Tweet
06/22/2065
The Rum Runners have finally found an organizational plan again, and at 47-25 they now boast the best record in all the league. After a slew of teams went 5-2, including SDR, they used three wins against Hartford and two against New Orleans to propel them to first in the Power Rankings. They hold a slim two game lead over Dallas in the Lager, but for a team that has been to the playoffs once since 2059 the fans are loving it. The other members of the 5-2 club were Cali, Windy City, Philly, and Maine. Windy City now leads the Bock, Cali is finally over .500, Philly is at .500, and Maine is nine out in the Domestic Wild Card race. On the other side of the tracks was poor New York who went 0-7. Can they rebound like last time when they started out the season 0-7? They need to because they are having a June for the ages. Currently they are 3-16 and have posted a 6.50 ERA for the month. Yikes!
Power Rankings
1) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (122.5, +)
2) Windy City Blues (120.4, ++)
3) Dallas Drillers (115.5, -)
4) Seattle Pilots (111.5, -)
5) Wilmington Wildcats (106.8, +)
6) Hartford Whalers (104.6, -)
7) New Orleans Voodoo (98.0, o)
8) California Kodiaks (97.5, ++)
9) Los Angeles Dinos (96.0, o)
10) Montreal Exports (95.1, o)
11) Carolina Tobs (94.7, --)
12) Philadelphia Freedom (92.0, +)
13) Denver Bulls (87.7, +)
14) Toronto Canadians (86.7, --)
15) Batavia Muckdogs (83.2, +)
16) Washington Bats (82.4, o)
17) Pawtucket Patriots (80.6, ++)
18) Pittsburgh Millers (76.8, o)
19) Indianapolis Clowns (75.2, o)
20) Maine Guides (73.5, ++)
21) Baltimore Bulldogs (69.0, o)
22) New York Cyclones (62.6, --)
23) Syracuse Snappers (62.5, -)
24) Phoenix Roadrunners (61.9, o)
Performance of the Week
SP Dave Hunt - He turned in two top performances this week, the first on June 15th against Indy, the second on June 20th against New Orleans. Over those two starts he went 15.3 innings, allowed no runs, struck out 18, and only went 1-0. In the first game Maine won in the 13th inning 1-0, and in the second game Maine won in nine by the score of 1-0. Now that's some run support! What did the Guides promptly do with the hot Hunt, they traded him to Pawtucket for a cornucopia of picks. At 33 years old he's one of the best pitchers in the game, but we'll see how he fares on the 31-41 Patriots. Pawtucket does have the leagues worst PYT at -7, so maybe 'Lucky Dave' will bring them some magic.
Prospect of the Week
SP Andy 'Conman' Blake - The 21 year old was a second round pick last season where he went from Texas A&M to the Rookie League to A ball. He's now back in the Rookie League where he's 5-0 with a 2.27 ERA in six starts. He currently throws an unheard of seven pitches, and has "great command on the mound" accordingly to scouts. If he can improve on a pitch or two to give him a dominant go-to, he "could work his way into the rotation" according to the OSA. Well that's not very supportive, but then again we don't really put a lot of faith in the OSA anymore.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. When is the last time the Philadelphia Freedom finished with a winning record? If you guessed 14 seasons ago you are correct. Currently Philly is 36-36, and has a 67% chance of making the postseason according to our friends at Stats+. Led by slugger Walter Muller (.262/.415/.589, 19 HR) they are an all offense team who is first in the Import in average, slugging, OBS, extra base hits, home runs, and runs scored. We did the math and if they weren't 10th in hits allowed and 8th in runs allowed, we're pretty sure they'd be above .500. Part of their pitching issue is they still have the second worst defense according to ZR, coming it at -23.02. Rob 'Hit Squad' Morris is responsible for almost half of that as his lackluster center field play continues to inspire no one. A few quick roster moves, and maybe a trade, and this team is breaking that postseason drought.
