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06/21/2055
And we're back to beating our division mates up as we near the halfway point of the season. This past week Seattle was the cream of the crop as they went 6-1 and took over the #1 spot in the ELO and Power Rankings. It's been a long time since the Bats were knocked off their throne, can they recover? Considering this will be the 56th straight season they've had a winning record we think they will be okay. Speaking of the Bats they went 5-2, but they had a lot of company. Other 5-2 weeks belonged to Indy, Syracuse, LAD, Maine, New York and Baltimore. That is a lot of winning. With winning comes losing though, at least for the teams they played. Pittsburgh, Phoenix, New Orleans, and Denver all went 1-6.
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Seattle | IL | 47-23 | 8.8 | 1583.6 | |||||
| 2 | Washington | IL | 47-24 | 6.9 | 1578.6 | |||||
| 3 | Dallas | DL | 44-28 | 0.8 | 1569.8 | |||||
| 4 | Los Angeles | IL | 47-25 | 1.5 | 1565.8 | |||||
| 5 | Syracuse | DL | 45-27 | 9.2 | 1553.0 | |||||
| 6 | California | IL | 41-32 | 3.7 | 1536.2 | |||||
| 7 | Pawtucket | DL | 36-34 | -5.3 | 1516.3 | |||||
| 8 | Windy City | IL | 40-31 | -9.0 | 1516.0 | |||||
| 9 | Indianapolis | DL | 43-29 | 2.9 | 1513.7 | |||||
| 10 | Baltimore | IL | 39-33 | 6.2 | 1511.7 | |||||
| 11 | Santo Domingo | DL | 36-34 | -7.6 | 1506.7 | |||||
| 12 | Wilmington | DL | 35-38 | 3.8 | 1505.5 | |||||
| 13 | Maine | DL | 39-32 | 11.8 | 1505.0 | |||||
| 14 | Carolina | IL | 31-41 | 0.5 | 1496.7 | |||||
| 15 | Pittsburgh | DL | 31-41 | -10.3 | 1489.5 | |||||
| 16 | Hartford | DL | 32-41 | -7.3 | 1487.2 | |||||
| 17 | New York | IL | 35-37 | 11.1 | 1483.3 | |||||
| 18 | Denver | IL | 31-41 | -11.9 | 1478.7 | |||||
| 19 | New Orleans | DL | 32-40 | -8.3 | 1476.5 | |||||
| 20 | Phoenix | IL | 34-38 | -6.9 | 1466.7 | |||||
| 21 | Montreal | DL | 26-45 | -1.5 | 1435.2 | |||||
| 22 | Philadelphia | IL | 23-47 | -3.9 | 1411.8 | |||||
| 23 | Toronto | DL | 25-47 | 11.7 | 1408.2 | |||||
| 24 | Batavia | IL | 21-52 | -7.0 | 1403.9 |
Performance of the Week
C Brenden Morris - He was a third round pick in 2049 by Seattle who has played sparingly for the Pilots over his short career. He got called up from AAA last week, and so far in just three games turned in the second best hitting performance of the season, and was named IL Player of the Week. The top performance was yesterday against Batavia when he racked up five hits, two home runs, drove in six and scored three times as Seattle won 10-6.
Prospect of the Week
P Seth 'Slick' Faber - Drafted second overall just five days ago he's already pitched in four games, including the day he was drafted! So far in 7 IP he's allowed three hits, one run, walked two, and struck out 11. He debuted as the sixth overall prospect in the league and it will be interesting to see what Philly does with him for the remainder of the Rookie League season.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The middle of June is the best time in the league, well maybe not...but it's the best part of the summer. The BLB draft has once again come and gone. The 2055 number one pick belonged to Toronto who picked Rice catcher David Mitchell with the first overall pick. Like Faber, he played the day he was drafted and has appeared in five games so far. Over 13 at bats he's hitting .462 with 1 HR and 5 RBIs. He also threw out four of seven runners attempting to steal on him. Scouts think he's a multiple BLB All-Star once he makes it to the show. With new prospects, comes new prospect ratings. New York, Phoenix, Montreal, Toronto, and Batavia now round out the top five for best systems in the league.
2. Congrats to Roadrunners outfielder Kyle 'Salesman' Olmsted who became the 61st player in the history of the league to hit 400 home runs. The achievement came on June 19th against Seattle when he cranked a solo shot off Bats pitcher Kentavious Saldana over the left field wall. After being a multiple NCAA All-Star at the University of Texas, he was drafted third overall by Philly in 2038. Over his career he's been a 7x All-Star, 4x Designated Driver, and he won the 2044 Import Stout Slugger when he hit .302 with 45 HRs, 108 RBIs and 18 SBs.
3. Since 2053 the BLB has seen a pitcher strike out 15 or more batters in a single game eight times. Of those eight times they belong to only three pitchers. JaQuan Wamugunda, who did it twice in 2053, Cayden Wittmeyer who did it twice in 2054, and Charlie Spence who did it twice in 2054 and now twice in 2055. His latest feat came last week against New York when over the course of nine innings he struck out 17 batters, the second time he's K'd 17 this month. Spence is on pace to strike out an absurd 365 batters this season, which would crush the single season record of 342 set by Christian Vines in 2046. Throw in the fact that Even Turner is on pace to hit .350 with 38 HRs and 101 RBIs and the Tobs have a decent shot at making it back to the playoffs even after their rough start.
4. Washington has gotten bit by the injury bug lately, as Parker Lee is the latest victim. This past week against Phoenix he had a rough day. His first at bat he ground out, on his second at bat he walked and made it all the way around the bases before being thrown out at home, and his third at bat the ball got away from Roadrunner pitcher Donavon Turner and hit Lee in the hand. He left the game and was diagnosed with a broken thumb which should keep him out 3-4 weeks. Lee was hitting .271 and was on pace for 48 HRs and 119 RBIs. He now joins outfielder Shan Waseem on the injured list as Washington must now play without two of their top sluggers until late July.
5. What's on tap? It's a great week in the BLB. Washington at Seattle (can the Bats reclaim the throne), Indy at Dallas (both 11-8 in June), Maine at Santo Domingo (could be a final wildcard spot preview), and Windy City at LAD (Dinos 7-3 over their last 10, WC 4-6). Streak wise Josiah White (DAL) has a 19 game hitting streak, Beaumont Sanchez (PIT) has homered in three straight games, Devin Welninski (PIT) has an RBI in seven straight games, and Elias Owen (IND) and Jerry Coleman (IND) have scored in seven straight games.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Teams Played For (Top 25 Players) |
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