[ArquimedezPozo]

As the calendar flips to June, what’s notable about the standings is hw little has changed at the top, despite dramatic movement lower in each of the eight conferences. Let’s recap:

Division 1 East

The New York Giants ended April with six straight victories, and kept it rolling into May. They opened the month reeling off nine straight to total 15 in a row, and at the end of play on May 10 they stood six games up on the second place Tarpons and 7 on the third place Athletics. While they didn’t go undefeated the rest of the way in May, they were 12-7 the rest of the way, making for a 21-7 May. They have maintained a lead of about five games over Tampa, exclusively through the best offense in all of the NABF. With 279 runs already, the Giants have averaged 6.1 a game, putting them on pace to become the first team in Federation history with over 900 runs in a season.

That offensive production has come from unlikely spots, as Matt Wood and Mike Burcham have had, if not subpar, at least less impressive offensive campaigns, with the catcher hitting .267/.372/.473 with 8 homers, while Burcham is at .270/.337/.362. Instead, the team has been led by 2B Andrew Fitts, enjoying a career year at age 29 as he hits .302/.411/.581, and rookie CF Idar Olsen, who had long been seen as a glove-first prospect but who has blossomed over the past two years into a legitimate power threat. The Giants offense is so deep right now that among those in the starting lineup only Burcham - whose trajectory has long pointed toward the Hall of Fame - has an OPS under .800. If you want to find a hole for the Giants, it’s not hard though: they’ve allowed more runs than all but two D1 teams, and ace signing Jon Sayre continues to be a complete bust, at 4-4 with a 6.35 ERA and 109 FIP-. The Giants have the best run differential in the East, but have been playing about 5 games ahead of their expected record, so unless their pitching improves this does seem like a race that could easily tighten, rather than widen.

In second place are the Tampa Tarpons, who are the only other D1 East Team with a better-than-even run differential. The Tarpons, who were a close second to Brooklyn last year, largely held steady in the offseason, instead focusing on developing a few younger players such as LF Justin Paul (.362/.395/.474 with a homer in his rookie campaign). Veteran T.J. Carcone is enjoying a bounce-back campaign after last year, and has moved into second place all-time in triples, now just 10 behind all-time leader Mike Mitchell; that’s a record that could easily fall by the end of this season. While Tampa does have the third most runs in D1 to this point, they are severely lacking in power - they’ve hit just 26 homers on the season, easily the least in the Division. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Tampa go after a power bat at the deadline, though they could likely use another starter as well, as their rotation has been in the middle of the pack. Drew Robinson has been solid thus far, and better than his 3.64 ERA would indicate, while Carlos Diaz is experiencing something of a breakout season. But the rest of the rotation has struggled, and a bullpen that has been quite good could start feeling the strain soon.

Beyond New York and Tampa, it would take major shifts for anyone else to begin to compete in the D1 East. The Dodgers have played almost entirely even ball at 23-23, having scored 193 runs and given up 192. Carson Prince has not gotten back to his MVP level yet, having slipped in May after a blistering start. Young RF Dane Best, though, is making some noise, and was named the D1 Batter of the Month after hitting .302/.372/.676 with 12 homers, bringing his season total to 16 - tied for second in the Division and on a 54 homer pace. Jason Blanche has been good but unlucky, with a 2.92 ERA and 72 FIP-, but a 3-6 record.

Taking up the rear in the Conference are Philadelphia at 22-24, Chicago at 19-27, and Toronto at just 15-31. The best early news for Philadelphia came late in the month when they announced a 6 year, $85.2 million extension for ace Pedro Luna, who is once again a contender for the Pitcher of the Year. Chicago, meanwhile, had the opposite, as franchise CF Kyle DuBell tore a shoulder labrum and will miss a significant portion of the season. Toronto, meanwhile, has struggled on both sides of the ball; while Benni Phillips is having a much stronger season than his 2037, the lineup around him has been disappointing, and the bullpen atrocious.

