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09/14/2054
The Bats stay on top the ELO rankings with a big week where they went 6-1 that included a three game sweep of Batavia, while also going 3-1 against Denver and outscoring them 31-12. When you beat up on the best home team in baseball like that, well you deserve to have a 33 point lead over second place. The other top week was California who went 6-1 as well. They are now only half a game behind Seattle for the Bock lead, and 4.5 back from Carolina for the top wildcard spot. On the other side of life New York and New Orleans went 1-6.
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Washington | IL | 97-49 | 9.1 | 1617.2 | |||||
| 2 | Dallas | DL | 92-54 | -6.8 | 1584.2 | |||||
| 3 | Carolina | IL | 88-58 | -2.5 | 1553.5 | |||||
| 4 | Seattle | IL | 84-62 | 2.2 | 1546.4 | |||||
| 5 | California | IL | 83-62 | 11.5 | 1545.8 | |||||
| 6 | Pawtucket | DL | 84-62 | 3.4 | 1545.7 | |||||
| 7 | Pittsburgh | DL | 81-66 | 1.6 | 1537.1 | |||||
| 8 | Los Angeles | IL | 81-65 | 1.5 | 1536.7 | |||||
| 9 | Hartford | DL | 79-66 | 2.2 | 1529.2 | |||||
| 10 | Wilmington | DL | 81-65 | 4.2 | 1525.2 | |||||
| 11 | Syracuse | DL | 78-67 | 6.2 | 1523.5 | |||||
| 12 | Denver | IL | 81-65 | -6.3 | 1512.9 | |||||
| 13 | Santo Domingo | DL | 76-70 | -3.9 | 1509.6 | |||||
| 14 | Windy City | IL | 77-69 | 6.5 | 1508.8 | |||||
| 15 | Baltimore | IL | 74-71 | -0.6 | 1506.0 | |||||
| 16 | Indianapolis | DL | 76-70 | 9.7 | 1493.7 | |||||
| 17 | New York | IL | 67-80 | -21.1 | 1469.7 | |||||
| 18 | Montreal | DL | 63-82 | -4.0 | 1463.5 | |||||
| 19 | New Orleans | DL | 60-86 | -9.8 | 1460.1 | |||||
| 20 | Maine | DL | 56-90 | -3.3 | 1453.3 | |||||
| 21 | Batavia | IL | 54-92 | 2.7 | 1418.7 | |||||
| 22 | Phoenix | IL | 51-95 | -2.6 | 1401.6 | |||||
| 23 | Philadelphia | IL | 45-100 | -0.3 | 1384.1 | |||||
| 24 | Toronto | DL | 42-104 | 0.6 | 1372.6 |
Performance of the Week
CF Tavin Kang - It's been a while since we've seen Kang's name as he's primarily a backup against RHP only these days. This past week though against Denver he showed he still has it, after he smacked two home runs, drove in four, and scored three times during a 14-2 victory. In 53 games on the season he's hitting .203 with 8 HRs and 14 RBI's. A first round pick in 2039 by Seattle, Kang had a promising career derailed by back injuries that sapped his power ability. Lifetime he's appeared in 1394 games while hitting .234 with 251 home runs.
Prospect of the Week
1B Kelvin Young - Drafted with the 21st overall pick of this years draft by California, Young has been smacking the daylights out of the ball this season. First in the CCBL he hit .264 with 14 HRs in 49 games, now with the Rustlers he's hitting .271 with 26 HR's in just 55 games. That's 40 home runs in barely 100 games and scouts just think he's getting started.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. In the Domestic we have the Rum Runners and Clown holding on by a thread to their playoff dreams. Santo Domingo checks in with a 22.2% chance, while Indy is at 14.3%. The Rum Runners started out the season hot at 15-8 but since May 1st are 61-62 since. Indy meanwhile flirted with the Ale lead after being 14 games over .500 in May and June combined. Since then they are eight games under while being just 6-6 this month. They are both only 2.5 games back from the last wildcard spot, with 16 games to go. In the Import it's all but decided as Windy City looks to be the odd team out. They are four games back from LAD for the final wildcard spot, but their playoff odds sit at 19.2%. They do have the second easiest schedule to finish the season though, so don't get so blue quite yet Blues fans.
