The 2073 Daily Keg - Week 3

May 1, 2073

Pittsburgh had the best week in the league, going a perfect 7-0 to extend their winning streak to seven games and climb to 15-5, second only to Santo Domingo, who kept rolling with a 6-0 week of their own and now sit at a league-best 17-2. Washington wasn't far behind either, going 6-1 to push their own record to 13-6 and the top of the Stout. On the other end, Batavia had a week to forget, losing all seven games and tumbling from 7-6 to 7-13, while Syracuse was nearly as bad at 0-6, dropping to a league-worst 4-15.

May opened with a full slate of monthly hardware too: Bailey Gray and Justice Siemion took home Batter of the Month honors, Brad Zook and Blaine Near were named Pitchers of the Month, and Roland Rupp and Joell Kanada earned Rookie of the Month. The league's Player of the Week honors went to Pittsburgh catcher Sean Blosser in the Domestic, who hit .688 with 4 home runs and 6 RBI, and Carolina first baseman Asa McKee in the Import, who hit .480 with 3 homers and 8 RBI.

1) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (175.1, o)
2) Pittsburgh Millers (148.0, ++)
3) Washington Bats (130.1, ++)
4) Denver Bulls (117.8, ++)
5) Phoenix Roadrunners (116.8, -)
6) Philadelphia Freedom (107.2, ++)
7) Los Angeles Sharks (106.0, ++)
8) Maine Guides (105.0, ++)
9) Baltimore Bulldogs (105.0, --)
10) Hartford Whalers (102.0, -)
11) Montreal Exports (100.0, -)
12) Pawtucket Patriots (100.0, -)
13) Toronto Canadians (92.7, +)
14) New Orleans Voodoo (89.0, --)
15) California Kodiaks (85.0, ++)
16) Indianapolis Clowns (74.8, ++)
17) Dallas Drillers (67.0, --)
18) Seattle Sasquatch (67.0, -)
19) Carolina Tobs (60.0, ++)
20) Windy City Blues (51.0, ++)
21) Wilmington Wildcats (51.0, --)
22) Batavia Muckdogs (50.0, --)
23) New York Cyclones (39.0, +)
24) Syracuse Snappers (24.0, --)

1B Edgar Pollert, NO - Pollert delivered the loudest game of the season on April 30th, going 4-for-5 with 3 home runs, 7 RBI and 3 runs scored as New Orleans blew out Pawtucket 15-3. The first baseman capped a nine-run fourth inning with a two-run shot off Bryce Leistner, then added a third homer in the ninth off Kaleb Payne to cap the barrage. It's the fourth time in his career the three-time All-Star has gone deep three times in a game, and it earned him Player of the Game honors while pushing his season line to .294 with 7 home runs and 16 RBI, a strong start for a New Orleans club trying to climb back into the thick of the Lager race.

P Jeremy 'Terminator' Burke, NYC - New York's top pick from last year's draft, right-hander Jeremy Burke, continues to look like one of the steadiest arms in the minors. The 18-year-old has posted a 0.39 ERA with 22 strikeouts against just 6 walks across his first three starts of the season for the Rookie League affiliate, backing up his standing as the league's #4 overall prospect with swing-and-miss stuff built around a fastball that's already touching the high 90s. He's shown he can handle the workload too, going 6.1 innings with 9 strikeouts in his most recent outing, a sign the Cyclones may have found a frontline starter of the future early in his development.

1. Justice Siemion has been carrying Seattle's offense almost single-handedly. The 22-year-old catcher is hitting .373 with 9 home runs, 24 RBI and a 1.242 OPS, leading the Sasquatch in every meaningful offensive category and putting up numbers that would headline a contender rather than a team sitting in fifth place in the Bock at 8-12. His 9 home runs account for exactly a third of Seattle's team total of 27, and his 24 RBI make up nearly a quarter of the club's 100 runs scored on the season, a staggering share for one bat on a team whose overall .241 average and .749 OPS both rank in the bottom half of the Import. He's been especially hot lately too, batting .381 with 3 home runs over his last six games, and the Batter of the Month award he just picked up for April is a fair reflection of just how much of Seattle's offense starts and ends with him.

