Season 6 Predictions

The predictions are in and the blog doesn't do well listing columns and rows excel style very well so I just mentioned how many times a team was listed to win or on the wildcard.

AL North
Minnesota x3
Chicago x2

AL East
NY x3
DC x2

AL South
Texas x2
Santa Fe
OK City
Mem

AL West
Scottsdale x4
Salem

Wildcard
Chicago
Salem
Indy
Sacramento x3
Santa Fe
DC
NY
Scottsdale

NL North
St. Louis x3
Cincy
Cleveland

NL East
Hartford x3
Boston
KC

NL South
Atlanta x4
Houston

NL West
Anaheim x5

NL Wildcard
St. Louis
Houston x4
Cincy
Monterey
Boston
Hartford
KC

Free Agency Review

Reviewed the top 20 teams in terms of signing impacts at the time of setting the teams for rule 5 Draft. Also this list is focussed on helping the team this season.


Anaheim - Showed he's not afraid to get players that are a little older. Signed 6 guys older than 36 with a total of 8 All star games between them so they have had success. 2 setup/closer types a SP and a backup catcher that can smack the ball around in the 1/3 games he can play in. Ramiro Suarez, Jason Stair, Mendy Aoki and Eric Franklin will turn this staff around, and picking up Albert Guzman for a song was gravy. Gets my vote for best free agency due to quantity and quality.

Austin - Signed a very nice back of the rotation SP William Woo. 200 IP 4.50 and only .67 HR per start can be expected.

Boston - Signed one of the few top of the line defensive SS, not a great bat but enough of one that he can play in the majors. Add another decent bat and the Hot or Cold SP Vin Lee. He in third in career shutouts, but can also get lit up.

Chicago - resigned their own back in OF Santayana and RP Diaz, and hoping they play like season four and not season five.

Cincinnati - Got a career .376 OBP outfielder and a solid RP.

Dover - Got SP Clay Reese and Dustin Sutton at a bargain basement prices, not much risk for a SP with good history. Then picked up a nice defensive CF Shane Wilson.

Honolulu - Picked up two top notch defensive catcher and a very solid defender at SS.

Indianapolis - Grabbed a decent look SP, who is untested in the majors. Also got a nice RP in Aaron Hall.

KC - Harry Chavez hit 52 HRs last year and should add some punch, plus Norman Freeman and Brent Diaz should make this a potent lineup. Zephyr Cora is also a very good option at RP.

LV - Grabbed a solid defensive SS.

LA - Got one of the best defensive SS available in Bailey Crawford. Marchall Decker is a quality LH bat and Darrell Castillo looked like a decent pitcher once he left Coors field.

Milwaukee - Signed two defensive SS, Lawton was a minor league FA but actually looks like he can catch the ball.

Monterrey - Plugged up holes in the bullpen with two solid vets.

NY - Surprisingly quiet since their biggest rival made a splash in FA, really just held on to Brinkley

Sacramento - Toby Weston will fill the LRA role nicely for this team. If Garcia keeps the walks down he might help the back of the rotation.

Salem - Salem found an inning eating SP, and quality LH RP.

Scottsdale - Terry Cummings fills a long relief/emergency SP role for the team, and late additions of Marc Wayne and Matt Charles help to makeup for the loss of 340 IPs from Vitas Sobkowiak and Ramiro Saurez

St. Louis - One of the better FA classes in the league. Picked up some power in Matthew Bravo, and grabbed a couple of bench guys and RP Mack Ramirez.

Washington DC - A close second in FA sweepstakes. Started with stealing NYs starting 3B in Mark Ross and then grabbed 3 of the best young RPs available in Gookie Sellers, Steve Childers, and Miguel Molina.

Wichita - He was able to comeback and sign his own solid group of departing FA in Al Chambers, Robin Sullivan, and Brian Maeda, then picked up an Inning eating SP in George Bell who came on strong at the end of last season.

Big Draft Winners - cashed in on getting draft picks for losing FAs.

St. Louis
Indianapolis
NY

Top Free Agent Team
Anaheim - If you are talking about helping their team this season they blew the other teams away in free agency from the beginning to the end. If their is any downside it is the almost exclusively older guys.

Blue Ribbon Tier - No particular order

DC - Obvious plan in FA and all the guys are younger players.

Wichita - Spent a lot of money and some of the guys have either little or spotty history of success. The Julio Lopez signing seemed high for a guy that is 31, plays 1B, and spent the last two seasons in AAA and couldn't hit .260 or 20HRs. That said three or four of his other signings look good.