Division 1 West

The West has developed into a three-team contest, and all three spent time in first over the month. The Seattle Steelheads came out of their impressive April strong, going 5-2 over the month’s first week-plus, but have fallen since - 8-13 to close out May. Hector Razo has been perhaps the best starter in D1 thus far, going 6-2 with a 1.97 ERA and 68 FIP- while striking out over 30% of the batters he’s faced and walking an outrageous 2.2%. Young hitters Matt Galante, Adam Haney, and Mike Hood have all been excellent, though the latter has cooled since his extraordinary April start. Catcher phenom Roger Alvarado has also struggled a bit in acclimating to the Majors, but continues to hit for power and provide outstanding defense.

The El Paso Sun Kings finished April in 4th place, but dominated the first half of the month, going 12-3 over the first 15 games, including a stretch of seven in a row. That run put them into a tie for first on May 15, taking over alone the next day. Brian Castrivinci, the Sun Kings 24 year old 1B, continued to impress, hitting .302/.385/.632 for the month with eight homers to solidify his spot as an early MVP favorite. Joe Rison and Eduardo Garcia have both also been strong, especially over the month’s first half while El Paso made their climb. That reign, though, was short-lived: El Paso regressed in the second half of the month, going 5-8 and losing six in a row. El Paso clung to first until the very end of the month, though, as Seattle faded as quickly as they did.

The team that ultimately supplanted the Sun Kings in first was the Los Angeles Angels, who had begun the month a game behind Seattle but lost five straight to open May. Combined with what Seattle and El Paso were doing, along with some solid play by Monterrey, Los Angeles wound up in 4th by May 8. At that point, though, they began winning: 17-5 over the last few weeks, including a nine game win streak that will continue into June. Two-way phenom Jaheim Johnson has been the difference-maker, as he has been the team’s best hitter and has contributed three excellent starts as a pitcher. Johnson, a second baseman, has hit .326/.402/.556 with five homers and a 166 wRC+, with 2 WAR already on the young season from the plate; he has also gone 2-0 with a 3.32 FIP and 14 Ks in 17 innings. He has contributed to an outstanding Angels rotation, though it’s one that has been wracked by injury: Bobby Hardy is out for the season with Tommy John surgery, while Kenny Trent is on the shelf until at least late June with an elbow strain. But Kazuo Imai, Alex Turner, Doug Kluz, and May’s Pitcher of the Month Tom Martinez have all been anchors for what is still the best rotation in D1, while Johnson, C Danny Cadavid (a stellar pickup, hitting .289/.386/.537 with good defense), 1B Hyun-woo Park, and young LF Jon Segura give them run support.

Below that top three is Monterrey, who spent much of April and May hovering in second or third place but has dropped to an even 23-23, six games back. Greg Allen and Chase Maze have been the only bright spots in an offense that has crumbled, with SS Tyler Duncan taking a huge step backward in his age 25 season. The pitching staff has been quite good, behind only LA in runs allowed at rotation ERA, but it is full of guys who are having career years to this point, and there’s likely to be some regression there. Tijuana, similarly, has a struggling offense, despite an exceptional start by 3B Randy Wright (.331/.391/.649, on pace to shatter his career best in every offensive category) and free agent acquisition Aaron Felton, who - while showing signs of age - is still putting up a 144 OPS+ largely from the DH spot. But aside from closer Ed Coffer, the pitching staff has been abysmal, with a rotation ERA of 5.45 and the second most runs allowed in D1. They’re topped in that category only by the dismantled Denver Bears, who conducted a firesale in the offseason and are now headed for a potentially historically bad season at 13-33, already 16 games out of first. 1B Donvan Bryant leads D1 in homers and is on pace for an outstanding season, but he’s working mostly alone.

D1 Batter of the Month: Dane Best, 1B, Brooklyn - .304/.372/.676, 12 HR, 26 RBI
D1 Pitcher of the Month: Tom Martinez, SP, Los Angeles - 5-0, 2.58 ERA, 43 Ks
D1 Rookie of the Month: Idar Olsen, CF, New York - .318/.371/.682, 8 HR, 13 2B

Division 2 East

When May began, the D2 East was deadlocked between Detroit and Montreal, with matching 10-8 records. Since that time, the teams have gone in dramatically different directions.

