The Denver Brewers of the W.P. Kinsella League

[BirdWatcher]

As we begin the 1987 season, here is the updated Top 10 Prospects per the OSA.



You can see below the profiles for the top 3.

[BirdWatcher]

And here is the current list of system rankings in terms of prospects:




The Denver Brewers fall from 6th to 8th overall, with the biggest reason likely being the decline for scouting discovery Mario Valle, who just turned 18 two days ago. Valle had risen as high as #11 on the prospects list, which to be honest always seemed unrealistic given that he almost surely won't develop the third pitch needed to be a big league starter. On the other hand, if he does develop to his potential he could be a dominant reliever someday.

The biggest surprise riser for the Brewers is another scouting discovery, 18-year old Venezuelan Santos Gomez. Gomez is still pretty much a diamond in the rough and may never develop big league control but his stuff is already well on its way and could become elite. If he develops his secondary pitches, particularly that screwball, he could be an interesting one to watch for the future.

And of course, Jonathan Murphy continues on the path of becoming a wrecking ball in the middle of the lineup (and a DH) and might not be far away although he starts this season with Bainbridge in class A.

[BirdWatcher]

It is Opening Day in the WPK and the prognosticators have spoken, confidently and knowing that by the end of the season we will have completely forgotten what they predicted and won't realize how very wrong they in fact were.


This is how they see things going in the SJL:



The expectation, and one that seems plausible, is that the Houston Cavaliers will finally overtake their expansion mates and rivals, the 1985 WPK champs, the Chicago Fire, to win their first SJL West title. Chicago is expected to remain competitive, with the two other Texas teams in the middle of the pack, and as usual the Milwaukee Cadets and Seattle Alligators lagging far behind.

It is expected that in the SJL East, the big money Washington Night Train will regain first place after having dropped to 3rd in 1986 following 4 straight division titles. The biggest fall predicted is for Jacksonville, who took the division last season. Well, actually the tumble expected for Boston, who was a surprise contender last season, is equally steep. Things are supposedly about to look a bit rosier for former dynasty Columbus, as they finished last in 1986 but are expected to be in contention this season.


And the players they expect to be best in the SJL:



Of course several former league MVP's are expected to be among the best hitters in the league, including Donovan Hickson (predicted to set a new HR record for the SJL with 60), Kyle Adams (last year's MVP), and 2-time MVP Matt Van der Heyden (this assumes the oft-injured veteran superstar can stay healthy).
The two most surprising names on this list of top hitters are Shigetoshi Kimura of Seattle, who is only 24 years old but has already had two full seasons (and part of a season prior to that) in the big leagues, averaging a bit over 2 WAR per season, and 30-year old third baseman Tony Koonce, who admittedly did have a breakout season last year in Philly, putting up 3.2 WAR after never coming close to that previously.
No real surprises among the top pitchers, although it would be nice to see a comeback season for 1983 Harris/Lee Award winner Dusty Swarthout after a pair of disappointing campaigns the past two years.

Now the MGL:



The Phoenix Speed Devils are expected to repeat in the MGL West, with your Denver Brewers finishing somewhere in the middle of the pack, playing near the break-even point. (Granted, the Brewers were predicted to finish in last place at the beginning of last season and led the division most of the season until falling into 3rd place, with 95 wins, in the end. Still, this seems like a more likely outcome this year with a minor rebuild in the process.) San Francisco, who not long ago were one of the strongest contenders in the division, are expected to tumble to last place.

Also expected to repeat are the reigning WPK champs, the Detroit Falcons. Of course, the MGL East remains a weak division and teams like Charlotte and Montreal are once again expected to be pretty putrid.


And who they expect to have the best individual seasons in the MGL:



Not a single Brewer player makes either the top hitter or pitcher list.
Hyeon-uk Chun of Phoenix is expected to break his own single season home run record of 70, set in his rookie season last year, and then some. (Oh boy! And I purposely set the statistical modifiers to 1984 instead of letting them move to 1987 to try to counteract this homer barrage a bit. Predictions aren't looking promising on that front.) A break out season is expected for Baltimore's Chris Buchanan, after he put up decent numbers, including hitting 19 homers, in his first 319 WPK plate appearances last year. Similar for 24-year old outfielder Travis Merrill of Detroit, who actually was pretty bad in his first taste of the big leagues last year (289 PA's, slash line of .223/.279/.382, -0.4 WAR). And yet another second year guy, Vince Birch of Portland, is expected to take a step forward.
Mostly the same names among pitchers as usual, although the prediction is that 23-year old Matt Midgett, who was traded from St. Louis to Brooklyn mid-season last year, will have a breakout season in his first full year as a member of the Aces.

[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers week 1 results:




Summary:

The Brewers get off to a stumbling start, getting swept in the opening series in Portland, and then losing the first of four games in Oklahoma City against the Diamond Kings. Eric Maisch (0-1, 3.68) wasn't particularly sharp in his road opener start (7.1 IP, 7 hits allowed, 4 runs, 3 ER, 6 K, O BB) and Jim Atwell (0-1, 20.25) followed that with an abysmal start, allowing 9 runs on 10 hits over just 4 innings pitched. Although Stephen Brooks (0-1, 5.14) was a bit better in game 3, he got no run support and gave up a big 3-run bomb in the Diamond Kings 4-run 3rd inning. First baseman Chris Romines, at least, was a bright spot for the Brewers, going 3 for 8 in the series (he got a day off) with a double, 2 runs scored, and 1 RBI.

Having traveled south east to Oklahoma City for their second road series of the nascent season, the Brewers dropped their 4th straight, losing a pitching duel 2-1 when Oklahoma City plated 2 in the bottom of the 8th inning and closer Nate Liuzzo was able to hold the narrow lead in the 9th. Brewers starter Eric Fehrenbacher (0-1, 2.57), who went 16-8 last season, lasted 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits. The Brewers only collected 4 hits in the loss, the lone extra base hit being catcher Willie Ortega's first double of the season.

But then the Brewers got an unexpected lift from 5th starter Bernie Lopez (1-0, 3.86), who pitched a gutsy 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits, while the offense woke up a bit, with right fielder Jerry Lillie going 2 for 4 and hitting his 2nd double of the season, DH Kenny Brown also going 2 for 4, scoring once and driving in 1 run, and Gene "Basher" Brasher hitting his 1st homer of the season.
The Brewers earned at least a series split by taking game 3 in come-from-behind fashion, scoring 4 runs in the top of the 9th to erase a 3-0 deficit and then having closer Dan Folk get his 2nd save in consecutive appearances. (Eric Maisch was again not very sharp, working 5.2 innings and giving up 3 runs on 9 hits and 4 walks, but the bullpen was excellent, particularly steady and often underrated Paul Johnson, who held the Diamond Kings in check for 2.1 innings.)
It took more heroics in the final game to clinch the series, but the Brewers were up to the task as veteran workhorse Jim Atwell (1-1, 6.92) had a total bounce-back start, lasting 9 innings while giving up just 1 run on 3 hits. The Brewers scratched out a run in the top of the 10th, capped off by rookie second baseman Nick Mull drawing a bases-loaded walk, his 3rd free pass of the day and reliever Willie Ramirez pitched the bottom of the frame for his first save of the season.



