NABO48 w/ MLBPA ... Updated for '26

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Baltimore continues to hold off the Delegates, despite a significant difference in run differential, while Motor City keeps adding to their large lead.

Minnesota continues in first place, despite a negative run differential ... not unlike the 87 Twins team. Sin City continues to be the best team in a weak division.

St Louis rides a 9-game winning streak to overtake first place in the Great Plains division. Space City looks to be the best team in the West as we get closer to the midway point of the season.

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Tatis and Ohtani position themselves into a 1-on-1 battle for East MVP

Bobby Witt Jr replace Acuna Jr as the West's best Junior ... and frontrunner for MVP.

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While making these updates, I looked at how highly I drafted Bruce Zimmerman and noted how quickly he was sent down after some early struggles. Montgomery, after some early struggles, has been pitching well, and I decided to "Shop Him" and see what's out there.

One of my house rules is that when you shop a player, you can only trade him for one of the options listed ... no adding draft picks, no adding prospects, etc. You take what you get.

In the past I've added a draft pick coming back, and it's too easy to rack up a lot of good draft picks. So, I don't want to do that.

I chose to trade him to San Diego, saving some money (to add to development/draft budget.

I'm curious as to what other "House Rules" people use to try and minimize any exploits or cheese that can be used. Please comment and share.

I like to look at how the new team is using the traded player, to get a gauge on whether the trade was "fair" or not.

Montgomery becomes the Silverbacks 3rd SP in the rotation, and they have plenty of budget room.

Gutierrez looks like he could develop into a decent 4th OF or short term starter with his contact, speed, and defense.

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Tim Tawa called up (Barrosa sent down) and went absolutely nuts.

Zimmerman makes the most of his recall, with 2 outstanding starts ... pitching in and out of trouble successfully.

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Of the top 20 players in the West, Betts may be the most underperforming, while some of the criticism may be exaggerated.

Betts seems to be building momentum.

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DC gains 2 games in the standings, drawing closer to Baltimore.

Motor City, 3-7 in their last 10, loses 5 games in their lead over Montreal and Toronto in the Great Lakes division.

Birmingham gains a couple of gains on first place Jacksonville.

Santo Domingo narrows the gap with Orlando, setting up a tight division race heading into the ASB.

Portland edges ahead in the Mount Rainer division as Minnesota slides to 3rd.

After surging into 1st place on the strength of a 9-game winning streak, St Louis falters into a tie for second place as Wisconsin ascends to the head of the Great Plains division.

Space City continues to be the dominant team in the West.

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Aaron Judge takes over the HR lead in the East.

Juan Soto, predictably so, continues his domination in getting on base.

Tatis continues to be the leader in the MVP race, with Judge throwing his name into the race.

Ohtani continues to be a force as Chandler Simpson eyes Rickey Henderson's single season stolen base record of 130 SB.

Julio Rodriguez looks to jump into the MVP race on the strength of his WPA lead.

Acuna's regression leads to some new faces in the MVP race, as Austin Riley and Bobby Witt Jr surge to the front.

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Strider paces the CYA race, with his eyes on the Pitching Triple Crown.

Drew Rasmussen continues to lead in rWAR.

2025 is setting up for a major CYA race between Skubal and young phenom Skenes.

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3 Wins = 23 RS - 12 RA
7 Losses = 16 RS - 27 RA

The Shires regress heavily

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C Thomas Nido refuses demotion to 3A .... so, here comes a trade.

I try to limit trades, especially in cases of bad contracts/extensions ... but refusal to accept moves always results in a trade.

Cruz is the only realistic option here. StL is not taking on aging salaries and Cruz, despite being 35yo, is cheaper than Ferguson.

Decent exchange, and StL gets budget space for development/draft.

Nido's refusal to accept the demotion pays off as he becomes the starting C for the New York Naturals. Cruz goes to StL's 3A and will serve as a replacement reliver in case of injury.

Andrew Wantz is claimed off waivers by Ohio, and becomes their setup man.

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I have mixed feelings about having owner goals on.

I feel like it's an intended part of the game, as well as, an additional level of challege.

But, owner goals often seem to be counterproductive, as they can demand you to acquire star players while also building the minor system, which are often opposite goals.

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It's taken 70g for someone to replace Armando Alvarez as the team's WAR leader, but Albies, Anthony and Dylan Carlson have done it.

Romo continues to develop as a young catcher and is moving up the player rankings list.

Nola continues his high level pitching. While not in the CYA race, he's performing at All-Star+ level.

Bello keeps producing and developing and may end up being an above average SP.

The bullpen has developed into the league's best group of relievers.

That gets me all caught up on updates (finally), so we'll do some deep dives on various aspects going forward.

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DC gains a game in the standings on Baltimore in what appears to be an eventual taking over of the division. The Bombers cling to their 1st place lead on the strength of a 16-7 record in 1-Run games, while DC is 8-15.

Montreal overtakes Motor city in the Great Lakes division fueled by their 32-11 record at home.

Jacksonville continues to lead the division, while Georgia may be the only team I've seen in last place with a positive run differential.

Orlando and Santo Domingo seem content to maintain the status quo.

Portland extends the lead in the West's least exciting division.

Sin City paces the Yosemite division, the only team in the green for RunDiff.

St Louis, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin take turns with first place in the Great Plains division, depending on which way the wind blows.

Space City continues to be the juggernaut of the West, while Monterrey surges to the wildcard lead.

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MVP Race - MVP Points (WAR + WPA)
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[1] Tatis Jr = 8.15
[2] Ohtani = 7.55, + 2.2 pWAR = 9.75
[3] J.Rodriguez = 7.17
[4] J.Ramierez = 7.13
[5] Moncada = 6.32





MVP Points
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[1] Santander = 7.2
[2] W. Abreu = 6.5
[3] Rooker = 6.1
[4] Gorman = 6.0
[5] Riley = 5.4
[6] Witt Jr = 5.3

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CYA Points (fWAR + rWAR)
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[1] Strider = 9.5
[2] Rasmussen = 8.9
[3] S'bach = 8.1
[4] Crochet = 7.5
[5] Rocker = 7.1





CYA Points
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[1] Skenes = 9.8
[2] Wheeler = 7.7
[2] Skubal = 7.7
[2] Snell = 7.7
[5] Kirby = 7.4