Detroit has maintained its position at the top of the Conference, though a surge in the middle of the month by Baltimore briefly pushed them into second place. But a 19-8 record on the month has put them two games up heading into June at 29-17 with an offense led by Ali Brown and Victor Ortiz, who overcame tougher starts to the year. Brown hit .266/.373/.521 with 7 homers in May, one of the better runs of any player in the Conference. Ortiz was nearly as good, hitting .244/.342/.525 with 8 homers, ending the month on a high note with a 8/24, 3 HR week. Zack Root has been one of the best free agent acquisitions in the NABF so far, going 6-3 with a 2.29 ERA that included a late April no-hitter; in his last start in May he stifled Kansas City with a complete game three-hitter. 25 year old Chad Little has been extraordinary, at 4-0 with a 1.63 ERA and 2.56 FIP, without allowing a single homer. Detroit holds a narrow two game lead over Baltimore entering June.

Montreal, meanwhile, has dropped like a stone, with a May that was Detroit’s mirror image: 8-19, falling to 17-29, 12 games back of first. Bubba Fread had looked revived in April, but has suffered a concerning drop in production in May, with a 4.61 ERA and nearly matching 4.58 FIP that has baffled Fread and club officials. Beyond Fread, the pitching has been middle of the road, but the offense has been terrible: Montreal is in the bottom two or three in virtually every offensive category as their aging lineup struggles to produce. Among their regulars, only Jarrod Vega and Josh Hinthorne had an OPS+ over league average in May.

The Baltimore Terrapins, meanwhile, continue to threaten Detroit’s position. They spent much of May either in first or within a game of it, as 2B Omar Juarez continues to batter the Division in an early D2 MVP bid: Juarez was named Batter of the Month after cracking 7 homers with a .435 OBP to spark Baltimore’s second best offense. Young CF Wayne Richard also had an outstanding May, hitting .307/.408/.636 with 8 homers, while Pat Miller has also done well. Baltimore has allowed the second fewest run total in the Division as well, due in large part to a solid rotation and an exceptional bullpen led by closer Nick Casselman and lefty Arturo Ruiz. Baltimore has the best run differential in the Division, and looks to be a contender again after some rebuild years.

Boston, too, has had a good May, going 17-11 to lift them to a .500 record six back of Detroit in third place. SS Ramon Santiago continues to have a strong season at the plate, and hit .305/.371/.516 in May. Last year’s home run champ Russ Mesaros hit ten in the month to reclaim the top spot in D2, while aging 1B Shawn Burge has been great as a bench bat. Boston’s rotation continues to need work, though they were at least keeping pace over May. New Orleans, too, sits in third with a 23-23 record and an offense that has some significant strengths (especially with Robert Zemeno and Kyle Hickenbottom) but also some major holes, including the one left by future Hall of Fame CF Mike MacArtney, now in part-time duty as he seeks hit #3,000. MacArtney was shelved mid-month with a back strain, though he should return in early June. And while the bullpen has done well, much of that has been in mop-up duty as Zephyrs starters have a collective losing record and 4.47 ERA (though much of that can be attributed to Tyler Wilson, who has gone 1-8 with an 8.01 ERA and is on the verge of losing his rotation spot). The Ottawa Champions, meanwhile, are just 19-27 with a lopsided team that has scored more runs than any D2 team, but has allowed even more - 248, far and away the worst number in the Division.

Division 2 West

The Vancouver Mounties have built the largest Conference lead of any team, with a 30-16 record, six games up on second place Houston. Vancouver has scored more runs than any other team, and allowed fewer, and are actually underperforming their run differential by two games. !B John Witherspoon and LF Tony Hines have the second and third highest OPS in D2, respectively, and Witherspoon and 3B Leo Rodriguez are second and third in homers. And while their starters have probably punched a little higher than their weight so far, the Vancouver bullpen has been fantastic, the best in D2 by every available measure. At 19-9 on the month, Vancouver only lost a single series, to Sacramento, with both losses coming in extra innings. Incredibly, they lost only a single game by more than two runs all month. John Witherspoon in particular has made himself an early MVP candidate in the running with Omar Juarez, as he hits .329/.405/.636 with 15 homers, on pace for 50 and a 9.6 season WAR.

