Draft Review - NL South

Iowa City

First Round: Didn’t sign.

Grade: Incomplete

The rest: The Comics only signed five of its top ten picks. Granted, none were going to set the world on fire, but at minimum they would have added some minor league depth. The picks they did sign have two chances to get to the Show. Slim and none.

Grade: F

Monterrey

First Round: Tony Henriquez projects to be an on-base machine but will be stretched defensively at 2B. He also projects to have good durability and outstanding health. The only potential “downsides” are average baserunning and power and aforementioned subpar defense at 2B.

Grade: A

The rest: Second rounder Joey O'Donnell projects to have very good splits, but his average control and secondary pitches may hold him back. Much like O’Donnell, 4^th rounder Andres Aguilar will have issues with his control and pitches, but he does not have O’Donnell’s very good splits to fall back on. Seventh round C Delino Molina projects to be good defensively, but will need a platoon partner who can hit righties.

Grade: B

Oklahoma City

First Round: Chosen at pick 13, Rodrigo Olmedo projects to have neither the defensive aptitude to an asset up the middle nor the bat to play at a corner. He’ll be a nice utility player, but you hope for more at 13.

Grade: C-

The rest: 2^nd rounder Pablo Vidal has the defensive chops to stick in the ML; hopefully his bat can hold up its end of the bargain. Mendy Knight will be ok in LF and steal some bases, but could use a platoon partner to hit lefties. Keith Earley should provide good defense in CF, but his bat may be a problem. He will steal some bases (I sense an organizational theme here). Also gets bonus points for hailing from a place called “Accident.”

Grade: B+

St Louis

First Round: Hideki Martin looks to be a nice pick at 23, projecting to be a solid mid-rotation starter. The only knock would be an only slightly above average health rating, but as the Yankees have proven time and time again, health ratings ain’t nothing but a number.

Grade: B+

The rest: Buddy Bowen project to provide decent D in CF or at 2B and steal some bases, but may not have much to offer with the rest of his offensive game. Jacob Howard offers impressive split ratings, but unimpressive control will hold him back a bit.

Grade: C

OKC Twins: Year in Review

Expectations were low in OKC this season and the Twins did not disappoint. The Twins had their worst record in their 7 seasons, finishing 67-95. Everyone knew it was a rebuilding year before the season started and the rebuilding process started with poor pitching but an improving offense with some potential.

The pitching was terrible. They had a team ERA of 5.00, fininshing the bottom half of the NL in ERA for the first time ever. And out of the top 3 in ERA for only the second time. The offense was in the bottom half of the NL but that always happens in the extreme pitchers park in OKC. Defensivley they made the most errors ever in the teams history but still showed very good range.

The Twins finished last, again, in homeruns but showed some promise by hitting the most homeruns since season 2. Many individual single season offensive records were broken. Alejandro Javier hit 26 homeruns in season 1 and no player had exceeded 24 until this season. Season 6's homerun leader was rookie Lonny Mendoza, he had 14. In his 2nd season he had 27, 37 counting his time in AAA. But the big story was ROY candidate Felipe Perez who hit 28 homeruns and shattering the team RBI record of 106 by hitting 117 RBIs.

The team is very young, playing 6 rookies and 3 sophs regularly, including stand out Felipe Perez and Herman Grace, who were the main pieces of the Max Leary trade. Will Bell was also involved in the Max Leary trade and had a productive year in AAA after recovering from an injury.

The team stole only 168 bases, Rich Burroughs was the team leader with 68. This was a big dropoff after the team stole 445 bases in season 6 and Burroughs led the team with 101 steals.

The pitching had no real good stories to tell. The best starter was Julio Pujols who had a 3.84 ERA and went 5-4 in 22 appearances, including 13 starts. The big 3 starters included 2 Rule V draft picks Felipe Ontiveros and Brent Robinson who went 11-29 with an ERA around 5.25 between the 2 of them. 2nd year player Graeme Redding was 5-18 with 5.58 ERA.

2nd year reliever Brett Karl was respectable, saving 18 games while fighting injuries.