2. Dwan Tamarovsky has been nothing less than a steal for the Pilots this season. After trading a first round pick to LAD, a first round pick that will be near the end of the round, he's gone 5-1 with a 1.24 ERA and 326 ERA+ in six starts. He's set to be a free agent after this season and his agent is already seeing dollar signs. After tearing his UCL in September of last season it appears he's right back to where he was when he won the Pale Ale in 2052. The 4x All-Star and 2x BLB champ is only 28 years old, and could fetch a contract that we haven't seen in quite a while.
3. Speaking of dominant pitchers, Carolina's Charlie Spence is still on pace to break the single season strikeout record...barely. The record of 342, set by Christian Vines in 2046, is in peril as Spence is projected to reach 343 K's on the season. With 30 starts on the year, after starting 33 games last year, we wonder if the Tobs will dial him back a little. They have no shot of catching the Bats for the division lead, and as mentioned have a 4.5 game lead for the top wildcard spot. The kid is just 24 years old though and should be a lock for his first, of possibly many, Pale Ale awards. Last season he was 11-12 with a 3.81 ERA, but when he added a screwball to his arsenal at the beginning of 2053 coaches knew greatness was a coming. Now at 19-4 with a 2.78 ERA there is no doubt who the best pitcher in baseball is.
4. With the BLB playoffs coming up that means the minor league playoffs are in full swing. Every single level from AAA to the Rookie League are enjoying the postseason filled with future BLB stars. So far the leagues have all finished the first round, and played one game in the Divisional Series. With each series only being three games they will be over before you know it. Make sure to tune in, or show up, for your favorite or local teams as they compete for the Horizon Cup, Lautering Trophy, Bush Championship, or Rookie Cup. You never know what future BLB Hall of Fame member you might get to see.
5. What's on tap? Seattle travels to Windy City for three, LAD heads north to California for three, and Hartford plays SDR at home for four, then Indy on the road for three. Every single one of these series has the chance to flip some playoff odds. Throw in a battle of firsts as Dallas travels to Pawtucket and it's going to be a fun week. Streak wise Cali has won five straight, and Syracuse and Seattle have won four in a row. Individual wise Nathan Baldwin (MAI) has a 17 game hitting streak, Duane Evans (DEN) has a 15 game hitting streak, Julian 'Skeeter' Ludin (WAS) has scored in eight straight games, and Cade Hogan (PAW) hasn't lost in 16 straight starts.
Stat of the Week
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Top Career Zone Rating Leaders From 1991 to 2054
| Rnk | Player | Team | Pos | Years | G | GS | PO | A | DP | TC | E | Pct | IP | Rng | ZR |
| 1 | Steve Suarez+ | MAI | RF | 2001-2024 | 2899 | 2734 | 4628 | 156 | 19 | 4900 | 116 | .976 | 24494.3 | 1.76 | 396.7 |
