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07/06/2054
The Rum Runners go ballistic with their bats as they hit .344 and score 53 runs over seven games while going 6-1. What's surprising is when you average over 7.5 runs a game and you actually go 6-1, instead of 7-0. Other top weeks were Phoenix, Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Denver who all went 5-2. On the flip side Toronto and New York went 1-6, while New Orleans, California, Indy, and Maine all went 2-5.
Power Rankings
1) Washington Bats (120.4, +)
2) Dallas Drillers (117.1, -)
3) Denver Bulls (110.7, ++)
4) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (110.6, ++)
5) Seattle Pilots (109.2, -)
6) Carolina Tobs (105.9, +)
7) Pawtucket Patriots (104.7, -)
8) Wilmington Wildcats (102.7, +)
9) California Kodiaks (102.1, --)
10) Windy City Blues (100.4, +)
11) Indianapolis Clowns (97.6, --)
12) Hartford Whalers (94.4, -)
13) Syracuse Snappers (93.1, +)
14) Los Angeles Dinos (92.2, --)
15) Pittsburgh Millers (92.2, -)
16) Baltimore Bulldogs (82.8, o)
17) Montreal Exports (82.1, ++)
18) New Orleans Voodoo (77.5, -)
19) Phoenix Roadrunners (70.6, ++)
20) Batavia Muckdogs (69.3, +)
21) New York Cyclones (67.0, --)
22) Maine Guides (65.3, --)
23) Toronto Canadians (47.2, o)
24) Philadelphia Freedom (46.9, o)
Season Elo
| 1 | Washington | IL | 54-31 | 1586.5 | ||||||
| 2 | Dallas | DL | 52-33 | 1565.1 | ||||||
| 3 | Seattle | IL | 53-32 | 1559.8 | ||||||
| 4 | California | IL | 48-35 | 1544.5 | ||||||
| 5 | Pawtucket | DL | 47-37 | 1527.3 | ||||||
| 6 | Denver | IL | 51-35 | 1524.2 | ||||||
| 7 | Carolina | IL | 48-36 | 1521.2 | ||||||
| 8 | Wilmington | DL | 50-36 | 1520.9 | ||||||
| 9 | Santo Domingo | DL | 48-37 | 1520.8 | ||||||
| 10 | Indianapolis | DL | 48-37 | 1518.9 | ||||||
| 11 | Pittsburgh | DL | 44-41 | 1517.9 | ||||||
| 12 | Hartford | DL | 44-39 | 1515.7 | ||||||
| 13 | Los Angeles | IL | 44-41 | 1512.0 | ||||||
| 14 | New Orleans | DL | 38-47 | 1507.0 | ||||||
| 15 | Baltimore | IL | 41-44 | 1501.3 | ||||||
| 16 | Syracuse | DL | 43-42 | 1498.7 | ||||||
| 17 | Windy City | IL | 46-39 | 1496.7 | ||||||
| 18 | Maine | DL | 34-53 | 1476.5 | ||||||
| 19 | Montreal | DL | 36-47 | 1468.9 | ||||||
| 20 | Batavia | IL | 34-53 | 1439.3 | ||||||
| 21 | New York | IL | 34-51 | 1434.8 | ||||||
| 22 | Phoenix | IL | 31-54 | 1434.2 | ||||||
| 23 | Toronto | DL | 27-58 | 1423.3 | ||||||
| 24 | Philadelphia | IL | 23-60 | 1383.7 |
Performance of the Week
Amric Robinson - The big free agent pickup of the off-season continues to pay dividends for the Rum Runners. This past week against Maine he smacked two home runs, drove in six, and scored twice in an 11-5 victory. He's now hitting .329 with 24 HRs and 54 RBIs while posting a career best 165 OPS+.
Prospect of the Week
P Tucker Key - The 20 year old was the third overall pick of the draft and is settling in nicely in Philly's Rookie League team, the Raleigh Oaks. He made his first start on Saturday where he went seven innings, allowed only one run, walked one, and struck out nine. So for in five appearances he has a 0.75 ERA, 16 K's, and only two walks. He did already pitch 60 innings this season with Pacific in the NCAA, so it will interesting to see if Philly shuts him down sooner than later.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. The month of June ends and the Washington Bats are sad to see it go as they were 20-8, the leagues best. Their offense led the way as their 151 runs scored was first, thanks in part to their 54 home runs, which were 15 more than second place. Next up was the Dallas Drillers who went 19-9. The zoomed past the Wildcats to take the lead in the Lager. The other top teams were Denver and Indy, who went 19-10 and 18-10 respectively. Denver had the third best ERA of the month at 3.28, while Indy used their month to move to first in the Ale. On the other end Toronto and Philly both went 6-22 to be the only non double digit winners in June. Mama said there would be months like this.
2. Charlie Spence has become the man. After going 9-9 with a 3.85 ERA as a rookie, he went 11-12 with a 3.81 ERA last season. This year he's now 10-3 with a 2.99 ERA and just took the Pitcher of the Month. During June he was 5-1 with a 2.68 ERA and stuck out double digit batters in four of those starts, including a 15 K and 17 K performance. Picked 10th overall in 2047, the 24 year old could tag-team with Evan Turner to lead the Tobs to the postseason for the next decade.
3. Pat Trumbo had quite the week. Yesterday he had two hits, pushing him over 1000 for his career. Today he was selected the IL Player of the Week after hitting .452 with 1 HR and 9 RBI's. Then just a tad ago he was named in a trade that is sending him from the desert to the Northeast to play for Pawtucket. Drafted 15th overall in 2041 by Baltimore he became a free agent and signed with Phoenix in 2052. He's never once been named to an All-Star team, or won any hardware, but his work ethic and intelligence have made him a fan favorite. He's a solid corner outfielder with speed for days, and this season he's hitting .280/.327/.444 with 8 HRs and 41 RBI's in 77 games.
4. Seattle's Joseph Brandon has a 28 game hitting streak going that has only bumped his average up from .327 to .328. We suppose when you're getting a hit almost one out of every three at bats to start with, it's hard to improve upon. The 22 year old was Seattle's first round pick in 2049, made his BLB debut in 2052, and is already in his third season. He's a phenomenal left fielder who is known for his ability to put the bat on the ball, and not strike out. That's a pretty good combination. Two more hits and Brandon's 30 game streak would be a major accomplishment as only 25 players in the history of the league have reached that plateau before.
5. What's on tap? How about some interleague series that we can't wait to watch. First up is Indy at Seattle, two first place teams. The Clowns haven't had a winning season since 2048 when they won 91 games. It looks like times are a changing. From 2050 to 2053 they won 63, 65, 76, and then 80 games. They are predicted to win around 87 games this season so the growth continues. Meanwhile Seattle has become a powerhouse, again. They are 53-32, have the second best record in the league, and will go to the playoffs for the sixth straight season. In the IL they are first in hits, fourth in runs scored, first in hits allowed, and second in runs allowed. The next fun match-up is Wilmington at Washington. Are the Wildcats for real...or will the Bats bring them back to reality? The Wildcats have actually taken four of the last five games they played dating back to 2052. Can they continue the streak? Finally we get Pawtucket at Denver. The Patriots have slowly rebounded from their opening season swoon to be 10 games over .500 and only a half game back from the Clowns. Meanwhile Denver is one of the big surprises of the season. At 51-35 they are only 2.5 back from Seattle, and they are also fantastic at home. So far at Rocky Top Park they are 36-13, the best home record in the league by far. Pawtucket meanwhile is 23-22 on the road.
Stat of the Week
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| Youngest Player To Lead The League (Top 25 Players) |
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