Defensivley, Dave Starr was mentioned as a Gold Glove candidate and probably deserved since he was such a horrible hitter. In CF, the platoon of Anthony Stone and Peter Jackson combined to be an excellent defensive CFer. Rookie SS Martin James has a great deal of upside, though he did make 29 errors and only 3 plus plays.

The minor leagues are better than ever but still not great. The pitching is bare except for some decent relievers. There are some decent pitchers. AAA pitcher D'Angelo Pascual led the league in ERA while pitching in an extreme pitchers park. And closer Jesus Santos led the league in saves and is a CY Young candidate.

ML Pitcher of the Year: Brett Karl
ML Hitter of the Year: Felipe Perez
Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Jesus Santos
Minor League Hitter of the Year: Tony Posada (Big Upset)

San Antonio Sting: The best last-place team!

The San Antonio Sting were definitely the surprise of season 6. Preseason predictions had them pegged as the worst team in baseball, but they ended up flirting with .500 for much of the year and finishing with a 75-87 record, good for third place in the AL South. Season 7 was only a very modest improvement as the team finished with a 77-85 record, earning the honor of being the best last-place team in the Gleeman World. It’s nothing to be proud of, but it’s something and Sting fans are hopeful about the future.

Scoring runs was not a problem for the Sting. Free-agent catchers Josh Wagner and Vic Hardtke split time and had great seasons, hitting .309/.397/.541 and .320/.395/.476, respectively. Alexander Gibbs, Raul Cerveza and Kareem Duckworth all crushed 40-plus home runs, but the low-.300s OBPs aren’t ideal. Duckworth, however, is still maturing as a player and came two bags shy of joining the 40/40 club. A mid-season trade brought Brent O'Donnell to San Antonio, where he solidified the middle of the order, hitting .301/.383/.547. The team scored 855 runs on the season. Only five AL teams and three NL teams scored more runs.

Preventing runs, however, was another story. The Sting gave up 866 runs — making them sixth-worst in the AL in run prevention. Kevin Riggs, the team’s number one starter held his own, tossing 232.1 innings while striking out 185 and walking 79, posting a 18-11 record and a 3.87 ERA. After Riggs, free-agent acquisition Bob Witt was somewhat of a disappointment and fans booed him relentlessly toward the end of the season. He’ll need to get off to a quick start next season. Louis Quantrill was solid, but was traded midway through the season for Will West and Joshua Walsh. The rest of the rotation was cheap, but ineffective. The bullpen also struggled, as former relief ace Jacob Stewart looked pedestrian as the team’s top setup man. Stewart pitched 95.1 innings and had solid ratios — striking out 89 and walking 35 — but still compiled a 5.10 ERA. Season 6 Rookie of the Year Pedro Mendoza experienced a sophomore slump as the team’s closer with a 4.64 ERA over 77.2 innings. He struck out 64, walked 24 and earned 28 saves.

The young Sting hope to continue to improve and the team will certainly be more interesting. Top prospect Ronald Levrault will be season 8’s Opening Day second baseman and the team is planning to shuffle some players around the field to improve defensive production.

Here are San Antonio’s season 7 team awards:
ML MVP: Josh Wagner
ML Pitcher of the Year: Kevin Riggs
Minor League Player of the Year: Ronald Levrault
Minor League Pitcher of the Year: Mateo Baez

Vancouver Vigilantes: Chasing Mediocrity

Season 7 in Vancouver saw the Vigilantes undergo marginal improvement and major personnel changes. The 72-90 record was a nine-game improvement over Season 6 and the best record and divisional finish posted by the Vigilantes under the direction of GM scottie3234. A career year from RF Dougie Coleridge carried the Vigilante offense to 806 runs, 4th most in the National League and a 69 run improvement over Season 6. Coleridge was aided by solid seasons posted by 3B Brandon Sheffield and 2B Joe Wang. However, pitching continues to be the bane of each burgeoning Vigilante season. While Clyde Haynes, Cookie Rivera, and Geoff Borchard have added a bit of stability to the back-end of games, Vancouver starters failed to live up to expectations in Season 7 as Billy Ray Perry and Roscoe Campbell statistically regressed from Season 6 advances. The result was 899 runs allowed, 2nd worst in the NL.

