The 2038 Daily Key - Week 19

[Matt]

08/16/2038

(AP)

The Racers go 6-1 after dominating Syracuse with a four game sweep then taking two of three from Santo Domingo. Indianapolis is now only 1.5 games behind New Orleans in the Lager and their 72 wins is tied with Hartford for the third most in the league. Other nice weeks were Washington and Maine who each went 5-2. The YOTB continues to roll on as Washington is now 83-38 and has a +270 run differential. Syracuse was once again at the bottom as they were swept by Indy and Maine and are 22-99 on the season and 50.5 games out of first in the Ale.

Power Rankings

1) Washington Bats (124.5, o)
2) Indianapolis Racers (117.0, +)
3) Seattle Pilots (111.3, o)
4) Carolina Tobs (109.5, -)
5) Hartford Whalers (109.0, +)
6) New Orleans Voodoo (107.1, o)
7) Los Angeles Dinos (104.2, -)
8) California Kodiaks (103.5, o)
9) Denver Bulls (100.5, ++)
10) Toronto Canadians (100.0, -)
11) Miami Sharks (93.0, +)
12) Pittsburgh Millers (91.8, +)
13) Windy City Blues (91.5, --)
14) Wilmington Clowns (91.4, +)
15) Batavia Red Jackets (88.7, --)
16) Philadelphia Freedom (79.8, -)
17) Phoenix Roadrunners (79.0, ++)
18) Montreal Exports (78.0, -)
19) Pawtucket Patriots (75.8, ++)
20) Baltimore Bulldogs (74.5, -)
21) Maine Guides (71.0, +)
22) New York Knights (70.6, -)
23) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (70.3, --)
24) Syracuse Snappers (17.7, o)

Performance of the Week

1B Pat Branum - The 30 year old has played for the Racers his entire career after being drafted in the 1st round of the 2028 draft. He's played the 3rd most games and is the all-time home run leader for the franchise. On August 14th against Syracuse he continued to stretch that lead with a two home run, five RBI performance in an unbelievable 21-0 victory. On the season he's hitting .267/.319/.483 with 23 HR's and 65 RBI's.

Injury of the Week

CF Jordan 'Rascal' Reeves - The gods were kind to the BLB this week as there were no long term injuries. The only one of concern was when 'Rascal' got beaned by Baltimore's Dave Behymer on August 12th on the 3rd pitch of the game. Reeves lay motionless on the ground for several minutes and Blues fans feared the worst. He left the game but was diagnosed with only a sore shoulder and will be day to day for a week.

Prospect of the Week

P Evan McCaslin - The former 1st round pick of the Bats in 2037 was traded to SDR in the Kevin Alston deal in June. He is the #33 overall prospect in the league and in A ball this season is 9-1 with a 2.04 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. He throws upper 90's with a fastball, change-up and splitter and has the stamina to go all night long. In his latest start though on August 7th he left the game with elbow inflammation and sources tell us he'll probably be shut down for the remainder of the season.

Five Things We Think We Think

1. It looks like JJ Plumley is getting back on track as Wilmington is ready to explode for their yearly end of season run. Currently they trail the Millers by only 3.5 games for the final DL wildcard spot and are 8-6 this month. On August 10th Plumley once again showed Pittsburgh who their daddy is with a 7.1 inning, 16 strikeout, one run performance in a 4-1 victory. To follow it up on August 15th he went 8.2 innings against Santo Domingo while striking out 12 and allowing two runs in a 7-2 victory. Two games, 16 innings, 28 K's, 1.69 ERA.

2. Tom Amesbury of Batavia has been on a hot streak as of late since his last loss...which was May 16! Over that time he's pitched in 33 games while going 3-0 with 20 saves and a 0.71 ERA. At only 26 years old he's turned into one of the top closers in the league.

3. The minor leagues are winding down their respective seasons. In the RL there are three weeks left. In A-AAA there are four weeks left. The best records in the leagues belong to the Cleveland Bobcats (Sea - R), Reading Railers (Pit - A), Washington Oaks (Sea- AA), and Vancouver Thunderbirds (Sea - AAA).

4. We talked about Plumley earlier and even at 10-8 with a 3.95 ERA and 1.14 WHIP he leads the DL with a 6.1 WAR. Not too shabby until you look in the IL at Barton Mejia. He's now 15-3 with a 1.80 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and 200 K's. All that adds up to an amazing 8.1 WAR and he could reach 11.0 on the season. Only 10 pitchers have ever reach 10.0 WAR in a single season. See the Stat of the Week below for who.

5. The YOTB has one Achilles heal...the California Kodiaks. The Bats are 1-7 against California and 82-31 against the rest of the league. They square off this week in Washington for three games and the Bats will be looking to make a statement.


Stat of the Week
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Rnk	Player	Team	Pos	Age	Year	G	GS	W	L	SV	ERA	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	HLD	CG	SHO	WHIP	WAR ▾	WAR
1	Joe Ponte+ .	CAR .	SP .	23 .	1979 .	35 .	35 .	18 .	8 .	0	1.88 .	240.0 .	202 .	60 .	50 .	1 .	25 .	221 .	0 .	2 .	0 .	0.95 .	11.8 .	11.8 .
2	Joe Aurillo+	PHI	SP	24	1984	32	32	19	7	0	1.73	223.3	164	55	43	4	35	280	0	3	3	0.89	11.3	11.3
3	Pancho Herrera	VIR	SP	26	1994	27	27	17	2	0	1.10	204.3	125	31	25	5	13	221	0	3	2	0.68	10.7	10.7
4	David Rumsey	HYU	SP	34	1978	36	36	20	9	0	2.93	273.7	228	94	89	11	81	319	0	9	1	1.13	10.6	10.6
5	Joe Chavarraga+	WAS	SP	35	1984	33	33	20	3	0	1.93	243.0	178	59	52	10	45	280	0	3	1	0.92	10.4	10.4
6	Mutsohito Kuramochi	SYR	SP	36	1978	36	36	21	8	0	2.30	294.0	250	84	75	21	37	283	0	15	4	0.98	10.1	10.1
7	Pancho Herrera	VIR	SP	29	1997	32	32	19	6	0	2.43	229.3	195	63	62	15	9	238	0	3	3	0.89	10.1	10.1
8	Joe Chavarraga+	WAS	SP	34	1983	33	31	20	4	0	1.81	234.0	155	54	47	8	51	272	2	7	3	0.88	10.0	10.0
9	Pancho Herrera	VIR	SP	31	1999	32	32	22	6	0	1.99	235.0	178	56	52	10	23	220	0	2	1	0.86	10.0	10.0
10	Donato Guardamagni+	LOS	SP	29	1986	32	31	14	7	1	1.88	215.7	172	52	45	9	34	267	0	3	1	0.96	10.0	10.0

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[Delandis]

Tell that Rascal stop crowding the plate.

[PaulC]

That would give Mejia the best legitimate season in over 40 years! Wow!