The only other team above .500 in the West is Houston, which clings to a 24-22 record despite being outscored on the season. Houston is solidly middle-of-the pack offensively, with DH Bill Tucker, 1B Doug Frey, and C Justice Slaton all enjoying strong offensive seasons in a top-heavy lineup. Slaton, a fine defensive catcher, has had a breakout season so far at age 26, one of a crowd of excellent younger catchers that has emerged in recent seasons. Houston’s 2036 and 2037 suggested they might be a team on the rise, but their pitching has betrayed them this year, with only SP David Olson enjoying an above average season.

Sacramento sits a game behind Houston, a much better showing so far than their last place finish in 2037. Sacramento ranks 8th in runs scored, but have had strong contributions from several unexpected sources, most notably young 2B Jonathan Lomison, whose offseason hitting work has resulted in a huge increase in overall production and power.Lomison is now among the league’s offensive leaders, with a .331/.396/.546 line and seven homers while playing a strong defensive 2B. Josh Argo continues to lead the way for Sacramento’s pitchers, his 3-2 record hiding a 2.60 ERA, a 71 FIP-, and a 1.9 WAR, on pace for his second best ever. May was Sacramento’s second straight month of exactly .500 ball, going 14 and 14.

Kansas City, too, has an even record of 23-23, having gone 13-15 over May despite the continued excellence of ace Rhett Frew. Frew, a Pitcher of the Year contender, is now 6-3 with a 2.68 ERA, and has struck out 30.6 % of the batters he’s faced. The young Aussie import is getting more and more confident in his filthy stuff, leaning on his slider as a strikeout pitch with outstanding results. And just as Frew won April’s Pitcher of the Month, teammate Steve Shelton has won May’s, with a 5-1 record and a 2.08 ERA. The rotation and bullpen behind them, though, have been among the worst in the Division, with a 4.13 FIP (11th of 12). The offense has similarly been quiet, though rookie CF Dustin Gooding, who made his debut at the start of May, won Rookie of the Month with a .311/.364/.525 line and three homers.

Taking up the rear in the West are two teams that have disappointed in the early going. San Diego was seen as a possible contender before the season, with some fear that a trade of Tommy Boles would negatively impact their rotation. But the rotation has been a strength, and San Diego has the second best rotation ERA and best FIP of any team in D2. The issue once again for San Diego is the offense, which ranks last in wOBA, OPS, OBP, and overall runs scored. Frank Hernandez, for whom Boles was dealt, has just a 119 wRC+ - above average, but not enough to justify the trade. And of San Diego’s starting lineup, only DH Ian Farmer has a higher figure, hitting .250/.339/.466.

But it’s the Cats, who were last year’s Division Champions, who currently sit in last place at 17-29. Ft. Worth has been the most universally underperforming team in D2, ranking last or next to last in almost every category, from offensive to defensive to pitching. While Joseph Kovacs, last year’s Championship Series MVP, has hit well, SS Yukinobu Hasegawa has seen a slight regression from 2037’s Rookie of the Year campaign. 2B Scott Dohman has been slightly above average at the plate, and every other hitter in the lineup has fallen short even of that. Both the starting rotation and the bullpen are at or near the top of the Division in runs allowed, while even the defense ranks poorly - 11th in both Defensive Efficiency and Zone Rating, where they are at a lowly -12.4.