The middle of the season saw the Vigilantes finally move a veteran in favor of prospects in an effort to continue to build for the future. Darrin Murphy was swung to the Syracuse Fightin' Boeheims for a package of Fernando Estalella, Tony DeLeon, and Victor Meluskey. Estalella should eat innings in Season 8 while Meluskey rotates in at catcher with waiver wire fodder Haywood Lincoln. The Murphy move was partnered with a trade with the Washington D.C. Bureaucrats in a swap of impressive prospects. The Vigilantes rolled the dice hard by moving uber-stud Albert Brooks, P Phil Hujimoto, and Ronnie Ward for a platter of prospects from the 'Crats: RF Albie Calles, P Freddy Torres, C Keith Green, CF Miguel Bennett, and RP Bum Spehr. The idea for the Vigilantes was to acquire players like Calles and Torres that will arrive as the core of the ML roster peaks. However, Calles, Torres, and Bennett all appear set to debut in Season 9, not 8, making the transaction more of a move for the future than management originally stated. Vancouver was not finished with the roster remake, however. DeLeon "Got Vigilant" for just a short time prior to being moved in exchange for LF Mark Sakamoto. This trade came after several failed efforts to land legendary Nash McCartin. Sakamoto became the de facto replacement for Murphy as Joe Wang made the move from LF to 2B.

In the draft, Vancouver continued to show a willingness to take risks. In Season 5, this stance cost the club big time as top pick Howard Palmer did not sign. In Season 7, college pitcher Coco Ferrell went through the draft process with major league talent and major signability issues. Having lost in the bidding wars of several elite international free agents, the Vigilantes decided to make money no object in landing Ferrell and ended up doling out a Gleeman World record draft signing bonus of $14.1 million. Ferrell joined forces with Coco McKnight in High A to form an exceptionally named top of the rotation. The rest of the Vigilante draft was a large disappointment as the remaining players taken will be marginal ML contributors at best. International signing Rafael Hernandez is an intriguing project for the Vancouver minor league system.

In all, the Vigilantes are showing signs of improvement at the major league level and are continuing to put an emphasis on acquiring pitching talent throughout the system. The debuts of Turk Badilla, Pedro Marin, and Max Rodriguez were encouraging and provide a glimpse of what the Season 8-12 Vigilante squads could look like. While Season 8 promises to be exciting with an offense that will score even more runs, Season 9 is the year Vigilante fans have been anxiously anticipating to finally "Get Vigilant!"

Anatomy of a Team: San Antonio Sting

San Antonio Sting (AL) usssalami View Hardball Dynasty Profile

(Age, position in parentheses next to name)

Starting Rotation:
• Kevin Riggs (27, SP): Acquired in a trade with the Red Sox midway through season 5, along with Juan Lima, in exchange for Tino Simon. Signed to a 5-year, $32 million contract this off-season, which will keep him in San Antonio through season 11.

• Bob Witt (29, SP): Signed as a free agent this last off-season. His 5-year, $40 million contract also locks him up through season 11.

• Andres Chantres (26, SP): Acquired via trade in season 5 with the Milwaukee Twindyans for 3B prospect Cesar Delgado.

• Andres Moreno (29, SP/LR): Acquired via trade with the Minnesota Fatboys during season 3, along with Rich D'Amico and Dave Peterson in the infamous Toby Joseph swindle.

• Mo Brumbaugh (24, SP): Original member of the San Antonio Sting.



Relievers:
• Willis Bradford (27, LrA): Acquired via trade with the Anaheim Anteaters during season 6 for Eli Olivares and Esteban Alfonzo.

• Rafael Tavarez (26, LrB): Acquired via trade with Syracuse during season 5, along with Albie Lopez and Galahad Casey for Harry Rivas.

• Jacob Stewart (26, SuA): Original member of the Sting. Signed to a 3-year, $15 million contract this winter, keeping him with his original franchise through at least season 9.

• Julio Velazquez (29, SuA): Acquired via trade with Philly in season 6 for Jackson Speier.

• Francis Valdes (28, SuB): Sting from the start.

• Pedro Mendoza (24, ClA): The season 6 ROY was acquired in a season 5 trade with the Monarchs (now Madison Mifflin Street Boys) along with Billy Wood for Julius Thomas.


