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05/13/2058
It's on the middle of May, but it feels like Christmas everyday for the Bulldogs. Thanks to the best pitching staff in the league (gifted from late round picks) they went 6-1 and moved within 2.5 games of the division lead. Peter, Ellis, Lanham, Gibbs...like presents under the tree. The other top weeks were had by Santo Domingo, Toronto, and New York. The Cyclones still hold the lead in the PR, while Toronto and their all-rookie team trail New Orleans by 2.5 in the Lager. Meanwhile SDR is under new management but has clawed back to .500 at 16-16. On the other side of life Syracuse and Seattle both got coal in their stocking as they went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) New York Cyclones (134.4, o)
2) Baltimore Bulldogs (125.5, ++)
3) New Orleans Voodoo (125.0, o)
4) Washington Bats (114.2, -)
5) Toronto Canadians (112.9, +)
6) Carolina Tobs (109.9, +)
7) Hartford Whalers (102.9, --)
8) Indianapolis Clowns (99.6, ++)
9) Batavia Muckdogs (94.3, --)
10) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (93.0, ++)
11) Wilmington Wildcats (93.0, o)
12) Los Angeles Dinos (89.0, ++)
13) Dallas Drillers (86.3, --)
14) Pawtucket Patriots (83.4, ++)
15) Maine Guides (82.8, -)
16) Montreal Exports (79.8, --)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (79.4, --)
18) Denver Bulls (71.9, ++)
19) Philadelphia Freedom (70.1, -)
20) California Kodiaks (67.8, +)
21) Seattle Pilots (67.4, --)
22) Pittsburgh Millers (66.9, -)
23) Syracuse Snappers (57.5, --)
24) Windy City Blues (53.5, o)
Performance of the Week
P Drew 'Rowdy' Daniels - The Voodoo once again have the early division lead like last season, but this time are hoping they can hang on. If 'Rowdy' keeps playing like he did this past week, then that just might happen. On May 9th against Syracuse he smoked the Snappers with a complete game, one-hit shutout, that featured 10 K's and no walks. In the 2-0 win Daniels had a perfect game until the top of the sixth when lead-off man Sayon 'The Brick' Castillo singled to start the inning. Castillo actually made it to third on a bunt and then ground out, but that was as close as Syracuse got to scoring that day. For the season Daniels is 2-2 with a 3.49 ERA and 1.01 WHIP.
Prospect of the Week
CF Rob 'Hit Squad' Morris - The second overall pick of last years draft is playing in the majors already (a recurring theme) as he's started all 32 games for the Freedom this season. Drafted out of Oregon State, where he was a 3x NCAA All-Star, he went from A to AA to AAA all during last season. So far this season he's hitting .282 with 9 HR, 17 RBI, 10 SB and a +2.3 ZR in center field. Goodness these 'kids' are good.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Is Dan Jennings one of the greatest players to ever play the game? The 35 year old is an 8x All Star, 8x DWI winner, 5x Designated Driver, and won the Stout Slugger in 2049, 2050, and 2051. Lifetime he's a .337 hitter with 2,598 hits, 536 doubles, 963 runs, 167 RBI's, a +284.0 ZR at shortstop, and a 76.5 WAR. All that and because he doesn't hit the long ball, he's not always a household name when you think of greatness. Currently he's in his first year with New Orleans, his third ever team, where he's hitting .377 while once again being the best defensive shortstop in the league. The only thing he's missing from his resume is a title, and with the way the Voodoo are playing he will definitely have a shot.
2. With Brian Wheat hurting his shoulder a few weeks back, in comes another rookie debut for Toronto as Reese 'Paydirt' Bowman got called up to the bigs. Drafted in the second round of the 2055 draft, there are now seven batters on the Canadians that are 23 years or younger. When Wheat comes back that makes eight. All 'Paydirt' did in his first five games was hit .667...okay he was just two for three...but still. We just can't get over how young this team is, and how so far Toronto is 19-13 and could go back to the playoffs for the first time since 2051. Did we also mention 21 year old Chase Calhoun is now rated the top player in the league, and is on pace to hit .385 with 35 HR, 132 RBI, and 127 SB. Dynasty here we come.
3. Apparently when Bulldogs manager Sandy Perez asked his GM how aggressive he wanted the team to be on the base paths, the only response he got back was 'Yes'. With that in mind the Bulldogs have been running all over their opponents this season. They have been thrown out 24 times, which is the most in the league, but they've also swiped 69 bases, which is most in the league. Their 74.2% success rate is 10th overall, but that doesn't appear to be slowing them down. In fact the top three base thieves in the Import are all Bulldogs. Justin Castiglioni has 19, Vince 'Weasel' Ridgway has 18, and James 'Handyman' Hylton has 15. Their wSB of 3.02 is also third in the league, behind only Dallas (4.03) and Toronto (5.23).
4. Houston Yap was the sixth overall pick of the 2053 draft, and made his BLB debut in 2054 at the age of 21. He hit five home runs in 41 games that season, and seven in 81 games the next. He became a full time starter in 2056 when he hit .280 with 22 HR and 82 RBI, then followed it up by hitting .277 with 23 HR and 72 RBI last season. The organization figured he would be a solid corner outfielder for the next decade. Then this season starts and the 25 year old in 30 games is hitting .287 with 16 HR and 37 RBI. He's on pace to hit 76 home runs, and drive in 176 runs. These aren't the fun projections we get after the first week or two of the year, we're almost 20% of the way through the season. Looks like Yap has finally put it all together.
5. What's on tap? We get a little interleague love this week as Wilmington travels to New York (the defending champs vs the best team in baseball), New York then heads to New Orleans (the best team in each league squares off), and Batavia heads to Hartford (5th place Muckdogs are 18-16). Streak wise Baltimore has won five in a row, Phoenix has lost five in a row, and Chase Calhoun (TOR) has a 16 game hitting streak.
Stat of the Week
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| Youngest Player To Lead The League (Top 25 Players) |
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