Brewers Game of the Week:

Either of the last two games of the Oklahoma City series could have qualified for this, but here is a closer look at that last game, a gem by Jim Atwell.






Notes from around the WPK:

The teams off to the best starts are Houston and Seattle (each 5-2) in the SJL West, Jacksonville, Philadelphia, and Washington (all 4-3) in the SJL East, San Francisco (6-1) in the MGL West, and Charlotte (5-2) in the MGL East.

The players of the week are below:





After being named the SJL Rookie of the Year last year, Houston's Atsushi Matsuda is showing no signs of experiencing a sophomore slump thus far this season.
Brooklyn's Esteban Zaragoza has a cannon for an arm in right field and good power at the plate, but in his 5 plus big league career his batting average is only .241, so clearly he is over-achieving that number so far this year (his .400 BABIP is not likely very sustainable).

[BirdWatcher]

The San Antonio Keys, recently mighty and now on the decline, got a big blow today when the learned that sure future Hall of Fame second baseman John Mussaw won't be able to return to action until at least mid-season or later due to having suffered a fractured ankle. It looks like fellow future HOF'er Bud Lindsay will move over to second in the interim while 27-year old Jorge Carrasco, who was claimed off waivers from Seattle this past off-season, will take over at short. Carrasco is a fine fielder but has little offensive upside. And as for Lindsay, the GOAT shortstop, at age 36 and with a wrecked body, it is always just a question of when his next injury will knock him out of action too.



San Antonio is known for producing great hitters and position players at prodigious rates, and they have a handful more on the way, but at this point their best prospects are all outfielders and mostly far from being WPK-ready.



Another SJL club suffered a loss that will complicate the season, as the Pittsburgh Roadrunners lose middle-of-the-rotation left-handed starter Ted Farmer for the rest of the season. Farmer isn't ever a Harris/Lee Award candidate, but for the past 3 seasons the Roadrunners have gotten at least 34 starts and over 200 innings pitched from him in each of those seasons with serviceable results. For the moment they can absorb the loss, with a deep but uninspiring rotation (a bunch of 3's and 4's and no real ace) but if any other starters go down they might be forced to rush 23-year old lefty Craig Barker into the rotation (currently pitching in the 'pen as he works to develop his 3rd pitch changeup) or employ veteran 32-year old former Columbus star pitcher Jay Crosby, who is basically a 2-pitch pitcher at this point of his career, in the rotation.

Meanwhile, in Phoenix, an undisclosed non-injury injury (perhaps?) has left the Speed Devils temporarily without the services of their Gold Glove shortstop John Rains. For how long is anybody's guess. (Well, okay, not really. His injury status says 2 days remaining before he returns.)

[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers Week 2 results:



Summary:

Week 2 of the season is a much more hopeful one for the Brewers, though admittedly returning home to Centennial Stadium helped. Although they lost the first and last games of the week, they won every game in between.

In game 1 against St. Louis the Brewers let a 7-4 lead slip away with some uncharacteristic poor bullpen pitching, starting with lefty Diego Lopez allowing 2 runs in just two thirds of an inning pitched, and then seeing Dan Folk (0-1, 8.10) suffer his first blown save of the season, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 2 walks in 1.1 innings pitched. Starter Stephen Brooks was just okay in this one, allowing 4 runs on 7 hits over his 6 innings. Rookie second baseman Nick Mull had the big hit for the Brewers, his 1st home run of the season, and first big league Grand Slam, in the 5-run 4th inning.
Booming Brewers bats helped Eric Fehrenbacher (1-1, 3.60) get his first win of the season in game 2. Fehrenbacher worked a strong 8 innings, giving up 4 runs on just 5 hits. Multi-position utility infielder Brandon Singer, off to a slow start, had his best day at the plate yet in 1987, going 2 for 4, hitting both his first triple and first homer of the season, driving in 3 runs. The currently red-hot Nick Mull added a 3 for 4, 2 runs scored performance to the mix.
The Brewers took the series with more offense again in game 3, getting homers from Myles Ford (2) and Gene "Basher" Brasher (2). Bernie Lopez had another respectable start though he was denied a decision. He lasted 6.1 and gave up 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, striking out 6 and walking 2. Veteran lefty reliever (and offseason waiver wire acquisition) Scott Evans blew the save and was credited with the win (an embarrassing, if moderately satisfying, accomplishment), pitching 1.2 innings and allowing 1 run on 1 hit (a HR, one of two bombs for veteran Redbird great Steve Whitehead in the game). Dan Folk pitched a shaky 9th for his 3rd save (he gave up a hit and walked 2 batters, but held on to work out of the self-created jam).

The Brewers then played host to the Brooklyn Aces.
And in game 1 they punished the visitors from that fair borough. For more details of this one see below.
Game 2 was a bit closer but the Brewers bats continued to boom at home. In this one the POTG was the recently recalled from AAA outfielder Matt Turner, who went 3 for 3 with 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, and 1 walk. Shortstop Willie Romero, who has mostly been silent at the plate this season, broke out in this one, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored. And the Brewers got homers from three youngsters: Nick Mull (2), outfielder Wayne LaCross (2)(also a more recent call-up), and third baseman Jeremy Beeson (1), who is off to a cold start at the plate this year. Jim Atwell (2-1, 7.00) didn't exactly earn the win, giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 9 hits over just 5 innings pitched, but he got it anyway. And Willie Ramirez, who has mostly been fantastic thus far, did earn his 2nd save of the season with 2 strong innings pitched.
In the last game of the series, and the week, the Brewers gave up 3 runs to Brooklyn in both the 6th and 7th innings and the game went into extras tied at 9 apiece. The bullpen did not do a great job in this one, although Cesar Perez, who was saddled with the blown save, was actually quite good, pitching 3 innings, striking out 5 batters and allowing just single run on a Mike Rugg pinch-hit homer, the only hit Perez would allow. Scott Evans (1-1, 5.40) pitched the final 2 innings and took the loss.Starter Stephen Brooks was not good- he gave up 6 runs on 7 hits in 5.2 IP. The Brewers bats continued to be red-hot, with Chris Romines (leading league in batting average at .429) going 3 for 5, driving in 3 runs, recently signed (to a minor league contract) veteran free agent center fielder Heath Zweig going 2 for 5 and hitting his first double as a Brewer, and most impressively Jerry Lillie (see below for more) going 3 for 5 with 3 runs scored, 3 driven in, 2 of his hits being homers (5) and the other one being his 4th double of the season. But young Brooklyn slugging first baseman Roger Rhinehart's 2-run homer in the top of the 11th inning proved to be the winner.

