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(AP)
Hartford goes 4-2 on the week and climbs back on top of the mountain after taking two of three from Santo Domingo and two of three from Wilmington. Meanwhile Miami and LAD both went 6-1 to ascend back into the playoff race while Philly went 5-1 to get back to 2nd in the Stout. On the other end of the rainbow Baltimore went 0-6, while California and Syracuse went 1-6. Some team leaders for the week: Seattle crushed 15 HR's, Denver swiped 11 bases, Montreal had a 2.71 ERA and Hartford only gave up 18 runs.
Power Rankings
1) Hartford Whalers (122.0, +)
2) Washington Bats (117.3, o)
3) Montreal Exports (115.1, -)
4) Philadelphia Freedom (114.0, ++)
5) New York Knights (107.3, o)
6) Denver BC (106.5, o)
7) Seattle Pilots (104.4, o)
8) Los Angeles Dinos (100.1, ++)
9) Pittsburgh Millers (98.1, ++)
10) Maine Guides (96.7, --)
11) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (94.1, --)
12) Miami Sharks (93.5, ++)
13) Batavia Red Jackets (92.3, -)
14) New Orleans Dukes (88.4, +)
15) Wilmington Wildcats (84.9, -)
16) Windy City Blues (84.5, --)
17) Toronto Canadians (76.0, ++)
18) Phoenix Roadrunners (73.0, +)
19) Carolina Tobs (73.0, ++)
20) Pawtucket Patriots (72.0, ++)
21) Indianapolis Racers (69.9, --)
22) Syracuse Snappers (65.4, --)
23) Baltimore Bulldogs (53.4, --)
24) California Kodiaks (51.7, -)
Performance of the Week
3B Johnny 'Big Stick' Swope - The Big Stick has been quiet this year after last seasons Triple Crown but on June 21st he crushed Windy City to the tune of three hits, two home runs, nine runs batted in and scoring twice himself. The 15-2 Seattle victory was besides the point as his 110 game score is now seven points higher than 2nd place. On the year Swope is hitting .272 with 15 HR's, 45 RBI's and a 2.5 WAR.
Injury of the Week
RF Gil Banda - On June 20th the right fielder for Baltimore was on 2nd in the bottom of the 7th when Tom 'Cookie' Clark hit a single. Banda got to 3rd and was waved home and in a photo finish play at the plate was called safe. Unfortunately when he got up he hobbled to the dugout and was replaced in center the next inning. An MRI was negative for major damage but a sprained knee should keep him out for at least a month. He's known for getting nicked up a lot due to his aggressive play and his intelligence will be missed in the outfield. On the year he is hitting .299 with a combined +3.1 ZR in the outfield.
Prospect of the Week
P Barton Mejia - The Windy City scouting discovery out of Guatemala in 2030 has turned into one of the best prospects in the BLB. At 18 years old he throws a 95 mph cutter as well as a nasty forkball. At 6'2 and 180 pounds he has room at grow and scouts say he's "a baseball rat, he's the first one to the park and the last one to leave." Give that scout a raise.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. That smoke coming out of Baltimore's new team jet isn't a mechanical failure, it's their GM burning up the trade lines and blowing up the team. After going 83-79 last season and making the playoffs for the 11th straight season the Bulldogs are 27-42 in the Stout and 18.5 games out of 1st...and it's not even the All-Star break yet. For a GM with a career .543 winning percentage, 25 playoff appearances, and a Brewmaster's title we think change is coming, and current manager TJ Rowe might be one of the first to get his walking papers.
2. The strange homecoming of Jimmy Maggio has worked out well for the Millers. Drafted by Pittsburgh in the 2nd round of the 2014 draft he was traded in 2015 to Pawtucket in the Johnny Talley trade. In 2016 he was then traded to Death Valley where he worked his way up to AAA and finished 2nd in the 2018 FF Outstanding Pitcher Award after going 12-2 with a 2.75 ERA. He then won nine games for DV in 2019, 11 games in 2020 and 6 in 2021 before being traded to Batavia before spring training of 2022. After the 2025 season he was traded by Batavia to Philadelphia and went 13-8 in 2028 before becoming a free agent and signing a three year contract with Indianapolis. He was traded to Maine in August that season, signed an extension with them in 2028 and then was traded in 2029 back to Death Valley. Two months later he was traded to New Orleans where he signed a one year extension in January of 2031 before being placed on waivers in June. Pittsburgh claimed him, brought him back home and he's now 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA.
3. Last season Robby Brooksher of LAD played center field and posted a -8.4 ZR in 113 games while hitting .297 with 26 HR's, 90 RBI's and a 3.2 WAR. This season he's been strictly in left field where he has posted a +4.6 ZR in 66 games while hitting .301 with 18 HR's and 43 RBI's while already accumulating a 3.3 WAR. It looks like at 29 his days in center are over but his days of impacting a team are not. The Dino's have the leagues best record this month at 15-6, are now only two games back for the final wildcard spot, and have a playoff percentage probability of nearly 40%.
4. RJ Blewett for Phoenix is one of the better young hitting catchers in the league. At 24 years old he's hitting .307/.365/.442 with a 1.6 WAR. Last season he hit .303 with 19 HR's and a 3.6 WAR. The only issue is teams are stealing bases on him at an unprecedented rate. Sixty-one times a runner has tried to steal on him, 2nd most in the league, and 57 of those times the runner has been successful. His 6.6% RTO rate is unheard of and his 5.18 CERA is tops in the league. The last two seasons his RTO hovered around 30% and team officials aren't really sure what the issue seems to be this season.
5. Jimmy Jeffs (SEA) and Ian James (SDRR) continue to lead their respective leagues in All-Star votes. The game jerseys this season have gone retro as throwbacks to the leagues very first All-Star game in 1923 were modeled from an old photo found of the original commissioner, J. Allen Wright.
Stat of the Week
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| More Strikeouts Than Hits Allowed (Top 25 Players) |
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