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07/05/2060
A guy takes a short break and comes back to the Birds being the king of the jungle. With a 5-2 week the Roadrunners continued the tie with Seattle (who also went 5-2) for the Bock lead as their run continues. After starting the season 15-10 in April, they have absolutely sizzled the last two months, but we can talk about that more later. The top week though belonged to Washington, who went 6-1. They took two of three from Carolina, then swept California (even though it wasn't the playoffs). The Bats are now 43-44 and are in the final Import Wildcard spot. On the other side of life both Pittsburgh and California went 1-6. Both these teams were in the playoffs last season, now they are last and second to last in their division respectively.
Power Rankings
1) Phoenix Roadrunners (128.8, o)
2) Seattle Pilots (126.6, o)
3) Baltimore Bulldogs (113.6, o)
4) Syracuse Snappers (103.6, +)
5) New York Cyclones (100.9, +)
6) New Orleans Voodoo (99.6, -)
7) Washington Bats (99.0, ++)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (98.5, --)
9) Dallas Drillers (94.8, ++)
10) Montreal Exports (94.2, +)
11) Toronto Canadians (91.3, +)
12) Hartford Whalers (91.1, --)
13) Denver Bulls (90.8, --)
14) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (90.0, --)
15) Pawtucket Patriots (88.6, --)
16) Maine Guides (87.9, -)
17) Indianapolis Clowns (83.4, ++)
18) Carolina Tobs (81.2, -)
19) Wilmington Wildcats (76.6, -)
20) Pittsburgh Millers (70.5, --)
21) Windy City Blues (68.9, +)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (63.9, o)
23) California Kodiaks (62.0, --)
24) Batavia Muckdogs (53.3, o)
Performance of the Week
P Jakob Hilliard - The strikeout machine KO'd the Dino's on June 30th with a four-hit shutout that featured just one walk and 15 strikeouts. In 17 starts this season Hilliard is now 11-4 with a 2.26 ERA, 186 K's, and a 172 ERA+. The 25 year old was skipped in both the 2055 and 2056 draft, and signed a minor league contract with Phoenix in July of 2056. Since then he's turned into a #1 starter, and accordingly to scouts can get even better.
Prospect of the Week
CF Dawson Overton - The 5th overall pick from last months draft came in ranked #16 on the Top Prospect list and already looks like a beast. In just 12 games in the Rookie League for the Voodoo he's hitting .390 with 4 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB, and a ridiculous 232 ERA+. Scouts say he has the tools to develop into an elite center fielder and we agree. He can slug home runs, he's extremely fast, and he can play any outfield position at a DWI level.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We missed the month of June wrap up, so a belated 'hats off' to Phoenix who went 20-8 and led the league. What's crazy is that they did one better in May when they went 21-7. They hit a league leading 39 home runs during the month, and outscored their opponents by 44 total runs. Next up was Baltimore who went 18-10, and took back over the Stout. Finally we had Santo Domingo who went 18-11, Seattle who went 17-10, and Montreal who went 17-11. On the other side of life poor Batavia went 5-22 and has the worst record in the league. Maybe they can quickly trade Theodore Blume back to California? League leading wise SDR scored 139 runs (Bat 89), Phoenix hit 39 home runs (WC 10), Phoenix also swiped 61 bases (Har 16), Montreal allowed just 93 runs (Paw 144), and opponents hit .223 against Phoenix (Syr .307).
2. Last season Pittsburgh and Wilmington won the Ale and Lager. This season the Millers are 38-47 and in last place, and the Wildcats are 39-46...and also in last place. Wilmington is only 3.5 games out of the Wildcard, while Pittsburgh is 4.5, but how the mighty have fallen. The Millers are suffering due to bad pitching (11th in DL in starters ERA), while the Wildcats can't hit the ball. In the Domestic they are last in average, and 11th in hits, home runs, and runs scored. So instead of those two Syracuse and New Orleans are the division leaders. Last year they won 78 and 72 games respectively. Meanwhile over in the Domestic the division leaders are Baltimore and Seattle, who won last year as well. Come on, give someone else a chance will ya.
3. Manuel 'Cracker' Zaragoza is having quite the season for Toronto. On the pitching side he's started 16 games, where he's 4-8 with a 5.28 ERA and 73 ERA+. Not great, but as a number five starter he's doing his best to supplement the loss of All-Star Drew Durham. On the other side of the plate though, Zaragoza is excelling. In 50 games at DH he's hitting .331/.380/.434 with a home run, 20 RBI, and five stolen bases. In fact this past week he even helped his own cause when he went seven innings against Hartfor and allowed four runs. He then added a walk, hit, and run of his own as Toronto won 9-4.
4. With the draft said and done, the new Top System report came out and New Orleans is number one. Yes the same Voodoo who are 48-37 and lead the Lager by four games. Thanks to their top pick, Oscar 'Trojan' Kiss (who debuted at #3) the Voodoo now have 165 prospect points, four more than second place Batavia, and 17 more than third place Windy City. On the other end of the spectrum is Baltimore. Sadly the 2058 Brewmaster champs, and 2059 runner-up, have zero prospects in their system. Considering their oldest batter is Andy Wulfeck, who is only 28 years old, no one is exactly feeling sorry for them.
5. What's on tap? We're back to interleague and we get rewarded with a nice series as New Orleans travels to Baltimore. The Voodoo are second in runs scored, and first in runs allowed in the Domestic. Meanwhile the Bulldogs are second in runs allowed, but fifth in runs scored in the Import. They are first in average and hits, but sixth in home runs. Val Schmit has hit 25 out of the park for them, but they don't have a single other player with more than 13. We suppose when you have Stephen Gibbs (13-1) and Jannero Peter (12-2) you can do okay without the long ball.
Stat of the Week
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| Highest Career Home Run/Stolen Base Combinations (Top 25 Players, Sorted By Lower of HR/SB) |
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