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05/21/2057
We check in three weeks later and Wilmington is back on top again. Maybe the DK and Wildcat success are somehow linked? Sounds like a scientific test is incoming. Wilmington did go 4-2 last week, but so did a slew of other teams as Montreal, Syracuse, Dallas, and SDR all joined them. The champion (of the week at least) was LAD though who went 5-1. They swept the poor Millers (4-15 in May) and took two of three from Maine. On the flip side Phoenix, Denver, California, Maine, Pittsburgh, and Pawtucket all went 2-4 against their interleague foes.
Power Rankings
1) Wilmington Wildcats (118.7, +)
2) New Orleans Voodoo (115.0, -)
3) Montreal Exports (114.8, +)
4) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (113.9, -)
5) Dallas Drillers (107.5, ++)
6) Baltimore Bulldogs (107.0, -)
7) Seattle Pilots (103.5, -)
8) New York Cyclones (98.5, +)
9) Los Angeles Dinos (95.0, ++)
10) Washington Bats (94.3, +)
11) Hartford Whalers (92.0, +)
12) Phoenix Roadrunners (90.7, --)
13) Batavia Muckdogs (88.5, o)
14) Syracuse Snappers (88.3, +)
15) Carolina Tobs (88.0, --)
16) Philadelphia Freedom (85.5, -)
17) Toronto Canadians (82.1, -)
18) Windy City Blues (79.5, +)
19) Pittsburgh Millers (73.0, -)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (72.8, -)
21) California Kodiaks (70.8, -)
22) Indianapolis Clowns (67.0, o)
23) Denver Bulls (58.6, o)
24) Maine Guides (56.6, o)
Performance of the Week
P Kelvin Ellis - The Bulldogs are the best late drafting team in the league as Ellis was a 7th round pick in 2050 out of Basic HS in Henderson, NV. He's already in his third year in the league, and has struggled, but he put it all together on May 16th against Syracuse. His two-hit shutout with two walks and nine K's propelled Baltimore to an easy 9-0 win, and moved Ellis to a 2-3 record on the season. Ellis can throw five pitches, hit 101 mph on the gun, and still has room to get better according to scouts. At only 24 years old he could put it all together and be an All-Star in the next season or two. Just in time for him to get paid.
Prospect of the Week
P Marc 'Mole' Dillard - The #1 ranked prospect in the league is now at the AAA level, where he is 3-1 with a 1.45 ERA in four starts. Originally drafted 1.1 by Carolina in 2052, he was traded to New Orleans in 2054 in the Martin Hoffman deal. Hoffman is still dominant at 35 years old, so we can't fault the Tobs for giving 'Mole' up. At just 22 years old though he throws four pitches, can also hit 101 mph on the gun, and has the stamina to start and finish games.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The Domestic League playoff race (we know it's early) features five teams from the Lager, and lonely Hartford from the Ale. What's even crazier is that Hartford is 19-19, while the sixth team in the Lager is the 18-21 Toronto Canadians. If this holds up we should just ban the Ale from the playoffs and send all six Lager teams. To be fair the Ale is just a pot full of mediocrity. We suppose when 11 of the 24 teams in the league have between 18-22 wins, parity is the new norm.
2. Carolina is 19-19 and their two best players haven't even shown up this season. Charlie Spence is 1-4 with a 4.01 ERA, while Evan Turner is hitting .243 with 5 HRs and 19 RBIs. Did we mention those two won the Pale Ale and Stout Slugger last season? Well they did. What's great about this for Carolina is that sooner or later they will both get hot, and the Tobs are going to shoot up the Power Rankings and challenge Baltimore for the Stout division lead. Even though May is almost over we'd put at least a few dollars (US or Canadian) that both of them finish in the Top 3 come end of season award voting.
3. We mentioned last time that the Millers better keep knocking the stuffing out the ball since they can't pitch. Well as seen above they are now 4-15 in the month of May, the worst record in the league. With a 5.36 ERA (also dead last) they are hitting .258 (14th) with 19 HRs (T-10), and 70 runs scored (T-17). You know who is scoring runs in the Ale...Syracuse. The Snappers lead the league with 100 runs this month. Oh yeah they are also 13-5, the best record in the league. Apparently when you score a lot of runs you tend to win a lot of games. We probably won't need a scientific experiment to prove that one.
4. In their quest to have the top defense in the BLB, no matter the player, LAD's 32 year old rookie Zoltan Levchin got called up and hit his first home run this past week. The scouting discovery from Stepanavan, a beautiful town in the baseball hotbed of Armenia, came to the league (and USA) in 2041. He was released by Windy City and signed by Pawtucket in 2046, before being released and signing with LAD in 2047. Since then he's spent 11 seasons in the minors before getting called up last week. In six games he hit a dismal .150, but he already put up a +1.1 ZR at second base. Sounds like a perfect fit in Los Angeles.
5. What's on tap? We get some 1-2 match-ups this week as New York (21-17) travels to Baltimore (24-16) and Wilmington (24-14) travels to New Orleans (26-14). Streak wise LAD has won five straight, while Pittsburgh has lost four straight. We missed the end of it, but Millers first basemen Zac Arellanes had his hit streak end at 30 games. In the history of the league it's the 22nd longest streak. The current leader is Aubrey 'Gypsy' Albano who has an 18 game streak going. In his career he's had 10 hitting streak of 20 games or more. The next closest...a handful of players at four. Amazing.
Stat of the Week
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| Most Years Placing in the League's Top 5 (Top 25 Players) |
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