The 2073 Daily Keg - Week 4

May 8, 2073

Los Angeles had the best week in baseball, going a perfect 7-0 to extend their winning streak to 10 games and push their overall record to 18-9, the best mark in the Bock and one of the best in baseball. Lucas King hit .476 with 2 home runs over the stretch, and Collin Edson turned in the week's signature pitching performance, 8 shutout innings, part of a run that's seen him post a 0.87 ERA across his last three starts. Washington and Philadelphia were right behind Los Angeles at 5-1 apiece, with Washington's Tommy McDaniel putting together a huge week of his own, .421 with 4 home runs and 9 RBI, including a homer in four straight games, enough to push the Bats to a league-best 18-7 and the top of the Stout.

On the other end, Carolina had a week to forget, losing all seven games to fall to 7-20 and the bottom of the Import League, though Yolonzo Arias offered a rare bright spot with a strong start of his own, 7.1 innings, 2 runs and 9 strikeouts, in the middle of the collapse.

1) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (156.2, o)
2) Los Angeles Sharks (140.1, ++)
3) Pittsburgh Millers (139.6, -)
4) Washington Bats (138.6, -)
5) Philadelphia Freedom (118.2, +)
6) Hartford Whalers (100.1, ++)
7) Denver Bulls (99.8, --)
8) Montreal Exports (98.1, ++)
9) Phoenix Roadrunners (96.8, --)
10) Maine Guides (95.4, -)
11) Baltimore Bulldogs (91.8, -)
12) Toronto Canadians (91.6, +)
13) Indianapolis Clowns (91.4, ++)
14) Pawtucket Patriots (89.0, -)
15) New Orleans Voodoo (88.6, -)
16) California Kodiaks (88.2, -)
17) Dallas Drillers (75.1, o)
18) Seattle Sasquatch (70.3, o)
19) Windy City Blues (63.3, +)
20) New York Cyclones (58.9, ++)
21) Batavia Muckdogs (55.3, +)
22) Wilmington Wildcats (55.3, -)
23) Syracuse Snappers (36.2, +)
24) Carolina Tobs (33.6, --)

Performance of the Week

P Coreonte Lee, Ind - Lee delivered his best start of the season on May 3rd, holding Pawtucket to 3 hits over 8 shutout innings with 7 strikeouts and no walks in an 11-6 Indianapolis win. The 33-year-old right-hander improved to 2-1 on the year, and the outing dropped his ERA to 1.39, third-best in the league, backing up a Game Score of 83 in a game where Alec Ford's 5-RBI night ultimately grabbed the headlines. It's the kind of dominant, efficient start that's quietly made Lee one of the best pitchers in baseball a season removed from a modest 4.06 ERA, and it continues a strong stretch that's seen him post 4 quality starts in his first 5 outings.

Prospect of the Week

RF Mason Tormey, Cal - California's third-round pick from last year's draft, right fielder Mason Tormey, is off to a strong start at Double-A Sacramento, hitting .296 with a .606 slugging percentage, 6 home runs and 14 RBI through his first 16 games. The 21-year-old, the league's #25 overall prospect, has been especially hot of late, batting .318 with 3 home runs and 8 RBI over his last week alone. His power has translated quickly to the upper minors, and with a bat that already profiles as a middle-of-the-order threat, Tormey's development could be one of the more important storylines for a California system trying to build around young talent.

Five Things We Think We Think

1. Dontaveon “Fireworks” White has been the story of Santo Domingo’s dominant start. The 22-year-old left fielder is hitting .398 with a .745 slugging percentage, 6 home runs and 22 RBI through 24 games, and he’s carrying a 23-game hitting streak into this week on top of it. He just picked up his second Player of the Week award of the season, batting .500 with 5 doubles and a homer over the stretch, and the switch-hitter has been nearly impossible to pitch to from either side, a .398/.449/.745 line against righties and an even better .455/.514/.818 against lefties.

It’s a massive step forward from a solid rookie year, his OPS is up nearly 300 points, and with Santo Domingo running away with the Lager, White’s bat has been as big a reason as anyone why.