Brewers Game of the Week:




I wouldn't usually pick a blow-out, even one the Brewers won, as the GOTW, but this one stands out because the ace of the staff, Eric Maisch, had to exit early after getting the first 2 outs of the 4th inning, leaving with his team up 3-1 but with a lot of game to go. (Maisch has shown some injury proneness over his career but in this case fortunately it proved to be minor issue with a recurring back strain and although his next start might need to be pushed off a day he is expected to be fully recovered soon.) Veteran left-handed starter Austin Bond (1-0, 2.45), who has been in the 'pen this year and hadn't yet made an appearance, came in and did a heroic job for 3.2 innings, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits while also K'ing 4. And the Brewers gave him instant offensive support by scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the 4th and then later adding on in the 7th and 8th. Cesar Perez also pitched well again, giving up just 1 hit and no runs in his 1.2 IP. The suddenly hot Willie Romero went 4 for 5 in this one, driving in 3 runs and hitting his 1st home run of the season.


Notes from around the WPK:

The Houston Cavaliers remain the best in the SJL West at this point, with a 10-3 record. Chicago and Seattle are their nearest competitors in the division, both with 8-5 marks. El Paso brings up the rear at 4-8.

The SJL East is mostly bunched up, with the best record being Washington's 7-5 mark and Columbus at 7-6. Boston has the worst record in the WPK thus far at 3-9.

The MGL West continues to be owned early on by the San Francisco Velocity, who are off to a 10-2 start. Denver and St. Louis are tied for 2nd at 7-6 each. L.A. is last in the division with a 5-7 win-loss record.

And the Charlotte Sting remain atop the not very strong MGL East, with a record of 8-5. They are the only team in the division above .500, with Brooklyn in last place at 5-8.


Players of the Week:





With John Mussaw out on the IL, Bud Lindsay aging and ultra-fragile physically, 34-year old John Freeman under-performing, and Mike Shervey having left the club two years ago in free agency, the long underrated and criminally overlooked Danny Belmontes, who finished 2nd last year in SJL MVP voting, has emerged as the best player on the San Antonio Keys roster.
And second-year Brewer slugger Jerry Lillie, who was clearly the team's best hitter in 1986, had a great week to earn POTW honors in the MGL.

[BirdWatcher]

Although we are only 2 weeks into the 1987 WPK regular season, the Denver Brewers have already been actively reshaping their lineup and particularly their outfield picture.
Granted, the Brewers on Opening Day only had 4 true outfielders (Jerry Lillie, Myles Ford, Wayne LaCross, and Javier Hernandez) on the active roster and they well knew that this would be only briefly sustainable, especially with Ford the only one remotely capable of playing center field.
They were infielder heavy with a great deal of indecision about who would get the lion's share of the starts at second base. As things have turned out, young Nick Mull has not only proven to be the best defender at the position (as expected) but has had a surprisingly great start at the plate (.448/.529/.690). And yes, this is absolutely unsustainable, what with his .500 BABIP and such, but he has at least shown that he could be capable of being a league average hitter or better and with his defensive chops that is likely enough to earn the starting second base gig for at least the rest of this season if not longer.
Brandon Singer is not off to a great start at the plate (.231/.259/.615) but continues to show some pop (2 homers and 2 triples) and can play three infield positions (2b, 3b, SS) with at least above average competence (he could be a great second baseman with more experience).
So the odd man out was sparkplug Chris Gonzalez, who the team claimed on waivers this past winter. He is now at AAA Chester.

It is in the outfield where things are the most unsettled for the Brewers at this point, which has not historically been the case for this franchise.
Jerry Lillie is firmly in place in right field and beyond that everything is up for grabs.
Myles Ford started the season as the starting center fielder but is not only off to a poor start offensively (.154/.228/.288- he does have 2 homers and 8 RBI) but more to the point has a ZR of -1.2 already in 10 starts in center. Less than a week ago the Brewers spotted an old rival still sitting on the free agency market with apparently no takers and signed him to a minor league contract. Heath Zweig was a long-time L.A. Spinner and always seemed to find a way to hurt the Brewers, particularly with his glove. Although he has only won 1 Gold Glove award as a center fielder he has a career ZR of 87.1 and just 2 seasons ago (1985, as a 33-year old) had a ZR of 11.7 in center field. He is 35, extremely injury-prone (Wrecked) and scouting reports indicate that his defense in center at this point should only be a bit above average. But he totally seemed worth taking a flier on signing to a minor league deal.
With left fielder Javier Hernandez off to a miserable start and all indications being that we may gotten as much out of his limited potential as there was to get the past season and a half, he was sent down to AAA and Zweig was brought up to the Brewers.
And after having sent the aforementioned middle infielder Gonzalez to AAA the team also brought up left-handed power bat corner outfielder Matt Turner.

Early (yes, very early and extremely small sample size) results indicate that Zweig has stabilized our outfield defense, with positive ZR thus far, and with Ford profiling as a potentially elite defensive left fielder. Both LaCross and Turner are around mostly for their bats and Lillie is just adequate in right field (but who cares with his offensive production).

Defense and pitching (not unrelated concepts ) are early weaknesses for the team and the thought is that with the outfield d shored up a bit and Nick Mull getting the bulk of the playing time at second beside 5-time Gold Glove shortstop Willie Romero, this should improve over time. Chris Romines is a plus defender at first base. Young third baseman Jeremy Beeson is off to a weak start at the plate (.244/.277/.378) and has a ZR of -0.1 but should get better over time and doesn't profile as being a defensive liability going forward.

The offense has been good, with the recent home-cooking surge having the Brewers now tied for 1st in runs scored in the MGL. Still, looking forward, one can't help but wonder just how much better it will be when top prospect Jonathan Murphy is in the center of the lineup. With the strong caveat that everything in this post is based upon very small sample sizes and too early in the season to judge indications, particularly anything minor league related, how long does Jonathan Murphy need to tear up single A pitching before he gets his next promotion to AA Nashville? And, really, how long before it becomes evident that where he really belongs is in the middle of the Brewers lineup? All indications are, not long at all, on both counts.

As for the pitching staff, early signs are that Mike Warner, currently pitching for the AAA Chester Big Stick, is pretty much big league ready now and likely to be on the staff in some role sooner rather than later.