St. Louis - If a couple of his signing rebound from poor seasons he could have the classic low risk high return type players. Also this team really needed a power hitter and Bravo could be perfect for them.

Milwaukee - Maybe some teams signed better players, but the quality defensive SS was a need area for this team and it was filled.

KC - Did a great job getting some offense from a pool of players that was a little shallow this season.

Honoralbe Mention

LA
Boston
Austin

More on Fielding

Looked at the numbers of earned vs unearned runs from season 5.

In Morgan World the average team 89% of the scored runs were earned runs. I used the method of each team's average instead of all combined runs vs. unearned runs because that would lend more weight to teams that gave up more total runs. This way everyone has 1/32 of a say in the league total.

In MLB this season 91% of the runs scored were earned runs.

Morgan world teams varied from a high of 92% to a low of 84%, there were a number around the 91-92% mark.

MLB teams varied from a high of 95% to a low of 87%. Only one team had 94%.

Fielding and Injuries from season 5

Below are images of the spreadsheets that were posted by Brian (hurricane384) about injuries and fielding in season 5.

Season 5 team offensive rankings

Below is the team ranking for offense in season 5.

Season 5 pitch rankings

Testing out posting MS excel. This is season 5 team pitch rankings. You'll hat ve to click the pitch to get it large enough to view

Fielding percentages

Ok. First off I just did a quick analysis comparing our top 5 SS's in chances with the ML 2006 leaders in chances. I still can't figure out how to post the spreadsheet, so if you want it, let me know and I can send it to you.

On average the top 5 SS's in Morgan world had 22% more chances than their Major League counterparts (887 to 728). Their average range factor was 5.87 versus the Major League average of 4.75. The average fielding percentage in Morgan was .960 whereas the average fielding percentage in MLB was .972. This difference (I feel) can be attributed to the fact that Zach Kirby (MEM) had a .939 fielding percentage which significantly hurt the overall average.

HBD
Orlando Flores (WAS) - 1,375.1INN, 938TC, 5.90RF, .961FLDG, 37E, 89RA, 88GL, 92AS, 84AA - MLB PROJ E: 28
Zach Kirby (MEM) - 1,336.1INN, 929TC, 5.87RF, .939FLDG, 57E, 72RA, 76GL, 79AS, 69AA - MLB PROJ E: 44
Darrel Perez (SCO) - 1,283.2INN, 865TC, 5.88RF, .969FLDG, 27E, 80RA, 90GL, 93AS, 82AA - MLB PROJ E: 23
Victor Williams (CIN) - 1,266.0INN, 874TC, 6.04RF, .973FLDG, 24E, 91RA, 84GL, 94AS, 91AA - MLB PROJ E: 20
Goeff Leonard (NY1) - 1,258.0INN, 829TC, 5.68RF, .958FLDG, 35E, 78RA, 84GL, 84AS, 82AA - MLB PROJ E: 31

MLB
R Furcal - 1,371.0INN, 788TC, 5.00RF, .966FLDG, 27E/HBD E: 30
M Young - 1,356.1INN, 747TC, 4.86RF, .981FLDG, 14E/HBD E: 17
J Peralta - 1,275.1INN, 710TC, 4.90RF, .977FLDG, 16E/HBD E: 20
Y Betancourt - 1,374.1INN, 701TC, 4.46RF, .971FLDG, 20E/HBD E: 26
H Ramirez - 1,323.1INN, 695TC, 4.55RF, .963FLDG, 26E/HBD E 33

Take away from this what you will, but my conclusion is that the rate that our SS's are reaching balls seems to be too high in comparison to the best that the MLB can offer. Reaching more balls will lead to more errors as will playing someone who is not a SS at SS (Kirby and Leonard IMO). I'm thinking it's more of a matter of there being a lack of adequate players for SS as well as an inordinate number of chances for the SS position.

DL Trips

First...a disclaimer. I realize that everybody handles injuries differently. This is merely meant as a comparative tool based on days on various DLs. It encompasses the entire organization (RL to ML). Also, since DL trips are based only on the 7-day, 15-day, and 60-day trips and does not actually list out the days a player is injured, that is how I calculated the total days lost. Enjoy.

Average days lost per team - 171
Average Training per team - 12
Average Medical per team - 12
Total days lost - 5,461
2 Teams had a total of 360 DL days. These teams spent 12/12 & 10/10 (T/M). Memphis & Salt Lake City, respectively.
2 Teams had a total of 0 DL days. These teams 16/13 & 14/14. Boston & St. Louis respectively.
Cincinnati spent the most (18/18) and had 104 DL days.
Sacramento spent the least (8/8) and had 155 DL days.