2. Tommy McDaniel looks like he's finally putting it all together. The 26-year-old Bats third baseman is hitting .301 with a .627 slugging percentage and 7 home runs through his first 22 games, an OPS over 1.000 that dwarfs anything he's produced in six seasons in Washington. It's a real departure for a former first-round pick, the 17th overall selection back in 2067, who peaked as a #39 overall prospect before settling into a career .265 hitter with a modest .738 OPS, including a 22-homer, .753 OPS season last year that still left him below league average.

This year he's hitting for both average and power at levels he's never approached, an OPS+ of 156 compared to a career mark of 93, with the surge showing up everywhere: he's mashing .676 against lefties, .592 against righties, and connecting with authority regardless of the count. At 26, with Washington running near the top of the Stout, it's shaping up as the first true breakout of his career.

3. Justice Siemion's 2073 season is a full-scale breakout, and the numbers behind it make the case even stronger than the surface stats. He's actually been better on the road than at home, a 1.073 slugging percentage away from Seattle compared to .793 at home, and he's been at his most dangerous with the game on the line, hitting .600 with a 1.867 slugging percentage when ahead in the count and .500 with the bases empty turning into rallies practically on demand.

The turnaround from his first two seasons is stark: a .226 career average and .823 OPS through his age 20 and 21 seasons, both below-replacement years, have given way to a .364/.448/.909 season that's already produced back-to-back Player of the Week awards and the Import League's Batter of the Month honor. He was the 5th overall pick in the 2071 draft, originally by Philadelphia before a trade brought him to Seattle along with two prospects, and after winning a Horizon League title with Vancouver's Triple-A club last year, he's translated that momentum directly into the best stretch of his professional career at the highest level.

4. Los Angeles's turnaround is one of the more complete rebuilds in the league. A year ago the Sharks finished 74-88, 23 games out and outscored by 91 runs on the season, the kind of gap that usually takes years to close. Instead they've flipped the script entirely: an 18-9 start, a league-best 3.42 team ERA, and a 10-0 record over their last ten games. The pitching staff is the biggest driver, Collin Edson and Cady Amaro both carry sub-1.50 ERAs, and closer Blaine Near has been nearly automatic with 11 saves and a 1.20 ERA, fresh off winning the Import League's Reliever of the Month award for April.

It's not just pitching either, the Sharks lead the Import League in hits and stolen bases, with Kody Ripley (.326) and Levi Lane (7 HR, 18 RBI) anchoring a lineup that ranks top-five in the league in both average and slugging. A club that finished 23 games back last season now sits alone in first place, riding the majors' longest active winning streak into a series with Phoenix.

5. What’s on tap?

• Philadelphia Freedom (16-9, On Road: 10-5) at Washington Bats (18-7, At Home: 10-5) -- May 8. Two of the Stout’s best teams open the week with Paxton Clydesdale on the mound for Philadelphia, off to a 2-0 start with a 3.91 ERA, against Washington’s Michael Cole. Washington’s Tommy McDaniel has been locked in, homering in four straight games, giving the Bats a real X-factor in the middle of the order.

• Phoenix Roadrunners (14-11, On Road: 8-8) at Los Angeles Sharks (18-9, At Home: 9-4) -- May 8. Los Angeles brings a 10-game winning streak into this one, and Collin Edson has been a huge part of it, a 0.87 ERA with 16 strikeouts over his last three starts. Phoenix has cooled recently, losers of four straight, but they're still a well above-.500 club on the road, making this a real test of whether L.A.'s streak can survive a legitimate opponent.

• Maine Guides (14-13, Away: 9-7) at Santo Domingo Rum Runners (21-4, Home: 9-0) -- May 11. Two of the league's hottest hitters collide here, Dontaveon White's hitting streak has stretched to 23 games for Santo Domingo, while Maine's Jakob O'Connor brings his own 15-game streak into the series. Santo Domingo hasn't lost at home all year, a tough draw for a Maine club still finding consistency on the road.

• Pittsburgh Millers (19-7, Away: 2-5) at Montreal Exports (15-12, Home: 9-7) -- May 11, 3-game series. Pittsburgh owns the best record in the Domestic, and Sean Blosser has been a big reason why, hitting .484 with 5 home runs over his last eight games. Montreal counters at home, though Andre Guse is carrying an 8.84 ERA on the year, a potential opening for Pittsburgh’s lineup to pile on.