But really, really looking forward, it is clear that the most important thing for the Brewers to figure out for the future is, who is going to be manning centerfield ? One can imagine that, in spite of their always take the best player available at least for the first several rounds of the draft mentality, the Brewers brain trust is really hoping that at least one of those guys in the upcoming draft is a Gold Glove caliber center fielder.

[BirdWatcher]

Jonathan Murphy, the Brewers top prospect (#14 in the WPK), was named the Player of the Week last week in the Chris Priest League (single A).



In his first 13 games at the level this year (he played in 7 games for Bainbridge in 1986 after a late season promotion and raked in those too), he has 5 doubles, 5 homers, 14 RBI, 10 runs scored and is on pace for 54 doubles, 54 HR's, 151 RBI, 108 runs scored, and a 10.7 WAR. And he can't play a lick of defense (-0.8 ZR at first in 13 games) or run at all, so the WAR is pure bat propelled. Sure, his BABIP is .440. Then again, he has been so dominant at every level of pro ball so far that he's never had a BABIP below .400. If anything, the concern in the Denver front office and coaching staffs is that the kid hasn't encountered any adversity yet, and there is no way of knowing how he would handle that. Though all indications regarding his personality seem to point towards no issues there, with his biggest weakness, the fact that he might not be the smartest dude in the room, possibly helping. (He doesn't seem likely to be prone to over-analyzing things.)




There are some in the Brewers organization who are pushing to see him promoted to AA (at least) ASAP (and even a few who say, what the heck, just bring the kid up to the big leagues NOW), while others are encouraging a more measured and cautious approach. But realistically if he keeps hitting like this there will be no way to keep him where he is much longer and the most common belief is that he will be given another few weeks at Bainbridge and if nothing changes drastically then he'll get the call up to AA Nashville to see if that challenges him more and cools him off a bit. And if not, well, he might be Denver bound before too long.

(With the DH having only been introduced last season, Murphy looks like someone who has the potential to become the first superstar WPK player to play the majority of his games at that "position" during his career.)

[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers Week 3 results:




Summary:

The Brewers start the week on the road in Baltimore against the Lords of the MGL East. The Lords, as has been true for much of their history, have a potent offense, particularly in terms of homerun power, but little pitching. Granted some of this is a byproduct of the park they play in (Community Stadium) which favors hitters and especially left-handed power hitters. So naturally the middle part of their batting order (from 2-5) features left-handed slugger Mike Lovett, switch-hitter Alex Afanador (who hits better from the left side of the plate), second-year right fielder Chris Buchanan (LHB), and another second-year player in left fielder Sam Lawson (LHB). Each one of these hitters is a serious threat to reach the seats in every at-bat, with Afanador and Buchanan possessing the best all-around hit tools.

In the first game of the series, on Monday evening, the Brewers held the Lords to just a single jack, but still lost 4-2 as veteran starting pitcher Warren Shields pitched a strong 8 innings for the home team. Denver starter Eric Fehrenbacher had another strong start without a decision, lasting 7 innings and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. Jeremy Beeson’s first triple of the season was the lone extra-base hit for the Brewers.

Tuesday’s game was a more typical slugfest in Community Stadium, though one-sided, with Bernie Lopez (2-0, 3.54) once again delivering a fine start for the visitors (7 IP, 2 R, 8 H), and being the beneficiary of an offensive outpouring. Backup catcher Omari Williams was one of the many hitting stars, going 3 for 4 with 4 runs scored, 3 RBI, hitting his 2nd double and 1st triple of the 1987 season. And Heath Zweig continues to shine for his new club, going 4 for 5 with 4 RBI from the 9th slot in the lineup, getting his 1st triple as a Brewer. Jeremy Beeson, given the starting job at third base in his second big league season, got off to a slow start, but is starting to get hot and went 3 for 6 with 2 runs scored in the blowout win.

The Brewers got the series win on the road with a narrow come-from-behind victory powered by young second baseman Nick Mull, who has been our best player in the early going. Mull went 3 for 3 with a run scored and 3 driven in, hitting his 2nd double of the season and swiping his 4th bag. Jeremy Beeson contributed a 4 for 5, 1 run scored performance. Eric Maisch (1-0, 4.18) got his first win of the season, working 7 innings, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits (including 2 bombs). Dan Folk earned his 4th save.

After a brief road trip, the Brewers returned home for a 4-game set against Montreal.

In the Thursday night game, the Brewers got a strong enough start from veteran Jim Atwell (7 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 9 K, 2 BB) and another terrific appearance by 24-year-old reliever Cesar Perez, getting his first sustained taste of the WPK. Perez worked 2 flawless innings, striking out 2 batters, and earned his first win of the season. Off-season acquisition Kenny Brown led the offense, going 3 for 5 with a run and 2 RBI, clubbing his 2nd homer of the season.

The Brewers lost a heartbreaker on Friday night, relinquishing a 3-1 lead in the top of the 9th when the Royals got to relievers Willie Ramirez and Scott Evans (1-2, 4.50) for 3 runs combined and held on to win 4-3. It was a particularly unfair result for Denver starter Stephen Brooks, who allowed 1 unearned run on 5 hits over 6 innings pitched (he had thrown 119 pitches and was gassed).

The Brewers bounced back to get an extra-innings win the next evening but as that is our Game of the Week, see below for more details.

And then in the Sunday matinee the Brewers made it 3 of 4 against the Royals. Eric Fehrenbacher continued a mostly solid season, lasting 5 innings while giving up 3 runs on 6 hits but was again denied a decision. Cesar Perez (2-0, 0.84), maybe our best pitcher in the early going, pitched 2.1 innings in relief, nearly perfect- walking 2 and striking out 5- to earn the win. Willie Ramirez pitched the last 1.2 for his 3rd save. Nick Mull’s (.415/.500/.642) torrid start continued, as he went 2 for 3 in this one, hitting his 3rd homer of the season and making an incredible highlight-reel play at second base in the top of the 8th inning to squelch a potential rally for the Royals and end the inning. And Jerry Lillie (.293/.354/.640) only had 1 hit but it was his 7th homer, which ties him for the HR lead in the MGL with Baltimore’s Chris Buchanan.


Brewers Game of the Week:




For the second straight week the Brewers Game of the Week involves heroics by veteran left-handed starter Austin Bond, in just his second appearance, and first start, of the ’87 season. Although he didn’t get credit for the win, Bond pitched a gutsy 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits. Unfortunately, veteran reliever Paul Johnson wasn’t at his best, allowing 2 runs on 3 hits over his 2.2 IP. But the Brewers kept battling at the plate and tied things up at 5 runs apiece when veteran outfielder and team captain (and not generally a source of much over-the-fence power) Heath Zweig (.350/.391/.525) hit his first homerun as a member of the Brewers. And with offseason acquisition, lefty reliever Scott Evans (2-2, 3.86) giving us 1.1 strong innings to hold things there, the Brewers were able to walk it off in the bottom of the 11th, thanks to a Zweig lead-off walk followed by a run-scoring double off the bat of Kenny Brown (.317/.380/.427).

