The opening month has come and gone, let's see how the teams did in
April 1938:
The reigning champions are off to a hot start, but Puebla's right up against them. The competition is very tight, with all teams within 10 games after the first month and Tampico is probably the only non-competitor. 5 out of the 8 teams are above .500, with favorites Mérida just outside the top 5.
Let's break it down team by team:
Tunas de San Luis
San Luis are off to a good if somewhat inconsistent start, going 9-6 against teams over .500. Their pitching has been as usual, with only César Plascencia's ERA up by 2 whole runs compared to last year. Offensively, they are first in batting average, on base percentage and on base plus slugging.
Best hitters:
C José López - .355/.378/.395, 3 2B, 4 RBI
RF Roberto Hernández - .288/.368/.394, 5 2B, 1 3B, 10 RBI, 1 SB
LF Guillermo Aceves - .307/.311/.398, 2 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 3 SB
Rotation:
RHP Roberto Mestre - 4-2, 1.53 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 9.3 K%
LHP Francisco Camacho - 7-1, 1.46 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 11.8 K%, Pitcher of the Month (2x)
RHP César Plascencia - 2-3, 4.71 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, 8.7 K%
RHP Luis García - 3-2, 2.64 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 10.0 K%
Serpientes de Puebla
Puebla are tied in 1st place, but maybe are set to tumble down the order next month, considering they're 5-9 against teams over .500. Their underlying statistics are not the best but they're managing to be the #1 offense and #2 defense in the league, keeping this up despite their bad record against the better teams will surely keep them in contention.
Best hitters:
1B Mario Morales - .282/.388/.408, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI
2B Fernando del Toro - .305/.376/.390, 6 2B, 1 HR, 16 RBI
SS Manuel Portillo - .290/.347/.387, 3 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 SB
Rotation:
LHP José García - 3-3, 1.61 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 8.5 K%
RHP Rafael Sianez - 5-2, 2.45 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 10.1 K%
RHP Victor Villarroel - 3-1, 1.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 14.1 K%
RHP Martín Pérez - 3-2, 2.14 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 8.0 K%
Águilas de México
Not much was expected of this team, but they've managed to have a surprising month on the back of their pitching becoming great, going from a 3.43 last year to a 2.19 ERA so far this year. Their offensive numbers are bottom half and their defensive numbers are, too so perhaps they're set to regress next month.
Best hitters:
3B David Herrera - .358/.425/.368, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 1 SB
RF Luis García - .340/.370/.408, 3 2B, 2 3B, 6 RBI
2B Carlos Ramírez - .322/.351/.400, 3 2B, 2 3B, 7 RBI
Rotation:
RHP Ezequiel Anguiano - 5-3, 1.77 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 12.2 K%
RHP Eulalio Garza - 3-0, 1.43 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 8.1 K%
RHP Antonio Castañeda - 2-3, 2.72 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 11.4 K%
LHP Leo Álvarez - 2-1, 2.51 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 11.1 K%
Obsidianas de Guadalajara
The league's 3rd best offense find themselves at exactly .500 after a very inconsistent start. Their underlying numbers are top 3 for most categories, so be on the lookout for a May resurgence.
Best hitters:
1B Guillermo Villanueva - .352/.379/.462, 5 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB
LF Oscar Valladolid - .380/.400/.437, 4 2B, 8 RBI
2B César Loaiza - .308/.336/.421, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 17 RBI, 1 SB
Rotation:
LHP Carlos Casillas - 5-2, 2.04 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 11.0 K%
RHP Jacinto Santos - 2-4, 2.80 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 12.2 K%
RHP Faustino Campos - 1-3, 3.77 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 10.7 K%
RHP Roberto Olmos - 4-2, 2.27 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 9.7 K%
Flechas de León
There was a lot of expectation on this team, considering the offseason deals they pulled off but now find themselves in the middle of the pack. They are the 5th best team at preventing runs and so are in 5th place, though their offense is struggling big time, with none other than new star Victor Barrios being the perfect example of the hitting going wrong so far this year. Barrios is hitting .179/.247/.231 and has been involved in all but 5 of the 26 games played so far. If their hitters can find their mojo again, we can expect this team to compete for the title.
