The 2073 Daily Keg - Week 8

June 5, 2073

Pittsburgh and Seattle each turned in perfect 6-0 weeks, but they mean very different things for the two clubs. Pittsburgh’s push took the Millers to 37-14 (.725) to the top of the Power Rankings at 142.5, though Santo Domingo, which went a quieter 4-3, still owns the league’s best raw record at 38-14 (.731), a virtual coin flip between the two at the top. Seattle’s perfect week was the bigger surprise, climbing the Sasquatch all the way to .500 at 26-26 and into third in the Bock, a real turnaround for a team that’s spent the season near the bottom of the standings despite Justice Siemion’s monster numbers. Toronto (5-2) and Phoenix (5-2) also had strong weeks, with Toronto closing to six games of Santo Domingo in the Lager and Phoenix climbing into second in the Bock at 29-23. On the other end, Syracuse (1-6) remains the league’s worst team by a wide margin at 10-42, and Dallas, Hartford, and Batavia all posted 1-5 weeks of their own.

The week’s hardware went to Toronto’s Sean Puckett, who hit .524 with four home runs and seven RBI for the league’s best OPS of the week at 1.688, and Phoenix’s Braxton Kanai, who hit .536 with three homers, eight RBI and nine runs scored to claim the Import Player of the Week, backing up a season line of .327 with nine home runs and 33 RBI. Milestones piled up around the league: Pittsburgh’s Camron Rispoli reached 500 career RBIs, Philadelphia’s Alec Bridges collected his 400th career extra-base hit, and Phoenix’s Franklin Pennell picked up his 100th career win. Elsewhere, All-Star Game voting officially opened for the season.

1) Pittsburgh Millers (142.5, +)
2) Santo Domingo Rum Runners (132.6, o)
3) Los Angeles Sharks (131.6, -)
4) Toronto Canadians (119.7, o)
5) Phoenix Roadrunners (104.4, ++)
6) Wilmington Wildcats (100.4, o)
7) Seattle Sasquatch (100.0, ++)
8) New Orleans Voodoo (99.5, -)
9) Indianapolis Clowns (95.8, --)
10) Philadelphia Freedom (95.4, +)
11) Maine Guides (93.0, --)
12) Washington Bats (92.8, o)
13) Montreal Exports (88.4, o)
14) Pawtucket Patriots (86.5, +)
15) Baltimore Bulldogs (83.5, +)
16) Denver Bulls (82.6, -)
17) Batavia Muckdogs (80.2, --)
18) Windy City Blues (80.2, +)
19) New York Cyclones (72.7, --)
20) Hartford Whalers (71.1, -)
21) California Kodiaks (69.3, o)
22) Carolina Tobs (64.9, o)
23) Dallas Drillers (57.6, o)
24) Syracuse Snappers (23.6, o)

1B Braxton Kanai, PHO - Kanai was the driving force in a 20-2 demolition of Baltimore on June 3rd, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double and a walk, scoring three times and driving in five, an easy Player of the Game call. The first blast came in the first inning off Baltimore starter Richard Scott, and the second was a three-run shot in the sixth that turned a laugher into a rout. For the week he hit .536 (15-for-28) with three homers, eight RBI and nine runs scored, enough to claim the Import Player of the Week award. The 23-year-old is now hitting .327 with nine home runs and 33 RBI on the season, a real step forward after a middling 2072.

P Blaze Pettit, CAL - The 21-year-old left-hander has quietly turned into a weapon out of California's bullpen, posting a 1.80 ERA over nine relief appearances with a save and a 0.90 WHIP. Last week was his best yet, two scoreless outings totaling three innings with two strikeouts and a save. Pettit's fastball sits an eye-opening 97-99 mph, and after working his way up from Double-A last season, he's given a last-place club one legitimate high-leverage arm to build around.

1. Washington has quietly been one of the league's worst defensive clubs, committing 41 errors, second-most in baseball, while turning a league-low 32 double plays. It's a stark contrast to a Bats team that sits above .500 on the strength of its offense, masking a defense that simply hasn't held up its end. Toronto has been the mirror opposite at the keystone, turning 71 double plays, a full 13 more than any other team in the league, a quiet engine behind the Canadians' climb up the Lager standings. Windy City, meanwhile, has played the cleanest defense in baseball outright, just 17 errors on the season, the fewest of any club, even as the Blues sit under .500.

The gloves at shortstop have separated just as sharply. Santo Domingo and Denver have gotten elite work at the position, rating first and second in the league, while Maine and Carolina have struggled there more than anywhere else on the diamond, both near the very bottom of the league. And in the outfield, Carolina has found at least one thing to hang its hat on: a league-leading 24 assists, with right fielder Dave Ferguson personally responsible for half of them, a rare bright spot for a club otherwise buried in the standings.

