[ayaghmour2]

Here it is! My brand new monthly format! I'm going to try really hard to keep up daily updates, but it may be a little more challenging then before.

Before the season gets under way, the Top 100 Prospect list was published today, with Newark CF Keith Lovejoy claiming the top spot. Lovejoy was taken #1 overall out of San Jose State last draft, and is beloved by OSA. They have him as one of the best prospects I've ever seen, with elite contact, avoid K, and all three speed ratings. He's got plus-plus homer and gap power with a plus eye. He's a decent defender, and has the range for center.

We had one representative in the Top 10, the recently acquired 3B Steve Hall, who checks in at #5. Also a former #1 overall pick, Hall made the big league club and since he has no options, will stay. He's an elite defender at the hot corner and plus at short. He's a plus-plus contact and gap power hitter with a solid eye to make up for low power. He still strikes out a lot, but he should eventually draw a decent amount of walks.

Our system ranks 12th, with just CF's Mark Pinette (59th) and James Rose (72nd) also in the top 100. 2B Juan Villanueva (103rd) and CF Simone Henckell (105th) just missed the cut and P/OF Evan Francis (149th) and SP Matt Reyes (176th) finish off the top 200.

April Record: 19-5!
Team Record: 19-5 (1st, 2 GA)

Team News and Transactions:
4/4: As expected, Jorge Rancier cleared waivers and was outrighted to Class A Grand Rapids.

4/9: 3B Ben Etienne suffered dehydration, and will be held out of our next two games. The slugger had a rough first couple games, hitting just .105/.1/50/.316 with a homer and 2 RBI's.

4/12: Giobbe Capuana suffered a calf sprain, and will hit the 10-Day DL. 2B Mike Legg was recalled from Grand Rapids to replace him. Jesus Camargo would man first, with Legg sliding in at second.

We didn't need him today, as Kevin Miller tossed a 4-hit shutout as we crushed the Chicago Cardinals 10-0.

4/19: Despite a thirty plus minute rain delay in the 9th, new ace Kevin Miller tossed a beautiful 3-hit shutout as we edged the Lightning and all-world pitcher Bobby Brosius in a 1-0 victory to improve to 12-3 on the season. St. Louis is 10-6, and 2.5 games behind us, but a game ahead of Cincy.

4/21: Jesus Camargo was diagnosed with a knee contusion after leaving yesterday's game. It's not serious, as he won't require a DL stint, but I'd monitor his play time.

4/23: Giobbe Capuana returned to the big league club after his DL stint ended, sending the red hot Mike Legg (.375/.394/.500) to Grand Rapids just because he has options left. Capuana will reclaim first, with Camargo shifting back to his preferred second base.

League News and Transactions:
4/7: Sadness swept all around the ABL as St. Louis Lightning owner Chris Leggett passed away of natural causes. His son, Marshall, has been highly involved in the club as his father has aged, and is likely going to become the new owner. He's supposedly controlling, but tolerant.

4/9: Lot's of highlights across the league today. Former Charger Jason Campbell struck out 17 in 7.1 innings as the Brooklyn Bearcats topped the Cleveland Cyclones 5-1.

New Orleans 2B Carlos Licea went 5-for-5 in an 11-10 win over Milwaukee. His teammate, CF Antonio Mendez went 5-for-6.

4/10: St. Louis LF Jesus Zamora (.346, 4 HR, 10 RBI) and Brooklyn LF Lyle Raymod (.526, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R) took home Player of the Week.

Power Rankings: 2nd, 5-1: (158.0, ++)

4/11: Chicago SP Danny Geffre tossed a 9-hit shutout in a 9-0 win over Milwaukee.

4/12: Rookie RF Howie Gainer launched 3 homers in a 12-3 Buffalo win over Brooklyn. A former 4th Round Pick by Philadelphia in 1901, Gainer has 7 homers in 7 games to start the season.

Philadelphia CF Jon Alvarado may not have clubbed 3 homers, but he was 3-for-5 including his 300th career home run. The 32-year-old from Mexico has spent his entire career with Philly, hitting .307/.401/.591 (152 OPS+) with 183 steals and 1,090 RBI's, all while playing elite defense in the outfield. An 8-Time Gold Glover and 2-Time Platinum Stick Winner, the 32-year-old has a ton of hardware in his collection.

4/13: Buffalo SP Greg England will miss the rest of the season after tearing his labrum. The 4th Overall Pick by Pittsburgh in 1897, injuries have been tough on "Looney Tunes" who's managed just 9 big league innings in parts of four seasons. He lasted just 2.1 innings in his only start, allowing 5 hits, a run, and a walk.

Rebels RHP Jose Soto will also miss the rest of the season with a torn rotator cuff. The 25-year-old rookie tossed just 1.2 innings in his debut season, which is more then expected from the former 13th Round pick by Baltimore in 1898. He joined the Rebels on a minor league deal in the offseason, and made the team out of spring.