D2 Batter of the Month: Omar Juarez, 2B, Baltimore - .371/.435/.660, 7 HR, 21 RBI
D2 Pitcher of the Month: Steve Shelton, SP, Kansas City - 5-1, 2.08 ERA, 50 Ks
D2 Rookie of the Month: Dustin Gooding, CF, Kansas City - .311/.364/.535, 3 HR, 13 RBI

Division 3 East

The Nashville Sounds have the best record in the NABF at 33-13, and after a few years of great records with nothing to show for it they enter June with a commanding six game lead on the rest of the D3 East. The Division’s most potent offense features only one regular - defensive-minded catcher Miguel Navarro - with a below-average wRC+ or OPS+, while 1B Jonathan Cosner, as well as platooning DHs Tristan Burns and Francisco Bermea, all have OPSs over .850. CF Mel Irving, now in his age 35 season, has provided above average offense and continues to perform brilliantly in the field. And while Nashville’s rotation has been solid, its bullpen has excelled, with closer Isaiah Phelps taking the May Pitcher of the Month.

Should Nashville stumble, however, it would give both the Atlanta Crackers and Miami Amigos an opening. Atlanta, at 27-19, would be in first place in a handful of Conferences in the NABF. While Sam Stanton isn’t quite at 2037 levels, his 2038 has been a very productive one, as he has hit .301/.413/.561 with 11 homers, a 170 wRC+, and a .419 wOBA. RF Jeremy Figone, who two years ago had looked like a major piece of Atlanta’s future, took a step back in 2037 but has recovered with a .335/.373/.607 line and 11 homers in 2038. And even Atlanta’s veterans are experiencing quality seasons, from C Milt Weber to 3B Jason Edwards, who hit 7 homers with a .938 OPS in May. But it’s really Atlanta’s pitching that has kept them in the race, with former Padre Tommy Boles adjusting to D3 brilliantly at 4-3 with a 2.16 ERA and 3.57 FIP to lead a rotation with the best ERA in the Division.

And while Atlanta’s rotation tops the Division, Miami’s overall staff has allowed the fewest runs, has the best FIP and WAR, and has struck out the most batters. We have to talk about what Paul Herrin is doing first, because it’s stunning: though he has certainly benefited from good bounces, he is entering June with a 0.97 ERA, which would of course be the lowest in NABF history if he could somehow continue it. His peripherals are outstanding, though not quite that outstanding, with a 2.47 FIP that’s second only to Austin’s Chris Parker (who will likely miss the rest of the season on the IL). He’s had a quality start in all nine of his starts this year. Dylan Powers has been nearly as good, with a 2.60 ERA and 3.49 FIP as Miami’s reliable #2 starter. Todd Bennett has struggled, and Brett Calderon has been effectively league average, but with Herrin and Powers at the front of the rotation the Amigos are a hard team to beat. The bullpen, led by volatile closer Pedro Llopiz, makes it even tougher: no relief corps has been more effective. Their offense has been spotty, but generally good enough, with good contributions from CF Corey Stoute and veteran LF John Correia.

After Miami, Memphis is clinging to a 24-22 record in fourth place - an essentially mediocre team with two bright stars in starter Ian Weaver and the reborn David Washington, who at age 40 is suddenly having one of the best seasons of his long career. For Columbus, the 23-23 record is likely inflated, as Columbus has been outscored by a decent margin thus far; Ricky Ponce, May’s Batter of the Month, has been keeping them afloat thus far. And Cleveland, the only team that has been in D3 during its entire existence, is seeing that title threatened as it sits in last place at 19-27 despite John Feist’s D3 best .373 BA and Chris Colburn’s .932 OPS.

Division 3 West

The D3 West is shaping up to be a fascinating and vexing division. Five of its six teams are within a game of first place, with only the miserable Calgary Outlaws well out of it already. The problem is that the best record - shared by Salt Lake and Portland - is 23-23; no team in the conference is entering June with a winning record. In fact, of the six D3 West teams only Salt Lake has scored more runs than it’s allowed, by 5; everyone else is underwater.