I don't know how to post an excel spreadsheet, so feel free to contact me, hurricane384, for the raw data.

First look at Season 6 FA list

This is a quick list I ran though. It does not take into account any options that teams or players hold for next season that could dramatically change this list.

Position Players

Mark Ross NY In his prime, has a .310 lifetime and got his 5th consecutive 100RBI season. The most well rounded player on the list. He's got power, and great OBP, defense and speed. He can play any position outside of SS/C and really could be a team's emergency SS. He won't ever be MVP of the league, but he will help any team and really has no weakness.

Rich Forbes SCO Starting to show his age but he can still hit and get on base. His L/R splits are among the highest for any 3B in the league.

Heath DeRosa HAR Still young and he has solid ratings across the board, good splits, BE and decent Def.

Brian Maeda LOU - Starting to get a little long in the tooth. While his power and RBI numbers have dropped he is still a has kept up his .308 career average and .390 career OBP.

Norman Freeman HAR - Another player that has lost his power numbers from early in his career, but still can get on base, has an amazing .440 career OBP and had a .457 this season. He obviously played in one of the best hitters park but you can’t ignore those numbers.

Greg Brinkley NY – A speedy 3b/OF that can get on base. He probably won’t be a 30/30 player that he was in season two, but can his speed and power make him a threat.

Bailey Crawford/Bob Widger/Manny Hernandez/Chris Sinclair – A similar group of adequate hitting great fielding players that are great to have. Could start for many teams, or at least be that utility player who gets 300+ ABs because he won’t lose a game for in the field.

Relief Pitchers

Daniel Malone CSP- Showing his age. After his fireman of the year award in season 1 he was merely average, but came back to life in season 5 and still has great ratings.

Joey Diaz CHI Has good ratings, but his stamina probably puts him in the bullpen next season. He could serve as a nice LRA for a number of team looking for bullpen help.

Andre Starr - no longer a closer, but his fourth season of a sub 4.00 ERA is worth a being some team setup man.

Marc Wayne - A journeyman RP that will find a spot in a contenders bullpen.

Ramiro Suarez SCO - Another older pitcher, but he appeared in 79 games and had a 1.24 WHIP and 4.24 ERA. He has the kind of rubber arm that every team needs.

Steve Childers STL – Very similar setup guy to Suarez except he’s much younger, and his L/R splits are not good as Suarez.

Mendy Aoki – After a stellar career as a SP he was moved to the bullpen because of stamina issues. This was his worst season yet, after never having an ERA above 3.76 he had a 6.00 this season. His ratings are still good and I don’t expect another season like that, but his STA/DUR numbers kind of put him in no mans land for a role.

Starting Pitching

Robin Sullivan LOU – Will be 33 years old and is a solid middle of the rotation SP. He’s pitched 210+ innings every season and has a career 70-53 1.38 WHIP 4.43 ERA. Not a very sexy FA pickup, but if it keeps you from throwing a awful pitcher on the mound every 5th day he is worth the money. Health could be an issue for the owner that wants to do a long term deal.

William Woo Ari – Nothing spectacular about this guy, but he’ll keep you in the game and won’t give up many HRs. Just don’t look for him to be the Ace of your staff.

Kevin Franklin ATL – Might be able to help a team hold down the fort until good minor leaguers are ready, but its starting too look like his incredible season 3 was a fluke.

Rodrigo Johnson RIC – Ratings wise this guy looks like a AAA guy at best, but for some reason he performs adequately. Of all the FA SPs available he might have the best OAV, ERA, and WHIP totals of anyone.

Clay Reese – Might have the best chance of catching lighting of any of the group of SPs on the FA market. Season 4 he was on pace to win the Cy Young Award until an injury sidelined him. He seems like he has usually under performed his ratings though.

Dustin Sutton SLC - Sutton had a tough season 5, it could be the signal the end is close for him but he has had a solid career and one or two more decent seasons would not be out of the question. In seasons 2-4 he won 51 games and he still has good L/R splits and control ratings. Has been a career leader in shutouts and complete games.

BEST INTERNATIONAL SIGNINGS – NL WEST – SEASON ONE

Here’s the last of the Season One series. Will I tackle Season Two? Who knows…

1) Best Value

Tony James currently sits on the Arizona AA roster. He’s a solid .300+ hitter that lacks a regular position. He seems to make too many errors to be a regular CF or 2B and may find a home in RF. Signing for $875K, James could peak on the major league roster as a great pinch hitter with his strong rating against lefties.