His teammate, RHP Ethan Turberville picked up his first career win in his first career start, tossing a 1-hit shutout in a 4-0 win over Cincinnati.

4/14: Washington SP Marcos Hernandez struck out 15 in a 4-2 win over St. Louis.

4/16: Philadelphia SP Billy Hawkins tossed a 3-hit shutout with 9 strikeouts in a 4-0 win over Brooklyn.

4/17: St. Louis LF Jesus Zamora (.381, 4 HR, 9 RBI's) and Boston RF Ricardo Robledo (.520, 5 HR, 8 RBI's) were named Players of the Week.

Power Rankings: 1st, 10-2: (161.0, +)

4/19: It was a day for shutouts, as along with the Miller shutout, Brooklyn SP Franklin Torres and Philly SP Josh Foster tossed shutouts of their own. Torres allowed just 4 hits in his own 1-0 win over Boston while Foster struck out 10 in a 6-0 win over state rival Pittsburgh.

4/20: A late free agent signing as Cincy inked LHP Greguorio Calandrini to a 1-year, $1,780 contract. A long time starter with Baltimore, he eventually converted to the pen and then spent last season with Brooklyn, putting up his first ever negative WAR season. In 350 career games (210 starts) he's 96-36 with 36 saves to go with a 3.71 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, and 1,512 strikeouts in 1,561.1 innings.

4/21: More shutouts with Cleveland SP Derrick Briggs tossing a 3-hit shutout with 11 strikeouts against Newark as the Cyclones won 4-0. Briggs, a late developing righty, is 29 and in just his second full season, although it's been near perfect for the former 2nd Round Pick. He's 4-0 with a 0.58 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, and 27 strikeouts in 4 starts. Walks are a problem for him, as he lead the NL in walks with 108.

4/23: Big blow to the Red Hawks, as CL Paul Monroe will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured ulnar collateral ligament. The former 7th Overall Pick had a nice 1.13 ERA and 0.75 WHIP with 5 saves and 11 strikeouts in 8 innings. It's a big blow for the 34-year-old, although this is the only injury of his long career that will last more then a month.

4/24: Pair of shutouts with St. Louis' Bobby Brosius tossing a 6-hit shutout with 14 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over the Cardinals. Pilots lefty Jake Lear tossed a 6-hitter in an 8-0 win over the Cavalry.

4/25: Boston SS Raul Salinas launched 3 homers in a 9-1 win over Buffalo. Salinas didn't have a homer entering the game, and after a career high 19 in 1902, the most he's hit in a season is 13.

4/26: The Boston Patriots will be without LHP Preston Hildenbrand for the rest of the season with bone chips in his elbow. The Patriots tried trading me him all offseason, but I hate fragile starters (even if they're studs like him), and I respectfully declined at least 8 offers. He had a great start to the season, 1-1 with a 2.01 ERA and 0.85 WHIP with 28 strikeouts in 22.1 innings.

4/28: Milwaukee (now the Wolves!) CF Brad Marino launched three homers in a 5-4 loss to Cincinnati. He's definitely lost a step with all the injuries he's dealt with, but the 30-year-old with a 50-year-olds body is still hitting .400/.442/.825 with 5 homers, 3 steals, and 8 RBI's.

4/29: Baltimore SP Roger Jacobson will miss the rest of the season after bone chips in his elbow. The 26-year-old was just called up from Class A Allegheny, and went 5.2 innings with 2 runs, a walk, and 5 strikeouts in his only start this season.

Philadelphia SP Josh Foster tossed a 6-hit shutout with 12 strikeouts in a 5-0 win over Boston. Buffalo 2B John McKenzie went 5-for-5 in an 11-7 win over Newark.

End of the Month Recap:

Wow! I knew we were good, but 19-5 good! Best record in baseball by far, with St. Louis at 18-8 two full games behind us. The team, for the most part, as looked really good, as we are first in most pitching categories and a few hitting categories. What's more insane is we only had 7 home games, and were just 4-3. We're 15-2 on the road! Now while I don't expect to maintain a .882 win percentage on the road, I do expect our home win percentage to improve or at least hover in the .600 range.

The Good:

1. Starting Pitching: Whether it's a mix of strict, albeit still high, pitch counts, a new manager, or batters always being rusty in the early season, the starters have been flat out dominant. Now, I expected to have dominate starting pitching, it's one of my favorite things there is, but I did not expect my *worse* starter's ERA to be 2.77 (Ron Howard). D.J. Ruhnke (5-1, 1.53 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 45 K) has been near unhittable, Kevin Miller (4-1, 2.30 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 38 K) was as advertised, and Nate McCue (2-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 30 K) and Matt Puckett (3-0, 0.84 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 20 K) have been stellar when called upon. And Ron Howard, despite the "high" ERA has been just as dominate (3-1, 2.77 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 45 K). Obviously, there will be some regression, but if the staff stays healthy, we should cruise to the playoffs.