Notes from Around the WPK:

The Houston Cavaliers remain not only the best team in the SJL West but the hottest team in the early going in all the WPK, at 14-5. They are 1st in runs scored and in runs allowed in the SJL and are getting tremendous seasons out of outfielders Atsushi Matsuda and Alex Raymos. The Seattle Alligators are somehow managing to hang in there above .500 so far at 11-9 in second place. The El Paso Dawgs bring up the rear in the SJL West with a record of 7-12.

Over in the SJL East, Washington is in their familiar first place spot, with an 11-8 record. Columbus and Philadelphia each hang in at just 1 game off that mark, with identical 10-9 marks. Boston is the bottom-feeder, going 6-11 thus far.

The MGL West continues to be dominated by the San Francisco Velocity, though they are cooling off just a bit and are now 12-5. The Brewers are second with their 12-8 record. The L.A. Spinners drop to last place, having lost 4 in a row, and are now 7-12.

Charlotte remains, unexpectedly, at the top of the weak MGL East, with an 11-7 record. Everyone else is under .500, with Baltimore now bringing up the rear at 6-11.

Players of the Week:



Kyle Adams is the reigning SJL MVP so while his team is struggling mightily it is no surprise that he is off to a good start and was named the Player of the Week in the SJL this past week.



And Phoenix outfielder Luis Olivez was the MGL MVP back in 1983 and has been a fine player, even if his WAR numbers have been trending down consistently, since that time. Granted, his offensive numbers are enhanced by playing his home games in the best hitters’ park in the WPK, but he is also a fine defender with a cannon for an arm in right field and also contributes with his speed and baserunning savvy.

[BirdWatcher]

The WPK standings as of May 1st, 1987:



A few quick notes about each team:

SJL West:

the Houston Cavaliers- Houston ranks now as the 2nd best team in the SJL in runs scored and is best at preventing runs. Their defense is mediocre but there might not be a scarier lineup in the WPK and if the pitching can stay healthy (a big if, but before the end of May they should have talented 23-year old starter Rafael Gonzales back from the IL), this could well be the year they finally get to the postseason.

the Milwaukee Cadets- Even with top prospect Eric Ross off to a slow start (and currently DTD with an earache), the Cadets have over-performed so far. This is largely due to their young and quite talented starting rotation. On the plus side, they have some very good hitters underperforming thus far. On the negative end, the defense has been abysmal, the bullpen very bad, and they only have one legit power hitter. Expect decline.

the Seattle Alligators- Seattle has been beset by the injury bug and still are over .500, which is a bit shocking. They have excellent baserunning and otherwise rank in the middle of the pack in most statistical categories, which is almost comforting. The lineup is old but features a few youngsters on the rise in middle slots and at least one more excellent hitter on the way in the minors. They have some good young pitching, though health could remain a problem. They might actually not totally suck.

the Chicago Fire- The Fire were the WPK champs 2 seasons ago and lost to Detroit in the KCS last season and should still be the favorites in this division. The basic elements of the team remain strong and they still have one of the best farm systems in the game (mostly pitching prospects). It should still be expected that they will be the primary rival with Houston for the division title this season (and maybe for years to come.)

the San Antonio Keys- The not so long ago mighty Keys likely need to start thinking about a rebuild soon. They still lead the league in runs scored and several other offensive categories but their lineup is quickly aging and highly injury-prone. Their farm system is middle of the pack but as always they have some potent bats on the way. But until they can figure out the run prevention side of the equation they won't likely contend again soon.

the El Paso Dawgs- The Dawgs were the doormats of the SJL for much of the first decade of the WPK and then rose to be a perennial contender. In the near future they look more like doormat than contender.

The SJL East:

the Washington Night Train- The team with the highest player payroll, biggest market size, great fan loyalty, somehow is managing once again to sit at the top of the SJL East standings. Go figure. Granted, they do have one of the worst farm systems in the game, but they can always afford to spend their way to contention.

the Jacksonville Wolf Pack- Along with Washington, one of the most storied and successful franchises in the SJL, and the reigning divisional champs. Jacksonville's biggest strength is the 1-2 punch of having two true aces atop their rotation in 1986 Harris/Lee Award winner Casey Van Fossen and David Parker. But they will need their offense to step up if they expect to repeat.

the Columbus Whalers- Once a pitching powerhouse, Columbus is doing a pretty good job on that end of things this season. But they need more offensive production and a few of their best hitters (Chris Tobin, Chase Moeller) are heading towards being ancient. (Tobin, to be fair, at age 40 is on pace for another 5+ WAR season.) They have one of the best prospect crops in the game but again almost exclusively pitchers. They will need to find some hitters if they wish to contend going forward.

the Philadelphia Mud Hens- Philly had a brief window of opportunity to contend and mostly squandered it. They have a group of solid, underrated veteran batters but it won't be enough, especially with their really poor pitching staff. Also, not much help on the way.

the Boston Berserkers- Boston has the reigning SJL MVP in Kyle Adams, having another great season at age 30. And a decent farm system. Yeah, that's about it.

the Pittsburgh Roadrunners- It wasn't that long ago that the Roadrunners, with their dangerous lineup, was a perennial contender. They still have a few great hitters, but their best player, 2-time MVP Matt Van der Heyden is very fragile and currently out for 5 weeks, and they don't hit for much power. They have the best defense in the SJL at this point but not a great starting rotation. They probably aren't this bad, but they aren't very good either.


the MGL West:

the St. Louis Redbirds- This 1980 expansion club certainly seems to be headed in the right direction and have a pretty good mix of youngsters and veterans. While the system is highly rated, they do have a few potentially impactful players on the way, especially outfielder Juan Garcia, who will almost surely need to move from center field to a corner (left, most likely) but looks to have an elite hit tool, provided with some swing and miss. On the rise.

the San Francisco Velocity- The Velocity have a track record of early starts and poor second halves so we'll see if that trend continues. They are very good at run prevention and much less good at run scoring, but it should be taken into consideration that they play their home games in an extreme pitchers' park. Their farm system is decent and center fielder Cruz Alvarez shouldn't be too far away and profiles as speedy contact-first hitter who can stick in center defensively. Not a great team, not a bad team.

the Denver Brewers- Mostly save this for next post, but the story so far in 1987 is great offense, average defense, and largely not very good pitching.

the Phoenix Speed Devils- The pre-season favorites and reigning division champs have struggled early. Granted, last year's MVP/ROY/HR champ, etc., Hyeong-uk Chun is off to a .198/.277/.352 start with just 4 homers and is on pace for 0.8 WAR (was league leading 11.9 last year). Obviously this will change. There is still the bones of a good team here- expect them to rise in the standings soon.

the Portland Wild Things- Pretty fine starting rotation, not much else. And one of the worst farm systems in the game. It might be bleak for awhile for these Wild Things.

the Los Angeles Spinners- The biggest budget, the largest market size in the MGL, extreme fan loyalty, and disappointing results most seasons. Go figure! (This time for real.) The bullpen has been pretty good this season. But mostly this is just a mediocre club. Hard to explain why.

