Phil Connors?!

[PhilledUp]

June 19, 2025

With draft negotiations finishing unexpectedly early, Phil decided to accompany his team on the trip to Indianapolis. It wasn’t far and not overly unusual that he came. After all, he had made a point to see every ABL city during his tenure already and went on road trips with the team about once per month.

Phil was in the Aloha Suite in Indianapolis. ‘A bit tacky,’ he thought to himself. Owner and native Hawaiian Mark Hiller had apparently decided to bring a piece of home to the Midwest.

But Phil was here for business. Head scout Ragnar Rodsjo had called from Oneonta, NY to tell him about a special player he had just seen. Phil didn’t know what Rodsjo was doing in the hills in the middle of New York at this time of year, but with the draft over, he didn’t ask questions. Ragnar had excitedly told him about OF Sergio De La Rosa. Already a good gap hitter, Rodsjo thought that he had the potential to grow into his body and develop above average power, and had the baseball savvy to develop a good eye at the plate. This was an especially urgent phone call because De La Rosa had just come stateside and was scheduled to play his first professional baseball game when the R season opened next week.

Judging a player based only on workouts was dangerous, but it was at least worth investigating.

Indianapolis GM Tim Larson arrived and sat down. After pleasantries were exchanged, Phil got to the heart of the meeting. “Tim, I’m interested in one of your young guys, De La Rosa. Is he available.”

Tim replied, “Anyone is available for the right price, you know that.” Indeed Phil did, the duo had already gotten together for the mega-trade that landed the Greenies Emery Moore.

“Well I’ve got a deal for you. We’ll give you AAA SP Jose Roman for him.”

“Not good enough,” replied Tim. “You’ve got some depth at catcher there in AAA too. We want C Hawkins too. And cash. You know how Hiller keeps such a tight budget here.” Phil couldn’t get anything by on the veteran GM. Larson had never been without a job since the ABL’s inception in 2013.

“That’s a little steep, Tim. No deal”

Over the following hours though, they came to an agreement. In exchange for including Hawkins and cash, Connors convinced Larson to accept a lesser SP prospect, Henry Morris.

“So we have a deal?” asked Tim.

Phil paused. He wished he were back at the Phillips suite. He could use some bourbon. He nodded and confirmed the trade.

[PhilledUp]

June 19, 2025 (BNN) Madison, Indianapolis Confirm Trade

Officials for Madison confirmed that they have traded 22 year old minor league SP Henry Morris, 25 year old minor league C Chris Hawkins, and $750,000 cash to the Indianapolis Racers. In return, the Greenies will receive 20 year old minor league OF Sergio De La Rosa.

Hawkins has already boarded a plane from Laredo, TX and will join Indianapolis for their series against Anchorage, which starts Friday 6/20.

De La Rosa was assigned to R Long Beach. To fill Morris’s spot in the rotation in AAA, highly regarded prospect Martin Ware was promoted.

***************

This trade was motivated by a couple of factors. As part of the annual June roster purge, I have to thin my minor league ranks quite a bit. In addition to releasing players from the lower levels who have little potential, I can look to trade players from the upper levels that are eligible for the upcoming Rule V draft, are on the fringes of the 42 man roster, or are blocking more impressive prospects. SP Morris fit all 3 criteria. Though he has had a lot of success in his minor league career, Rodsjo didn’t think that he would ever be more than a fringe level player. I have plenty of SPs that are in that category already and are better than him. Hawkins was a waiver claim in April, but was not really needed since Zimmerman covers the 3rd catcher spot sufficiently. In return I got a projectable OF that is still very far away. Plus, he has 4 years before he needs to be protected.

[PhilledUp]

June 23, 2025: Week 11
47-24 overall; 7 game lead (4-3 this week)
Runs Scored: 361, 2nd in NL (from 3rd) Runs Allowed: 278, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +2.4 (from +0.9)
Power Rankings: 1 (from 1)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 78 (from 76)
Last Week: @ Indianapolis (1-2), vs Colorado Springs (3-1)
Next Week: 3 vs Columbus, 3 @ Boise
Player of the Week NL: Jim McGill (Boise) SL: Gregg Palmer (Wichita)

Game Notes
Game 65: Indianapolis 2 Madison 1 W Salazar (6-1) L Martinez (2-5) S Gallagher (9) – Player of the Game: Jorge Salazar, Indianapolis (7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K)
HR Indianapolis: Wilson (5)
Martinez allowed 2 runs in 8 innings of work, but Madison only scored 1. With 2 outs in the 9th, Fernando Gonzalez hit a deep fly ball into a stiff breeze coming in from right, narrowly missing a game-tying HR.
Game 66: Madison 16 Indianapolis 6 W May (3-0) L Abeele (1-1) – Player of the Game: Raul Sanchez, Madison (2-3, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 2 BB)
HR Madison: Sanchez 2 (14), F. Gonzalez (10), Deleon (9) Indianapolis: Caine (9)
Madison used 2 run HRs in the 1st and 3rd to take an early 5-1 lead. Indianapolis used a 3-run 4th to bring the game to 5-4 and added another in the 6th to tie the game. In the 8th, Madison took the lead with a Deleon 2 run shot before adding to it with a Sanchez grand slam.
Game 67: Indianapolis 7 Madison 5 W Marsh (4-4) L Wiley (6-3) S Gallagher (10) – Player of the Game: Ollie Anderson, Indianapolis (3-5, R, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Bautista (22), F. Gonzalez (11) Indianapolis: Caine (10)
Sanchez narrowly missed his 2nd grand slam in as many days in the 1st and had to settle for a sac fly instead. A 5-run 5th put Indianapolis up 6-4 and the offense couldn’t come back.
Game 68: Colorado Springs 5 Madison 2 W Young (5-3) L Moore (8-2) S Barnes (18) – Player of the Game: Richard Young, Colorado Springs (5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K)
HR Colorado Springs: Wright (6) Madison: F. Gonzalez (12)
Moore allowed 3 runs in the 4th. That’s all it would take, as Madison managed only 2 runs. After Colorado Springs added 2 insurance runs in the top of the 9th, Madison threatened but ultimately came up empty in their half.
Game 69: Madison 6 Colorado Springs 3 W Sargent (1-1) L Acheson (5-7) S McClellan (20) – Player of the Game: Keith Crouch, Colorado Springs (2-4, HR, 2 RBI)
HR Colorado Springs: Crouch (9) Madison: Fields (6), Lindemans (10)
Lindemans hit a leadoff HR in the 6th to take a 4-3 lead. Sargent pitched 7 innings of 3-run ball to earn his first ABL win.
Game 70: Madison 9 Colorado Springs 3 W Martinez (3-5) L Guerrero (0-3) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (3-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI)
HR Colorado Springs: Mendoza (2) Madison: Sanchez (15), Bautista (23), Stephens (2), Lindemans (11)
Though he lost the shutout early when a run scored on a wild pitch in the 3rd, Martinez carried a no-hitter into the 7th when a leadoff HR brought that bid to an end. The offense scored 2 in the 8th and 3 in the 9th to turn an otherwise close game into a blowout.
Game 71: Madison 2 Colorado Springs 0 W Dixon (9-2) L Villarreal Jr (6-4) – Player of the Game: Jimmy Dixon, Madison (9 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K)
HR Madison: Stephens (3)
Madison managed just a run each in the 4th and 5th, but that was all Dixon would need. He allowed 6 hits, struck out 8, and walked 0 for the 1st time all year to shut out the Pikes.

