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08/19/2052
The Pawtucket Patriots hold onto the top spot in the Power Rankings after a nice 5-2 week. They weren't the only ones though that put up those numbers as LAD, Syracuse, Washington, Seattle, and Batavia matched them. The top week though belonged to the Toronto Canadians who went 5-1. They are now 60-60 and just one game back from Maine for the final wildcard spot in the Import. With all that winning we had some losing as well as Carolina went 1-6 while six teams went 2-5.
Power Rankings
1) Pawtucket Patriots (118.1, o)
2) Washington Bats (112.4, ++)
3) Seattle Pilots (108.2, ++)
4) Philadelphia Freedom (104.5, -)
5) Syracuse Snappers (102.1, ++)
6) Batavia Muckdogs (102.0, o)
7) California Kodiaks (101.5, --)
8) Baltimore Bulldogs (100.2, ++)
9) Dallas Drillers (96.6, -)
10) Toronto Canadians (96.0, ++)
11) Los Angeles Dinos (94.5, +)
12) Maine Guides (93.5, ++)
13) New Orleans Voodoo (93.5, --)
14) Indianapolis Clowns (90.0, ++)
15) New York Cyclones (87.7, --)
16) Hartford Whalers (87.2, +)
17) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (86.5, --)
18) Pittsburgh Millers (85.2, --)
19) Denver Bulls (84.3, --)
20) Windy City Blues (83.5, o)
21) Phoenix Roadrunners (68.5, +)
22) Montreal Exports (65.0, -)
23) Wilmington Wildcats (59.4, o)
24) Carolina Tobs (42.3, o)
Performance of the Week
1B Will Harper - The only player to crack the Top Performances of the season this past week was Harper. On August 15th against Montreal he smacked three home runs and drove in five to lift the Patriots to an 8-1 victory. On the season the 29 year old is hitting .265/.335/.510 with 16 HR and 49 RBI in 89 games. Originally a second round pick by Phoenix he was traded to Toronto in 2043, who then traded him to Pawtucket a month later. He was a back-to-back All-Star in 2049 and 2050 before helping lead Pawtucket to the Brew last season.
Prospect of the Week
P Kelvin Ellis - Selected in the 7th round of the 2050 draft by Baltimore, Ellis has turned into the 19th overall prospect in the league. He's only 19 now, and still very raw, but scouts think his stuff and control have top of the chart potential. He also throws five pitches and can hit 101mph on the gun. At 6'9 he will be an intimidating presence on the mound when that 101 mph fastball comes whipping by.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. There are still only four teams 'mathematically' eliminated from the playoffs as Carolina, Phoenix, Montreal, and Wilmington will more than likely be sitting home this postseason. For those non math majors that means we have 20 teams still competing for 12 spots. Division wise only the Ale appears locked up as Pawtucket has a 11.5 game lead. The Lager (2.0), Stout (0.5), and Bock (1.0) are completely wide open while the wildcard races are tight as can be. In the Domestic the difference in the wildcard between first place Syracuse and eighth place Hartford is just 6.5 games. Looks like an exciting September is in store.
2. Did you know that Pat 'Melody' Nunes is the heaviest player in the league at 235 pounds. Considering the 43 year old is mostly made up of muscle (and hate) that explains why he's still performing at a high level. This season in Philly he's hitting .271/.335/.488 with 17 HR and 65 RBI. His 122 OPS+ is actually the lowest he's had since 2047, but he's still on pace for a 2.5 WAR. Lifetime Nunes is hitting .300/.354/.488 with 596 HR, 1891 RBI and 3391 hits. He's an 8x All-Star, 5x Designated Driver, and helped Washington win the 2039 Brewmasters.
3. Last week we looked at wSB, now back to our old reliable ZR for fielding. Leading once again are the Dinos at +43.78. California is second at +40.79, while Seattle is third at +28.27. As you can see LAD and Cali both emphasize defense year after year which is why they are successful. The Dinos are struggling this season at 57-63, but they also have the worst PYT in the league at -6. On the other side of the ZR chart is New Orleans at -32.24 and Philly at -28.01. Considering the Voodoo are first in the Lager, and the Freedom are a half game out of the Stout lead, maybe defense isn't all it is cracked up to be?
4. Checking in on Zeke Lebron, who has a 12 game hitting streak going, as he is still on pace to easily join the exclusive 40/40 club. Projected out to 150 games for the season he would finish with 46 home runs and 81 stolen bases. He has been very consistent this season hitting eight home runs in April and May, and seven home runs in June and July. So far he has four in August, but man oh man if he gets hot down the stretch we could be in for quite a treat. We never dreamed the 50/50 club would even be a possibility.
5. What's on tap? This week two of the best of the Import square off as Seattle travels to Washington for four games. So far this season the Bats are 5-2 against the Pilots and this is the final time they will meet before a potential playoff match-up. Considering four of the seven games have been decided by one run, it could be anybodies series. Look for Colby 'Mirror' Hullinger to try and stay hot against the Bats. So far in the seven games he's hitting .370 with 5 HR and 7 RBI. Streak wise Toronto and Seattle have won four in a row while Carolina has lost four straight.
Stat of the Week
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| Highest Career Double/Stolen Base Combinations (Top 25 Players, Sorted By Lower of 2B/SB) |
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