2) Lowest Production Per Dollar

The Las Vegas Gamblers signed nine International free agents for a total of $4.29 million.

One of the players (P Placido Domingo) was traded to Scottsdale’s High A team. Three players retired, three were released, and one was waived (P Vasco Lee, who was claimed by Cincinnati and pitches for their High A team).

Only ONE player is still the property of Las Vegas. Shortstop Junior Wang currently sits on the Vegas AA roster, but his spot on the bench appears tenuous after about 100 at-bats this season with a .243 between High A and AA.

I’m sure Vegas wishes they could redo this bunch of signings.

3) Best Overall

Arizona signed pitcher Erubiel Castillo for $2.4 million based on his projections as a strong short reliever. Castillo was put to the test immediately after his signing, struggling in about 10 Rookie innings before pitching 80 solid innings in Low/High A with a WHIP just above 1.35. Castillo followed with two solid years in High A (38-48 in save opportunities) before dominating AA ball in Season 4 (2.06 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, .188 batting average allowed, 33-36 in save opportunities).

Erubiel struggled in AAA this season (5.77 ERA, 1.55 WHIP), but did convert 25 of 31 save opportunities. It appears Erubiel will need one more season in AAA before getting his promotion to the bigs.

Budgeting for the playoffs

As we near the end of this season and begin to prepare for the next, I thought it might be nice to take a quick look at budgeting. The following is the average spending of playoff teams from each season, including this season's division leaders. (I think you have to click on it to make it readable). The most obvious, and probably predictable, trend has been the that towards spending less on player payroll, and more on prospects.

It should also be noted that in instances of budget transfers, I used the new amounts, so for seasons 3, 4, and 5 the total spending isn't quite $185.

NL Playoff Picture

The last two World Series representatives have proved their success was no fluke as they battle for the being the #1 seed in the NL. Atlanta this season doesn't have a dominating rotation, but they are all solid. They also boast the best rated bullpen in the league. Their offense is the most well rounded in the league, they rank among the top teams in HRs, OBP, and SB. You can't focus on keeping the ball in the park or keeping their speedsters from stealing to beat them. If they have a weakness it is that they don't have that one batter or one pitcher that strikes fear in the other team.

Hartford is polar opposite to Atlanta, they don't steal and just pummel teams with their lineup. It really revolves around three imposing hitters that can hit any pitcher. Even though they play in one of the best hitter parks, they have two pitchers vying for a Cy Young award. A weakness has to be their closer, he's 0-12 and has only converted 70% of his saves. And how can Carlos Johnson only be 24 years old?

Apologies to Richmond, but Houston is about the only team that is in striking distance of getting one of the coveted top two seeds. They have the best .OPS in the NL, and if season ended today they would have 5 silver sluggers. They sure don't seem to be regretting making the trade for Tim Smith this year, he's having another all-star season and can single handedly win games. He's not a one man show though; they have 6 guys that will get 100+ RBI this season.

Richmond has quietly been one of the most consistent teams in the league. For the fourth time in five seasons they will get 90+ wins. Pitching is what separates this team from the pack along with being one of the best defensive rated teams, but don't ignore their offense. Its really a three man show with this lineup, but they each bring something different. Al Pena is one of the best all round players in the game, Enrique Ruiz is starting to live up to his potential, and Jim Stewart is raw power.

Barring something spectacular Austin is probably the only team that has an outside chance of catching the current Wild card leaders. Their pitching outside of Ralph Taylor needs to step it up a notch and finding a consistent run producer to go with Gus Andrews would help. Speaking of Andrews he must be the most unheralded superstar in the league. Take his four best seasons and he's averaged 60Hrs and 155 RBIs, and his only award in his career.

Colorado Springs is trying to break the stranglehold Arizona has had on the NL West every season. They play with a solid lineup from top to bottom, but no all-stars. Brent Oswalt has to win the award for playing out of his mind, a borderline ML talent with 2 season of +7 ERA this year in 26 starts he has a 3.67 ERA.

Arizona like always is going to pin its hopes on Doug Connelly and Dick Yeats, an impressive 1-2 punch but they might be starting to show their age. Their pitchers are statistically an average group, and in another HBD relief pitcher oddity their closer has a 6.00 ERA, yet has converted 93% of his save opportunities.

