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MIDWEST BASEBALL RECAP: JUNE

MIDWEST U.S.A. (June 30, 1882) – It is now the end of June, and unlike in the Northeast the three competitions in the Midwest are not yet halfway over. Instead, M.W.B.A. teams have played 49/108 games and teams in the G.L.C. & P.L. have played 43/108. Here is how each of the three competitions looks.

MIDWESTERN BASEBALL ASSOCIATION

The Saints are clearly the best team in the M.W.B.A. right now. After ending May tied for 1st, they were a league-best 18-8 with a league-best +51 Run Differential during June. Their offense is #1 in Runs (6.2 R/G), Average (.316), Slugging (.438), OPS (.794), and Batsman WAR (15.8). Their fielding has also been the league’s best in all four defensive metrics.

Louisville stayed near the top with more steady baseball while ending June 16-9 at home and 10-7 in one-run games. Indianapolis moved four places up the standings thanks to the second-best June record and success in close contests that now has them 12-6 in one-run games. The Bluebirds were so-so over the month but remain 2nd in Runs per Game. North Chicago leads the league in On-Base (.357) and Pitching WAR (8.7), but their fielding is dead last in all four metrics. Detroit fell to .500 with a poor June, but they are still a team without any major weaknesses.

South Chicago is last in Runs (4.5 R/G) and 9th in both Average & OPS, which has undone all the good work by their second-ranked fielding. Cleveland is struggling away from home (8-17) and in one-run games (4-10). Cincinnati is just 1-5 in Extra Innings, and they rank 8th in Runs and 9th in Runs Allowed. Milwaukee is just ahead of S. Chicago in scoring, but their attack ranks last in Average, On-Base, Slugging, OPS, AND Batsman WAR.

M.W.B.A. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Benjamin Buckler (2B, StLS) – .422, 1.097 OPS, 29 R, 49 H, 10 2B, 7 3B, 1 HR, 22 RBI, 6 SB, 2.4 WPA, 2.4 WAR

HURLER OF THE MONTH
Lew Farris (IND) – 7-2, 2.49 ERA, 79.2 IP, 8 CG, 1 SHO, 37 K, 1.9 K/BB, 1.33 WHIP, 1.8 WAR, 2.9 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Benjamin Buckler (2B, StLS) – M.W.B.A. Batsman of the Month

Buckler led the league in AVG, SLG, OPS, H, XBH, TB, WPA, & WAR – an outstanding June for the Saints’ 2B. Two Batsmen came close to his production. The first was teammate Jacob Milburn (.412, 1.068 OPS, 23 R, 26 RBI, 1.6 WPA, 2.2 WAR) and the other was Detroit CF Oscar Wright (.414, 1.073 OPS, 28 R, 21 SB, 1.6 WPA, 2.2 WAR).

Lew Farris was the only seven-win Hurler during June, so the monthly honor is his. That he also led the league in Strikeouts and both forms of Pitching WAR closed the case. Saints greenhorn Frank Nowitzki had P.o.t.M. almost wrapped up, but four Bases on Balls and eight Earned Runs over 5.1 Innings just this afternoon tripped him up at the final hurdle.

Earning B.o.t.M. automatically makes the 24-year-old Buckler G.o.t.M. as well. He barely outpaced 21-year-old teammate Milburn, and incredibly the third Greenhorn in the Saints lineup, Nowitzki, had a claim on the honor until he struggled during his last appearance. Still, his June (6-2, 2.08 ERA, 24 K, 7 CG, 1 SHO, 1.3 WAR, 2.6 rWAR) was excellent.

M.W.B.A. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .409 by Robert Drake (1B, Cleveland)
OPS: 1.036 by Franklin Smith (CF, N. Chicago)
Home Runs: 4 by William Saylor (C, N. Chicago)
Runs Batted In: 43 by Patrick Mackey (RF, N. Chicago)
Runs: 51 by Oscar Kress (CF, StL Saints)
Stolen Bases: 21 by Daniel McKie (2B, StL Bluebirds)
Batsman WPA: 4.3 by Franklin Smith
Batsman WAR: 3.4 by Jacob Milburn (LF, StL Saints)

Wins: 11 by Lew Farris (Indianapolis) & Arvid Summers (StL Saints)
ERA (100+ IP): 2.80 by Robert Hancock (S. Chicago)
Strikeouts: 61 by Lew Farris
Complete Games: 14 by William Flynn (StL Saints)
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.35 by William Doherty (S. Chicago)
Pitcher WAR: 3.1 by Robert Hancock & Christopher Wilkinson (StL Bluebirds)
Pitcher rWAR: 4.3 by Robert Herman (Louisville)

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GREAT LAKES CONFERENCE

LEADER: Ft. Wayne & Toledo at 30-13 (Evansville 1 GB, Grand Rapids 5 GB, Dayton 7 GB)

The G.L.C. has become a league of the Haves and the Have-Nots through 43 games. Both Ft. Wayne & Toledo were 17-9 during June, as well as 9-1 over their last ten games, to move them into co-leader status. That means Evansville’s 29-14 record is only good enough for third place, with the men from South Indiana now one game behind the red-hot duo.

