Players of the Month:
Delaware Conference:
Batter of the Month: Peter Peters, New Castle Colonials
May's Best Batter Announced: Seasoned by several years of professional experience, 26-year-old Peter Peters put together a solid offensive month for New Castle and was crowned May's top batter in the Delaware Conference. He batted .380 with 5 home runs, 17 RBIs and 22 runs scored. So far this season Peters is hitting .326 with 10 home runs, 35 RBIs and 40 runs scored. He has 61 hits in 187 at-bats and a .453 OBP.
Pitcher of the Month: Jorge Moran, Milton Brewers
Milton Starter Named De Conf's Best Pitcher: Veteran Jorge Morán put together quite a successful stretch in May for the Milton Brewers, earning himself the Delaware Conference Pitcher of the Month award. Morán racked up a 5-0 record in 5 starts, posting a 1.91 ERA over 33 innings and striking out 33. In 11 starts this season, Morán has picked up 9 wins while suffering no losses. He has pitched 75.1 innings, allowed 44 hits, struck out 75 and posted a 1.91 ERA.
Rookie of the Month: Sozen Kawamura, Christinia Blue Hens
Delaware Conference Names Rookie of Month: Youngster Sozen Kawamura emerged as the latest Delaware Conference Rookie of the Month today. The young man from Christiana deserved the honor, batting .269 with 6 home runs and 21 runs batted in. Is the month of May a harbinger of things to come or just a fluke? We'll find out someday, but for now, we'll just let Kawamura enjoy the limelight. This season Kawamura has hit at a .235 clip and produced 34 RBI, 12 home runs and 27 runs.
MarVa Conference:
Batter of the Month: Ed Duke, Norfolk Cavaliers
Duke Wins MV Conf's Best Bat Trophy: Ed Duke has made a definite impact on the baseball world by snatching MarVa Conference Batter of the Month honors for May. In 23 games the Norfolk batter hit .329 with 8 home runs, 25 RBIs and 18 runs scored. This year Duke has hit at a .305 clip with 48 RBIs, 13 home runs and 28 runs scored.
Pitcher of the Month: Matt Hollis, Norfolk Cavaliers
Hollis Nets MV Conf #1 Pitcher Award: Matt Hollis hasn't been around the big leagues long enough to know that youngsters shouldn't be winning MarVa Conference Pitcher of the Month. But when you put up numbers like his, you're going to get some notice. In May the Norfolk starter earned a 5-0 mark in 6 starts. He threw 50.1 innings, struck out 52 and compiled a solid 1.97 ERA. This season Hollis has a 9-1 record with a 2.11 ERA in 11 starts.
Rookie of the Month: Valentin Valdes, Virginia Beach Surf Dawgs
MV Conf Selects Rookie Star of the Month: Valentín Valdés's eyes seem to light up whenever he sees the baseball. The young Virginia Beach second baseman has been hitting everything in sight for the better part of a month. In May he was voted the Rookie of the Month Award. During the month he hit .317 with 5 doubles, no triples and 7 home runs. Valdés also scored 12 times and drove in 16 runs. Posting a .276 batting average to date, Valdés has 11 home runs and 25 RBIs.
League Leaders (as of June 1st, 2019)
Delaware Division:
AVG: Alonso Reyna (Milton Brewers) .375
HR: Jorge Alonso (New Castle Colonials) 17*
RBI: Alonso Reyna (Milton Brewers) 49
SB: Pedro Galavan (Dover Generals) 25
ERA: Brad Jones (Newark Millers) 1.23
W: Jorge Moran (Milton Brewers) 9*
K: Brad Jones (Newark Millers) 88
SV: Carlos Rodriquez (Lewes Braves) 18
Marva Division:
AVG: Kiyonobu Matsuura (Annapolis Admirals) .377*
HR: Francisco Reyes (Ocean City Tourists) 19
RBI: Abraham Thomas (Annapolis Admirals) 52
SB: Kent Davis (Norfolk Cavaliers) 27
ERA: Matt Hollis (Norfolk Cavaliers) 2.11*
W: Matt Hollis (Norfolk Cavaliers) 9
K: Matt Hollis (Norfolk Cavaliers) 85*
SV(t): Dalton Whitaker (Norfolk Cavaliers) 14
SV(t): Andrew Pompey (Ellicott City Express) 14*
Southern Division: Predicted Winner: Lewes Braves 103-59
The Molton Brewers and Georgetown Sixteens are looking to be the top teams in this divison, as the Lewes Braves are going to have to fight to keep up this month thanks to injuries and the Dover Generals are starting to fade out. If Jorge Moran continues to pitch the way he has been the Brewers may take the division for the first time since 2013.
Northern Division: Predicted Winner: New Castle Colonials 96-66
The Colonials are starting to pull out from the rest of the group. Leading the division by 3 games and it looks like Peter Peters is back in full swing. With him hitting and Jose Matos on the bump this team can go a long way. The biggest surprise is the collapse of the Wilmington Iron Pigs. The Blue Hens are looking to become the first 2017 expansion team to not finish in last.
