Tweet
05/05/2053
Our first unicorn of the season happened (at least that we have seen) as the Maine Guides go 7-0 with sweeps of Dallas and Indy. Maine is now 16-11 and only two games behind Pawtucket in the Ale. Other good weeks were had by Windy City and Washington who each went 5-1. At 17-8 the Bats have a 3.5 game lead over Philly in the Stout, while Windy City has pulled even at 13-13. On the other side of life Dallas went 1-6 while Montreal and Syracuse went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (129.4, +)
2) Pawtucket Patriots (128.4, o)
3) Maine Guides (119.7, ++)
4) Pittsburgh Millers (109.7, +)
5) New Orleans Voodoo (103.0, ++)
6) California Kodiaks (101.8, -)
7) Dallas Drillers (96.7, --)
8) Seattle Pilots (96.3, +)
9) Windy City Blues (96.0, ++)
10) Carolina Tobs (95.9, -)
11) Indianapolis Clowns (95.6, --)
12) Philadelphia Freedom (92.9, --)
13) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (92.6, ++)
14) Denver Bulls (91.6, --)
15) Hartford Whalers (87.0, --)
16) Baltimore Bulldogs (84.0, ++)
17) Montreal Exports (73.2, --)
18) Syracuse Snappers (71.2, --)
19) Los Angeles Dinos (69.3, --)
20) Batavia Muckdogs (68.3, --)
21) Wilmington Wildcats (68.0, ++)
22) Phoenix Roadrunners (65.3, +)
23) Toronto Canadians (65.2, --)
24) New York Cyclones (62.8, -)
Performance of the Week
1B Amric Robinson - The 27 year old former 1st round pick of the Pilots turned in the top hitting performance of the season on May 4th. In a 16-0 walloping of the Muckdogs, Robinson had two home runs, drove in six, and scored four times. On the season he's now hitting .339 with 5 HR and 15 RBI while batting as the designated hitter.
Prospect of the Week
P Austin 'Madman' Virnig - Unless he can develop a third pitch, 'Madman' will probably be coming out the pen, but he's been tearing up the CCBL. In nine starts this season he's 6-1 with a 1.09 ERA and 0.97 WHIP while posting an absurd 364 ERA+.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. With the first month of the season over let's do a quick recap. On the winners side was Dallas who went 16-7, followed by Washington and Pawtucket who went 15-7. On the not so winners side the Roadrunners went 8-15 while New York went 8-14. Some team leaders: Dallas scored 127 runs (Phi 69), Batavia hit 42 home runs (Syr 6), LAD swiped 37 bases (Paw 8), Pawtucket allowed only 64 runs (Syr 133), Washington allowed 10 home runs (Syr 33), and New Orleans K'd 260 batters (Wil 160).
2. The usual suspects are the early leaders for team zone rating this season. Coming in first is LAD who is already at +10.25, while California is second at +9.84. Last season it was LAD and then California, while in 2051 it was California then LAD. In fact the last time one of those teams didn't finish first was 2048 when Carolina took the top spot...and California and LAD were second and third. Meanwhile at the bottom of the barrel we have Batavia at -9.19 and Wilmington at -9.18.
3. New York is currently 9-16 and in last place in the Stout. The good news for Cyclones fans...they have the top ranked minor league system in the league. They currently have seven players in the top 100, and 13 in the top 200. At the top of the list is first basemen Rob Detling who was the 5th overall pick of the 2050 draft. At 20 years old he's currently in AAA, but his contact and power potential are what GM's dreams are made of.
4. In the 'feeder' leagues we are down already to the quarterfinals in the High School playoffs. The two top seeds, Notre Dame and Cathedral, both were knocked out in the Sweet 16 so it's anyone's guess at this point. Meanwhile the NCAA and Cape Cod only have two games remaining. In the NCAA the Oklahoma Sooners have the best record at 32-14 and the #1 seed locked up. In the CCBL the Chatham Anglers are at the top with a 30-17 record as they try to hold off Harwich to capture their first division title since 2044.
5. What's on tap? How about a bunch of division match-ups. In the Ale the Guides travel to Pittsburgh, in the Lager the Voodoo travel to Santo Domingo, in the Stout the Tobs travel to Philly, and in the Bock the Bulls travel to Seattle. Everyone of those teams has a winning record and in three of the series they are tied for second in games behind the division leader. Then to wrap up the week we have a four game series between Seattle and Washington. It's their first meeting since the Bats swept the Pilots in last years ILCS. Get your popcorn out.
Stat of the Week
.
| Most 200 Strikeout Seasons (Top 25 Players) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|