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04/13/2065
And we're off for the 87th season of Brewers League Baseball. It's almost unfathomable when you stop and think about it...yet here we are. Last season it was the Wilmington Wildcats who took home the trophy, as they got revenge and took down the Washington Bats in an epic seven game series. It was the second straight appearance for both team in the Cup, can they make it a third? Only time will tell. What no one predicted was the Seattle Pilots starting out the season 7-0 with sweeps of Phoenix and New York. With the Pilots finally under management dedicated to winning have they turned the corner once again? Other big weeks LAD and Denver who each went 6-1. The Dinos are consistent winners once again thanks to their new GM's philosophy of pitching and defense, while Denver is hoping to reverse the bad luck they had all last season. On the flip side Indy and Baltimore went 1-6, while NYC went 0-7. The Cyclones are on pace to go 0-162 but we don't think it will be quite that bad.
Power Rankings
1) Seattle Pilots (194.0, ++)
2) Denver Bulls (161.3, ++)
3) Los Angeles Dinos (160.3, ++)
4) Montreal Exports (135.5, ++)
5) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (132.5, ++)
6) Batavia Muckdogs (124.1, --)
7) Hartford Whalers (123.1, o)
8) Dallas Drillers (121.1, --)
9) Wilmington Wildcats (106.8, ++)
10) Toronto Canadians (104.8, ++)
11) Carolina Tobs (102.8, --)
12) Pawtucket Patriots (102.8, +)
13) Philadelphia Freedom (101.8, +)
14) Windy City Blues (77.2, ++)
15) Maine Guides (75.2, --)
16) New Orleans Voodoo (75.2, --)
17) Washington Bats (75.2, ++)
18) California Kodiaks (49.5, --)
19) Pittsburgh Millers (49.5, -)
20) Syracuse Snappers (45.5, o)
21) Phoenix Roadrunners (24.1, --)
22) Baltimore Bulldogs (19.7, --)
23) Indianapolis Clowns (15.7, --)
24) New York Cyclones (-14.0, --)
Performance of the Week
P Donte' Escarcega - Goodness what a debut. The 25 year old from Chili was the biggest IFA this off-season, and the Philadelphia Freedom won the sweepstakes with a $126m offer over six years. Many wondered across the league just how he would perform in the BLB, but those questions seems to have been answered. In his first start, on opening day, Escarcega blitzed New York with a complete game, one-hit, no walk shutout during a 4-0 Philly win. The only player to get on base was Cyclones DH Sullivan Hazelwood, and that was on a slow roller infield hit. He threw just 102 pitches, faced 28 batters and was literally a strike away from a perfect game.
Prospect of the Week
LF Chase Spiker - The 20 year old has a chance to be a top three pick in this years draft, maybe even first overall. In his senior year at Pacific he's hitting .335/.428/.611 with 12 HR and 27 RBI in 45 games. He also plays both left and right field at a high level, but scouts think he's an even better infielder. Why the Tigers haven't played him there no one knows, but rest assured when he's drafted he'll be getting time at both second and short, where he has DWI level skills to go along with that bat.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. It's good to be back. After a long off-season and spring training, there is nothing better than April baseball. One player we're excited to watch is Montreal's Andy 'Turk' Christman. Picked to win the Stout Slugger by the DK, he's on pace to hit .320 with 116 HR and 231 RBI. We're not sure, but we think those numbers might be enough to win it. In his fifth full season in the league after being the first overall pick of the 2057 draft, Christman has gone to four All-Star games, been named the Designated Driver four times, won the 2063 DWI at catcher, and briefly played during the Exports 2060 championship season. Last season he started out slow, and if you can recall was much maligned in the press. After hitting five home runs and driving in 10 during the first week this season, we haven't heard a peep.
2. It's still baffling to think Donte' Escarcega was one pitch away from a perfect game in his debut start in the BLB. Yes we know, it was in the second inning that Hazelwood beat out an infield roller, but what a performance. Escarcega ended up giving up three runs in the his second start, and taking the loss, but a 1-1 week with a 1.88 ERA isn't too shabby. The crazy thing is that scouts think he can still get better with his control and stuff, which is a scary thought for the rest of the league. He throws 96 mph on the gun, and has four solid pitches, but his ability to limit contact on balls in play is already top of the line. We picked him for New Brew, but maybe Pale Ale would have been smarter.
3. We have no idea why Caron Wilson is on the Kodiaks roster and neither does he. In an interview this past week with the San Jose Times, Wilson was turned into a meme featuring a scene from the movie "Aliens". For those that don't remember the classic from 1986, almost 80 years ago, "at the station's center, the marines discover opened eggs, dead facehuggers, and cocooned colonists serving as incubators for the alien embryos. The marines kill a newborn alien after it bursts through a colonist's chest, rousing several adult aliens who ambush the marines, killing or capturing many." Apparently Wilson is being compared to the poor colonist who said, "kill me" before the alien burst through her chest. The 45 year old Wilson has zero serviceable skills left, and hasn't turned in a + WAR since 2060. His service time of 19 years and 44 days leads the entire league, but sadly is about five years too long. Reports are that Wilson tried to retire this off-season, and the GM refused.
4. On the flip side of this is why in the world is 18 year old Fredrick 'Turf' Palumbo in the BLB? Drafted first overall in 2063, Palumbo made the squad after hitting .250 in Spring Training and striking out 19 times in 75 plate appearances. The critics were ready to yell "told you so" until Palumbo hit .500 with 3 HR and 8 RBI in just six games during opening week. Still though, he's 18 years old. Also scouts around the league believe the kid has tons of room to improve in contact, and thereby won't strike out as much either. The Muckdogs are 4-2 though, and lead the Stout, so maybe they know something we and the rest of the league don't. We just hope this isn't a repeat of Wade 'Bulldozer' Cummins, who also came into the league at 18 years old for Batavia in 2057. It took him until 2062 to become consistent, and in the five seasons to that point posted just a +1.5 WAR overall.
5. What's on tap? How about some interleague fun! The highlight of the week has to Santo Domingo at Seattle, as the two new GM's in the league square off. After the first week they were a combined 12-2, so maybe they can show some of the other long time GM's how it's done.
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Streaking
| Derell Machuca (MON) has a 16 game hitting streak |
| Andy Christman (MON) hit a HR in 3 straight games |
| Richard Sall (LAD) has an RBI in 6 straight games |
Who's Hot
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Stat of the Week
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| Most Consecutive 90 R Seasons (Top 25 Players) |
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