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06/15/2065
The angry whale is no more as the Dallas Drillers take over the top spot in the Power Rankings after a 6-0 week. Thanks to sweeps of Batavia and Denver, the Drillers are now 41-24 and just a game back in the Lager from number two in the Power Rankings, the Santo Domingo Rum Runners. Throw in New Orleans, who also went 6-0 thanks to sweeping Carolina and Philly, and the Lager is straight fire right now. Wait...we forgot to mention Wilmington is also hot, hot, hot...as they are 9-1 over their last 10. Goodness all hail the Lager Lords. Some teams that aren't so hot were Denver and New York, who each went 1-5 against their Domestic foes. The good news is that both teams are 31-34, and in the parity of the BLB that means they are right in the thick of it.
Power Rankings
1) Dallas Drillers (125.6, ++)
2) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (119.3, +)
3) Seattle Pilots (118.3, -)
4) Hartford Whalers (115.1, --)
5) Windy City Blues (110.8, -)
6) Wilmington Wildcats (109.8, o)
7) New Orleans Voodoo (108.8, ++)
8) Carolina Tobs (98.3, o)
9) Los Angeles Dinos (97.8, -)
10) Montreal Exports (97.1, -)
11) Toronto Canadians (91.6, -)
12) California Kodiaks (88.6, -)
13) Philadelphia Freedom (84.9, +)
14) Denver Bulls (82.9, -)
15) New York Cyclones (80.9, +)
16) Washington Bats (80.0, +)
17) Batavia Muckdogs (79.4, --)
18) Pittsburgh Millers (77.3, +)
19) Indianapolis Clowns (74.8, -)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (71.7, o)
21) Baltimore Bulldogs (68.3, o)
22) Syracuse Snappers (65.3, +)
23) Maine Guides (62.4, -)
24) Phoenix Roadrunners (60.1, o)
Performance of the Week
RF Nathan Stiso - The Voodoo absolutely blitzed the Freedom last week, while Stisco turning in the second best hitting performance of the season on the 8th, while Andy Bernard turned in the third best on the 9th. Stiso is a 27 year old former first round pick in his fifth full season for New Orleans. He made his first All-Star game last season, and is on pace this year to put up a career high 5.5 WAR. On the 8th, during a 9-1 victory, he smashed three home runs and drove in six. He's currently hitting .312 with 22 HR and 49 RBI and is easily on pace to make it back-to-back in All-Star appearances.
Prospect of the Week
CF Preston Trouten - The top hitting prospect in the land belongs to the Freedom, where he just made his AAA debut with the Comets. In four games he hit .500 with 1 HR, 4 RBI, 2 SB and was 15 for 16 in the field. Scouts love his power potential and believe he's an impact center fielder. Looks like injury prone Rob 'Hit Squad' Morris' and his days of lackluster CF play for the Freedom might be coming to a close. This season 'Hit Squad' has played in 24 games in center and put up a -7.0 ZR. Probably because he's too busy looking over his shoulder at the jumbotron to see how Trouten has been playing.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Dallas, as mentioned above, is 41-24 and just a game back in the Lager thanks to an offense that is churning out home runs. Currently they have a league leading 118 dingers, or exactly double the last place Snappers. Not a lot of slamming for the former Slammers. Well anyway back on track. The Drillers also post the only .500 SLG in the league and lead the league with an .830 OPS. They have five players with double digit home runs, with second year player Vince 'Mungo' Tanner leading the team with 22. The favorite for Domestic New Brew is hitting .278 and has played both third and left field this season. No slouch on the mound, the Drillers are first in the Domestic in opponents average and strikeouts, and fourth in runs allowed. With a +16.49 ZR they are a top five defensive team to go along with that hitting and pitching. Did we mention they have the top ranked farm system too? Sounds like a winning combination to us.
2. Tanner isn't the only guy hitting the ball deep as seven players have 21 or more home runs, which as of now means seven players are projected to hit 52 or more by seasons end. The bottom of that list is held by none other than Montreal bum Andy 'Turk' Christman, who's projected to hit .314 with 52 HR and put up a career high 8.0 WAR. On the top is Andy Bernard who has 24 home runs to his name and is projected to reach 60. The last time the BLB saw 60 was back in 2031 when Turell 'Two Ton' Morris hit 61, which was the year after he hit 69. What wild times those were. Back on track...again. To have seven for a shot at 50+ is special, especially considering hitting 50+ home runs has happened only 29 times in the history of the league (not counting 60+ by 'Two Ton'), by just 20 different players.
3. The players that lead their respective league in batting average, Wilmington's Logan Kennedy and Washington's Alec Echard are both rookies and both just 22 years old. Kennedy was a first-round pick just two years ago in 2063, while Echard was a typical Washington fifth round pick back in 2060. Kennedy was a 2x NCAA All-Star for California, who hit .349/.433/.625 with 41 HR and 131 RBI in 144 total games. Echard was a high school All-Star who hit .340/.420/.579 with 33 HR and 103 RBI in 151 total games. Apparently, those "feeder league" stats do matter!
4. It shouldn't be long though before Hartford star Blake Bateman takes that title from Kennedy. In 45 games this season he's hitting .384/.430/.692 with 10 HR and 26 RBI, while on pace for a 7.1 WAR. The fourth overall pick of the 2061 draft is in his fourth year, with his only know being that he's considered to be injury prone. Thus, the reason he's not leading the league currently because he missed from May 27th to June 10th with a hamstring pull. Considering he's a 2x All-Star and 3x Designated driver at third, the Whalers want him healthy. He's also in the midst of a 25-game hitting streak which started April 30th against New Orleans. At that point he was hitting .317. We did the math and when you hit .436 for 25 straight games, you're gonna be at, or near, the top of the league.
5. What's on tap? Top billing this week goes to Hartford at Santo Domingo, as the two top teams in the BLB meet. The Whalers won the first series 3-1 yet were outscored a single run over the four games. They were trounced the first game of the series 9-2, then won game two 4-3 after scoring two in the ninth, won game three 3-2 after scoring two in the ninth, then won game four 8-4 after scoring five in the ninth. Sounds like the Rum Runners have bullpen issues. They are second overall in the Domestic in starters ERA, and seventh in relievers ERA, so it is a weakness for now.
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Streaking
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| Dallas visits Wilmington on a 6-game win streak |
| New Orleans hosts Santo Domingo on a 6-game win streak |
| Blake Bateman (HAR) has a 25 game hitting streak |
| Frank Glass (BAT) has a 12 game hitting streak |
| Alex Cain (DEN) hit a HR in 3 straight games |
| Micah Lumsden (SDR) has an RBI in 6 straight games |
| Martin Bowden (SDR) has converted 11 straight save opportunities |
| Shane Hellman (TOR) has won 8 straight decisions |
| Shane Hellman (TOR) hasn't lost in 10 straight starts |
Who's Hot
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| Players With Home Runs As Their Only Hits (Top 25 Players) |
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