Thoughts
The team continues to tread water as the team gets healthy. Dominant performances by Martinez and Dixon to end the week help. The offense doesn’t feel like it’s doing great, but we improved to 2nd in the NL in runs scored, so I guess it’s more that we are underperforming compared to my expectations rather than grossly underperforming.

Jim McGill won player of the week. He was traded by us during the 2023 offseason and subsequently non-tendered, didn't sign until after spring training last year, and signed at the end of May with Boise this year. Coincidentally, his signing meant that another former Greenie, Hollingsworth, was demoted. I certainly don’t expect a career renaissance, but it was a neat little quirk to see his name come up as player of the week.

At the conclusion of this week, we get back Avila from his suspension/rehab and sent Medina for his rehab. He should be back for the series against Boise. Huang will come off the DL at the end of the week and hopefully will be ready at the start of the following week. Then we will have our opening day lineup back in gear and be ready to mash.

Team Transactions
6/16: The following players were selected to the AA All-Star Game, to be played 6/18: SP Burt Broderick Jr, SP Kirby Smith, SP Martin Ware, RP Morgan Howe, 1B Eduardo Cota, 2B Jose Hernandez, and CF Francisco Gomez.
6/16: The following players were selected to the A All-Star Game, to be played 6/18: SP Francisco Gonzalez, SP Ruben Ramos, RP Alex Amaya, RP Augusto Bustamante, C Ramon Caraballo, 1B Richard Cooper, SS Armando Nunes, and RF Carlos Mendez.
6/17: Madison signed 2nd round pick 1B Bradley Silver and assigned him to R Long Beach.
6/17: The following players were selected to the AAA All-Star Game, to be played 6/20: SP Henry Morris, RP Juan Diaz, and 1B Jose Alvarez.
6/18: Madison claimed 3B Bob Thompson off waivers from Indianapolis, added him to the ABL roster, and optioned 2B Jose Reyna to AAA Laredo.
6/18: Madison signed 1st round pick CF Colm McNeil and 5th round pick SP Marcos Rocha and assigned them to R Long Beach. They were the last remaining unsigned draft picks.
6/19: Madison traded 22 year old minor league SP Henry Morris, 25 year old minor league C Chris Hawkins, and $750,000 to Indianapolis for 20 year old minor league RF Sergio De La Rosa.

League News
6/19: Tucson traded 28 year old 2B Juan Hernandez to Newark for 26 year old 1B Arturo Monterio. Hernandez will man the utility role against RHPs and start in RF against LHPs and Monteiro will start at 1B for Tucson.
6/19: San Jose traded 26 year old SS Roy Goodfellow to Charlotte for 22 year old minor league CF Andy Stewart and 22 year old minor league SP Shaun Tidy. Stewart was rated the #100 prospect heading into the season. Goodfellow will start at SS for Charlotte.
6/19: Madison traded 22 year old minor league SP Henry Morris, 25 year old minor league C Chris Hawkins, and $750,000 to Indianapolis for 20 year old minor league RF Sergio De La Rosa.
6/19: Buffalo SP Mike Hurt was diagnosed with shoulder inflammation and was placed on the 60 day DL. He will likely return in late September. He is leading all pitchers with a 7-1 record, 1.33 ERA, and 3.3 WAR in 94.2 IP.
6/22: Virginia Beach signed 3-time all-star C Mitchell Chandler to a 1 year contract extension worth $7.5M to avoid his 2nd year of arbitration.
6/22: Wichita signed SP Carlos Serrano to a 3 year extension worth $32.7M plus a player option worth $19M. He was scheduled to be a free agent at the end of the year. Last year in his 1st year as a fulltime starter, he went 18-10 with a 3.33 ERA in 33 games. Lifetime, the 30 year old is 58-42 with a 3.87 ERA in 318 games (98 GS).
6/22: Madison SP Jimmy Dixon allowed 6 hits and walked 0 while striking out 8 in a 2-0 shutout over Colorado Springs. It was the 30 year old’s 5th career shutout. It was his 3rd career shutout with Madison, putting him in sole possession of 1st place on the team’s list.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Victor Bautista 7
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 2
Jimmy Dixon 5
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 4
Tomas Gracia 3
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 1
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 4
Jud Sargent 1
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1
Kenny Wiley 2

[PhilledUp]

June 30, 2025: Week 12
52-25 overall; 6½ game lead (5-1 this week)
Runs Scored: 401, 2nd in NL (from 2nd) Runs Allowed: 299, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: +2.6 (from +2.4)
Power Rankings: 1 (from 1)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 79 (from 78)
Last Week: vs Columbus (3-0), @ Boise (2-1)
Next Week: 3 vs Omaha, 3 vs Anchorage
Player of the Week NL: Steven Hollingsworth (Boise) SL: Eugene Rich (Albuquerque)

