Players of the Month:
Delaware Conference:
Batter of the Month: George Corbett, Wilmington Iron Pigs
Delaware Conf Best Hitter Trophy Goes to Corbett: Seasoned by several years of professional experience, 29-year-old George Corbett put together a solid offensive month for Wilmington and was crowned April's top batter in the Delaware Conference. He batted .366 with 6 home runs, 21 RBIs and 21 runs scored.
Pitcher of the Month: Tony Garica, Dover Generals
García Earns April's Best Pitcher Honor: Veteran Tony García put together quite a successful stretch in April for the Dover Generals, earning himself the Delaware Conference Pitcher of the Month award. García racked up a 4-1 record in 5 starts, posting a 1.14 ERA over 39.1 innings and striking out 26.
Rookie of the Month: Jackson Hodge, New Castle Colonials
DDIV Selects Rookie Star of the Month: Jackson Hodge's eyes seem to light up whenever he sees the baseball. The young New Castle center fielder has been hitting everything in sight for the better part of a month. In April he was voted the Rookie of the Month Award. During the month he hit .250 with 3 doubles, no triples and 3 home runs. Hodge also scored 9 times and drove in 11 runs.
MarVa Conference:
Batter of the Month: Abraham Thomas, Washington Senators
Thomas Brings Home MarVa Conference Batter of Month Honor: There's nothing like putting up good, solid numbers in the last year of your contract. Today Abraham Thomas helped his contract negotiations by nabbing April's MarVa Conference Batter of the Month honors. The Washington first baseman put together a .346 batting average with 12 home runs, 30 RBIs and 24 runs scored. Someone will surely be opening up the vault this offseason if Thomas continues at this brisk pace.
Pitcher of the Month: Jimmy Carr, Annapolis Admirals
April's #1 Starter Named in the MarVa Conference: Jimmy Carr's been around the league long enough to appreciate the honor he received today. After going 5-0 in April, the 33-year-old Annapolis hurler has been named MarVa Conference Pitcher of the Month. He fanned 20 in 36.2 innings, logged an ERA of 2.95 and allowed opponents to hit .282 against him.
Rookie of the Month: Enrique Macias, Ellicott City Express
April's Premier Rookie Named by the MarVa Conference: The MarVa Conference made the official announcement today. The Rookie of the Month honor went to Enrique Macías of Salisbury. He was chosen as the #1 rookie in April. Last month the 26-year-old Ports first baseman played in 25 games and hit .291 with 4 doubles, 1 triple and 4 home runs. Macías also scored 15 times and drove in 16 runs.
League Leaders (as of May 1st, 2018)
Delaware Division:
AVG: Joe Benson (Dover Generals) .389
HR: 3 tied w/ 8
RBI: Charles Culligan (Lewes Braves) 26
SB: Pedro Galavan (Dover Generals) 13
ERA: Tony Garcia (Dover Generals) 1.14
W: 4 tied w/ 4
K: Jorge Padilla (Seaford Blue Jays) 38
SV: 2 tied w/ 8
Marva Division:
AVG: Kent Davis (Norfolk Cavaliers) .440
HR: Abraham Thomas (Washington Senators) 12
RBI: Abraham Thomas (Washington Senators) 30
SB: 2 tied w/ 10
ERA: Roberto Reyna (Richmond Cardinals) 1.93
W: Jimmy Carr (Annapolis Admirals) 5
K: Antonio Alonzo (Salisbury Ports) 39
SV: Will Wilson (Baltimore Barons) 8
Nothing of shock to report this month. Seems to be a lot of teams just trying to get their feet set. In the Southern Division the top 4 teams are trying to show they will complete, with the predicted winner Georgetown just a few games off the lead. No one is saying "this is mine" yet... over in the Northern Division, the it seems to be a 4 team race as well. The predicted winners, the Iron Pigs, are only 1 game out. The biggest shocker to me is the New Castle team. Peter Peters had to miss a a week with an injury, but this team is still playing strong. Shows you how deep they are...
The Eastern Division has always been a 3 team division, but the Barons are going to try to make it a four team one. The Ocean City Tourists aren't the ones pulling away as predicted, its the Admirals. Thanks in part to an over-performing pitcher Jimmy Carr (see Pitcher of the Month). I see this division being a battle like usual... The Cavaliers jumped out to antoher hot start, putting together a 10 game win streak and opening up a 7 game lead. I don't think this is "our" division and I do think there will be a fight between us and the Senators. As long as we can stay healthy we should be able to win this division.
Ex-Cavaliers of Interest:
Don Sweetapple: 6 GS, 1-4 5.35, 0.4 WAR
Pablo Freitas: 11 G, .267-4-7 (Georgetown Sixteens, lead-off man, missed first 3 weeks with back spasms)
Sun Ho: (AAA) 0-0 2 G, 3.1 IP (being used as a MR)
Jose Rodriquez: (AAA) .324-1-7 (demoted after 10 games .182-2-8)
Julio Romero: 23 G, .253-3-8 (starting catcher for the Newark Millers)
Gilberto Ramos: (A) .240-1-13 (signed with an Independent A team, after spending the last 5 years with NFK)
Joe Gould: 5 GS, 3-1 3.49, 0.5 WAR (#5 Starter, Georgetown Sixteens, 3 Quality Starts)
Adrian Otero: 5 GS, 1-0 2.60, 0.6 WAR (#4 Starter, Newark Millers, Only getting 3 Runs per start)
Norfolk Recap
I have always tried to build this team around pitching and defense, but of course you need some offense in the mix or you won't win anything. when you have a pitching staff that is allowing 2.8 runs a game you are WAY ahead of the curve. I can't say enough about this starting 5 this season. Its been pretty awesome to watch. The pen is doing alright, just way under used and under utilized. Dan Nelson and Ron Harris have only been in 1 or 2 games, where Rose and King have been in 12+. Just way out of balance. I made some shifts around in hopes that Alastair will use the pen better, but we will see (set Ron Harris to a 3rd SU man). Experimentation... We made it through the first month just about without injury. We lost Augusto Rodriquez for a month on the final day. Javier Janchez will now get some time to show me that he wants to be here... Oddly enough I have two starters that aren't "happy" with their role on the team. Kent Davis has been upset that I have him in the lead-off spot, he thinks he should be down in the order. He is a singles hitter, why would I want him in the middle of the order? And Jesus Rivera, isn't happy batting 7th, he wants to lead-off or bat second! Maybe if I see his OBPCT go crazy I would move him, but he totally doesn't deserve to be hitting up there... I am not missing much of anything right now, but an injury could hurt. I will have to make a roster change soon, I think Cody will be sent back down for someone who can play all 3-out field slots. Trade for Ramos? lol...
Around the Minors:
Yokohama (AAA) 9-11 3 GB
Cooper Mananghaya is out 4 months with shoulder inflammation. This is his last option year, his time in NFK might be coming to an end.
Byung-Hyun Chong is hitting like a star: .374-4-15 could he replace Cody? He does play all 3 OF slots well.
Mike Ford isn't happy being in AAA, but it doesn't show: .386-1-18
New Orleans (AA) 12-13 4 GB
Ben Sanford is doing ok so far. Posting 5 saves in 12 games with a 4.38 ERA.
David Harrison is off hitting trying to prove dropping out of the NFK top 10 (#11) was a mistake: .363-1-19
San Jose (A) 15-10 1 GB
Jacksonville (A) 8-17 9 GB
Tom Dundee off to a slow start in his second year: .264-0-5 (our #1 pick in 2017)