2. With so much of the season still to play, the Domestic Stout Slugger race is shaping up as one of the closest in recent memory. Nolan Dietrich (PIT), Micah Lumsden (SDR), and Regis Bryant (TOR) are separated by a single hundredth of a win in WAR, 2.93, 2.92, and 2.92, and each brings a different case to the table. Dietrich leads the league outright in slugging (.696) and sits third in OPS (1.106) while playing for the league's hottest team down the stretch. Lumsden counters with the best OPS in baseball (1.122) and a league-leading .455 on-base percentage, the table-setter for a Santo Domingo lineup that's outslugged everyone. Bryant might have the best all-around case of the three, second in the league in batting average (.365), third in slugging, and second in OPS, while doing it for a Toronto club that's gone from afterthought to real contender.

3. Franklin “Snake Hips” Pennell has been here before. The Phoenix right-hander won the BLB Import League Pale Ale Pitcher Award back in 2068, his first full season, and has finished top-three in the voting three times since without breaking through again, third in 2070, third in 2071, and a runner-up finish in 2072. Seven years later, at 27, he’s putting together arguably his best season yet.

Through 11 starts, Pennell owns a 2.91 ERA and leads every pitcher in baseball in WAR at 2.51, built on a league-leading workload of 80.1 innings. May was the turning point, a 1.38 ERA over six starts and 45.2 innings, the best stretch of his career, and he’s carried that form into June with an 8.2-inning, two-run outing against Baltimore on the 3rd that pushed his record to 6-2.

What stands out is how he's doing it. Pennell has never had overpowering stuff by scouting standards, his fastball still grades as merely average, but his command has always separated him, and it's sharper than ever this year: a career-best 1.68 walks per nine, easily the lowest of his career. Paired with a fastball still sitting 96-98 mph, it's the same pitch mix that's made him a five-time All-Star, just refined further at an age when most starters are trending the other way.

4. There's no single fix for what ails the Snappers. Syracuse sits dead last in the Domestic League in both batting average (.241) and ERA (5.93), a rare combination of bad offense and bad pitching that's produced a 10-42 record, the worst mark in baseball by a wide margin. The lineup can't do much against right-handed pitching (7-32 in RHP starts), draws the fewest walks in the league (91), and strikes out at the third-highest rate despite having almost no power to show for the aggression. The pitching staff is just as broken on both ends, a 6.17 ERA from the rotation and 5.62 from the bullpen, and they've allowed the most home runs in the league (95) while opponents are hitting .285 against them. It shows up in the results: 4-19 at home, 6-23 on the road, 4-14 in one-run games, and 1-9 over their last ten. The league's playoff simulation gives Syracuse a 97.5% chance of finishing last, projecting a final record of roughly 53-109, one of the worst seasons in recent franchise memory.

5. What’s on tap?

• Los Angeles Sharks (37-16) at Phoenix Roadrunners (29-23), June 5 — The Bock’s top two teams meet, with Los Angeles, 14-7 on the road, riding closer Blaine Near’s perfect stretch (0.00 ERA, 16 straight saves converted as of June 5). Phoenix counters at home (14-9) with Franklin Pennell, who owns the league’s best average Game Score over his last three starts (74.7, 1.48 ERA), and Braxton Kanai, fresh off an Import Player of the Week showing.

• Toronto Canadians (32-20) host a two-series week, first against Montreal Exports (27-25) starting June 5, then Indianapolis Clowns (28-23) starting June 8. Toronto is 20-7 at home and has Jim Miller dealing lately (0.64 ERA over his last two starts) plus Sean Puckett fresh off a Domestic Player of the Week award. Montreal brings Braedin Kim, hitting .394 over his last two weeks, and Indianapolis counters with Hayden Strickler, who’s been just as sharp on the mound (1.29 ERA over his last two starts).

• New Orleans Voodoo (29-24) faces the toughest week in baseball, playing at Santo Domingo Rum Runners (38-14) starting June 5 and then at Pittsburgh Millers (37-14) starting June 8, back-to-back series against the two best records in the league. Santo Domingo is 18-5 at home and has Micah Lumsden riding a 14-game hitting streak as of June 5, though Dylan Montgomery has scuffled lately (8.18 ERA over his last two starts). Pittsburgh enters its stretch of games on a six-game winning streak as of June 5, with Nolan Dietrich riding his own 16-game hitting streak into the week.

• Washington Bats (28-23) at Philadelphia Freedom (27-25), June 5-7 — A Stout Division series between two clubs separated by a game and a half, with Washington 10-10 on the road and Cole Grizzle (5-1, 4.58 ERA) taking the opener against a Philadelphia club looking to defend its 8-12 home mark.

• Wilmington Wildcats (27-25) at Maine Guides (26-26), June 8-11 — Two clubs bunched right around .500, with Wilmington’s Jerian Barnes riding his own 14-game hitting streak into Maine, where Jeffery Barrett has hit .395 over the last two weeks to keep the Guides’ offense afloat.