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07/10/2062
Somebody break up the Freedom. With a sweep of Baltimore and taking three of four from Seattle, the Freedom go 6-1 to move their record to..36-49 and fifth place in the Stout. Okay maybe not yet but they are going to be on the rise someday soon. With the third overall minor league system and the top overall prospect in Toby Foster the fans (and the DK) are excited for their future. The other top weeks were Phoenix who went 5-1, while a plethora of teams went 5-2 (Carolina, Pittsburgh, Washington, Wilmington, and Denver). On the other side of life LAD went 1-6. They are still above .500 at 43-42 though, but unfortunately in the 'Brutal Bock' that's only good enough for fifth.
Power Rankings
1) Montreal Exports (117.4, o)
2) Denver Bulls (112.8, +)
3) Carolina Tobs (110.5, ++)
4) Washington Bats (107.6, ++)
5) Pawtucket Patriots (107.1, o)
6) New Orleans Voodoo (107.0, --)
7) New York Cyclones (105.3, --)
8) Wilmington Wildcats (100.8, ++)
9) Windy City Blues (95.6, --)
10) California Kodiaks (94.4, -)
11) Phoenix Roadrunners (94.2, ++)
12) Pittsburgh Millers (89.7, ++)
13) Toronto Canadians (88.1, o)
14) Los Angeles Dinos (85.1, --)
15) Indianapolis Clowns (84.6, +)
16) Maine Guides (83.7, o)
17) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (81.8, --)
18) Dallas Drillers (81.7, --)
19) Philadelphia Freedom (81.2, ++)
20) Baltimore Bulldogs (74.4, o)
21) Hartford Whalers (74.0, +)
22) Syracuse Snappers (73.5, -)
23) Batavia Muckdogs (67.9, --)
24) Seattle Pilots (45.2, o)
Performance of the Week
1B Quinton Brown - The 28 year old played sparingly in Batavia from 2055 to 2059 before the Tobs claimed him on waivers. He's now playing sparingly for the Tobs but at least he's doing it well. This past week in a 10-3 victory over New York he hit two home runs, drove in six, and scored three times. Considering he has five home runs on the season, and 38 total for his career, it was quite the game.
Prospect of the Week
P Vince Phaneuf - The sixth round pick from 2060 by the Snappers has turned into the 54th overall prospect in the league thanks to developing amazing movement and control with the ball. He's 22 years old and currently in A ball, but we think he could be in AAA by the end of this season and in the majors next year. He won't blow the doors off anyone with his fastball, but scouts believe he can be a solid #2 in the rotation. This season he's 7-2 with a 2.86 ERA with 58 strikeouts and only six walks.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Congrats to Seattle ace Cayden Wittmeyer for reaching 3500 strikeouts in his career, the fifth person in the history of the league to do so. The first overall pick of the 2046 draft by Maine has turned into everything the first pick is supposed to be. In his 16 seasons he's compiled a 193-129 record with a 3.46 ERA, 3507 K's, and a 51.3 WAR. He's also been to five All-Star games and won the 2057 Pale Ale. Known for his fastball and his ability to keep throwing hard all game, he's also tossed 61 complete games, putting him fifth all-time in that category as well. At 36 years old he's winding down his career, but it's been a fun one to watch.
2. Greg Thomas has turned into another solid draft pick for the Kodiaks. The 21 year old was drafted fifth overall last season, and went shooting up through the minor leagues. He played 16 games in AAA this season before getting called up, and recently he's been on fire. This past week, even though he is fighting some tendinitis in his knee, he smacked three home runs and tallied up a league high 12 RBI. In 56 total games he's hitting .267 with 12 HR and 37 RBI while starting at first in both lineups. His strength is his amazing ability to hit the ball a long way. His weakness is his amazing ability to completely miss the ball when he doesn't hit it a long way. Even with his feast or famine approach he could be a top slugger in the league by next season.
3. When you play in the Domestic you can be under .500 and still make the playoffs! The Rum Runners are currently 41-44 and would be postseason bound if the playoffs started today. That record in the Import would put you five games back from the final Wild Card spot. Year after year it seems the Import is just stacked with some dominant teams. This year though it's not the usual suspects. With Baltimore and Seattle under .500, and Phoenix just 44-41, the new blood of Denver, Carolina, and Windy City have risen to the top. Still though they have eight teams with winning records, while the Domestic has just five. Four of them are in the Lager as once again the 'Awful Ale' is back. Pawtucket is the lone team above .500 with both second and third place Maine and Pittsburgh five games under water.
4. Chase Vaughan is 15-1, tying him for the most wins in a single season for his career. The last time he did that was his rookie season in 2053, when he went 15-10 with a 3.20 ERA. This season he's put up that record along with a 2.52 ERA and a 156 ERA+, both career highs. With a player option next season, the 32 year old is setting himself up for a payday like no other. After being the 99th player taken in the 2047 draft, he's only made one All-Star game (we think that number will double very soon), but he's been very consistent. He's won double digit games in eight of his nine seasons, while only posting higher than a 3.72 ERA one time. His work ethic is renown in the organization, and he's only been injured longer than a week one time. In 2058 he partially tore his UCL in his elbow just three days before signing his $124.2 million dollar extension. It was not a good look for the agent or Vaughan, but since missing that season he's gone 47-36 with a 3.66 ERA and 14.7 WAR.
5. What's on tap? How about some interleague love. This week we get to see how good Pawtucket is as they travel to California then host Phoenix. The Patriots have built a nine game lead in the Ale, which isn't hard as we've mentioned they are the only team with a winning record in the division. The Kodiaks and Roadrunners are third and fourth in the Bock, but are only two and four back from Pawtucket in the win column. Some other fun series are Carolina heading to Montreal and Washington hosting New Orleans. Streak wise no team has won or lost more than four in a row, while NYC's Danrad Orozco has a nice 19 game hitting streak going.
Stat of the Week
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