Game Notes
Game 72: Madison 8 Columbus 7 W O’Dell (5-1) L Sims (1-6) – Player of the Game: Fernando Gonzalez, Madison (2-4, 2B, HR, 2 R, 3 RBI)
HR Columbus: Tanishvili (17), Jackson (3) Madison: F. Gonzalez (13), Corral (15), Sanchez (16)
Neither team had a hit until Columbus led off the 5th with a single. Wiley had 8 strikeouts through 4 and finished with 9 after a 3 run 6th ended his night. After O’Dell allowed a 3 run HR in the 9th to put Madison behind 7-3, the game was all but over. A 2 out rally in the 9th capped by a 3 run Fernando Gonzalez HR tied the game though, and Corral followed that up with a solo shot for the improbable walk-off win.
Game 73: Madison 6 Columbus 1 W Moore (9-2) L Romero (3-6) - Player of the Game: Raul Sanchez, Madison (3-4, 2 HR, 3 R, 4 RBI)
HR Madison: Sanchez 2 (18)
Madison scored on a catcher’s interference and a double play in the 2nd to take a 2-1 lead. Sanchez added 4 runs with a 3 run HR in the 6th and a solo shot in the 8th to pad the lead and ensure a Madison victory.
Game 74: Madison 4 Columbus 0 W Sargent (2-1) L Barker (4-5) – Player of the Game: Jud Sargent (9 IP, 5 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 8 K)
Madison scored 2 in the 1st and added 1 each in the 5th and 8th. That was plenty for Sargent, who collected his first career shutout.
Game 75: Madison 8 Boise 3 W Reyes (3-1) L Wheeler (5-7) – Player of the Game: Augusto Medina, Madison (2-4, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI)
HR Madison: Medina (6) Boise: McDonald (4)
Rain knocked out Martinez after only 3 innings, but Reyes followed with 4 innings of 1-run ball. The offense scored 3 in the 9th to breathe a little easier.
Game 76: Madison 13 Boise 3 W Dixon (10-2) L Calderon (4-8) – Player of the Game: Jorge Avila, Madison (3-5, BB, HR, 4 R, 2 RBI)
HR Madison: Avila (2), Sanchez (19), Gracia (5) Boise: Cruz (7)
Madison scored 11 runs in the first 6 innings against former Greenie pitchers Anastasio Calderon and Andy Paul. Dixon allowed 3 runs in a workmanlike 6 innings to pick up the victory.
Game 77: Boise 7 Madison 1 W Kirkland (2-4) L Wiley (6-4) – Player of the Game: Walter Main, Boise (2-3, BB, HR, 2 RBI)
HR Boise: Main (9), Peterson (19)
Dale Peterson accounted for Boise’s early runs with an RBI triple and solo HR. They added 3 in the 7th to put the game out of reach and prevent Madison from picking up their 2nd straight series sweep.

Thoughts
The offense had some huge performances this week. Hopefully they are returning to form. It helps that we got 2 high caliber outfielders back from injury. Huang will be activated from the DL Tuesday, so that can only help the offense.

We start next week with a series against Omaha. While we still have a sizeable lead, they have been playing well. They have won 7 of their last 8 and are #2 in the power rankings and the division. Winning the series isn’t essential, but since we are at home we should. Plus it would assert our dominance.

Team Transactions
6/23: Madison activated Jorge Avila from the 11-day DL and outrighted CF Jack Bond to AAA Laredo.
6/24: Madison placed RF Millard Stephens on waivers.
6/27: RF Millard Stephens cleared waivers and was outrighted to AAA Laredo. CF Augusto Medina was activated from the 11-day DL.

League News
6/23: Omaha traded 36 year old 1B Luis Cabrera to Wichita for 25 year old 1B/OF Emmanuel David. David will start in RF for Omaha and Cabrera will start at 1B for Wichita.
6/25: Madison SP Jud Sargent allowed 5 hits and walked 2 while striking out 8 in a 4-0 shutout over Columbus. It was the 22 year old’s 1st career shutout in just his 4th career start.
6/26: Buffalo SP Felipe Bernard allowed 3 hits and walked 0 while striking out 8 in a 3-0 shutout over Las Vegas. It was the 27 year old’s 8th career shutout, including his 2nd this year.
6/27: Newark SP Greg Hill tied the ABL record (shared by legends Josef Metternich (twice) and Dave Levinson) with 17 strikeouts in a 5-1 win over Anchorage.
6/27: Buffalo SP Alonso Aguirre allowed 6 hits and 1 walk while striking out 5 in a 6-0 shutout over San Jose. It was the 33 year old’s 1st career shutout.
6/28: Indianapolis purchased the contract of recently acquired SP Henry Morris.
6/29: Colorado Springs SP Victor Aguilar had a no-hitter with 1 out remaining when he surrendered a single. He settled for a 6 strikeout, 2 walk, 1-hit 8-0 shutout over Las Vegas. It was the 25 year old’s 1st career shutout in his 8th career start.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Jorge Avila 1
Victor Bautista 7
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 2
Jimmy Dixon 5
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 5
Tomas Gracia 3
Jing Huang 1
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 2
Emery Moore 2
Raul Sanchez 5
Jud Sargent 2
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1
Kenny Wiley 2

[PhilledUp]

July 1, 2025 International Amateur Free Agents

International amateur free agents are now allowed to sign with any club. Teams can spend any amount of money they wish, but bonuses totaling >$3M are penalized with a gradually escalating set of financial taxes and cap-based limits. OSA considers the top prospects to be:

CF Sergio Sarco (Venezuela)
LHP Pablo Saldana (Dominican Republic)
CF Juan Romero (Dominican Republic)
RHP Ramon Salinas (Dominican Republic)
C Luis Medina (Venezuela)
LHP Guignard Pignatelli (Venezuela)
SS Alfredo Ruiz (Dominican Republic)
RHP Bernaldin Malveiro (Venezuela)
CF Elder Cabrerio (Venezuela)
C Pedro Medina (Mexico)

Because I signed 0 players last year, there are no restrictions this year. I made offers to 7 players: C Luis Medina, CF Sergio Sarco, CF Juan Romero, SS Armando Toledo, SP Ramon Salinas, SP Guignard Pignatelli, and SP Bernaldin Malveiro. Medina and Sarco are big power threats that need to work on contact skills while Romero is the prototypical leadoff hitter who is good at everything but lacks power. The other 4 are value offers. None wanted more than 100k at the present time, but we will see how many teams are interested and how that affects their negotiating leverage. All told, I offered $3.075M, which is slightly over the $3M cap and wouldn’t incur any penalties. I will keep the cap in mind, but may be more aggressive than in previous years after only making 1 low profile signing since taking over as GM 2.5 years ago.