2. Brad Zook has been nearly untouchable for Pawtucket, going 4-0 with a 0.38 ERA over four April starts, striking out 19 in 23.2 innings on his way to the Domestic League Pitcher of the Month award. It's a stunning number set against the rest of his own rotation, Pawtucket's staff ERA sits at 5.30, dead last in the league, with the next-best starter (Walker Short) sitting nearly a full three and a half runs higher than Zook. Reynard Mendes has been doing something similar on the Import side, posting a league-best 0.66 ERA for a Windy City club that owns the second-worst staff ERA in baseball at 5.05 and sits at 6-14, the league's worst record. Two pitchers turning in some of the most dominant months anywhere in the game, on staffs that otherwise can't find the strike zone consistently.

3. Santo Domingo's 17-2 start is as complete as a run gets. They're a perfect 9-0 at home, 8-2 on the road, 6-1 in one-run games, and haven't lost a game against a lefty starter all year at 5-0. The offense leads the Domestic League in slugging, OPS, runs scored, extra-base hits, and home runs, and it's not just one bat carrying it, David Hankins (.404, 7 HR), Troy Yordan (.377, 6 HR), Lucas Slater (.377, 8 HR), and Dontaveon White (.365, 18 RBI) are all hitting well over .350. The pitching staff has held up its end too, sitting 2nd in the league in ERA and 1st in home runs allowed, with Rice Cochell perfect in save chances and a 1.52 ERA out of the closer's role. Even the one soft spot, a quiet bat from Zachery Dye in center field, hasn't mattered with this much production everywhere else. At 6.5 games clear of second-place Montreal before May has even really started, this is shaping up as one of the most dominant opening stretches the league has seen in years.

4. New York's 5-15 start is a complete, dead-last collapse on both sides of the ball. The offense ranks last in the Import League in average (.232), OBP (.294), slugging (.348), OPS (.642), runs scored, extra-base hits, and home runs, and the pitching staff is right there with it, dead last in ERA (5.68), runs allowed, hits allowed, and home runs allowed. It shows up game to game too: the Cyclones are winless against left-handed starters at 0-4 and have been outscored 65-117 on the season. Cole Mullen (.325, 15 RBI) and Joe Psaila (6 HR) are doing what they can, and closer J.D. Colvin has been a bright spot at 2.25 ERA, but with Bryant DeSilva and Spencer Farwell both scuffling to ERAs above 9.00 over their last three starts, there's little holding the rotation together. It's little surprise the club fired manager Tate before the month was even out.

5. What’s on tap?

• Toronto Canadians (10-9, On Road: 4-6) at New Orleans Voodoo (10-10, At Home: 6-4) -- May 1, 3-game series.

  Seth Summitt has been nearly untouchable for New Orleans, a 0.64 ERA and 11 strikeouts over his last two starts, and he draws a favorable matchup against Toronto’s Lewis Coleman, who’s carrying a 6.43 ERA into the opener. Toronto counters with Regis Bryant, who’s hitting .432 over his last two weeks.

• Baltimore Bulldogs (12-8, On Road: 5-2) at Washington Bats (13-6, At Home: 5-4) -- May 1.

  Two of the Stout’s best teams meet with Grant Henry on the mound for Baltimore, off to a 3-0 start with a 2.02 ERA, against a Washington club that’s been rock solid at home. Miles Licon draws the ball for the Bats but brings a 7.27 ERA into the start, a real edge for Baltimore’s road-tested lineup.

• Denver Bulls (12-7, On Road: 5-5) at Los Angeles Sharks (11-9, At Home: 6-4) -- May 1.

  Denver’s Lex de la Cruz has been one of the hottest hitters in the league, riding a 13-game hitting streak with a .395 average and 6 home runs over his last two weeks. He’ll face Mitchell Kovich, who’s been sharp for Los Angeles at a 2.70 ERA, in a matchup between two teams both well over .500.

• Toronto Canadians (10-9, On Road: 4-6) at Pittsburgh Millers (15-5, At Home: 13-0) -- May 4, 3-game series.

  Pittsburgh brings a 7-game winning streak and a perfect home record into this one, fueled by Isaac Lewis, who’s hitting .386 and has scored in 7 straight games. Rohan Zezulka has been nearly as dominant on the mound at a 0.63 ERA over his last two starts, making this a tough draw for a Toronto club still finding consistency on the road.