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05/1/2056
Well that didn't long. The defending champion Bats, winners of three of the four titles, went a perfect 7-0 this past week to shoot back on top of the Power Rankings, stay on top the ELO Rankings, and once again have the best record in the league. Other top weeks were Maine and SDR who each went 6-1, while Indy went 5-1 and Pittsburgh and Batavia went 5-2. On the other side of life Philly went 1-6, while Wilmington and New York went 1-5.
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Washington | IL | 15-5 | 10.6 | 1579.5 | |||||
| 2 | Seattle | IL | 12-8 | -3.0 | 1546.8 | |||||
| 3 | Dallas | DL | 13-7 | -3.9 | 1542.4 | |||||
| 4 | Santo Domingo | DL | 13-7 | 9.3 | 1533.1 | |||||
| 5 | Baltimore | IL | 13-7 | 2.6 | 1532.7 | |||||
| 6 | Los Angeles | IL | 10-10 | 11.7 | 1528.2 | |||||
| 7 | Hartford | DL | 12-8 | -10.8 | 1523.8 | |||||
| 8 | Carolina | IL | 12-8 | 1.6 | 1514.1 | |||||
| 9 | Indianapolis | DL | 12-7 | 8.5 | 1510.5 | |||||
| 10 | Maine | DL | 11-9 | 16.5 | 1507.6 | |||||
| 11 | Syracuse | DL | 8-11 | -10.6 | 1506.5 | |||||
| 12 | New Orleans | DL | 8-12 | -11.1 | 1506.4 | |||||
| 13 | California | IL | 8-12 | -5.5 | 1502.5 | |||||
| 14 | Pawtucket | DL | 8-12 | -3.5 | 1491.8 | |||||
| 15 | Pittsburgh | DL | 10-10 | 3.4 | 1491.2 | |||||
| 16 | Wilmington | DL | 8-11 | -6.9 | 1487.8 | |||||
| 17 | Windy City | IL | 7-12 | -7.2 | 1487.7 | |||||
| 18 | Denver | IL | 9-11 | -0.1 | 1482.6 | |||||
| 19 | Phoenix | IL | 8-11 | -6.6 | 1471.3 | |||||
| 20 | Batavia | IL | 12-7 | 8.2 | 1470.5 | |||||
| 21 | New York | IL | 5-14 | -2.7 | 1457.1 | |||||
| 22 | Philadelphia | IL | 7-13 | -9.6 | 1450.0 | |||||
| 23 | Montreal | DL | 7-13 | 5.8 | 1443.9 | |||||
| 24 | Toronto | DL | 8-11 | 3.2 | 1431.8 |
Performance of the Week
P Rahjon Anderson - The third round pick by Seattle in 2050 switched to a full-time starter last season and has blossomed. After going 13-8 with a 3.13 ERA and 127 ERA+ last year, he's now 4-0 with a 2.12 ERA and 190 ERA+ this season and was just named the Pitcher of the Month. This past week against Philly he had a gem of a game when he went seven innings, allowed no runs, just two hits, and struck out 14 of the 25 batters he faced. At only 26 years old it appears the Pilots have found a young gun that could lead them deep into the postseason.
Prospect of the Week
CF Alexander Charter - New York has got off to a rough start, but the 19 year old Charter has not. In his third season in the Rookie League he's come out of the game hot as he's mashing .310 with 3 HRs and 15 RBIs in just 11 games. He's currently the 15th overall prospect in the league after being the 1st overall pick of the 2054 draft.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The first month of the season is here and gone...already. The Bats had the best month by going 15-5, while the Cyclones were last at 5-14. Some team leaders: Hartford scored 112 runs (WIL 47), Batavia hit 34 home runs (WIL 9), Denver hit .299 (PAW .203), Phoenix swiped 35 bases (PHI 9), Wilmington allowed only 50 earned runs (NO 119), Carolina struck out 235 opposing batters (NYC 161), and opponents hit only .222 off of Wilmington pitchers (NO .326).
2. Both the High School and NCAA championship series take place this upcoming week, as the Cape Cod Cup has already been awarded to the Hyannis Harbor Hawks. In the NCAA final the Big West champion Cal Bears (29-19) take on the Pac 12 champion Bruins (28-20). The Bruins don't have HFA, but they are hot as they have only lost one postseason game. UCLA meanwhile won five straight to close out the year, but have faced elimination twice, including in the first round against North Carolina (20-28). Over in the HS championship we get to see Gulfport (23-17) against Puyallup (22-18). Both teams were wildcard teams, but Gulfport has gone a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs, which includes sweeps of two division winners in Poly Prep and Jackson.
3. We had one of the worst fights we've seen in a long time this past week as Toronto and Hartford squared off inside the diamond. The Canadians built a quick 7-0 lead after just two innings, but Toronto pitcher Bruno Sheline got a little roughed up in the third. After giving up four hits and two runs, he was visibly frustrated and exchanged words with the Whalers dugout. In the fourth he got Reilly Wren to ground out to start off the inning, but then gave up a solo shot to Kingsley Kiah. More words were exchanged and after the ump gave a warning, up stepped Jarquez Kafele to the plate. On the very first pitch Sheline drilled Kafele in the back with a 90+mph fastball and Kafele immediately charged the mound. The fight was on, and it wasn't pretty. The 6'4, 200 lb Sheline picked up 6'1, 200 lb Kafele and dropped him over his knee. He then tried to give him an elbow drop but was tackled by a swarm of Whalers off the bench. Both players had to be restrained multiple times and were finally escorted off the field. The office of the commissioner suspended Sheline an unheard of nine games, while Kafele got five. As for the game the Whalers came all the way back and tied it 9-9 before Toronto won it in the 11th thanks to a Bryant Goody solo home run.
4. Dawson Lamb is 37 years old and still striking out batters with the best of them. This past week on April 30th against Dallas, he struck out Jakob Lopez for the first out in the top of the eighth. It was his seventh K of the day, and the 2500th of his career. He was then removed from the game as the Snappers went on to win. So far this year Lamb is 2-1 over four starts with a 4.07 ERA and 0.90 WHIP. Drafted by Dallas in fourth round of the 2039 draft, he played for Dallas from 2041 to 2049 before he was traded to Pawtucket. Since then he's played for New Orleans, New York, and now Syracuse. He is a 2x All-Star and is known around the league for his work ethic and humble nature. He is also the 47th player in the history of the league to reach 2500 K's.
5. What's on tap? This week we get some top notch series as Washington travels to Baltimore (BAL 10-3 at home), Dallas travels to Hartford (HAR 1st in runs scored), and Santo Domingo travels to Indy (SDR 6-3 on the road). All six of those teams are either first or second in their division and are all .600 or above on the year. Streakwise the Bats have won eight straight, Maine has won five straight, and New Orleans and Phoenix have dropped five straight. Meanwhile Lukas Hart (NO) has a 12 game hitting streak, while Josiah White (DAL) has homered in three straight and driven in a run in six straight.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Offense Heavy Team Relative To League (Top 25 Teams, SD is number of standard deviations better than league average) |
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