[ayaghmour2]

May 6th, 2022: Today the draft pool was published, and here is who OSA views as the top guys and their star ratings according to my scout and OSA:

1. RHP Nate Dick (2.5/4)
2. SS Cade Doughty (3/4): Selected by Milwaukee in the 1st Round, 13th Overall in 2019
3. RHP Jonathan Chott (3.5/4.5)
4. RHP Sergio Knight (2/5)
5. RHP Jonathan Stephens (3/5)
6. LHP Danny Crabtree (3/4)
7. RHP Nehemiah Adenrian (2/4) For storyline sake, let's say he's the brother of Ken Adeniran, my 1st round selection last year
8. LHP Kevin Addario (0.5/4.5)
9. LF Sergio Ayala (3.5/4): Selected by Atlanta in the 3rd Round, 86th Overall by Atlanta
10. RHP Pat Saitta (4.5/4.5)

After a breif look at the pool, the best player appears to be Pete Alder (5/1.5), but he's a borderline starter. Saitta looks good as well, but he has a useless 6/6 change up as his 4th pitch. RHP Juan "Music Man" Tafoya (4.5/5) seems to be the guy I want, with C Jonathan Carillo (4.5/1.5) a close second, and CF Omari "Lockjaw" Tetteh (4.5/3) a distant third since I don't want consecutive #1 picks to be CF.

As a whole, the pool isn't too special, a bunch of depth playres with very few stars. It's interesting, with a lot of quality right handed arms.

In case you were interested where my Class of 2019 unsigned players are:

9th Round: RF Steve Dieudonne (0.5/1)
12th Round: RF Steve Marbley (1/0.5)
15th Round: CF Mike O'Dell (0.5/0.5): Selected by Boston in the 15th Round of the 2020 draft, later released and now with Cleveland's AZL affiliate.
19th Round: SP Josh Green (0.5/0.5)
22nd Round: C Denim Pennamon (0.5/0.5)
23rd Round: 1B Jeremy Strickland (0.5/0.5)
25th Round: 3B Liam Abraham (0.5/0.5)
27th Round: CF Jorge Gaitan (0.5/0.5)
28th Round: SS Tyshawn Nedrick (0.5/0.5)
32nd Round: SP Juan Acevedo (0.5/0.5)
34th Round: 1B Juan Rivera (1.5/1.5): Selected by Toronto in the 33rd Round of the 2020 draft, was released, and now with teammates with O'Dell.
35th Round: SP Mike McIlravy (0.5/0.5)
36th Round: C Omari Rugle (0.5/0.5)
39th Round: SP Ben Andrews (0.5/0.5)

Doesn't seem like any of these guys got away, although at least Rivera is decent.

Anyways, back to baseball, as Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.33 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) opened the series in Pittsburgh against Shane Baz (1-2, 4.76 ERA, 1.52 WHIP). We continued are little scuffle with a 8-6 loss.

It wasn't all Buehler's falut, as just 3 runs were his. In 4 innings, he allowed 4 hits and struck out 6. Koda Glover tossed a perfect 6th and was the only pitcher today for us to not allow a run. Corbin Clouse allowed 2 in the 5th, Joe Jimenez blew the save and allowed 1 in the 7th, and James Farris picked up the loss with 2 in the 8th.

Dustin Fowler wasn't all the offense, but was 1-for-5 with a three run homer off Hector Rondon in the 7th. Keston Hiura also went deep, a solo shot off Baz in the 5th. Marwin Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with a walk, run scored, and RBI.

May 7th, 2022: Jordan Montgomery (4-1, 2.34 ERA, 0.94 ERA) looked to lead us to a win against Christopher Reynolds (1-2, 3.43 ERA, 1.33 WHIP). He pitched brilliant, and we won 3-1 to push our record back over .500

Montgomery allowed the single run in 7 innings of work with just 3 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Now 29, he's blossoming into the ace I always knew he'd be. Victor Arano picked up a save after striking out the side in the 8th, and Yasukazu Shiotani recorded a save nine with a scorless 9th.

Cole Brannen was 1-for-4 with a 2-run homer off Reynolds in the 5th. Keston Hiura drove in Lewis Brinson on a RBI double in the 4th. Brian Anderson was 1-for-2 with a double, walk, and he scored on the Brannen homer.

We'd look for the series win tomorrow!

Seung-ryong Yoo was 5-for-6 as the Cubs beat the Reds 14-4.

May 8th, 2022: Jameson Taillon (2-3, 3.19 ERA, 1.28 WHIP) got the ball against his former team in the finale against Tyler Glasnow (2-3, 7.12 ERA, 1.88 WHIP). The Pirates got to him early with a run in the 1st, but that's all they'd get as we escaped this one with a 2-1 win.

Taillon allowed 4 hits, walked 2, and struck out 2 in his 6 innings of work. Jimenez and Arano got holds, and Bulldozer Shiotani earned his 10th save of the year, despite 2 hits and a walk, in the final frame.

