S30 Playoffs, League Leaders

Playoff Picture (if the season ended today)

*In the event of a tie, last season's record was used as a tie-breaker

By Current Record (52 games remaining):

AL North Champ: Milwaukee (63-47)

AL East Champ: Boston (63-47)

AL South Champ: Nashville (71-39)

AL West Champ: Salem (82-28)

AL Wildcard 1: Vancouver (66-44)

AL Wildcard 2: New York (57-53)

NL North Champ: Scranton (68-42)

NL East Champ: Cincinnati (59-51)

NL South Champ: Louisville (66-44)

NL West Champ: Seattle (68-42)

NL Wildcard 1: Texas (60-50)

NL Wildcard 2: Wichita (58-52)

AL Matchups:

(4) Milwaukee vs. (5) Vancouver

Winner faces (1) Salem

(3) Boston vs. (6) New York

Winner faces (2) Nashville

NL Matchups:

(4) Cincinnati vs. (5) Texas

Winner faces (1) Seattle

(3) Louisville vs. (6) Wichita

Winner faces (2) Scranton

Notes:

-Boston might view the #3 seed as a blessing…they have been upset for three consecutive seasons when receiving a first-round bye.

-New York would become the first AL North team to clinch a wild-card berth in 8 seasons.

-Vancouver advanced to game 7 of the World Series as a wild-card team last season.  They are currently 16 games behind Salem in the AL West, but still hold a better record than the #3 and #4 seeds in the AL.

-Seattle would earn their third straight #1 seed.  They were upset in the DCS during each of the past two seasons.

-Scranton has won the NL pennant for two consecutive seasons, both times as the #3 seed.

-Cincinnati is Pine Tar’s comeback team, after winning only 61 games last season.

-Who wouldn’t want to see an Arfy vs. Jibe playoff matchup?

By Exp PCT (Expected Winning Percentage) – determined by run differential:

AL North Champ: Milwaukee (.559)

AL East Champ: Boston (.633)

AL South Champ: Nashville (.679)

AL West Champ: Salem (.688)

AL Wildcard 1: St. Louis (.571)

AL Wildcard 2: Vancouver (.568)

NL North Champ: Scranton (.648)

NL East Champ: Wichita (.533)

NL South Champ: Louisville (.550)

NL West Champ: Seattle (.658)

NL Wildcard 1: Texas (.540)

NL Wildcard 2: Albuquerque (.505)

AL Matchups:

(4) Milwaukee vs. (5) St. Louis

Winner faces (1) Salem

(3) Boston vs. (6) Vancouver

Winner faces (2) Nashville

NL Matchups:

(4) Wichita vs. (5) Texas

Winner faces (1) Seattle

(3) Louisville vs. (6) Albuquerque

Winner faces (2) Scranton

Notes:

-St. Louis sneaks into the first wild-card spot, pushing Vancouver to the #6 seed and knocking New York out of the playoffs.  This would give the AL West three playoff teams.

-Wichita wins the NL East instead of Cincinnati, who would be out of the playoffs.  Albuquerque clinches the final wild-card berth to make their second playoff appearance in 14 seasons.


League Leaders:

Listed below are the Pine Tar Season 30 league leaders in various statistical catagories, their projected total after the remaining 52 games, and the Pine Tar all-time record holders for those categories.  Players who are on-track to tie or break a record have been noted with bold font.

Category		League Leader - S30 Total		Projected Total		Pine Tar Record Holder - Total
Batting Average		Blaine Moore (Roc) - .399		.399		Randy Podsednik - .398
Homeruns		Rubby Prieto (Sal) - 43		63		Jim Blair - 69
Runs Batted In		Rubby Prieto (Sal) - 111		163		Bob Wood - 203
Stolen Bases		Tony Tatis (Hou) - 53		78		Brandon Kline - 166
Runs Scored		Gus Justice (NY) - 104		153		Ronald Clyburn - 169
OPS %		Blaine Moore (Roc) - 1.108		1.108		Frank Martin - 1.240
Pitching Wins		Rock Randall (VC) - 17		25		Rich Meyers - 25
Earned Run Avr		Tim Daubach (Sea) - 1.75		1.75		John Rucker - 1.79
WHIP		Tim Daubach (Sea) - 0.93		0.93		Tim Daubach - 0.87
OAV		Javier Carrasco (IA) - .200		.200		Tim Daubach - .177
Saves		Juan Sierra (Sea) - 34		50		3 Tied - 54
Pitching Strikeouts		Rock Randall (VC) - 152		224		Warren Hargrave - 273
Complete Games		Eddie Plant (Wic) - 6		9		D.Shipley, W.Sizemore - 15
IF Plus Plays		Vladimir Toregas (SWB) - 25		37		Travis Fiore - 40
OF Plus Plays		Cliff Gray (Jac) - 16		24		Hank Truman - 37
OF Assists		Napoleon Charles (Hou) - 9		13		Ariel Villano - 27
Caught Stealing %		Cesar Durazo (Sal) - .64		.64		Nick Miles - .534

