I have May's Month in Review labeled wrong, threw me off... Oddly this years all-star game coincided with the end of the month... On to the 2nd half...
Players of the Month:
Delaware Conference:
Batter of the Month: Alberto Trujillo, Milford Clippers
Trujillo Captures Delaware Conference Batter of Month Award: Seasoned by several years of professional experience, 35-year-old Alberto Trujillo put together a solid offensive month for Milford and was crowned June's top batter in the Delaware Conference. He batted .337 with 11 home runs, 30 RBIs and 23 runs scored. For the season Trujillo is hitting .326, batted in 80 runs with 28 home runs and 62 runs scored.
Pitcher of the Month: Anthony Dundee, Georgetown Sixteens
Delaware Conference Picks June's Top Pitcher: Despite the number of years he's been in the league, Anthony Dundee still gets excited when he puts together a quality stretch like he had in June. The 34-year-old starter for Georgetown was named Delaware Conference Pitcher of the Month earlier today. He collected 5 wins and 1 loss with 25 strikeouts in his 6 starts, putting up a fine 1.69 ERA in 48 innings of work. This year Dundee has gone 12-4 with an ERA of 2.24 and has 82 strikeouts in 132.2 innings.
Rookie of the Month: John Bean, Milton Brewers
Delaware Conference Names Rookie of Month: A veritable toddler to the Delaware Conference, John Bean just sewed up the Rookie of the Month trophy for June. Over the past month the 24-year-old first baseman for Milton hit .333 with 28 hits, 3 home runs and 14 runs batted in. He also logged 8 walks and compiled a .398 on-base percentage. This season Bean has 7 home runs and a .307 batting average.
MarVa Conference:
Batter of the Month: Francisco Reyes, Ocean City Tourists
June's MarVa Conference Batter of Month Award Announced: Francisco Reyes battered MarVa Conference pitchers all June and wound up taking home the Batter of the Month Award. "I've been around DELMARVA Baseball League long enough to know you really have to work hard day in and day out to be able to put up this kind of consistency," the 27-year-old Reyes told reporters. "I put in a lot of work, even on the days I might not take the field, and it's always nice when everything comes together for me like it did this last month." In 26 games, Reyes hit .395 with 13 home runs, 27 RBIs and scored 30 runs. A look at his current stats shows Reyes with a .348 average, 31 home runs, 71 RBIs and 73 runs scored. He has played in 78 games.
Pitcher of the Month: Jose Matos, Norfolk Cavaliers
June's Best MarVa Conference Hurler is Matos: José Matos of the Norfolk Cavaliers outdistanced his peers on the mound this month. He fashioned a fine 5-1 won-lost mark and 1.75 ERA in 6 starts to get the MarVa Conference Pitcher of the Month honors. Matos had a very impressive June, finishing with 31 strikeouts in 46.1 innings and holding opposing hitters to a .190 average. In 16 starts this season Matos has fashioned a 14-1 record and a 2.18 ERA.
Rookie of the Month: Gerardo Chapa, Salisbury Ports
MarVa Conference Selects Rookie Star of the Month: Gerardo Chapa's eyes seem to light up whenever he sees the baseball. The young Salisbury center fielder has been hitting everything in sight for the better part of a month. In June he was voted the Rookie of the Month Award. During the month he hit .311 with 5 doubles, no triples and 3 home runs. Chapa also scored 16 times and drove in 16 runs. This year Chapa is batting .311 with 28 hits, 3 home runs, 16 RBIs, 3 walks, .330 OBP and has scored 16 runs.
