SJL:
In his 7th full season as a member of the Milwaukee Cadets, 29-year old first baseman Josh Schultz is having a breakout season. Not that he wasn't already a very fine player- he has after all averaged 5.0 WAR per 162 games in his career. But this year he is already at 4.9 as we enter August and he leads the league in home runs with 26 and RBI with 92. He is also 7th in batting average (.332), 4th in OBP (.417), 3rd in Slugging (.588), 4th in WAR, etc.,etc.
While Schultz is painfully slow, he is actually a solid defender at first and even won a Gold Glove award back in 1974. The 1971 SJL Rookie of the Year, he is also a 5-time All-Star. And while there are a few players who at this point might be ahead of him in the race for the league MVP- last year's winner, Bud Lindsay, Pittsburgh's Bill Winchester, and Philly's great Taiwanese second baseman Xiao-mei Mah- he is certainly putting himself in the discussion with his great season thus far.
MGL:
Matt Kinney, the 26-year old left fielder for the Baltimore Lords, is getting his first chance to play regularly at the big league level this season. And he looks to be taking full advantage of the opportunity, earning the Batter of the Month award for the MGL in the month of July. While Kinney doesn't profile as a superstar caliber player it is hard to spot any obvious weaknesses in his game. He is a good all-around hitter with some pop, he possesses tremendous speed and savvy on the base paths, and he's a fine corner outfielder with a strong arm. And even with not a great deal of experience in the WPK, Kinney is helping to provide strong leadership in the Lords clubhouse.