| 2 | Rex Knight+ | IND(7) | CF | 1986-2005 | 2920 | 2869 | 7049 | 180 | 29 | 7330 | 101 | .986 | 25458.3 | 2.56 | 335.8 |
| 3 | J.R. Lowe+ | LAD(5) | CF | 2003-2019 | 2140 | 2006 | 4619 | 86 | 11 | 4742 | 37 | .992 | 18005.7 | 2.35 | 314.2 |
| 4 | Tom Estes | MOR(6) | LF | 2005-2020 | 1748 | 1580 | 3248 | 128 | 11 | 3430 | 54 | .984 | 14232.0 | 2.13 | 258.0 |
| 5 | Caron Wilson* | CAL | SS | 2044-2054 | 1423 | 1152 | 1560 | 3711 | 780 | 5338 | 67 | .987 | 10750.0 | 4.41 | 244.4 |
| 6 | Ernie Arbini | CAL(7) | RF | 2010-2026 | 1755 | 1638 | 3429 | 82 | 13 | 3548 | 37 | .990 | 14578.3 | 2.17 | 243.4 |
| 7 | Antonio Cardenas+ | LAM(5) | 3B | 1998-2015 | 2483 | 2311 | 2144 | 5968 | 814 | 8290 | 178 | .979 | 20655.0 | 3.53 | 242.5 |
| 8 | Dani Trujillo+ | PIT(2) | SS | 1990-2011 | 3004 | 2933 | 5487 | 8320 | 1982 | 14025 | 218 | .985 | 26230.3 | 4.74 | 234.5 |
| 9 | Ling-lai Pang | PHI(6) | 3B | 2000-2017 | 2255 | 2125 | 1242 | 4797 | 316 | 6154 | 115 | .981 | 18782.3 | 2.89 | 230.0 |
| 10 | Tristan Romarigues | MAI | 3B | 1996-2012 | 2300 | 2097 | 2549 | 5831 | 1011 | 8507 | 127 | .985 | 18591.7 | 4.06 | 226.3 |
| 11 | Marco Lona+ | LAD(2) | SS | 2003-2021 | 2814 | 2614 | 4292 | 8125 | 2075 | 12672 | 255 | .980 | 23417.3 | 4.77 | 224.1 |
| 12 | Jayson Madocks | (2) | CF | 1992-2003 | 1322 | 1244 | 3095 | 73 | 16 | 3208 | 40 | .988 | 11129.3 | 2.56 | 212.1 |
| 13 | R.J. Kemp | DAL(4) | 1B | 2008-2022 | 1761 | 1704 | 16071 | 1268 | 1558 | 17446 | 107 | .994 | 15374.7 | 10.15 | 209.8 |
| 14 | Brad Flynn | NO(2) | CF | 1994-2003 | 1363 | 1358 | 3060 | 66 | 12 | 3155 | 29 | .991 | 11969.0 | 2.35 | 209.0 |
| 15 | Tex Watts+ | PIT(10) | SS | 1994-2014 | 2623 | 2469 | 3557 | 6865 | 1429 | 10576 | 154 | .985 | 22001.0 | 4.26 | 201.2 |
| 16 | Jerrod Dapson | MAI(5) | CF | 2002-2017 | 1622 | 1488 | 3341 | 75 | 9 | 3429 | 13 | .996 | 13252.3 | 2.32 | 197.3 |
| 17 | Heishu Shiraishi | WAS(3) | CF | 1999-2013 | 1950 | 1751 | 4881 | 251 | 121 | 5191 | 59 | .989 | 15751.3 | 2.93 | 190.5 |
| 18 | Dave Davis+ | NYK(4) | SS | 2024-2040 | 2387 | 2289 | 3256 | 7201 | 1498 | 10625 | 168 | .984 | 20502.3 | 4.59 | 190.3 |
| 19 | Ed Armstrong | DEN(8) | SS | 2000-2016 | 2291 | 2049 | 3910 | 5206 | 1393 | 9209 | 93 | .990 | 18010.3 | 4.56 | 187.5 |
| 20 | Dave Nelson+ | (5) | SS | 2004-2020 | 2540 | 2388 | 3591 | 7949 | 1830 | 11707 | 167 | .986 | 21304.7 | 4.88 | 187.2 |
| 21 | Yoritoki Maeda | VIR | 3B | 1987-2002 | 2391 | 2373 | 3583 | 4609 | 419 | 8377 | 185 | .978 | 21196.0 | 3.48 | 184.9 |
| 22 | Enrique Zurita | MAI(6) | SS | 2005-2021 | 2342 | 2003 | 2389 | 5736 | 1130 | 8295 | 170 | .980 | 17740.3 | 4.12 | 184.6 |
| 23 | Jimmy Douglas+ | MOR(5) | 2B | 2012-2029 | 2554 | 2438 | 4507 | 7841 | 2006 | 12510 | 162 | .987 | 21593.0 | 5.15 | 180.5 |
| 24 | Lonnie Johnston | NO(2) | LF | 1996-2006 | 1384 | 1335 | 2773 | 83 | 9 | 2876 | 20 | .993 | 12001.0 | 2.14 | 178.4 |
| 25 | Omar Jones | DEN(3) | SS | 2036-2051 | 2038 | 1974 | 2513 | 6245 | 1282 | 8883 | 125 | .986 | 17736.3 | 4.44 | 177.6 |