Season 30 All-Star Blog

The Pine Tar Season 30 Midsummer Classic took place yesterday, as the National League defeated the American League by a score of 7-2.  Wichita's Bartolo Ortiz won MVP honors, thanks to a three-run double in the 6th inning.  Vinny Napoli (Seattle) was the winning pitcher, while Rock Randall (Vancouver) took the loss.  Homeruns were hit by Vladimir Molina (Texas), Eugenio Canseco (Scranton), and Harry Pizzaro (Albuquerque).  

Teams with the most All-Star selections:

Nashville Merchants - 7 (blapo21)
Albuquerque Komodo Dragons - 7 (csudak)
Salem Volcanoes - 6 (jkenned)
Seattle Strikers - 5 (ghutton9)
Scranton Red Barons - 4 (reggie988)
Boston Pilgrims - 3 (kjmulli)
Vancouver Canucks - 3 (skplayer07)
Cincinnati Firestorm - 3 (jbburner)

Teams with zero All-Star selections:

St. Louis Arch Angels

Florida Retirees

Tampa Bay Thunder

Fresno Grizzlies
Helena Copper Kings
Philadelphia Moneymakers
Louisville ARF ARF ARF ARF's
Colorado Springs Night Watchmen

All-Stars by Division
NL West - 13
AL West - 9
AL East - 8
AL South - 8
NL East - 7
NL North - 6
AL North - 5
NL South - 4

*Links are posted - click on an individual player's name to open their HBD profile

First Time All-Stars – American League

P - Tex Wagner (Magnitude)
P - Desi Gabriel (Merchants)
P - Mike Franklin (Volcanoes)
P - Malik Sele (Magnitude)
P - Alex Espinosa (Merchants)
P - Yuniesky Segui (Merchants)
C - Dion Pagnozzi (Zephyrs)
2B - Wendell Werth (Merchants)
3B - Bonne Brow (Pilgrims)
LF - Stone Bennett (Valhalla Varauders)
LF - Marvin Rose (Merchants)
RF - Avisail Martin (Volcanoes)
DH - Phil Yamamoto (Merchants)

First Time All-Stars – National League

P - Ryan Wilkins (Komodo Dragons)
P - Danys Telemaco (Juggernauts)
P - Ray Henry (Juice)
P - Eddie Plant (DwArf'y Mojados)
P - Gustavo Santos (Red Barons)
P - Ivan Carrasco (Hawkeyes)
P - Trevor Dubler (Firestorm)
C - Sean Cousins (Komodo Dragons)
C - Salvador Gallardo (Strikers)
1B - Dicky Stanley (GalvestonWave)
3B - Nigel Martin (Roughnecks)
3B - Eugenio Frieri (Firestorm)
LF - Vladimir Molina (GalvestonWave)
CF - Bartolo Ortiz (DwArf'y Mojados)
RF - Harry Pizzaro (Komodo Dragons)

All-Stars Making Their 5th Appearance or Greater
P - Carlos Flores (Juice): 8th Appearance
P - Juan Sierra (Strikers): 7th Appearance
C - Bengie Trajano (Doormats): 6th Apperance
P - Rickie Metcalfe (Wood Chippers): 6th Appearance
P - John McNamara (Strikers): 5th Appearance
SS - Jim Hawpe (Red Barons): 5th Appearance
RF - Carlos Zorrilla (Prairie Dogs): 5th Appearance

Season 30's Rookie Class

Pine Tar has a strong rookie class this season, especially from an offensive standpoint.  The class includes three #1 draft picks and seven IFAs who were signed for greater than $15 million.  There are also some late first-round picks and cheap IFAs, who could turn out to be steals.  Below is a list of this season's notable rookies.  You can click on each player's name to view their HBD profile.  Interesting to note that five players belong to Nashville, four to Houston, and three to Wichita.  