NL North - Due to some recent long losing streaks Toronto and Cincinnati have really just about fallen out of the race. Cleveland has some very good RPs and a couple of nice sluggers that hit behind perennial all-star CF Goya. St. Louis might only have one above average offensive player on their team, they don't really have power or speed, but that is still an impressive trio of SPs followed by a just as impressive group of RPs. For all the ridicule this division has taken for its winner potentially having a losing record it would be unwise for a team that meets either of these teams in the playoffs to take them lightly.

Draft re-cap

This is just a quick re-cap of the players taken in the draft. A few notes: I only looked at rounds 1-5 so if you got an all-star in round 6 way to go and sorry I missed him. Also my scouts didn't catch every player drafted (I put some notes about that in the forum) so some teams notes are less complete than others. At the bottom I also added an "awards" section.

A couple things I also noticed by looking at almost 150 players drafted. First off as a whole there seemed to be a much stronger group of position players than pitchers. There really only looked to be about 4 impact SPs in the draft -impact players meaning they should have multiple all-star appearances. SS and 2B seemed to be strong position groups, both offensively and defensively. There seemed to be less super hitting catchers than in the past, but they might have just fallen to later rounds since so many people have them. Also it seemed the player generator made lots of copies of fast CF with average splits, low power, and great range. Also there seemed to be quite a few 1B with high L/R splits, BE, but just average power ratings. Outside of the top couple of picks COF seemed to be an average group.

Arizona - very nice Closer, a RP/LHS type player, and a speedy OF/3b

Atlanta - 2nd Best pitcher in the draft with 29th pick Mullen, another solid SP in McLaughlin, and a solid RP in the 5th round

Austin - Solid SP with 11th pick, a CF with nice range, another speedy OF

Boston - unknown 1st, two very solid OF with above average bats and gloves,

Chicago - No first round pick, but picked up a nice SP in round two and a defensive specialist.

Cincinnati - Stud 3B Gaetti that should be MVP contender, Above average hitting 2b/CF, abd a fine IF prospect in Flores.

Cleveland - Solid SS in Kane, All round very good 2B Crespo, a rangy LH CF that hit RHs well, solid RP, another speedy OF, and a solid hitting 3B. Maybe no MVPs but solid core group.

Colorado Springs - A couple holdouts that might not sign, a very solid #2 hitter type RF prospect, a good hitting/defensive 2b/CF, and a decent backup OF type player.

Florida - MVP Candidate Hutton with first pick, a decent 3B, a power hitting DH, and a number of tough signings.

Hartford - no first round pick, still got a solid hitting 1B, Speedy defensive specialist 2b/CF, average hitting major league COF

Houston – My scouts didn’t get his prospects for round 1 and 2 but obviously focused on pitching. Looks to be a nice SP prospect if he signs, future closer, a solid 2B, a high OBP C/DH, and a LRA type P. Multiple decent ML prospects.

Indianapolis - Potential All-Star SP in Cortes, a couple of decent tough signing guys. There were only 4 SPs in the draft that have star quality and Cortes is one of them.

Las Vegas - Very nice SS prospect with a great bat in Boliver, a solid hitting speedy 3B, a decent hitting quality fielding SS.

LA - A nice SP that should do well in their park, some other decent SP/RPs but no position players until 10th rd.

Louisville - Best defensive SS in the draft that could hit, followed by another one, a good SP, a SuA type player, a power hitting 2b/OF, and a number of borderline SP/RP in picks 52 through 141.

Memphis - a speedy top of the order type OF, a couple of decent hitting 2b/CF types, and a future major league backup IF.

Milwaukee - Top SP in the draft, a speedy quality defensive CF/2B that can hit, a good OBP/RBI 1B prospect, another slugging 1B/DH.

Minnesota - A decent Outfielder. Heavy on the SPs, but so many have average to poor L/R splits they might find the road to the big leagues tough.

Monterrey - A beast of a 2B prospect in Cesar Park, followed by some decent SP prospects. Also a power hitting 1B.

Montreal - Grabbed one of the few exceptional SPs, a few unknowns, a very nice power hitting SS that can field well, a couple more decent middle relief type guys and a speedy CF.

NY - Picked up a decent hitting 2B Cambell that could lead the league in SBs, and a power hitting OF. The 4th rd C/DH should be a superior OBP players.

Oklahoma - Jimmy Colon looks to be an all-star/gold glove SS and will be an impact player. Also got a couple of decent RPs.

