[ArquimedezPozo]

The Montreal Expos traded away the best player in franchise history in Bubba Fread, but they don’t seem to miss him much as the club has gone 15-6 out of the gate to open up an early five game lead in the Division 2 Eastern Conference. The offense has led the way, ranking second to Denver in every offensive category that matters: the ‘Spos have scored 108 runs on 25 homers, while hitting .288/.347/.478 as a team. That result has truly been a team effort, with six Expos regulars notching an OPS+ of 120 or better, and 1B Juan Garcia at 195, best in the East. The pitching has been less assured, with Aaron Noel getting hammered to this point; that may become a long term issue. But for now, they are mashing, and its working.

Behind Montreal is a trio of expected contenders, all stuck in neutral at 10-11. The Nashville Sounds, coming back to D2 this season after demolishing Division 3, have pitched well as a team. But much of that is out of the bullpen, as two of their more reliable starters, Matthew Boyd and Andres Orozco, have hit speed bumps. And while Jonathan Cosner and Ivan Castillo have been two of the most reliable hitters in the Division, there’s not a lot of depth behind them yet. The Baltimore Terrapins are riding new ace Zack Root and so far it’s given them a team ERA better than all but San Diego’s in D2. But they haven’t hit at all, beyond the surprising play of Rookie of the Month Daniel Lopez. The Detroit Stars are in a similar position - the loss of Root hasn’t damaged their rotation much, but they rank just seventh in runs despite being top five in team homers, wOBA, OPS, and OBP.

The Ottawa Champions are a game back of Detroit, Baltimore, and Nashville at 9-12, but have lost their best bullpen arm in Xavier Sims; Sims is out for the season with a labrum tear. And the Toronto Maple Leafs, having been relegated in the offseason from D1, are attempting a turnaround rebuild; its first phase is seeing them go 6-15 in the season’s first month.

In the West, three teams share first place: the Ft. Worth Cats, St. Paul Saints, and Denver Bears have identical 13-8 records, though they have come by them in different ways.

The Bears have, simply, mashed their way to the top. No team in the NABF has scored more than their 119 runs, with young 3B Jimmy Egger having an astounding start to his season: the 25 year old took home the Batter of the Month award in D2 for April with a .378/.452/.838 line, 7 homers, and an NABF-best 1.9 WAR. Danny Dautel has homered eight times, and 26 year old RF Raymond Ramirez has an OPS a shade below 1.000. And while their pitching and defense haven’t been quite as dynamic, they haven’t been bad: the team is 5th in FIP, and the rotation has held together in the early going.

Fort Worth has done much of the same, but not as well in either case: the Cats have the Division’s third best run total, driven by their 24 year old 1B Mike McGuckin, who has slugged seven homers despite a .229 average. Young star CF Jesse Moeller, who lost half of last season to injury, hasn’t gotten his timing down yet, but Joseph Kovacs and 2B Scott Dohman have hit well to this point. The pitching, however, has been dreadful: the Cats rank 11th out of 12 in runs allowed, and beyond Ian Weaver and Yusuke Kondo, the rotation is a mess.

The Saint Paul Saints round out the top three in the West, but there are signs they may be playing above their heads: the Saints have allowed ten runs more than they’ve scored so far, and beyond a red-hot Ryan Finnegan they have no one who has been all that consistent offensively. The rotation has held, and Jerry Dudek continues to develop into an ace, but the bullpen has its share of holes.

Outside of those three, no one has distinguished themselves much. The San Diego Padres have allowed fewer runs that any other D2 club with a rotation that has been outstanding thus far, but the team FIP suggests the ERA is full of luck, and while Victor Ortiz has been among the best hitters in the Division, only two other players in the lineup have an OPS+ above 100. The Kansas City Monrachs have been hitting the ball well behind Mike Comer and Corey Stoute, but the pitching has been an unmitigated disaster as fans continue to wonder why the club dealt ace Rhett Frew in the offseason. And a year removed from their surprise Conference title, the Houston Buffaloes are stuck in the mud at 8-13 as Tony Adams seems to have sucked up all the offense: the LF is hitting .431/.481/.773 with seven homers, an outrageous 240 OPS+ and 253 wRC+. Justice Slaton continues to show that he deserves to be talked about as one of the best catchers in the game, too. But no one in Houston’s lineup has an OPS+ above 100, and the team hasn’t pitched well yet either.

D2 Batter of the Month: Jimmy Egger, 3B, Denver Bears - .378/.452/.838, 7 HR, 17 RBI, 1.9 WAR
D2 Pitcher of the Month: Justin Cole, SP, Toronto Maple Leafs - 3-0, 0.77 ERA, 33 K, 1.5 WAR
D2 Rookie of the Month: Daniel Lopez, RF, Baltimore Terrapins - .371/.429/.586, 13 2B, 11 R, 10 RBI, 0.8 WAR