[PhilledUp]

July 1, 2025: Player Profile

Madison Chronicle
Chris Elliott, Staff Columnist

Vic May, RP
Vic May is a 35 year old LHP in his 12th season in the ABL. The 6’2”, 235 pounder has a low 3 quarters delivery. He has above average stuff, movement, and control, and it moves up a tick against left-handed hitters. Lifetime, he has a batting average against of .214 vs lefties and .244 against righties, but this year those stand at .094 (64 ABs) and .333 (24 ABs) respectively. He complements and above average sinker that comes in at 91-93 mph with an above average curve. The two pitches help him to keep the ball on the ground 69% of the time. He also has an outstanding pickoff move and limits base stealers (32 in 806 career IP).

Vic May was selected in the inaugural draft by Virginia Beach, and spent the year evenly split between AA and AAA. At the trade deadline, he was traded with 2 minor leaguers who combined to get only a cup of coffee in the big leagues to Birmingham for closer Gordon Cole. Cole had a sparkling 1.35 ERA and 22 saves for Virginia Beach down the stretch, but the team missed the playoffs and lost Cole to free agency following the season. After finishing the 2013 season for Birmingham’s AAA squad, May began the 2014 season in the big league bullpen as the #66 ranked prospect in the game. He did not find immediate results, and struggled through the season with an 8.24 ERA in 40 games. He was shut down in August with a strained triceps, which may have affected him longer than he let on. In 2015, he repeated AAA for most of the year before coming up in August and putting up a good showing.

Over the next 7 years, he was a vital member of the Birmingham bullpen, and was elevated to closer for 2020-2022. In 2023, he lost the closer’s job to offseason pickup Rob Pierce. By the trading deadline, it was apparent that Birmingham was going nowhere, so they traded him to Anchorage. There, he helped the defending champs to the playoffs (his first, after he was left off the 2015 roster), though they were unable to repeat.

As a free agent for the first time in his career, May found the market to be less enticing than he thought. After being wooed by Madison, he ultimately signed a 1 year contract with Portland for the 2024 season. As the 1st left-handed option out of the pen, he helped Portland make the playoffs, though they were unable to advance past the first round.

Following the season, May was again a free agent. Madison was in search of a lefty and inked him to a 2 year deal that includes a club option for 2027, when he will be 36 years old. At the time, May said, “At this point in my career, I’m interested in winning. I got a chance to be part of a playoff team the last 2 years, and I want to win it all. Madison is a young team on its way up and I think I can play an important role for them. Knowing I will be here for at least 2 years was huge for me and my family too.”

This year, May has been dominant, especially against lefties. Bob Miller has been able to pick matchups well – he has faced lefties nearly 2.5 times as many times as he has faced righties this season and has held them to a .108 OBP en route to a 1.09 ERA. He will be a key member of the bullpen as Madison advances through the season and attempts to make the playoffs for the 2nd straight year.

[PhilledUp]

½ Season Report



We've jumped out to a huge lead. Pretty much every other division has tight races.



Individually, Gonzalez remains atop several leaderboard categories with on base statistics, and Bautista is among the leaders in several power categories. Back to back hitter of the year Dale Peterson is having a down year so far (for him) and is 'only' 5th in WAR.



We still have several players among the leaders in wins and saves, but that has more to do with a strong team. Dixon has continued his strong start and is 0.01 behind Levinson for the lead, as soon as Hurt drops fails to have enough innings to qualify (he was hurt a few weeks ago and will be out until September).



The batting is still doing great in most categories, despite my whining. We lead in most key categories except walks (10th), as was the case at the ¼ season pole. As long as the obp and runs scored are among the leaders, that philosophy can work though. Corral is in a mini slump but still producing well. Sanchez’s average has been high (currently .285) all year long, so maybe he has picked up a new skill.



The pitching remains top notch. The bullpen has climbed to 2nd in the NL as McClellan has improved. Reyes and May are also having particularly strong years. We rank near the bottom (8th in walks- Dixon, Wiley, and Moore are among the leaders), and HRs allowed (8th), but that hasn’t stopped the team from getting results. Additionally, both team totals are improved from the ¼ pole.

Minor League Records
AAA Laredo: 44-35 3 game lead
AA Laurinburg: 48-31 9 game lead
A Providence: 52-27 18 game lead
SA Rosemead: 7-4 2 game lead
R Long Beach: 8-3 2 game lead

The minor league teams all are having great years. Having a strong pipeline of players is always important, but especially for teams on a low budget.


Leaders in the minor leagues
AAA: 1B Jose Alvarez 1st in RBI, 3rd in hits, and 4th in TB as he has leveled off from a blazing start. For pitchers, RP Juan Diaz is t-2nd in Sv and SP Walters is 5th in BB/9 and K/BB.

AA: RF Emilio Perez is 3rd in OBP, 1B Eduardo Cota is 1st in WAR, HR, and TB, 2nd in slg, 3rd in OPS, RBI, and hits, 4th in wOBA and XBH, and 5th in ISO, 2B Juan Hernandez is 2nd in 2B, XBH, and runs, 5th in TB, and 6th in wOBA, CF Xavier Gonzalez is t-1st in 3B and t-4th in SB, C Ruben Carlos is 5th in XBH, and CF Joe Davis is 1st in SB. On the mound, promoted SP Martin Ware still is among the leaders in several rate stats and is still 6th in WAR, SP Kirby Smith is 2nd in IP, t-3rd in W and K, 3rd in WAR, 4th in BB/9 and K/BB, and 6th in WHIP, SP Charles Edwards leads the league with 2 shutouts, is 2nd in WAR, 3rd in WHIP, and 4th in FIP, SP Burt Broderick is 1st in HR/9, and SP Anthony Rogers is 5th in K.

