[ayaghmour2]

Weekly Record: 4-2
Seasonal Record: 32-33 (4th, 8.5 GB)
Stars of the Week
None generated this week

Schedule
6-22: Win vs Saints (2-5)
6-23: Win vs Saints (0-12)
6-24: Loss vs Saints (4-5): 15 innings
6-25: Win vs Kings (4-7)
6-26: Loss vs Kings (1-0)
6-27: Win vs Kings (4-7)

Recap
Going strictly by record, this was a good week! Not only that, this could have easily been a six win week if a few things shook out differently. We blew the Saints game, with Morse allowing a run in the 9th (actually went 11) before Rankin allowed another in the 15th. Of course, we also ruined a strong Rankin start because we couldn't score, but overall, a strong week on the field. But unfortunately, the injury bug hit our budding star, and a strained hamstring will cost Billy Hunter the next 5-6 weeks. Hunter was tearing the cover off the ball, hitting .303/.386/.538 (144 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 4 triples, 5 homers, a steal, and 18 RBI's with 19 walks and just 5 strikeouts in 153 trips to the plate. Obviously, this is a big blow, and now Paul McLain will return to the starting lineup with Ollie Page moving back to short. I'm bringing up Johnny Waters from AAA to use off the bench. Ray Ford will see a little time at second, giving Leo Mitchell more playing time, but I know this is really going to put a damper on our nice little run.

Enough about the bad, let's talk about the good; the outstanding pitching from the week. Milt Fritz made two excellent starts, starting with the 4-hit, 2 walk, 1 strikeout shutout in the 12-0 win over the Saints. He then had a little trouble with Brooklyn, walking 8, but he did well enough to scatter them. He allowed just 2 hits and 3 runs with 2 strikeouts to pickup his second win of the week and 8th on the season. His 2.01 ERA is still the best in baseball, over half a point lower then any other FABL pitcher. Dave Rankin may have lost both of our games, but in his 20 innings he allowed just 17 hits, 4 runs (3 earned), and 6 walks with 6 strikeouts in two starts and a relief outing. Rankin continues his bad luck, now on pace for 24 losses, but his 3.61 ERA (115 ERA+) and 1.37 WHIP are career bests on his quest for 300 innings. Rankin has walked 46 and struck out 53 in 134.2 outstanding innings. Oscar Morse put together an excellent 11 inning start with 10 hits, 4 runs (2 earned), 4 walks, and 2 strikeouts in a no decision. Morse has rebounded nicely in his hometown, 6-4 with a 3.86 ERA (107 ERA+) and 1.46 WHIP, but he has walked (37) a lot more batters then he struck out (16).

At the plate, John Lawson had another Player of the Week quality week, 12-for-28 with a double, two homers, 7 RBI's, and 5 runs scored. Lawson has caught fire as he looks to earn another All-Star nod, up to .348/.387/.539 (145 OPS+) on the season with 14 homers and 44 RBI's. He's just three homers short of Al Wheeler for the CA lead, and on track to set a new career high for longballs. Injury replacement Paul McLain showed he deserves to start, 6-for-14 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI's, 2 runs, and 2 walks. His overall season numbers aren't too great, but a few weeks like this in the next month or so will really help. Our corner outfield trio of Love, Langton, and Mitchell looked great. Love was 7-for-17 with 2 doubles, 3 RBI's, and 2 runs scored. Langton was 8-for-22 with 2 doubles, a steal, 2 RBI's, 2 runs, and 5 walks. Mitchell was 4-for-11 with a double, walk, and two runs scored. Ray Ford, however, had a really rough week, just 4-for-23. He did hit his 8th homer of the season, but he dropped his average below .300 for the first time in a while. Still, Ford is looking for an All-Star selection as well, hitting .299/.373/.479 (125 OPS+) with 12 doubles, 3 triples, 8 homers, and 36 RBI's with 24 walks and just 7 strikeouts.

Looking Ahead
The draft just finished, I'll have a report on the remaining picks later, and All Star voting finishes (might publish my ballot if I have time) today. I have to sign my first six picks, plus 10th Rounder Doc Stiles. I also grabbed 6 impossible guys in the AI portion, which definitely will help with our roster cuts. We have 55 guys hanging out in La Crosse right now, so expect 15-20 cuts in the next few days. Most of these guys will be older or late round picks that have hung out in the system for a while, but I may cut a few former high round picks.