The MGL East:

the Charlotte Sting- The Sting are in first place! The Sting are in first place? Okay, yeah, I get that this is a the MGL Least. Still, for a team with a normally horrible offense, they actually have been pretty good so far. Second baseman Alex Bock, at age 23, is one of the rising superstars of the game and they have some good young pitchers too (see MGL Pitcher of the Month below). On the other hand, they have the next to last ranked farm system. In this division they could somehow find themselves stumbling into the playoffs, but on the whole the hapless Sting are still the Sting after all.

the Detroit Falcons- The reigning WPK champs still should have enough to rise to the top of this poor division. They have some good young pitchers but an aging lineup (exception being 24-year old center fielder Travis Merrill, who should be one of their cornerstone players going forward). Not much on the way in terms of prospects either. Likely a small window of opportunity to repeat, but in this division they are the favorite.

the Brooklyn Aces- Another big market club that perpetually underachieves. They have a few very good players but as a whole this just isn't an impressive team and there is no reason to believe they will become one anytime soon.

the Montreal Royals- The other 1980 expansion club, Montreal is quite a ways behind St. Louis in their progress. Their pitching isn't too bad but they have no offense. Henry Machado, the #2 overall prospect in the WPK, will help that somewhat in a season or two, and they have built a good (#4) farm system. So better times will come. But maybe not for several years still.

the Oklahoma City Diamond Kings- It's the same story for the D-Kings as it has been for several seasons now: really great starting rotation and one of the worst lineups in the game. They also have the lowest ranking farm system in the game. I can only hope some of these world class pitchers (Mike Piles, Andy Boudreaux, Matt Greene, Justin Baumgardner- and that's an incomplete list) get to play for a winner sometime soon. And that likely means that they will need to be pitching for a team other than their current one.

the Baltimore Lords- The antithesis of the Diamond Kings, Baltimore is all offense and no pitching. Scariest power hitting team in the MGL. Expect a lot of high scoring games when the Lords are involved, with the opposition more often than not coming out on top. (They do have the top ranked farm system, but their best prospects are still mostly hitters.)


April Players of the Month:





April Pitchers of the Month:

[BirdWatcher]

Let's take a look at some of the basic individual and team numbers at this early stage of the season:






As you can see, the team is hitting, kind of fielding, and mostly not pitching very well.

How some Brewers stack up in the league leaders boards among hitters:




I wasn't terribly surprised that a Brewer was named Rookie of the Month but I though it would be Nick Mull, who is on pace right now to be in contention for league MVP (and no, I don't expect that to continue) or even someone like left fielder Wayne LaCross, who has played quite well in his more limited opportunities. I didn't think it would be reliever Cesar Perez. Though, as I've mentioned previously, he has arguably been our best pitcher in the early going. Need to give some love though also to 5th starter Bernie Lopez, who has been our most reliable starter in the first month of the season.

[BirdWatcher]

Jonathan Murphy continues to batter minor league pitching.



Will he be doing the same to WPK pitching soon?

[Palaaemon]

Bird,

I love the new format, it's fantastic! Keep up the great work.

Have a great afternoon my brother!

[BirdWatcher]

Originally Posted by Palaaemon

Bird,

I love the new format, it's fantastic! Keep up the great work.

Have a great afternoon my brother!

Thanks friend. As always, glad to have you along for the ride.

[BirdWatcher]

The Columbus Whalers have long been known as a pitching factory although in some ways that description has lost some of its relevance in the past several years.

But one hurler is left from the Whalers pitching rotation heyday and that is 35-year old left-handed power pitcher Luis Ramirez, a sure first ballot Hall of Famer.



And yesterday Ramirez celebrated his 200th big league win, a mark he surely would have reached sooner if the team around him hadn't been so poor for the past several seasons. Ramirez is known for many things, not least of them his great loyalty, and the fact that he has remained a member of the Columbus Whalers now for his entire career, through thick and thin, is evidence of that trait.
Even at 35 he remains one of the finest pitchers in the game, with his upper 90's fastball that hits 100 on a not irregular basis, along with a plus plus changeup and equally good splitter. And he also has wonderful control. He seems nearly impervious to injury (Iron Man) and has only had a handful of relatively minor ailments in his career, with the only one that involved his throwing arm or that sidelined him for even a single start having come way back in 1977- and that's the last time there has even been a hint of injury for the veteran great!



He has three times won the Harris/Lee Award, partly named for his old teammate Jake Harris, who is considered the greatest left-handed starter in WPK history thus far. If anyone could lay claim to that title other than Harris, it would be Ramirez. And eventually, after he hangs up his cleats, which we can only hope will still be several seasons in the future, he will join his old buddy Harris in the WPK Hall.

[BirdWatcher]

Denver Brewers Week 4 results:




Summary:
The Brewers started the 4th week of the regular season by playing host to longtime rival L.A.
And in the first game of three the visiting Spinners got a strong start from 26-year-old righty Ernie Hernandez, who isn’t known for his stamina but lasted 8 innings, allowing just 3 runs on 6 hits. Brewers 5th starter Bernie Lopez (2-1, 3.29), who has been the most reliable member of the rotation, deserved a better fate as of the 5 runs scored off him only 2 were earned and he scattered 8 hits over 7 innings pitched. Jerry Lillie hit his 8th homer of the season in the loss.

The Brewers also dropped the middle game and by the exact same score as the day before. Eric Maisch’s (1-1, 4.60) uneven start continued, as he lasted just 5.2 and gave up 5 runs (4 earned) on 6 hits and 4 walks. Chris Romines (.394/.411/.465) and Brandon Singer (.225/.262/.475) each went 2 for 4 in the game.

With an 11-5 thumping of L.A. on Wednesday evening the Brewers avoided being swept. Jim Atwell (3-1, 6.34) probably didn’t deserve his 3rd win but he got it anyway, with every Brewer in the starting lineup getting at least one hit other than DH Kenny Brown, and 3 of them collected 4 hits each: Chris Romines (.421/.436/.539), who hit 2 doubles to get to 7 and also hit his first triple of 1987, Heath Zweig (.375/.418/.562), who also hit a pair of doubles (4) and stole his 7th bag, and Willie Romero (.367/.419/.506).