All of the players on the leaderboards here in AA deserve to be promoted, but without trades for immediate help or for greener prospects, they will be stuck in AA.

A: CF Jorge Torres is t-3rd in BB and 6th in runs, 1B Richard Cooper is 3rd in ISO and 5th in HR, 3B Helder Saavedra is 5th in avg, RF Carlos Mendez is t-5th in 2B, and C Ramon Caraballo is 6th in WAR. On the mound, SP Francisco Gonzalez is 5th in WHIP and 6th in BAA and SP Ruben Ramos is 6th in ERA, though he was promoted about 1 month ago.

Despite having few players on the leaderboards, the team is clearly the class of A.

[PhilledUp]

July 7, 2025: Week 13
57-26 overall; 10½ game lead (5-1 this week)
Runs Scored: 435, 2nd in NL (from 2nd) Runs Allowed: 326, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: -2.7 (from +2.6)
Power Rankings: 1 (from 1)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 80 (from 79)
Last Week: vs Omaha (3-0), vs Anchorage (2-1)
Next Week: 3 @ Portland, 3 @ San Jose
Player of the Week NL: Dale Peterson (Boise) SL: Fletcher Allen (Charlotte)
June Player of the Month NL: Daniel Lopez, Newark (.286, 7 HR, 19 RBI, 21 R) SL: Michael O’Lonergan, San Antonio (.442, 7 HR, 16 RBI, 12 R)
June Pitcher of the Month NL: Larry Graham, Omaha (6 GS, 4-0, 2.20 ERA, 45 IP, 50 K) SL: Will Perkins, Charlotte (5 GS, 5-0, 2.45 ERA, 36.2 IP, 28 K, .203 BAA)
June Rookie of the Month NL: Keith Crouch, Colorado Springs (#2) (.423, 2 HR, 9 RBI) SL: Carlos Roman, San Antonio (.342, 27 H, 2 HR, 12 RBI)

Game Notes
Game 78: Madison 3 Omaha 2 W Moore (10-2) L MacDonald (5-4) S McClellan (21) – Player of the Game: Emery Moore, Madison (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 9 K)
HR Omaha: Perez (8) Madison: Corral (16)
Corral hit a 2 run HR in the 1st to take the lead, but Omaha fought back with a sac fly and solo HR to tie the game. After Miller allowed a tiring Moore to work out of a 2 out bases-loaded jam in the 7th, Fernando Gonzalez came through with a 2 out single to give Madison a 3-2 lead. O’Dell and McClellan worked the last 2 innings to secure the win.
Game 79: Madison 6 Omaha 5 W Jones (2-1) L Christopher (4-6) S McClellan (22) – Player of the Game: Scotty Williams, Omaha (3-5, HR, 3 RBI)
HR Omaha: Perez (9), Lazzarini (13), Williams (14) Madison: F. Gonzalez (14), Lindemans (12)
Sargent’s first 8 pitches were balls. He walked 3 more and left after 5 in a 4-1 hole. In the 7th, after Fields and Huang got on base with 2 outs, Lindemans hit a pinch-hit, 3 run HR to tie the game. 2 more hits gave Madison a 5-4 lead going into the 8th. They added an insurance run in the 9th, which came in handy when Omaha hit a solo HR to pull within 1.
Game 80: Madison 7 Omaha 4 W Martinez (4-5) L Taylor (5-4) S Shaw (4) – Player of the Game: Jing Huang, Madison (2-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI)
HR Omaha: Williams (15)
Neither team got a hit until Omaha got a double in the 4th. With the help of an error, Omaha scored 2 in the top of the 5th. Madison responded by batting around and plating 4 runs in the bottom half. After allowing 2 runs to tie the game in the 6th, Madison again batted around, scoring 3.
Game 81: Madison 5 Anchorage 3 W Reyes (4-1) L Rigsby (1-3) S May (2) – Player of the Game: Fernando Gonzalez, Madison (1-4, HR, 2 RBI)
HR Anchorage: Scurry (18) Madison: F. Gonzalez (15)
Dixon left after 6 in a 3-0 hole. But the offense came up with 2 in the 7th and tied the game in the 8th with a 2 out, pinch-hit single by Lindemans. Gonzalez, the next batter, put Madison ahead with a 2 run HR. O’Dell ran into trouble in the 9th, but May came in and induced a flyout and outfield assist on the player tagging from 3rd to secure the win.
Game 82: Madison 5 Anchorage 3 W Wiley (7-4) L Norman (6-7) S McClellan (23) – Player of the Game: Victor Bautista, Madison (2-3, HR, 3 RBI, BB)
HR Madison: Bautista (24)
Madison scored 4 runs before even making an out to give Wiley a cushion. He didn’t allow a hit until the 6th but was tagged for 3 runs in the 7th before exiting with a 5-3 lead.
Game 83: Anchorage 10 Madison 8 W Stimpson (1-2) L May (3-1) S Williams (3) – Player of the Game: Alfonso Galvan, Anchorage (3-5, 2 HR, 5 RBI)
HR Anchorage: Elkins (1), Scurry (19), Galvan 2 (19) Madison: Sanchez (20), Lindemans (13)
Anchorage got an extra out in the 3rd and used it to hit a 3 run HR and take the 3-1 lead. But Madison scored 4 runs without making an out in the bottom half to chase 2024 feel-good story Aaron Taylor. After Vic may allowed 2 hits to lead off the 7th, Melton came on and allowed 2 HRs to put Madison in a 10-6 hole. Called on for the 2 innings save, Bob Williams got the first 5 outs in a row before loading the bases. Corral flew out to end the game though.

Thoughts
Dominance asserted. The sweep of Omaha was great for the team, especially since they all were close games.

We have a 10-game road trip coming up, but not really. The all-star break will give most players on the team the opportunity to come home and recharge.

Team Transactions
6/30: Madison optioned SS Fernando Nieto to AAA Laredo.
7/1: Madison activated SS Jing Huang from the 11-day DL.
7/3: Madison signed SP Guignard Pignatelli out of Venezuela to a minor league contract that includes a $50,000 signing bonus.
7/5: Madison signed SP Ramon Salinas out of the Dominican Republic to a minor league contract that includes a $317,500 signing bonus.