The struggling Lewis Brinson was 2-for-5 with a double, steal, and RBI. Christian Bethancourt was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Andrelton Simmons scored as well, walked, and singleed in 4 plate appearences as he looked to get back on track.

Next stop, San Francisco, as we'd take on the 16-18 Giants for four. At 18-16, we're 3 games out of first and a game out of the 2nd Wild Card spot. The Giants projected starters are Madison Bumgarner (2-4, 6.42 ERA), Jake Odorizzi (3-1, 4.75 ERA), Jaison Vilera (2-2, 5.40 ERA), and Ricardo Sanchez (2-2, 3.21 ERA).

May 9th, 2022: We're up to 9th in the Power Rankings, so perhaps we can keep on rising and start winning more ballgames.

A.J. Puckett (2-1, 4.32 ERA, 1.26 WHIP) took on MadBum (2-4, 6.42 ERA, 1.40 WHIP) in the opener in AT&T Park. It was a pitcher's duel, and the host Giants came on top 2-1.

Puckett allowed 2 runs in 5 innings off 5 hits, 2 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Tanner Rainey and Joe Jimenez combined for 3 innings with just 1 hit and 4 strikeouts.

We only had 6 hits, but Andrelton Simmons was 2-for-3 with a double and he scored the only run of the game. Brian Anderson drove him in during the 8th with a pinch hit single. Scott Kingery and Ryan Mountcastle both doubled in 1-for-4 outings.

May 10th, 2022: Tyler Mahle (1-1, 3.19 ERA, 0.80 WHIP) battled Jake Odorizzi (3-1, 4.75 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) as we looked to even the series. The icey Lewis Brinson is 3-for-8 against Odorizzi with 3 homers, so this could be his game and he could lead us to a win. Instead, we both are now 18-18 on the season as the Giants won 7-6.

Mahle lasted just 3 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and 4 strikeouts. Corbin Clouse was roughed up for 3 run sin 2 innings of relief work with 4 hits, 3 walks, and 3 strikeouts. Koda Glvoer got the loss, allowing a run in the 7th off 2 hits and a walk.

Brinson now has 4 hits against Odorizzi, all homers. He hit a solo shot in the 1st, and was 1-for-4 with 2 runs scored, a walk, and a steal. Keston Hiura was 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Scott Kingery was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI's and a double. Ryan Mountcastle doubled twice in 5 at bats with a run scored and one driven in. Lastly, Victor Caratini was 2-for-3 with a run scored, RBI, and walk. I finally couldn't blame the lack of offense for the loss.

May 11th, 2022: I claimed former Marlin RHP Edward Cabrera off waivers from the Phillies. I traded the now 24-year-old to them in 2019 for LF Adam Haseley and 1B Keegan Maronpot. After today's game, he'd replace James Farris on the active roster.

Walker Buehler (1-4, 5.52 ERA, 1.39 WHIP) took on Jaison Vilera (2-2, 5.40 ERA, 1.84 WHIP) as we looked to avoid another loss and still attempt to split the four game set. Buehler was finally dialed in, as we shut San Fran out 4-0.

Buehler allowed just 2 hits with a walk and 8 strikeouts in 6 innings of work. Tyler Jay and Victor Arano earned holds, and Shiontai pitched the 9th and recorded 2 K's and a BB. We As a team, we allowed just 2 hits and 2 walks.

Ryan Mountcastle was 3-for-4 with 2 more doubles, 2 runs scored, and a steal. Keston Hiura was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI's on a 9th inning double.

Former #1 Overall Pick Royce Lewis was 5-for-5 in a 7-1 Twins victory over the Houston Astros. The 22-year-old is hitting .368 with 5 homers and 13 RBI's in his 3rd year of major league action.

May 12th, 2022: We looked to earn the split with ace Jordan Montgomery (5-1, 2.19 ERA, 0.91 WHIP) taking on fellow southpaw Ricardo Sanchez (2-2, 3.21 ERA, 1.25 WHIP). The Giants crushed us 8-1 as we fell back to .500.

Montgomery allowed just 3 of the runs in 4.2 innings off 7 hits, a walk, and two strikeouts. Tanner Rainey allowed 5 off 3 hits, 2 walks, and a strikeout in 1.1 innings.

Cole Brannen was 1-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Scott Kingery was 2-for-4 while Keston Hiura was 1-for-4 with a run scored and double. He was driven in on an Andrelton Simmons sac fly in the 7th.

It was an awful road trip, and it would continue with a trip to Denver for three with the Rockies before a much needed day off. We've fallen 5.5 games out of first now, and Colorado is a solid team, 21-17. They'd send Enyel De Los Santos (1-0, 6.20 ERA), Eric Lauer (3-2, 3.53 ERA), and Jon Gray (3-2, 2.53 ERA) to the mound as they looked to keep the 2nd Wild Card spot.