2. The other team who hasn't seen the playoffs since 2052 is Batavia. The Muckdogs and Freedom both went in 2052, and neither have posted a winning record since. No wonder the playoff scene in the Stout has been Washington, Carolina, Baltimore, New York for the last decade. Batavia though is opposite of Philly; they can pitch but they can't hit. They are last in the Import in runs scored, 11th in home runs, and 10th in hits. Meanwhile they are fourth in hits allowed, walks, and runs allowed. Maybe we could combine the two teams and form a super team? The Muckdogs only have two players with double digit home runs, with one of them being 19 year old Fredrick 'Turf' Palumbo. To be fair he held his own at second, where he's posted a +2.4 ZR, but he's now playing DH while hitting just .268 with 11 HR and 11 stolen bases. There must be another big bat out there somewhere, just waiting to help lead the 34-37 Muckdogs back to postseason glory.
3. Hartford hasn't got a lot of press this season, as they are quietly running roughshod over the poor Ale. At 44-27 they have the fourth best record in the league and a 13.0 game lead in the division. Their offense is second in hits and runs scored, while their bullpen is first in ERA and they're tied for second in runs allowed. From 2057 to 2063 they finished last in the Ale four times, and didn't make it once to the postseason. They did what losing teams are supposed to do though and rebuilt through the draft. Levi Lane is just 23 years old and on track to make his third straight All-Star game, Blake Bateman is 24 years old and will play in his third All-Star game in four years, and Deontae Dennis is 23 years old and on pace to put up an 8.0 WAR while hitting 25 home runs, stealing 40 bases, and patrolling center field. All three of these guys were top five picks in 2061, 2062, and 2063. If you want to win, and you have a top pick, you go with the sure thing...and that's hitters coming out of college. These guys are projected to add almost 20 WAR this season, and the main reason the Whalers should dominate the Ale for years to come.
4. With a complete revamp of their minor leagues (from 7-53 in April to 99-69 in May/June), and slowly rebuilding their BLB team, the Roadrunners are in danger of losing next year’s top pick. At 24-48 they only hold a three game 'lead' on Syracuse but are still favored in Stats+ plus to take home the prize. As we just talked about above though, a top pick isn't all that it's cracked up to be, especially if you go after pitching. The Roadrunners last four first round picks have been pitchers, the one before that was a high school shortstop, and the one before that was a college hitter. Sadly only that college hitter, Devon Cundiff, has turned into anything. And by turned into anything he became a 6x All-Star and 2x Stout Slugger. He also appears to be on the trade block, and all though his $26m salary is a bit steep, the Roadrunners have let agents know they are willing to take on at least half of it. Back to drafting though as the jury is still out on those pitchers, Cole Carter, Andy Phillips Jr., Franklin 'Snake Hips' Pennell, and Max 'Splatter' Burns. They are young, and still have time to grow, but the conclusion has to be if you want to win and win soon, there is no such thing as a pitching prospect.
5. What's on tap? Denver faces the 'mids' this week as they host Washington then travel to California. The Bulls swept the Bats earlier this season in four games but are 1-5 against the Kodiaks. All three teams are battling in the Import Wild Card race, and it's never too soon to set the tone. Another big series is Philly at Carolina. They are 3-3 this season against each other even with Philly holding a +7 run advantage. With the Freedom down only three in the Stout, a good week would put them over .500 and possible give them the division lead in late June.
.
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| 3 games starting with: | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
Streaking
.
| Frank Glass (BAT) has a 18 game hitting streak |
|
| Alex Cain (DEN) has a 13 game hitting streak |
|
| Nelson Chandler (PHI) scored in 7 straight games |
|
| Joseph Olsen (BAL) hit a HR in 3 straight games |
|
| Alex Cain (DEN) has an RBI in 6 straight games |
|
| Martin Bowden (SDR) has converted 13 straight save opportunities |
|
|
|
| Shane Hellman (TOR) hasn't lost in 11 straight starts |
.
| Hot Batters | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Hot Pitchers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| Worst Records To Make The Postseason (Top 25 Teams) |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|