League News
7/2: Colorado Springs traded 31 year old RP Mark Barnes to Buffalo for 23 year old minor league 3B Al Messer. Barnes, signed in the offseason to a 2 year, $3.6M contract, has 18 saves and a 1.27 ERA. He will close for Buffalo.
7/4: Albuquerque traded 31 year old CF Alan Bradley to Indianapolis for 26 year old 1B Chris Caine and 22 year-old minor league RF Jim Land. Bradley, who is in the last year of his deal, will start in CF for Indianapolis while Caine, who is pre-arbitration, will start at 1B against RHPs for Albuquerque.
7/6: Louisville traded 26 year old SP Felipe Garcia and $3M cash to Newark for 21 year old minor league SP Barrett Miller and 22 year old minor league RF Sam Norris. Garcia will be their #4 starter and has 2 years of team control remaining. Miller entered the season as the #49 prospect, but will likely end up in the bullpen.
7/6: Louisville traded 27 year old SP Joe Gibson and $800,000 cash to Indianapolis for 21 year old minor league SP Felix Munoz. Gibson will be the #5 starter for Indianapolis, while Munoz is a flame thrower that will need better control if he is to progress.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Jorge Avila 1
Victor Bautista 8
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 2
Jimmy Dixon 5
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 6
Tomas Gracia 3
Jing Huang 2
Gabor Lindemans 1
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 2
Emery Moore 3
Raul Sanchez 5
Jud Sargent 2
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1
Kenny Wiley 2

[PhilledUp]

July 14, 2025: Week 14
61-28 overall; 10½ game lead (4-2 this week)
Runs Scored: 480, 2nd in NL (from 2nd) Runs Allowed: 339, 1st in NL (from 1st), Zone Rating: -1.2 (from -2.7)
Power Rankings: 2 (from 1)
Owner Mood: Ecstatic (from Ecstatic)
Fan Interest: 80 (from 80)
Last Week: @ Portland (2-1), @ San Jose (2-1)
Next Week: All-Star Game, 4 @ Colorado Springs
Player of the Week NL: Carlos Rivera (Indianapolis) SL: Gregg Palmer (Wichita)

Game Notes
Game 84: Madison 4 Portland 1 W Sargent (3-1) L Levinson (5-7) S Jones (1) – Player of the Game: Jud Sargent, Madison (6.1 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)
HR Madison: Corral (17)
A pair of errors and 2 uncharacteristic walks helped Madison score 2 in the 3rd against Dave Levinson. Corral homered in the 6th to make it 3-1 and break up Levinson’s no-hitter. Sargent was pulled with a sore hamstring in the 7th, Fields fractured his thumb in the 9th in a collision at the plate, and McClellan lasted one batter before being removed with a sore shoulder, but Madison won.
Game 85: Portland 5 Madison 4 W Romano (4-2) L May (3-2) S Richard (16) – Player of the Game: Mauro Parra, Portland (2-4, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
HR Madison: Huang (6) Portland: Parra 2 (9)
Madison opened the scoring with a Bautista 2-RBI double in the 3rd but Portland tied it in the bottom half with a HR. In the 7th, May gave up 3 runs in relief to put Madison in a 5-2 hole. Huang hit a 2 run HR to pull within 1 in the 8th, but Madison didn’t manage to come back and tie it.
Game 86: Madison 9 Portland 0 W Dixon (11-2) L Carreiro (3-3) – Player of the Game: Jimmy Dixon, Madison (9 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 11 K)
HR Madison: Sanchez (21), Thompson 2 (5)
Bob Thompson opened the scoring with his first HR with Madison in the 3rd. He added a 3 run HR in the 4th to cap a 5 run inning and give Madison the early 6-0 lead. With a comfortable lead, Dixon dominated and pitched his 2nd shutout of the year.
Game 87: Madison 12 San Jose 0 W Moore (11-2) L Truswell (2-12) – Player of the Game: Emery Moore, Madison (9 IP, 7 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 5 K)
HR Madison: Huang (7), F. Gonzalez (16)
Madison scored 1 in the 2nd and 1 in the 3rd before exploding for 8 in the 4th and taking a 10-0 lead. That would be enough for most pitchers, and it was certainly enough for Moore, who shut down the Terrabytes to complete Madison’s 2nd straight shutout.
Game 88: San Jose 4 Madison 3 W Harris (4-6) L Sargent (3-2) S Aragon (17) – Player of the Game: Bob Harris, San Jose (7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K)
Neither team scored a run until the bottom of the 5th, when the opposing pitcher hit a 2 out double to give San Jose their first run. The 2 out rally continued and ended only after 4 runs had crossed the plate. Madison scored 1 in the 6th and 2 in the 9th, but the 3 and 4 hole hitters couldn’t push the 4th run across with the bases loaded and 1 out.
Game 89: Madison 13 San Jose 3 W Wiley (8-4) L Johnston (4-6) – Player of the Game: Gabor Lindemans, Madison (2-5, 2 HR, 4 RBI)
HR Madison: F. Gonzalez (17), Lindemans 2 (15)
Madison scored 4 runs in the 2nd on a bases loaded walk, a 2B by the pitcher, and a sac fly. Talk about opportunistic. They blew the game open with a grand slam in the 6th and coasted from there.

Thoughts
The 3 injuries to start off the week were not so good. Luckily, Sargent didn’t miss a start, McClellan will be healthy after the all-star break, and Fields will be back at around the trade deadline. It could have been much worse. While Fields is out, waiver wire pickup Thompson will start at 3B with Corral sliding over to 2B. Gonzalez will also get some time at either 2nd or 3rd.

Kenny Wiley had a flare-up of gout and had to have his start pushed back 2 days. Luckily, a day off meant that no one had to pitch on short rest. I personal letter was delivered to his locker asking about alcohol abuse.

With the all-star break, I decided to make some bench changes. Millard Allen is a HR hitter with a very low average (.189). Lindemans supplies plenty of power, so I would rather have a faster player who can make better contact. In the bullpen, Melton has failed to impress, so I will give Diaz a try.