Richmod - picked a light hitting phenomenal fielding SS late in rd 1. A decent hitting 2B in rd 2 followed by a borderline RP prospect.

Sacramento - A solid SP prospect, he also grabbed two power hitting 3B and a speedy CF.

Salem - No 1st rd, a decent hitting speedy 2b with a great glove, followed by 3 light hitting SS.

Salt Lake City – Their first round pick is playing hardball and might not sign. 2^nd rd pick looks to be a great #2 hitter in their lineup, a couple of OFs in round 3 and 4 should also make the majors.

Santa Fe - A phenomenal prospect in Anderson that will put up MVP numbers in that ballpark. Followed up with a power hitting SS that has a good glove and a switch hitting 1B that should have a decent OBP.

Scottsdale - 11 picks in 5 rounds, mostly slugging types. No SPs in their first 14 picks.

St. Louis - Only had one pick in rd 1-5 and my scouts didn't see him.

Texas – My scouts missed two of his picks top picks (P and 2B) looks like they might be holding out. Savage is a 2B with a good glove and nice bat, Locko is a light hitting speedy CF with a good glove.

Toronto - If he signs Isringhausen could be a powerful hitter, he picked up another great bat in Presley but he really projects to a DH. Also added a couple of fringe pitchers.

Washington - Focused on pitching, Chapman looks to be a quality middle relief player. My scouts did see 1st round pick.

Best Value Award

Atlanta – To pick up 2 quality pitchers (one with all-star potential) and a solid RP with their picks is a great job. One of the top 5 drafts of the day.

Building with Depth Award

Cleveland – They had a 4 picks from 17-51. There is not a HOF in the group, but there are a bunch of solid ML quality players that will make a solid core for the team.

Was it enough? Award

Florida – It looks like 3 of the top 4 picks won’t sign, and they aren’t exactly in the position to be giving up decent draft picks. Then again if you draft Albert Pujols do you really complain about the draft? Most guys from pick 15 down would give up their draft to get Hutton.

First one to 100 wins Award

Santa Fe – Derrick Flynn partnered with JP Anderson in a couple of years could be a scary lineup, outside of Hutton he’s the most dominating player in the draft. But not picking a pitcher until round 17 might not be a formula for success every year particularly in a need area.

Scottsdale - was honorable mention in this group. A lot of power hitters and zilch on the pitchers.

Back to the basics Award

Montreal – This team did not make the sexy picks, but it was a solid draft. The picks were quality players and they focused on defense and pitching.

Best Drafts

I really thought two team did very well.

Cincinnati – Not only did they get a superstar in Gaetti they also got two other IFs that should combine to make a nice young core.

Monterrey – Probably the most well rounded draft in the league. Most teams were heavy on pitching or heavy on position players. They got all-star position players and still managed to land a couple of good pitching prospects.

The Best

National League
Best Hitter: Carlos Johnson (Hartford) - His batting line reads like something out of a horror story for pitchers… a .380 avg, .498 OBP, .843 SLG…30 HRs, 80 RBIs. Kind of ridiculous if you ask me.

Best Pitcher: Douglas Parker (Richmond) - This was a tough pick as nobody really took control. This guy has a WHIP of 1.21 and an ERA of 2.96. He has struck out 56 while walking only 26. He’s also thrown 4 complete games. Pretty solid all-around right there.

American League
Best Hitter: Rusty Jones (Scottsdale) - .430/.533/.804. That says it all right there. 18 HRs, 58 RBI, only 10 K's. This was a no brainer.

Best Pitcher: JC Russell (Salem) - Through 90.2 IP his ERA of 2.08 leads the AL by nearly a full point and his WHIP of 1.04 is best by .13. This is a no-brainer.

The Best & Worst of Division Play

National League
Best: NL East - With 3 teams within 4 games of first place and all 3 teams are at least 10 games over .500. This division has a shot of landing 3 teams in the playoffs when the season is over.

Worst: NL North - This could be a barn-burner of mediocrity and awfulness. 4 teams. 5 games separate them. Unfortunately the division leader is 30-31. It’s looking more and more like 80 games could win this division.

American League*
Best: AL West - Scottsdale could run away with this division, but the rest of the teams are still within a multi game winning streak of making this into an interesting division race.

Worst: AL South - There was no clear-cut winner so I just went with the division whose bottom teams were worse than the other divisions’ bottom two.

* You could make a case for any division in the American League for both classifications. In each division (minus the South) the second place team is 5.0 games out. It's early, but that's quite a ways out of first place.