Next up, the Brewers welcome to Denver the reigning WPK champion Detroit Falcons.
The Brewers lose a back-and-forth affair in game 1, with starter Stephen Brooks (0-2, 5.76) getting touched for 7 runs (5 earned) on 6 hits and 6 walks in his 5 innings pitched. Rookies Wayne LaCross (.312/.400/.604), Nick Mull (.386/.456/.643) and Jeremy Beeson (.322/.337/.414) led the way offensively for Denver, each going 2 for 4, Mull scoring once and driving in 2 while hitting both his 4th double and 4th home run, Beeson scoring a run but also committing his 4th error, and LaCross hitting a pair of homers, scoring twice and driving in 3 runs.

In game 2, the Brewers allow 4 runs to the Falcons in the 7th and then fall short in their attempt to come-back late. Eric Fehrenbacher (1-2, 3.74) suffered a tough loss, pitching an effective 6.2 IP, giving up 3 runs on just 4 hits. Nick Mull (.405/.470/.703) carried his great start into the month of May, going 3 for 4 in this one, hitting both his 5th double and 5th HR, and increasing his team-leading RBI total to 24. Backup catcher Omari Williams (.314/.333/.457) hit his 3rd double of the season but on the play suffered a back strain and had to be removed. After the game he was placed on the 14-day IL and the team had to recall Rich Fugate from AAA Chester.

In game 3 of 4, the Brewers ensured at least that they wouldn’t be swept by Detroit, getting yet another fine start from 25-year-old Bernie Lopez (3-1, 3.51) (finally coming into his own?). Lopez pitched 6 solid innings, allowing 3 runs on just 4 hits. Veteran reliever Paul Johnson was great in this one too- giving the club 2.2 nearly perfect innings, allowing just a single hit, striking out 3 and walking none. Rookie left fielder Wayne LaCross (.333/.424/.725), who hit a pair of homers in the last game he played, did it again in this one, getting his season total to 6, second best on the club behind Jerry Lillie’s 8. And Gold Glove shortstop Willie Romero (.352/.398/.484) was 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI, hitting his 5th double of ’87.

The Brewers gain a series split by taking the Sunday afternoon game easily, scoring early and often in support of veteran lefty Austin Bond (2-0, 2.70), getting his second start of the season. Bond lasted 6 innings, giving up 3 runs, but only 1 earned, on 5 hits, while striking out 7 and walking 4. Gene “Basher” Brasher (.229/.325/.600), mostly a non-factor this year, was good in this one, going 2 for 4, scoring thrice and driving in 3, while hitting his 4th homer of the season. Matt Turner (.333/.364/.429), the 5th outfielder who hasn’t had many opportunities to start, took advantage of this one by going 2 for 4, hitting his 2nd double and driving in a pair of runs. And, naturally, Nick Mull (.400/.473/.675) had another good game, going 2 for 3, scoring 2 runs, walking once (his ability to draw bases on balls is one of the underrated skills he has shown this season), though he did commit his first error of the season.


Brewers Game of the Week:
Hard to pick a GOTW for the Brewers this week as when they did win it was lopsided, but let’s put the spotlight on the Saturday evening game in which Wayne LaCross had one of his 2-homer games of the week and Bernie Lopez was once again very good.



Notes from Around the WPK:
No need to go deep into this as we just updated the standings as of a few days ago, but it should be noted that Seattle is now improbably tied with Houston atop the SJL West standings (each at 16-10), Washington is leading the SJL East with the same record, San Francisco (14-10) and St. Louis (15-11) are in a virtual tie in the MGL West, and Charlotte remains atop the MGL East at 14-10.
Nick Johnson of Pittsburgh leads the SJL in batting average at .385, not a surprise for a career .351 hitter. Boston’s Kyle Adams, the reigning MVP, leads the SJL (all of the WPK, really) in homers with 12. And Atsushi Matsuda of Houston leads in RBI with 32.
Chicago’s Beau Fundingsland leads the SJL in ERA at 2.12. Luis Ramirez of Columbus and John Stone of Seattle are tied in wins with 5 each. And Casey Van Fossen, the 1986 Harris/Lee Award winner, leads in K’s with 43.
The MGL batting leader at this point is St. Louis’ Gus Reyna (.434). Alex Afanador of Baltimore and Roger Rhinehart of Brooklyn are the MGL co-leaders in HR’s with 9 apiece. And Baltimore’s Chris Buchanan shares the RBI lead with Denver’s Nick Mull and Rhinehart, each at 24.
Montreal’s Brent Gilliam has the lowest ERA among qualified pitchers at 1.97. Rick Ernst of Detroit has the most wins (4). And J.R. Schuman of L.A. leads in K’s with 42.

Players of the Week:




(Note: Granter is one of the less likely guys to get this honor- a 31-year old veteran utility infielder who is a team captain and does have one championship ring but otherwise was completely undecorated before now.)

[BirdWatcher]

Okay, the title of this post is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, because we could pretty easily slide into over-hype mode when it comes to top Brewers hitting prospect Jonathan Murphy (you have already, you are probably saying). But hey, give us a break, we haven't had this promising a position player prospect since, well, probably Joe McPhillips, who was our first round draft pick way back in 1967 (5th overall) and went on to have a good, if not quite HOF caliber, career, winning an MVP award in 1974, being an All-Star 7-times and a Silver Slugger twice. (Earlier this year McPhillips, who is playing at AAA in the Houston system for the Oakland Whitehawks- the primary destination the past few years for the greats and near greats trying to get one last taste of the bigs- announced that he would be retiring at the end of this season.)

Murphy is much different than McPhillips, lacking the defensive skills or speed that Joe possessed, but as a hitter he has a chance to be much better.

And as his minor league legend grows, he now adds a 20-game hitting streak to the pile of accomplishments.

[BirdWatcher]

[Editor's Note: Only just now, preparing to report on week 6, do I realize that I mis-identified the month in this post. It is, obviously, not April 4-10 but rather May 4-10. Apologies for any confusion. Again.)

Denver Brewers Week 5 results:



Summary:

Following a day off on Monday, May 4th, the rested Brewers swept a 3-game home series against the MGL East first place Charlotte Sting.

The first game saw the Brewers nearly blow a 5-0 lead, giving up 3 runs in the 7th inning, with all of the runs charged to starter Eric Maisch (2-1, 4.54), who was having his best start of 1987 up to that point. Fortunately, the bullpen, one of the strengths of the team, was able to calm things down and preserve the win for Maisch. POTG was rookie third baseman Jeremy Beeson (.337/.356/.469), on a tear of late after a slow start to the season, who went 2 for 3 with 2 runs scored, 1 RBI, 1 walk, and hit his 6th double and 2nd triple.

