Here are the results from
May 1938:
San Luis grow strong with an even better May, turning a tight start into what is essentially now a one-horse race. Puebla and Guadalajara have what it takes to keep it close but the Prickly Pears' consistency will make it very hard to catch up.
Here's the breakdown (player stats are May only):
Tunas de San Luis - 1st (NC), 19-6 in May, 13-2 vs teams above .500 at the beginning of the month
What a month it was for the Potosí team, sweeping the Eagles twice and both Guadalajara and León once. Their strong pitching makes them the 2nd best at preventing runs while a well rounded lineup makes them 3rd in runs scored. Once again, the title is within eyesight except this year it is not them who are doing the chasing.
Best hitters:
1B Carlos Mendoza - .342/.415/.384, 1 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBI, 1 SB
SS Rogelio Herrán - .322/.365/.422, 6 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB
LF Guillermo Aceves - .311/.347/.411, 3 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 10 SB
Rotation:
RHP Roberto Mestre - 5-0, 1.35 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 9.1 K%, Pitcher of the Month
RHP César Plascencia - 3-2, 1.67 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 13.7 K%
LHP Francisco Camacho - 3-1, 1.66 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 14.7 K% (strained his left rotator cuff in his last start, replaced by LHP Roberto Bañuelos: 1.15 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 8.7 K%, 2 SV this year)
RHP Luis García - 2-2, 2.70 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 6.5 K% (Replaced by RHP Juan Rocha: 1.71 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 9.5 K%, 11 SV last year)
Serpientes de Puebla - 2nd (NC), 14-11 in May, 6-10 vs teams above .500 at the beginning of the month
Overall an alright month for Puebla, at least keeping them in the chase, but they didn't win the games that matter the most and now have their work cut out for them. The Snakes remain as the best offensive team in the league but are 3rd at preventing runs. To address this, they acquired RHP Antonio Aguilar from León in exchange of 2B prospect José Beas a couple days before the deadline. The 31 year-old pitcher was reportedly unhappy with the move as he is now forced to move out of his hometown of León, but has publicly stated he's ready to win the title with Puebla.
Best hitters:
LF Héctor Ramírez - .367/.398/.506, 8 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI
3B Daniel Rivera - .322/.408/.467, 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB
2B Fernando del Toro - .295/.398/.443, 7 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI
Rotation:
RHP Victor Villarroel - 2-4, 2.15 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 18.9 K%
LHP José García - 2-2, 2.78 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 12.6 K%
RHP Rafael Sianez - 3-2, 2.76 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 8.7 K%
RHP Eulogio Martínez - 3-2, 1.64 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 10.1 K% (Also appared in 9 games outside of his 6 starts, was moved to the bullpen once more following the trade for Aguilar)
Obsidianas de Guadalajara - 3rd (+1), 15-10 in May, 9-4 vs teams above .500 at the beginning of the month
Guadalajara's top pitching and defense continue to impress as the move up a spot and could be considered as "dark horse" contenders. Their offense seems to be just middle of the road despite having several top players. It seems like an Obsidians player is set to win the batting title for the 2nd time in 3 years (Oscar Valladolid: .413).
Best hitters:
LF Oscar Valladolid - .436/.452/.505, 4 2B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, Player of the Month
RF Guillermo Villanueva - .278/.305/.354, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 1 SB
C Eliseo Rodríguez - .260/.308/.342, 3 2B, 1 HR, 8 RBI
Rotation:
RHP Jacinto Santos - 2-1, 1.51 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 11.5 K%
LHP Carlos Casillas - 3-1, 2.02 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 12.4 K%
RHP Faustino Campos - 4-2, 1.68 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 11.8 K%
RHP Roberto Olmos - 2-2, 0.93 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 12,6 K%
Flechas de León 4th (+1), 12-14 in May, 5-10 vs teams above .500 at the beginning of the month
The Arrows didn't have a good month and managed to climb a spot, though this is more due to the Eagles having a worse month. The team is 6th in runs scored, with only Francisco Escamilla delivering star-level performances, and 5th in runs allowed, but trading away Antonio Aguilar could hurt them in this regard. At 10 games back, don't expect to compete this coming month.
