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8/24/2054
The Exports are the greatest team in the BLB...well at least for the week. After sweeping Toronto and taking three of four against Indy they led the league with a 6-1 record and a +12.0 in the ELO. Following close behind was Pittsburgh who went 5-1. The Millers are now 14-7 in August and only 3.5 back from Pawtucket in the Ale. Other winning weeks were had by Wilmington, Baltimore, Denver, New York and Carolina who all went 4-2. On the other side of life Toronto went 1-5. Don't look now but Philly might not be last in the rankings for long.
ELO Rankings
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| 1 | Washington | IL | 83-43 | 0.3 | 1607.7 | |||||
| 2 | Dallas | DL | 78-49 | 6.2 | 1565.4 | |||||
| 3 | Carolina | IL | 76-50 | -2.2 | 1547.1 | |||||
| 4 | Pawtucket | DL | 72-54 | -0.9 | 1543.3 | |||||
| 5 | Seattle | IL | 72-55 | -0.6 | 1541.5 | |||||
| 6 | Pittsburgh | DL | 69-58 | 11.7 | 1539.0 | |||||
| 7 | Los Angeles | IL | 71-56 | 2.5 | 1537.2 | |||||
| 8 | California | IL | 70-55 | 3.7 | 1533.6 | |||||
| 9 | Denver | IL | 71-55 | 4.0 | 1524.6 | |||||
| 10 | Wilmington | DL | 70-56 | 3.5 | 1522.5 | |||||
| 11 | Syracuse | DL | 68-58 | 0.6 | 1520.4 | |||||
| 12 | Indianapolis | DL | 69-57 | -12.4 | 1512.9 | |||||
| 13 | Hartford | DL | 65-60 | -5.9 | 1511.8 | |||||
| 14 | Santo Domingo | DL | 66-60 | 1.2 | 1506.7 | |||||
| 15 | Baltimore | IL | 64-62 | 0.2 | 1501.0 | |||||
| 16 | Windy City | IL | 66-60 | -9.8 | 1500.4 | |||||
| 17 | New Orleans | DL | 56-70 | -5.8 | 1485.7 | |||||
| 18 | Montreal | DL | 56-69 | 12.0 | 1476.6 | |||||
| 19 | New York | IL | 58-69 | 3.8 | 1476.5 | |||||
| 20 | Maine | DL | 50-77 | -6.5 | 1470.3 | |||||
| 21 | Batavia | IL | 47-80 | -0.2 | 1417.7 | |||||
| 22 | Phoenix | IL | 42-84 | -1.7 | 1395.0 | |||||
| 23 | Toronto | DL | 37-90 | -3.7 | 1381.6 | |||||
| 24 | Philadelphia | IL | 38-87 | 0.0 | 1380.6 |
Performance of the Week
C Adrien Burshteyn - The 29 year old is having his 'Jett Spear year' for the Drillers and this past week turned in the 21st best hitting performance of the season. Against Hartford he smashed two home runs, drove in three, and scored three times in a 12-10 victory. The 3x All-Star is now hitting .378/.423/.532 with 9 HRs and 52 RBIs while posting a 4.3 WAR. His previous high was a 2.0 WAR in 2052 when he was an All-Star with the Cyclones.
Prospect of the Week
3B Ja'Quan McLaren - The 23 year old is angry he's still in AAA for the Drillers, and rightfully so. The 2051 second round pick was an AAA All-Star, named to the Futures Game, and is hitting .289 with 12 HRs, 49 RBIs, and 14 SBs in 107 games. Scouts think he is a franchise third basemen, and he looks more than ready to come up and play with the big boys. It's not can he he supplant Speer at third, it's just when.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. We talked about it last week, but congrats to lifelong Miller starter Cordarius Gomez for picking up his 200th career win. Many thought he had no chance of reaching that milestone after announcing his retirement at the seasons beginning. At 39 years old, and barely topping 90 mph on the gun, the days of him striking out opponent after opponent are over. He started off the season at 5-1 though and managed to get the 12 wins needed to get to 200. He's the Millers all-time leader in games started, wins, strikeouts and pitching WAR, and the 38th player in the history of the league to reach 200 wins.
2. The Bats are 15th in the league in total hits, yet their 643 runs are 40 more than second place Syracuse. It's probably due to the fact that they have smashed 195 home runs, 12 more than second and 77 above the league average. They have eight hitters with double digit home runs, with two of them having 30 or more. Those two, Parker Lee and Neall Rabah, are two of the five total in the league with 30+, and are just crushing opponent pitching as the Bats go for the three-peat.