Position Players

1B – Michael Chong (Milwaukee)

Draft/IFA: $16.3M IFA – S27

Stats: .313 BA, .389 OBP, 16 HR, 48 RBI, 5 Plus Plays

1B – Eli Cruz (Wichita)

Draft/IFA: $25.1M IFA – S27

Stats: .342 BA, .413 OBP, 13 HR, 44 RBI, 6 Plus Plays

1B – Ernest Grimsley (Nashville)

Draft/IFA: $15M IFA – S25

Stats: .316 BA, .382 OBP, 8 HR, 37 RBI, 6 Plus Plays

1B – Felipe Osoria (Fresno)

Draft/IFA: $22.9M IFA – S27

Stats: .347 BA, .407 OBP, 25 RBI, 8 SB

2B – Eli Duran (Wichita)

Draft/IFA: $21.4M IFA – S26

Stats: .314 BA, .394 OBP, 9 HR, 33 RBI

2B – Josh Kirkland (Jackson)

Draft/IFA: #49 Pick – S26

Stats: .318 BA, .360 OBP, 16 RBI, 8 SB, 4 Plus Plays

2B – Wendell Werth (Nashville)

Draft/IFA: #1 Pick – S28

Stats: .302 BA, .368 OBP, 17 HR, 54 RBI, 9 SB, 5 Plus Plays

SS – Sam Bryant (Houston)

Draft/IFA: #44 Pick – S26

Stats: 27 RBI, 5 SB, 7 Plus Plays

SS – Sidney Zagone (Nashville)

Draft/IFA: #1 Pick – S26

Stats: .283 BA, .351 OBP, 19 HR, 50 RBI

3B – Ernesto Mendez (Albuqerque)

Draft/IFA: $8.3M IFA – S25

Stats: .319 OBP, 27 RBI, 6 SB, 5 Plus Plays

3B – Trenidad Ross (Rochester)

Draft/IFA: #16 Pick – S25

Stats: .340 OBP, 24 RBI, 14 SB

CF – Tony Tatis (Houston)

Draft/IFA: $8.1M IFA – S23

Stats: 24 SB, 15 RBI

LF – Stone Bennett (Indianapolis)

Draft/IFA: #1 Pick – S25

Stats: .297 BA, .391 OBP, 18 HR, 51 RBI

RF – Luis Cruz (Scranton)

Draft/IFA: $16.9M IFA – S25

Stats: .297 BA, .341 OBP, 11 HR, 52 RBI

Pitchers

SP – Tino Brooks (Houston)

Draft/IFA: #36 Pick – S26

Stats: 5-1, 3.49 ERA, 1.28 WHIP, .240 OAV

SP – Lariel Osuna (Nashville)

Draft/IFA: $18.3M IFA – S28

Stats: 4-3, .230 OAV, 1.26 WHIP, 5.14 ERA

SP – Lyle Roosevelt (New York)

Draft/IFA: #20 Pick – S26

Stats: 6-4, 3.86 ERA, 1.37 WHIP

RP – J.A. Burke (Indianapolis)

Draft/IFA: #22 Pick – S25

Stats: 12 Saves, 3.42 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, .214 OAV

RP – Dave Coleman (Wichita/Iowa)

Draft/IFA: #10 Pick – S27

Stats: 16 Saves, 1.37 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .219 OAV

RP – Luigi Duran (Helena)

Draft/IFA: $8.8M IFA – S28

Stats: 3.86 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, .250 OAV

RP – Earl Magill (Jackson)

Draft/IFA: #34 Pick – S26

Stats: 2.60 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .200 OAV

RP – Bengie Olmeda (Houston)

Draft/IFA: $1.5M IFA – S24

Stats: 2.34 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, .146 OAV, 3 Saves

RP – Jair Velez (Nashville)

Draft/IFA: $5.2M IFA – S26

Stats: 2.27 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .252 OAV