[ayaghmour2]

April 27th, 2030: We get today off before heading to the West Coast to faced the Dodgers. We'l face Amari Queen (2-1, 3.38 ERA), Slade Cecconi (1-0, 6.05 ERA), and Luis Severino (1-1, 3.54 ERA).

April 28th, 2030: Steve Paustian (2-2, 3.18 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) took the mound against Amari Queen (2-1, 3.38 ERA, 1.02 WHIP) as the Dodgers welcomed us to town. It was a nice pitching duel, and we topped them 2-1.

But of course, Juan Ramirez had to hit the DL, leaving with back stiffness. Luckily, he should be back after the minimum.

Paustian went 6 innings with 7 hits, a run, 3 walks, and 3 strikeotus. Ken Adeniran and C.J. LaFever got holds and Chad Scoles earned the save.

Paustian also got it done with the bat, 1-for-2 with a solo homer. Juan Ramirez was 1-for-3 with a double and RBI. Juan Simental was 1-for-4 with a run scored. Jackson Miller was 1-for-3 with a walk. Noah Smith was 1-for-3.

April 29th, 2030: Omari Tetteh is on his way back to the big league roster.

RF Juan Lera of the Jupiter Hammerheads won Player of the Week. He'll be the featured prospect in the "Prospect Watch" for this week.

We skyrocketed up to #1 in the Power Rankings. At 17-8, we have a small 2 game lead over the Mets.

Prospect Watch: RF Juan Lera (A+ Jupiter):

A red hot week made the 22-year-old corner outfielder the newest Player of the Week in the Florida State League. Juan Luera was 9-for-17 with 2 homers and 6 RBI's, and is hitting .356/.453/.622 with 3 homers and 11 RBI's in 45 at bats to start the year. Origionally acquired from the Mariners in 2026, Seattle signed the Dominican for a $1,980,000 bonus back in 2024. He's taken a tumble in the prospect sector, but perhaps the lefty's run is the sign ofo things to come. He's not much a defender, despite his cannon of an arm, and is known much more for his bat. He has plus power and doesn't strike out very much, but he really hasn't had much success in the lower levels of the minors. His only real "quality" season came last year in Greensboro, where he hit a solid .302/.341/.480 with 12 homers and 63 RBI's, and has started to build upon it this year. Right now he's just a filler outfielder, but if Juan Ramirez stays on the Marlins, you know there will be a demand for replacement outfielders...

Game two of the series matched Dursun Erbakan (1-0, 7.40 ERA, 1.56 WHIP) with former Marlin Slade Cecconi (1-0, 6.05 ERA, 1.19 WHIP). Another well pitched game, and we needed extra frames to determine a winner. Sergio Tello launched a solo homer in the 10th, and Chad Scoles completed the save for a 3-2 victory.

Erbakan looked much better, 5 innings with 6 hits, a run, a walk, and 6 strikeouts. Luis Alcantra blew the save, 1.1 innings with 5 hits, a run, walk, and a strikeout. Juan Toribio got the win, striking out 2 in the bottom of the 9th. Scoles struck out 2 in the 10th.

Tello had most of our hits, 3-for-4 with the big homer. Juan Simental was 2-for-4 with a solo shot. Erbakan was 1-for-2 with a run scored. Omari Tetteh had a pinch hit single in the 9th.

Royals RF Jeff Aimone was 5-for-5 in a 8-4 loss to the Astros.

April 30th, 2030: The Expos will be without RHP Josh Gissendaner for the year with a torn UCL. He tossed 8 innings in 6 games with 4 hits, 2 runs, and 5 strikeouts.

We looked to finish the sweep of the first place (17-9!) Dodgers with former Dodger C.J. Jorgensen (2-2, 1.99 ERA, 1.07 WHIP) taking on the young budding star B.J. Russow (2-0, 3.48 ERA, 1.06 WHIP), a former 6th Round Pick by the Dodgers, who has really blossomed and is poised to make this year his breakout season. A road sweep of the former best team in the league seemed too good to be true, but with Jorgensen on the mound, we scilenced the hosts 4-1.

C.J., or should I say "CY," tossed 6.2 shutout innings with 2 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. Luis Alcantra went 1.1 innings with a hit, run, and 3 strikeouts. Chad Scoles earned save 11, striking out the side in the 9th, to increase his scorless streak to 15.1 innings to start the season.

Sergio Tello is playing like Juan Ramirez in his abscence, going 3-for-5 with a solo homer. Ernie Frye was 3-for-5. Juan Simetnal was 1-for-4 with a solo shot. Jackson Miller was 1-for-3 with a walk and solo homer. Mac Horvath was 1-for-4 with a double and run scored. Noah Smith was 1-for-3 with a walk and RBI. Jon Reid was 1-for-4 with a triple.

We'll start May at home hosting the second place Mets. We'll face familiar face Juan Coira (2-2, 3.38 ERA), Arturo Romo (3-2, 4.45 ERA), and Seth Halvorsen (2-2, 4.21 ERA).