Salt Lake has been one of D3’s best offenses - second in runs scored, first in OBP, OPS, wOBA, 2nd in WAR. While Nate Madden has cooled some after his torrid April, he was still excellent in May, hitting ,291/.357/.570 with six homers. The Gulls want more from Paul Geisler, still far below where he was in 2037, but scoring runs has not been their problem: preventing them has. While Jose Fernandez and Jose Valdez have had successful starts, the rest of the rotation has made the offense scramble for any one of those runs, as the rotation collectively holds a 4.87 ERA. But the bullpen is actually worse, with a 4.90 ERA and a .345 Opponent’s OBP. There’s been an element of luck to it, as the pen has only allowed 14 homers and has a 55.7% GO rate and .324 BABIP, and closer Jaylen Levy has been very good, but it’s a major area of concern for a club that desperately needs pitching.

Portland, which is tied for first with an identical 23-23 record, is in the other boat: a pitching staff that has held its own (though a much higher FIP suggests they’re due for a regression) and an offense that ranks dead last in D3 in runs, and second to last in OBP. Their best regular position player has been 1B Phil Davis, who has improved in May but still has a batting line of just .257/.311/.493 and is Portland’s only regular hitter with an OPS over .800. Portland has some good young hitters in SS Ozzie Rosales and LF Ed Pless, but they’re still developing. In the meantime, Portland’s pitching has produced results much better than their peripherals, which suggests the Beavers will struggle to hold on to their share of first place as the season goes on.

Just below Salt Lake and Portland are three clubs tied at 22-24, a game back: San Francisco, Austin, and St. Paul.

The defending champion Seals had a decent offseason, picking up a promising starter in Ryan Roland and some pen help. But Roland has failed to live up to his 2037, at 4-5 with a 6.34 ERA and 4.92 FIP as his walk rate has exploded up to nearly one out of every ten batters he faces. That’s contributed to San Francisco’s rotation woes, as Jason Riddle is the only starter who could be described as above replacement level. The offense hasn’t covered itself in glory either; Jim Tyndall is carrying the load here while the aging Josh Henry has cooled from a hot April and the rest toil at or below league average in both OPS and wRC.

Austin, meanwhile, is looking at a tough last several months as they just lost ace Chris Parker to a torn muscle in his back, which will likely shelve him until 2039. Parker had been Paul Herrin’s only real competition in the early race for Pitcher of the Year, and without him the rotation rests more squarely on young rookie pitcher Masahiro Nakanishi. Nakanishi has been a revelation since his signing out of Japan, with a FIP- of 65 and an excellent 7.1 K/BB ratio, but he can’t carry the load by himself. Like much of the rest of the West, Austin’s hitters have been terrible, as the club ranks 11th in runs scored, OPS, and wOBA, and tenth in homers (though they’ve been good on the basepaths). Austin’s failure to sign closer Pedro Llopiz also looms large, as he has excelled for Miami while Austin’s pen has struggled.

The St. Paul Saints have regressed offensively since last year’s strong showing, though the pitching staff has rather surprisingly held its own considering the Saints basically didn’t add anyone. In fact, the St. Paul staff has the third best FIP in D3, as JohnMcNayr has taken a big step forward in the rotation. Their biggest offseason addition, closer Pat Pipkin, has been unsteady out of the gate, but the rest of the pen has performed ably behind him. No, the biggest issue for St. Paul has been the offense. 1B Kevin Walker, who looked like an emerging star in 2037, has floundered in his age 25 season, hitting for less power and dropping his OBP by over 30 points. Young LF Steve Mershon has just been moved into the starting lineup after hitting well from the bench, and perhaps he’ll give this team a jolt, but beyond the two of them no regular in the lineup has been above average at the plate, with four of them holding a negative WAR.

That just leaves Calgary - ironically the best offense in D3 West, but a team that has allowed 287 runs to this point, by far the highest of any team in the Federation. Their best starter, Ken Esser, has been barely above average with a 4.40 ERA and 3.49 FIP, while the club has two starters with FIPs above 5. And once they’re gone, the bullpen has been even worse, giving up 87 runs in just over 94 innings of work.