Eastern Division: Predicted Winner: Annapolis Admirals 91-71
The Barons have cooled off and the Admirals have turned it on. This looks to be the Admirals division to lose. You can't count the Barons out just yet, but the way the Admirals are playing June could be an important month for Baltimore.
Western Division: Predicted Winner: Norfolk Cavaliers 119-43
The Cavaliers are slowly pulling away. The way the Express are playing it should be a lot closer race than it was last season, but it looks like the Cavaliers may hold their own. Injuries have tried to take them down, but they have continued to battle and pull ahead.
Ex-Cavaliers of Interest:
Jesus Rivera: New Castle Colonials: Batting Lead-Off: .274-6-26, 37 Runs, 8 SB
Jose Matos: New Castle Colonials: #1 Starter: 12 GS, 6-3 2.98, 3.4 WAR
Cooper Mananghaya: New Castle Colonials: MR: 12 G, 0-0 3.46, 13.0 IP, 12K's, 0.2 WAR
Derek Campbell: Washington Senators: #4 Hitter: .320-10-32, 28 Runs, 2.6 WAR
Milestone Watch:
300 Career Home Runs
HR: Billy Moore - 294
-- Abraham Thomas reached the 300 HR mark, in May, becoming the first player in DBL history to get there.
300 Career Stolen Bases
SB: Roberto Perez - 75
-- Ron Alder the only other player with 300 SB's, reached last season. Alder has 311 currently
200 Career Saves
Aaron Nicholas reached the 203 save mark becoming the third player in DB history, along with Brent Wagner (228) and Bill Fox* (209).
1500 Career Strikes Outs
K's: Miguel Contreras - 1342 (158)
K's: Barney Bulter - 1323 (177)
-- Marcos Estrada was the first to reach the 1500 plateu, doing it in April.
Norfolk Recap
We didn't win 20 this month, which is the first time in a long time (we did every month last year) that we haven't. Be injuries or what, but it was a shocker, since I feel like we are playing much better ball now than we have been. We won 8 of our last 10 games in May.
April: 21-5
May: 19-9
Injuries and inconsistent hitting seems to be our biggest issue so far this year. Our pitching staff has been solid, and the young guys we have asked to fill in holes have come up big. The team is still leading the league in Average and Runs Scored, but it just doesn't seem like we can put it all together when we need it. One game we get 13 hits, the next 4...
Ed Duke tore it up last month, winning the POM award and making it look like we have a legit HR threat. After a hot start, then a couple of sluggish weeks he has come around. The biggest change was putting in John Phillips ever 5 days to get keep Duke fresh. Looks to be working. Javier Janchez has been a little disappointing and probably should come out of the leadoff slot. Last month he hit .229 and only got on base .282. Mauro Candelaria who hit only 2.50 but had a OBP of .374 would probably fit the leadoff mold better, may get some more PT there. Take some pressure off the young kid.
It is nice to see Will Rose warm up after a rough April. And overall our pitching has just been lights out. Vaughan Griffith has struggled, but he has also been shifteda round bullpen/starter/bullpen/starter, so I won't blame him. He never complains either, which is a good thing. Luis Gonzalez had one solid outing, but outside of that one game has been really off. Matt Hollis was lights out, and Miguel Conterars almost went the whole month witout a decision, collecting 5 ND's. I will have to keep an eye on things, it seems like the bullpen is being utilized very inconsistently again. Rick Kelly only appeared in 2 games, yet Hawkins, Rose, King and Whitaker got 10+... hmm...
After two months I am happy with where we are, but we could use some improvement. More consistent hitting, better use of the bullpen and some runs for Miguel Contreras.
Our minors are looking good, we only have one time leading a division, but all of them have winning records. As long as the players are getting their swings and innings and that leads to wins and player development I wont' complain. The players we consider prospects are performing nicely for us, which is looking good.
Around the Minors:
Yokohama Baystars (AAA) 26-23 .531 (-11.5)
New Orleans Pelicans (AA) 29-25 .537 (-5.5)
San Jose Condors (A) 36-18 .667 (---)
Jacksonville (A) 29-25 .537 (-4.5)
Top Prospects:
1) Paul Brown (AA) 4-3 4.31, 64.2, 63 H, 36 BB, 86 K's
2) Ramon Granados (AAA) .270-6-27
3) Takayuki Iemoichi (Norfolk) 1-0 0.00, 8 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 K's
4) Armando Lopez (AAA) 2-4 5.73, 48.2 IP, 29 BB, 51 K's
5) Alejandro Diaz (INT Complex)
6) Sergio Galvez (AAA) .356-3-33
7) Mario Reyes (AAA) .283-4-23
8) Jesus Segura (A) .295-3-30
9) Tom Dundee (A) .226-6-38
10) Lancarote Hall (A) .289-7-39
11) Francisco Gallegos (AAA) .287-6-8
12) John Stewart (A) .251-2-32
13) Tim Rodriquez (A) 4-1 2.83 82.2 IP, 23 BB, 81 K's
14) David Harrison (AAA) .333-5-20
15) Eugene St. John (A) .351-5-36