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Division 1 East

Barring a catastrophe of almost unimaginable proportions, the New York Giants will win the Division 1 East for the first time in five seasons. They are 12 games up, and are scoring runs at a historic rate, threatening their own NABF record of 895 from the 2026 season; their best player, C Matt Wood, has gotten up off the mat and had an outrageously good August to win Batter of the Month; ace Jon Sayre is pitching like it; and while star SS Mike Burcham has landed on the IL, he’ll be back in time for the Championship series.

Given all of that, it’s understandable that the big story in the East remains the strikeout chase. The biggest development in the race is Matt O’Brien’s calf strain, suffered at the end of his last start on August 31; though he completed the game, he tweaked his leg on its final play as he came off the mound to try to field a slow roller. He will be out for two weeks, effectively taking him out of the contest. His teammate Blanche, meanwhile, is right on pace for the record: his 278 strikeouts are second only to O’Brien’s 289; with likely five starts remaining to get to 333, he would need to average about 11 a game, a rate slightly below his current season average. Seattle’s Jeff Baltimore is also in the running, at 271; either pitcher, or both, could reach the magic mark by season’s end.

The other race to watch in the East is the MVP race. All season, it looked like that title would belong to El Paso’s Brian Castrovinci, but over July and August Carson Prince has gone on a tear: the Brooklyn 1B is no a legitimate Triple Crown threat, leading with 38 homers, just two points back of Tampa’s Aaron Soucy with a .344 average, and three away from RBI co-leaders Castrovinci and Denver’s Clemens Young, who each have 95. In August, Prince hit .395/.436/.757 with 11 homers and 25 RBI. Between O’Brien, Blanche, Dane Best, and Prince, it must make Dodger fans scratch their heads to look at the standings, and the truth is they could be closer: the Giants are playing well over their expected record, while the Dodgers are slightly below. Regardless, they’re 12 games out with a New York Magic Number of 15, so while it may not be mathematically impossible, it’s close.

Toronto became the first team eliminated from postseason contention at the end of the month, but Philadelphia and Chicago should all follow soon, closing disappointing seasons. Chicago has some promise for the future - look no further than Rookie of the Month Trevor Snyder - but that future may be a couple years away; Philadelphia, meanwhile, completed a firesale at the end of July and looks to be headed toward a rebuild. Tampa held on a little better but at 16 games out they, too, are on the verge of an early exit.

Division 1 West

The West has been a see-saw all season, but in August it was El Paso that seems to have conclusively pulled away from the field. The West is far less settled than the East, but El Paso’s five game lead is a commanding one, and it would take a lot to turn it around. The Sun Kings were 16-12 in August despite a slumping Castrovinci, instead relying on CF Tom Knighton and RF Tyrone Love for their offense. The pitching was concerning in August, so that’s one thing to keep an eye on as we move into the season’s final month.

Waiting in the wings are Los Angeles, at five games back, and Seattle, at six. LA lost a little ground in August, going 15-13 despite the brilliance of Doug Kluz, who has inserted himself in the Pitcher of the Year conversation with a stellar August that won him Pitcher of the Month. Seattle, meanwhile, had a dreadful August: they began the month in first place, but won just 9 games and now sit six back. Any rotation that features Hector Razo and Jeff Baltimore is formidable, and the tag team of Mike Hood and Roger Alvarado can score runs, but Seattle is the least likely of the contenders to make a move.

With Monterrey hovering at .500, the only other point of interest in the West may be at the bottom of the standings, where Denver and Tijuana are battling over last place. If Denver falls, they will have a ticket stamped to Division 2 despite an outstanding power year by Donovan Bryant and a bounce-back from star Clemens Young. Young has an opt-out if Denver is relegated, but with one year left on his contract after 2039 it’s unclear if he’ll activate it; the Bears would no doubt rather not learn the answer to that question. For Tijuana, the stakes are different: they would risk relegation with a last-place finish, yes, but they would also be giving up bragging rights as the only NABF franchise that has never finished last, a point of pride owner Benito Garza has often brought up in interviews.

Division 1 Batter of the Month: Matt Wood, C, New York - .438/.540/.838, 8 HR, 29 RBI
Division 1 Pitcher of the Month: Doug Kluz, SP, Los Angeles - 4-1, 2.14 ERA, 41 K
Division 1 Rookie of the Month: Trevor Snyder, 1B, Chicago - .365/.479/.510, 3 HR, 19 RBI

Division 2 East

Don’t crown Baltimore just yet. The Terrapins opened up a good lead at the end of July, but both the Bees and the Stars chipped away in August. Baltimore didn’t have a bad month at 16-12, but Omar Juarez cooled off dramatically, a concerning sign for a team that has relied so heavily on his production. Elio Mespel and Nick Green have hit well, but Juarez has been the catalyst for this club all year: if he falters, they falter.