3. The Dinos traded away starters Dwan Tamarovsky, Cole Socia, Landon Tolleson, and Josiah White recently, and starter Neall Rabah at the beginning of the year. They are now 71-56, 16-6 in August and have an 87.5% of making the postseason. Offensively they aren't very good, but they rely on the time tested formula of pitching and defense. Their opponents OBP of .306 is third overall, while they have given up only 499 runs, second in the league. Defensively they have a ZR of +47.59. Second place Seattle is at +34.52, and the league average is +4.39. Did we mention their base running? They have a wSB of +19.22, first in the league as well. With 222 stolen bases at an 84.1% success rate they are second to Dallas in stolen bases, and second to Denver in success rate.
4. Seattle pitcher Paycen Bemis is now 15-2 with a 1.80 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 224 ERA+...and 2.6 WAR? Breaking it down it looks like Bemis is having a year for the ages, in luck. His BABIP is .262 (2nd overall), his quality start percentage is .583 (27th overall), his SIERA is 3.12 (28th overall), his BB/9 is 2.8 (50th overall), and his K/BB is 3.4 (40th overall). Regardless of whatever the reason, he's second in the league in wins and has helped Seattle hold on to the Bock lead for most of the season. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
5. What's on tap? We should get some movement in the wildcard this week as LAD travels to Cali (LAD 5-1 season series), Syracuse travels to Pittsburgh (Syr .500 on the road), and Hartford goes to Indy (Indy 38-24 at home). Streak wise the Millers have won five straight, Neall Rabah (WAS) has a 15 game hitting streak, Dane Jennings (SDR) has a 14 game hitting streak, Riley Geerdes (PIT) has won 8 straight decisions, and Cade Hogan (PAW) hasn't lost in 13 starts.
Stat of the Week
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Top Seasonal Player Payroll Leaders From 1978 to 2053
| Rnk | Team | Year | Gate | Media | Merch | Players ▾ |
| 1 | Denver BC | 2031 | $21,049,082 | $59,250,000 | $18,484,788 | $241,794,507 |
| 2 | Syracuse Snappers | 2036 | $22,975,173 | $67,000,000 | $14,145,047 | $165,836,798 |
| 3 | Syracuse Snappers | 2035 | $17,719,875 | $67,000,000 | $14,131,381 | $161,506,261 |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Millers | 2022 | $21,871,544 | $61,250,000 | $19,991,723 | $157,091,649 |
| 5 | Seattle Pilots | 2052 | $32,520,309 | $67,000,000 | $24,937,470 | $155,714,022 |
| 6 | Washington Bats | 2049 | $35,060,840 | $67,000,000 | $24,281,289 | $155,457,655 |
| 7 | Pawtucket Patriots | 2018 | $23,445,983 | $67,750,000 | $22,042,111 | $155,296,249 |
| 8 | Dallas Drillers | 2046 | $21,421,098 | $67,000,000 | $19,747,609 | $151,584,612 |
| 9 | Denver BC | 2032 | $15,260,791 | $59,250,000 | $16,461,503 | $151,564,466 |
| 10 | Washington Bats | 2033 | $28,768,933 | $65,750,000 | $22,087,485 | $150,485,845 |
| 11 | Washington Bats | 2038 | $29,006,457 | $67,000,000 | $23,099,985 | $150,165,885 |
| 12 | Dallas Drillers | 2047 | $28,718,182 | $67,000,000 | $19,315,002 | $150,071,027 |
| 13 | Phoenix Roadrunners | 2024 | $20,019,520 | $64,750,000 | $18,810,711 | $149,043,522 |
| 14 | Maine Guides | 2033 | $26,995,718 | $66,750,000 | $22,034,390 | $147,280,658 |
| 15 | Washington Bats | 2050 | $32,631,920 | $67,000,000 | $24,281,289 | $147,193,356 |
| 16 | Seattle Pilots | 2033 | $25,531,227 | $62,250,000 | $22,799,961 | $147,032,886 |
| 17 | California Kodiaks | 2048 | $28,916,851 | $67,000,000 | $20,996,994 | $146,017,101 |
| 18 | Santo Domingo Rum Runners | 2037 | $26,445,842 | $67,000,000 | $22,616,883 | $145,689,458 |
| 19 | Seattle Pilots | 2027 | $26,706,552 | $61,250,000 | $21,738,208 | $145,582,759 |
| 20 | Denver Bulls | 2050 | $22,153,170 | $67,000,000 | $14,263,592 | $145,414,779 |
| 21 | Philadelphia Freedom | 2031 | $25,979,275 | $61,750,000 | $21,585,442 | $145,184,504 |
| 22 | Philadelphia Freedom | 2023 | $19,496,466 | $61,250,000 | $22,169,465 | $144,866,185 |
| 23 | Washington Bats | 2034 | $31,227,034 | $65,750,000 | $22,051,214 | $144,062,981 |
| 24 | Los Angeles Dinos | 2053 | $26,211,680 | $67,000,000 | $17,576,762 | $143,991,622 |
| 25 | Maine Guides | 2032 | $28,857,768 | $66,750,000 | $21,978,138 | $143,906,705 |