League Leaders (as of July 1st, 2017)
Delaware Division:
AVG: Vince Moy (Milford Clippers) .337
HR: Alberto Trujillo (Milford Clippers) 28
RBI: Alberto Trujillo (Milford Clippers) 80
SB: Pedro Galavan (Dover Generals) 41
ERA: Todd Eldridge (New Castle Colonials) 2.14
W: Anthony Dundee (Georgetown Sixteens) 12*
K: Marcos Estrada (Wilmington Iron Pigs) 137
SV: Carlos Rodriquez (Lewes Braves) 20
Marva Division:
AVG: Kent Davis (Norfolk Cavaliers) .366*
HR: Abraham Thomas (Washington Senators) 33
RBI: Derek Campbell (Norfolk Cavaliers) 85
SB: Roberto Perez (Norfolk Cavaliers) 30
ERA: Miguel Contreras (Norfolk Cavaliers) 1.66
W: Jose Matos (Norfolk Cavaliers) 14
K: Barney Butler (Washington Senators) 107
SV: Dalton Whitaker (Norfolk Cavaliers) 27
The Lewes Braves are holding on to the #1 spot, but the Sixteens and the Generals aren't going to give up. I am still amazed that the Braves are #1 after losing 2 of the original starting 5. The Blue Jays hit a wall in July and are now in last just like all the other expansion clubs... The Iron Pigs came from 5 down and took over first, as the Colinials struggled through June, going from +5 to -3. The Clippers are a team with great fire power and if they continue to hit they will continue to put the heat on, should be an interesting 2nd half... The Ocean City Tourists had a 19 win month and took a 6 game lead in the Eastern Division. Usually this division comes down to a 3-team race, but when the aquision of James MacLaughlin this may have sealed the deal for the Tourists... The Cavaliers cooled off, but still gained 2 games over the Senators. I wouldn't call this Division just yet, because the Seantors have a history of getting hot the final 2 months of the season, but the Cavaliers are sitting in a very good spot.
Ex-Cavaliers Report (guys we moved in this past offseason):
Don Sweetapple (Richmond Cardinals) 17 GS 8-6 2.98 1.14 WHIP (All-Star)
Carlos Mateo (Lewes Braves) 16 GS 10-4 3.34, 1.11 WHIP (All-Star)
Javier Uberuaga (Annapolis Admirals) 16 GS 5-9 4.86, 1.46 WHIP (#1 Stater)
Allen Johnson (Annapolis Admirals, AAA) 64 G .299-4-42 (3 games 0-3 w/ Annapolis)
Kevin Howse (Georgetown Sixteens) 23 G .313-2-10, .847 / (AAA).345-14-56, 1.162
Karl Armstrong (Ocean City Tourists) 16 GS 5-4 4.32, 1.40 WHIP (dropped to 5th Starter)
Jacob Chaney (Ocean City Tourists) 55 G .328-1-6 (64 AB's)
Luis Deleon (Ocean City Tourists) (CL) 39 G (1 GS) 41.2 IP 6-2 3.89, 1.34 WHIP (no closing)
Pat Shelton (Christinia Blue Hens) .240-5-21, .655 OPS
Murray Pavie (Salisbury Ports) 48 G .283-2-21, .697 OPS
Norfolk Recap
We followed up one of the best months ever, 26-2 with a 16-10 June. Not quite a gutter ball after a strike, but close. Just goes to show you that we aren't invincible. When we player better teams we struggle after our 1 & 2 starters. I even said before May this is going to be an easy month. July will be a tough month, I am hoping to do something comparable, at least, to June. We play Annapolis, Washington, Ocean City and, what seems to be our nemesis, the Baltimore Barons... We are healthy going into the 2nd half of the season, and this is when we have fallen apart before. Last year we lost 2 bats, and we weren't prepared for it. This year I think we are a little deeper and will be able to get by with injuries. Not that I want injuries, but they have burned us in the past... No real lineup changes going into July, I did put Jesus Rivera back into the starting lineup at second, moving Cody Johnson back to the utility role... Here is to 3 more healthy months. We are in the drivers seat that is for sure.
I didn't realize this until know, but there will be no interleague play this season. When I expanded, I guess the interleague checkbox got un-checked. Oh well, not that big of a deal, just caught me off guard.