Catchers:
• Josh Wagner (30, C): Wagner was signed as a free agent this past off-season to a four-year, $21 million deal.

• Vic Hardtke (30, C): Signed as a free agent to a one-year, $5 million deal.



Infielders:
• Brent O'Donnell (24, OF/1B): Acquired earlier this season for Eddie Lamb and Tony Guerrero.

• Nate Lombard (31, 1B): Signed to a 1-year, $1 million deal for season 6. After he hit .269/.328/.507 with 31 bombs, he was awarded with a 2-year, $2 million extension that goes through season 8.

• Alexander Gibbs (26, 1B/DH): Claimed off the waiver wire during season 6. Mmm … free power.

• Clarence Hampton (28, 2B/3B): Another original Sting. Signed to a contract extension before season 5, paying him through season 8.

• Joseph Inouoe (23, SS): Acquired via trade this winter with Cheyenne Tackleberries along with Norberto Ramirez and Patrick Taubensee for Hoss Bennett and Eduardo Castro.

• Juan Lima (24, Util): Acquired with Kevin Riggs from Boston (as previously mentioned).

• Michael Graves (26, IF): Acquired in a trade with Buffalo during season 6 for Pedro Romano.

• Darrell White (30, IF): Acquired in a season 6 trade with Oklahoma City for Jose Cedeno and Willis Taylor.



Outfielders:
• Kareem Duckworth (23, LF): My first-round draft pick (15th overall) in season 2.

• Nelson Kieschnick (26, CF): Acquired via trade with Vancouver in season 3, along with Denny Moore, for Yogi Ingram.

• Raul Cerveza (26, RF): Original member of the Sting, came up through the system.



Acquisition Breakdown:
FAs (ML): 4 (Witt, Wagner, Hardtke & Lombard)
Minor league FAs: 0
International FAs: 0
Acquired via trade: 13 (Riggs, Chantres, Moreno, Bradford, Tavarez, Velazquez, Mendoza, O’Donnell, Inouoe, Lima, Graves, White & Kieschnick)
Drafted (amateur draft): 1 (Duckworth)
Claimed off waivers: 1 (Gibbs)
Rule 5 picks: 0
Originals: 4 (Brumbaugh, Stewart, Hampton, Cerveza)


Age Breakdown:
<27 years old: 13 (Chantres, Brumbaugh, Tavarez, Mendoza, Stewart, Gibbs, Lima, Graves, Inouoe, Duckworth, Kieschnick, O’Donnell & Cerveza)
27-30 years old: 10 (Valdes, Velazquez, Bradford, Moreno, Riggs, Witt, White, Hampton, Wagner & Hardtke)
31-34 years old: 1 (Lombard)
>36 years old: 0


Summary:
For all you math wizards out there, yes, San Antonio is currently rocking a 24-man roster. Careless budget decisions this season have left them no cap space to even make a simple promotion. As far as the standings go, the Sting’s poor performance the past few seasons is an indication of their poor track record when it comes to wheeling and dealing. While a few trades have gone San Antonio’s way, or have at least been a win-win, there are many GM Conor Glassey would take back if he had the chance. On the bright side, the team is young and has some more young talent coming up the pipeline. Top prospect Ron Levrault will be a welcome addition in season 8, but scoring runs hasn’t been San Antonio’s problem — preventing them is what they need to work on. The team has some bad contracts coming off the books this winter and would be wise to focus on improving the pitching staff if they want to climb back into contention.

Anatomy of a Team: Anaheim Anteaters

(Age, position in parentheses next to name)


Starting Rotation:
Sal Roosevelt (28, SP): Original Anteater/Whale/Coyote (we'll stick with Anteater for continuity). Started Season 1 in High-A, then was called up to the majors shortly after the beginning of Season 3.

Benny Molina (37, SP): Signed as a free agent (Season 4) for 2 years and $19 million. Extended at the end of Season 5 to a 2 year, $14 million deal.

Kelvin Sullivan (24, SP): Acquired from the New York Mets via trade (Season 6) for 2B/LF Trent Gordon and CF Bip Reagan.

Sammy Manuel (38, SP): Signed as a free agent (Season 7) to a 2 year, $20 million deal.