Ft. Wayne’s lineup has been reaching base more often than any other, and they’ve been led by LF Rudolph Andrews (.410, .997 OPS, 46 R, 30 RBI, 2.8 WAR). Toledo’s been the league’s best team in the field, and they’ve been powered by the brilliant Hurling of James Herman (10-3, 1.99 ERA, 21 K, 2 SHO, 2.9 WAR). While Evansville’s form fell from a 15-2 May to a 14-12 June, they still have a league-best lineup that features a quintet of .300 hitters, including 2B Clifford Gaul (.386, .929 OPS, 36 R, 31 RBI, 2.5 WAR)

Grand Rapids is playing some nice baseball that has been buoyed by excellent work from their Hurling Rotation. Dayton is over .500 thanks to the league’s #3 offense and a mid-lineup trio all batting over .300. After that, everyone is struggling. Saginaw is treading water at 19-24, but each of the league’s bottom four all have Win Percentages under .400. Cook County (17-26) ranks 9th in Runs, Youngstown (15-28) is last in Runs Allowed, Columbus (14-29) has the league’s weakest attack, and Peoria (13-30) has the G.L.C.’s lowest-ranked Hurling Rotation.

G.L.C. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
Rudolph Andrews (LF, FtW) – .418, 1.017 OPS, 27 R, 46 H, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 15 BB, 1.5 WPA, 1.8 WAR

HURLER OF THE MONTH
Fred Borromeo (TOL) – 7-1, 2.53 ERA, 74.2 IP, 7 CG, 1 SHO, 15 K, 1.1 K/BB, 1.34 WHIP, 1.5 WAR, 3.2 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Bailey Fleming (FtW)* – 8-3, 2.62 ERA, 82.1 IP, 7 CG, 1 SHO, 34 K, 1.6 K/BB, 1.31 WHIP, 1.5 WAR, 2.6 rWAR
*Fleming also won G.o.t.M. for May

G.L.C. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .410 by Rudolph Andrews (LF, Ft. Wayne)
OPS: .997 by Rudolph Andrews
Home Runs: 3 by three different Batsmen
Runs Batted In: 40 by Jonathan Teel (1B, Evansville)
Runs: 46 by Rudolph Andrews
Stolen Bases: 24 by Elmer Faiman (CF, Dayton)
Batsman WPA: 3.5 by Jonathan Teel
Batsman WAR: 3.3 by Murdoch Samson (3B, Ft. Wayne)

Wins: 12 by Bailey Fleming (Ft. Wayne)
ERA (100+ IP): 1.99 by James Herman (Toledo)
Strikeouts: 62 by Fred Thompson (Cook Co.)
Complete Games: 13 by Robert de Sousa (Dayton) & Andrew Lahey (Evansville)
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.05 by James Herman
Pitcher WAR: 3.4 by Bertrand Picard (Grand Rapids)
Pitcher rWAR: 5.6 by Jonathan Rush (Grand Rapids)

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PRAIRIE LEAGUE

LEADER: Kansas City at 28-15 (Minneapolis 0.5 GB, St. Paul 1 GB, Sioux City/St. Joseph 7 GB)

An 18-8 June saw the Bulls take over first place outright on the final day. Their team excelled in just about everything, and right now there isn’t a weak spot in the lineup. Minneapolis was even better at 19-7, and thus they shot up from 7th to 2nd. Their strong point has been obvious: their league-best attack, which, incredibly, has all eight regular Batsmen currently hitting over .300. St. Paul was a decent 14-11 in June, and they still lead the league in Runs Allowed & ERA.

The middle of the league is made up of teams hovering around .500. Sioux City (21-22) has been average in seemingly everything, while St. Joseph (21-22) has seen excellent hurling undone by a ninth-ranked attack. Des Moines (20-23) was just 10-16 during June as their Hurling Rotation really struggled. Dubuque (19-23) followed up their putrid 3-13 May with a 16-10 month, so while they’re still under .500 at least they now look like they belong.

The bottom three…Wichita (19-24) has the league’s #2 offense but they’re #8 in Runs Allowed and #7 in fielding. Omaha (18-15) had a disastrous 8-18 June as a lineup with plenty of talent fell into a collective slump. Lincoln (14-29) has won about 1/3 of their games in both May & June, and it already looks like a winter of retooling is in store.

P.L. MONTHLY AWARDS

BATSMAN OF THE MONTH
George Fields (LF, KC) – .331, .985 OPS, 28 R, 40 H, 8 2B, 8 3B, 3 HR, 31 RBI, 10 BB, 2.6 WPA, 1.6 WAR

HURLER OF THE MONTH
Lee Kramer (DUB) – 7-2, 3.27 ERA, 74.1 IP, 7 CG, 27 K, 1.5 K/BB, 1.41 WHIP, 1.3 WAR, 2.3 rWAR

GREENHORN OF THE MONTH
Charlie Davis (SS, KC) – .395, .899 OPS, 21 R, 47 H, 7 2B, 1 3B, 20 RBI, 7 BB, 1 SB, 1.7 WPA, 1.2 WAR

P.L. STATISTICAL LEADERS

Average: .397 by Clay Wilkinson (3B, St. Paul)
OPS: .970 by Clay Wilkinson
Home Runs: 4 by Jack Eisenberg (1B, Wichita)
Runs Batted In: 47 by George Fields (LF, Kansas City)
Runs: 53 by Joshua Simmons (CF, Kansas City)
Stolen Bases: 19 by William Bloom (CF, Des Moines)
Batsman WPA: 3.5 by George Fields
Batsman WAR: 2.4 by Olof Swanstrom (3B, Minneapolis)

Wins: 11 by Woodrow Falcon (Minneapolis)
ERA (100+ IP): 2.19 by Charles Murdoch (Kansas City)
Strikeouts: 65 by Jerald Plemons (St. Joseph)
Complete Games: 13 by Jerald Plemons
WHIP (100+ IP): 1.19 by Richard Levesque (St. Paul)
Pitcher WAR: 4.0 by Jerald Plemons
Pitcher rWAR: 4.2 by Jerald Plemons