[BennyTheJett]

Another week, another report from me with PBE action! This week I will list and discuss the records of every team and show the standings in each division. I will then highlight the teams that are over performing or under-performing, then will end the week highlighting a couple of impressive performances on the individual or group level. The post will then conclude by reminding everyone of our simming schedule, and highlight the broadcasting talents in the booth this week! My apologies as well, this post was supposed to be up on Saturday, but I ran into some real life things (my birthday) that prevented me from sitting down to write this article up.

Majors Standings:
This section will break down the standings in each division of the PBE, as well as the relevant Wildcard races (not this week, since we’re only one week into the four week season), then present takeaways from the standings in each conference. As a reminder, there will be two wildcard teams per conference in addition to the teams that win each division.

Legends Conference

Legends East:

• New York Voyagers (19-8)
• Outer Banks Aviators (18-9)
• Buffalo Surge (13-14)
• Providence Crabs (11-16)

Legends West:

• San Antonio Sloths (15-12)
• Vancouver Vandals (15-12)
• Maui Makos (9-18)
• Boise Raptors (8-19)

Legends Wildcard:

• Will be discussed in later weeks when teams vying for a wildcard spot become more clear.

Legends Takeaways:

• A bad spring training did not affect the New York Voyagers, as they have been on a torrid run to start the year. They’ve raced out to the best record in the PBE (19-8) behind generating a staggering 6.1 runs per game. They have the best offense in the league by a significant margin, but their pitching staff (3.54 collective ERA) leaves room to be desired. If their bats stay hot, look for them to be a force in the Legends conference.
• The rebuild might have finally ended for the Outer Banks Aviators! They hold the second-best record in the league, only a game behind the Voyagers (18-9). Opposite of the Voyagers, they’ve been winning games with very effective pitchers (2.80 collective ERA). Despite only manufacturing 3.7 runs per game, they’re sitting pretty due to a plethora of elite pitchers. Look for them to continue pushing the Voyagers in the Legends East.
• The San Antonio Sloths and Vancouver Vandals are dead even after week 1 (15-12 records). Both teams are looking to continue postseason streaks, and both are likely better than their records. Look for this to be a tight division race as the season continues. Right now, I’d give the edge to the Sloths, however we definitely should not discount what the Vandals are able to do, despite their aging core.
• The Providence Crabs, coming off a season that saw them make a playoff run into the World Series, appear to be in rebuilding mode. They sit at 11-16 and have a lot of work to do if they want to climb back over .500.

Champions Conference

Champions East:

• Nashville Stars (18-9)
• Detroit Demons (14-13)
• Lunar Base Space Rangers (12-15)
• Indianapolis Apex (8-19)

Champions West:

• Death Valley Scorpions (18-9)
• Seattle Sea Serpents (18-9)
• New Orleans Rougarous (15-12)
• Cancun Toros (5-22)

Champions Wildcard:

• Will be discussed in later weeks when teams vying for a wildcard spot become more clear.

Champions Takeaways:

• The Nashville Stars look poised to reclaim the Champions East division title after the Detroit Demons clinched it last season. Their title repeat quest has kicked off in a good fashion, as they sit with a record of 18-9, led by a strong pitching core (more on this later).
• Look out for the Lunar Base Space Rangers. They suffered a brutal 0-7 opening day stream, but have quietly been a serviceable 12-8 since that stream. This is a team that can make some noise, especially in the wildcard race. Led by a strong pitching staff, they can put some pressure on Nashville if the bats come around.
• The Champions West continues to be a bloodbath of a division, with three teams (Death Valley, Seattle, NOLA) that all appear to be contending. Of that bunch, I find it likely that the Death Valley Scorpions will come back to earth in the next couple of weeks, as they are faring significantly better than what was projected at the beginning of the season.
• Poor Cancun Toros…. They are deep into the rebuilding tank, and are just trying to acquire draft picks at this point. They have both the worst batting and worst pitching in the majors. The good news for them is that this next draft will be loaded with top prospects to retool the future of the franchise. They should be ready to contend in the future!

Minors Standings:

West Division:

• California Firehawks (16-11)
• Anchorage Wheelers (16-11)
• Kansas City Hepcats (15-12)
• Brew City Bears (11-16)
• Amarillo Armadillos (9-18)

East Division:

• Louisville Lemurs (16-11)
• Chicago Kingpins (15-12)
• Florida Flamingos (14-13)
• Puerto Rico Ranas (12-15)
• State College Swift Steeds (11-16)

Minors Takeaways:

• WHERE? HOW? WHO?!?!?! The Louisville Lemurs, out of nowhere, have captivated the league with a 16-11 start to a season where they were picked to be a league-average team at best. This included a perfect first sim to begin the regular season.
• The Florida Flamingos have some work to do to separate themselves from the pack. The reigning world champs are only 14-13, a testament to how competitive the minor leagues are.
• Turnover within the Puerto Rico Ranas! Yesterday Musha announced that they would be stepping down from managing the Ranas, and that there will be a new person at the helm of the team for the next season. Congrats on a fantastic career Musha! You were robbed of several best management awards.
• It’s anyone’s game. Half the league is within two games, so there will definitely be some drama down the home stretch of this season. Let the best team win!

This Week’s Top Performers:
In this column I will highlight several key performers in each league (Minors and Majors). These players or groups of players are playing good baseball and are worthy of recognition.