May 1st, 2030: Down in New Orleans, Charles King was named Pitcher of the Month. I grabbed the 32-year-old vet on a minor league pact in the offseason, partly because I wanted to trade for him a long time back when he was better. He's 3-0 with a 2.63 ERA and 1.21 WHIP with 27 strikeouts in 24 innings (4 starts).

The opener with the Mets took place between Pat Saitta (1-1, 7.11 ERA, 1.42 WHIP) and ex-Marlin Juan Coira (2-2, 3.38 ERA, 1.44 WHIP) who has pitched much better to start this year then he did for us... Down 5-3 in the 9th, we loaded the bases on Arturo Cuellar. With two outs, Jon Reid did a magic trick, making three runners dissapear, with a walk-off double, giving us a 6-5 win to start May how we ended April.

Saitta pitched fine, 5.1 innings with 5 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Ken Adenrian walked the only batter he faced. The runner scored with Shiro Hiraki on the mound, although he tossed 2 innings with just a hit, run, and 3 strikeouts. Juan Toribio got the win, striking out the side in the 9th.

Juan Simental and Fernando Tatis Jr. were both 3-for-5 with a run scored. Reid was 2-for-4 with a walk, 2 doubles, and 4 RBI's. Jackson Miller was 2-for-4 with 2 runs, a walk, and RBI. Mac Horvath was 1-for-2 with a run scored and walk.

A little minor league news, Jacksonville starter Arturo Contreras tossed a 2-hit shutout as the Jumbo Shrimp beat the Mobile BayBears 7-0. He struck out 8.

Arizona LF Michael Conforto launched 3 homers in a 10-3 win over the Braves. Rangers RF Luis Robert was 5-for-5 in a 10-4 win over the Seantors.

Speaking of the Seanotrs, their the only sophomore team not in last, sitting in 3rd at 13-15 and just 2 games out of first. With young Ace Alfredo Herrera (why did I leave him unprotected...), new acquisition RF Bobby Eaton, and a strong pen anchored by B.J. Baker, they could be an interesting team to follow.

May 2nd, 2030: Chad Scoles was changing his tire on the side of the road, when he suffered a knee contusion. He'll head to the DL for 1-2 weeks with one of the weirdest injuries I've encountered. I hope it won't effect his impressive start...

Sam Stewart is on his way back up.

We looked to keep rolling with Devon Peterson (2-1, 6.43 ERA, 1.76 WHIP) taking on Arturo Romo (3-2, 4.45 ERA, 0.92 WHIP). All good things must come to an end, and the Mets flipped the score on us, winning 6-5 to even the series.

Rodolfo Solorzano was hit by a pitch and had to leave the game. His diagnosis is the always scary "pending."

Peterson had it rough, 6.2 innings with 6 hits, 6 runs, 4 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Joe Kramer finished the 7th with a strikeout, and has now pitched 2 straight games (albeit a third and two thirds of an inning) without allowing a run for the first time this year. Wow...

Turning the corner???

Offensively, Juan Simental continued to tear things up, 3-for-5 with a run scored and RBI. Omari Tetteh was great as well, 2-for-4 with a walk, 2 runs, 3 RBI's, a double, and homer. Mac Horvath was 1-for-4 with an RBI. Peterson was 1-for-2. Joey Bart was 1-for-4.

May 3rd, 2030: Solorzano's diagnosis came back, and it's just a bruised shoulder. He'll be day-to-day for just 5 days.

We looked to take the series with Steve Paustian (3-2, 2.83 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) facing Seth Halvorsen (2-2, 4.21 ERA, 1.21 WHIP). The Mets one upped the first two games, winning 7-5 and they cut our lead back to 2.

Fernando Tatis Jr. left with knee soreness, and he'll miss 1-2 weeks. Shiro Hiraki left with a mild shoulder strain, and he'll miss 2 weeks. Both guys will hit the DL.

Paustian had a rough outing, 3.2 innings with 5 hits, 4 runs, and 6 strikeouts. Steve Hudson went an inning with 3 hits, 2 runs, and 2 strikeouts. Joe Kramer was back at it, allowing 2 hits and a run with a strikeout in an inning.

Mac Horvath was 3-for-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. Jackson Miller was 3-for-4 with a double, run scored, and RBI. Jon Reid was 2-for-4 with a homer and 3 RBI's. Noah Smith was 2-for-4 with a double. Ernie Frye was 2-for-5. Juan Simental was 1-for-5, but launched a solo homer, his 5th in 7 games. Fernando Tatis Jr. was 1-for-2 before leaving with the injury.

I recalled Rogelio Maldonado and Andy Neidig from New Orleans.

Off to Pittsburgh for three with the Pirates. We'll take on Chris Androff (1-4, 8.37 ERA), Jonathan Kearns (1-3, 6.47 ERA), and Brad Rauter (3-1, 3.79 ERA).