Tweet
06/28/2055
Maine pulls off the almost unicorn this past week as they go 6-0 with sweeps of Hartford and Wilmington. They are now 15 games over .500 and only three games back in the Ale. Denver also took Batavia to the woodshed, and won two of three against Seattle to go 6-1. They are still in last place in the Bock, but only 10 games out of the wildcard. Can they pull it off? Meanwhile Carolina, Syracuse, New Orleans, Baltimore, and LAD all went 5-2. Syracuse, Baltimore, and LAD should all be playoff bound, but don't count out Carolina and New Orleans yet. The Tobs are only seven games under .500, while the Voodoo check in at six. Never say never.
ELO Rankings
.
| 1 | Washington | IL | 55-28 | -4.7 | 1580.3 | |||||
| 2 | Seattle | IL | 53-30 | -3.1 | 1577.2 | |||||
| 3 | Dallas | DL | 53-32 | 3.4 | 1575.4 | |||||
| 4 | Los Angeles | IL | 56-29 | -3.1 | 1569.0 | |||||
| 5 | Syracuse | DL | 53-32 | 5.8 | 1550.6 | |||||
| 6 | California | IL | 48-37 | -3.5 | 1536.1 | |||||
| 7 | Maine | DL | 49-34 | 14.2 | 1531.5 | |||||
| 8 | Baltimore | IL | 49-36 | 4.5 | 1530.2 | |||||
| 9 | Pawtucket | DL | 44-40 | -2.1 | 1526.8 | |||||
| 10 | Windy City | IL | 48-37 | -4.3 | 1520.9 | |||||
| 11 | Carolina | IL | 39-46 | 5.7 | 1505.0 | |||||
| 12 | Indianapolis | DL | 47-38 | -1.9 | 1504.2 | |||||
| 13 | Santo Domingo | DL | 43-40 | -4.8 | 1503.9 | |||||
| 14 | Wilmington | DL | 40-45 | -11.1 | 1493.1 | |||||
| 15 | Hartford | DL | 39-48 | 2.0 | 1489.5 | |||||
| 16 | New Orleans | DL | 40-46 | 6.2 | 1485.7 | |||||
| 17 | Denver | IL | 38-47 | 17.2 | 1484.8 | |||||
| 18 | Pittsburgh | DL | 36-49 | -6.4 | 1476.6 | |||||
| 19 | New York | IL | 37-48 | -7.5 | 1460.2 | |||||
| 20 | Phoenix | IL | 39-47 | -6.8 | 1453.0 | |||||
| 21 | Philadelphia | IL | 29-55 | 2.8 | 1419.6 | |||||
| 22 | Montreal | DL | 28-57 | -6.0 | 1418.7 | |||||
| 23 | Toronto | DL | 31-54 | 0.7 | 1410.8 | |||||
| 24 | Batavia | IL | 24-63 | 2.6 | 1396.7 |
Performance of the Week
P Cayden Wittmeyer - On July 4th, Cayden really lit it up with a complete game shutout of the Cyclones. Over the course of the game he allowed only three hits, one walk, and struck out 12 as it was the third best pitching performance of the season. After being 5-0 in June before losing his last start (where he allowed just two runs), Wittmeyer gets back on track to move to 9-6 with a 3.04 ERA on the season.
Prospect of the Week
CF Dulani Cherry - The 18 year old was the 7th overall pick by Windy City last season and is currently on their Rookie League team, the Boise Bluegills. Although coaches and scouts agree he will never be a BLB centerfielder, they do agree that if he fulfills his potential he could be a multiple time BLB All-Star. Currently this year he's hitting .290 with 15 HRs and 37 RBIs in 68 games. He's also swiped 16 bases while showing off an impressive work ethic.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The month of June is over and we had a dominant showing by one team. That team was none other than the former back-to-back champion Los Angeles Dinos who went 23-5, one of the best monthly records we've seen in a long time. When the month started they were in third place, when the month ended they had a three game division lead. Another top month was Baltimore who went 19-9. They are solidly in second place behind Washington in the Stout, and their playoff odds are up to 95%. Pawtucket and Washington each went 18-10, Seattle went 17-10, and Maine, Dallas, and Wilmington all went 17-11. Some team leaders: Wilmington scored 165 runs (Phi 93), Pawtucket hit 47 home runs (Den 13), Indy swiped 53 bases (Tor 12), Seattle allowed only 72 runs (Mon 170), and the Pilots held opponents to a .216 average (Wil .297).
2. Congrats to 33 year old Cory Lambert who on June 30th started his first BLB game, and picked up his first win. Originally an 8th round pick by Phoenix back in 2042 he toiled away in their minors until 2052. He was then claimed on waivers by Seattle before being released in 2053. He didn't pitch at all in 2054 but never gave up on his dream. Signed by California this off-season he was granted free agency in May when he wasn't promoted to their 40 man roster. A few weeks later Pittsburgh came calling. The Millers are having a lost season, but they needed another starter and decided to give Lambert a shot. On June 30th against Indy he trotted out to the mound. Six innings, two runs, one walk, and 11 strikeouts later he walked off to a standing ovation by the 23,916 in attendance. The celebration in the locker room was just as jubilant, with teammates and coaches congratulating Lambert on his outstanding performance. Reporters stated Lambert pitcher soaked in the moment and stated he was "grateful for the opportunity" and that "all the hard work and perseverance had paid off."
3. The ERA-FIP compares a team's earned run average (ERA) to their FIP, which is a metric that focuses solely on the aspects of pitching that a pitcher has the most control over: strikeouts, walks, hit by pitches, and home runs. Coming in with the highest negative numbers are Seattle at -0.75, LAD at -0.74, and Syracuse at -0.63. LAD and Seattle are 1-2 in total defensive zone rating, while Syracuse is just below the league average at +5.76. Conversely, teams with the highest positive ERA-FIP, like Wilmington (+0.89), Montreal (+0.61), and Carolina (+0.47), have seen their ERA higher than what would be expected based on their FIP. This might suggest that they have been unlucky, are experiencing defensive lapses or just have had unfavorable outcomes on balls in play.
4. Kelani Encinia is still throwing at 39 years old. Not hard, but he's still throwing. On his now fifth BLB team, Encinia has 17 starts for the New Orleans Voodoo this season. He's 7-7 with a 3.88 ERA while also adding 44 strikeouts to his career total. That total is now 3001, after striking out four in a 10-3 victory over Pittsburgh on July 1st, the team he originally signed out of Argentina with. There are 19 players in the history of the league with 3000 or more K's...and Encinia is now one of them. During his career he's been an eight time All-Star while also winning the 2039 Pale Ale.
5. What's on tap? We're back to interleague play once again. Last time the DL came out on top, the time before the IL absolutely dominated. Some fun match-ups this week are LAD at Syracuse, Seattle at Pawtucket, and California at Maine. Streak wise Maine has won seven straight, Denver six straight, and Syracuse five straight. Al Flanagan (SDR) has a 17 game hitting streak, and Jeremy Thrasher (MAI) hasn't lost in 13 straight starts.
Stat of the Week
.
| Most Walks by Age (Earliest Occurrence Shown) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|