Best hitters:
RF Victor Barrios - .317/.391/.341, 1 2B, 7 RBI
RF Manuel Gil - .293/.310/.402, 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 3 SB
2B Francisco Escamilla - .314/.339/.371, 3 2B, 1 HR, 14 RBI
Rotation:
RHP Juan González - 4-0, 2.34 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, 8.2 K%
LHP Jonathan Estrada - 1-3, 3.48 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 10.4 K%
LHP Alejandro Carranza - 1-1, 1.15 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13.8 K%
RHP Antonio Aguilar - 1-4, 4.31 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 9.5 K% (Traded to Puebla, replaced by RHP Luis Cruz: 3.38 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10.2 K% in 14 G, 10 GS)
Jaguares de México - 5th (+2), 12-14 in May, 7-12 vs teams above .500 at the beginning of the month
Average pitching and below average offense mean Jaguares are set for a 3rd consecutive 5th place finish. They have several interesting players and are 4th in Batting WAR, but for some reason that talent hasn't translated into runs.
Best hitters:
CF Armando Rodríguez - .327/.336/.491, 5 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 18 RBI, 1 SB
RF Salvador Velázquez - .282/.336/.369, 7 2B, 1 3B, 9 RBI, 3 SB
C Alfredo Hernández - .288/.342/.315, 2 2B, 6 RBI
Rotation:
LHP Andrés Amaya - 5-2, 1.89 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 9.8 K%
RHP David Garza - 1-5, 2.44 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 5.6 K%
RHP Ángel Urquidi - 3-1, 1.88 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 8 K%
RHP Mario Quesada - 1-4, 2.28 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 5.6 K%
Águilas de México - 6th (-3), 9-18 in May, 4-11 vs teams above .500 at the beginning of the month
As predicted last month, the Eagles regressed hard with them being the worst team at allowing runs and an offense that's just below average. They're far from contenders at this point and should focus on building up for next season.
Best hitters:
RF Luis García - .347/.379/.388, 4 2B, 6 RBI, 2 SB
LF Edwin Acosta - .247/.344/.358, 6 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1 SB
C José Canto - .231/.294/.282, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2 RBI
Rotation:
RHP Eulalio Garza - 2-2, 2.49 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 11.2 K%
RHP Ezequiel Anguiano - 1-3, 4.01 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 13.3 K%
LHP Leo Álvarez - 2-4, 3.35 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, 5.7 K%
RHP Antonio Castañeda - 3-2, 3.13 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, 10.3 K%
Aulladores de Mérida - 7th (-1), 11-15 in May, 8-9 vs teams above .500 at the beginning of the month
The league's first champions have fallen hard and it seems like another bottom half finish is on the cards. They're still the 2nd best offense but are 6th in allowing runs, so I wouldn't expect them to compete unless their pitching improves next year.
Best hitters:
LF Celestino de la Rosa - .291/.351/.388, 10 2B, 13 RBI, 3 SB
3B Enrique Canul - .239/.280/.432, 3 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 11 RBI
CF José Contreras - .292/.315/.358, 6 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBI, 8 SB
Rotation:
RHP Jesús Pérez - 2-3, 2.96 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 7.8 K%
LHP Roberto García - 1-6, 2.01 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 10.9 K%
RHP Felipe Martínez - 3-3, 2.45 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 4 K% (Replaced by RHP Jonathan Tirado: 5.71 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 9.4 K% in 6 starts)
RHP Eulalio Sánchez - 3-2, 3.52 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 10.9 K% (Replaced by RHP David Venegas: 3.50 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 11 K% in 6 starts)
Jaibas de Tampico 8th (NC), 11-15 in May, 6-11 vs teams above .500 at the beginning of the month
What is there left to say about this team? They're 8th in runs scored and 6th in runs allowed, perhaps the soon-to-come debut of #1 prospect RHP Rogelio Hernández can turn this team around in the near future.
Best hitters:
1B Julio Ortiz - .308/.351/.363, 5 2B, 10 RBI, 1 SB
SS Andrés Martínez - .258/.271/.323, 3 2B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 1 SB
C Jonathan González - .232/.274/.319, 2 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI
Rotation:
RHP Francisco Barajas - 1-5, 2.91 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10.8 K%
RHP Israel Pastrana - 3-2, 1.31 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 11.3 K%
RHP Zenón Sandoval - 2-4, 5.44 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 5.8 K%
LHP Miguel Zúñiga - 3-2, 2.12 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 11 K%
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's a month and 6 games left in the season. San Luis are clear favorites for the title, with a pair of teams that might be able to surprise. Next time we'll go over the end of season results. Thanks for reading!