cod League we are down to the final four between Hyannis, Brewster, Harwich, and Bourne. Meanwhile at the high school level Bishop Gorman has locked up their appearance in the title series as they await the winner of Cullman/Northwestern.

5. What's on tap? We get some interleague fun this week with some good match-ups as Toronto travels to California, and Wilmington heads off to Baltimore. Last season Toronto took two of three from California, but those were different teams. Besides Pawtucket, the Canadians are the only other team in the Domestic with a winning record. We could say they are reeling from the loss of Aubrey 'Gypsy' Albano this off-season after he signed a big contract with Syracuse, but they are second in average, first in slugging, and second in runs scored. Cali meanwhile has the best record in the Import and is looking to go to the playoffs for the 17th straight season, the leagues best. They are also first in average and second in runs scored. Could be a lot of runs in this one.


Stat of the Week
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Highest % of Hits as HRs
(Minimum 200 Hits)

Tommy Spielman	Years 2034-2041	PA 2176	HR 134	H 430	Ratio .312
Ian Harris	2024-2031	3055	189	611	.309
Mark Borunda	2044-2050	2059	111	370	.300
Grant Hockensmith	2037-2049	6203	353	1184	.298
Fitzpatrick Fisher	2034-2041	2723	181	608	.298
Pat Walton	2029-2039	4203	255	865	.295
Taylor Harmon	2042-2044	1097	66	224	.295
David Perry	2032-2043	5994	370	1283	.288
Dave Shetler	2036-2044	1399	83	289	.287
Andy Schultz	2042-2047	2161	122	426	.286
C.J. Viger	2020-2031	4162	278	972	.286
Turell Morris	2028-2040	6994	486	1709	.284
Jorden Grimaldi	2045-2050	1962	81	285	.284
Héctor López	1988-1993	1518	90	317	.284
Ian Lippert	2005-2013	1014	55	200	.275
Al Kelly	2019-2031	4359	253	925	.274
Dylan Anthony	2017-2027	2683	147	540	.272
Seth Blankenship	2032-2045	7437	450	1686	.267
Bryce Wallace	2040-2047	1021	61	229	.266
Tom Leslie	2021-2032	4008	211	804	.262

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