Louie Bonilla (32, SP/LrA): Acquired via trade (Season 5) from Pittsburgh for C Max DeLeon, LF Rickey Johnson, and P Alberto Melendez.


Relievers:
Grover Rowand (38, ClA): Acquired via trade (Season 7) from Chicago, along with CF Byung-Hyun Yosida, for SP Jackson Jenkins and LF Mark Sakamoto (since traded to Vancouver).

Rick Goodwin (37, SuA): Acquired via trade (Season 4) from Pittsburgh for SP Woody Perry, RP Rod Winn, and P Del Chavez.

Trevor Peterson (26, SuA): Original Anteater. Started Season 1 in Rookie ball, then worked his way up to the majors during Season 5 as a SP, then suffered a season-ending injury. Came back as a reliever.

Harry Costilla (30, SuB): Signed as a minor-league free agent (Season 6). Called up midway through Season 7.

Rafael Alvarez (28, LrB): Original Anteater. Started Season 1 at AA; called up to the big leagues midway through Season 3.


Catchers/DH's:
Richard Maxwell (28, C): Acquired via trade (Season 7) with Tampa Bay in return for P Jordan Holmes, SS Russ Lawson, and DH Bob Crawford.

Donatello Paul (33, C): Acquired via trade (Season 5) with Boston for 3B/RF Bart Coleman.

Steve Green (27, C): Signed as a minor league FA (Season 7), called up prior to the start of the season (right after Spring Training).


Infielders:
Jesus Reynoso (33, 1B): Signed as a free agent (Season 7) to a 2 year, $4.4 million deal.

Matthew Allen (33, 1B): Signed as a free agent (Season 5) to a 4 year, $8.6 million deal.

Haywood Gipson (23, 2B): Drafted (Season 2) out of HS in the 1st round, 1st overall. Called up to the majors during Season 6.

Benny Byrne (31, SS): Signed as a free agent (Season 6) to a 1 year, $3.4 million deal. Extended during the offseason (Season 7) to a 2 year deal worth about $5.9 million.

Miguel Alvarez (24, SS): Acquired via trade (Season 5) with Nashville for P Bo Morris.

Juan Candelaria (28, 3B): Original Anteater. Started Season 1 in AA, and got called up following roster expansion during Season 2.

Derrek Mateo (25, 3B/RF): Picked up in the Rule 5 Draft (Season 5).


Outfielders:
Fritz Rushford (34, LF/CF/RF): Acquired in a blockbuster deal with St. Louis (Season 5), along with nominal throw-in P Hootie Womack, for SS Vladimir Pichardo, CF Marco Hunt, SP Willis Smith, and RP Alex Rojas.

Albert Lorenzo (28, LF/1B): Signed as a free agent (Season 6) to a 1 year deal worth $1 million. Granted free agency during the offseason, then signed again midway through the season for a prorated portion of a 1 year deal worth $1.1 million.

Byung-Hyun Yosida (24, CF): See Grover Rowand, above.

Lee Howard (22, CF/2B): Picked up in the Rule 5 draft (Season 7).

Alexander Stowers (34, RF/LF): Signed as a free agent (Season 5) to a 4 year deal worth $36.6 million.



Acquisition Breakdown:

FAs (ML): 7 (Molina, Manuel, Reynoso, Allen, Byrne, Lorenzo, Stowers)

Minor league FAs: 2 (Costilla, Green)

International FAs: 0

Acquired via trade: 9 (Sullivan, Bonilla, Rowand, Goodwin, Maxwell, Paul, M. Alvarez, Rushford, Yosida)

Drafted (amateur draft) 1 (Gipson)

Claimed off waivers: 0

Rule 5 picks: 2 (Mateo, Howard)

Originals: 4 (Roosevelt, Peterson, R. Alvarez, Candelaria)


Age Breakdown:

>27 years old: 7 (Sullivan, Peterson, Gipson, M. Alvarez, Mateo, Howard, Yosida)

27-30 years old: 7 (Roosevelt, Costilla, R. Alvarez, Maxwell, Green, Candelaria, Lorenzo)

