Tweet
09/05/2061
The Keg took a week away and comes back to the Bats back on top. Well at least not much has changed in the last 50 years or so. With a 5-1 week that featured a sweep of Montreal, Washington may be third in the Stout but they are first in our hearts (and Power Rankings). Other top weeks were Philly, Wilmington, Indy, Denver, SDR, and Batavia who all went 4-2. On the other side of life Pittsburgh went 1-5 as the Millers are now 10-21 since August 1st. The interleague also once again belonged to the Import, who barely came out on top 37-35.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (107.9, ++)
2) New York Cyclones (107.7, o)
3) Montreal Exports (102.7, ++)
4) New Orleans Voodoo (100.7, --)
5) Maine Guides (99.3, -)
6) Phoenix Roadrunners (98.9, -)
7) Toronto Canadians (98.4, o)
8) Baltimore Bulldogs (97.9, +)
9) Indianapolis Clowns (97.7, -)
10) Wilmington Wildcats (96.8, ++)
11) Denver Bulls (95.0, o)
12) Pawtucket Patriots (94.1, +)
13) Syracuse Snappers (92.6, ++)
14) California Kodiaks (92.1, --)
15) Windy City Blues (90.5, --)
16) Seattle Pilots (89.0, -)
17) Dallas Drillers (85.1, +)
18) Carolina Tobs (82.3, -)
19) Batavia Muckdogs (81.3, +)
20) Pittsburgh Millers (72.3, -)
21) Los Angeles Dinos (71.1, -)
22) Philadelphia Freedom (69.5, +)
23) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (68.3, +)
24) Hartford Whalers (67.0, -)
Performance of the Week
P Chase Vaughan - The lifelong Tob was a 5th round pick by in 2047 who's been a very respectable 97-93 with a 3.63 ERA over his career. At 31 years old he's still slinging it as the Millers found out last week. In a complete game shutout Vaughan allowed only two hits, one walk, and struck out 10 as Carolina won 5-0. He's now 9-10 with a 3.82 ERA on the year.
Prospect of the Week
RF Shawn Russell - At just 18 years old he's only on the Exports RL team, the Chandlers Firebirds, but good things await. Drafted 20th overall last season, he played just 63 games for the Firebirds. This year over 114 games he hit .263/.358/.535 with 27 HR, 74 RBI and a 127 OPS+. Scouts say he "has the dynamic tools needed to make an impact in the majors." He can play either corner outfield spot at a high level, and can hit for both contact and power. Sounds like a winning combination.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We missed our August review, so here we go. The clear winner was New Orleans who went 20-8. As of now they are tied with Montreal atop the Lager, which was unthinkable a month or so ago. Next up was Indy who went 18-10, while Baltimore and Toronto went 18-12. Throw in Cali and Phoenix who went 17-12, and Denver who went 17-13 and it was a winning month for more than a few. On the flip side SDR went 7-22 while the 'Keystone Alliance' of Philly and Pittsburgh both went 9-19. Stat wise NO scored 143 runs (SDR 93), Phoenix hit 39 home runs (Mon 17), Toronto swiped 62 bases (Ind 11), Wilmington allowed just 97 runs (Pit 137), and opponents hit .237 off New Orleans pitchers (Har .296).
2. The Wild Card update. In the Domestic there are three spots to be had between Toronto, Wilmington, Pawtucket, Syracuse, and Indy. The Clowns are now 21-10 since August 1st and are just two games under .500, and five games back from a Wild Card spot. Their playoff odds sit at just 7.7%, but the turnaround has been nothing less than impressive. They also have the easiest remaining schedule of all these teams. The heavy favorites though are Wilmington, Pawtucket, and Toronto who all sit at 84% or above for playoff odds, while Syracuse is at 33%. In the Import we have California, Windy City, Denver, and Seattle all fighting for two spots. Our friends at Stats+ have California with a 95.3% chance, Windy City at 81.6%, Seattle at 16.7% and Denver at 6.5%. It looks like we're getting the Denver - Indy Brewmasters everyone dreamed about!
3. The ageless wonder Aubrey 'Gypsy' Albano finally had his hit streak snapped at 32 games by who else but the sinister Bats. Believe it or not, it's the longest hit streak of his career. It's also the 12th time in his career he's had a hit streak of 20 or more games. Did we also mention he'll also be 41 years old in three months? Thirty-two games is also the longest hit streak since 2052, when Cory 'Boy Scout' Petit had a hit in 33 straight games. Petit is just one of 14 players in the history of the league who have had a longer streak than Albano. Should the league just induct him into the Hall of Fame now?
4. Toronto pitcher JaQuan Wamugunda had a nice August. In six starts he was 5-1 with a 3.38 ERA while walking only six and striking out 56 over 48 innings pitched. He was named the Domestic League Pitcher of the Month for his efforts. On August 19th he also inked a 2-year contract extension worth a total of $46,400,000 with the Canadians. Originally discovered by Toronto out of the baseball hotbed of Togo in 2041, he was traded to Philly in 2042. He played six seasons there, went to one All-Star game, then was traded to the Rum Runners in 2054. Wamugunda went to another All-Star game and played for two seasons before becoming a free agent and signing with Indy for $81,000,000 in 2055. In 2056 he went 10-6 with the Clowns, and 2-0 in the playoffs, as Indy won the Brewmasters Cup. In 2058 he was then traded to Denver mid-season, before opting out, where he signed back with Toronto. In his first season with the Canadians he once again won the Brewmasters as he was 4-1 with a 3.57 ERA in the 2059 playoffs. Lifetime he's 141-122 with a 4.00 ERA and 100 ERA+, but he's 11-3 in the postseason with two titles. Not a bad August and career to say the least.
5. What's on tap? How about Syracuse running the gauntlet this week. The Snappers are two games out of the Wild Card and travel to Pawtucket before hosting Wilmington. It's a make or break week. Meanwhile the Bulldogs are in the playoffs, but are still fighting to win the Stout. At only 1.5 games back they have a darn good shot, but it might hinge on this week as well. First they get Washington at home before they head to the southwest to face Phoenix. One good thing about that schedule is that Baltimore and the Roadrunners are both 81-58, yet Baltimore has completely owned them this season. In the seven games Baltimore is 7-0 and has outscored Phoenix by 24 runs. Goodness and yikes. It's not often we see such domination by an A+ team against an A+ team.
Stat of the Week
.
| Largest Difference Between OBP And AVG (Top 25 Players, Minimum 200 PA) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|