Best hitters:
2B Francisco Escamilla - .360/.382/.535, 2 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 1 SB
LF Andrés Suárez - .290/.377/.420, 4 2B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 1 SB
C Victor Albornoz - .321/.418/.345, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 1 SB
Rotation:
RHP Antonio Aguilar - 2-2, 2.09 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 7.4 K%
LHP Jonathan Estrada - 2-3, 2.40 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 15.4 K%
RHP Juan González - 3-1, 1.83 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 10.9 K%
RHP Luis Cruz - 1-4, 3.05 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 11.3 K% (Replaced by LHP Alejandro Carranza: 2.52 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 10 K% last year)
Aulladores de Mérida
This team was expected to be competing for the championship, at least that was the experts' consensus before the season began. Their offense is living up to expectations as they are 2nd in runs scored but they have been let down by a pitching staff and defense that allows over 3 runs per game. Tightening up this side of their game should allow them to climb up the table.
Best hitters:
RF Edwin Esparza - .365/.411/.481, 7 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 2 SB, Player of the Month
LF Celestino de la Rosa - .313/.414/.404, 5 2B, 2 3B, 8 RBI, 5 SB
1B Santiago Salas - .280/.368/.419, 4 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI
Rotation:
RHP Jesús Pérez - 2-4, 3.32 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 9.5 K%
LHP Roberto García - 3-4, 2.11 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 8.5 K%
RHP Jonathan Tirado - 1-2, 5.71 ERA, 1.78 WHIP, 9.4 K% (Replaced by RHP Eulalio Sánchez: 2.30 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 8.7 K% last year)
RHP David Venegas - 4-1, 3.50 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 11.0 K% (Replaced by RHP Felipe Martínez: 1.62 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 10.1 K% in 16 IP last year)
Jaguares de México
They are fulfilling their expectations, are 7th in runs scored and 6th in runs allowed with their 0.89 bullpen ERA the only bright spot this year. The Jaguars remain only 4.5 games back but will probably stay in 7th all season long.
Best hitters:
SS Omar Morales - .410/.456/.506, 2 2B, 3 3B, 7 RBI, 1 SB
RF Salvador Velázquez - .282/.404/.353, 4 2B, 1 3B, 7 RBI, 5 SB
CF Armando Rodríguez - .275/.315/.382, 11 2B, 6 RBI, 4 SB
Rotation:
LHP Andrés Amaya - 3-4, 2.97 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, 8.8 K%
RHP David Garza - 2-4, 2.86 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 9.2 K%
RHP Angel Urquidi - 2-3, 2.72 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 8.4 K%
LHP Luis Helguera - 2-3, 4.53 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 4.6 K% (Replaced by RHP Mario Quesada: 36 y/o rookie, acquired last August from Tampico)
Jaibas de Tampico
Their mediocre offense (5th) can't keep up with a pitching staff and defense that allow almost 4 runs per game, despite being 2nd in strikeouts. Their Zone Rating and Defensive Efficiency are very low despite being the team that makes the least errors. Expect another bottom 2 finish from this team.
Best hitters:
1B Julio Ortiz - .427/.447/.490, 6 2B, 13 RBI, 1 SB
RF Ulises Dueñas - .343/.387/.471, 3 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 4 SB
SS Andrés Martínez - .368/.392/.453, 2 2B, 2 HR, 13 RBI, 1 SB
Rotation:
RHP Francisco Barajas - 3-1, 2.17 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 10.4 K%
RHP Israel Pastrana - 1-4, 3.82 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 12.5 K%
RHP Zenón Sandoval - 0-3, 5.21 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 10.9 K%
LHP Miguel Zúñiga - 1-4, 5.18 ERA, 2.02 WHIP, 6 K%
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It's been exciting, as usual in this league. The offensive and pitching numbers are at the level I want them at, with teams rarely scoring double digits (even upwards of 6 runs in a single game is a feat), making for what I think is exciting baseball with close games and tight races throughout the year. I'm figuring out how to get younger players into the league, and will probably add an "academy" league and a reserve league in the near future, along with other cool plans I have so stay tuned!