Team Transactions
7/7: Madison activated 2B Pepe Gonzalez from the 11 day DL and optioned him to AAA Laredo.
7/8: Madison placed 2B Glenn Fields on the 11 day DL and recalled 2B Pepe Gonzalez from AAA Laredo.
7/9: Madison signed C Luis Medina out of Venezuela to a minor league contract that includes a $397,500 signing bonus.

League News
7/9: Madison SP Jimmy Dixon allowed 3 hits and walked 4 while striking out 11 in a 9-0 shutout over Portland. It was the 31 year old’s 6th career shutout and 2nd this season.
7/11: San Jose traded 27 year old SS Enrique Camacho to Las Vegas for 28 year old RF Aaron Williams. Camacho, who has 3 years of team control remaining, will man SS for Las Vegas and Williams, who has 1 additional year of team control, will play the corner OF for San Jose.
7/11: Madison SP Emery Moore allowed 7 hits and walked 3 while striking out 5 in an 11-0 shutout over San Jose. It was the 23 year old’s 3rd career shutout.
7/12: New Orleans traded 43 year old minor league SP Eddie Potts to Louisville for 24 year old minor league SS Brady Downey and 21 year old minor league SS Jose Miranda. Potts, who is 114-112 with a 3.44 ERA in his career, had been pitching in AAA and will join Louisville’s AAA affiliate.

Madison Player of the Game tally
Millard Allen 1
Jorge Avila 1
Victor Bautista 8
Junior Corral 3
Rafael Deleon 2
Jimmy Dixon 6
Glenn Fields 1
Fernando Gonzalez 6
Tomas Gracia 3
Jing Huang 2
Gabor Lindemans 2
Vicente Martinez 2
Augusto Medina 2
Emery Moore 4
Raul Sanchez 5
Jud Sargent 3
Kerry Sawyer 1
Richard Walters 1
Kenny Wiley 2

[PhilledUp]

July 13, 2025 (BNN) ABL All-Star Rosters Announced

It’s time for the superstars to shine! Every year the American Baseball League takes a break in the schedule to play the annual All-Star Game. It's a battle between the Northern League All-Stars versus the Southern League All-Stars. The All-Star Game will spotlight the best hitters, pitchers and fielders, all trying to prove their league is best. Each year, the event is hosted by the team with the record closest to .500 the previous year. This year, Anchorage won the honor. *denotes leading WAR in each league

Northern League Roster
C Robert Wallace (Anchorage) .331/.409/.491 10 HR 40 RBI 28 yo AS#6
C Raul Sanchez (Madison) .278/.316/.538 21 HR 56 RBI 25 yo AS#1
1B Fernando Gonzalez (Madison) .368/.415/.582 16 HR 48 RBI 24 yo AS#1
1B Raul Torres (Columbus) .315/.440/.436 5 HR 35 RBI 40 yo AS#7
2B Keith Crouch (Colorado Springs) .380/.433/.571 11 HR 41 RBI 25 yo AS#1
2B/SS Daniel Lopez (Newark) .285/.431/.510 13 HR 45 RBI 30 yo AS#1
*3B Chang-wei Sun (Las Vegas) .319/.405/.627 29 HR 81 RBI 33 yo AS#3
3B Don Kelley (Newark) .292/.367/.583 24 HR 74 RBI 30 yo AS#6
SS Travis Brown (Columbus) .311/.354/.445 3 HR 21 RBI 23 yo AS#1
LF Dale Peterson (Boise) .344/.391/.606 24 HR 72 RBI 26 yo AS #5
LF Cesar Perez (Omaha) .326/.429/.603 12 HR 34 RBI 28 yo AS#5
LF Paul O’Brian (Indianapolis) .313/.431/.471 7 HR 35 RBI 26 yo AS#3
LF Mathias Pierdomenico (Anchorage) .292/.396/.520 16 HR 36 RBI 27 yo AS#1
RF Ruben Nunez (Portland) .298/.357/.558 18 HR 36 RBI 25 yo AS#1

SP Dave Levinson (Portland) 5-7 2.33 ERA 32 yo AS#12
SP Stanford Black (Portland) 9-5 3.13 ERA 32 yo AS#3
SP Greg Hill (Newark) 8-6 3.37 ERA 26 yo AS#1
SP Felipe Bernard (Buffalo) 6-9 3.71 ERA 27 yo AS#1
SP Grant Wright (Las Vegas) 8-5 3.41 ERA 27 yo AS#1
SP Skip White (Las Vegas) 4-3 2.61 ERA 25 yo AS#1
SP Mike Hurt (Buffalo) 7-1 1.33 ERA 29 yo AS#4
SP Doug Robertson (Newark) 6-6 2.94 ERA 23 yo AS#1
RP Chris Ames (Columbus) 2-3 2 Sv 2.45 ERA 28 yo AS#2
RP Jorge Nava (Newark) 1-4 23 sv 3.18 ERA 26 yo AS#1
RP Edward Richard (Portland) 4-2 17 sv 1.51 ERA 33 yo AS#6
RP Adrian Aragon (San Jose) 2-4 17 sv 5.29 ERA 28 yo AS#1
RP Pablo Guzman (San Jose) 7-4 1 sv 3.44 ERA 29 yo AS#2

Southern League Roster
C Gregg Palmer (Wichita) .312/.405/.591 24 HR 51 RBI 32 yo AS#9
C Jose Torres (Tucson) .282/.360/.588 20 HR 41 RBI 29 yo AS#2
1B Ted Brandon (San Antonio) .268/.352/.540 19 HR 50 RBI 28 yo AS#2
1B Arturo Monterio (Tucson) .297/.351/.503 17 HR 56 RBI 26 yo AS#1
2B Cliff Akers (Jacksonville) .276/.365/.547 13 HR 39 RBI 33 yo AS#1
3B Steve Jackson (New Orleans) .283/.363/.571 22 HR 59 RBI 28 yo AS#2
3B Raul Lopez (Wichita) .291/.351/.465 14 HR 43 RBI 25 yo AS#2
SS Jordan Jenkins (Louisville) .299/.392/.466 12 HR 47 RBI 22 yo AS#2
SS Jose Diaz (San Antonio) .338/.398/.507 8 HR 30 RBI 22 yo AS#1
LF Eugene Rich (Albuquerque) .294/.372/.517 19 HR 49 RBI 23 yo AS#1
LF Michael O’Lonergan (San Antonio) .320/.398/.721 22 HR 55 RBI 31 yo AS #3
CF Francisco Guzman (Nashville) .372/.394/.447 1 HR 30 RBI 25 yo AS#5
RF Joseph Ashley (Oklahoma City) .320/.407/.428 5 HR 34 RBI 24 yo AS#2
RF William Stevenson (Tucson) .280/.355/.498 16 HR 39 RBI 28 yo AS#5