2. Power: We're not first in homers, but a lot of that can be accounted to Capuana missing some time and Arrington not playing. Jonathan Simmons (9 HR and 24 RBI's) sits second in the AL behind just Jesus Zamora of the Lightning who's dominating the triple crown categories, hitting .369 with 13 homers and 35 RBI's. In just 15 games, the now "fragile" Capuana has launched 7 homers and has an insane .392/.537/.922 line. This is the reigning homer and RBI leader from last year, who slugged 55 and 127 respectively. Adam Markley (7), Ben Etienne (5), and Zack Lawrence (5) all have at least 5 as well, which gives for a pace around 35 for the season. I doubt Lawrence will get the play time for that, but we should have multiple 30+ homer hitters on the team come playoffs.

3. Zack Lawrence: He gets a whole mention for just himself, as I couldn't be more pleased with the 28-year-old. Acquired to start last year, the acquisition of Adam Markey pushed him to a 4th outfield role, and he embraced it. Cue a Justin Arrington injury before the season, and Lawrence effortlessly slotted into a position, left field, that he's never played in affiliated ball. Of course, it's not too hard for the 1903 Gold Glove winner in center field (0 errors, 1 assist, +1.5 ZR), but Arrington's production was not missed, as he slugged .333/.387/.500 with 5 homers, 3 steals, and 13 RBI's in 23 starts. With Arrington's return time in the air, it'll hard to send him back to the bench, but he's an awesome late inning replacement that can spark a late rally.

The Bad:

1. The Bullpen: Maybe it's because the rotation has been so good that the pen hasn't really been used, but the back two in George Mars and Juan Londono have not been up to par. Mars has a 5.06 ERA and 1.22 WHIP (5-for-6 in saves) in 10.2 innings, but I expect him to bounce back. Londono got just 3 innings in 5 games, allowing 3 hits and 3 runs with 4 strikeouts. Again, not much use here, but there isn't too much wrong with a 19-5 start. I guess I shouldn't complain, as a 3.48 ERA is the best for bullpens, but I expect the runs for Pat Peters (0.00 ERA, 4 IP) and Josh Fisher (2.25 ERA, 8 IP) not Londono and Mars.

2. Ben Etienne: This probably should be first, but man he's been awful. After hitting .275/.316/.590 with 19 homers and 46 RBI's in 58 games after his trade, I expected him to pick right back up this year. I was dead wrong, as the 31-year-old slashing a pitiful .167/.293/.397 (76 OPS+) which is no where near his .279/.339/.571 (130 OPS+) career line. He does have 5 homers and 10 RBI's, but he has more strikeouts then hits (18 to 13) and has done poorly at third (.905 PCT, -1.2 ZR). I'm on the hook for half his salary till 1910, so I'm hoping this is a slow start, not a new norm.

3. The Bench: This was almost Jonathan Simmons, who was hitting just .197 a little over a week ago, but he got red hot to finish April strong and end with a really good .261/.370/.576 line with 9 homers and 24 RBI's which boosted his OPS a full 200 points. Seth Bland is the only replacement with an OPS+ over 85, and he's at just 100. Jesse Chesley is all the way down to -53, going 1-for-11 in 7 games with James Rose hitting just 3-for-17 with a pair of walks. Steve Hall has the most bench (other then the backup C Omar Atillo), but he's slashed just .136/.259/.182 (18 OPS+) with just a single RBI. James Rose has at least provided great defense off the bench in 16 appearances, but he's slashing just .176/.263/.471, albeit with a homer and 6 RBI's. Again, if the bench is one of your three problems, you know you had a good month.

Stories for May:

1. Can Ben Etienne wake up?: As mentioned earlier, it's been a tough month for the 1901 AL MVP who was brought over to push our offense over the edge. He's dropped down to 6th in the lineup, and likely falls even farther when/if Justin Arrington returns.

2. Is the 30/20 streak over?: Justin Arrington has never played less then 130 games since becoming a regular, and his only non 30/20 season was in just 134 games as a rookie in 1898 where he took home Rookie of the Year despite an underwhelming performance (he was good, just not really that good). With a whole month already missed and his diagnosis now "unknown" for a return, will he be able to keep his 6 year streak up?

3. How dominate is the rotation?: While not even the craziest Charger fan (myself of course) thinks that we can maintain our otherworldly start to the season, it will be interesting to see if we can keep up with the just as dominate Lightning rotation. Of course, we play them a ton this year, but we did sweep them in St. Louis the only time we've met so far. I expect to see them in October, so at least one of Nate McCue or Matt Puckett has to at least match their 4th ace Eddie Long.