On the field, we start the week with an off day as we head north of the border for a quick road trip in Toronto. We'll get three with the Wolves (29-36) who are tied for 5th with the Canons. Chicago's own Levi Redding is having a great rookie season, hitting .319/.386/.427 (109 OPS+) with 17 doubles, 4 triples, a homer, 10 steals, and 27 RBI's in 300 trips to the plate. Larry Vestal is hitting a remarkable .352/.414/.494 (133 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 9 triples, 3 homers, 3 steals, and 35 RBI's as he looks to earn a second All-Star nod. Unfortunately for them, only two other players have an OPS+ above 70, with both under 90. The pitching is strong, but the surprise has been how impressive Jake Smith has looked. He's just 6-6, but with an outstanding 2.87 ERA (149 ERA+) and 1.22 WHIP with 16 walks and 33 strikeouts. This is a huge breakout for the 27-year-old southpaw who's led the CA in BB/9 the past two seasons and he might make it three this year. Otis Cook (6-4, 119 ERA+, 20 K) and Joe Hancock (7-6, 119 ERA+, 55 K) have looked great atop the rotation, Buddy Long is having a strong AAA season, so there could be some reinforcements on the way shortly.

After that we head back home to host the third place Sailors. At 38-28, they've rebounded well and sit one behind the Kings (39-27) and three behind the Foresters (42-24). John Kincaid is back in the lineup, but he's hitting just .212/.267/.305 (47 OPS+) with 5 doubles, 3 triples, and 13 RBI's in 133 trips to the plate. Of course, Dick Walker is having a great season, batting .293/.395/.523 (134 OPS+) with 11 doubles, 10 triples, 8 homers, 41 walks, 10 strikeouts, 11 steals, and 30 RBI's. I say it all the time, but Walker is one of the coolest players in the league, and easily one of the most underappreciated. "Three bagger" Jack Cleaves has lost some playing time to rookie Bob Smith, but he's having a great season, batting .339/.433/.545 (150 OPS+) with 8 doubles, 4 triples, 3 homers, and 20 RBI's. It's just 142 plate appearances, but him and Walker are the only two in the lineup with an above average batting line. The rotation, however, has five guys with above average ERA+'s, including Doc Newell who's been elite in his 14 starts. The 29-year-old is 9-3 with a 2.91 ERA (147 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, 29 walks, and 47 strikeouts. Veteran William Jones is 7-5 with a 3.29 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, 51 walks, and 47 strikeouts in 115 innings pitched. Merritt Thomas had a tough start to the year, but is now 5-6 with a 3.48 ERA (123 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, 33 walks, and 39 strikeouts. Lefty Walt Wells looked good in his 11 starts, 4-5 with a 3.35 ERA (128 ERA+), 1.42 WHIP, 31 walks, and 38 strikeouts.

Minor League Report
LHP Cal Knight (AAA Milwaukee Blues): Kind of like Mike Murphy, lefty Cal Knight never gets any prospect love despite being a well developed arm with a lot of talent. He's been outstanding in his 13 starts with the Blues, the most recent a 3-hit shutout with a walk and 4 strikeouts. Knight is now 6-3 with a 2.48 ERA (133 ERA+), 1.10 WHIP, 18 walks, and 25 strikeouts in 80 strong innings pitched. Knight, however, can't really go all that deep into games, with the most recent start the only one he completed the seventh. And prior to this start, just one of more then 90 pitches. Pug is another guy who in the minors didn't always go that far, but once he came to the majors he was able to consistently reach 100. I expect the same for Knight, who's got excellent command which should keep his pitch count manageable. His change is the best of his three pitches, but his cutter and slider right now are a little too similar. It may be too late for a velocity boost, but if he can get his cutter to hit 90 I can see things really opening up for him. He's not Rule-5 eligible, so he's likely staying in Milwaukee all season, but I really like he's turned into.

RHP Joe Foote (AA Mobile Commodores): One of the arms that was discussed in the Pomales (who decided to get injured already...) trade, the 22-year-old Joe Foote was not distracted by the trade rumors. He tossed a brilliant 6-hit shutout of the Birmingham Ironmen to improve to 5-4 on the season. Foote is sporting an impressive 2.04 ERA (153 ERA+) and 1.11 WHIP with 20 walks and 15 strikeouts across 88.1 innings pitched. He's making a case for promotion, and since he pitched in AA last year too, he may get one before Cy Sullivan. I have a lot of shuffling to do, so with a five man rotation in AAA, I could decide to run a six man there as well. Plus, Art Black is taking up one of the spots, and even with his success, I'm not afraid to dispel him a spot. Foote features an impressive mid 90s sinker that generates a ton of groundballs while he locates his curve and slider precisely in the bottom of the zone. He's not a strikeout pitcher, he excels when the ball is on the ground, and I expect him to be a reliable middle of the rotation arm. He may only have a few more AA starts, but the first 33 have been arguably the best of his career.