Minors:

• Kasey Vyda (LF, Kansas City Hepcats): In the opening week, Vyda was one of the best hitters in the minor leagues, leading the league in Batting Average (.389), OBP (.481), OBPS (1.045). They are also third in WAR (1.6), first in hits (41), and third in total bases (61). Quickly throwing their name into MVP hat, Kasey Vyda is becoming a household name.
• Long Ball (CF, California Firehawks): Largely overshadowed by Kasey Vyda, Long Ball has had a fantastic start to the regular season. They actually have more WAR than Vyda (1.7), and are leading the league in slugging percentage (.607). Coupled with a fourth-best .346 batting average, and Mr. Ball has a second-best OBPS (1.018). One of the premier power hitters, they also lead the minors in home runs (7) and have the second-highest isolated power rating (.243). If their defense would slightly improve, they could be a shoe-in for the MVP.
• John Botison (RP, Louisville Lemurs): Despite being a relief pitcher, they have dazzled this season. The name Botison appears in no short of 10 league leader columns, and he has been arguably the best relief pitcher in the minors leagues this season. To highlight key stats, they lead the MiLPBE in wins (5), games pitched (17), WHIP (0.94), Hits/9IP (6.5), and Opponents’ OBP (.244). They are amongst the best relievers in terms of volume and production. One of the reasons the Lemurs have been good this season, look for them to become one of the faces of the league in a few seasons.

Majors:

• Joey Moose (3B, New York Voyagers): Moose leads the PBE in Batting Average (.396), OBP (.429), and OBPS (1.117). What more needs to be said! He has racked up 1.8 Wins Above Replacement en route to leading New York to a league-best 19-8 record in this young season. Currently the best bat on the best offense in the PBE, Joey Moose is becoming one of the faces of the league.
• Anyone that pitches for the Outer Banks Aviators: What more needs to be said! They have an offense that is well below league-average, yet find themselves with the second-best record in the Major leagues due to some spectacular pitching performances. Gionna Morgan and Walrus Jones rank second and third in pitching WAR (2.0, 1.5) in the young season, and both match the appearance of elite arms for the Alaska team. Any batter should expect their average to dip when they face OBX.
• The One-Two Batting Punch of the Seattle Sea Serpents: Jose Slothseco and Rocout Wthyer Crocsout combine to lead the PBE in 10 hitting categories. They are the top two batters in the Champions conference in the only statistic that matters, OBPS (1.084 and 1.021, respectively). Additionally, Seattle as a team has put up 5.4 runs per game leaning on the two of the best hitters in the PBE. Both should be worthy of the MVP conversation, and Serpents fans should only hope that they don’t hurt each others’ chances.
• Nashville Stars Starting Pitching: Parker Parton, Glenallen Mixon, Apollo Summerville, Benny Sheets. Remember the names. They combine to have an ERA of 2.79. That’s a pretty low total for four starting pitchers. Nashville should continue to lean on them to maintain their successful season. If they want to repeat, they will need all of their pitchers to perform, which they’ve done so far.

Recent Milestones:

Congrats to recent career milestones achieved by PBE players!

• 1,000 Hits, Stan Dupp Vancouver Vandals
• 25 Triples, Will Love New Orleans Rougarous
• 750 Runs, Bobby McDonald Jr. San Antonio Sloths
• 300 SB, Park Factors New Orleans Rougarous
• 125 Starts, Aduke Singh Seattle Sea Serpents
• 1,000 IP, Jormungandr Ragnarok Lunar Base Space Rangers
• 1,250 Hits, Ignacio Encarnacion - New York Voyagers
• 1,000 K's, Sportsboy57 - Providence Crabs
• 1,750 IP, Glenallen Mixon - Nashville Stars
• 1,250 IP, PM Schramm - Buffalo Surge
• 200 HR, Trevor Duncan Lunar Base Space Rangers
• 150 HR, W.R. Wolf New Orleans Rougarous
• 100 Wins (Pitcher), S'Vanaleigh Mykutowicz San Antonio Sloths
• 1,000 IP, Walrus Jones Outer Banks Aviators

Season 37 Records:

Season 37 of the PBE Yielded a few significant single-season totals at both the Majors and Minors level! They are as seen below:

Majors:

• Dustin Johnson, Providence Crabs - Legends Triple Crown Winner: .309 AVG 31 HR 98 RBI
• Constantine Kahn, San Antonio Sloths - Retires #1 All-time in career ERA in PBE history: 2.270 ERA

Minors:

• Michael Ferris Brueller Jr, Anchorage Wheelers - Batting Average in a season: .3809 AVG
• Michael Ferris Brueller Jr, Anchorage Wheelers - Hits in a season: 179 Hits
• Michael Ferris Brueller Jr, Anchorage Wheelers - Singles in a season: 153 Singles
• James Dion, Kansas City Hepcats - Batting WAR in a season: 8.43 WAR

Sims This Week:
As usual, we will be simming on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday. All sims are streamed live on twitch. Schedule below:

Tuesday: Dustillation and BennyTheJett are in the booth, PBE action starting at 7pm EST.
Wednesday: Plague and an unknown co-host are going to stream at 7pm EST.
Thursday: Sarah and an unknown co-host are going to stream at a time TBD.
Saturday: Dustillation and Lumosityfan stream a PBE matinee, starting at 2pm EST!

Link to our Streams: twitch.tv/pbesim
Link to our Index: pbesim.com