Tweet
08/27/2063
The Kodiaks are hot, hot, hot as they follow up a 6-1 week by going 5-1. They are now 15-3 after starting the month off 0-6. That's how championship teams respond. Could this be their year? Another big week was had by Wilmington who also went 5-1, while their division foe the Exports went 0-6. The Wildcats now have a 14.5 game lead in the Lager and will capture their first division crown since 2059. Meanwhile Lager mates Santo Domingo and Toronto also turned in great weeks as they went 5-2. On the other side of life LAD, Indy, and Phoenix all went 1-5.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (129.9, o)
2) California Kodiaks (125.1, o)
3) Wilmington Wildcats (124.3, +)
4) Denver Bulls (113.0, -)
5) Windy City Blues (111.9, o)
6) New York Cyclones (97.5, +)
7) Hartford Whalers (96.6, ++)
8) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (95.3, ++)
9) Los Angeles Dinos (93.8, --)
10) Toronto Canadians (91.8, ++)
11) Pawtucket Patriots (90.5, ++)
12) New Orleans Voodoo (88.4, -)
13) Maine Guides (86.1, ++)
14) Pittsburgh Millers (85.8, -)
15) Carolina Tobs (84.8, --)
16) Indianapolis Clowns (83.1, --)
17) Montreal Exports (81.5, --)
18) Baltimore Bulldogs (79.6, ++)
19) Seattle Pilots (79.0, -)
20) Philadelphia Freedom (71.9, +)
21) Syracuse Snappers (70.9, -)
22) Batavia Muckdogs (69.1, -)
23) Dallas Drillers (64.6, -)
24) Phoenix Roadrunners (42.6, o)
Performance of the Week
P Cooper Welsh - Last Tuesday in a 2-0 victory over the Bulldogs, Welsh threw the first no-hitter in the BLB since June of 2061. Yes folks it's been over two years since the BLB saw a no-no. On the day Welsh threw 115 pitches, walked two (neither made it past 1st), and struck out 12. Picked by Indy in the third round of the 2047 draft, Welsh played for the Clowns from 2054 to 2060. He was claimed off waivers by Wilmington, become a free agent and signed with California, then became a free agent again and signed with New York. At the age of 34 he's having the best season of his career as he's now 14-8 with a 2.71 ERA and 147 ERA+.
Prospect of the Week
LF Alec Boersen - Drafted by Philly with the second overall pick of the 2060 draft, the 21 year old is in his third season in A ball where he's hitting .262 with 26 HR and 57 RBI. The 44th overall prospect in the league was just selected to the 2063 Futures Game and scouts think he can be "an elite starting right fielder" someday. At 6'4 this sweet swinging lefty should someday crush RHP and we're excited to see it.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Nine teams in the Domestic League have between 65 and 61 wins. The eight teams in the Domestic Wild Card race are separated by four and half games from top to bottom. Five of those eight are in the Ale, where they are only four games apart for the division title. Basically it's anyone's race right now, unless you are Wilmington, Dallas, or Syracuse. The Wildcats will win the Lager and be the #1 seed on the DL side, while Syracuse and Dallas are 11 and 14.5 games back. In the Import the Bats will win the Stout, with the Bock coming down to the 3-way race between Cali, Windy City and Denver. Whoever doesn't win that division though will get HFA in the Wild Card round, as the only real race is between New York and Carolina for the final spot. The Cyclones hold a four game lead and are predicted by the number crunchers to currently be between 74% and 85% postseason bound.
2. Griffin Camacho is doing everything he can to keep the reeling Millers in the playoff hunt. The 23 year old cracked five home runs this past week, and has hit eight in his last 19 games, to give him a league leading 35 on the season. Unfortunately the Millers are 10-15 this month, and now find themselves a half game back in the Wild Card race. He might be leading the Domestic League, but in the entire BLB he's tied with California's young stud Greg Thomas. The 22 year old was the 5th overall pick of the 2061 draft and is having himself quite the sophomore season. Over the 119 games he's hitting .274 with 35 HR, 102 RBI while putting up a +1.3 ZR at first.
3. In a tale of two shortstops, there is Denver's Austin Sarpong and Syracuse's Damian Goranson. Sarpong is 22 and might be the best fielding shortstop in the game. With a league leading +16.8 ZR in only his second season, he's only known the Bulls to be the champions they are. He's also making a cool $280k. Goranson meanwhile is 38 years old and making $24.5m this season. Back in 2054 he was an All-Star and helped Pawtucket win the Brewmasters Cup. This season though he has a leagues worst -18.1 ZR at shortstop. Over his last four seasons he has a combined -54.6 ZR at short. Prior to that he was pretty solid in the field, but Father Time catches up with us all.
4. Montreal's Andy Christman has thrown out a ridiculous 44.4% of runners this season, tops in the league. Meanwhile his backup, Charleston Chesney, has thrown out 40% of his own. That gives Montreal a 43.9 RTO% this season, tops in the league. On the other end of the spectrum is Santo Domingo, who have only thrown out 20.2% of attempted thieves. The league average is only 27.5%, and New Orleans is second overall at 33.1%, so that just shows how good Montreal has been. There is no doubt Christman is the best player in the game. Considering he's also hitting .335/.395/.531 with 19 HR and 65 RBI he's impactful on both sides of the plate. He's also on pace for a 6.5 WAR as well, which would be the highest for a catcher in the BLB since Galen Rose equaled that for Santo Domingo back in 2044.
5. What's on tap? Over in the Import we get to watch California head on over to Denver, where the Bulls are 48-18 at Rocky Top Park. So far this season they are tied 3-3, with this series and then one more in September in California to go. Over in the Domestic it's the battle for the Wild Card as Hartford heads to Toronto, Maine travels to Pawtucket, and Pittsburgh goes to Syracuse. Streak wise Hartford and Wilmington have won four straight, Indy has lost five straight, and Montreal has lost six straight.
Player Streaks
| Blake Bateman (HAR) has a 23 game hitting streak |
| Vinnie Ballew (PHO) hit a HR in 4 straight games |
| Brian Clark (DEN) has converted 23 straight save opportunities |
| Justin Casey (WAS) has won 9 straight decisions |
| Justin Casey (WAS) hasn't lost in 13 straight starts |
| Charlie Spence (CAL) hasn't lost in 13 straight starts |
Weekly Milestones
3B Wyatt Steinauer (DAL), 29 yo, reached 1000 hits
1B Emmanuel Thorn (SEA), 24 yo, reached 500 hits
CF Roosevelt Barrera (IND), 31 yo, reached 250 hits
RF Derell Machuca (MON), 23 yo, reached 250 hits
RF Marcus Valdez (MAI), 22 yo, reached 100 hits
LF Corey Creager (SDR), 34 yo, reached 100 hits
RF Kai Hayes (NO), 24 yo, hit his first home run
C David Mitchell (SEA), 28 yo, reached 500 RBIs
LF Kellen Todd (HAR), 23 yo, reached 250 RBIs
1B LaMark Canete (PIT), 27 yo, reached 250 extra base hits
RF Ken Daly (TOR), 30 yo, reached 200 extra base hits
1B Carlton Bryer (BAT), 25 yo, reached 100 extra base hits
P Gerold Lentz (WIL), 28 yo, reached 200 saves
P Miles Licon (NO), 27 yo, reached 750 strikeouts
P J.P. Lovins (WAS), 26 yo, reached 750 strikeouts
Stat of the Week
.
| Most 200 Strikeout Seasons (Top 25 Players) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|