The Bees, meanwhile, won 18 games in August to pull within two of the Pins. 3B Cal Miller came alive in August, winning Batter of the Month with a .337/.443/.652 line while starters Paul Yates and Jorge Ortiz stepped up in the rotation. Boston’s bullpen has also been exceptional in August, making up for a mediocre first four months. And Detroit matched Boston at 18-10, including an eight game win streak with sweeps of Kansas City and Montreal, and a series win against Boston. The club is especially hopeful given the turnarounds of Ali Brown, who struggled all year, and Victor Ortiz, whose down July was a major factor in the team’s slide. With Detroit’s still excellent starting pitching, a renewed offensive attack could give them the boost they need to reclaim first before the season closes out.

The rest of the Conference, while not eliminated fully, is close; the first to go will likely be New Orleans, despite Robert Zermeno’s strong year. Next will be the Montreal Expos, and Pitcher of the Month Joe Fuller; Fuller’s disappointing season has contributed to Montreal’s slide, but team officials are buoyed by this month, and hopeful that earlier struggles were just a bump in the road for a promising young arm. Bubba Fread, too, performed well in August, though it certainly appears that his ace days may already be behind him. One bright spot has been his improved control: the four time Pitcher of the Year has walked just 4% of the batters he faced this year, well below his career average. Ottawa will likely go next, after a forgettable season defined by instability - of Ottawa’s starters, only James Devanney has pitched enough to qualify for the ERA title this season.

Division 2 West

The Mounties have the most insurmountable lead in the NABF entering September, at 15 games. That’s despite a mediocre August in which they went 15-13, including a sweep at the hands of the lowly Zephyrs. Despite that stumble, the Mounties have plenty of time to rest up before an almost inevitable championship appearance, the club’s first since 2026. The Mounties haven’t won a Championship since 2008, the second of their back-to-back wins to inaugurate Division 2.

With the rest of the Conference playing for scraps, there isn’t much left to decide. One to follow, though, may be Vancouver closer Matt Greene’s save numbers, though: at 44 through August, Greene is on pace to break the all-time NABF mark of 51, set by Matt Heitzman with Baltimore in 2026, a record which also happens to be the all-time D2 mark. With Vancouver likely economizing for the stretch run it’s unclear how many chances Greene will get, but he only needs seven, a mark he’s equalled or bettered in every month of the season thus far.

Another team to watch will be Ft. Worth. The Cats have scratched their way out of the cellar with a surprising 18-10 month, led by rookie CF sensation Jesse Moeller. The 21 year old is a star in the making, one of Ft. Worth’s promising young players. If he and the team do as well in September as they did in August, it may be a sign of a strong 2039.

Division 2 Batter of the Month: Cal Miller, 3B, Boston - .337/.443/.652, 7 HR, 29 RBI
Division 2 Pitcher of the Month: Joe Fuller, SP, Montreal - 4-1, 1.70 ERA, 68 K
Division 2 Rookie of the Month: Jesse Moeller, CF, Ft. Worth - .333/.383/.657, 8 HR, 22 RBI

Division 3 East

Are we witnessing a historic collapse? Closing out July, the Nashville Sounds were a comfortable ten games up on the rest of the D3 East, cruising toward another Conference title. An 11-17 month later, they are holding desperately to a two game lead as the Atlanta Crackers knock at the door. Atlanta has surged while the Sounds have slid: 19-9 in August behind an offense in which every single starter had an OPS+ above 130. Sam Stanton, Hiram Reznicek, and Matt Showalter all had seven homer months, while the top three in Atlanta’s rotation kept runs off the board better than they have all year. The bullpen remains a flashing red warning sign, though, and may mean the difference between a heroic comeback and yet another second-place Atlanta finish.

Miami, meanwhile, appears done. While their run prevention remains stellar and Paul Herrin is still the odds-on favorite to join Bubba Fread, Antonio Venegas, and Oliver Chase as the only four-time Pitcher of the Year winners, a combination of poor hitting and poor luck has doomed his club to a third place finish a year after nearly winning a D3 crown.

Memphis (65-63), Cleveland (59-69), and Columbus (55-73) round out the East; Columbus, who finished fifth ahead of only Atlanta last year, will become the odds-on relegation favorite if they stay in last.

Division 3 West

Against all odds, St. Paul remains on top in the West - they even gained a game in the standings over an August in which their lead held steady between two and four games. Coming into September they remain three games up on a Salt Lake team that is superior on paper, but not in reality. St. Paul is still well behind Salt Lake in expected W/L, but are playing eight games over that mark while Salt Lake is two below theirs. John McNayr has stepped fully into his role as St. Paul’s ace, going 6-0 with a 2.68 ERA this month with a 70 FIP-.

Salt Lake continues to score runs in bunches, though the loss of Nate Madden hurt. MVP candidate Ralph Keough has filled some of that void with a spectacular month, hitting .343/.387/.731 with nine homers, but it’s not enough to make up for Salt Lake’s growing list of problems. There’s still plenty of time to turn things around, and a three game lead is nothing in the grand scheme, but it’s not hard to look at St. Paul’s overperformance and Salt Lake’s underperformance as a trend rather than an outlier.