D3 Batter of the Month: Ricky Ponce, RF, Columbus - .304/.393/.765, 12 HR, 30 RBI
D3 Pitcher of the Month: Isaiah Phelps, CL, Nashville - 9 SV, 2.16 ERA, 15 K
D3 Rookie of the Month: Masahiro Nakanishi, SP, Austin - 4-1, 3.06 ERA, 43 K

Division 4 East

Indianapolis, which won its long-awaited third championship in 2037 with the best pitching staff in the Division, remains the team to beat in the East. Ironically, though, it has not been the pitching that’s gotten them there this year. In large part, that’s been due to the struggles of ace Aaron Cottrell, who won both the D4 MVP and Pitcher of the Year last season. Cotrell is at 4-3, but his 4.17 ERA is above league average. He’s had terrible luck with a .364 BABIP, and his FIP - while still worse than in 2037 - is a better than average 3.14, but no matter how you look at things he’s regressed in his age 28 season. Nate Mefford has filled that gap, though his May has been worse than his brilliant start. Mefford is now on the verge of breaking Malcolm Bush’s all-time NABF career strikeout record of 3.473; after his 10 strikeout performance against Cincinnati on May 30, Mefford has 3,459, and is two - maybe even one - start away from the title.

Meanwhile, Indianapolis’s offense - weak in 2037 - has been its strength. 1B Justin Wilson is experiencing a breakout season, hitting .361/.422/.548 with 22 doubles, an incredible 74 double pace (which would shatter the all-time record of 61 set all the way back in 2011 by Monterrey’s Jesse Hewitt). The Zachs - Weaver and McKinley - continue to provide solid production, and while aging Art Degon has had health struggles over the past few seasons (including missing much of the start of the season with a fractured foot) he has performed well in limited time. The result is the third most runs in the Division, with a well-rounded attack. Indianapolis is the only team in the D4 East that has scored more runs than it has allowed so far in 2038.

Charlotte continues to nip at Indianapolis’s heels at 24-22, but that number hides a team that has been outscored by 20 runs already on the season. Ernesto Gonzales has cooled - his .408 BA at the end of April is now just .319 after a tough .241/.323/.356 May -and the rest of the offense has been middling. The pitching staff has been awful, and has allowed 202 runs, the most in D4, despite the strong start of Jo Meeks and an excellent relief season from closer Dalton Nicholson. Mashiro Kawasaki, despite a great year for D2 Houston in 2037, has fallen apart against D4 competition, while Brandon Mimms has an ERA over 7. And there’s no hope coming from the minors: their best pitching prospect above single A is John Payne, who has had a 4.98 ERA in 34 innings and is currently on the IL. It’s hard to see this team continue to contend, but they’ve hung in thus far.

The Pittsburgh Crawfords have had a good May, starting on an 0-3 run before treading water for a while, until the last week when they ripped off five straight. They finish May at 15-11 and in second place with an even 23-23 record. 22 year old SP Joel Ortiz has been a real weapon out of the bullpen, and has just moved into the starting rotation, though many observers see him as a likelier reliever long term. Still, he has three plus pitches, and if his control were to improve he could be a strong long-term option. The rest of the pitching staff has hovered in the middle of the Division, with a 3.49 staff FIP. Pittsburgh’s offense continues to struggle, though, with only Manny Rodriguez providing much in the way of production.

The Senators have had some standout performances in May, with SP Corey Spry winning Pitcher of the Month at the head of a rotation that ranks 4th in ERA in D4. But that’s where the optimism ends for the Washington pitching staff, as despite that strong showing the club is 11th in runs against, with a bullpen that has blown several games for the club. Despite that, and despite a relatively anemic offense beyond rookie RF Ray Fazzio (May’s Rookie of the Month with a .362/.402/.574 line), the 22-24 Washington squad is outperforming its expected W/L record by a couple games.

Bringing up the rear are the Cincinnati Tigers and the Havana Sugar Kings. Cincinnati’s only saving graces have been starter Willie Rodriguez, with a 73 FIP- and an ERA around 3, and closer Tom Thorpe, who is putting together a Reliever of the Year-quality season. Jim Bray has been solid offensively, though his production has been BA-heavy, with a .329 average but getting on base at just a .345 clip with a .497 SLG. Havana’s pitching has been largely a mirage, with the second-worst FIP in D4 despite allowing only 174 runs; combined with a Division-worst offense, Havana’s last place season is likely to get worse, not better.

