Tweet
07/07/2064
Montreal, Pittsburgh, and New York are the best of the best this past week as they all go 6-1. The Cyclones and Millers are now over .500, with Pittsburgh being 45-40 and tied for the Ale lead, while New York is 44-40 and only 15.5 games back in the Stout. Well that's not very fair. The Exports meanwhile are 47-38 and eight games back from Wilmington. After his horrendous start which generated some negative press, Andy 'Turk' Christman had a strong June which has propelled the Exports to the second best record in the Domestic. He's on pace for a 5.2 WAR, which would be the second highest of his career and he appears to be a lock to go to his fourth straight All-Star game this month. On the flip side Maine went 0-6, Syracuse went 1-6, and Denver went 1-5. Suddenly the Guides are the worst team in baseball with a 27-56 record, Syracuse is right behind them at 31-53, and Denver is 35-50. We still think the Bulls finish around .500 since they've had bad luck, bad luck, and more bad luck. Their -7 PYT leads the league and it's only July. Meanwhile Wilmington is sitting at +8. Sometimes it just isn't your day, your month, or even your year.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (129.1, o)
2) Wilmington Wildcats (124.5, +)
3) California Kodiaks (114.9, -)
4) Montreal Exports (106.5, ++)
5) Windy City Blues (103.0, -)
6) Pittsburgh Millers (102.2, ++)
7) New York Cyclones (101.3, ++)
8) Carolina Tobs (100.5, -)
9) Dallas Drillers (100.4, +)
10) Los Angeles Dinos (98.8, --)
11) Baltimore Bulldogs (98.2, ++)
12) Hartford Whalers (94.2, --)
13) New Orleans Voodoo (92.2, --)
14) Toronto Canadians (90.8, +)
15) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (89.6, --)
16) Indianapolis Clowns (88.2, --)
17) Batavia Muckdogs (83.6, o)
18) Pawtucket Patriots (81.9, o)
19) Denver Bulls (66.2, o)
20) Philadelphia Freedom (65.0, ++)
21) Seattle Pilots (64.8, o)
22) Syracuse Snappers (61.4, -)
23) Phoenix Roadrunners (55.7, -)
24) Maine Guides (36.5, -)
Performance of the Week
1B Dwayne Bushell - Pawtucket blanked Maine 12-0 earlier this week as Bushell turned in the 9th best batting performance of the season. In four at bats he smacked two home runs, added a single and a walk, drove in five runs and scored three times. The 25 year old is hitting .253 with 6 HR and 16 RBI in the 19 games he's played since being called up from AAA on June 16th.
Prospect of the Week
CF Preston Trouten - Drafted third overall last month by Syracuse, Trouten debuted as the highest ranked hitter of the draft. The 2x CCBL All-Star hit .310/.382/.532 with 33 HR and 104 RBI over 179 Cape Cod games and put up a +7.6 ZR in centerfield during his 2064 campaign. At 20 he went straight to the Snappers A ball club, where in 17 games he's hitting .246 with 3 HR, 9 RBI, and 2 SB with a +1.8 ZR in center. Scouts think he's an everyday CF who will make an impact on a top tier team. We agree.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Hayden Cornett of the Drillers went cycling this past week, the first time we've seen a cycle in almost a year. In 2063 it happened three times, yet it took until July 2nd this season. On the day Cornett went five for six with a home run, a triple, a double, and two singles. He scored twice and drove in five for the Drillers. In the end though it took an Ari Lynn two-run home run in the 10th, followed by Cornett's double which scored another run, for the Drillers to prevail 10-7 over the Canadians in extra innings.
2. Poor Nathan Stiso of the Voodoo. The guy absolutely crushed the ball last week by hitting .542 with 4 HR and 12 RBI and New Orleans goes 1-5. He drove in four in a 7-1 win at Wilmington, three in a 3-7 loss, one in a 5-6 loss to Pittsburgh, then four more the next day in an 8-10 loss to the Millers. What more can one guy do? Only Seattle and Phoenix gave up more runs than the Voodoo last week, as their pitching is now 8th in both hits and runs allowed in the Domestic. Meanwhile they are first in extra-base hits and third in runs scored. They are 44-41 though, and in the last Wild Card spot in the Domestic, so if they can get some decent pitching the playoffs are in reach. Meanwhile Stisco now leads the DL in home runs, and is on pace for a 51 HR/133 RBI season.
3. The Millers have now copied the Exports as Johnny Youngstrom has moved from the bullpen to the starting rotation. With the success of Montreal's Brad Zook (6-4, 3.10 ERA, 2.1 WAR) the Millers in a copycat league took notice. Youngstrom was a second round pick back in 2056 and started games back in high school and the RL before moving to the pen. He moved into the setup roll last season, and pitched 88.1 innings with a 2.95 ERA and 142 ERA+. With a 99 mph fastball, a pretty good sinker, and a change-up that is getting better, the Millers management told the press that Youngstrom has let them know all season he expected to be in the starting rotation, so they finally made the switch. First week...two starts, two wins, and a 2.57 ERA. From now on maybe Pittsburgh will listen more closely to what their players want.
4. Ten teams in the Domestic are in the playoffs, or within five games. We also know it's only July but it's still fun to watch. It appears only Syracuse and Maine are out, as the Snappers have already started to shop 27 year old Asher Kappler. In 2060 he had an amazing season where he hit .333 with 30 HR and 125 RBI while putting up an 8.3 WAR. The year after though he posted just a 2.9 WAR, then it went back up to 5.5 in 2062, and 4.3 last season. Taking out the highs and lows he's basically a 4.0 WAR guy who can hit home runs, steal bases, and play DWI level defense in right field. This season he's hitting .248 with 20 HR and 45 RBI, but has only stole one base. He's already put up a +7.9 ZR in right though, and is on pace for a 4.6 WAR season. It might take some work due to him being owed $139,000,000 over the next five years, but he should generate some interest.
5. What's on tap...how about some interleague fun!
.
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Streaks
.
| Micah Lumsden (SDR) has a 15 game hitting streak |
| Evan Ochs (CAR) has a 14 game hitting streak |
| Levi Lane (HAR) has a 12 game hitting streak |
| Owen Keimig (BAL) has a 12 game hitting streak |
| Zyaire Semijenov (TOR) hit a HR in 3 straight games |
| Spencer Stephens (CAL) hit a HR in 3 straight games |
| Logan Osborne (CAL) has converted 20 straight save opportunities |
| Jamal Brown (HAR) has converted 13 straight save opportunities |
| Richard Dobson (PHI) has converted 12 straight save opportunities |
| Justin Casey (WAS) has won 8 straight decisions |
| Justin Casey (WAS) hasn't lost in 14 straight starts |
| Jerry Cook (DEN) hasn't lost in 10 straight starts |
Who's Hot
.
| Hot Batters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Hot Pitchers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Stat of the Week
.
| Players To Win A Defense With Integrity (DWI) Award, End Of Season Award, And Be An All-Star In The Same Season (EOS Awards: Stout Slugger Award, Pale Ale Pitcher Award, Refreshing New Brew Award) |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|