Austin, too, has played over their heads, but not by enough to make a difference. Despite the strong August of Rookie of the Year candidate Masahiro Nakanishi, who hurled a no-hitter against Memphis on August 26, Austin is five games back and slipping. The Seals and Beavers, too, have broken off their pursuit, and now sit 8 and 9 games back respectively. Meanwhile, it’s a matter of days before the Calgary Outlaws are eliminated fully, ending a miserable season.

Division 3 Batter of the Month: Ralph Keough, 1B, Salt Lake - .343/.387/.731, 9 HR, 29 RBI
Division 3 Pitcher of the Month: John McNayr, SP, St. Paul - 6-0, 2.68 ERA, 43 K
Division 3 Rookie of the Month: Masahiro Nakanishi, SP, Austin - 4-1, 2.97 ERA, 44 K

Division 4 East

In mid-August, Pittsburgh Crawford fans were feeling something largely alien to them: hope. Their club had won 15 of 17 stretching back into July, and had a heady eight game lead over Washington and Charlotte. But things went downhill fast after that: over the final thirteen August games, Pittsburgh won just three times. Simultaneously, Charlotte lit a match: the Hornets went 9-4 over that same stretch, and now sit just two games back. Charlotte remains a heavily flawed team, with a prodigious offense but the worst pitching and defense in the Division; this surge may be a mirage. But Pittsburgh has its own challenges, despite leading a weak D4 East in run differential: their bats have gotten even quieter than they’ve been all year.

If both Pittsburgh and Charlotte falter, there’s still a slim chance for either Indianapolis or Cincinnati. Both teams have strong pitching - the former led by Nate Mefford, Jason Stanfill, and an improving Aaron Cotrell, and the latter by ace Willie Rodriguez and Rookie of the Month Jay Basinger. But time is short if they want to make a move, and they won’t be able to do it unless both teams above them start losing more games. Washington, too, is still technically in it, though far more fates would have to align.

The one team that can be (almost) conclusively ruled out is Havana, twenty games out in the Federation’s weakest division. In the annals of bad Sugar King seasons, this one will rank toward the bottom, as the club may flirt with 100 losses for the first time in franchise history.

Division 4 West

A wild year in the D4 West is very, very far from over. There are four teams with legitimate shots coming into play on September 1.

Phoenix has to be the favorite: they have by far D4’s best run differential, and have saved their best ball for late in the season, ripping off a 17-11 August that included a crucial home sweep of San Antonio - a, exciting three game set in which two of the games were decided on walk-offs and the other by a single run. Matt Armstrong led the team’s offense, but the key contributor on this club may yet prove to be offseason acquisition Bob Paul, who at age 40 is doing things that elude most pitchers. He has struck out over 35% of the batters he’s faced - 93 overall - while walking only 11 all season. He has a 48 FIP- and 3.1 WAR as a reliever. He will almost without question win his fifth Reliever of the Year award, tying him for the most ever despite not becoming a reliever until age 31. Paul will be a certified first ballot Hall of Famer as soon as he’s eligible, and this season is the cherry on top of that career.

Despite all of that, the Firebirds still have to deal with the St. Louis Browns, who won 19 games in August to bolt up the standings, from fourth place to a tie for first. This has been, remarkably, a total team effort: few Browns have had exceptional months, or terrible ones. They have simply all hit their strides simultaneously, at the exact right moment. If the team that won games throughout August sticks around, they could easily be holding a trophy at the end.

San Antonio, who had been in control of the West for a couple of months, slipped at exactly the wrong moment. A 12-16 August has brought them to third place, two back from Phoenix and St. Louis, as everything seemed to go wrong at once. Power hitter Ron Golden went into a prolonged slump, while other dependable run producers saw declines in their numbers. Beyond starter Dave Lopez, the pitching failed on an epic scale as well, as every member of the rotation had a losing record and a below-average FIP and ERA in August.

Milwaukee matched San Antonio’s August, but can at least partially blame injuries, as Alex Palomino, John Richardson, Mike O’Neill Jr. (son of Hall of Fame Giants pitcher Mike O’Neill), and Jason Lee have all missed time.

Albuquerque and Las Vegas are still fighting it out for last place, but Albuquerque has slipped further than Vegas this month, and the Dukes are now a full fifteen games back.

Division 4 Batter of the Month: Matt Armstrong, 2B, Phoenix - .304/.443/.565, 5 HR, 19 RBI
Division 4 Pitcher of the Month: Bob Paul, CL, Phoenix - 6 SV, 6-1, 1.45 ERA, 26 K
Division 4 Rookie of the Month: Jay Basinger, SP, Cincinnati - 5-0, 2.58 ERA, 46 K