The Brewers took game 2 easily, with veteran starter Jim Atwell (4-1, 5.67) going the distance, scattering 9 hits and allowing 2 runs. The distance, in this case, was shortened by rain, so Atwell threw 7 innings for his 4th victory. Kenny Brown (.319/.375/.440), hitting in the leadoff slot, led the way offensively, going 4 for 4, scoring twice and hitting his 2nd triple. He also stole his league-leading 12th base but was also caught trying for the 8th time. And Willie Romero (.343/.391/.520) hit 2 homers to get to 3 on the season.

The Brewers got the sweep in walk-off fashion on Thursday night, having allowed 2 runs to the visitors in the top of the 9th (veteran lefty reliever Scott Evans (3-2, 2.57) suffering the blown save but also picking up the win), they scored 2 runs of their own in the bottom of the frame, capped off by an RBI walk-off single from Jerry Lillie (.280/.358/.607). Kenny Brown (.342/.394/.492), again leading off, again went 4 for 4, hitting a pair of doubles (6) and a triple (3) and getting his 13th stolen base.

The team then took a flight to the Bay Area to face the San Francisco Velocity.

Starting pitcher Eric Fehrenbacher (1-3, 4.31) gave up 5 runs in the 4th inning and the Brewers attempt to rally from behind fell just short in game 1. Jeremy Beeson (.333/.351/.467) was 2 for 4 in the loss and hit his 7th double.

The visiting Brewers bounced back to win game 2 on the strength of a 7-run 7th inning and another big game for rookie second baseman Nick Mull (.360/.429/.620), who had been slumping a bit but went 2 for 5 with 3 RBI in this one, hitting his 6th home run of the season. Bernie Lopez (4-1, 4.12), the Brewers 5th starter but most reliable in the early going, didn’t have his best outing, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits over 6 innings, but kept his team in it and got the win. More great work out of the ‘pen for young Cesar Perez, who worked 3 innings, giving up 1 run on just 1 hit (a solo shot by Bobby Olsen), striking out 3 batters and walking 1.

And the Brewers cap off a good week with a come-from-behind win in the rubber match. Austin Bond started but only lasted 4 innings this time, giving up 5 runs (4 ER) on 8 hits. But the bullpen was brilliant again, with Paul Johnson (2-1, 1.65) and Willie Ramirez (4th save, 2.19) combining for 5 nearly flawless innings, giving up just 1 hit between them. For the 3rd time in the week, Kenny Brown (.356/.407/.508) was 4 for 4, scoring 2 runs, hitting his 8th double, and stealing his 14th base. (On the other hand, he was also caught stealing for the 9th time.)


Brewers Game of the Week:

It was a good week with quite a few dramatic victories, but we’ll go with the come-from-behind victory that clinched the sweep of Charlotte, the first game of the three during the week where veteran DH Kenny Brown went 4 for 4.





Notes from Around the WPK:

Amazingly, the Seattle Alligators have chomped their way to the top of the SJL West standings, with a record now of 19-14. Houston has been scuffling and are in second place, a game and a half out, at 17-15. And El Paso has been surging, winners of 6 straight, and now sit in 3rd, tied with Milwaukee, each of them at 15-16. The recently mighty San Antonio Keys take up the rear with a 13-18 mark.

Washington still leads the SJL East, now with a WPK-best 20-12 record. Columbus is the only other team in the division over .500, and they are just above that mark at 17-16. Pittsburgh has dropped to last place and are 14-17.

For the first time in the 1987 season, the Denver Brewers are in first place in the MGL West. San Francisco is just a half game back with an 18-12 record. And the reigning division champs, Phoenix, have been on the rise again (pun at least slightly intended), and are now in 3rd place at 18-14. L.A., with their huge payroll, massive market, and unlimited resources, are in last place (where they belong, say Brewer fans), at 13-18.

And despite recent setbacks, the Charlotte Sting (16-14) remain in 1st place in the MGL East. Because, well, this is the MGL East after all. Brooklyn has been playing a bit better and are breathing down the Stings neck (1/2 game back), now with a 17-16 record. Baltimore slips to last place, their 12-18 record the worst in the WPK. Which does speak to the relative parity in the WPK thus far in 1987.

Players of the Week:



Another surprise winner in the SJL, although 25-year-old first baseman Dusty Barrett does have a very good power bat and a plus plus eye at the plate. (He also has a high baseball IQ, by all reports.)



After showing signs of a sophomore slump in the early going, last year’s phenom Hyeong-uk Chun is starting to heat up, as evidenced by this honor.

[BirdWatcher]

As if things weren't dire enough for the big-money, big-market Spinners, who are languishing in last place in the MGL West, yesterday they found out they will be without the services of their Gold Glove, All-Star third baseman Gene Lee for the remainder of the 1987 season.



For the time being it appears that they will be looking to 28-year old backup Kevin Coriell to take over the starting job at third. Although Coriell doesn't represent a big drop in defense at the hot corner, he is certainly not as good a hitter as Lee, with far less power, and there are also questions about his work habits. Their top third base prospect, Ralph Bruce, is at AAA and basically big league ready, but he profiles as an all-glove and run, no hit player and his mostly likely role in the WPK, if he ever has one, will be a multi-position utility infielder. The Spinners 22nd ranked farm system doesn't look like it will be providing any solutions at the position anytime soon.

[BirdWatcher]

The 1980 expansion St. Louis Redbirds acquired Gus Reyna in a trade with the always pitching poor San Antonio Keys in the offseason after the 1982 season for then 28-year-old starting pitcher Micah Gullace. Reyna had been the Keys supplemental round 1 pick (#32 overall) in the 1979 draft and at the time wasn't considered a top prospect.
But the trade ended up being a shrewd one for the Redbirds. Gullace was horrible in the half season he pitched for the Keys (3-3, 6.52 ERA, 1.82 WHIP) and was released before the trading deadline. He has bounced around from team to team since, mostly pitching in the minor leagues, and looks like a borderline big league reliever at age 32.

Meanwhile, the now 27-year-old Reyna has turned into one of the best contact hitters in the game, a real threat on the base paths, and a decent fielding first baseman. And currently he is in the midst of a hitting streak, now at 25 consecutive games, tied with Washington's Myon-ki Choi for the longest such streak this season in the WPK.



(Incidentally, Choi now has three hitting streaks of at least 20 games in length in his career. Only two players in WPK history have had more than three such seasons (although a few others are tied with Choi with three): the now retired great Cody Kane and former Brewer Brett Taranto both had streaks at least this long four times in their careers (Taranto's were all while in a Brewers uni).)