31-34 years old: 7 (Bonilla, Paul, Reynoso, Allen, Byrne, Rushford, Stowers)

<35 years old: 4 (Molina, Manuel, Rowand, Goodwin)


Summary:
Not surprisingly, the vast majority of the team's talent came from two avenues: trading and free agency. The organization's holdovers from Season 1 include All-Star P Sal Roosevelt, setup man Trevor Peterson, steady 3B Juan Candelaria, and longman Rafael Alvarez. Free agency netted some of the franchise's most important players, including 3-time All-Stars Benny Molina and Alexander Stowers. Both were signed as Type A's, and both have proven themselves worthy of the compensation. The Anteater front office also found value in the free market; Reynoso, Allen, and Byrne all signed very favorable deals, considering their production. Trading has generally been a positive; the deals have yielded a good amount of elite talent. Guys like Maxwell and Rushford are among the best in the World, and Rowand and Goodwin aren't too far removed from a similar designation. Also, Sullivan and Yosida rank with the better young players in the league. The Rushford trade and the Sullivan trade, of course, both cost the Anteaters dearly in terms of young talent exchanged; Rushford fetched the 1st overall pick from Season 3 (Pichardo), and Sullivan cost the Anteaters the 8th overall selection from Season 4 (Reagan). Season 1's 1st rounder (3rd overall) was Pete Skinner, dealt to the Twindyans in a monumentally bad deal that yielded no lasting talent for Anaheim. That explains why the Anteaters only have one draft pick in the majors right now; that would be stud 2B Haywood Gipson, the 1st overall pick of Season 2's draft. The talent/age distribution is quite diverse; there are the young, improving stars (Gipson, Yosida, Sullivan, Peterson), the guys in their prime (Roosevelt, Maxwell, Candelaria), the veterans past their peak, but still very productive (Rushford, Stowers, Reynoso, Bonilla), and the grizzled old-timers in the twilight of their respective careers (Rowand, Molina, Manuel, Goodwin). There's quite a bit of talent in each group; while some of the players are reaching the end of the line, the younger players are more than good enough to hold the fort, provided that the front office provides them with the necessary reinforcements. The rest of the division still doesn't look very competitive; the Mashers are pretty good, but far from great, the Downpour are at least 3 seasons away from being able to contend, and the Silver Stars are struggling to field a competitive team. The Anteaters are in the driver's seat; while they have the young talent to compete in the future, the time for the team is now. They have one of the best, if not the best, team in the NL this year. They'll certainly be in the hunt for the Gleeman World Championship this season, as well as the next two or three.

Power Rankings: Weeks 6-7, Season 7

Parentheses denote previous week's ranking, current record.

Top 10:

1. (1, 88-46) New York Metropolitans: The 16 game lead that the Mets currently enjoy in the NL East is nothing new. Starting with Season 3, they've never finished a season with a lead smaller than the 11 game gap that separated them from the Pug Dogs in Season 4. Gerald Tomlinson also has 16 complete games in 33 starts, 10 more than any pitcher in either league.

2. (4, 86-48) Anaheim Anteaters: Sal Roosevelt looks like one of the favorites to win the NL Cy Young. He's posted a sparkling 2.96 ERA in 233 innings, with a 23-5 record. They have a 4 game lead for best record in the NL, and have only two series left against contending teams; it looks like their #1 seed is relatively safe.

3. (2, 87-47) Minnesota Fatboys: Setup men Darrin Harris (5.60 ERA) and Phil Jeffries (5.06 ERA) have flopped. The rotation, on the other hand, has been excellent. No one's a Cy Young award contender, but Max Leary and Placido Coronado have been very good, while Cliff Becker and Ruben Crespo have been solid. With an offense like this, that's all you can ask for. The team itself has been on an absolute tear, winning 12 of its last 13 games. The only reason they're not ranked 2nd is because of the next team...

4. (3, 86-48) Buffalo Europeans: ...whose strong performance this season casts doubt on whether the Fatboys will have a bye in the first round. As good as Buffalo's starters have been, especially Clay Young, the team's offense has been the difference this year, 5th in Gleeman World in runs scored. If they can improve on their basestealing efficiency (69.6% on 204 attempts), the offense would be even better.