*SP Will Perkins (Charlotte) 12-6 2.64 ERA 27 yo AS#1
SP Quinn Davis (Birmingham) 8-7 2.58 ERA 33 yo AS#4
SP Alco De Rooij (Tucson) 10-3 3.01 ERA 23 yo AS#2
SP Juan Lopez (Oklahoma City) 7-3 2.39 ERA 27 yo AS#1
SP Ignacio Ramos (Oklahoma City) 5-6 3.69 ERA 27 yo AS#2
SP Stanford Mulvaney (Charlotte) 9-5 3.83 ERA 32 yo AS#1
SP Orlando Bueno (Albuquerque) 6-4 3.22 ERA 35 yo AS#2
SP Felix Alvarez Jr (San Antonio) 5-7 4.40 ERA 26 yo AS#1
RP Dave Benson (San Antonio) 7-0 17 sv 1.88 ERA 30 yo AS#5
RP Juan Cintron (Charlotte) 2-3 23 sv 3.20 ERA 35 yo AS#11
RP Jamie Stevenson (Oklahoma City) 3-4 14 sv 2.72 ERA 28 yo AS#1
RP Ramon Ramirez (Nashville) 0-3 2 sv 4.40 ERA 27 yo AS#1
RP Mal Wilcox (Virginia Beach) 7-2 4 sv 2.08 ERA 27 yo AS#1

I selected the All-Star Roster for each league. I picked the starters (each position, 5 SP, 3 RP) based on WAR, then filled in the rest of the positions based on a combination of team representation (at least 1 each), positional need. Each roster has 27 players: 14 hitters and 13 pitchers (8 SP, 5 RP), to keep an approximate proportion with MLB all-star roster sizes. I ignored injuries.

Newark and Portland tied for the NL lead with 5 representatives. Madison only had 2 despite having 7 more wins than any ballclub. In the South, San Antonio led all clubs with 5 representatives.

I need to rethink how I select the all-star game representatives. WAR is a great stat, but it led to some strange selections this year, especially with pitchers. In particular, Jimmy Dixon is 11-2 with a 2.26 ERA. I can understand glossing over the wins, but that ERA is best in the NL after Hurt, who is hurt. I also looked at FIP, and he is nowhere near the leaders. Similarly, Moore is 11-2 with a solid 2.72 ERA and a slightly better FIP. I want an objective measure to pick all-stars, but I can’t imagine Dixon and/or Moore not being part of the group with the seasons they are having.

Elsewhere, Corral is having a substandard (for him) year and missed his 4th all-star appearance. In the SL, I wouldn’t have picked 3B Steve Jackson unless New Orleans needed a representative. He’s an absolute butcher in the field, but he can mash. These, and other strange selections/omissions, will lead to a reform with how I select all-stars in the future. I just have to figure out how. Suggestions are welcome.

[PhilledUp]

July 15, 2025

Madison Chronicle
Chris Elliott, Staff Columnist

First Half Recap
ANCHORAGE Here in Anchorage, 54 all-star players are set to play in a spectacular exhibition. Among them are C Raul Sanchez and 1B Fernando Gonzalez, each making their first appearance in the midseason classic. The 3 day break from the season serves as the unofficial halfway point and is a good time to evaluate the team.

What went right
Health has again been a key component of Madison’s solid first half. They have only sent 5 players to the DL this year. 3 spent about 1 month there and have returned and Fields is projected to return at the end of the month, though Gilmore is lost for the year. The starting pitching has remained healthy.

The revamped starting pitching has been dominant all year long. New acquisition Martinez has been solid, but bad luck has contributed to a sub-standard record. Dixon has picked up where he left off last year and is among the leaders in wins and ERA. Rookie sensation Emery Moore also ranks highly in those 2 categories. Wiley has been a solid mid-rotation starter, and Sargent, after a June prootion and struggling in his first start, has put together several good starts to make the unit even better.

The offense got off to a great start and still leads in many categories. However, injuries to several players and a couple slow starts have brought the unit back to the rest of the league. Fernando Gonzalez is threatening for a Hitter of the Year award in his sophomore campaign. Sanchez and Bautista supply a lot of power to a unit that, as a whole, leads the NL in HRs.

What went wrong
Corral is having a solid season, but is not threatening for Hitter of the Year as he has in years past. Fields is suffering through a bit of a sophomore slump as is Huang, though since returning from the DL, Huang has brought his average up quite a bit. As the 5th starter for the first 2 months, Kerry Sawyer was decidedly mediocre. His replacement, Sargent, has shown flashes of brilliance.

Offseason trades
This was a much less active offseason than in the 2 years prior in quantity, though not quality, for GM Phil Connors. He picked up lefty Chris Shaw in the bullpen, some prospects, and #1 starter Vicente Martinez. Shaw has been a good late inning option, and Martinez has pitched well, though maybe not up to the standards he has set with his previous campaigns.

Free Agency
Madison lost 3 bench options, 1 RP, and 1 SP to free agency. They added a LHP in May and a platoon OF in Avila. Avila spent much of the 1st half ineffective or hurt, but returns healthy for the 2nd half. May has completely shut down lefties.

Trade Deadline
The trade deadline is only 3 short weeks away. Madison has no major needs and leads the league in most major categories (including W-L). Barring injuries, they are unlikely to make a move. If an injury necessitates a move, they have plenty of young depth in the upper minor leagues that could be enticing to teams out of contention.