Division 4 West

The Phoenix Firebirds come into June with an increasingly commanding lead in the D4 West. The Birds were 19-9 in May, including a six game streak to open the month. Phoenix has been the best team in the Division by a wide margin, scoring an average of five runs a game while allowing 3.3, the best in both categories. Their 54 homers also lead D4, though they don’t have a single player with more than seven individually; instead, they have six regulars with five or more, including 1B Tony Guerrero, who has been the club’s best overall hitter at .306/.355/.517 with a 155 wRC+. SS Alfredo Vega has also been strong at the plate and in the field, while DH Fred Levang and RF Sun Shiu have given Phoenix a tough heart of the order. Meanwhile, Phoenix has put together a rather extraordinary rotation out of some no-name parts. Second year starter Kerry Chumley has taken huge strides and has pitched like an ace in the early going, with Rodrogi Cardoso and Roberto Cabrera right there with him. Dustin Gaba and former Calgary Outlaw Steve Hennessy are the best 4-5 guys in the Division, helping give Phoenix’s starters the best ERA and collective FIP in D4. But while veteran closer Bob Paul, reacquired in the offseason, has been genuinely outstanding with 13 saves, a 1.43 ERA, and a 48 FIP- while striking out a third of his batters, the rest of the bullpen has been a major weakness that we should see Phoenix start to address in the next couple months.

The southwest desert also plays host to three of the four teams who are gathered at 24-22, five games back from Phoenix. Albuquerque is the best of that group, with a +28 run differential, though they slipped in May with a 13-15 record that included a three game drubbing by Phoenix where they were outscored 22-5. They are where they are in large part because of May’s Batter of the Month Randy Ahern, who has exploded since coming to Albuquerque from D2 Houston, hitting .381/.404/.575 with more power than he’s ever shown. Between Ahern and young CF Sam Tracy (.350/.387/.583), Albuquerque has pulled into second overall in runs scored. The pitching, however, has not been as effective, with only Jamie Petrino having anything that could be called a good year. The bullpen as a whole has been better, but with a few (most notably Danny Larson) who seem due for big reversions.

The Vegas 51s are also at 24-22, and have been a pretty middle-of-the pack club, with a 15-13 May after an even April. CF Lee Bergstrom has been the team’s leading hitter, with a .307/.347/.529 line, but he, Jake Shirvani, and Jesse Basile have been the club’s only really productive batters and have been counterbalanced by some black holes in 2B Dustin Ward, defensive whiz SS Kevin Wassink, and especially RF Pat Kisiel, who sits at .201/.238/.305 despite having the club’s third most plate appearances. San Antonio’s 24-22 record, meanwhile, is a slight underperformance given their run differential, and the club ranks 4th in both runs scored and runs allowed, though they lack genuine standouts in either the rotation or the regular lineup. This can also describe the St. Louis Browns, the final 24-22 club, though St. Louis just lost their best starter Hideaki Ito to a labrum tear, so things may begin going downhill there.

That leaves us with the Brewers, who have endured at this point over a decade of total futility and are headed toward their eighth last place finish in ten years. It’s hard to know where to start with Milawukee, whose fans have remained remarkably loyal despite the team’s struggles. There’s not a ton of improvement on the horizon; though they’ve graduated some younger players into regular roles of late, they lack any real hitters in the group, having pursued a pitching and defense strategy. It’s possible this will begin to reap dividends - they have some outstanding gloves, and young developing pitchers who have been fairly good to this point. But the complete lack of offense has hurt them, as has a bullpen that has been an almost unmitigated disaster.

D4 Batter of the Month: Randy Ahern, RF, Albuquerque - .393/.414/.598, 3 HR, 12 RBI
D4 Pitcher of the Month: Corey Spry, SP, Washington - 5-1, 2.00 ERA, 39 Ks
D4 Rookie of the Month: Ron Fazzio, RF, Washington - .362/.402/.574, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 11 2B