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05/20/2058
Since we started including the logo for the first place team in the Power Rankings we haven't had to change it. New York continued it's streak this past week by going 4-2 and building their Import division lead to three games. The top teams though were Carolina, Santo Domingo, and Dallas who all went 5-1. None of them are division leaders, but they are all over .500 for the season. On the other side of life Denver, Hartford and Windy City all went 1-5. The Whalers are still tied for the Ale division lead though, while the Bulls and Blues are fifth and sixth in the Bock respectively.
Power Rankings
1) New York Cyclones (130.9, o)
2) New Orleans Voodoo (123.0, +)
3) Carolina Tobs (120.7, ++)
4) Baltimore Bulldogs (113.8, -)
5) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (108.5, ++)
6) Toronto Canadians (108.2, -)
7) Dallas Drillers (99.9, ++)
8) Washington Bats (96.5, --)
9) Batavia Muckdogs (95.5, o)
10) Indianapolis Clowns (93.5, -)
11) Maine Guides (93.3, ++)
12) Los Angeles Dinos (93.0, o)
13) Phoenix Roadrunners (90.0, ++)
14) Montreal Exports (89.7, +)
15) Hartford Whalers (87.5, --)
16) Wilmington Wildcats (86.5, --)
17) Pawtucket Patriots (75.5, --)
18) Seattle Pilots (74.5, ++)
19) California Kodiaks (73.0, +)
20) Pittsburgh Millers (70.8, +)
21) Philadelphia Freedom (65.1, -)
22) Syracuse Snappers (65.1, +)
23) Denver Bulls (59.6, --)
24) Windy City Blues (44.8, o)
Performance of the Week
Cedric 'Ape' Erickson - It seems almost impossible to predict who will turn into a great pitcher these days, as 'Ape' was the last pick in the third round of the 2050 draft. He wasn't much coming into the draft, but the 25 year old is now a 100 mph throwing right-hander with a really good sinker and cutter. This past week on May 14th he turned in the seventh best pitching performance of the season against Wilmington when he went nine innings, allowed just two hits, one run, and struck out 10 as the Cyclones won 2-1. Erickson is now 3-1 with a 2.32 ERA and 164 ERA+ on the season.
Prospect of the Week
P Dave 'Sheriff' Scott - In our continuing theme of late round pitchers, Scott was the 12th pick in the fifth round of the 2054 draft. He's now the 28th overall prospect in the league, and is 4-0 with a 1.75 ERA for the Death Valley Scorpions, Santo Domingo's Rookie League team. In high school he was 3-6 with eight saves and a 4.70 ERA in 36 games, and now he's the 12th rated pitcher in the league. Scouts love his smarts and ability to learn, he throws 99 mph, and his fastball and curveball are top of the line.
Five Things We Think We Think
1. Bats third basemen Neall Rabah won his 14th POTW award this past week after hitting .421 with 3 HR and 9 RBI, while scoring five times himself. Washington didn't fair to well as they went 2-4, but the 32 year old Rabah continues to play at a very high level. On the season he's now raking .365 with 13 HR and 27 RBI, while posting a cool 200 OPS+. Meanwhile in the Domestic, Hartford second basemen Gene Grimes won his first ever POTW when he hit .375 with 3 HR and 7 RBI, while also scoring five times. Grimes was a second round pick in 2056 out of Baylor, and this is his rookie year in the BLB. So far in 37 career games he's hitting .283 with 5 HR, 22 RBI, 6 SB, and a -1.7 ZR in 37 games at second.
2. Melchior Werth reached 1000 extra base hits this past week, making him just the 31st player in the history of the league to do so. The sixth overall pick of the 2037 draft has played for the Cyclones from 2042 to present, starting 2,710 games for them over that period. He leads the franchise all-time in games played, hits, home runs, doubles, and even strikeouts! He's also been to the playoffs five times over that span, and has made it out of the Wild Card round just once. The 37 year old is hitting .261 with 6 HR and 19 RBI this season, while still holding down the right field spot. With the success of New York maybe they can give the 'old-timer' a nice end of career present.
3. Wilmington catcher Andy Benner was drafted in the 9th round of the 2047 draft by Phoenix out of Oregon State. He played nine seasons in the minors, making it as far as AAA, before being released in January of 2056. He didn't catch on with anyone all of 2056, but was signed by Wilmington in 2057. He ended up winning the AAA Glove Wizard at catcher that season, and got called up to the BLB this year. He's played in 30 games and is only hitting .184, but on May 16th against Baltimore he smashed his first career BLB home run. On the first pitch of the sixth inning, off two-time Pale Ale winner Jannero Peter, Benner swung and sent the ball 400 feet and over the left field wall. Even though the Wildcats lost 4-3, it was a special day for the soon to be 32 year old. After the game he was asked about the achievement and said, "I've dreamed about that moment since I was a young kid playing in my backyard." Hats off to Benner.
4. The Cyclones lead all teams with a +54 run differential on the season, twelve more than second place New Orleans. In third we have a tie at +34 between Indy and Santo Domingo. Upside down is Philly at -67, Windy City at -59, and Denver at -58. Carolina is the only team with a winning record (24-14) and a negative R/D (-5), while Pittsburgh (16-23) and Montreal (19-20) are at +12 and +1 respectively. With R/D comes PYT numbers, which explains why Carolina leads the league with a +6 PYT, while the Millers are a leagues worst -5 PYT.
5. What's on tap? This week we get a Stout match-up between two heavyweights as Baltimore travels to New York. The Cyclones are 2-1 against the Bulldogs this season to date, with all three games being decided by a total of four runs. We also get a fun Lager match-up as Dallas welcomes Santo Domingo. The Rum Runners are 21-17 while the Drillers are 21-18, and they are 3rd and 4th in the division where four of the six teams have winning records, and Montreal and Wilmington are just one and two games under .500. Streak wise Maine has won four straight, Philly has lost four straight, and Vince Ridgeway (BAL) has a 14 game hitting streak.
Stat of the Week
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