With the longer season, I'll do bi-monthly reports to avoid dragging this out more than necessary. So, here are the standings after
May 1940:
A bit over 40% of the season has been played and the standings look nothing like what was expected before the season. Jaguares might not be the best hitting team, but they are defensively sound and their pitching has been great. León and Mérida are doing their best to keep it close while the Eagles and Crabs toil away at the other end of the table.
Speaking of the Jaguars' pitching:
Carlos Casillas threw the league's 3rd no-hitter! The Jalisco native was one walk and one error away from perfection this May 3rd when the Mexico City club faced San Luis. The Tunas' first baserunner was Miguel Muñoz, leading off the 5th with a groundball that was mishandled by Antonio Sánchez. However, Casillas managed to face the minimum after Oscar Valladolid grounded into an inning-ending double play. A tired Casillas allowed the 27th batter he faced to reach first base after an 8 pitch walk, but the pitch immediately after that ended the game on a 6-4 fielder's choice.
On the other side, San Luis ace Roberto Mestre pitched a 3 hit game. Unfortunately for the pink team, one of those hits went over the wall in the 5th inning, giving Casillas his 6th win of the season. It's a great feat as we see the league's 3rd and the Jaguars' 1st no-hitter! Casillas joins teammate Eulalio Garza and León's Luis Cruz as the only pitchers to achieve this feat.
A full breakdown would probably be too long for my liking, so let's check in on some of the star players:
León's star outfielder Andrés Suárez is leading the hitters' pack with a .328/.447/.531 line, making him 2nd in OBP and OPS. Suárez has gotten 13 doubles, 4 triples and 5 homers as well as 21 runs batted in. He's been the 3rd best defender in left field and hasn't missed a game for the Arrows.
Another early Tlatoani contender is also on the Arrows. Edwin Esparza has hit .346/.400/.594 so far, along with 9 doubles, 6 triples and league-leading 8 round-trippers and 48 RBI. Esparza is also the 3rd worst baserunner in the league and his defense is right field has been just barely positive, which are the reasons why he's only the 7th most valuable player (WAR) despite being the best hitter.
On the other side of the spectrum, San Luis' Oscar Valladolid is struggling with a move to first base, where his defense is even worse than in left field (and that's saying something). The former Obsidian is hitting .272/.313/.402, making him slightly below average (by OPS+). With Miguel Muñoz holding up the left field position for the Tunas, perhaps Valladolid will need to work on his defense at first if he wants to stay in the starting lineup.
Other stars hitting well:
Jaguares LF Ricardo Palacios (.355/.425/.543) and 2B Antonio Sánchez (.327/.410/.494). Mérida legend Celestino de la Rosa, now a first baseman (.310/.396/.503).
Best rookies:
Monterrey 1B Leocadio Garza (.306/.454/.486). Aguascalientes CF Armando Vela (.298/.366/.527). Guadalajara RF Jorge Dorado (.333/.376/.458).
On the pitching side, Puebla's Faustino Campos has been lighting up the league in his second year with the club. All of his 12 starts have been quality starts, leading the league with a 1.07 ERA and 2.9 WAR. His 1.16 WHIP is 5th best, while his 10.7 K% is 7th best. Campos has been great at limiting walks and hard contact, which is why he's leading the race for the Atlatl Award.
Tied with Campos in WAR is Roberto Mestre, looking for his 3rd consecutive Atlatl Award. Despite a higher ERA (2.47), Mestre is on par with Campos for WHIP (1.15), K% (12.2) and BB% (6.3). The San Luis righty seems to have less luck than Campos when it comes to allowing runs, but he's also recovering from a 3 start run towards the end of April where he allowed 14 runs and 29 hits over 24 innings. Since then, his ERA has dropped from 4.05 to 2.47, and, if his award winning seasons can tell us anything, it might only get lower.
Meanwhile, former Moyaomamachtiani Award winner Eulalio Garza is struggling to replicate his 1938-39 form. Despite throwing half the innings, he's already given up more home runs this year (9) than in his award winning 1938 season (7). His 0.6 K/BB means he'll walk himself into trouble often. Perhaps hitters have figured him out and with the amount of walks and flyballs he gives up it might be time to consider another approach.
Star pitchers performing:
Mérida RHP Jesús Pérez (3.64 ERA, 1.49 WHIP). Jaguares LHP Carlos Casillas (2.53 ERA, 1.04 WHIP). Jaguares RHP Jacinto Santos (3.65 ERA, 1.34 WHIP).
Best rookies:
Aguascalientes RHP Primitivo Espinosa (2.60 ERA, 1.11 WHIP), LHP Filiberto Soto (3.38 ERA, 1.26 WHIP), RHP Leovigildo Esparza (3.61 ERA, 1.31 WHIP).
The next update will go over June-July (and 2 series in August). Thanks for reading!