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06/26/2056
Remember when we switched back to the Power Rankings so we didn't have to see Washington on top every week...well here we are again. Those pesky Bats are the unstoppable force right now in the BLB and we don't know who will dethrone them. One team might be Santo Domingo. They went 6-1 this past week and have the best record in baseball. Always a great team, but rarely a champion, this could be their year again. Other good weeks were had by Syracuse and New York who also went 6-1. The Slammers...er Snappers...are suddenly just a game under .500. In the Ale that means you're basically the division champ. Meanwhile New York is now .500 with the top system in the league. On the flip side Batavia and Pawtucket went 1-6, while Maine and California went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (126.5, o)
2) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (124.3, +)
3) Baltimore Bulldogs (113.6, -)
4) Seattle Pilots (109.6, +)
5) New Orleans Voodoo (107.9, +)
6) Carolina Tobs (105.2, +)
7) Dallas Drillers (103.5, --)
8) Indianapolis Clowns (97.5, ++)
9) Denver Bulls (96.0, ++)
10) New York Cyclones (95.0, ++)
11) Syracuse Snappers (92.7, ++)
12) Hartford Whalers (89.5, ++)
13) Pittsburgh Millers (86.5, ++)
14) Los Angeles Dinos (86.4, -)
15) Windy City Blues (83.5, ++)
16) Wilmington Wildcats (80.5, --)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (80.0, --)
18) Maine Guides (75.9, --)
19) California Kodiaks (74.7, --)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (72.9, --)
21) Batavia Muckdogs (69.6, --)
22) Toronto Canadians (69.5, o)
23) Philadelphia Freedom (63.5, o)
24) Montreal Exports (52.2, o)
Performance of the Week
P Levi Brown - Bad bad Levi Brown, the baddest man in the whole damn town, took it to the Muckdogs two days ago. Over 8.1 innings he only allowed three hits, no runs, walked just two, and struck out an amazing 16 batters. His game score of 91 was the second best of the season, and the 24 year old looks like he could be the Denver ace for the next decade. Drafted in the 4th round of the 2049 draft he's now 7-5 with a 3.39 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 116 ERA+, and he's on pace for a 4.1 WAR.
Prospect of the Week
1B LaMark Canete - The Millers missed the playoffs last season, and will probably repeat that misfortune this year, but at least Canete had a good opening week. Drafted 1.20 just two weeks ago, he got to play in all seven games for the Rookie League Delmont Miners this past week. Over those games he hit .476/.600/1.190 with 5 HRs and 8 RBI's. The 20 year old won the NCAA Outstanding Hitter award this year at Miami and appears to be picking up where he left off.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. California had a bad week but congrats to Reid 'Ramrod' Cole who reached 900 extra base hits on his career. He's now the 57th player in the history of the league to do so. Drafted 9th overall in 2047 by Windy City he was the 2041 New Brew and helped lead the Blues to a BLB championship. Since then he's been a 7x All-Star, 3x Designated Driver, and 7x playoff series MVP, including the 2041 ICLS. He bounced around to Dallas, Seattle, Dallas (part two), Denver, Dallas (part three) and now finally Cali where he's played since 2051.
2. Bad Bad Levi Brown hit the 15+ K mark this past week (POTW), but so did old reliable Charlie Spence. So far it's been done six times this season, and Spence is responsible for three of them. His 165 strikeouts lead the league, and he's on pace for 366, which would break the single season mark of 360 that he set last season. Thanks to training programs and technology, most pitchers can throw the ball hard and put some movement on it, but the name of the game now is what sort of pitches you can throw. Spence is known for not one, not two, but three devastating pitches. His curveball and changeup are near unhittable, and his 98 mph fastball is just barely a step down. When it's all said and done the 26 year old might go down as the greatest strikeout pitcher in the history of the league.
3. Zeke Lebron was a first round pick by Batavia in 2042 and played for the Muckdogs until he was traded to Wilmington last season. The 31 year old was named the 2052 Stout Slugger after putting together one of the greatest speed/power seasons in league history when he hit 47 home runs and stole 78 bases. The only issue was he signed an 8 year/$163m extension with Batavia and then promptly hit .209 the following season, as his WAR fell from 6.3 to 1.6. He rebounded in 2054 but was shipped to Wilmington after only 12 games in 2055. He made it back to the All-Star game that season and is looking to go back to back after not being named to the team in 2053 and 2054. This season he's hitting .209 once again, but he does have 14 HRs and 26 SBs and is on pace for a 30/30 club season. He's a great corner outfield defender and still has speed for days, but we'll see if he's worth the near $70,000,000 he's owed until the end of 2059.
4. Pittsburgh and Phoenix are the unlucky teams so far this year as the Millers currently have a PYT of -7 and the Roadrunners sit at -5. Pittsburgh has outscored their opponents by 55 runs this season, and yet are 35-37. Meanwhile Phoenix has outscored their opponents by 29 yet sit at 34-38. California is the only other losing team with a positive R/D, and they are only at +3. Tied with the Roadrunners are the Exports who also have a PYT of -5. They have a R/D of -67 though, so most of their bad luck comes from 1-run games where they are the leagues worst at 5-14. When you can't outscore your opponent and have bad luck that's a rough season.
5. What's on tap? This week we get SDR at Dallas (SDR +16 since 5/1, Dallas +8), Washington at Baltimore (Bulldogs 5-1 against the Bats this season), and LAD at Denver (Bulls 36-36 and 2nd in the Bock). Streak wise those Bulls have won four straight, while Cali and Batavia have lost five straight. Lucas Anderson (NO) has a 14 game hitting streak, Mason Gilbert (PIT) has homered in three straight games, and Ken Burns (SDR) hasn't lost in 13 straight starts.
Stat of the Week
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| Largest Single Season Improvement In Earned Run Average (Top 25 Players) |
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