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06/11/2063
The Bats go 5-2 as their 40-18 record is the best in the land. They are now 7-2 in June, lead the Power Rankings, and look to be playoff bound once again. Considering they have only missed the playoffs twice since 2017 we're not shocked. Other top weeks were Denver and Wilmington who also went 5-2, while the Dinos from LA went 5-1. On the other side of life Philly went 1-5 to fall to 20-39. Unfortunately it doesn't look good for the Freedom's postseason chances, as our friends at Stats+ currently have their playoff odds at 0.00%. Without a miraculous turnaround it appears they will miss the postseason for the 12th straight season.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (131.1, o)
2) Wilmington Wildcats (127.0, o)
3) Denver Bulls (121.9, +)
4) California Kodiaks (118.0, -)
5) Windy City Blues (113.9, o)
6) Los Angeles Dinos (101.7, ++)
7) New Orleans Voodoo (101.6, -)
8) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (100.0, o)
9) Indianapolis Clowns (97.0, ++)
10) New York Cyclones (96.6, --)
11) Baltimore Bulldogs (96.5, +)
12) Carolina Tobs (96.1, -)
13) Maine Guides (89.4, ++)
14) Pittsburgh Millers (86.9, --)
15) Syracuse Snappers (85.4, o)
16) Toronto Canadians (82.1, +)
17) Montreal Exports (78.4, --)
18) Pawtucket Patriots (73.3, +)
19) Hartford Whalers (71.5, +)
20) Seattle Pilots (68.0, --)
21) Dallas Drillers (66.2, o)
22) Batavia Muckdogs (64.0, o)
23) Philadelphia Freedom (48.0, o)
24) Phoenix Roadrunners (41.8, o)
Performance of the Week
P Rick 'Barracuda' Robertson - We missed last week where 'Barracuda' turned in the top pitching performance of the season. On June 1st against Pawtucket he went all nine innings, allowed just three hits, no runs, and struck out 15 as the Wildcats won 9-0. On the season he's now 5-2 with a 3.10 ERA and 131 ERA+.
Prospect of the Week
RF Doug Hardy - The 10th overall pick of the 2062 draft by Indy is just 18 and playing for the Norfolk Captains after attending Shawnee HS in New Jersey. Coaches love his confidence, and scouts think if he reaches his potential he could make multiple trips to the All-Star game. So far in his first full Rookie League season he's hitting .231 with 16 HR and 28 RBI in just 43 games and is the 56th overall prospect in the league.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The month of May ended with New York and California posting the best records at 19-10, while poor Phoenix and Philly went 7-22 and 9-20 respectively. Other top months were Washington at 18-10, while Windy City and Wilmington went 18-11. Some team leaders for the month: New York scored 150 runs (PHI 78), Wilmington smacked 45 home runs (TOR 19), Toronto stole 59 bases (HAR 9), and Toronto hit .313 (PHI .214). On the other side California allowed just 95 runs (PHO 173) while opponents hit just .222 off the Kodiaks (TOR .307).
2. The league average for ZR this season is currently +2.39. There is Denver at the top at +24.99, and Philly at the bottom at -26.91. In second, over five points behind the Bulls, is Indy at +19.91, and coming in third is Montreal at +18.46. Denver is 37-22, Indy is 32-28, while Montreal is 28-31. Of the top 10 teams in ZR, only Montreal, Phoenix, and Pawtucket have losing records. Of the bottom 10 teams in ZR only Baltimore, Santo Domingo and New York have winning records.
3. We missed it but Seattle legend Parker Lee hit his 500th home run on May 29th during a win over Los Angeles. It happened to be his second home run of the day, this time a solo shot in the bottom of the 8th which put the Pilots up 4-2. After rounding the bases to a huge standing ovation, the crowd buzzed and roared again when Lee stuck his head out of the dugout for a curtain call. Drafted in the second round of the 2048 draft by Washington, he played 12 straight seasons for the Bats. During that time he went to 10 All-Star games and helped Washington win three Brewmaster Cup championships. He opted out after this past season though and signed a 5 year/$134m deal with Seattle, much to the dismay of the Washington fans. At 32 years old he's currently hitting .249 with 15 HR and 43 RBI in 59 games.
4. The 2063 BLB draft is this week with the Batavia Muckdogs on the clock. Currently the Muckdogs are 23-37 and haven't been to the playoffs since 2052. They do have the second ranked minor league system though (139 pt), trailing only powerhouse New Orleans who checks in with 228 points. The word on the street is that Batavia is leaning heavily towards Fredrick 'Turf' Palumbo, the 17 year old second basemen out of Saline HS. Scouts say at his peak "he could be one of the top home run hitters in the league" while also having above average defense and impressive speed. He's currently the top ranked HS player in the nation, and over 120 career games he hit .350/.433/.650 with 30 HR and 107 RBI. Sounds like a number one pick to us!
5. What's on tap? We're back to interleague this week with some fun series to look forward to. How about Denver at Indy (the champs vs the Ale leaders), New York hosting New Orleans (both teams 32-27 and trying to avoid being 10 games back in the division), and Windy City at Maine (Blues are 37-22 and in second place, Guides 28-31 and only 3.5 games back). Streak wise Jarrett Evans (IND) has a 19 game hitting streak while B.B. Trynkov (CAL) hasn't lost in 11 straight starts.
Weekly Milestones
2B Jarrett Shaneyfelt (MAI), 28 yo, reached 1000 hits
LF Kelvin Kenney (WIL), 26 yo, reached 500 hits
1B Isaac Rampone (SDR), 23 yo, reached 250 hits
1B Griffin Camacho (PIT), 23 yo, reached 250 hits
C Ashby Ellis (IND), 26 yo, reached 100 hits
DH Edward Schachter (BAT), 27 yo, reached 200 home runs
LF Brice Younce (HAR), 22 yo, hit his first home run
CF Wesley Fernandez (CAL), 20 yo, hit his first home run
C Drew Flett (PHO), 23 yo, hit his first home run
2B Ben Piche (SYR), 25 yo, reached 250 RBIs
SS Harrison Jordan (PHO), 24 yo, reached 250 RBIs
1B Rayshaun Stuart (WAS), 27 yo, reached 400 extra base hits
RF Wade Cummins (BAT), 24 yo, reached 300 extra base hits
2B Ben Piche (SYR), 25 yo, reached 250 extra base hits
3B Isaac Murphy (PAW), 26 yo, reached 100 extra base hits
P Brandan Caldwell (MAI), 28 yo, reached 50 wins
P Bruno Sheline (TOR), 30 yo, reached 50 wins
P Eric Hendrix (WAS), 31 yo, reached 250 saves (79 players have reached this milestone)
P Rahjon Anderson (SYR), 33 yo, reached 2000 strikeouts
P Bryn Gray (BAL), 36 yo, reached 750 strikeouts
P Carl Vertullo (BAL), 27 yo, reached 500 strikeouts
P Chase Lowe (CAL), 26 yo, reached 500 strikeouts
Stat of the Week
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