5. (5, 81-53) New York Yankees: Andres Silva's role with the team is becoming more and more unclear. Now deployed as an $11 million setup man, one might wonder whether this is a demotion, or a temporary role change to save his arm for the playoffs. Either way, he's clearly not the same pitcher he once was anymore (4.23 ERA, highest since Season 1), and the Yankees will have him for at least two more seasons at $11 million per year.

6. (8, 82-52) Tampa Bay Devil Rays: They're still playing well above their expected win percentage (.609 to .532), but their actual record is what counts in the end. And to that end, they hold a slim 1 game lead over the Yankees for the NL East crown, and currently hold the coveted 2nd seed in the West (of course, top 2 seeds get a bye).

7. (7, 81-53) Albuquerque Isotopes: The Edwin Hogan Watch: With 28 games left in the season, Hogan has a realistic shot at .400, hitting .391 as of the 7/6 AM sim. With Billy Ray Perry's outstanding performance this season (20-3, 1.87 ERA), the Isotopes have both the front-runner for the AL Cy Young and AL MVP.

8. (6, 79-55) Milwaukee Twindyans: The Smash Brothers (apologies to Nintendo and Mr. Canseco/McGwire) are absolutely demolishing the baseball. The quartet of Simpson, Skinner, Santos, and Nelson have hit 159 homers this season. No other team can claim 4 players with such prodigious power; opposing pitchers better keep the ball down if they plan to beat them.

9. (9, 76-58) St. Louis Greys: Despite only holding a 1 game lead over the Comics, the Greys have an excellent chance of making the playoffs; the Mashers and Gunslingers are there, but not close enough to be viewed as a legitimate threat yet. The offense has relied on team power; of the 8 starters, none have fewer than 14 homers. The charge is led by star RF Bronson Ritz, whose 41 homers rank him 11th in Gleeman World.

10. (12, 72-62) Boston Red Sox: Despite not having a playoff spot locked down (the Roustabouts are only 1 back), the Sox grab the final spot in the Top 10 because of two things. First, their expected winning percentage (.578) suggest that the team is stronger than its record. Also, the presence of the Don (Season 7 struggles be damned) looms large in the playoffs.


Bottom 5:

28. (30, 51-83) Tacoma Downpour: The starting pitching has actually been pretty good, but the Downpour might have the worst bullpen in Gleeman World history. "Closer" Albert James' 5.34 ERA leads the bullpen. 3 of the 6 relievers have ERAs over 7, including setup man Dicky Stargell's 7.19 ERA in 71 1/3 innings. Seriously. This is in the pitcher's park of Gleeman World. The Downpour actually have some talent waiting in the wings; a bullpen overhaul next season would go a long ways in improving the team's record.

29. (27, 50-84) Oklahoma City Twins: The Twins have hit 106 homers this season, last in the World. Yet this is actually the Twins' most powerful lineup since Season 3; the team hit 106 homers all season long in Season 6, and failed to match even that modest total in either Seasons 4 or 5. Park factors be damned, it looks like Oklahoma might actually deviate from their past formula of punchless, fast players that draw walks but can't hit the ball out of the infield.

30. (29, 49-85) Las Vegas Armijos: The Armijo's team ERA of 5.86 is dead-last in the World, and figures to get worse after trading their best starting pitcher (Francisco Pulido) to Boston. Owner eliason gets a pass this year, but it's clear that he'll have a lot of work to do over the offseason to shore up both the rotation and bullpen.

31. (31, 46-88) Philadelphia Phenomenauts: The Phenomenauts have scored less runs (586) than any other team in the AL. That'll happen when you trade away your three best hitters (Lee Roundtree, Brent O'Donnell, and Rickey Dixon). It's hard to argue the decision to rebuild and stock up for the future, given that the Mets are untouchable and the Red Sox are desperately trying to win now.

32. (32, 39-95) Colorado Spring Silver Stars: The good news is that Vicente Balboa's season has been a revelation; he's hit 40 homers this season, slugging a very healthy .583. The bad news is that he himself isn't healthy. After straining a ligament in his foot, Balboa was shut down for the season. That leaves Rickey Dixon as the only legitimate bat in the lineup.